Autumn Inspiration and Up-cycling Ideas

In terms of inspiration Autumn can be overlooked which is a huge shame!

Because we have to plan and work so far ahead at Hope & Gloria Sewing Clubs once Summer has said "goodbye", I tend to launch straight in to designing and making for Halloween and then Christmas.

I was with a friend earlier last week and she was talking about how much she loves the Autumn and how lovely it is to see all of the Autumn colours - the reds, the golds and the oranges merged with the vibrant evergreens. My Mum is also a huge fan and it's something she has passed on to me.

Whilst walking my dog Elsie earlier this week I noticed all of the gorgeous colours starting to emerge on trees and bushes as well as stunning berries lurking under leaves. It occurred to me that it would be a shame to ignore nature at this beautiful time of the year and so over weekend I decided to devote some time to Autumn and all that it brings before moving on to Halloween preparations.

Inspired by Mother Nature and her Autumn Palette here are a few Autumn sewing ideas that I came up with....

Fabulous Phone Cases Inspired By Autumn

The cases are made from an old woollen sweater that I machine felted. It has been sitting in a box in my workroom for possibly as long as two years waiting to be used. The dark mottled beige is the perfect backdrop for Autumn designs and highlights the autumn colours that I have used.

Machine felting a jumper is the easiest thing to do with an outgrown or preloved woolly. Make sure it is 100% lambswool to get the full felted effect and then throw it in to the washing machine on a hot wash 60 degrees or higher. When it emerges from the machine it will be half the size but ready to use once dry. The felted wool can be cut to shape and has the added bonus of not fraying unlike regular knits.

I have also included a toadstool in my phone case designs - they are cute and colourful and a delight to find when walking in the woods at this time of year. It is easy to see where the inspiration for my latest batch of pincushions came from.

I look forward to sharing a tutorial on how to make these adorable toadstools with you next week.

Happy Autumn Sewing.xx

Happy Mother's Day

Some pretty fabric flowers for a very special day - Happy Mother's Day to all of the briiliant Mum's doing what really is the best job in the world!

Heart "Felt" Sentiments

Happy New Year! This is admittedly somewhat belated but day to day life took over during the lovely Christmas break as it always does with entertaining and visiting family and friends along with keeping my children entertained and happy before their return to school earlier this week.

Many of our Sewing clubs began this week so there has been tonnes of prep for the busy term ahead and now that the weekend has arrived I can finally turn my thoughts to sewing projects for the new year and updating the Hope & Gloria Blog.

Christmas is undoubtedly one of the best sources of inspiration for anyone who loves to craft and sew and each year once all of the decorations have been returned to the loft for the majority of the year I can't help but feel a little sad that it's all over and festive projects will now have to wait until much later in the year.

However, another form of inspiration always comes along at this time of the year to lift spirits in the form of Valentine's Day. Two years ago one of my boys had the starring role of St Valentine in his class assembly at school. It was then that I discovered the story behind the legend of St Valentine. In a nutshell, he was a Roman priest who lived around 270AD. He also practised medicine and was imprisoned for treating Christians as well as performing marriage ceremonies for them. Whilst in prison he healed his jailer's daughter whom he fell in love with just before being executed. It's a poignant story but I have to say it was slightly disconcerting to watch my gorgeous son acting out having his head chopped off!

So in honour of this lovely saint who has been associated with love for many centuries I shall be concentrating on Valentine's inspired projects over the next couple of weeks. The first is a simple padded heart using reverse applique along the lines of the stars that I made for Christmas.

These hearts are a great way to use up any scraps of fabric that you have lying around. As with the Christmas Scandi Stars sew the patterned fabric in place behind the cut out felt heart - you can use running, blanket or backstitch. Then sew the two pieces of felt together with your chosen stitch leaving a hole for filling, and then sew up the remaining gap. I added some bright ribbon to hang and added a button for the finishing touch.

Easy to make and using bright felts and vintage florals these simple felt hearts look great hanging over door handles or on drawers and add a touch of colour to any room on dull Winter days.