Friday Sews Ep 54, New makes, funny stories and mini haul from Specky Seamstress

[@ParsnipsMum1]

You're doing better at your fabric buying ban than I thought you would do 😂😂😂. Well done. I've managed to buy no new fabric this year, and after our last cyclone I took all the fabric out of my sewing area (it's just under the house, not in a proper room) and washed it, folded it, and wound it around Comic boards. I had to buy more comic boards, the fabric just kept coming and coming. We're on water restrictions so it took a while to get it all washed and aired! I only choose fabric I thought I'd use for myself to wind on the comic boards. I found fabric I thought I'd used years ago, scraps, all kinds of surprises. 100 comic boards exactly, and a big pile of cotton Lycra and miscellaneous fabric I'm not sure I'll use. I suppose I can toile with it. It's freed up a lot of space, and I've started sewing simple tops and pyjamas with the odd pieces. I've got a long way to go until I feel I can purchase more fabric! Keep up the great work, I love sewing along to your videos.

[@InAgatasCottage]

Thank you so much for such a lovely comment. Sorry it took me so long to respond. Well done on not buying. I almost broke a few days ago, but I am still holding on. I do have a voucher I won during sew frugal to one of the Irish shops, so I think I will use it soon. I need to get some linen/linen blend for some trousers :)

[@DoreenFraser-d5s]

You can also use your peg bag for storing a few hangers. I hang dresses, shirts etc on hangers to dry.

[@InAgatasCottage]

Thank you. That's great idea :D

[@antoniaburlingame5921]

Hi Agata and Alice. I love the stories. I'm a throw everything in the pot to make soup kind of cook. I save the juices of anything I roast for stock and also make bone broth once I've collected enough bones from organic chicken meals to fill a big pot (then I freeze it in ice cube trays to use in the future if I don't have enough stock for a soup). That big peg (or clothes pin over here in California) bag looks great in my eyes. If you're trying to get things off the line quickly once it starts raining and kind of tossing the pegs to the bag, it's easier to hit than a small one. I also like to have a big supply of pegs so I don't have to skimp on how many each garment gets to secure it. I also like a big opening so my hand can reach in without scraping the sides. Plus a big bag with lots of pegs weighs more so is less likely to be blown up suddenly in a big wind gust and dump all the pegs on the muddy ground. The pattern box looks great, even if it was a challenge to sew. A while back I reorganized all my fabric. I had been storing it in cardboard boxes, but lifting them out, shuffling through, and then putting the box back became too much for my neck and back. I couldn't find any half-size boxes, so decided to make my own using fabric that was not precious from my stash. I got some used filing cabinets and made half-size fabric boxes that fit folded-up fabric and could be 'filed' in the drawers with no loss of space. They were half size so I could lift them out, with each box being about five pounds once fabric was loaded into it. It ended up that four baskets fit into each filing drawer, so 16 baskets per filing cabinet. I got 4 cabinets, so had to make 64 baskets. I was really sick of heavy interfacing after that marathon project. But I love the result. It's a dream to search for a fabric for a garment or a quilt, to just pull out a drawer on rollers and be able to look over all the possibilities (all filed vertically standing up and wedged together in the basket). No lifting until you see something that might work and pull out the basket to see it up close. My 1K question to both of you: what is your favorite fabric to work with and why (softness, texture, drape, design, color, versatility, availability, cost, practicality, weight, well-behaved under the sewing machine needle, theme, cuteness, uniqueness, good in cold or hot weather, or ...)? As usual, I really enjoyed seeing all your makes from the past week, Antonia

[@socarole66]

Hope you have a wonderful time fabric shopping this weekend and don't be so hard on yourself, if you see some beautiful fabric ...buy it! What I've learnt about buying fabric is if you are undecided and dither and go back another day, it is always sold out 😂. I do enjoy cooking but I'm a traditional English cook and cook every day. Favourite meal just has to be a Roast Chicken 🥰. If I was going to ask a question it would be, what is in all those grey boxes behind you! None have labels so they are a mystery to us 😂. Thanks for sharing. Xx

[@bernadettebyrne3970]

Enjoyed your vlog today Agatha. Like yourself I love cooking and baking. I do loosely use recipes from books but in general I am an intuitive cook and started young like yourself when my mam went back to work when I was eleven. I understand your quandary when it comes to choosing cookery or sewing posts! Kindred spirits I think!

[@InAgatasCottage]

Thank you so much. We are definitely kindred spirits. Kris is laughing that every time I follow the recipe and not my instinct, we end up eating scrambled eggs for dinner because things turn out bad. I recently did a stir fry (I measured everything very accurately - Asian food is not something I am great at). We tried forcing ourselves to eat it, but it was just wrong on so many levels. The next day, I went with my instincts, and it was much nicer. Sometimes less is more.

[@dizzyquiltsandsews]

I’m not a cook and I don’t enjoy cooking at all! But I do have to cook if I want to eat because preparing dinner is one of my responsibilities. At least, I’m not in charge of grocery shopping which is probably my least favourite thing to do. Love the hoodie you made for Chris. And that peg bag is pretty enormous! 😂 But it does look really good!!

[@InAgatasCottage]

Thank you, Izzy. I do love to cook, not the biggest fan of grocery shopping, but it has to be done. I do not like cleaning after cooking ;) so we usually all do a part. Unless Kris cooks - than professionals are needed 🤣 he makes horrible mess 😭 I left the peg bag as it is based on one of the comments, and I am so glad I did. It is really handy, I just got more pegs 😁

[@TheSpeckySeamstress]

Fab video Agata and I'm so pleased you love what you bought from us!

[@InAgatasCottage]

Thanks so much 😊

[@ZeldaSews]

Oh that bag is so cute! I saw the video Sam made in December. It was great. You're great at eyeballing. I measure 10 times and still get worried I measured incorrectly. I love that purple jacket! Have great weekend my friend!

[@InAgatasCottage]

Thank you :)

[@MariSews]

Fun video! I found a Polish place near me that has fresh pierogis. I bought 3 dozen: potato and cheese, sauerkraut and mushroom, and meat. They’re so good! That tote bag looks great and I that purple hoodie is fantastic!

[@InAgatasCottage]

Thanks, Mari. I am so glad you like pierogies. I actually promised Alice that as soon we feel better, I will make a big batch. I need to make more of those bags. I keep forgetting to take a bag with me when I go for small shopping

[@ChristineSewsALot]

I need a peg bag and have been telling myself to make one for months. I want to use it in the closet to store socks and underwear.

[@InAgatasCottage]

After using my for a month, I have to say I love it. I left it as it was, and I am happy I did. Highly recommend the pattern.

[@Kate-m5m]

Your peg bag looks great but I can see it is too big. I could also do with a peg bag, so you jogged my memory about that. I thought perhaps I could saw off the ends of a wooden hanger, sand it and then it would be the perfect size. Such a good stash-buster idea. I don't cook as much as I used to although I do batch cook for the freezer as we always eat home made food. Nowadays I would rather sew than cook! I recently made my favourite boiled fruit cake recipe though that my hubbie loves. One year I made one as a Christmas present for my neighbour at the chateau (we live in France) and he said it was the best he had ever had so I took that as a win for British cuisine which the French are usually very snobby about!

[@InAgatasCottage]

Thank you so much for your lovely comment. I do batch cook, too. I love to have meals ready for emergencies or days when I am just not in the mood. I recently made a few lasagne for freezer, and they are so handy for days when I just want to sew :D I love making cakes for gifts. My go-to is my grandmother's gingerbread spice cake. I usually make a big batch and bake them in disposable aluminium loaf pans, Alice decorates them. All our neighbours are getting them. One year, I was a bit late with them and gifted them on Christmas Eve, and I had 2 of my neighbours telling me that they are looking forward to them the whole year :) I left the peg bag as it is, and it turned out to work brilliantly. I just bought more pegs 😁