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Stitching for Pleasure Progress 2026
Monthly Update: End of July 2026 (as usual, click on first image below to see a larger version with a caption) Working on...
There's an amazing total of #fettlethosefinishes points for this month. The total is revealed at the end of this months ramblings July turned into A VERRRRY BUSY month, it wasn't meant to be so but it just turned out like that. First of all - Hamish the Highlander got his long awaited waistcoat that matches his kilt and a sporran. He is chuffed to bits to have a complete outfit.. Did I just hear him say what he really wants is a nice formal jacket with Scottish silver buttons on it - then he will be as posh as Erik... I just happened to be in Boyes (as you do) perusing the fabric and spotted a bolt of Broderie Anglaise "Oh I know who would like a dress in that fabric", and so Freya got her very own dress and matching shorts. At long last the felt for the remaining two Dutch Bunnies arrived, so they were stitched, and of course that meant I had to make their outfits.. Say Hello Bella and Small Rabbit. All four Dutch Bunnies are now complete and they all have their own outfits. To tell the bunnies apart, Bella and Small Rabbit (she doesn't have a name yet) have a fawn coloured flash on their faces. This is more like the colouring of the rabbits my grandpa showed during the 1950s. I named the larger rabbit Bella which was my paternal grandma's name. The outfits are really lovely. The patterns designed by Sarah Peel at Cool Crafting have such clever design details and elements in them. The checked dress Bella is wearing has lantern sleeves with ruffles at the shoulder. I thought this was going to be really tricky to make, but the instructions are so clear it was very manageable. The lilac stripy play suit is a lovely soft linen mix, with a pocket on the side. Once I sorted out how the two parts of the pocket joined together and attached to centre panel, the pieces looked just like an ordinary pair of shorts to stitch. The top is fully lined and has a clever way of turning through, so there are no raggy edges inside the seams. Well that's FIVE #FettleThoseFinishes Points., and it's only 6th July.
Home again from a jolly jaunt to London for a few days, it was time to think about a little bit more stitching. First on the list was two more of the #52 Roundels. They were quick and easy (Hurrah!). Now what? Oh I could just cut out the four Mousels from the Cool Crafting kit celebrating Dickens' A Christmas Carol. The box has been in the cupboard since November 2023, the 'oldest' set I have outstanding from that section of projects on The List. These four mice are much smaller than all the other Cool Crafting chums, and there are two adult and two child mice to make. Made with cotton rather than felt Oh they were awful to cut out. The cotton just wanted to fray and fray and fray... Boyes didn't have any Fray Stop, I couldn't find my bottle of PVA, so I spent a whole morning painstakingly over sewing every edge of every every pattern piece. Well I might as well make a start and get sewing. Oh they were a nightmare to sew... some of the limbs are so small I couldn't event get them under the sewing machine foot, so had to hand sew them... Then stuffing them was awful, the stuffing wouldn't go to the ends of limbs, or the seams broke and so the poor mice turned out to be lumpy and bumpy, lop sided ears, twisted limbs without any strength or stability. They wouldn't stand up for more than a couple of seconds, they looked to be a poor raggedy bunch. Miss Lizzie Mouse and Penny Mouse could only look on in sympathetic horror! I was about to put the poor creatures in the bin and start again with felt. However, I can be quite determined not to give up on these things. So I finks - How about wiring their legs and feet, and making sturdy boots for them... Et voila! Quite a bit of wrestling strong florists wire into their legs and feet, their legs are sturdy, and not so badly twisted, their feet are strong and they can stand unaided. Maybe this is not so bad after all. It does mean this quartet is not suitable for children though! Onwards let's start making the costumes. Eliza (aka Mummy Mousel) is first. The dress has a lovely set of side pockets, a gathered skirt fitted to the lined bodice, and a pin tuck near the hem. There is a lace trim at the neckline. She has a flounced underskirt (and matching pants), with a money purse on a belt. It took me a while to work out how to make the pocket section work (see instruction photo below), but I got there in the end. The pattern includes a crocheted shawl, but I remembered a certain lovely BC knitted a very lovely shawl for one of the chums a couple of years ago, so I used this instead. Ezra Mousel (aka Daddy Mousel) has a boiled wool jacket, a cravat and pinstripe trousers. Fortunately this was not too difficult to sew. Then came Little Nell Mousel - her dress, on a smaller scale, was quite tricky! With a two section lined bodice and a fine lace insert it took a bit of manipulation to get this right. The back bodice folded back on itself to create the lining, so just a wee bit fiddly. The skirt is gathered with two rows of pin tucks, and she has a lovely pair of bloomers with a lace trim. Finally Little Albie Mousel - the other child. He has a pair of felt breeches, a voile shirt and a fully lined waistcoat - I can't repeat the words uttered while making the waistcoat - but there was quite a bit of PVA used to poke frayed edges back into place... His outfit is complete with a cravat and a flat cap. As a little bonus, the Mousels have a lamp to carry with a book of carols while they are out and about. Eventually I am pleased with the group, the costumes are lovely, Sarah Peel at Cool Crafting has a wonderful eye for details and fabrics, and the instructions are good to make tricky things work out, even if the sewer is a bit dim at times. I didn't intend to finish them this month, but somehow I just carried away with sewing. This little group is well worth the humongous EIGHT #FettleThoseFinishes Points.
#52 Circles (Roundels) project with Anne Brooke. I only managed two of The roundels for July, numbers 27 and 28. Week 27 - I do like a Suffolk Puff...Or many... What no pins, it is stitched to wadding. Should I add a few beads? Of course I should. Week 28. Trapped! A limpet shell collected from North Beach, Seaham. I hope I don't run out of this variegated perle. It's my favourite thread! No #FettleThoseFinishes Points, but you do get two photos of each roundel.
The monthly summary of #52 Circles (Roundels) is shown on these updates. I have created another section on the Slow Stitch page where all the roundels are shown week by week. Keep watching and coming back to see how I get on.
That's is for July. It's the 31st, I've just finished writing and finding all the images, totted up my total of points... TWELVE !!! that must be a record! Time to do some ironing, sorting clothes for a jolly jaunt to see the family. I might get some more roundels done while I'm away, but there is long book to read, and lots of celebrating to be done. Here's hoping for a quiet August. See you next month xx. ... ooo ... To read previous monthly updates, click below:
Images from all my 2025 fettled finishes are in this gallery, click here to go to the
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