Stash Building I

In one Facebook group I am in (of the two!) we stashbust. I have pledged not to buy any more fabric this year or last year. Well like nearly all of the others in the group, last year I failed. This year is fairly new, so I am doing alright so far! Having said that I did not buy very much last year. The reason why I have made this pledge is because I have a ridicious stash. It's size came about because of two separate "incidents". 

The first one was an award winning Ebay score. A woman who had inherited her mother's and aunt's house was selling off it's contents. Both of them were textiles teachers and they obviously both had a bit of a fabric problem going on. I think I was one of her first customers and got a Volvo estate boot (trunk for you, Americans) full of fabric for 2€. 

I used to have another blog... and here is what I wrote back then in 2010: 

When I went to collect it
 .......Wasting time looking at material on Ebay wasn't quite so wasted. Look at the loot in this boot. 2€! I challenge you to get a better deal! There are some wild, some pretty and some pretty grim (70's nylon) pieces in there. And there are some that are already calling out to be turned into clothes. Clothes for me, clothes for the Things, clothes for Karneval, clothes for little girls (don't have any of those at home)..... I shall have lots of fun! I do have one question though, what do you do with three meters of purple (or red or yellow or brown) nylon? Any takers?

After I had got it home......

I told you about my award winning ebay steal. Now I am washing and airing it. Good that the weather is so hot (and now windy too). I now have a nice pile of material, such a nice pile that I have no idea where I am going to store it. Yesterday I ironed a lot and whilst doing that I thought about the women who's stash this had been. Did she have things in mind when she bought each piece or did she just buy them? Some have obviously been reduced or pieces with faults. What were they like as a people? Did they sew for themselves, for her family, for friends? 
 

There are two ways of looking at this collection of material (I don't know if there was more): it is what is left over after a lifetime of crafting, all the really nice pieces have been sewn, or there are plans and dreams in still in there. I think the truth, as ever, is somewhere in between. Some of the pieces literally shout out about what they want to become. A pretty pink summer skirt, a child's winter fleece, a Barbie dress (?? that must be the material talking as I haven't come up with such things before!!), a pair of grey autumn trousers.  I am sure you will end up seeing some of these things here. 

Some of the pieces pay hommage to a certain period of time. There are pieces of spun nylon in purple, red, bright yellow and bright blue. There are some horrible beige nylon with light blue flowers raised on the surface. A bit like flocked wallpaper. In this heat it doesn't just look horrible, it makes my skin crawl. What would you do with them? The only idea I had was to ring a clothing museum and ask if they could use them.

From this haul, I have made a mathematics dress (see top photo, blue and black material on the left hand side),  the tent part of a play tent for Thing Two and  a Christmas tree skirt from some of the lime green on the left. All the nylon and fabric that made my skin crawl as well as a good lot of patterns that I felt I would never even like, nevermind love, I gave away. Proud of myself on that one!

As to the second "incident", I'll tell you about that another time.... 

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Getting Shirty II

Remember I started two quilts for Thing One and Thing Two? Well, I have been slowly plodding along. Whenever I have a little sewing time, but no brain to do anything challenging, I have been sewing strips together.

Erinnert ihr euch, dass ich zwei Quilts für Thing One and Think Two begonnen habe? Nun, so langsam nimmt das Projekt Gestalt an. Immer wenn ich etwas Zeit zum Nähen habe, aber mein Hirn nicht so anstrengen möchte, nähe ich Streifen zusammen.

So far I have this many. Not nicely photographed (I really only took it to show my mum) but you get the progress. I still have a lot to do. So far I have only used sleeves from the shirts. I am now going to sew shorter strips with the bits that are left. I would like to keep as many of the backs as possible, but judging by my progress so far, I don't think that is going to happen. Will keep you posted.

Bis jetzt bin ich schon so weit. Es ist nicht gut fotografiert (ich wollte es eigentlich nur meiner Mutter zeigen) aber ihr seht den Fortschritt. Ich habe noch ne Menge Arbeit vor mir. Bis jetzt habe ich nur die Ärmel der Hemden genommen. Ich werde jetzt schmalere Streifen aus den übrig gebliebenen Stücken machen. Auf jeden Fall würde ich gerne so viele Rückenteile wie möglich behalten, aber ich glaube, das wird nicht möglich sein. Ich halte euch auf dem Laufenden.

Another Bib.... Oliver+S

This cute little thing is a finished, useful, stash bust. Say those words slowly and if you are anything like me, you'll get my amazement.

I used all stash fabric. Sadly, you can see it on the thick denim on the main part, but then again, it will have food splattered all over it as soon as it hits the table. The bias was my first attempt at home-made bias and I am pretty chuffed about it. In it's previous life, it had been a shirt. The pocket is double lined and made from some remnants from a friend's dress. I love the fabric, but don't even know where she bought it, nevermind who made it or designed the print.

I sewed them from the Oliver+S Book, Little Things to Sew. It is the first pattern I have sewn out of it and I seriously changed it. I added the pocket, lined and backed it in toweling. The finished product feels lovely, even if it is very thick. It certainly doesn't need to be this thick. The green quick and dirty bibs do the job just fine. Next time I am sewing something like this for a gift, I would definitely come back to the pattern.

Getting Shirty

I've been collecting my husband's (and father-in-law's) shirts since at least 2005. He loves a good blue and white checked shirt and all of the variations along the way. He wears them lightly so basically all that is the matter with them is a little fraying on the collar and cuffs. As they all seem to have collar stiffener pockets in them, there is no way to turn them. Sadly for him,.... but not for me.

I have used them for allsorts of stuff in the past including bunting. My grand plan has always involved them in a quilt. Since Thing 1's arrival the idea of a quilt for him sewn from his Dad's shirts (seeing as they are a pretty defining part of him) has tickled my heirloom, romantic family fancy. Gotta leave a girl who lives in a house full of boys stuff some romantic space! And now there is Thing 2 too and they share a room, it seems a little unfair for there only to be one.

 So you have sewn many quilts before, I hear you ask. Well, now you come to mention it, the answer is yes.... two. Both started back when I was at school (don't ask how long ago that is), one finished then, one finished last year. So you see, I am predestined to whip up two quilts.

My original plan was to just hand the quilts to my Mum and ask her to do it. But then I thought it would be a much better plan to get her to teach  me to sew them up. My Mum makes wonderful, bright and cheerful quilts and I would love just to be able to suck up her quilting knowledge without having to bodge a zillion before getting it right. We all know that doesn't work and that you have to practise yourself before you can do it yourself. So I decided that there was no other way that to get stuck in.

I was given this lovely book

 by a great friend. Little did she know that is would finally be the kick in the **** to get this project going.

So the book, the shirts and I (and all of the other luggage) went to my parents and my Mum and I started on the my version of Candy Coated.

Being used to a quick fix (boy's pyjamas being my forte), I am now plugging away at cutting out and pinning. A few blocks have been sewn, but it sure feels like a lot of work for little progress.


Don't hold your breath on this one. It might take another 10 years before even one of these guys ends up on a bed.

Fashion Revolution Day 2014

..für uns ein Anlass, nachzudenken!

Wir erinnern uns alle an die Bilder von Bangladesch, wo bei dem Einsturz eines Hochhauses mehr als 1000 Menschen starben. In dem Gebäude waren mehrere tausend  Textilfabriken untergebracht, in denen auch billig für den westlichen Markt produziert wurde. Die Fotos von Verschütteten schwirren mir noch im Kopf. Ebenso zeitnahe Berichte über die Arbeitsbedingungen der Näher(innen). Sie schlafen neben ihren Nähmaschinen und arbeiten für einen Hungerlohn.

Die Arbeitsbedingungen der Näher(innen) sowie die fehlenden Arbeitsschutz- und Arbeitszeitregelungen hinterlassen einen faden Geschmack im Mund.Wenn man einen Top für 1,90€ kaufen kann,aber eine Latte Macchiato mehr als 3,00€ kosten darf, kann es nicht mit rechten Dingen zugehen. Es lohnt sich, einen Blick auf das Etikett der Klamotte zu werfen und unter Umständen doch ein paar Euros mehr zu zahlen. Wir wissen das ganze Thema ist mit Dilemmen gespickt.... billig kaufen = schlechte Bedingungen unterstützen, nicht kaufen = Arbeitsplätze vernichten.... aber für heute reicht ..... 

Billige Kleidung auf Kosten Andere? Nicht mit uns! 

Unser Motto ist seit langem lieber „selfmade“ als das Übliche von der Stange. Wir setzen ein Zeichen und morgen könnt Ihr uns „Inside Out“ sehen.

Da unser Blog noch etwas in den Kinderschuhen steckt, freut Euch auf mehrere Upcycling, Downsizing und Selfmade Projekte von uns. Ihr werdet staunen, was man so alles aus alten Hemden, Shirts und Hosen zaubern kann...