Hello! It’s been a funny few weeks here. I’ve been preparing for a work trip to Sweden, which has been eating up both time and headspace, and so lots of crafty things have been sitting about waiting. Bits of tatting to house, things to finish off – AND a new sewing machine.
A friend and I kind of both talked each other in to buying our first electric machines. To be honest, she bought hers first, and then we found they were reduced to £35 (if you’re not from the UK, that’s insanely cheap) and so I bought one too. What kind of machine do you get for £35? A bright purple one! Hilarious. That said, we did a bit of research first, and the word on the street is that it’s made by Janome, who seem to know what they’re doing. Also it’s guaranteed for a year, so you can’t really say fairer than that. It’s tiny, really light, a lot like a toy, but has 10 stitches and seems to be doing the job quite well. Can I make it go in a straight line? Well… maybe three times out of ten, but I’m hopeful 🙂 If you know someone who wants to have a go with a sewing machine, I would recommend it.
Remember all those attempts at tatting with beads? I thought I should try and do something with them. I also have last year’s lavender to use up – although it still smells as strong as ever. So I made these lavender bags. Some are neater than others it has to be said.
I’ve tried out some new linen and cotton blend fabric, and it looks rather smart in grey. Of course now I’ve finished them all I’ve found that I had the perfect coloured cotton for it hidden upstairs, but it’s not too bad. I hand finished this one – still trying to work out the best plan for that.
The one on the right has a new-style foldover back — and idea I pinched off aforementioned friend. I added a strip of coloured fabric just for the hell of it – it’s really wonky, but I like the general idea! There’s a little removable cotton bag inside, so it’s like a cushion & cushion cover. I like it actually. It’s possible I might one day end up with a lavender bag that isn’t wonky, at which point I wont feel so bad about giving them to people.
I found this piece of tatting knocking about too, which think I’ll make into another tester bag. See if I can get my lines right! (It’s not sewn on in that shot.)
Aside from that, I have also been working on my general tatted sketches. Actually now I’ve gone to the other extreme. Before I was worried that I wouldn’t make any finished ‘things’, I liked the idea of getting stuff done. Now I’m kind of worried I’ll never get anything finished again…I’m quite enjoying myself.
I’ll sort through this lot and show you some work in progress next time. Hope you’re all doing ok out there. I’ve missed you.
Occasional Crafter 
Lovely! Thanks for sharing – I can almost smell the lavender bags (my grandmother always had them tucked in her cupboards) 😉
Aww, thanks for visiting! You should make some too 🙂
Those are lovely! I love the idea if a purple sewing machine…
Thanks! The sewing machine is hilarious – all the reviews are from people who have bought them for kids 🙂 it’s great though. That said, I still love my Singer.
Oh my, those sachets are gorgeous! Lovely colors, simple, clean and oh so pretty!
Aww, thank you. And thanks for stopping by again. Nice to see you!
Good way to use your tatting. And practise with your new sewing machine!
Thanks! It’s a nice small shape to get started with. Although I’m going to need to dig my way out from under them all soon 🙂
Your aforementioned friend is glad you like the fold over back idea. I like your fabric edging. I may have to steal that – it seems only fair!
Also glad you’ve finally had chance to play with the sewing machine 🙂
Finally, love the colours of the fabric and think the not-stitched-on-yet piece of tagging is beautiful. Really elegant.
Lovely as ever!
Yeah, getting there at last. I do like that foldover back, good call. I *may* have sewed the wrong bit on first and had to unpick- but you can’t prove it! And yes, I like the fabric too. It’s a bit crisper than the regular linen. Actually, more like the linen/cotton fabric I bought you, which is printed like paper…
Wow, your tatting is so lovely I wouldn’t know where to begin!
You Tube! That’s where I started… you just need a fair bit of patience, and to watch the videos over n’ over. You can sew a straight line by the look of it though, so I think we’re even 🙂
Oh how I wish I could be one of your receivers! I love love love your work. Thanks for sharing.
Well, never say never. Let me just get my stitches straight 🙂 (Thank you for visiting, I really appreciate it!)
Wow!! The photos are fantastic and what a wonderful collection of pretty pretty things. Soooo much work!!!! I love them.
Aww, thanks!