Banana Garden

Pat asked me to make a bag using a pattern she found on Pinterest. I was skeptical but we went ahead bought the pattern. This is it:
Summer Beige Crochet Bag Pattern
by Natalya Ovsova

I knew it was going to be hard work. The crochet is lined what amounts to three times & I had to ream out the beads on the handles by hand (I got blisters!). I must say, however, that the pattern is well explained & illustrated, although it could have done with a native English proofreader. There are accompanying YouTube videos but I didn't need to resort to those.

Here is the result. Pat was very pleased with it. I may have eviscerated her if she hadn't liked it.

I just did battle with the Phygelius. It has lovely flowers but invasive roots.

Along with the brilliant " Every Body" exhibition by Sally Hewett. There is a women's day yarn bombed bollard being made by women in Folkestone & coordinated by Folkestone Harbour Yarn. This is my contribution, made from fabric scraps.

Easter is approaching & these felt hares, made using a WWII Vogue pattern, are on their way to Rennies Seaside Modern (Old High Street, Folkestone) for sale. When the rain slakens off they are anyway.

I received a Christmas card with wild flower seeds embedded in it; what a lovely idea. I planted it & put it on the window sill, as instructed. Seedlings are beginning to emerge.

Sandy & Sapphire have nearly finished destroying this superior cardboard box.

Snowdrops have been joined by irises & crocuses.

One of the stitch n bitch Folkestone ladies also makes things from air dry clay. She has gave me this cute, little (7cm) trinket tray. It will go with my blue bathroom decor nicely.

Nacho still loves to sit in the chicken house & spy on the world.

There were flowers on the Christmas cactus for two months. This is the very last one.

I know this is pretty, but I struggle to get "jobs" done & I hate following patterns; can't count.

It's spring. There's snowdrops.

This witches dressing gown was a 1970s dress which had been butchered by a vintage shop in the 1980s. I butchered it again, reusing the original dress & the scarves used in the changes, adding a placket for some mismatched vintage buttons. I think it is great with the glow in the dark twisted witch hat & my handcarved balsa bone wand.

That moment of trepidation before you commit yourself to the buttonholes on weird fabric.

In addition to traffic light hats for babies, these are the latest thing that stitch n bitch Folkestone have been asked to make for the local hospital. They are cannula covers for babies, made from a simple 12cm square formed into a tube.

I kept back some for myself. Too many, probably.

I made too many scones so I distributed some to save me from myself.

My friend, Sarah, sent me this book & it arrived today. I'm hoping it will help me to up my sewing game with some beautiful finishes.

This is "turtle blanket", a sensory/activity comforter. It is made from scraps from my stash with scavenged bits & pieces. It is for my granddaughter who is really into turtles.

One of our stitch 'n' bitch ladies had taken on the job of making dresses for another of the lady's holiday. Then she fell & broke her collar bone. The job was delegated to me. Here are the dresses, plus a reversible bucket hat to match from the scraps.

What ever type of pocket I put my phone in whilst gardening it ends up falling in the dirt. I used the last of the denim squares I cut & didn't use for the rag quilt to make myself a phone bag. The strap is made from belts with d-rings so it can be adjusted & worn over the shoulder, cross body or round the waist.

I have made this denim rag bag to use up the 2" squares that I had left over from the rag quilt. There is another jeans pocket inside, the stitching for which is hidden by the pocket on the outside. Clipping the seams is a very messy process & it still needs a wash & dry to fluff them up but I think it is quite satisfactory.

And, this is why the advice on pin removal as you go along is even more important with the overlocker.

So, this is why you should take the pins out as you go along. I missed this one but the machine didn't.

I was given a couple of sacks of old jeans recently and I went hunting in the scrap stash for ideas. This denim rag quilt came out. I made it solely using my "new" treadle sewing machine so it is very environmentally friendly. The treadle and I are now "as one".

I posted a couple of pictures of my stash in the ScrappyGirlsClub. Astonishingly, the post received nearly 2,000 engagements (my biggest ever), mostly from people who thought I was going to tidy up. However, I think the best way to reduce the mess is to use up the fabric. There is a huge pile of white fabric so I fancy that, when I've dealt with turning some left over denim squares into another rag bag, an embellished, shades of white, crazy quilt will be next.

Bunnies love boxes.

My recent foraging trip into the stash has yielded some practice with my "new" treadle sewing machine and a denim, rag quilt, bag with a scrappy lining. The lining also serves as a stabiliser for the stretch denim I used. The handle is made from some webbing belts which I was given a sack full of, years ago. To thank her, I'm going to offer it to the lady who gave me a couple of sacks of jeans recently and set me off on this path. I'm half way through a picnic blanket type throw in the same style too. This activity has made not a jot of a dent in my stash.

I was given a bunch of flowers before Christmas. There are only this many left now. They did well didn't they?