Sewing Green had me hooked at the cover. I am a big fan of Betz White’s Warm Fuzzies so I was delighted to see more of her felted jersey project in this book. Sewing green steps beyond the basic up-cycle and includes remaking with table cloths and shirts, repurposing with place mats and using some unconventional materials like tyvek (builder’s wrap) and juice pouches and considering buying sustainably produced materials.

Format:
The book starts by outlining the principles of Sewing Green and then follows up with 25 projects. The projects are peppered with tales of eco-innovators and resource saving tips. Sewing green finishes with a short chapter of techniques, materials and resources.

What I like:
The felted wool jersey projects are appealing yet again. The Eco-Innovators were also intriguing and have me considering the world of swap-o- ramarama.


What I’d pass on:
The only parts I think I would pass on are those that require materials that I can’t readily find in NZ. The organic cotton stretch velour backing in on the Cashmere Lux Throw isn’t easy to find in NZ (global fabrics came to the rescue there) and I would be sucking back the Ribenna’s forever and a day to get enough to make the car sunshade. Further to that, I’m not sure anyone can readily find Marrimekko Placemats going spare.

The chapter of techniques is relatively sparse, making this book better suited to those who are already confident sewers.


What I’d Like to try:
I’ve already started cutting out leaves for the Felted Foliage Scarf. My sister and I have picked out the colours for her Sweater Slippers. So I can safely say that there are a number of projects in Sewing Green that I will be getting stuck into.

Who I’d recommend it to:
I would recommend the book to sewers who have already fallen for the world of felted jersey goodness presented in Betz’s first book. The book is also a great addition for the confident sewer who is looking to add some imagination to the material that they use in their every day sewing.

For more information you can find Betz's website with her blog, books and patterns here

When it comes to craft for public transport, felt generally does it for me. When it comes to Christmas crafts with felt, you really can't go past Jenny B Harris over at Allsorts. Her annual series of Christmas blogs is legendary. She has had me yearning for a white Christmas tree for years now. These trees above use her Festive Felt Trees pattern (and it's free!). If you are planning to make more than one, I'd suggest you cut them all out at once so that the pieces nest together nicely when you are laying them out on the fabric.

I’ve put the Bah Humbug away and am getting onto the swing of preparations. First up are these embroidered birds that I have made for the Kiwi Ornament Swap. They have been based on the garland pattern from Scandinavian Needlework.


I have taken a few liberties with their backs as I was short of wool felt. Instead of an unstitched white backing, they have swatches of red and white fabric to cover my embroidery. I hadn’t anticipated the pink tones from our summer sun shining through and maybe next time would go with a cream on cream background. The project was just the right size for my daily commute and I was so carried away that I used every inch of the felt that I had to make extra birds for myself and a garland to send to some friends overseas.

For more Christmas Swapping, check out the flickr pool over here.

I grew more and more attached to this blanket each time I finished it. It was a lesson in taking my time and giving a project some space. I started making it for a friend who was moving into a new house in August 2009. The colours were chosen to fit the new house. Only it was delivered, reluctantly, a year later.

The pattern is based on the Picnic Blanket in Warm Fuzzies by Betz White. I counted up and there are over 19 different black, white and grey jerseys in there. I had an enjoyable afternoon cutting it all out, sometime in July last year.

The first time I finished it, in November 2009, there was some very careful measuring and squaring up before I attached the blanket ribbon. I have fond memories of blanket ribbon. I’m sure given a chance all children would run the silky edges of blankets through their fingers or along their top lip. Most of my friends had favourite blankets with the ribbon almost worn out. In this case I couldn’t find any black ribbon so settled for French Navy. I convinced myself that you couldn’t tell.


A few days after sewing it on, I proudly showed my mum who exclaimed “But it’s blue!” That was the prompt end of that finish. There was some unpicking and some muttering under breath before the blanket was left unfinished again. It was just as well as I had some teething problems with sewing the woven edging onto the stretch blanket.

I though about silver grosgrain, but nothing further came of that. In fact, I really didn’t want to go near it again. It was that defeating.

The blanket stayed unfinished for another year, until I spied the tomato ties. I had picked up a roll of merino ribbing at the op shop to tie my tomatoes with. When cleaning up my sewing space I discovered that the ribbing was perfect for stitching too.

I love the way the blanket stretches around you when it wraps you up. I keep finding different textures amongst the soft woollens. It’s like a very large woollen hug. I have been assured that it is at home in its new location. I hope it finds some new people to hug there too.

Under no circumstances should purple tractors be worn as serious attire. Occasionally you find some gems in the opp shops that have you puzzling “Why?”

I’ve had some time to think about it but still can’t think of what grown woman would want to wear a lilac jersey dotted with purple tractors. The closest I can get is a kindergarten teacher might wear one at a stretch to appeal to both the tractor and purple loving kids at the same time.

This little jersey was swiftly repurposed into two new hot water bottle covers. While I still don’t know why, at least my toes are warm.

note- Just fixed the title. Kicking myself for publishing with typo. Grrr. Bad Typist!

I’ve been thinking about keeping warm and making a hot water bottle cover. When I found some black wool bouclé in my stash I thought I had hit the jackpot. It looked good too. I carefully modelled it on my daughter’s hot water bottle (hottie) just to be sure.


However, did you know that hotties come in slightly different sizes? I didn’t until I tried to post the cover and a new hottie off to my sister. Next time, I’ll make the cover out of something with a little stretch. For now, my sister will just have to be on the look out for a hottie that fits.