Quilting... the Rockabilly Stitch Way

Hello Ladies and Gents,

Well I thought I would update you on one of my stitching projects as it has been a while. A little while a go I shared with you I was starting a stitching project for a good friend and now it is successfully completed! For my birthday my good friend and sewing advisor bought me a sewing book called 'Cute and Easy Quilting and Stitching: 35 step-by-step projects for you and your home' by Charlotte Liddle. I browsed through the pages and found the perfect gift to make for my friend - a baby quilt. After reading the pattern I knew I could make it - especially as it seemed quite simple and you can customise it as much or as little as you want - perfect for me!

Option 1 - Template

So the first thing I did was raid the fabric stash that has been growing over recent months. I looked through what I had and decided that I had enough fabric to follow the pattern so I went for it. My fabric was all ready washed so the next thing I did was iron everything...this ensures the fabric is smooth and easy to manage. I then had to make 30 squares of 4"x4" in order to make the quilt element. Now to do this I started off by cutting out square templates out of paper (option 1), pinning them to the fabric and cutting around them. After a few attempts of this I was concerned the squares would not be even so I thought of another way (option 2) - to use a

Option 2 

metal ruler, a rotary cutter and the markings on my cutting board. This method made the squares more even, less fiddly and a lot quicker to do. I cut out 7 plain fabric, 5 spotty fabric and 18 flowery fabric (4 different flowery patterns). With the squares I went on to design the lay out the quilt. Once I was happy with it, I then started sewing with my faithful singer machine (not hand sewing I hear some of you cry!). One day I will hand sew a quilt but this pattern can be done either way but I really wanted to use my

Quilt Pattern

machine as I hadn't used it since I cleaned it and put a new needle in. On using the machine I couldn't believe what a difference it made, so top tip, do maintain your machine and change the needle frequently! My machine has only had light use but even I, a beginner, could tell the difference.

This is where I became lazy and in hindsight I should have done this a bit differently. Instead of pinning a row of squares together, I just took two squares and sewed them using the pressure foot as the guide. I did this for each square and ended up with five rows of six. A thing I'm not lazy about (which I'm sure my husbandy will disagree on) is ironing the fabric as you go. Once I had five rows of six squares I ironed the

The lazy way...

seam to make it lie flat and keep the material in shape. When joining the rows together I did pin the edges and again followed the pressure foot as the guide. With all rows now joined it was starting to look more like a quilt! Again don't forget to iron the seams open. The next trick was to cut out the boarders....

Pinning the boarders

Now this is when I had to use maths to solve my problem. The two shorter pieces were the same width as the length of the quilted pieces (5x4"=20). I cut out two pieces of 20"x2" in the plain fabric. I then cut the long side pieces which had to be the same length as the quilt, plus the boarder - the total measurement being 28".  I cut out two pieces of 28"x2" in flowery fabric. I pinned the shorter boarder to the quilt and sewed with the sewing machine. I then pinned the long boarder and again sewed this on.... I was very pleased with myself at this stage and was having loads of fun doing it! 

My quilt was almost complete and all I had to do was attach the backing piece. For this you use one piece of material in what ever design you like. Again, I used a floral design and cut the fabric 24"x28". I pinned the fabric (right sides facing) and stitched around the edge leaving a four inch gap at one end so the wadding can be inserted. Once stitched I turned the quilt inside out and ta dah... I was finished! And I truly was finished as there has been a change of plan since its original use. Once completed I wanted to show off my work so I put it over a little table we have. My husbandy saw it and loved it so much we now use it as a table cloth! So I best get cutting more squares and making another one for my friend as the baby is due very soon! It just shows how versatile this simple pattern is. Without the wadding it is not a table cloth and with the wadding it could be used as a quilt. Sewing is a great way to express yourself... take a pattern and put your own stamp on it... and you'll have loads of fun doing it!

Top tips:

• Equipment: Fabric (30 x 4" squares, 2 x 20"x2", 2 x 28" x 2" and 1 x 28" x 24"), Cutting Mat, Rotary Cutters, Fabric Scissors, Pins, Iron, Ruler and Sewing Machine.
• Use what ever fabric you like - it's your quilt!
• Do pin the squares together...it may seem tedious but you'll have a much neater outcome - trust me :)
• Do maintain your machine and change the needle frequently! My machine has only had light use but even I, a beginner, could tell the difference.

Happy Quilting x

'Lindy Lou's' - Belle of the South-East

Hello Ladies and Gentlemen,

Earlier in the week, when my long weekend was fast approaching, Husbandy and I were wondering what to do. Husbandy was looking at eBay and noticed I had put some vintage clothes in the 'watch list' (or hint list as I like to call it!). He started to look at what they did more closely and contacted the seller to see if they had a shop and to our delight they do! So yesterday, I phoned 'Lindy Lou's' to see if they were open and when they said 'yes' we were ready and heading East to Rayleigh, Essex. 90 minutes later we arrived at the quaint town of Rayleigh and wondered around and at the top end of the high road there it was, 'Lindy Lou's'.

Lindy Lou's shop front

We walked in and were presented with an array of vintage replica (and some original) clothes for both men and women. I was in vintage heaven as there was such a wide selection of clothes to choose from! After having a look around and selecting a few pieces to try on we started chatting to the owner. We were talking about the store (which had only been open 7 weeks) and the replica garments. The replica garments are all made in England and from original 1940s/ 1950s patterns and made by very talented seamstresses. For men the items range from trousers, shirts, jackets, hand knitted jumpers, hats and some original vintage items. For women again the range from hand knitted jumpers, cardis, skirts, blouses, dresses, head-wear and a whole range of accessories. 

I tried on some swing trousers, Freddies of Pinewood jeans, blouses, a wiggle dress and an emerald green jumper. I fell in love with all the items - especially the swing trousers  - but they were sadly too short. When the owner saw this she said that we do make made to measure so sizing is not an issue. This made my day as swing trousers always come up as ankle biters on my long legs and at last I have a solution! After trying on my items, Husbandy tried on some great pieces. In the end we walked away with three jolly spiffing things and will definitely be back for more! Afterwards we went for a wonder around Rayleigh and it has a great high street. There was a wonderful vintage cafe called 'Coles Vintage Tea Rooms' and next time we will be going in there!

With the goodies...

'Lindy Lou's' is a little gem in Southern Essex. It's a well presented shop with friendly owners who are more then happy to help. The bonus with this shop is that the clothes are made in England and by being made in England the clothes can be made to measure. There are also some great original vintage pieces. If you're into vintage, rockabilly, swing, jive - anything to do with the 1940s/ 1950s this is a great clothes shop for you and well worth the trip. Also don't forget to check them out on eBay - eBay name 'qbiffer'.

Lindy Lou's Flyer

Nearest Train Station: Rayleigh (trains leave London Liverpool Street approx. every 15 mins). Only a 8 minute walk from the station. 

Sharing the Sewing Passion

Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen,

Since making my beautiful headscarf on Saturday, I have been wearing it with pride. I wore it all day on Sunday and found it extremely comfortable - making this stitching project a further success. This has now lead me to hunt for some more glorious material so I can make my next one (plus an excuse to go to Ray Stitch or place an order with Fabric Rehab!). With this success under my headscarf and my big mouth (as I have been telling friends, family and the wider Twitter community of my delights and new found talent) I have landed myself with commissions. I love this - the thought of meticulously planning my next project and getting stitching and doing it for people who want it is so exhilarating - its making me wonder why I did not start this years ago. 

My new headscarf

Until this year my sewing skills (or should I say sewing confidence) was limited and only went as far as sewing buttons on to my husbandy's shirt. Any other tasks, like when a thread was pulled, had to wait until I saw my mother-in-law who is a natural at this. It seems that the tables have now turned, now that I am armed with a Singer and a willingness to create that my new found flare is needed. My mother-in-law wants a nice wash bag (this is a great little project for me and with Mother's Day fast approaching I have the now got the perfect gift). Also my husbandy wants bespoke handkerchiefs and other little fabric-y goodies. The other added bonus to all of this is that these gifts will be handmade and made with love (and no doubt some sweat and tears along the way).  Let's hope I get a few extra pennies in my pay cheque this month to help move these ideas to fruition!

With all these great stitching projects waiting in the wings, I want to get started now but I don't know which one to start first. One thing I do know is that I shall only start on one stitching project at a time. This sound advice came from my a good friend (and sewing guru) of mine and I believe this to be sound advice, especially as I know what I am like. This is typically what happens with things that don't quite go to plan: I start a project, hit a snag, try and work it out, get frustrated, then get annoyed, throw all my toys out the pram and then give up and move onto something new - something that is less taxing. As I have mentioned in virtually all my sewing blogs that patience is vital when setting out on this journey and suddenly I've found out that I have more of this than I thought and thank goodness. If I was to have this old attitude with sewing I don't think I would have made anything yet with all the little glitches I have had to overcome in such a short amount of time. There is no issue in planning your projects so you can perhaps save money on bulk buying fabric, etc, but I will only physically start one project at a time and see it through to the end before starting a new one.

With the anticipation of undertaking these sewing gems I have been looking for some tutorials and I have stumbled across some great ones (all these tutorials and links will be included when I do these sewing projects). These tutorials have all ready helped me overcome my early worries, like where to buy waterproof fabric and how to resolve the issue of not having an upside down print on the wash bag! Prep, for me, is part of the excitement of my sewing journey - it adds to the experience and gets my sewing juices flowing. 

The best part of this is that I love the fact friends and family are giving me the opportunity to practice my new passion and share my new found passion and creativity with them.

Happy Stitching x