My week in photos as part of a new Sunday Sevens link up by Threads & Bobbins
MONDAY – A Christmas present finished and added to the stash
TUESDAY – Fresh eggs from our brood of free range hens
WEDNESDAY – Hen Doorstops made
THURSDAY – Victoria Sandwich made this morning
FRIDAY – Flowers from my lovely hubby!
SATURDAY – Tess had the dubious glory of winning third prize in the “Scruffiest Dog” in the village fair
SUNDAY – Fresh batch of butter whipped up for breakfast:)
Another glorious September day – we had the pleasure of an old friend’s company for lunch today and were able to eat outside; what a joy! I really do love being able to spend so much time outdoors while it is still so warm. Not that cold weather puts me off, it’s just then you have to do something to keep warm and it’s such a lovely feeling to just sit and read outside in the sunshine.
A recent purchase (actually, it arrived this morning, but don’t tell Him!) was this book “Handmade Glamping”,
Flicking through it briefly (I aim to snuggle up this evening and read it from cover to cover) and swooning over the gorgeous styling it has made me determined to buy an old caravan. You know the sort, a Seventies doer-upper that would be perfect for filling with masses of multi-coloured crochet blankets, bunting in ice cream shades, cafetiere cosies and a multitude of other pointless-but-pretty essential handcrafted goodies.
We’ve been Campers with a capital ‘C’ all our lives but recently I have been yearning for the (relative) comfort that a caravan promises to provide compared to a tent. All the preparation and hassle of packing, erecting tents, inflating airbeds (that invariably spring a puncture at 2am) just isn’t worth it unless you plan on going for a week. A well stocked caravan is ready to go at a moments notice and could be used for weekends away, potentially far more often and earlier/later in the year.
Yes, this is the year I am going to get a caravan, so if you know anyone wanting to get rid of one….?
Talking of pointless-but-pretty essential handcrafted goodies, I made these little beauties during the week –
What are they, I hear you cry? Why, not only are they easy on the eye, they darned useful too – Hen Doorstops, of course. Only these are a bit posh made of linen/cotton and silk.
Remember the pair of bedside tables that I found in the charity shop the other day?
Yes, I know there’s nothing wrong with them just as they are but, although they’re the perfect size, they simply didn’t suit the style of our bedroom like this.
So I painted them black.
Yes, really!
The thing is, we have a sort of French bedroom – the Corbeille bed came from a château in France, the chandelier is a French bronze antique…
We have these two French antique mirrors ready to be hung –
And they had to match the eBay linen cupboard that I painted last year –
As everything else in the room is old and a little rough round the edges, I distressed them a tiny bit. The walls are “Downpipe” by Farrow & Ball and the bedside tables are “Railings”. Not everyone’s taste, I’ll admit, but it’s cosy and romantic at night and, as it’s dual aspect with French windows and a balcony facing South, it is surprisingly light, bright and airy during the day. Best of both. And we love it, so there!
Has anyone else made any pointless decorative treasures lately, or made a bold decorating decision?
Wow, what a glorious Indian Summer we are being treated to! Together with May, September is my favourite month and both are often surprisingly good in the weather stakes, this year being a classic example.
I took the opportunity, after the school run, to take a few snaps in the morning sunshine. This is my outdoor crafting space (click image to view larger);
They have just baled the second lot of hay this year and, I don’t know about you, I rather miss the old way of baling. Somehow the green polythene wrapping that farmers prefer nowadays isn’t as aesthetically pleasing is it?
Tess hopped up on the day bed where the quilt is warming up nicely in the already hot sunshine.
I’ve got a WIP to show you; a Christmas present of a blanket for a family member.
I’m also going to paint these two bedside tables that I picked up in a charity shop yesterday for a song;
The leaves are dropping from the Elderberry bush already so soon the hens will have to find shade elsewhere in the garden.
Mind you, they perch on the crossbar underneath the table sometimes and it does provide shade later on in the afternoon. Amber likes to sit there just to be close to us.
We have a young apple tree in the garden which isn’t doing very well although there are a few apples this year again.
But the hens LOVE them!
Enjoy the sunshine!
Meet Shawn. Shawn is an inspiration and I challenge ANYONE not to be motivated to try their hand at sewing after reading her blog.
She just proves that, with a lot of imagination but very little cash, you can do huge things.
The way she transforms the ugliest charity shop finds into cute new garments is amazing; check this post out:
My goal tonight is to prove to the world that anyone can refashion. If you have a sewing machine and an hour you’ve got this in the bag. Tonight is simple, but it goes to show a little tweaking can go a long way. I’m about to look way too excited in an oversized men’s dress shirt. You ready? Bam!
This is my “you silly people can do this too” face.
The color is off in the pictures, but it’s a gorgeous emerald. Green is my favorite color and it works well with a lot of my fall wardrobe. First, I took a tunic dress that fits me well and laid it flat on the inside-out shirt.
I used this to outline my would-be dress in chalk.
During this process I noticed the former owner had written their name along the seam with the buttons. Sorry Langerack, but this…
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The Boys went back to school yesterday – they’re in the same class again as, because there are only 100 pupils aged 4-11 in the whole school, there are two year groups per class.
They’ve both had the same Dap Bag since starting nursery school at the age of three and, not only are they filthy, they are just a tad on the babyish side for two very boyish boys of seven and eight.
(For those of you living somewhere other than the West Country, “daps” are otherwise known as plimsolls or gym shoes!)
Here are said bags;
Definitely past their best!
So I decided to make them each a new one; Bertie, a camouflage one, with his name stitched on the front and a little faux leopard skin detail….
….and Freddy one with an appliquéd footballer on the front.
He has masses of curly hair so this is what I did!
Needless to say they are chuffed to bits with their more grown-up bags.
I did actually photograph a tutorial as I went, but I’m not sure if I’m going to post it. Lighter fabric would have been much better for showing the stages of construction more clearly:(
If anyone would like to see how I made the Dap Bag….Gym Bag….PE Bag etc. then let me know and I’ll post the tutorial for you:)
I suppose it’s only a natural progression after making a pin cushion to want to make a new needlecase too? Well it was to me anyhow, so I browsed Pinterest (as if I needed an excuse) and my favourite was one by Loopy Linnet which was so lovely that I made my own version;
Lovin’ the way the new sewing machine makes free motion embroidery so easy and so much fun.
This one is for me to keep and use in my sewing room but I was inspired to come up with a new design and make some to sell in my Folksy shop.
I had some remnants of red linen left over from a dress I made recently (that’s for another post one day) and I remembered some fabric that I bought on a whim ages ago (knowing it would be useful for something).
It’s a great London-themed poly-cotton with images that could quite easily be appliquéd individually using my favourite scribble-stitching.
So I decided to go the whole hog and create a very commercial item that will hopefully appeal to a broad market, yet is still very much a craftsman made piece.
And these are what I came up with…
They are stiffened with interlining and lined with the London print fabric.
They are quite generous in size at 4.5 x 5″ so I decided to keep the bulk to a minimum by only adding one ‘book’ of felt in which to store needles. These are big darning needles so you can see that there’s space for loads more…
I took a ‘Lifestyle’ shot for scale…
In an effort to think with my business head on (difficult for Crafters) I designed some matching pincushions to encourage multiple purchases.
They are so light in weight that they can be included in the parcel and posted at no extra cost which should be quite appealing, especially to overseas buyers. I’m thinking that they would be great gifts to family living abroad as the price is reasonable and the international postage is low.
I’ve got some beige linen as well, so I’m going to come up with some designs using that too. They’re quite quick to construct after the first one – I always cut a template out of card once I’ve finalized a design, and you usually find more efficient methods after you’ve made a few, don’t you?
So that’s it – my new “London Collection” of patriotic needlecases and pincushions!
I don’t know about you but, although I do a LOT of sewing, I don’t even have a pin cushion which means grappling with loose pins from the tub and dropping most of them on the floor….so I thought it was about time I made one.
A pretty one. Not just a functional one.
When I first had my own studio I promised myself that I would indulge my girly desires to make pretty accessories whenever the need arose – and now the need has arisen.
After browsing Pinterest for pin cushion designs, I came across this one by Curry Bungalow – genius!!
It consists of a detachable pin cushion and a thread catcher weighed down by a covered bathroom tile. Such a clever idea and, hopefully, it will save me hoovering after every sewing session:)
You can buy the pattern here as an instant download PDF which is what I did as soon as I saw it! You just know when something is exactly what you’ve been looking for don’t you and, if you’re anything like me, can’t wait to get started.
One of my favourite textile artists is Pants and Paper and I love this particular design of hers on an iPad mini case:-
One of the reasons I bought my new sewing machine was to do more free machine embroidery as my old one just wasn’t up to the job. I could never seem to get consistent stitching and it was always missing stitches despite using a new needle each time. My new one is ace, so simple and quick to set up and the results are fantastic even for a free machine embroidery novice like me.
I kind of already had an idea how to combine the original pattern with the design I had in mind, and I just had to adapt it to the size tile that I had leftover from a kitchen refit ten years ago in my old house (well, I can’t throw spare tiles away; they might come in handy one day!!)
The entire project was created using scraps of fabric leftover from various other makes, so it satisfied my craving for a craft fix without costing a single penny – bonus!
This is the detachable pin cushion which fastens to the thread catcher via a strip of velcro (hook and loop tape) on the covered tile;
Here’s the thread catcher with a handy little loop for storing your embroidery scissors;
Here’s how it looks from the front;
Some close up detail…..
And finally….
TADAH!
I chose some scraps of ‘Rosetta’ by Clarke & Clarke for the lining so the inside is just as pretty as the outside!
The tile does a brilliant job of securing the whole thing to the worktop right next to the sewing machine. In fact the entire design works so well that I have no idea how I’ve managed over forty years of sewing without one!
I’m thrilled to bits with it and it looks soooo pretty in my studio. In case you missed it, here’s the link to the pattern again Pin Cushion Thread Catcher so why not have a go at making one for yourself?
Sigh…back from our Cornish travels:(
I do so love going even deeper into the West Country and South West; Devon and Cornwall are just so beautiful that it’s no wonder people migrate there in their thousands on an annual basis. When the sun is shining there is no place I’d rather be in Summer than Blighty, Exmoor in particular and the picture-postcard villages of thatched cottages that pepper the landscape so prettily. So much so that we are seriously considering ways of bringing forward our dream of running a guest house and tea room/garden in the Porlock area. Like this one that we have been frequenting for over twenty years – Kitnors in Bossington, a mile’s walk from Porlock.
P E R F E C T I O N ! !
Owned by the National Trust, the lease became available recently and I would have loved to be in a position to take it. Isn’t it pretty?
Back to reality and I have permission to show you a photo of a special little girl wearing a gift that I crocheted for her birthday last week.
This is said pressie: –
I made an adjustable closure of velcro so it should fit however it is worn.
I found the pattern here by the very creative Revlie – pop over and have a look at her colourful blog REVolution. This is HER photo…
…and this is MY photo of the birthday girl wearing the headband another way.
How sweet? Simple and quick to make, it’s a great project for using up small amounts from your stash.
I’d love to see any crochet headband, or any other small project, that you whip up from scraps of yarn – I know I’m not the only one who can’t bear to throw them away!
Together with The Masses, we have descended on the magic that is Cornwall for the week. Staying with my cousin in her holiday home near Newquay, the boys and the dogs are in their element spending time on different beaches every day. Personally, I’d rather explore rocky coastlines than sandy stretches of crowded beach, but it is lovely watching them clearly loving every minute. They tried body boarding for the first time:-
I’ve also had a little “me” time in which I put my feet up and did another row or two:-
Fifi and Tess joined me; such loyal creatures, they never like to be far from my side.
There’s a beautiful view of the church from my Crochet Corner;
My new backpack has made its maiden voyage too, here sitting on an ancient door handle, but earlier swinging nonchalantly over my hubby’s shoulder all day. Only a real man can rock a multi coloured, in-your-face, crochet rucksack in public and not bat so much as an eyelid!
Such a pretty cottage….
Off to the aeroplane museum shortly (the joy of having boys!) but hopefully I’ll get chance to sneak off to a gallery or six later:)
Don’t you just love summer holidays!
Another WIP finally completed!
You know what it’s like when you’ve been happily crocheting away and the end is in sight then you realize that you haven’t got everything you need to finish the project?
Well, that was me earlier in the week and I can’t tell you how irritated I was to have to order (for which read ‘wait’) the various bits and bobs that were vital to my vision.
I’ve got so much in the way of sundry haberdashery but none of it quite hit the mark, so I ordered half a dozen of everything I chose to add to my supplies.
Anyway, the finishing touches all arrived in the post today so I’ve spent the morning up in the studio beavering away sewing and taking photos….
Tadah!!
I knew I was going to make it as soon as I came across this version on Pinterest.
Various brands of 100% Cotton from the Wool Warehouse gave me the colours I was looking for and the texture I wanted.
It’s lined with some leftover red Versace fabric which I discovered in a charity shop (and made a tent out of it for the boys before I noticed “Gianni Versace” printed on the selvages, but that’s another story…!)
Each flower granny square is different and I joined them together with a unifying row of double crochet in lime green. The raised side is usually the reverse, but I like the contrast that using it on the right side gives.
Twelve rows of granny stripe in random colours both above and below the granny squares form the body of the bag….
…and the base is just alternating rows of treble crochet, joined to the body of the bag with a row of double crochet, again with the raised side as the right side.
These are the bits I ordered specially: canary yellow 5mm cord and red toggle cord ends;
Lime green twin cordlock;
35mm D-rings;
And this fabulous webbing that I just fell in love with!
To give you a sense of scale, here’s a picture of me with the rucksack on my shoulder;
Although I’ll probably wear it across my body as it’s more secure and very comfortable to carry that way:)
I absolutely adore it – all the bright colours are just so cheery it makes me smile every time I see it! Not only that, but it’s practical too. I shall be using it when we go to Yarndale in September. Is anybody else going?
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