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.

Sewing Update

The bridesmaids dress photo I promised last time I posted. Really pleased with my first commission.

On 1st & 2nd June I went on a course at the School of Sewing at Ashby de la Zouch to learn about Corset making, it was a great two days.  Really pleased with the finished garment.

I used silk for the base of the corset with lace and net overlaid in panels.  Now I need to make a skirt to match, I'm  thinking of using lace panels with georgette godets over a net petticoat, have been experimenting with the design on the dressmakers dummy.

On the allotment

We have been planting out all the cabbage, cauliflower, sprouts and broccoli. It's beginning to look good.

I've used plumbing pipe to hold the net up over the plants, this will hopefully keep the pigeons off and stop butterflied laying their eggs on the plants.

These broad beans in the foreground are lovely have been eating them already, the smaller plants on the right are beetroot, and there are parsnips and carrot in the bed behind the broad beans, not ready yet.  The pumpkins and squash have been planted in the bed with the large purple flower at the end.  Our paths have bark chips along them, but still the weeds keep popping up!

Have been picking raspberries, red and black currants, there are so many black currants, will have to make some jam this week. The peas at the top of the allotment are not ready yet, but those I have in the garden are and they taste great. Those tiny cucumbers in a previous picture are big enough to eat and they taste really good too, more photos to follow in a few days.

Busy in the garden

Its been a busy couple of weeks in the garden, sowing, potting up and planting out. Here the cold frames are full with crops just waiting to go in the garden or on the allotment.

The cucumbers are doing well.  This one -  variety Emilie has six 'babies' already.  The door to the orangery is kept open during the day and it would seem that the insects are in to do their job of pollinating the plants.

Chillies, peppers and squash all enjoying the sunshine and growing well.  This spring has been exceptionally dry and sunny and the orangery on the side of the house, gets full sun for most of the day.

Tomatoes, aubergines and more peppers.  This year I have planted up two pots of 7 varieties of tomatoes, in the orangery and the greenhouse. And given away to good homes, the remainder.

Every space is filled and just as more needs potting up, it's moved around to the cold frames and on into the ground. Just a week or so and hopefully a lot will be outside, leaving room for the tomatoes, peppers, chillies and aubergines to expand!!

The plants in the garden are looking good too, a selection of my favourite to follow.

Finally today regarding the sewing work.  I have finished the little bridesmaids dress for Sarah's Wedding at the end of the month, watch out for the photos.  The dress is halterneck and too small to put on the dummy to photograph, so the pictures will be posted just as soon as the wedding is over.

Sewing Projects

Over the last three weeks I have been busy with completing my Celtic Knot Jacket and making two dresses for my niece to model.  I want to put the photos on my Web Site but they can be viewed here first!!

The bodice and jacket are in silk dupion with piped seams and long rouleau loops knotted and hand stitched. Each knot took 4 hours to hand stitch 12 hours of hand work altogether.  The jacket is lined and embroidered on the hem for a personal touch and a special finish.

This dress is made in silk dupion with overlaid lace on the bodice, the sleeves are lace and the shoulder seam is elasticated for a secure fit.  The skirt is interfaced with net and lined with a good quality lining. This ensures the skirt hangs well and has a professional finish.

This pink dress is made in duchess satin, the bodice has a wrap over yoke.  The 'sleeves', buttons and skirt are in a cream and pink striped polyester  fabric, it is fully lined and boned in the bodice.  The skirt has net underneath like the previous dress to add shape and body.

My blog

I want to share the work I do both in the sewing room and in the garden.  The idea behind my blog is to write about my projects and photograph my work.