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APRIL BRING SHOWERS, SO MAY FLOWERS

Hello there...well, since my last post there has been plenty going on...the weather has much improved, we've had a Royal Wedding and the Learn It Stitch It Studio has been very busy...

Here is a card I made for our Wednesday Boys Night stalwart Tim, on his Birthday earlier this month...putting my free-motion applique skills to good use again. The design is sporting a wonderful coat that Tim is so close to finishing...its been made with much precision and attention to detail, plus Tim has chosen a great material colour. I'll post a picture of the finished coat next time.

Gabe has found a recent love of making cushions...here is one of two he made recently for his two cats...this is a very content Spaghetti enjoying his. Both upcycled from two old bed pillows and covered with a really lovely upholstery fabric.

Staying with Gabe...he took inspiration from Katie giving her Mother-in-Law a gift of time, to surprise his Wife Louise. So the Learn It Stitch It Studio was host to its very first Date Day...Louise was suitably surprised as Gabe hadn't said anything and even managed to sneak some material into the Studio with him too. Louise had her very first sewing machine experience and ended the session having made herself a beautiful cross-body bag - yes indeed, another bag. Gabe started making his Children some early present sacks for Christmas...as you can see, he took the cutting of his material very seriously!

Quite a few lovely coats and jackets have left the studio recently...and I wanted to quickly show that sometimes they don't need to be overly complicated. Here is me sporting one of my creations...a really simply designed linen jacket with no lining and tailored with an interesting shape. Perfect for summer!

You'll of seen from previous posts that I've been self-teaching myself to sew with Leather...I thought I'd share of the process with you...I've had to use a machine with plenty of horsepower...cue this rather charming Singer and a basic set of tools...an ordinary hammer, some quilting clips (ordinary pins aren't up to being used with Leather) and some glue...plus some Leather material obviously. The seams are cut, glued and then hammered out.

Pockets are shaped using a lining material.

And instead of using buttons...I've used handbag closures which work incredibly well and look lovely.

Hopefully this inspires some of you to tackle a coat or jacket...and maybe have a go at using Leather yourself. Notice the matching bag I made with the left over material, never one to waste material :)

Here's Michelle sporting a completed 'swing jacket' that she made using a lovely wool-tweed material. It was fully lined and finished with top-stitch detailing.