The Make and Do Studio

Old sewing machines to new homes....

About two years ago, I received a phone call from a man who was contacting the Studio on behalf of his wife. They lived in the local community and had heard about what we do through an article in one of the newspapers.  His wife was no longer able to sew due to advanced Parkinson's but she had a lovely Singer sewing machine (a 99K for those that really want to know), which she has received 55 years previous as a wedding present, that she wanted to donate to the Studio. I gratefully took the machine home and gave it a place with my other growing shelf of wanting to be rehomed machines.

Fast forward a few monthes ago, when all the other motorised machines had been given homes, and there on my shelf sat the Singer. So one Friday night, I got a glass of wine, took the box down and since then, I have been enamoured with my Singer. It has opened my eyes up to the experience of sewing with a hand cranker and I don't think I will ever part with it I am so fond of it. And I am so thankful that the lady thought to contact me and allow me to share in the joy of owning this lovely machine. 

So this Christmas, I am putting on Santa's hat and saying to folks - if they know anyone that might appreciate receiving an older but much loved sewing machine for Christmas- please have them contact me at maeri@themakeanddostudio.co.uk . I have a list of people who have contacted the studio and have machines to give away - and I would love to think that the machines would get a new lease of life being used by some grateful individual! 

Have a lovely weekend - I have added the Christmas tunes to the website as we are now officially on countdown mode to the big day!

Autumn is sneaking in and I need to get back to posting on a regular basis!

It is really hard to get in to a posting frame of mind if you haven't done it in a while!  But I have said that today is the day to get back in the posting saddle again.....

First of all a bit of promotion for a new workshop coming up in November - Basic Canning and Preserving , which is also our first Saturday workshop!  I am really excited to have this workshop as I think it is a great way to add to the idea of being able to Make and Do.  Plus Nathalie Francoise Cosier, who teaches the workshop, grew up in France to a french mother and a british father - she lives and breaths preserving! And she is one of those people that, when she dropped into the studio the other week and was looking at my button mountain, said "when I was living in Russia and working buying fabric, I used to be given loads of free buttons....."  Russia, working, BUTTONS - I will never be able to say a sentence like that!

And for those of you that want to combine the above course with your sewing skills, there was a great post on Skip to My Lou on how to make fabric bow ties for your preserving jar:

And because I love to share anything with folks that makes my life easier (and I am a closet techno geek!) I discovered this download called f.lux  - it is for those of us that work at night and have to adjust from the glare of the screen to the subdued lighting in the room. F.lux, when downloaded (and it is free!) will adjust the colour of your monitor to the light in your room  - so as the nights draw in, instead of facing a bright, white screen it has a lovely, yellow glow to it.  From their website:

"f.lux makes your computer screen look like the room you're in, all the time. When the sun sets, it makes your computer look like your indoor lights. In the morning, it makes things look like sunlight again"

My eyes are so happy! 

 

 

What a great idea for making tags - I should have known about this earlier!

When we were getting things ready for the festival, the one thing that takes you by surprise is the amount of time you take to make really creative tags for your stuff.  It is really is ridiculous how you will spend a half hour on each tag  - come on!  

And then I saw this lovely post on how to make cute tags re-using sewing patterns that have seen better days. I have loads of them - some just gathering dust in a box - so this is a great way to re-use them and be creative!

For the full posting, visit From Glitter to Gumdrops blog...

Back to unpacking!

 

Sewing a sundress is easy - Heather Ross's free pattern does the trick!

With all this sun, I thought I would post this great free pattern for this Heather Ross sundress - and then when I did, the sun went away! But as I am ever the optimist, I am going to to post it any way and tell the rain to go away! I made this sundress a few summers ago - I felt smug as I was just ahead of the whole flowy dress thing - and it was easy.  The only thing is the bottom of the dress, as I had made it longer in length, was a bit tight, so I inserted a slit up the seam. 

You can find the full set of instructions here. In order to achieve the puckered look on the top (shirring), you will have to use elastic thread.  Here is a quick video on youtube on how to wind the elastic on the bobbin. 

Come on sun - time to come back so we can wear some lovely dresses!

If I am thinking of sewing this dress, I must be on the mend!

I must be feeling better as I think I am going to have a go at this really simple pattern found at Oopsey Daisy  for her simple Paper Bag Dress. 

I have moved from "no sew" mode to "low sew" as this does look really simple. I always wonder if this will make me look......well, like a telephone box as it looks as if it might be slightly on the shapeless side. If I make it, I will try and post a photo so you can decide for yourself!

It is a lo-sew day here at the Studio!

I am still trying to kick this cold so am on low output this week. However, I did see a few postings about bunting, that involved ++no sewing++, so thought I would post it as a "lo sew/no sew item".

I had a posting last summer, where you could print individual letters on paper bunting and then string them together to make what ever word(s) you want. Great for birthday parties when you want to be a bit different! Want to up the anty on bunting this spring season? How about this great complimentary bunting, brought to you by Jennifer Jones at How about Orange. You can download the PDF here

And if you just can't get enough of the bunting thing, instructions for making a bunting birthday card can be found at the lemmemakeit blog.  

Have fun! I am off to blow my nose....

A few more (free!) things to help with Christmas...

That clock keeps ticking towards the Christmas countdown and oddly enough, I can feel my stress rate rise as the final days approach. Trying to make sure you have all the presents (and for me, mailing them in time for those that live in the States), spending most of one evening making a Greek tunic for my daughters play, getting those last few cards out to the Aunts you only ever make contact with at this time of year - we could all use a few things to make life a bit easier (both in the time department and in the money department). Here are a few more to add to last weeks list:

• last summer, I posted about making alphabet bunting from paper and I am happy to say, I found a more extended Christmas version at Made by Rae (okay, with a little help from Martha Stewart).  If you have slightly older kids, this could be a good way to keep them busy and you get the garland at the end. Win win!
• I like to exchange food (and wine!) at this time of year - everyone appreciates home made food wrapped up to look all lovely. If you want a nice tag for your biscuits/cookies - here is a great link at Joy Ever After.  A heavier weight paper might be good for these so that they don't get scrumpled along the way (I am not sure if scrumpled is a word but in my mind, it describes exactly what happens to food tags when jostled around on the way to being delivered!).
• You need a recipe for cookies so that you add the tag to them?  No problem!  Get that gingerbread cookie cutter out and look at this recipe for chocolate gingerbread men from Good LIfe Eats.  If you would like to convert from cups to grams - click here.

I think that is enough from me for the moment.....I have brownies to bake for my after school workshops (we have our annual Christmas party in lieu of creating - hey, any reason for a party!)

 

 

 

 

No need to panic! Four things to help you relax this holiday season

Okay, only 22 days and counting until all is normal again and the frenzied, weary individuals who have shopped, purchased and consumed until they thought they would explode can put down their purchasing weapon of choice and say "until next year".   But to try and make that 22 days a little less stressful, I offer you the following free!! ways to make sure you come out the post Christmas end sane:

• I have downloaded my annual Christmas music mix which is full of different twists on traditional holiday songs as well as some alternative tunes. And even though I don't really profess to be religious, I do feel a bit hypocritical not giving a nod to the little guy in the manger so they are in their too.  Just click on the play button to the left and you are all set!
• When things get a bit out of hand, visit www.yogatoday.com which has some of the best free yoga classes I have found on the web.  If you click on the link that says "classes" and then again on the "this weeks free class" you get that one class for the week, free! If you get bored of that one, then you have to subscribe but I have never felt the need to do that. The pace is great and the scenery is breathtaking. 
• So you are busy wrapping and you have run out of tags? Or you are just sick to death of the ones that you are using as they are from years past and are all scraggly and sick looking? Check out these free downloadable tags from West Elm studios.  You can change your mind as they have a great selection - don't be afraid to use paper that is slightly thicker for tags. 
• Take a bath!  And whilst you are there, you might as well rub yourself down with a homemade body scrub made from lavender and coconut oil. It smells like heaven and the cane sugar acts as a loofah and gets rid of all the dead skin.  And it is a great gift to make!

 Will try and add more as I find them - can't have everyone getting all stressed now can we?