Right ... Enough is Enough!!

I have stupidly gotten out of the way of doing craft projects which I must put an end to. I have too many projects on the go and they are all just taking too long ...

There is my Kate Davie's Puffin knitted Jumper;

A neon Aztec quilted blanket (my own design);

And my Parisian cross stitch designed by Satsuma Street.

So today I am taking advantage of the horrible wintry Sunday and picking up my cross stitch.

Here is what I achieved today!

51 Days of Summer: Week 2

I have set myself a challenge to take a picture each day of my holiday - to encourage me to do something exciting and help me remember what I've been up to.

Day 8

 Trip doon memories lane ... Making one of my favourites that my Gran use to make

 

Day 9

 

Watched Andy Murray win Wimbledon with a Pimms

and my take on Strawberries & Cream

 

Day 10

 

Having a cosy evening with Em and Bruiser reading ii magazine

 

 

Day 11

Our daily adventures at the back of the dam

 

Day 12

Only sunshine I saw this day, but is rather bonnie

 

 

Day 13

 

Half way with my Aztec quilt, really wanna finish it before the end of July

 

Day 14

 

Baking Dad's birthday cake it is a Rum and Fresh Cherry cake

...using Old Navy's proof rum



Leather Clutch

For a year or so now I have been looking at the faux leather that a friend gave me, dreaming up what I could do with it. I decided to make a clutch.

 

Very plain on the outside, I wish I had put a neon pink

or lime zip, do give it a bit more detail

First I cut up the fabric I went with A3, I cut this shape out of the leather and some floral cotton that I planned to make the lining out if.

The magnetic snapper is easy to attach although you

must make sure it is lined up perfectly

I then put the 2 prices of fabric, right sides, together. Putting the zip in between then, good side of the zip facing the good side of the leather. Then sew along it.

I love this fabric

Do the same with the other end of the fabric. With a cool iron I flattened the join so that the leather didn't poke out. Then I placed the magnetic snap, making sure they lined up perfectly. 

Can't wait to take this out with me tonight

Then I turned the bag inside out so that the floral fabric was on the outside and I sewed up the to sides. Make sure the zip is open before you do this or it is trickier.

Et voila

This clutch was inspired by http://www.extrapetite.com/2013/03/simplified-diy-clutch-bag-tutorial.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+ExtraPetite+(Extra+Petite)&m=1

Aztec Blanket ..... Pour Moi

I have been fascinated by the current Aztec trends, I love how simple the shapes are and they are super pretty. I also like the neon trend, i.e. lime green and pink, but I am not confident enough to wear them so I am channeling my enthusiasm into my next sewing project.

I have chosen to make this quilt using cotton (white, grey and pink)

I started by coming up with a pattern taking inspiration from Aztec designs on Pinterest. Then I sketched it out onto square paper, this made it easier for me to choose colours and the quantity of fabric

I was struggling to find suitable fabric that was affordable, but I got some good tips from twitter and found Seam Star, who had the colours I wanted and it was cheap enough that it wouldn't cost me more than £40.

Seam Star delivered super fast!!

 

Sunday 26th May

Today I finally switched on the sewing machine and finalised my plans for the quilt, I ended up using Micrisoft Word to make a colour version of my quilt, I made a little modifications to ensure that my quilt would pack a punch.

Here is a mock up using word

Day 1                                                Day 2                            

The finished quilt is going to be massive but I still envisage myself carrying it around like the guy on Snoopy

Thursday 3rd July 2014

Getting there ...

...to be continued!!

Emma's Random Blanket

I have started to pay more attention to other people's quilts on twitter and Pinterest and idea was starting to build, web I started to gather fabric for it I decided it was going to be a gift for my sister, as her and her boyfriend are planning to buy their first home and I thought it would be right up her street.

 

Fabric wise I went for a mixture plain, striped, novelty and floral. I also included camouflage as Emma like camouflage.

 

I cut the fabrics into right angle isosceles triangles with the identical sides being 13 cm. then I randomly paired up 2 prices of fabric to make a square then used 4 of them to make a bigger square. I used 5 of these to determine the width then continued like this until I have the required length. I used the fleece backing to determine these measurements, since it was a random pattern this was easy to do.

Once I have the cover sewn together I put it on top of the fleece, right sides together then put the wadding on the back of the sewn fabric.

 

After pinning the materials together i sewed (1.5 cm from the edge) around them leaving a 4 inch gap so that I could turn the fabric inside out, I then turned in a edges where I had not seen and I sewed around the fabric (1 cm from the edge) securing the hem.

Easter Weekend 2013

Home in Shetland for the holidays ... Yeay!

Went a wee walk to Bridge End with Meg this morning, hard to believe that folk down south are bothered with snow and ice and I went a walk in a t-shirt and fair-isle cardigan, not snow boots and waterproofs. Hope this weather lasts!

Took we walk past the house my Gran & Grampa used to live in and there are still signs of Gran's green fingers around the garden.

Me and Mam went for a peerie nosey in Nibble Fingers in Bolts Shopping Centre, this was the first time I've been there and I have fallen in love with it, so many possible crafting idea and new projects I could start... I bought some things in the sale to keep me busy.

On Easter Sunday me and Mam used the new Paul Hollywood Bread Book, we chosen crumpets, they took a peerie start to master but once we cracked it they tasted amazing.

How have you spend your weekend?

Happy Easter!! x

Christmas 2012

Christmas Vodka, looked super festive from day dot

 

Christmas this year seemed to appear from no where. I started to panic when I realised I had very little time to make the gifts that I wanted to give folks but I am happy with what I finally produced.

I first started knitting these gloves for my friend Gemma

 as she had said how much she had liked mine the year before

Then I found a recipe for a Spiced Aarancello (Christmas Spiced Vodka) from BBC Good Food App and thought that it would make a nice gift for some of my friends

- My flatmate makes amazing fruit liquors so it was nice to try my hand at something similar

 

As I mentioned back in October, I got a kindle pattern from a craft fair during Wool Week and was keen to make one for my Mam, Ii am really chuffed with the colours etc.

although it is a little on the large side

After the success of last years Christmas Jam I thought I would try my hand at my own recipe, Mulled Pear Jam, I liked how subtle all the flavours were although I would maybe put a little less

 sugar in it next time as it was super sweet.

I know that some people make/sell Christmas Pudding Hats but I thought I would try my own version. My own pattern so, again, proud of the outcome (would also make awesome tea cosies) can't wait to see pictures of the boys in them.

Ii also followed a Kate Davis pattern and knitted this hat for my Dad, thinking to make a girlie one for myself, once I have tackled the socks and jumper.

 

I really recommend homemade gifts, I got one this year (Blackberry Gin from Lynn) and I really appreciated that she has put time and effort into a gift that was for me.

 

Happy Holiday xxx

Christmas Pudding Hats

I was really struggling with what to make for my friends' peerie boys this year, they are between 1 and 2, I couldn't come up with something exciting that would beat the sock zebras from last year.

 

First I cut out the fleece, I wanted a rounded hat that wasn't pointy so I made a template by card, there wasn't much thought that went into it I just made sure it was symmetrical and the correct size.

 

Then I used the same template to make the cream topping, making sure that the edges matched up.

 

I sewed the cream on around the bottom then matched 2 parts together and used my sewing machine to sew round one of the long sides

 

Sorry for the picture quality I didn't notice it till it was too late

Once all the pairs were sewn together i opened them up and sewed them together, then I created a hem.

The cream and holly leaves are made form felt and just hand sewn.

 

My favourite part of this process was learning how to make the pom poms, I had never done them before and it was made even more fun by watching Elf while I did them.

 

I attached the pom pom and tah dah!!!

I canna wait to see photos of the boys wearing them, I plan to make a tea cosy in a similar way and possibly some adult hats.

 

 

If anyone is interested in try it please let me know and I'll upload a template and more detailed instructions ... Merry Christmas!!!

Practically Perfect Children in Need

I LOVE dressing up, even more so when I get to make the costume.

My earliest fancy dress memory is me as a witch and my sister as a scarecrow for Hallowe'en. Since then I'm been a bat, a mermaid (I was obsessed with Ariel), a skeleton, Pocahontas, a clown and many many more.

At the school our theme is From the Movies and I knew what I was gonna be straight away, as I hadn't gotten to dress up this Hallowe'en I decided to use it for CIN.

First time making a circle skirt and I'm shocked

 that I managed it as easily as I did

 

I was really lucky to get to see Mary Poppins on Broadway last October and after seeing the Pinterest photo I knew it was a must.

This is Day 2, skirt is finished bar the hem and the shirt has the ruffles

pinned to it to see what it would look like

I started off by making the skirt, I used a tutorial from A Pair & A Spare's blog but made it a little longer to work (although I do plan to take it up so that I can wear it after). I also used youtube to help me make sure I was doing the zip correctly.

The finished skirt, a little too big but I will wear it again

 

Then I started on the blouse, I was shocked how hard it was to find a white blouse in the charity shops, but eventually I got one in the Red Cross which was 'off' white but fit and the neck line wasn't too low. I had planned to pin the ruffles to the front until I spoke to the lady in the fabric grotto who said she had previously made a Mary Poppin costume and used the shirt backwards so I tried this and it does look more like Mary P.

The finished shirt, kinda want to do this to other shirts

 

The next step was to to accessorise ... what would Mary Poppins be without her umbrella, hat and carpet bag?

 

I had the offer of a carpet bag but sadly they couldn't find it and I had no time to make one too so I settled for a woven bag I had gotten from Accessorize, years ago.

 

Ran out of time to make cherries but it still looks cute

 

I was most concerned about sourcing the umbrella but after hunting high and low in the Blue Door Charity shop, the assistant pointed at the only umbrellas they had and this multi-coloured one wasna too shabby.

Sadly my umbrella does not talk

 

The parrot handle was easier than imagined I first started with head shape, I used papier-mache to do this then glues the green feathers on. The beak was completed at the 11th hour, after forgetting black card, but I am brally proud of the outcome.

 

The school did really well this year for Children in Need and raised approximately £3,125. What did you do for Children in  Need this year?