A lot going on – and some vintage ballerina transfers for you

Usually once each magazine issue has been sent out to subscribers I take a short breather before launching into the next new project, taking time to relax and recharge my creative batteries.  But not this month, no – this month I have been undertaking possibly the scariest sewing project EVER!!  (in my opinion anyway).  Now the nursery decorating is finished Rosie has turned her attention to soft furnishings and textiles – and in particular blankets.  She loves monochrome designs and, having become aquainted with all the wonderful loveliness available on Spoonflower when we were planning her wedding, she has ordered some rather stylish prints – and here comes the scariness – cotton JERSEY prints.  She wanted me to back them with soft knitted fabrics and possibly even minky.

So I unpacked my serger, which had been languishing in a cardboard box since my house move, replaced the broken needle (oops!) and rethreaded it.  That sounds so easy when I type it, but getting all of this right did take rather a long time.  Then there were the practice attempts.  I was so worried about accidentally stretching the two layers of stretchy knits as I serged and ending up with a wavy edge.  But fortunately all my practising and carefulness paid off and I must say I’m rather proud of my first finished baby blanket.  Just another couple to go!

The Newfies aren’t too keen on my serging activities though as this means I’m upstairs in my workroom and out of their area of supervision.  Daisy was delighted when I came downstairs and began work on a new project for the December Magazine.  She sat on the end of the sofa (not really allowed, but she has become very spoiled since being ill) and stared at me very hard for quite some time ….

Which nearly, but not quite, put me off my stitching!  This is a four seasons hoop which I thought would be very appropriate for the New Year.  I haven’t added the date to my own version, but will be sure to include it in the pattern in case anyone wants to add 2016.  Here’s a sneak peek at the winter flowers …

With a little bit of autumn in the background.  But the December issue wouldn’t be complete without some more Christmas patterns and, as Christmas is a wonderful time for visiting the ballet, I was inspired by Swan Lake to begin work on a swan princess ….

She’s a long way from completion at present, but all the pieces are drafted and cut – for my princess swan complete with sparkly gold crown.  And as I stitched, I remembered that I have in my collection some vintage ballerina transfers ….

Which I shared probably about four years ago now (eek! where does time go?)  I’ve dusted them off and uploaded them again, so please do just CLICK HERE if you’d like them too.