A very busy Summer - Sewing and Growing

How quickly the time has passed since my last post!   I have done so much sewing and work on the allotment, where shall I begin. This collection of plants in the picture above, was put out on the allotment at the beginning of July.  Just look at the results we have had this year.

I'm so pleased with the produce this year, the beans, courgettes and cauliflowers have been the best.  As well there have been cucumbers and tomatoes from the greenhouse and the orangery.  Whats more we are still cropping things like crazy. We have not started on the pumpkins or cabbages yet.

I've made meals to put in the freezer, pickled vegetables, made chutneys, jams and loads of sorbets. There is nothing like the taste of your own vegetables fresh from the ground. The raspberries just keep grown and now the blackberries are ready too.  Blackberry and apple jam is next on the agenda!

The flowers have also done well, this basket is past its best now, but all the baskets have been far better this year than I have managed in the past.

Sewing Projects

I've done some doodles in my sketch book for an embroidery design I want to put on a light weight jacket.  (Next time I'll use a darker pen.  I'm learning all the time!!)

 I cut out the back of the jacket in the main fabric, in wadding and in muslin, it's larger than I need because I will sandwich the fabric together and quilt my design on to the three layers using the sewing machine. I have basted the fabrics together using large tacking stitched, this will hold the fabrics when I am sewing the design and hopefully stop it moving about.

Here I wanted to experiment to find a way to transfer the design onto the fabric ready for sewing. I tacked a centre line down the back to lay the pattern on,  I traced over the design in my sketchbook using tracing paper and cut out the first section of the tracing paper, pinned it on to the fabric and tacked around the pattern to use as a sewing guide.  Next I shall stitch it on the sewing machine. This can be seen later.

I'm working on three bridesmaids dresses for a wedding on 1st October.  The dresses are almost complete and as soon as the wedding is over I will publish the pictures of the dresses on the blog.  I am making petticoats to go under the dresses at the moment just as soon as they are finished.  I will photograph them and show how they are made.