A welcome return

The group returned on a gloriously hot and sunny day to the sounds of Magic on our faithful radio.
Jean brought in another round of delicious fairy cakes, Val donated a box of York fruits, biscuits were in abundance and so away we went!

Homemade cakes and treats brought in by members

The Patchwork Corner!

Here are more examples of the work completed this week by our cross-stitch and patchwork members.

Patchwork by Rosemary

Patchwork by Valerie

'Pour A Cup of Kindness' by Valerie

Patchwork by Jean

Jean decided to turn her nimble hands to crochet in a lovely blue yarn, while Val pattern cut a summer blouse. Rosemary made a start sewing a shirt-dress and Vicky tackled a Simplicity vintage dress in replica 1940's jersey print (more on that next week). Parsis joined us later for a spot of pattern-cutting, while yours truly ran up a New Look shift dress. Pictures of finished garments to come next week!

Jean crocheting a baby blanket

You may remember, Marilyn began cutting the pattern for Simplicity 2588 in Amy Butler fabric.
Well, she returned this week, relaxed and smiling after her Jamaican holiday with her work so far.
After constructing the bodice, she completed the skirt with pleats and attached both together. Not yet finished but, once the zip has gone in and it's had a few 'nips and tucks' its clear this dress is going to be something very special.

Simplicity 2588 in construction by Marilyn

'Dolly Mix' Liz once again astounded the group in completing a skirt, in what has to be the fastest recorded time ever at CSKG - one hour! Remember the 3-hour top she made a few weeks ago?
Well, she decided to make a skirt to go with it. After discovering she did not have enough fabric to make the Simplicity 4095 skirt, she instead did a 'free cut' and fashioned her own skirt - and it's fabulous!

Liz in her 'one hour' skirt!

Catford South Sewing & Knitting Group is completely FREE of charge, thanks to Lewisham Council. Use it or lose it.

Alert! Blackheath Library Textile Project

On behalf of Pennie, the organiser of the Blackheath Library Textile project, if you are interested in working on this large hanging for the new library in Blackheath, a meeting will be held with the designer, Amanda, on Thursday 31st May, 2 pm in the Old Bakehouse, SE3.
Discussion will include the design, how to create it and timeframes. So if you are good at embroidery, applique, cross-stich or any other techniques this will certainly be the project for you. Enjoy!

More details here.

The Old Bakehouse, Located at the rear Of Age Exchange Reminiscense Centre, Blackheath Grove, Blackheath, London, SE3 0AU. The meeting to discuss the Blackheath Library Textile hanging will be held here at 2pm on Thursday 31st May 2012.

Busy!

Sorry for the late post, RK was enjoying the sunshine far too much!
The session before our usual 3rd week closing was the busiest so far - nine lovely ladies turned up and many projects were made. It was truly fantastic.
All tables were occupied, as you'll see from the pics below, with Rosemary and Parsis taking advantage of the double width tables to pattern cut.

A busy day at the tables! 

Rosemary and Parsis pattern-cut in the sunshine

Marianna brought in the most darling skirt she'd been working on for her daughter (see below). Traced out of BurdaStyle Magazine May edition she said it was straight-forward. The piping and covered button detail on the pockets make the skirt and the enviable top-stitching (no wobbles) is a delight to behold.

 Girls bow skirt - Made by Marianna
Burdastyle 05/2012

Pocket, piping and button detail. 

Delphina completed McCalls 6319 in a soft, pink jersey. The asymmetrical neckline gives it a nice '80's feel as does the shoulder draping. She gave it an 'easy' rating and will be making another so watch this space!

McCalls 6319 - Made by Delphina in pink jersey

Our newly resident cross-stitch corner worked merrily on their projects and Jean, who is getting us all fat on delicious homemade fairy cakes, came up with another stunning Diamond Jubilee tribute.

A red, white and blue cushion cover cross-stitched and patch-worked by hand in under a week.

Jean triumphs again with a Diamond-Jubilee themed cushion cover

cross-stitched and patch-worked by hand.

This group is looking for even more members - so come on, join us! Come for one hour or the whole session, whatever your level, provided you can work happily on your own we'd love to see you.

Catford South Sewing & Knitting Group is completely FREE of charge, thanks to Lewisham Council. Use it or lose it.

Menagerie of patchwork

Wow! We had a LOT of people in today. Maybe it's the rain, maybe our posters have finally impinged on people consciousness but for the first time RK had to trot out for another pint of milk -meeow!

Last week we were joined by one patchwork quilter, this week three came along. They attend different quilting groups in Lewisham but it was an absolute pleasure to see their work.

Cube effect patchwork by Joan

The Queen's Diamond Jubilee-themed patchwork by Jean

Crazy-patchwork by Val

In addition to our three patchworkers, 'Dolly Mix Dolls' Liz and Anne came along but this time made clothes of the larger, adult, variety.

Simplicity 4095 whipped up by 'Dolly Mix Dolls' Liz in 3 hours

Vicky finished her Miz Mozelle jersey dress with the Peter pan collar and keyhole design and brought it in to show the group. And it's another beauty. Very light, feminine and easy-to-wear. Vicky said the instructions were a breeze and this pattern designer was well worth a look. As is her new find Victory patterns, a Canadian company who design one-off garments with some nice detail touches. 

Vicky's 'Miz Mozelle' jersey dress with keyhole design

'Ava' pattern by Victory Patterns, only CAD $9.95 (about £6.00)

PDF download

Vicky also brought in the most marvellous sewing book, 'Famous Frocks', which she managed to pick-up second hand and in prime condition. It contains details, and some actual patterns, of some of the most famous dresses ever worn by Audrey Hepburn, Diana Ross, Marilyn Monroe and Jackie Onassis.
A really lovely book to draw inspiration from, or if you just really like vintage. You can still buy it in hardback on Amazon and in other places for around £10 and RK says, buy it now before it goes out of print. Then you'll pay through the nose and feel very unhappy that you missed out.

RK is busily working on a McCalls number, which I'll hopefully reveal 'soon'. Either this kitty is turning into a tub-o-lard or McCalls are adding no ease to their patterns, The usual size 10 I cut is far too small - meeow, scratch, fizz!! So the skirt section which is trying to cover my butt is straining at the seams. Guess I'll be cutting that out again.....

Until next time!
RKx

Shorts, skirts and Simplicity

Jaws eat your heart out

Marianna's choice of fabric for her son's holiday shorts was so fabulous, I had to show you guys. RK has a feeling the other boys won't mess with him when they see these sharp-toothed fishes jumping out at them! smile

A drizzly Saturday saw a good turnout at the group; sewists, knitters and (new addition) patchwork quilters all joined in.

Simplicity 2588 + Amy Butler fabric

Marilyn decided that five New Look skirts were enough for her Jamaica holiday and started on Simplicity 2588. The Amy Butler fabric, bought from HobbyCraft, is a heavy cotton summer print and perfect for this prom style dress. At £13.99 a metre, not the cheapest fabric but worth every penny for the quality. If you are going to make a complex dress and have it as a wardrobe staple, sometimes you have to blow the budget. Stay tuned for the finished creation.

Catford South Sewing & Knitting Group is completely FREE of charge, thanks to Lewisham Council. Use it or lose it.

We're on Burda!

After many years purring over Burdastyle.com and seeing what other sewists have to offer, Red Kitty decided to 'represent Catford' and create a page for the group. And here we are!

http://www.burdastyle.com/profiles/catfordsewing/my_activity

Some of the groups best creations are posted and early reviews are really positive. It's such a pleasure to show the garments to a truly worldwide audience. And, if you see your creation up there, you can say, 'Gosh, I made that...' smile.

Catford South Sewing & Knitting Group is completely FREE of charge, thanks to Lewisham Council. Use it or lose it.

Voila! One new sewing machine.

Elna 2600, our 'anyone can use it' machine

And so it came to be that the funding finally came through from Lewisham Council to purchase a sewing machine for the group. The council agreed to the original proposal, where a sewing machine should be provided for someone who doesn't have their own machine or cannot lift a machine.
So if you've wanted to join our group but didn't have a machine of your own, now you can join in!

And where better than to buy a new sewing machine for use by Lewisham residents? Well, Deptford Sewing Machines of course! RK took a visit to the 30+ year old family-owned shop on Deptford High Street and was warmly greeted by the owner Tony.
He took me through many different options; mechanical, computerised - both! And after a dizzying array of machines were presented,  I decided on an Elna 2600. I took the view that an occasional sewist joining the group would appreciate a simple-to-use mechanical machine and this one fit the bill nicely. Smooth stitching, lots of interchangeable feet, drop-in bobbin and solid metal case, all for the princely sum of £170.

Deptford Sewing Machine Centre

Tony, owner of 'Deptford Sewing Machine Centre'

In addition to selling the latest (and also vintage) sewing machines, overlockers and accessories, Deptford Sewing Machine Centre also service machines, starting from £40. So if your old Singer hasn't worked for years or the foot pedal is busted on your Brother, why not ask Tony and the team to quote you for a repair? Yes, sometimes buying a new machine is a more sensible option than repairing an old one, but if you've had many years out of your old machine, it's a workhorse and the problem is small, it won't hurt to get a price. Costs nothing to ask.  

And if you don't want a new fangled machine, don't be pressured into buying one.

Our lovely 'community machine' as we should probably call it, is raring to go, so don't be shy, come down and join the fun with us at St Laurence Centre!