Having a proud sewing moment

After each of our sewing group meetings there’s usually a photo or two shared on our Facebook group to showcase some of the projects undertaken at that meeting. It’s a great way to keep the group visible to all of our members, and to perhaps encourage more people to come along.

After the last meeting I spotted this photo of my table, and then I looked more closely and realised that I’d made pretty much everything that’s on show in this photo. So that’s my proud moment!

It’s a small thing really but it’s actually quite a big thing for me as I never really thought I’d get this ‘into’ sewing. I mean I’d sewn before, and was happy using a machine but it probably wouldn’t have been my ‘go to’ craft but in the two years we’ve been here in Nottinghamshire, that’s changed. Partly I think because the sewing group I first went to was one of the most welcoming craft groups I went to, and so I went back and have kept going back. I’ve also been to knitting groups and a mixed craft group once, and haven’t been back - so that tells you everything you need to know about them, doesn’t it?!

But anyway, back to that photo and my sewing projects:

1. The blue pouch (top left), black patterned pouch (bottom left) and gold pouch (bottom right) are recent makes on my new ‘take to’ machine.

2. The patchwork stars are the centre blocks in my next Quilt of the Month which I’m still working on and will share soon.

3. The dress I made, which I even wear out in public (and it hasn’t fallen to bits at all!)

4. It’s the corner of another pouch which is just showing in the bottom right corner - I’ll be sharing that one here soon(ish) too.

5. I made this bag back in 2016, when I really didn’t sew much at all. It was a collaborative post with the company providing the fabric, and I still use it today - and that hasn’t fallen to bits either, I should have more confidence in myself!

So yes, I’m having a proud sewing moment over here, it’s a good reminder of what I can do. And will hopefully spur me on to complete more of the projects on my “to sew” list!

A new 'take to' sewing machine and more pouches

I mentioned back in July that I’d got myself a new ‘take to’ sewing machine, which may seem strange given that at the start of the year I’d treated myself to a new Bernina. But the Bernina is too heavy to move very often, so that rules it out to ‘take to’ twice monthly sewing group meetings, and any ad hoc workshops.

My plan had been to use my very old Toyota sewing machine for this, but thankfully I tried it before I took it anywhere. I knew its plastic was yellowed, and that it hadn’t been used in a very long while so I thought I’d re-familiarise myself with its controls and so on before taking it out.

Just as well I did, as it wasn’t happy about being neglected for so long.

It worked - and had recently been PAT tested - but it didn’t work at the same time. There was power, I could wind bobbins, but the actual sewing bit - nope. Just up and down, not up and down and along, which is what you need. So that scuppered that plan.

Given that I’m now au-fait with buying sewing machines - in truth I have found a good and trusted dealership - I thought I should invest in a ‘take to’ sewing machine. One that sews properly, doesn’t have all the bells and whistles, but does enough and is light enough to ‘take to’ sewing meetings and workshops. So off I went with a budget in mind.

Shock, horror. I was persuaded to spend less than my budget (which I’d already played down) by the dealership. And so I took that advice, and as I knew this one would be out and about I also bought a bag to carry it in while I was there. This new machine has now been to four sewing group meetings, it’s been to the Monday evening sessions and the Saturday morning ones (which I used to skip) and we’ve had a grand old time getting to know each other.

Getting to know my ‘take to’ Singer

I wanted to make some small and already known items to get to know my Singer, and as luck would have it I’d already run out of that stash of pouches I’d made the year before. I don’t know where they go exactly, though some have made it out of my sewing room into travel bags and others have found themselves full of sewing paraphernalia.

So it was time to make some more.

It’s taken about three sewing sessions to make my new pile of pouches, that’s alongside the chat, the tea and biscuits and time spent admiring other people’s projects, but let me show you my latest stack of window fronted pouches.

THIS ONE WAS IMMEDIATELY PUT TO USE TEMPORARILY

AND THIS ONE WAS MADE WITH A SPECIFIC PURPOSE IN MIND

As well as making a new sized pouch for my scissors and rotary cutter, I made a couple to match my sewing machine bag and the velvet box pouch which I made for the foot pedal. With these I’ll look most coordinated when I venture out!

I’ve a couple more projects planned specifically for my ‘take to’ machine’s sewing bag - mainly so I don’t forget the essentials when I go (as I have already!) and I’ll share more of those when I actually make some progress. So far I’ve gathered the materials I need, and even eaten a tube of Pringles in preparation, but I need to find some time to plan it out properly before I start. And then hopefully there’ll be no stopping me!

I also need to look for my next ‘take to’ project, or decide if I have projects just for the ‘take to’ machine or move current projects between the two machines. I guess that will come with time, and may even depend on what I’m sewing and how far I’ve got, but it’s nothing insurmountable is it?

Down to the coast

Starting this walk from Gargano’s highest village meant that there was only one way, and that was down - phew! The 14.2km walk, expected to take around 4 1/2 hours had a total descent of 940m, which is about as down as you can get. The day’s walk would be partly on an old mule track across panoramic slopes towards the small town of Mattinata, amidst stretches of olive groves, and then up to our hotel which was ‘perched on a hill overlooking the bay’ - already I wasn’t looking forward to that last bit!

But the weather was vastly improved from when we arrived - just look at those blue skies as we passed the castle.

The Castello di Monte Sant’Angelo to give it its full name has been rebuilt several times over the centuries by the Normans, Swabians, Angevines and the Aragonese and commands the highest point overlooking the town. We didn’t go in, as we had a full day’s walking ahead of us but our walking notes said it “offers an evocative ramble through the site with striking views from the ramparts.”

We enjoyed a walk through the town having rushed through it to avoid the expected downpour the previous evening. It was a pretty town but busy, and so after picking up something for lunch we continued on our way. We spent a fair bit of time finding the start of the path, and eventually we spotted the blue arrow on the end of the wall, but even then we weren’t convinced.

It’s like anything though isn’t it, if you start off alright you’ll generally be ok - but get a bad start and it’s hard to recover. We still weren’t sure, as this was the path that it led onto - but it seemed to tie in with the walking notes, but I’ve learnt that anything can mostly if you want it to!

It wasn’t long before we convinced ourselves we were on the right path, and were grateful that we didn’t have to walk down the road. The path seemed to cut off quite a few of the bends, which was welcome - and all the time we got to enjoy some great views down to the coast.

There was some walking along the road, and when I took the photo below I had no idea how much that peace was about to be shattered…

… by these guard dogs, who meant serious business. So much so that we had to cross the road and recover our wits while quickly getting out of their sight. Yes they’re behind a fence, but quite frankly they were so incensed that if they got over it, then they would definitely have been after us. I don’t mind dogs, but I’m not keen on large dogs that bark and growl so much, and I was glad to get past them.

Thankfully there was another cut through to cut of this bend, a rocky path but a lot less steps than by road!

By now we were walking much below the road surface, and it seemed odd to look up and see the cars whizz past us up high!

But the views…

And then we spotted an abandoned TukTuk - which was quite random, and not quite what we’d expected to see.

Eventually we turned off from following the road and joined the old mule track, which winded steeply downhill. Thankfully it was dry as in the wet I imagine it would be quite slippy.

And it was on this rocky path that we decided we shop stop for lunch, spending the next few minutes searching for the best rocks to sit on, but each time being drawn onto some further down the path. We did find one, or rather two close to each other, in the end - with some shade, not too mucky, and not too bumpy!

It was a tough walk down stepping from rock to rock, but it was oh so quiet and oh so beautiful.

We emerged onto a wide track and finally after twisting and turning a tarmac road, and a hint of the gnarly olive trees that would dominate the next part of our walk.

I ended up taking way too many pictures of the olive trees, and so I’ll share their distorted shapes and more in a future post.

As we headed towards the small own of Mattinata which is surrounded by vast olive groves and colourful almond trees we enjoyed spotting these gorgeous blooms on what was quite a dull section of the walk, given everything we’ve experienced earlier in the day. But needs must, and sometimes there needs to be some dull road walking.

We found our right turn which took us along an alleyway and meant we were no longer walking along the road, which was welcome. It also gave us a chance to look into the gardens that backed onto the narrow path - another reward! And then the path opened up to the most amazing view.

We’d made it down to the coast - and were rewarded with another spectacular view, but one that was much, much closer this time.

The pebbles though were less welcome, we had a hundred metres or so to cover to get to the beach bar restaurants. Unfortunately the first one we went in to wasn’t serving, not that they told us, they studiously ignored us until finally after drinking our own water we got up and left! We never went back to this one either.

We were resigned to heading straight up to the hotel, which was still approximately half a kilometre away, but thankfully as we turned the corner we spotted another bar, and one that was very happy to serve us a cool refreshing beer and some snacks.

And then we started to the climb up to the hotel’s reception and check in. From here we could see the apartment style rooms of the hotel were set high up into the cliff overlooking the bay, thankfully though they took us up to our room in a little golf buggy. That was so very welcome, even though I felt like I was holding on for dear life sitting on the back seat facing the beach we’d just left!