Sewing Secrets

I am officially one of the worlds worst secret keepers!

How I have managed to keep the following items a

secret over the last few weeks is beyond me. When

I make something for someone I always want

to give it to them immediately  or I accidentally let

slip what it is. This time however I have been strong

even though it has been incredibly hard.

A few times recently in blog posts I have said that I

have been unable to share what I have been making

that week due to it being a present. Thankfully I can

now share with you my makes - which I am incredibly

proud of as these two birthday girls have received their

gifts.

Imogen will be 21 on 23rd June and is incredibly special

to both me and Mr Myasthenia Kid. I discussed with him

months ago what I would like to make for Imogen's birthday

and he was in full agreement. It took me a little while to source

the material as I wanted all kinds of Unicorn fabric but I also

wanted it in Pink and Grey so it wasn’t over the top girly.  

The first item I made was a 20 inch square cushion

cover in a Dresden Plate design

I had a bit of a nightmare with the cushion pad as although

it was sold as a 20 inch cushion pad, it was actually a lot

bigger. I, being a novice and idiot didn’t think to measure

the cushion pad before I started making the cushion. I just

presumed that if something was being sold as a 20 inch

square cushion pad that is exactly what it would be.  So when

I placed the cushion pad inside the cover it looked terrible

- in fact stuffed sausage would be an accurate description.

I was almost in tears as I had worked so hard. So I decided

to measure my completed cushion cover and make my own

cushion pad to fit it. I used my overlocker to do the edges

of the cushion pad and the ladder stitched it closed once I

had placed the stuffing inside. I took apart the bought

cushion pad and ended up with two nice squares of white fabric

and a little excess stuffing.

I also wanted to make Imogen a quilted patchwork Tote bag.

I had already made one as a project in my subscription box

was this exact thing and they had sent out 42 charm squares,

lining and webbing for it to be completed. I had really enjoyed

putting it together and couldn’t get over how much I was using

the bag as it was so roomy yet so light weight. So I made my

own charm squares and bought the webbing online and

knocked up one for Imogen.

I scotch guarded both the cushion and the bag to

help resist stains. Imogen can be a little clumsy the same

way I can. I also gave washing and ironing instructions with

each.

Last week on the spur of the moment I decided to add

something extra to Imogen’s gift. I had been doing some

redwork for my other friends gift but want to change it up a

bit so I found a  unicorn design online, unfortunately there

is no attribution for this work so I can’t give credit to the artist.

I did change it up just slightly by putting a heart around it and

not using the words that had been printed under the design.

Here is the finished item

I have filled the inside of the cushion with a mixture of stuffing

and dried lavender. It smells divine and the whole house smelt

of it for a few hours as I filled several lavender pillows that day.

I again provided washing instructions / care instructions just

in case. Imogen was given her gifts on Saturday. The message

she sent me after opening them was so lovely it made me

cry, then Imogen's mum Helen sent me a message in the

evening which was really lovely too and that made me

cry as well. It’s really nice when you have spent hours

working on an item and the person is overwhelmed by

it and is truly grateful for them.

My oldest Exmouth friend Ellie also has a birthday

in June ( not until the 30th but with works schedules

etc it was difficult to know when I would see her next) .

I gave her the gifts I had made this morning.

This is a redwork lavender pillow. The redwork design was

free from a site called https://www.birdbraindesigns.net/

which has some really lovely designs on there. I

added my own embellishments to the design and also

added Ellie's initial to make it even more personal.

This has again been filled with stuffing and lavender.

It’s a lovely small size that could be placed under a

pillow or in a drawer to leave the scent of lavender

behind. I have really enjoyed doing the redwork and

have made several more as gifts for people. They take

me several hours to do but I really enjoy sewing them.

The stitches on these and the unicorn cushion are

very basic just a running stitch, back stitch and french

knot are all that are needed to create something

that can look quite stunning.

The second part of Ellie’s gift had been in the planning

stages for ages. I was scared to start it as it was something

different than I had ever made before. Plus I kept adding

to the level of difficulty. It was the first time I had used the

product Odecoat which ( depending on how much

you use) can make something totally waterproof. I did

enough to make the item water resistant / stain resistant

inside and out.  This was also the first time I had used

my machines embroidery functions, I also used the

memory function. I used an iron on stabiliser as

well and proper embroidery thread. So it was a project of

firsts. The pattern comes from Lucy Brennans

blog / website https://www.charmaboutyou.com/ and

the pattern is the #pieceofmepouch. It’s so stunning

and once I had my head around it not difficult to make.

I also have to say a massive thank you to Lucy who

helped me out when I was being a bit dim and not

understanding the pattern. Lucy is always so encouraging

and supportive, I can’t thank her enough.

This week I also had to make my dads father’s day gift.

This had been rattling around in my brain for weeks. I knew

I wanted to make him something that was special and a one

off but what. I decided after gaining confidence making the

piece of me pouch that I could use aspects of that and make

my dad a bag to carry his (clean and empty) dog poo bags.

I decided that I wanted curved edges on the top, that I

wanted it to be 3D rather than 2D. I wanted a loop on the

back so he could attach it to a belt and I also wanted a

clip on it so that should he not be wearing a belt he could

attach it to his belt loops. It also had to be small

enough that it would impede his walking.

In my mind's eye I could see exactly what I wanted

so last Wednesday morning I sat with an empty bonio

box (dog biscuit) in front of me and made my template.

I used Odecoat again to help make the fabric water resistant

and to make it a bit stiffer. Also when I quilted it, I made the

lines much closer together as I knew this would make it much

more rigid. I am delighted with the way it's turned out.

Unfortunately due to a series of events out of both of

our control I have been unable to give it to him as yet.

I am pretty sure he doesn’t read my blog - mum does

so I will be safe posting it here.

My last make of the week was this Owl stuffed toy

for Jamie, it was his father's day present from the dogs.

I absolutely adore this and it looks so cool on his bed!

So far the dogs have left it alone.

* * *

Health wise I have been up and down. The heat had

been causing a lot more ptosis than normal. I can really

feel the mestinon wearing off after a few hours so I

have had to been really strict with my dosing schedule.

As once I get full blown ptosis it can be difficult to shift.

I managed to have a large abscess develop under my

breast due to the chronic skin condition Hidradenitis

Suppurativa. Tuesday afternoon this decided to erupt

and immediately go into cellulitis. My breast was so

painful I couldn’t wear a bra. Thankfully the antibiotics

had it gone right down within 3 days.

A few days over this last week I have been woken

up in the night in a lot of pain with a headache

( not a migraine) . I managed to work out on Sunday

that it had been due to the position I had been holding

my neck in whilst sewing. This was causing me pain

through my collar bone and deep into the soft tissue of

my neck. This was then causing me to have awful

headaches. I actually got very paranoid that my CSF

leak was back, until Mr Myasthenia Kid pointed out that Leak

headaches don’t start when you are lying down, they start

on sitting up. This headache was with me whatever position

I was in. It was not a leak headache more poor posture

due to the heat making my muscles weaker than normal.

This morning I woke up with a bad pain under my sternum

and a burning feeling in the back of my throat.

I immediately worked out that when I had taken my

4am antibiotic (despite drinking loads) it had become

stuck in my gullet. The tablet had dissolved in the back

of my throat and burnt the tissue. I have been drinking

gaviscon straight from the bottle and drinking only water

to settle it down. It is feeling better than it was but there

is still a burning pain. I have had issues with taking

capsules for years due to problems with my swallowing.

This just highlights again how much weaker this has

become during the heat.

So although it may seem like I must be doing ok because

I have sewn loads don’t let appearances fool you. Everyday

I am on the maximum amount of painkillers I can take as

my back is so awful at the moment I have been having pins

and needles in both legs. I’m either too hot and feeling faint

or feeling cold thanks to my wonky Autonomic nervous

system. I am just determined to do my best every day

and be the best that I can be and let the creative juices

flow. It is what makes me happy. It doesn’t take away

all the shitty  health conditions I am living with.