The Best of the Vests

Another mad burst of creativity - all three sewing machines set up on the dining table [so all meals in the kitchen - sorry Bob!] First, a waistcoat for my friend Claire, who is in charge of the Children in Need Spectacular at school today. I made her a spotty waistcoat - but lined it with the fabric I used for her trousers back in June [see here]  That way, it is reversible, and she can always wear it with the trousers if she wants a completely crazy outfit! I also embroidered a "Music Rocks!" patch to go inside.

That's the end of the 10 metres of black jersey which someone was throwing out [and I caught it!] back in 1999! How's that for thrift?

Yesterday afternoon I lengthened a pair of cords for Bob, and took in a pair of my trousers [the diet must be working!] It seems so perverse that all my married life I have been shortening my trousers and lengthening his.

Then I finished off some of the stuff from the Wednesday Sewing Club, ready for the girls' Children In Need Sale. They have prepared aprons, cushion covers, bags and pincushions.

Today - after collecting my new Palin-esque spectacles from Boots, I came home and made some little voile bags to put the button bracelets in.

More thrifting there, the green fabric was originally -I think - a curtain from Marion's conservatory in Norfolk, and the pink ribbon is from a spool somebody gave me a while ago.

I have a sneaky suspicion that this being Leicestershire, it may have come originally from Symington's Corset Factory. It is definitely that shade of pink!

It is so sad that so many of the local clothing manufacturers are no longer in business. Mind you, as a child, I could never understand why such a constricting garment should be called a "Liberty" bodice! Market Harborough claims to be the original home of this product - but they didn't start manufacturing them there till 1908, and they'd been advertised in Scotland years before that. Whatever the derivation of my ribbon, it looks very pretty on the bags!

My other activity today was preparing little Christmas Stockings for the School Christmas Fair next week. They contain small bottles of shampoo or shower gel. Here they are, hanging on my IKEA display trees [Another sale purchase - 10p from their bargain corner]

 

I made thirty and spent ages matching up the various fabrics, so no two stockings are identical. I am not quite sure why I did that, but it was very satisfying!  And I love all the red and green Christmas stuff. Each little stocking has a cotton wall ball in the toe, and another in the top, above the little bottle, to help keep a good shape.

It has been a lovely day - I put jacket potatoes in the oven earlier, for our lunch, and loaded the slow-cooker with a casserole for this evening - and then spent the whole day happily sewing and listening to the radio. It has really relaxed me, which is a good thing! I am made in the image of a Creator God, so I should not be surprised if I enjoy being creative too.

The problem is that whenever I do manage to create something beautiful, I also create an incredible mess as well! The floor is covered with bits of thread, and fabric scraps.

Another linguistic mystery - when Brits say "Vest and Pants" they mean underwear - when Yanks say "Vest and Pants" they mean waistcoat and trousers. As G B Shaw said "two nations divided by a common language"