Rag or treasure

Hello lovely followers and visitors,

After reading Jacquie's blog (Bunny Mummy) the other day about the making of her patchwork peg bag - and the brilliant tutorial (that can be found here) -

I felt inspired to rummage through

my own stashed fabric remnants - its large because I keep very small pieces. 

Delving into it is like jumping into history.

Now you may have noticed if you know me well that i keep talking about yellow...

Sunshiney, buttery yellow...

So...

I was immediately drawn to little fragments of yellow, excitedly pulling them out and piling them atop my ironing board

As I'm all fired up from the Sew-a-long perhaps I could make a patchwork skirt...

...and then I searched the larger folded remnants in my cupboard

...and rediscovered this drawstring bag.

My darling Mum made this for me when I started school.

Perhaps it was for hanging plimsolls (similar to sneakers) or similar on my peg.

I LOVE this fabric and have done so since I was five.

Well this bag has sure seen some use and it's been around the world twice!

In New Zealand mum was very involved in 

Guiding - Brown Owl, Captain, District Commissioner....

- for about 21 years.

During this time mum used the bag countless times for Pack Holidays, Guide camps, leader's camps and trainings... you get the idea.

See, it's got my name beautifully embroidered in chain stitch and also mum's camp name in marker pen (latter not in this pic).

I started unpicking...

with my trusty 'quick unpick'.

I was a little excited... the bag is rather robust, it would have to be, it's 50 years old!

The cotton fabric is thick...I dared to hope it is double layered.

Let's see...

Oh, oh, oh lookie see... it is!

Mum gave me the bag after she left Guiding as I couldn't bear for it to be thrown out.

I know, I know, I'm very sentimental - you don't need to tell me :-)

The fabric is very worn in places - not surprising really!

The sewing thread is cotton and it's thick...

The top thread is the older one and the lower is hand quilting thread.

 Uh-oh, my name is sewn through both layers... decisions, decisions... 

I'm favouring keeping that bit intact.

Ok, so now it's completely unpicked (apart from the embroidery) and it's one large piece of fabric.

Dearest Mum, you made a wonderful job of making this into a bag for me all those years ago :-)

I cannot bring myself to use this 'precious to me' fabric in a patchwork skirt

...it needs to revel in its own loveliness...

Perhaps it shall become a small cushion cover for our bedroom where it's less likely to fade quickly.

I shall take my time and dwell upon it for a while, but not another 50 years.

Ok, 

so some people will think of this as a rag 

and me as crazy...

...too bad!..

I'm delighted that I can make use of this preciously sentimental, sunshiney treasure.

What do you think...

rag or treasure?

Ttfn xx

My Sew-a-long skirt

Hello lovelies,

I've made it here at last.  I have written umpteen posts in my head but that doesn't get them into the blogosphere does it?  It's a long story, so if you don't mind I'll omit it.

Today I'm linking up with Lazy Daisy Jones and the other participants for the big reveal of our Sew-a-long of McCalls pattern 3341.

Daisy has been giving brilliant tutorials for those who need it and has made five or six versions of the skirt herself.

It's a long time since I sewed a garment for myself and once I got into it I found I was enjoying it. 

Thank you very much Daisy for organising and putting so much time and effort into the sew-a-long :-)

As my skirt is black there isn't much to see so I hung it on my dresser for additional interest

Ta dah...!

Thank you so much for all your comments :-) they really make my day... bless you all.

Ttfn xx