Pockets and circles and another rummage around a charity shop

Friday already, and it's a chilly one.  Which makes it ideal weather for getting down to some serious sewing.  I'm not being distracted by blue skies and sunshine and the urge to be outdoors.  

To catch up on my May challenge: here's Thursday's fabric postcard.  It's quite a simple one.  I covered the rectangle of calico with this upcycled fabric - I think it used to be a dress - then appliqued on some little pockets.  Into those went some of nature's treasures.  

The seed-head on the left is from scabious, a pretty flower with a less than pretty name.  There's also a poppy seed-head and some feathers.  The world really is divided into two types of people.  Those who routinely pick up feathers, autumnal leaves and shiny conkers, or shells on the beach and sea-smoothed pebbles.  And those who ignore such goodies.  I'm definitely in the first category.  

Thursday afternoon I needed to stop by my slimming group.  I've lost the weight I wanted to, but if I don't keep getting weighed every two or three weeks, then the pounds easily pile back on.  I slip into bad habits and the waistline expands.  So off to group I go.  

Afterwards, I happened to walk by the charity shop and - ooh look! - they've got a half price sale on.  Well, it'd be rude not to buy something, wouldn't it? 

I paid a grand total of £2.93 for this Monsoon skirt and Fatface dress.  The skirt isn't my style, but I like the material and its vivid colour.  Once washed, it'll go into my fabric stash, both the outer fabric and the lining.  I'll save the zip too,  The dress will hopefully fit me and, if so, it'll be a lovely summer frock.  Very understated with soft grey and white stripes.  

Yesterday evening I watched YouTube videos.  They're an excellent way to learn new techniques with patchwork and quilting.  I stumbled by a channel called 'Dave's Craft Room' and a video where he shows how to insert a circle into a quilt.  Not applique it on to a background, but actually insert it.  His precise method involved freezer paper.  Which (a) I don't possess and (b) seems like something I could try to do without.  (After all, we all need to avoid waste and be Green, don't we?)

So, I thought I'd try out circles for Friday's postcard challenge.  I began by drawing a circle on a 6 x 4 piece of pink material, and using a glue stick to fold back the raw edges, having clipped them first.  Here's the front view.  

And what the reverse looks like.  

I chose a couple of pretty fabric scraps and used the glue stick again to keep them in place.  

Then sewed a running stitch around each circle, and added a minty green backing material.  

Like Thursday's offering it's not the most complicated design, but this was more about learning the technique.  The scraps I've used are from a gorgeous piece of Rose & Hubble (the smaller circle with the orange flower) and a modern design that's got a definite Fifties vibe.  I bought the metre of Rose & Hubble and a fat quarter of the Fifties style design ages ago, but have hardly used any of either.  

I didn't want to squander them.  Do you ever do that?  Buy fabric, but hold back from cutting into it?  Feeling like it's way too good to waste.  I need to come up with something special in the way of a quilt / wall hanging in order to make full use of 'em.  

Right, that's my Friday round up done already.  Have a great weekend, whatever you're up to.  Oh, and stop by 'Dave's Craft Room' if you feel like it.  He's got a very relaxed, fun style of presenting, and his quilts are terrific.