A bag of tricks

So, I did a bit of sewing a few weeks ago, and I was going to blog a bit more detailed than just a "I made this" but it has taken me this long to get around to it. Here we go.

So I decided Miss A needed some kind of containing device for her toys that were starting to get played with more and then being messy around the living room so I made a soft fabric box / bag-thing:

I've seen them before online ages ago, and thought it could be a good idea. This one is made from spare cloth nappies (not fluffy ones and well washed) that I then interfaced (a fairly light interfacing). I then cut out four shapes like this:

And sewed them together: Two together along one long side and to each pointed end, and one set had an opening to turn it through on what would become the 'inside' (you could do half and half different fabrics and make it prettier), and then sewed the two halved together, turned it through and handsewed up the hole before folding it in half and then folding the top over. I should have pressed the seams open and flat AS I sewed but I didn't, and then it was rather tricky once it was all made up.

It is quite sturdy, but nice and soft. Miss A likes to sit and see what she can find in the bag and pull out something to play with. (Miss S sometimes tries to convince me it is a hat, but I am not convinced.)

As I sewed it, all plain white, I thought it might be nice to sew coloured zigzag over each long seam line, but it would be tricky with the seam allowance and the opening-to-turn-through, so I didn't. But I thought that if I made another one, I could cut the pieces like this:

And then I could. I'd sew all the sides and then the base, making the opening-to-turn-through in the base rather than a side.

It's a really easy pattern to make up. Just make a long rectangle twice as long as you want the bag high, plus any fold over (I suppose you could make it without foldover, but I think it gives the opening more structure, and the foldover can increase or lessen as the bag is fuller or emptier) and as wide as you want one side of the square. Then to add the base just make a right-angle triangle on each end of the rectangle - I used my patternmaking square, but you could use anything square, as long as the sides are even and the angle is a right angle (otherwise it won't sit flat).

 bag base, showing seams joining at right angles

If you want the second pattern style, cut the triangle in half and add both halves to the end.

It was really easy to whip up, and is really handy and surprisingly sturdy (and a great use for old cloth nappies).

A busy week of bits and pieces

So it's Friday again. I think it has been a good week. At least I Feel like I've been getting things done.
I meant to do a wordless Wednesday post of our ant graveyard, but it didn't happen.

Miss S has been back at kindy, which I'm sure has been good for us all.

Miss A seems to be teething, so a bit crotchety round the edges and wanting to chew on fingers lots, but otherwise doing well. I took her out to uni on Wednesday for a bit of show and tell with my supervisors, lecturers, and some study friends.

I've managed to make good progress on my ethics application, most of the 18 pages are now filled out. And I've done some writing work trying to bash out a literature review/article-y thing.

I've also managed to do four mystery shops this week, which was a few too many, but I forgot I had agreed to the first two when I agreed to the second two. Did two on Monday, had to dress up all flash for one of them which was fun. Then finally got around to doing the other two today.

I managed to finish a second pair of trackpants for Miss A last weekend, though they're a bit big for her, but I suppose it keeps her feet (completely) warm for now, and she'll grow. And I finished sewing bias-binding around the edge of a muslin square for breastfeeding in public with, to make it a bit prettier and layering two layers of muslin together. I decided to handsew it, knowing it would take longer, but it gave my hands something to do while watching tv, you know, cos I have no other handcraft work going at the moment.So that's two things crossed off my crafting list this week! I'm trying very hard to resist writing anything new on there until I have finished it all, the list is rather long and is a mix of machine sewing, hand sewing, and knitting.

So what's my plan for the next week?
Get my ethics application closer to finished. This involves going and talking to people I don't know, so it might take a bit of effort, I'm not so keen on doing that.
I'd also like to get my writing a bit closer to one thing, rather than a random mash-up of two or three. Serious editing required.
And I'd like to make some more progress on my handcraft list, just one more thing done would be nice, but we'll have to see how I go, whether I can get anything done at all.

The weather is getting more autumnal, and I'm enjoying watching the colours of the leaves change during the day and getting cozy by the fire in the evenings.

A couple of goals

I've been thinking a bit lately, and I've decided on two goals for myself.

Can I tell you a secret, interwebs? I know I'm doing a PhD in Psychology, and it's a big thing, but I don't want to do it for the rest of my life. When I left school I went and studied fashion design, psychology was my second choice. When I was 23 all my small joint problems became one big massive ball of chronic pain, and an insurmountable boulder in my path down a fashion career - everything I though I might enjoy involved handling stuff, and any kind of gripping, turning, holding, moving, repetitive action, particularly with my wrists and hands, was a big pain-inducer. So with much frustration and many tears I went back to learn something different.

I started studying psychology with the intention of doing a PhD and getting a job doing psychology in some form (not just using it as a base for work involving people in someway like a lot of people do with an undergrad psych degree). At that time, sewing had become a maybe 30mins once or twice a week thing, and in time I sold my three industrial sewing machines, my mannequin, and my patternmaking table. It was done with a lot of sadness and regret. And every now and then I would wake up from a dream doing my dream job as a patternmaker and I would wake up and cry because I STILL wanted to do it, even though my body was trying to tell me it was impossible.

So here I am six years later, and I've learned a LOT about managing my activities and pain. Sewing still hurts me, but I'm slowly learning how much I can do at a time, how much is sustainable. For a long time it wasn't just the pain holding me back, but that it tore at my heartstrings every time I sewed or designed something, knowing I couldn't do it as a larger part of my life, let alone a career. But I'm finding that I kind of NEED to make things, it helps keep me sane. And so with a bit of planning out and breaking things into small steps I'm starting to find a few things manageable. My sense of style requires that I make clothes for myself. My desire for quality clothing (and a very small budget) requires that I make clothes for myself (I am hopeless! at clothing shopping, everything seems so badly sewn or not quite right somehow). And I'm starting to think these things just might be possible.

So here's my goal: Be a patternmaker by the time I'm 50.

I turn 30 next year, so I have 20 years to figure it all out and slowly get there. I can use my psychology to support my family in the meantime.

When I was studying fashion design 10 years ago, small independent patternmakers didn't seem to exist, not that I knew of anyway. But I've seen a few start cropping up over the internet the last few years, so I've been starting to dream again. No rush, no hurry, but a small dream to work on in the background over the long-term.

Oh, and the other goal? To reshape my wardrobe so that I can be wearing skirts 5 days a week by the end of the year. I need a few more skirts for a start, but also more tops that work well with skirts.

A productive weekend... kind of

We all decided to be sick this weekend, baby included. By decided I mean we got sick, we didn't really get give a choice. Unfortunately the four-year-old recovered first and was full of beans again while the parents were sitting around going 'gaaaaaaaaah, leave us alone to our misery.' The baby just carried on pretty much as usual, but with a bit of a croak to her babbling. Throat's still sore, but at least I'm more functional today.

On saying all this, however, I had a surprisingly productive weekend, crafting-wise, I couldn't think enough to do my marking, so half of that is still waiting, but things got finished and continued and started.

I finished a skirt that had been half made for a week or two. Bright blue sweatshirting, so nice and cozy, full-length, simple elastic waist, so easy to wear.

I did a couple of rows of knitting on my hat. The first row I got to do most of it twice because I got 2/3 of the way round before realising it was a beaded row so had to undo it and start again.

And I cut out a couple of pairs of warm cozy pants for Miss A, one out of the same bright blue a the skirt and the other a patterned pink and white sweatshirting, and started sewing the blue pair cos there was blue thread on the sewing machine already.

So the crafting was rather encouraging, but now I need to get back to marking :(

 

Sparrows enjoying the rain on Saturday.

The week past

It feels like it's been a rather unproductive week. I haven't done anything crafty since last weekend as my wrists have been recovering from doing a whole 2 rows of knitting. I am determined to finish that hat eventually, it looks awesome even only half done, but the needles are too small for my hands to be happy doing it. Sad that I love finer knitwork (though I also love fine wool knitted on chunky needles, so might just have to stick with that).

I have however managed to get through over half my marking, mostly done during Miss A's micro-naps. And been for three (yes 3!!!!) walks, one of which was the whole family and the other two just me and Miss A. None very long, but it's the getting out and moving that's the important bit at this stage. I've only had one day without a shower, even if yesterday's was in the evening after the girls were in bed. (Yay me! Celebrating the small things round here.)

Little Miss A is growing out of her 0-3 month clothes, so I burrowed through our under-1 box under her cot and found the next-size-up things. Yay for growing babies!

This of course means that I've found some gaps, like warm pants, that Just Need Filling. So my list of things to do keeps growing.

Onward!

A return

I've been thinking of reawakening my blog.

It's been a long time, but I feel like it might be a good thing to have a place to set goals and share the things I manage to get done.

I'm in quite a different place to a few years ago when I was last around here, but in some ways still similar, echoes of the past. I've had another baby and am about to be back full-time studying, and as ever I am trying to fit more crafting into my life while balancing the fact that crafting causes me pain (lack of crafting also causes me pain, but emotional/psychological rather than physical).

So goals for the next month/wee while?
1. do a little bit of something crafty every day. I have long skirts to make, clothes for Miss S (who's now 4!!), a bit of knitting that has been waiting to be finished for a few years that I am determined to get done.
2. Take photos more, of said craftiness, baby Miss A, not-baby Miss S, and other things that catch my eye.
3. My book pile is growing rather than being kept up with, so I want to be a bit more deliberate about it.
4. AND there's that pesky PhD to work on ;) Might do another post of goals for that one. Though I'm not officially back into it till 1 May, I'd like to be able to ease my way in.

To help enable number 1, I've got my sewing machine sitting out all the time, with the laptop away, instead of the previously usual other way around, though bits and pieces still need to be put away from curious little hands.

Another thought of getting back into blogging is to get myself writing more, even just blog posts, and to help myself 'think on paper/keyboard' again which will help my PhD writing.

We'll see how we go :)