My creative space... all in pieces

Pieces, pieces are dominating every available (and unavailable) creative space at chez clutterpunk.

Pincushion pieces (about to be packed up to take to the Northern Craft Bonanza tonight):

Kaleidoscope pieces (slowly sashiko-ing my way around the circles):

Rectangular scrap pieces sitting in my newly pieced scrap-gatherer, which are being cut into varying widths and sorted into paper bags: 

(They are being amassed for what I am calling my 'scrap management quilt', which will hopefully look something like the quilt below, found in THIS book):

Let's not forget the yo-yos:

And these pieces, lying around waiting to become something pretty to be given away in a few weeks... maybe to you.

Really, don't you think it's high time I started putting the pieces together?

Please drop into Kirsty's place if you'd like to play along with My Creative Space this week.

My creative space... apron therapy

Happy Thursday, Creative Spacers!

Well, between a lovely 'holidayette' with my family and then a very unlovely rotavirus chaser that hit the whole clan simultaneously, I haven't blogged or read emails since last Thursday. Thanks for all the shoe love - I bought those quirky shoes about 4 years ago at a small local shoe shop and for those interested I can just make out the brand as 'neo', if that means anything to anyone (I'm not a shoe afficionado). They're wonderfully comfortable, and I hope to keep them in good nick for years to come, in line with my ethical clothing pledge.

Anyway, let's move onto the craft. No shoes to see here this week... but there are aprons aplenty!

Poser! The dress is 100% polyester tartan - DElightful - bought for a tenner at my favourite shop Green Collective.

The first one above is a lovely soft apron with deep pockets made from a thrifted pillowcase and deocrated with lots of ric-rac. It's gone to its new owner, who is a hard-working home-based mama. Hopefully this will help brighten up some of the tough days.

The second one I made for another hard-working mama, who spends much of the day creating with her three little girls. I figured a cover-all pinnie would be the ticket, so I traced around my own favourite apron. The recipient is expecting her fourth bub later in the year so it's also a good choice for expanding bellies.

The part I love most about sewing for friends is adding my tag. I don't sell stuff, nor do I plan to, but when I started the blog my Beloved thought it would be fun for me to have my own label. It is! To all you other 'amateurs', I highly recommend it.

And one more apron for me - a peg-pocket apron.

OK, this is a total cheater. It's a pre-made garden apron, and I have sewn a fantastic vintage placemat over the top as a deep pocket. Both items were found for $1 at the local charity shop, where I often browse the bedding section for interesting bits and pieces to sew with. The best bit - both the apron and the placemat came in sets of four, so I have three more I can make. I plan to do a bit of embroidery on the empty space first, I think it needs some (I'm sure our hostess Kirsty will approve).  Then I think I'll give them away to, well, who knows?! Maybe YOU.

What's happening at your place? I will be over to visit this week, ohhhhh yes!

My creative space... embracing the green

Time for a quilting update in my creative space today. The greener-than-green quilt from a few weeks ago is regressing nicely. Yes, that's a seam-ripper... and yes, that's me sticking my feet up defiantly on the pile of green blocks, meaning that I will have to press them YET AGAIN but, given that I have to remeasure and re-sash them anyway, why not?

There are about half a dozen other quilting ideas sitting around in my head, and I'm just itching to begin one. I keep pulling out scraps and lengths of fabric, doodling on paper, browsing the web for ideas... but I have decided that I must. not. start. any other machine-sewn quilt until I have followed through on this one.

So I'm trying to embrace the green. Truth be told, I've always maintained that green is my favourite colour. How that can be true when I rarely wear it and don't surround myself with it, I don't know, but it is. Green is so... err... verdant, I guess!

A bonus from all the unpickery that's going on is that one little not-square-enough square was set free from quilting doom and transformed into a pocket on a new pinny I made for myself:

Rachel, you may recognise this fruity material as one of the thrifted tablecloths you so sweetly sent me last year! It's gorgeous, soft and already liberally spattered, like a good apron should be. And just green enough.

More spaces here.