Bodice didn't fit around the bust, so I added gussets on the side seams. Then the waist didn't fit, so I added an extra panel to the skirt. Now it does fit but I'm back at the problem I had when I was looking at the pattern originally, which is whether or not to do a zip, or if I can get away with turning the fastenings into buttons...
I'm putting the whole thing aside for now and I'm gonna work on my trousers when the rest of my fabric (hopefully) arrives tomorrow.
Blue fabric has arrived for my big project! Very exciting, this should be going into the wash this evening so that I can get it dry and start cutting the pattern pieces next week. It's fairly cheap viscose because I needed a lot, but the colour is perfect!
New project!!! Just something small so hopefully it will be finished tonight or maybe tomorrow. Captain Marvel is my favourite superhero and I'm really pumped for her first appearance in the MCU (you could probably hear me screaming at the after-credits scene of infinity war from miles away). This is just a patch for my jeans, but I have big dreams of making a full jacket...
spent tonight on a little tribute to my song of the moment, Champion by Fall Out Boy. This will be going up on etsy as soon as Iāve found an embroidery hoop the right size - Iāve almost run out of them, and the ones I have are just a bit big! Hopefully Iāll be able to pick one up tomorrow and Iāve ordered a few more. Also, I really love this fabric!
So this is a project I started agesĀ ago (weāre talking at least a couple of years) and finally picked up again in the aftermath of the Shakespeare quilt, and finished. The design is from urbanthreads, which I love, and heās a hippy, flower power jellyfish! Featuring glow in the dark thread, as you can see. I was gonna put him on etsy, but my mum took a liking to him and claimed him for the wall of our craft room, so he lives there now.
Here it is, folks, itās finally finished!!! This is a really terrible picture (thanks, phone camera) but I figure since you guys have seen close ups of all the panels as I did them anyway it doesnāt really matter. However, if you happen to be in the UK and would like to see the real thing, Iāve just entered it to be displayed at the NEC Festival of Quilts from 10-13th August, and it will also be displayed as part of the Oxfordshire Artweeks Festival from 5-14th May (further details can be found here).
Obviously, itās not perfect. I think Iāll always be an embroiderer before I am a quilter, and thereās definitely elements of this quilt which are a bit haphazard and slapdash. But the whole concept was as a vehicle to display my love of both Shakespeare and embroidery, and itās done that pretty well imo! I taught myself as I went along and Iāve learnt a lot of new skills - not to mention patience!
Next project is actually my dissertation for my Creative Writing MA, which will be a collection of poetry reflecting on the theme of textile work in mythology and through the ages. If youāre really unlucky, I might start posting excerpts!
Thereās only the binding and hanging sleeve left to do for the Shakespeare quilt, so Iām putting it on hold for Easter whilst I catch up on other projects, like the denim jackets I started a year ago... This totoro embroidery is on a jacket for a friend, which also features appliqued pokemon - you can find a picture of the full jacket as it was when I last worked on it if you scroll back to almost the beginning of the blog (not that Iāve made that many posts!)Ā
Iāve also finished two more jackets: one art-themed for my aunt, and one travel themed to go up on Etsy. Expect pictures (hopefully!) tomorrow.
Oh, and Iāve started using instagram - Iām catmeghum. This picture is the only thing up there right now but Iām going to try and add more sewing stuff, but also more books!
iām yelling i found this when i was going through a bag of my craft stuff and iād completely forgotten about it??? i now vaguely remember stitching it after i first read good omens like 5 years ago but likeā¦ wow
Reblogging from my main to ask if anyone has any ideas as to what to do with a piece of unframed cross stitch that was clearly done before i heard the good news about a) embroidery hoops, b) splitting your thread and c) stitching in the middle of your fabric so you have room to frame it goddamn it past-me
if i can figure something out itāll probably grow up on etsy (making 4 items in my shop!! wow!!) but all iāve got at the moment is trying to make it into a bookmark - itās a bit big for that, though, itād be an exceptionally wide bookmark. Unfortunately I think thereās just not enough space on the top to frame it...
Here is a sneak preview of my progress on the Shakespeare quilt - I've reached the actual quilting stage!! There have been a few problems along the way (mitred corners are the Worst) but seeing it finally come together is pretty incredible!!
āI am one with the Force. The Force is with me.ā
A matching set of two 4ā diameter embroidery hoops, featuring the mantra of the Whills!
Hey guys!! In between working on the quilt, I made these to celebrate my love for Rogue One! Iām really happy with them and will definitely be making more. In the meantime theyāre available to buy in my etsy shop!
"I am one with the Force. The Force is with me.ā
A matching set of two 4" diameter embroidery hoops, featuring the mantra of the Whills!
Hey guys!! In between working on the quilt, I made these to celebrate my love for Rogue One! Iām really happy with them and will definitely be making more. In the meantime theyāre available to buy in my etsy shop!
Centrepiece is done! The rows are lined up as neatly as I would like, but considering Iāve never done this before Iām pretty pleased with it. Iāve also ordered another lot of interfacing and some invisible thread for the actual quilting - itās all very exciting! Next weekend Iāll start sewing the other squares together with the sashing.
Hereās a picture of the whole quilt laid out (minus the sashing and border, but with the centrepiece).
Iāve put the squares in alphabetical order, which work pretty well I think, it gets a good colour balance - thereās the two greens vertically adjacent up on the top two rows, Henry VI and Henry VIII are next to each other with their roses, and so are the two justice themed squares of Measure for Measure and Merchant of Venice, but those are the only real issues so Iām going to stick with this order.
Now that Iām done yelling about finishing my squares and sending pictures to everyone I know, hereās the remaining ones for you folks!
Okay so: Allās Well that Ends Well, Coriolanus, Henry IV parts 1&2, Henry V and Henry VI. The writing does show up better on these when youāre actually next to them I promise! (although some of them not as well as Iād like...)
Crab the dog for The Two Gentlemen of VeronaĀ - aka the last square I finished, The Two Noble Kinsmen, and a bear for The Winterās Tale. I really wanted to get some brown fur fabric for that bear, but we didnāt have any in the house and my mum helpfully pointed out that it would probably just look like a brown furry blob if I did that, so instead the bear is made out of a lovely brown suede material.
King John, Loveās Labours Lost, Measure for MeasureĀ (slightly truncated here), The Merchant of VeniceĀ - if I place the squares alphabetically, these two will be next to one another, but I think Iāve got the designs different enough that it doesnāt really matter that they both feature a pair of scales - and The Merry Wives of Windsor, with 3D washbasket!!
Othello, also 3D (thatās a square out of one of my dadās handkerchiefs, donated to the cause, and if I never have to embroider a strawberry again, itāll be too soon), Richard III (I elected not to do the detail on the horse, since you can tell what it is without that, and also Iām really lazy), The Taming of the ShrewĀ (same deal, but also I started embroidering detail and it looked ridiculous, so I guess this quilt is also aĀ āguess the animal from its silhouetteā quilt?), Timon of Athens and Troilus and Cressida.
Finally, I cruelly cut up an RSC canvas bag to get these lovelies, ft. Shakespeareās greatest lines. Pretty sure Iāve got another one somewhere, though.Ā
Thanks to everyone who gave me suggestions, tips and encouragement - I really appreciate it! Iāll keep posting updates through the assembly and quilting process, but fair warning: christmas is coming, and Iām a cheapskate who likes to make gifts rather than buy them, so this project will probably be slowing down for a bit now.
*DRUMROLL, TRUMPET BLASTS, GENERAL TRIUMPHANT FANFARE*
Yeah, so you know how in my last post I saidĀ āthere should be an update with all the squares within the week?
Guess what
THATāS RIGHT ITāS READYYYYYY ALL THE SQUARES ARE DONE
Iām so excited honestly I canāt believe Iāve actually got this far but here it is
the four writing-y squares are from a bag sold by the RSC with famous shakespeare quotes on, and the blank 9 in the middle are for the centrepiece (theĀ āhe was not of an age, but for all time quoteā), which I have ordered the fabric for and will hopefully be able to put together soon! I also bought fabric for the backing and for the sashing (the in-between lines) at the weekend. All thatās left now is sewing everything together, making the actualĀ āquilt sandwichā and... the actual quilting. Yeah, all that stuff Iāve never done before and will be completely clueless at. But you know what? Iām looking forward to learning.
Iāll upload pics of all the finished squares which I havenāt yet shown you in a bit!
