Rosaleen Dwyer

22/06/2023

I am looking forward to having some lovely people stay for the weekend who would know all about "well spent days," so I hope they have some "happy sleeps" while they are here 😴. Patchwork pillowshams (inspired by Amy Sinibaldi) are made with cotton scraps from my stash, some leftover ribbon & lace, which I then quilted and hand embroidered. Flannels are shop bought, which I trimmed with cotton and then hand crocheted the edging with a cotton yarn (inspired by A Spoonful of Sugar)

08/04/2023

I made these back in 2015 and love taking them out every year. The Japanese art of Kimekomi (fabric tucking) inspired by the beautiful ornaments created by .designs. It is a great way to use up small scraps of fabric, and here I fussy cut around Easter images that turned out to be a perfect size for the eggs. Happy Easter 🐇🐑🐰🌷🐣

02/04/2023

We had a super fun night at the inaugural thanks to Anna, Deirdre, Rachel and Annmarie for making it such a fabulous event. stole the show with her humorous and witty compering of the catwalk, making us all feel a little less nervous and a little more at ease as we trod the boards. I was very lucky to win a Gold Envelope - a GV worth €100 for . Wow! thank you so so much.
Trousers Suit in a jewel toned luxury stretch velvet with collar constructed in a complementary duchess satin, both fabrics purchased at recent sale at Fashion City Fabrics. Matching evening bag made with recycled hardware, beads and sequins in the duchess satin.
It was lovely to be in the company of so many other crafters/sewists, sporting some really awesome and inspiring makes.

26/03/2023

It's been a while since I made one of these - so excited for next weekend! Adding some finishing touches and making an evening bag: fabric is duchess satin with crepe lining, all hardware (handles, chain & magnetic clasp) is recycled. Hopefully I'll get it finished soon then I can pop in this little travel perfume holder, mirror and other bits I dug out this morning, and put it away until Friday!

26/03/2023

13/10/2022

I can't believe it has taken me this long to switch out some kitchen table linen (although with this beautiful mild sunny weather today I am not surprised 😃!) - swapping this colourful summer ensemble for a more seasonal autumnal set. The "STRATA STAR" table centre is pieced using strips cut down to 1 1/2" as are the "COURT HOUSE STEPS" table mats, all of them made with different shades of batik. Table mats are padded & quilted to take hot dinner plates etc., but I wanted the centre piece thin & flat to lay condiments on, all are backed with left over curtin fabric. Colours much more vibrant than showing here, reminding me of the myriad of autumnal leaves starting to fall on our road right now & over in the park 🍂🍁🍃.

30/09/2022

Forty years ago I walked down the aisle in a wedding dress my sister made for me. Kathryn, seen here on the right, also made the bridesmaids dresses and little flower girl's dress. My husband to be, wore a bespoke suit made by the local tailor (my uncle) in the town where I grew up. What an adventure we all had that day! Some years later when my daughter was born I couldn't bring myself to cut into it to make her christening gown so I chose something extra special for her instead. Both wedding dress & christening gown are still intact! And Denis & I are still on that adventure! Ruby wedding anniversary 🎊🥂❤❣

04/09/2022

Another altered (sleeves & neckline) Brooklyn knit top from Style Arc, perfect for this blustery, sunny, September morning. A colourful french terry "Apples" from .thepinkdoor (purchased 2021, but Andrea has lots of French Terry's in her shop) using Style Arc's own illustrations in a bad attempt at sketching out a vision, & some sampler stitching - pages from my sewing journal!

21/08/2022

Some essential last minute holiday sewing going on here! Two items that are needed while riding as pillion passenger on the Goldwing with Denis. The head scarf (worn under the helmet) is made with a beautiful soft jersey, & the neck warmer, made with the same fabric, is lined with merino wool. Patches are attached to leather "cut" (waistcoat) using winged leather needle & zig zag stitch. Just home from Cong after some amazing ride outs through the "12 pins" & on to the UK next week - can't wait to get back on the ferry again in the company of other wingers!

07/08/2022

We spent last b/h weekend visiting & sleeping under these quilts, it is so lovely to see them in situ in their permanent home where they have been for some time now. It brings back happy memories of buying all the fabrics at the incredible & amazing Maastricht fabric market, where there is stall upon stall of fabric & haberdashery, it has to be one of the biggest in Europe, a sewist's paradise! The pillowshams were made with left over bits of fabric that took a lot of working out, as I was down to the wire on scraps, & then trimmed with ric rac & ribbon. Last pic a page from my sewing junk journal!

17/07/2022

This Art Gallery Rayon Challis "Hello Sunshine" fabric, purchased from Minerva.com is absolutely perfect for today's blistering heat. I had bought the Myosotis Dress Deer & Doe pattern from Andrea at BeyondthePinkdoor.com & wanted to make a lightweight & flowy summer dress & this fabric fitted the bill! It is lighter than light & perfect cover up today while walking Long Strand in beautiful West Cork.

10/07/2022

My first time to wear this little jacket yesterday! Having watched all the beautiful patchwork jackets on The Great British Sewing Bee I was totally inspired to make one, and then after a visit to Carlow Fabrics where I picked up an exquisite Charm pack (42 squares measuring 5") I was all set to go. (Catherine's well stocked shop also includes Jelly Rolls, Layer Cakes & Liberty Fat Quarters). I cut another 60 5" squares from my stash, chose a Vogue pattern, removed the darts & collar & made a toile. I undid the toile and drew squares on it to see where best to lay the patches & then made enough fabric for 2 fronts, 2 sleeves & 1 back piece. I added wadding, backing & quilted them, then put them in the washing machine & dryer. They smelled delicious 😄, all the hard work was done! I cut out the jacket pieces, made it up & added the binding! I love the way it turned out!