Tag: sewing

  • unheppy

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    I am often struck by the liveliness and diversity of the world of contemporary domestic crafts. In very particular ways, the intermewebnet really has informally transformed the domestic into the public sphere. From their kitchens and computers, women and men all over the world are exchanging knowledge about an enormous range of practical issues and…

  • slip-stitching

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    Jeanette’s question about technique has been on my mind. How do I want to finish the top of the T-shirt quilt? Really? How does it want to be done? I don’t want to lose the fluidity, or the pouffiness, or the wonkiness, for that matter. How much hand quilting should I do? Just in the…

  • a walk

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    Did I mention the weather is superb in Scotland at the moment? We took advantage of it yesterday, climbing Meall nan Tarmachan, and the four tops that make up the Ptarmigan ridge. I remembered my knitting this time. Here I am working on a sock at 3422 feet. Yes, folks, that is a clothkits hat…

  • miscellany

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    The postie has been bringing me a right bag of treats lately. Here’s a selection. Big thanks to Lara, Felix, Jesse, Annushka, and Philippa! The top pic shows some absolutely delicious Oxford Kitchen Yarn’s sock yarn in the plum colourway. The colour (which is not quite true in the photo) has a precise and very…

  • birdie

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    I almost fell off the not-buying-clothing wagon — I purchased fabric and notions in a kit, which one cuts out and sews at home. Does this count? Nearly, but not quite, I reckon. Anyway, said kit came from Clothkits. I remember the original Clothkits very clearly from when I was a kid. Ma made a…

  • sewing mania

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    My attempts to refresh my summer wardrobe without buying anything are reaching interesting lengths. I seem to be spending all moments when not working, eating, or snoozing at the sewing machine. If my maniacal dressmaking activities are boring you, look away now (I fear that the thrill of my new clothes is certainly wearing thin…

  • kiku

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    I clearly missed crafting while we were away walking in Ireland over the bank holiday. I spent today’s early hours thinking about the logistics of a top I’ve been intending to sew. So I just got up and sewed it. I used one of my favourite tops as the prototype: This top is very close…

  • refashioning

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    This morning I refashioned an old dress from the summer wardrobe (the whole of which has now happily come out of hibernation). I have had it since 1995. I was a student then, and I remember I felt incredibly extravagant buying it. It was the fabric I liked — plain grey linen — and I…

  • seat

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    There has been a veritable orgy of sewing today. I decided to re-seat a chair. I removed the dirty rags, sorry, old seat covers…. … and sewed up a new one. I made a whole new chair! thrilling!

  • win a pincushion!

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    I was recently very impressed with my sister’s sashiko stitching. I had to try it. A few weeks ago I bought sashiko materials for a wee pincushion, and tried stitching a simple design with the intention of impressing her back: Now, I enjoyed the stitching, but the thing I found most pleasing was the resulting…

  • neat

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    what is this untidy looking fabric bundle? its a fold-away grocery bag! ahem. I liked the wee pouch in this simple pattern, which can be found over at Burda. They suggest just overcasting the edges, but I added some binding too. The fabric is very sturdy furnishing stuff bought at Abakhan in Manchester at the…

  • mended

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    Mr B knew there was something funny going on when I brightened up at the prospect of darning and patching the arse of his jeans. “I’ve seen you,” he said, “looking at those books. You just want to do some elaborate darning, like the stuff you saw in there.” I rolled my eyes and told…

  • tweed treats

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    Treats arrived in today’s post! Helen very kindly sent me some lovely samples of the fabric she picked up at Hinnigans in Selkirk. There was a moment of serious rapture when I opened the packages. What absolutely beautiful tweed. Thanks Helen! The sepulchral wintry light does not do justice to the quality of the wool…

  • new out of old

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    Some weeks ago I found a second-hand dress in a charity shop in Stockbridge. The dress had been made by Toast, was cut on the bias, and fashioned from a wonderful, autumnal greeny-brown lambswool. So what it was several sizes too big? So what it resembled a large hessian sack? At 3 quid it was…

  • wee gifts

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    It is the time of year for turning out wee gifts. Because the recpients of these do not read this blog, I can show you some I made at the weekend. Last summer I acquired several blank notebooks. I say ‘acquired’ — what I really mean is that in a moment of mild insanity I…

  • The domestic in drag

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    needled reviews: Nigella Express, BBC2, Mondays, 8.30pm Jane Brocket, The Gentle Art of Domesticity (Hodder & Stoughton, 2007) Despite my best efforts to avoid it, last night I encountered Nigella Express. It was much more diverting than I’d assumed. Indeed, Mr B and I spent the programme in a state of near hysteria. How we…