Other makes update: August 2026

I’ve still not found a better name for my non-quilt sewing plans for the year, but I have found time to make some stuff since my last update in May, so I’m ok with that.

So let’s take a look shall we:

1 Pouches

Strangely only one completed this time round, and that one was using the flying geese blocks that were in the bag of pre-cut and pre-sewn items donated to my sewing group.

Out of the same scraps I’ve also made a patchwork drawstring bag, a bread cover and a small fabric storage box which didn’t go quite to plan!

So I’m claiming progress in the bags, experimental sewing and practical household items headings for these too because that’s where they fit don’t they?

2. A ‘take to’ sewing case

Still nothing to see here, I’m afraid.

3. A bag or two, or more

The drawstring bag for my bread might not have necessarily been the bag I had in mind for this section, but it’s a bag and it’s made so it absolutely fits here.

4 Experimental sewing and sewing for fun

There’s been some of this recently too - and it’s those scraps again. As I said above the fabric storage basket ended up smaller than I planned and I had to improvise on the lining, but not everything can go right all of the time can it? And to be honest I’m glad I messed up on something like this rather than anything else I’ve made these past few months.

There’s also been an update to dad’s birthday bunting, with a two to replace last year’s one.

5 Patchwork design boards

I haven’t yet put my learnings from the last update into practice, but they’re still on the list - and I’m sure once I start I’ll be wondering what took me so long.

6 Some practical household items

I think I’ve covered this above, multiple times!

7 Wearables

Well who knew that this would be where the most action would take place, certainly not me when I set my goals for the year. But since I last updated you I’ve finished my Sari dressing gown and started and finished in record time a dress. Who even am I?

Seriously though finishing these two items has given me loads more confidence to carry on sewing garments, which is good news as I’ve plenty of plans some of which I may actually start to put into production.

But in the meantime here’s two photos to end this post of my two wearables, and I’m really proud of both of them (especially as neither have fallen apart!)

I’m hoping that the heatwaves are mostly behind us, though I hear another could be on the horizon for early next month, and with the cooler days I’ll be able to spend more time sewing. I could definitely do with that as always I’ve got more plans than I know how to implement, but I’m sure I’m not alone in that.

Getting some interiors inspiration at Snape Maltings

We recently stayed in Suffolk basing ourselves in Framlingham for a couple of nights. We’d stayed relatively close by when we last visited back in 2017 - I’m not sure how it was this long ago though, but it was good to be back and we were keen to take another look around the interiors shop at Snape Maltings.

I remembered it being a large place, full of inspiration - and I wasn’t disappointed.

Since we’ve been back it’s been fun to look back at the 2017 post, and we do indeed now have a mustard velvet sofa and it is not a corner sofa! Sometimes the inspiration sticks, but adapts doesn’t it?

Colourful accessories, including table dressings are clearly a staple for the interiors shop there as there were many to choose from, even crocheted ones. I looked at both of the versions below and admired them, but in reality we have table mats we use all the time, which we love and are a lot plainer than these. While a nicely done table does look good, for me it’s all about the food and how that tastes more so.

I was quite taken with the folded paper heart garland though, but realised that I’d need one much larger than that on display for it to have the same impact in our living space, and also that I could probably make one myself - though I have resisted putting it on my list. My guess is that if I want one badly enough I’ll find the time to make one - or more likely, there’ll be an occasion that I think that’ll be nice to decorate with a heart garland and then I’ll go at it all guns blazing right at the last minute! There’s something about knowing yourself isn’t there?

I also spotted this jigsaw, which if I could tolerate jigsaws would be just the thing. I can’t abide them though so it was safe on the shelves, and I was happy to admire it and the people that spend time putting them together to immediately dismantle them!

There were cushions everywhere, and it’s just as well I don’t need any or otherwise at least one (maybe two) might have made it home with us. Instead I was able to enjoy their wonderfulness.

This urchin jug was harder to resist, but I managed that too. I mean I like a nice jug and this would be a great addition, but I really don’t need any more jugs either for holding liquids or displaying flowers, so it too stayed on the shelf. Though at £40 that was relatively easy to do, but it is gorgeous - just not gorgeous enough for me right now.

The rug area was a real treasure trove of colour and textures, and I do love a rug or two. But with mostly carpet in our new house I’m struggling to make use of and justify keeping the rugs we brought with us.

Side tables also appear to be a thing of mine, some featured in the earlier post too, and since we’ve been here I’ve bought more than we’ve ever had, and I am on the lookout for one to go in between our two sofas, but these weren’t them. Sadly, I love the texture on them.

Like a magpie I was drawn to a brighter corner of the shop. And sigh, these were gorgeous, but phew thankfully I’ve only recently made myself a new dressing gown, otherwise I’d have been seriously tempted.

I do love a mooch around a good interiors shop, and the one at Snape Maltings is most definitely that.

Patchwork 'play' with scraps

Remember that pack of scraps I picked up at my sewing group in June that I thought I could do something with at some point? Well that ‘some point’ turned out to be sooner than I imagined, and I’ve turned the bag of pre-cut and some pre-sewn pieces into quite an array of items.

They’re now a patchwork drawstring bag and a matching piece to wrap the bread in, a pouch (obviously!), an attempt at a fabric storage basket. Plus I’ve some plans for the smaller offcuts from that to become tiny pouches, and the rest has already been cut into the required sizes ready to become future houses in this year’s charity quilts.

And just for the sheer fun of it, I’m calling this my brown bread collection - mainly because these first two items are for just that. I’m still making my sourdough and much prefer to wrap it in a cloth than plastic.

It turned out pretty well I think - and I’ve used some of the ribbon that I picked up in the Gedling scrapstore that same month too.

For the lining of the bag I used an old tea towel, which in case you’re wondering says ‘eat your greens’. It’s been in my craft room for a while, as I knew I’d use it one day even though it was long past its best as an actual tea towel. In fact I had to do some visible mending before I could use it, as I wasn’t keen for the crumbs to fall into the lining - and I like how they’ve turned out too.

The bread cloth uses the same browns as the drawstring bag but with the addition of some of the lighter pre-cut squares, and I realised that the perfect match for the backing was some of the small patterned material left over from my mystery Block of the Month quilt, which still needs to be finished (but we’ll gloss over that!)

So now my brown bread has a smart new look, and even better it’s used things I already had.

But I wasn’t done yet.

I wanted to make use of the already sewn flying geese blocks, and to me they were screaming ‘make me into a pouch’ and so I did.

I was pleased to find the beige cherry fabric in my stash was the perfect tone to complement the outer sections, and I also had a cherry red zip in my stash.

It looks like they were made to be together doesn’t it? I’m not sure what I’ll use this for yet, but I’m sure that at some point it will be obvious what its purpose is, in the meantime I’ll admire my creation and the flying geese put together by a sewer unknown.

I still had a few pieces left though and I knew that unless I made a plan now it’s likely that they would languish in my scrap pile. I’ve been thinking about making some fabric storage boxes, but hadn’t got around to it so decided to do a smaller version with these remnants.

It didn’t quite go to plan, as I misread part of the instructions and so ended up with something half the size I initially intended - and as you can see I mis-measured one of the box corners (top left) so have a pen mark on my finished item, but I’m ok with that. I expect it’ll wash off, but even if it doesn’t that’s ok as this is destined for use in the garage to hold a pile of scrap cloths with MOH uses to clean his bike.

It was a useful learning experience, and I ended up with a useful thing so that’s good too. Which left me with these final pieces.

The boxed corners from the fabric storage box (in the centre of the picture) I plan to make into tiny pouches as I’ve found these are good for holding jewellery, and even better to slip into a present, or as a nicer way of giving cash as a present. The other pieces have already been cut into the appropriate sizes for this year’s charity quilts, so you can expect to see them in a ‘house’ at some point in the future.

Now if only I was so efficient at using everything else that comes into my craft room!