Category: Home Projects

Hearts and Throats

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Rebecca from next door had to go into hospital to get her tonsils removed and as Little Miss Bossy-Boots loves her to bits she wanted to make Blebbie (as she calls her) a get well card. She drew a beautiful picture of a house which, sadly, I forgot to take a picture of.

However, I didn’t forget to take a picture of the gift we made Blebbie:

I sewed the heart and Little Miss Bossy-Boots chose the buttons and positioned them on the front of the heart. The little heart button is upside down which I think is incredibly charming. I could, of course, have turned it the right way up but I didn’t. I wanted the buttons to be just the way Little Miss Bossy-Boots placed them.

To be honest, I’m a bit jealous of Blebbie. We gave her the card and gift yesterday after she came home from hospital and I found it very difficult to part with the keyring. I think I might have to get another design session in with my daughter one of these days. Watch this space…

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Rebecca’s Sewing Kit

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This is a project from last year that I haven’t blogged about before simply because I didn’t have a blog at the time. We have the loveliest neighbours all around us but get on especially well with the wonderful people from number 25. Their family consists of mum and dad, two gorgeous daughters and one very crazy dog. Rebecca, the eldest daughter, started university last year and this is what I made for her to take with her:

I’m a firm believer that everyone should have a sewing kit at home in case a button falls off or a hem unravels. The sewing kits available in the shops, however, are usually very small with tiny scissors that hardly cut and big needles that leave craters in the fabric you’re trying to sew. Therefore I decided to make one for Rebecca that I could stock myself with big scissors, fine needles and everything else I thought a student might need.

Did you notice the Hemming Web. A student essential, I’m sure.

I used a linen scrap that I’ve had for many, many years and some Denyse Schmidt ‘Hope Valley’ combined with some bright orange felt for pins and needles. I sewed the pockets with the things I bought in mind and they could easily be adapted to whatever you want to put in your sewing kit. I added a little loop with a popper at the end to make sure the scissors stayed in place. You can’t really see it on this picture but the pocket for the thread and buttons has a flap, again to make sure they stay where they are supposed to stay. I enjoyed making this sewing kit and am thinking of making one for myself for when I want to do some hand sewing in the garden or at picnics. Maybe attached to a pouch in which I can put my WIP. Hmm….only one bag, three alterations and some cushion covers to finish before I can get to it.

 

PS Apparently it is in use a lot. A great gift for any student.

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Hold the door, please!

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A very good friend of mine celebrated her birthday this week and I thought long and hard about what I could give her. In the end I settled on making her a door stop. There’s usually a fierce wind blowing here in Cambridgeshire and doors bang all day every day. Gesine loves the colour orange and a little while ago I saw a rust coloured fabric that made me think of her. I bought half a meter thinking I would make her a bag. I didn’t. It was on my mind for ages but somehow it just didn’t happen. Luckily I remembered the fabric and was able to use it for the door stop.

I added the rose simply “because I can”. I love these fabric roses and was thinking of making three in different sizes and then let them tumble over the edge of the doorstop. Sadly I ran out of time (she says hanging her head in shame) as this was one of these last-minute gifts that I’m so well-known for. I really need to get more organised, embrace the Elizabethness in me.

Off I go then, to make more door stops and baby booties for the Christmas fairs that loom somewhere in the future and have a tendency to creep up on me. Please, stop laughing…I will be organised this year, honestly.

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Holding tight

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Hi there. I know I have been gone for a very long time but I’ve had a big personal sorrow to deal with which meant I had to travel to Switzerland from one day to the next. I’m back now, though, and I have some lovely ideas for the next few crafting sessions. However, before I get going I would love to show you what I made before travelling home:

For ages I’ve been thinking that I really need to get a new pin cushion, one that I can put on my wrist so that it’s always with me. I sew sitting on an office chair with wheels with my ironing board set up right behind me at the right height to iron sitting down. All the cutting, pinning, planning etc. is done on the ironing board, then I swivel round and sew on my machine and forget to bring my pin cushion. Doh. I have to stop the machine, swivel round again, get the pin cushion and continue (I like to take the pins out while sewing, rather than afterwards. Don’t know why. Answers on a postcard, please). Gone is the hunt for the pin cushion because now it will go with me wherever I go! Even downstairs when I make myself a nice cup of tea and get a cinnamon swirl out of the tin. Mmmh…

I’m so in love with this pin cushion I’m going to make a few more and maybe even write up a tutorial for them. It’s great to use up some favourite scraps. Anyone interested?

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An Australian Adventure

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Yeah, I’ve finished the cushion cover for the cushion cover swap! I know I promised you a reveal yesterday but I wasn’t able to finish the cover till after Little Miss Bossy-Boots had gone to bed and didn’t want to take pictures in the dark. Here it is though:

I really love it. It came out just the way I imagined it. I used one of Master’s shirts which still looked perfect except for the collar. I know that quite a few shirty cushion covers have been floating about blogland and thought I’d try my hand at making one. I love to recycle and use lots of repurposed materials when I’m crafting. Using a shirt to make a cushion cover means you don’t need to think about zips or envelopes and the buttons are a fun detail on the back of the cushion cover.

The cushion cover looks a bit floppy because I don’t have a form that is big enough. My cushions are all sorts of shapes and sizes and I will have to go and buy a suitable form when my cushion arrives.

The flower is constructed out of 18 petals in three different sizes and a vintage button from my button box.

The flower is set inside a frame sewn from the same shirt material while the panel is a white cotton sateen. As the shirt material is quite thin I lined the entire cushion cover to give it a bit more body and to make sure it lasts a little bit longer.

I really hope that the girl who is receiving this cushion cover likes it. It’s a fairly classic looking cushion and I just might make one for myself next time one of Master’s shirts isn’t up to being worn as a shirt anymore.

Tomorrow this cushion cover is off to Australia. Bon voyage!

Categories: Cushion Swap, Home Projects8 Comments

Another Bean Bag and a Cushion Cover

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My friend Delphine was here yesterday to make another bean bag; this time for her little boy Tristan. His birthday is two days before Little Miss Bossy-Boots’ and as her children have been fighting over the first bean bag she made (with a little help from yours truly) for Charlotte, she decided to make a second one.

While the children were playing and Delphine was busy with the bean bag I thought I’d sneak in some work on my cushion cover for the swap. I only have till Monday before I have to send it off and I’d prefer to send it off a little earlier. I had a gigantic freak out a few days ago when I realised how close the deadline was. Imagine how I felt when I had a little peek at the cushions that have already been sent off by the other members of the cushion swap and I saw one that was incredibly similar to the one I had planned to make. Change of plan. Well. That was after having a major wobbly in the privacy of my own home. Luckily inspiration hit me again and I’m really hoping that my vision will work out well. It looks beautiful in my head…

Curious? Come back tomorrow for the big “Ta-dah!” moment.

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Easter

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Hello there!

Wishing you a very happy Easter. I’m just off now to hide some eggs in the garden for Master and Little Miss Bossy-Boots.

I hope you are having a great Easter!

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Crafty Chatters or Chatty Crafters?

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I can never remember what we actually call ourselves. By “we” I mean a few of the lovely village mums and I who meet up on a Monday evening to do some crafting. Or not. I believe I’m the worst at taking any projects out of my bag to work on them. Rather, I end up eating cake and drinking decaf coffee. Oh, and chatting to the girls. And admiring and stroking other people’s fabrics.

Monday night came and went without getting my WIP (work in progress), another “I’m in the Garden” sign, out again. I’m trying to stock up on a few things to sell on Etsy. So far I haven’t been very successful at making up stock as I keep giving away things that I make quicker than I can make them. Business woman? Moi? Definitely not. But I’m working on it.

However, I finished the ballet bag yesterday. I’m really pleased with it and am looking forward to sharing some pictures with you tomorrow. The light was gone by the time I cut the last thread so it’s picture time later!

I hope you have a great day! Little Miss Bossy-Boots and I are off to the park to slide on the big red slide and eat ice cream… I might even bring my WIP for some fresh air.

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In the Garden

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Little Miss Bossy-Boots has been a teensy weensy bit trying lately and I haven’t been able to get to the sewing machine as much as I should. I don’t like sitting around doing nothing so I thought of a small project I could move around with me: A “We are in the Garden” sign for our front door.

It has happened to me a couple of times that people have called but I haven’t heard them because I was in the garden with Little Miss Bossy-Boots and Aron our dog. It’s never a problem when Aron’s in the house as he barks at every one walking to our front door. I’d been looking at signs stating “I’m in the Garden” a few times but have never been tempted enough to actually buy one.

Continue reading In the Garden

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Baba’s Gift

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We have just come back from a week in Switzerland to celebrate my dad’s 75th birthday.

It was quite funny because I knew ages ago that I wanted to go home for that occasion and was waiting for Master to book his holiday so that we could book flights and a hotel (my parents live in a flat with no guest bedroom). I thought about which suitcases we were going to bring and what I was going to pack. I thought that I had thought of everything until I realised in a panic that I had forgotten one small but very crucial detail: a gift for Baba. Continue reading Baba’s Gift

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