...what's the time?

Because I save most of my sewing for the weekend I can sometimes get stuck into things and lose track of time - and not least because until tonight I didn't have a way to tell the time in the sewing room. 

But last weekend - when 6:30pm arrived without due warning I decided enough was enough and I pulled out my Trimmings pack. 

I traced numbers the numbers onto visoflix, fused them to the 'trimmimgs' and then I cut them out and fused them on to a piece of cotton/hemp fabric I had in my stash.

 I sewed a running stitch just inside the number to secure it to the background and then again just outside to define them slightly more.

I also added a small spool of thread to the centre of the clock face. The print offered a number of thin lines in one direction and I back-stitched lines perpendicular to make the 'thread'.

All done! I'm pretty happy with it!

...have you pinned the trimming entry of your choice?

Have you visited the Trimmings Competition Pinterest board to vote for the People Choice Award? You can vote for your favourite by repinning from the Competition Board (as I understand it 'likes' and comments don't count).

There is so many wonderful entries - I am always so interested in to how many different kinds of things people can come up with - even with a similar bundle of fabric.  

...cutting it fine - Another Trimmings entry

All the entries in the Umbrella Prints Trimmings Competition entries will be pinned today on the Pinterest board for voting. So after making and submitting my first entry several weeks ago I needed to break out the second packet last night to meet the deadline.

I sat down with a vague idea in my mind for a notebook cover with an included pencil case that I can take with me in the car for when inspiration strikes. I worked it out as I went along, adding some Trimmings to the notebook front and pencil case as I went.

The zipper was bound and extended with some more Trimmings and a tie to wrap it all up was the trimmings from the Trimmings.

Getting some good pictures this morning before work when it is still dark outside was a little challenging but I introduce my Elephant Friend Inspiration Book.

...the trimming of the chair

You can now vote for the winners of the Umbrella Prints Trimmings Competition by repinning from the Pinterest board here

I like to patchwork but I firmly believe that there are some things that shouldn't be made that way. Until recently I thought furniture fitted in that category.

But somewhere between ordering my trimmings pack and it arriving I had an idea that meant I might need to change that opinion and last weekend after a sewing day I was converted.

Meet my new patchwork chair. The chair is patchwork you understand - I don't patchwork in it.

You would have thought that upon embarking on such a chair renovation project I might take a before picture in preparation for a blog before and after profile. Before I started I would have agreed with you. During, I realised I had forgotten. After is all you get.

The 'patches' are the complete set of the trimmings I received in my Umbrella Prints Trimmings Competition pack. The patchwork strips were made from the patches being trimmed to straight and squarish sizes and then some Duck Cotton added to the sides and then trimmed to 5".

The strip was made to length with an addition of a strip between each patch unit. The seat cover is made from Duck Cotton in Natural and there is also an additional layer of white cotton or another to add some bulk and coverage.

I used the existing cover pretty faithfully as a pattern as there was no real need to change the cushions of the chair.

It took about a day over the course of a weekend - with an embarrassingly large amount being devoted to working out all the notches I had made to help the insertion of the side panels on the chair back - even with the help of the pictures I had chosen to take before pulling it all apart.

As I finished putting it all together and admiring the way it fits in the room I couldn't help but think of the old credit card ad that screened in Australia several years ago

Chair - $15 from the opp shop
Trimmings - $10 from Umbrella Prints
3.5m Duck Cloth - $12 on clearance at Spotlight
Zip - $1.49
Lining - $0.50 after Spotlight Voucher

Chair - Priceless

My little secret at the end - the chair pad covering the spring under the cushion was free motion quilted with the name of my blog, Umbrella Prints and Trimmings - unfortunately the latter two were chopped off a little when the front flap was added!