Finally got started with that loose pocket I’ve been thinking about for ages.

Designed and cut and measured and started assembling. I got the horizontal seams done today so the structure is all there now. There will be a open pocket space, big enough for a phone, and a small zippered inside pocket for keys. Just the vertical seams left now.

The outer is piece of scrap fabric from the local charity shop. It may have been a small tablecloth in a previous life. The lining is a piece of an old fabric dying experiment that I have inherited.

This is a slow sewing project. Constructed from scratch and hand-stitched. I especially enjoy making tiny little whip stitches to secure a folded edge.

The semiannual crafts festival. I was going to take a half-day at work and come her yesterday to avoid the crowds, but other things turned up, so today it is.

I was also thinking of just skipping it because it’s not like I need more fabric or yarn. But it’s not so much about the buying as it is about inspiration. I come home with one or two purchases, and a dozen photos and notes of things I could try. Sweater design ideas, little things I could sew, or otherwise make, etc.

On the buying side of things, I went in with a plan. I have learned that impulse buying doesn’t work for me. I end up with yarn I don’t know what to do with, or too little yarn for the idea I later come up with, etc. This time I knew I wanted material for a thick, warm, green sweater or cardigan, and this one jersey fabric that I have been looking at for years now because it is so lovely. I don’t know what or when I will use it, but the thought of the seller maybe discontinuing this fabric without me having a piece of it was not making me happy at all, so now I have a piece of it.

Fixed the chest. It turned out that Eric had already done one round of fixing years before: there were strips of wood attached along the long edges to keep the bottom in place. Now there are similar strips on the short edges, so unless and until the bottom actually cracks under pressure, it should stay in place.

Then I had to fit all the fabric into the chest again. Plus a bit more, because I had one or two recently bought pieces that I hadn’t packed away yet. It was stuffed to the brim before. How will it all fit?

I threw out a very few pieces, and moved scraps that were only good for rags into a separate rag bag. (You never know when you need a soft fabric rag for polishing something.) Re-folded much of the rest into flatter, wider shapes, and somehow managed to fit it all in there again.

Linens and solid woven cottons on the left.

Jerseys and printed cottons next to those.

Upholstery fabric and entire garments (shirts and trousers in good fabrics).

Wools, furs, and shiny fabrics.

Bags of small scraps on top of everything.

I own pieces of actual rabbit fur. Whatever will I use them for? No idea, but they don’t deserve to be thrown away, that’s for sure.

My sketch for this project had rough, thick lines for the oval shapes, and I wanted to recreate those in embroidery. Paper string, maybe, or a thin ribbon, couched. That’s where I paused at the last embroidery club meeting.

In the intervening two weeks, I had completely forgotten this plan, and was only reminded of it when I took out and unfolded the fabric. I did not remember it at all when packing my backpack this morning. Grabbed the embroidery project bag and that was that. No paper string.

Not willing to compromise with my vision, and also not interested in making up some random time-filler task for today, I improvised. Went on a material hunt through the community centre. Found a crumpled-up paper bag. Cut off a thin strip, coloured it mostly-black with an ordinary pen, and twisted it into my own black paper string. Not as durable as the store-bought stuff, but it doesn’t need to hold up to anything, so it’s all good.

All I wanted was to find some fabric scraps for sewing a small loose pocket.

As I lifted out a stack of fabric from my fabric chest, I realised that the bottom was this close to falling out. The chest is about thirty years old and somewhat cheaply made to begin with. The fact that I sometimes press the lid down to compress the contents hasn’t helped its structural integrity. The bottom is a thin sheet of plywood, held in place by grooves in the sides. Pressure has made it bend, and it’s really not staying in those grooves any more.

I have my sewing materials now, but I also have a living room corner heaped with fabric, and a DIY project waiting for me.

Posting this with a slight delay. Now that Ingrid’s birthday has passed, I can share pictures of a pair of socks I made as a gift for her. These are the softest, fuzziest thing I have ever knit. Merino sock yarn with pink and blue speckles, paired with a chunky white mohair. I want to say that they feel like a cloud, but clouds are notoriously cold and wet. They feel like a cloud should feel?

Six colours is too much. Remove almost any one of them, and suddenly the rest cohere, where before they never quite fit together in my eyes.

Take away the sharp white, and now there’s a set with a 1970s vibe.

Take away the dark grey for a lighter, brighter version of the above.

Take away the mustard yellow, and now it’s red tones combined with a greyscale.

Take away the pink, and the red and mustard make up a muted pair, with a greyscale in the background again.

The white, I think, is the odd one out – sharp and bright compared to all the other yarns. Plus it’s going to be the easiest one to use in some other project in the future.

This yarn will be a sweater. A striped one, I’m pretty sure. But the rest is not as obvious.

Held singly, or double? It would be nice to knit something that goes fast, when my other project is a slow one – thin yarn, large garment. But do I like the look and feel of this yarn when held double? Hmm.

Plain stripes? Marled? Stripes with a garter ridge in between? Garter ridges all the way? Stripes combined with ribbing?

Too much freedom.

The embroidery club isn’t just a group of embroidering together, with chatting and fika.

We have themed projects, we learn new stitches together, we arrange workshops.

We also share inspiration and ideas. People bring books, old or new, for others to browse. Embroidery books, of course, but also for example books on sewing with African printed fabrics. We share tips about ongoing and coming exhibitions and events. We show off older works.

I have been thinking of sewing a loose pocket or a small everyday handbag, and mentioned it two weeks ago. Another member said she’d made several. Yesterday she brought a bunch of them along and showed them to the rest of us. The design with a single band of fabric binding the sides together and also making up the shoulder strap seems like a good one.

Finished the rectangle shapes during today’s embroidery club meeting. I’m glad I didn’t use appliqué to make them. Stitching gave me a lot more to play with: stitch length, direction, density.