Summer projects

At last my patio set is finished. It came to an abrupt halt for a while as I had orders to finish, but here it is....

....it was quite breezy yesterday when I took the picture, but I'm very happy how it's turned out. Now all we have to do is give the patio set another coat of cream paint.
I have a few others projects lined up for the coming few weeks, one will be using these gorgeous fabrics....

.....I'm hoping to make three summer dresses and I know I'll have some fabric left over to add to something else too!
This beautiful piece was given to me by a friend....

.... it was a long green corduroy coat (1970's), and this beaded panel was down the left front. The colour is divine, (green being my favourite colour) and the beaded rose panel is just sumptuous. Take a closer look at the beads....

...what am I going to do with it? Well, I'm afraid all the beads are going to be taken off the fabric and are going to be sewn on to something else. The piece is quite heavy and measures approximately 24" x 16" so I wouldn't want to use it as it is. I wish I had the rest of the coat, it was only a size 10 and my friend had kept the coat in her wardrobe for many years ( even though it no longer fitted her) not wanting to part with it, until now. It wasn't my size either, but it would have been lovely to see it in one piece!
I am still knitting and am currently making more items for my Folksy shop. I've had quite a few shop sales and through personal contact just lately, and there are only a few items still available. My Folksy shop is closed from today for two weeks. But after then I'm hoping to be restocked with summer themed goodies.
I've also got a couple of projects lined up for this little lot...

.... there seems to be a buzz about " extreme knitting"....

.... it's nothing new, I can remember it as " jumbo knitting" when I was a child.....

....mixing strips of fabrics and yarns.....

....and creating something different....

......my late father made the large needles as at the time there were none available. I still have some, but they are easy to make and cost a lot less than buying them ready made. But more on that next time.
For now, it's back to the sewing machine!