Denim On the Go

As I travel around london, I often spot denim delights, two good examples of which you can see above.

All Bagged Up

I recently made this bag for a friend, it's a copy of her favourite handbag but given my denim patchwork treatment! I think she likes it! Hooray!

Letter-retrospect or Lettrospect!

….more bags from my ABC series….

There's Gonna be a Jumble in the Jungle!

I'm still working on miniature patchwork - getting to grips with new techniques and battling it out with unruly sewing machines! Tomorrow I go to a jumble sale, which I'm very excited about and also a bit nervous too. Excited because I haven't been to a jumble sale for months (years?) and nervous incase I will be disappointed. Ho hum only time will tell, maybe I will report back to you on events!

Undercover Kindle

Of course I had to try out the interfacing technique using denim! 

I got this little Kindle for Christmas and thought I'd make a cover to protect it from the daily battering it has been receiving on my commute. It's a snug fit made snugger by the big snaps/poppers (thanks Maggie!). I'll try a zip closing next time………. 

98,99……….100!!!!!!

I finally completed the last block of the crazy patchwork quilt that I started many moons ago, one hundred in all - phew! Next stage - piecing them together ha ha!

Crazy Raving

My pile of crazy patchwork blocks is steadily growing, 45 so far......I'm aiming to make 100! The second photo shows the reverse of a block, I quite like the pattern that the stitching makes as I pootle along, crazy on the back as well as the front! 

4 Squared

Here's a selection of crazy patchwork squares that I have been working on this week.

Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Pepper

I-unpicked-some-denim-jean-waistbands-with-my-nifty-little-quick-un-pick.

Yes, I know the words do not all begin with the same letter! But hey, I enjoyed stringing them together! Sorry Miss Squires (My secondary school English teacher).

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Gotta Pick A Pocket Or Two!

I thought I'd tack together this small collection of change pockets, not sure what I'll do with them next though!

Patch It Up

I decided to make a bigger square of denim patchwork than the previous piece. This time I decided to use the 'chain piecing' method of joining, it's a quicker way of stitching together blocks than having to stop and start your machine between seams. 

Here I've joined together paired strips.....

Then the strips were joined together....

  Here is the final piece about to have it's seams pressed open.

  I chose this patchwork cotton print to back and bind the edges of the quilt.

Finished!

Square Deal

This week I started rummaging through my piles of denim and scrap bags. I've been holding on to these pieces for an age knowing that one day their time would come. That time is now because I feel the urge to make the set of denim quilts that has been lurking in my imagination for a while. Now where are my stitch rippers???......

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Riveting Stuff!

 In my studio I have piles of old denim jeans at various stages of being deconstructed. One particular pile has remained untouched for years due to the stubborn rivets that no sewing machine needle could go through! I thought if I could remove them I would be able to use every section of jeans without having to discard any part.

So I started by using a flat head screw driver together with pliers, but no amount of tapping, pulling or gripping would make them budge.  The Other Half suggested drilling through the rivets, so I called on the help of Graham who has a workshop not far from my studio. He has a pillar drill which he used to drill through the pesky rivets! You can see some of the remains above. 

So Graham drilled holes through the rivets, then I yanked them out using the nail puller tool (on the left of the picture above). After experimenting I realised that I could remove them without using the drill. I used the screw driver to prise a small space between the upper rivet and the denim, leaving enough of a gap to enable the nail puller to grip around the underside rivet. Then I either twisted or snapped off the rivet thus releasing the front part - hooray! Thank you Graham for your help. I now have a pile of pockets that I'm imagining as a door or wall hanging, watch this space for further denim developments.......

Cat Meeow!

Here's my latest creation, a cat to add to the menagerie!

Hello Hoodsie

Here's one of my hooded bears, looking a tiny bit shy though!

Denim Daughter

Our daughter Barbara printed this fabulous denim fabric with Jaqui. its going to be transformed into bean bag covers for the her first show Girls + Zines at Tatty Devine on 236 Brick Lane, from 3rd August til 3rd September 2011. Barbara has been creating her own zines for a few years now, but this show is a showcase of girls zines from bedrooms around the UK and the world. It's been quite interesting seeing numerous handmade and decorated envelopes that have been coming through our letter box over the past few weeks, I think we will be in for an interesting show!

Sleep Walking

I dressed a few bears using my denim scraps, that's the long and short of it!

Stud Farm

I made a quilt out of jean waistbands a while back and kept all the 'ends', this is just a few of them. Putting them together like this reminds me of those brilliant American jigsaw puzzles (Springbok) from the 60's depicting collections of objects. I'll have to dig out a few from my puzzle collection to show to you.

Shelf Life

I did a little sorting out the other day...

Bolt(s) From The Blue

Look at what's just arrived - two bolts of new denim courtesy of Earnest Sewn! I'm getting together with my other half as I call him to produce some new bears that will be taking part in a transatlantic adventure. I think I'd better get my scissors sharpened!