Done and Dusted!

The deadline for shipping for my first IG swap has arrived! Well the deadline for international shipping at least, so I can share at last the final contents of the package currently winging its way to my partner.

You have already seen

the Kilt Pin Brooch and the

Thistle-like linen pouch

My main project took a bit more effort mostly, it has to be said by my son!

My final make was this Lauren bag from the book, Making Vintage Accessories by Emma Brennan. I love the projects in this book and was looking forward to tackling a new one to me, but all the patterns in the book need to be increased before you can use them. It is the only drawback in an otherwise excellent book.

This was where said son came in. Calling in the odd favour or two, I asked him to photocopy the patterns for me, which he duly did. However, when I called in to collect them he discovered that whilst he had retrieved the photocopies from the library copier he had left the book behind! Well a pattern is all very well, but it helps to have the instructions to go with it :)

When he called into the library to try and retrieve the book, he discovered that one of the librarians had been so taken with the book that they had built an entire display around it, which he was about to ruin by removing the main item! Cue one rather sheepish son :)

Still the book and the pattern were finally reunited and I got cracking on the bag.

The swap is based on the Outlander books by Diana Gabaldon and was timed to coincide with the release of the new TV series based on the books. The original scenes in the book, upon which this first series is based, are set in the 1940's just after the end of WWII, so this bag based upon an 1940's pattern seemed like the perfect make for my (very silent!) swap partner.

The linen for the flap was brought back from Latvia, and the wool for the main body was a lucky find in a scrap bag of fabrics bought many moons ago. The satin for the pleated front was another lucky find in my stash, but I have no idea what it was originally bought for. I am sure I had something specific in mind at the time :)

I have been hoarding this Flea Market Fancy by Denyse Schmidt since buying it in a sale over a year ago, so thought it would be the ideal lining to brighten up the very muted palette of the bag exterior.

I am thrilled with how this bag turned out and delighted to have another finish done and dusted, and a new experience to boot, it is all good!

Linking up to Crazy Mom Quilts

Sew the Library at Weekend Doings
    

Crafting Away

Last month I signed up for my first IG swap, the #outlandercraftswap. The swappers are a bunch of very talented and highly diverse crafters, so it has been great fun following all of the makes that are being crafted.

Having been a big fan of the Outlander books for several years and now (at long last!) able to watch the TV series on Amazon Prime, I have definitely been inspired to stretch my crafting muscles :)

So far, I have completed two of my planned projects for the swap.

First up,

A purple linen Dumpling pouch (free pattern available here) I love making these pouches and thought that the fabric pattern was almost thistle-like so fitted the Scottish theme of the book. That may just be me invoking artistic licence though :)

My second project definitely adheres to the Scottish theme, what could be more Scottish than kilt pins and tartan ?? You can no doubt see why I was drawn to this swap :)

The main male character in the book is, Jamie Fraser, so when I found Fraser tartan ribbon at EllieMagpie I knew that I needed to buy some! Naturally, being mostly set in the Highlands of Scotland in 1743, nearly all of the main characters sport kilts, so the kilt pin was a no-brainer too:) I am willing to admit to a bit of bias here, but I think a man in a kilt is a hard sight to beat! Sorry, I digress!!

I had seen something similar to the book page charm in a jewellery magazine a couple of years ago and had always wanted to give it a go. Not wanting to rip up my own well-thumbed copies of the Outlander books, I was delighted when I came across a copy of one of the books in the series in a secondhand book shop in France recently, which I had no compunction about tearing apart.


Some appropriate charms from my favourite charm seller on Etsy, Nicole de Bruin and I was all set.

I am delighted with how the brooch turned out and hope that my swap partner is delighted too, although she has been worryingly quiet throughout the swap, so perhaps she is not quite as pleased as I am!

One more project to go and my swap package should be ready to send out.

Linking up to  Crazy Mom Quilts

New to Me in March

Welcome to another round up of those activities that you have tried for the first time this month.

It seems to me like these monthly Link Parties come around quicker every month, but that might just be a sign of advancing age :)

New to Me activities have been thin on the ground this month, but I have managed to sign up for my first ever IG swap.

Here's my mosaic to prove it!

The #outlandercraftswap is for fans of the Outlander books by Diana Gabaldon, and was open to crafters of all varieties, so it is already proving to be great fun. The TV series of the first book, which seems to have already been shown everywhere except the UK, is due to air on Amazon Prime tomorrow (Thursday 26th) so that will be another first for me too. The first 8 hours of the series will be shown on Thursday, apparently, and then the subsequent episodes aired weekly thereafter. An 8 hour TV stint would be another first, but I think that is a step too far no matter how good the adaptation is said to be  :)

My second New to Me activity couldn't have been more different, as we ticked off another New to Me destination earlier this month, when the family travelled to Bruges for the weekend to celebrate my husband's birthday.

The city was beautiful and we all had a wonderful time, but I will tell you all about that in another post :)

So, that's my New to Me activities this month, now it is your turn to share yours. As ever please help to spread the word by linking back to this post in your post and/or adding the blog button to your sidebar.

Check out the other links too and, maybe, leave an encouraging comment along the way. The emphasis of this link party is to celebrate the trying of something new, whether it works out exactly as planned or not, so a little encouragement here and there would not go amiss! 

The link will remain open until 23.59GMT on March 31st, so you have some time to try something new and link up and join the party :)

An InLinkz Link-up

Don't forget there is still time too, to link up to this month's Ho, Ho, Ho and on We Sew Link Party over at Wonky Patchwork

There is 1m of this lovely fabric up for grabs for one lucky Ho,Ho, Ho-er 

courtesy of the lovely Alexie at Patchwork Elephant