A Summer of Sewing

 Just a few of the things that I made this year.  I have always sewn but since lockdown in the Spring, I have used my sewing machine lots and lots.  

Pen Pouches my own design

Morning Glory Top by Sara Kirsten

Wiksten Shift Dress

Sorrento Bucket Hat

Olwyn Pants from Lotta Jansdotter

Alice Top from Tessuti Patterns

Pilvi Jacket from Lotta Jansdotter

A House for a Flower Fairy - Hillarys Craft Competition 2015

As you know I love a challenge and this one was no different.  This is my entry for the Hillarys Craft Competition 2015 - you can see the details of the competition here.

I chose the lovely Rayna Apple fabric and then had a good think. I had an initial idea, based on the pattern of the fabric) but then thought of other things.  Time passed. I was going to make a bag but then I went back to my first thought which was to make a useful storage box which also doubles as a play cottage for a child (or adult).  The Flower Cottage was about to be built, or sewn in this case.

Here is what I used

You can see my sketch in the top right.  That is plastic canvas you can see. If you do not have any you could use some other hard thing such as other plastic or even cardboard (but you will not be able to wash it).  I also used my trusty sewing machine and embroidery thread for the hand sewing.

I have to be honest  - I knew what I wanted and thought I knew how to do it but I did have a few false starts along the way. But ,hey, great learning experience.

The box is made up of 5 pieces, 2 for the end doors, 2 for the walls, one for the floor. And the roof is made of of 2 pieces joined together. You will need two pieces of fabric for each piece. I sewed the pieces together first, the plastic canvas went in each 'pocket' , then I sewed all these together into the floor piece.  The roof I did cut up four pieces of fabric but it would have been easier to do two pieces to make one large rectangle and then just sew down the middle to create the two pockets for the plastic canvas.

I cut out the petals from the fabric to use as roof tiles and then hand sewed them using blanket stitch. 

 

Loops and buttons hold it in the box shape. 

On the walls I did some embroidery, and used some charms. Here is the sewing table and above on the wall, a bookshelf.

The Welcome mat to greet visitors to Flower Cottage.

 

A chair with nice pink cushion for when the fairy is tired.

 

When the box is laid out it becomes a play mat, the roof could be the garden. 

And of course you could always use it as a handy storage box.



You can use this idea for any type of play set which also doubles as a storage box to keep the pieces (as long as they are not too small) safe.  You could also make it into a sewing box with the walls being handy pincushions and scissor compartments.
It was good fun to do. I am rather happy with The Flower Cottage.

A nice bit of piccallili on my crackers.

I love piccalilli. The colour is bright and wonderful and it tastes tangy and delicious.

My mum used to make it so it has has childhood memories.

Over on flickr I saw a jar, and asked Marmalady's to reserve me some. It arrived yesterday and today I had some for my lunch.

It was lovely. Just as nice as mum's.

Visit Marmalady's shop on etsy
and folksy

Black Friday, Cyber Monday Sale

Pop over to my etsy shop where I am having a massive sale for Black Friday all though to Cyber Monday.

You can get a whopping 25% off everything. Just remember to quote BLACKCYBER when checking out.

Here are a few of the pieces you could be buying.

Beautiful Roses

Look at these lovely roses! Aren't they beautiful.  You can see more about them over here on Sarang-Craft's Blog.

I mention them not only because they are so lovely, and what a great idea it is to use them at a wedding, but also because they were made using my tutorial.  Thank you Abby for letting me share your lovely flowers.

Nicky Epstein - Knitting in Circles

I am delighted to be taking part in the Knitting in Circles Blog Tour. Do pop over to the other listed blogs (see my blog post here ) and read their Tour  blog posts. 

Knitting in Circles, is written by the knitwear designer Nicky Epstein, who also write Knitting Block by Block among others. Nicky lives in New York, but has recently crossed the Atlantic to visit the UK.

The patterns of garments and accessories in Knitting in Circles  are lovely and there is a great range from pieces you can knit with just one circle to the amazing many-disced Circle Sampler Afghan. I love the Hoopla Bag and Eternity dress is so beautiful. 

The beauty of Knitting in Circles is that the vast majority is the circles themselves - all arranged gloriously by pattern and type. Nicky takes you from the basic circle shaping to lacing, and on to ruffles, and petals and much more. Thereby giving you a reference book that will allow your circular creativity to escalate in a circumrotatory fashion.  Think of all the wonderful things you can create. 



Nicky was kind enough to answer some questions (asked by my wonderful readers) :-


One problem that faces a lot of small business is copyright issues.  Have you had any problems with people copying your work and do you have any specific thought about it?

I deal with it on a daily basis, and it makes me feel very sad that someone has to copy my work. The idea of asking permission and given book credit has been lost along the way. Recently a person won a design contest with a prestigious craft company with an exact copy of design of mine that had been published years ago. A few fans of mine recognized contacted the craft company and it was awkward for them. But as they say on the New York subway “If you see something…say something”. Thankfully, publishers are becoming more vigilant and cracking down on the offenders.

How do you start your designs and what inspires you?  Do you start with the yarn, or a particular stitch you fancy using, or do you sketch?

I get my inspiration from everywhere and everything, depending on my mood, and I like to start with a sketch so that I remember the inspiration. But, I am often inspired by a great yarn or a unusual stitch pattern. The process varies from project to project.

Do you ever look at something you have knitted, and wonder how you did it?

Yes! Overwork sometimes dulls my memory and it’s frustrating. But that’s when I consult my own books. After all I’m very close to the person that wrote them.

How many people try out your patterns for you before they are published?

Me, my knitters, my instruction writer for format, my proof readers, and the publisher’s proof readers. My husband would be on the list if he could knit!

Do you find any differences in designing for particular markets, for instance the UK and the U.S.A?

Not really…I try to design for everyone regardless of culture. Even though I know a certain piece might not be made by everyone, I want people to say “Wow!” or “How did she do that!”

Thank you Nicky for your great answers which will be pertinent to crafters everywhere.

Nicky will be appearing on QVC tomorrow October 10th,  and then will be on the GMC stand at the Knitting & Stitching Show from the 11th - 14th to sign copies of Knitting in Circles and run Make & Takes.

If you cannot make it you can always visit her website at www.nickyepstein.com. 

Tomorrow's Blog Tour stop will be at by ConnieLene Johnston at http://www.connielene.com/category/connieleneknits-blog/

Knitting in Circles can be purchased from http://www.thegmcgroup.com/.

But for you lucky readers, I am giving away a copy of Knitting in Circles. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post. The winning number, which will be randomly COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED

Blueberry and Spider

I made a couple of hair snaps today.  The first was this pair of Blueberry and White. Such a lovely fresh combination.

The next hair snap was this Halloween inspired Spider on a Pumpkin.  Last year I made a smaller version for the bobby pins that I also have in stock.  But I thought it would work better on a larger button.  I added a pair of red eyes too.

Both are available now in my etsy shop. 

The Second in my new range..Shades of Purple Hoop Necklace

The other day I showed you the Patriotic necklace (see this post).  This time I have a Shades of Purple one, on a 18" Sterling Silver chain..

Available in my etsy shop here.

It is the second in my new range and it is a range that doesn't really have a name.  My new range of...?  I have been saying 'Hoop Necklaces' but if you have a better suggestion then please let me know.

I have also listed the buttons I showed you a while ago. This is a set of 3 but if you want more or less then let me know.  Available here.

I Love Handmade and Here's Why....

I love buying handmade as you know there is so much thought and effort that has gone into it and often you will have something that is unique.

I also like making things by hand as I can put love into it.  Here is an example of the Snowy costume I made for my daughter, (who is 8 years old amd mad about Tintin and his dog Snowy). I made this for her school's World Book Day.

She is holding a little dog she has had since small who she adores, and what is that round his neck?  It is a scarf, handmade by my daughter.  This is her very first knitting and I am so proud.

I hope that I pass on the love of handmade to her, the next generation, so she can own items crafted with care, and also make own own unique items, made with love. 

My Buttons in Use - Regency Dress

I told you a few posts ago, about how I rarely have photos of my buttons on garments, and that my sister was making a dress for a fancy dress party and had commissioned some buttons from me.

Well, as promised here are the photos.

The back of the dress showing the buttons.

3 Green Dorset buttons on the back of the Regency Dress

My sister in her bonnet which is so lovely I wanted to show you all.

I am very proud of my sister as she made a lovely outfit.  I will have to get a photo of the whole thing to show you.

Crafteroo Pinterest Challenge - Fabric tape

It has been a while but here is the second project in the Crafteroo Pinterest Challenge. Remember this is my board here.  The challenge is to make something from it about once a month.  The first thing I made was the rag rug using the t-shirt yarn.

This next one is the Fabric Tape.

Now me being me, I didn't follow the wonderful tutorial exactly. I cheated and used double-sided sticky tape. The fabric I have used is also designed with bands going across, so I just used one of these bands.  So I cheated big time!

I have re-used an old tape inner thingy to put my new fabric tape on. As you can see I have only made a little bit so far.

And here it is in use.

Simple Felt Rose Tutorial

I have seen some gorgeous fabric and ribbon flowers.  With Mother's Day coming up, my boss asked me to help the children sew something for their mums. I had the idea of doing ribbon flowers but the ones I liked I found too fiddly for me let alone the children.  I am sure they could do have done them but I needed something simple but looked really good.  We have children aged 4 to 11 so it needs to be something all ages can do.

I remembered those lovely paper flowers and at the time thought they would be good in felt. So I hunted down a tutorial - I used this one but there are lots of good ones about.

Here is my felt rose.

I am really really pleased with it.

Here is how to make it:-

You will need scissors and felt plus brooch back if you want to make a brooch, or hair clip if you want one of those instead, or some sort of stem if you want to make a bunch.

I started with a rectangle of felt.

Then cut off the corners to make them curved.

start cutting at one end, or middle. You will be cutting a spiral.

Cutting the spiral

Leave a circle in the middle as this will be the base.

Thread your needle, and secure it in the end of the spiral.

Start to wind, starting from the end, sewing as you go.

Just keep winding and sewing.

At the end you will be left with the circle. This is the base so just pop it over the rest.

Circle base popped over the rest!

Then sew little stitches (which will be much neater than mine) around to secure the base.

Turn over and see your wonderful rose.

It is now finished and ready for whatever you want to do with it.

You can make big ones, little ones. Stick a bead in the middle. Decorate the edges with glitter. Try using fabric other than felt.  I like these as I know that each child's will be different.

Have fun and let me know how you get on.

Update from 26 February 2013 - I now also have a tutorial for felt roses on a stem and corsage - so pop over here.