I absolutely adore the badge blanket in the current Cath Kidston catalogue. I think it would be perfect to keep in the car and use when we’re out and about on picnics. However the £60 price tag is a bit steep for my mummy purse and I don’t think my husband would be pleased if I used the child benefit! So I’ve decided to make my own. I spent the last few weeks looking out for patches to sew on the blanket and have accumulated a great stash on vintage and new. Some of my favourites were picked up at…
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This post follows on from a previous post reviewing two ebooks: How to Sew – Basics and How to Sew – Applique. This review is of two further ebooks: How to Sew – Patchwork and How to Sew – Machine Sewing. How to Sew: Patchwork The How to Sew: Patchwork ebook (a handy pdf) contains a basic introduction to patchwork and quilting along with three simple projects over 27 pages. The ebook covers both machine piecing and hand piecing patchwork as well as machine and hand quilting. Lots of helpful hints are included and the layout is clear to read…
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I was recently given the opportunity to review four ebooks on a variety of sewing topics: How to Sew – Basics, How to Sew – Applique, How to Sew – Patchwork and How to Sew – Machine Sewing. Today I will be reviewing the first two ebooks. I’m a complete novice at sewing but I really enjoy having something creative to do after putting my little boy to bed. I was encouraged by my grandmother and mother who could both knit, crochet, sew and embroider anything. How to Sew – Basics The How to Sew – Basics is a handy…
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My son dribbles a lot. He’s coming up to 6 months and we’re waiting for him to cut his first tooth – I can see it! To try and protect his clothes and prevent his eczema getting aggravated I’ve made him a number of dribble bibs to mop up the drool. This pic shows him wearing one in my favourite Michael Miller fabric. You can buy dribble bibs everywhere but this took 15 mins on my trusty vintage Singer! How to make a simple dribble bib: I cut a rough triangle shape from two pieces of fabric, I used a…
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Today I undertook my first toy drop through The Toy Society. If you’ve never heard of them before The Toy Society is a world-wide collective of toy makers – of varying skill levels– who make toys and leave them as gifts for perfect strangers. The project was started in Australia in June 2008 by a local crafter, Bianca, as an attempt to create a ‘something for nothing’ experience for anyone who discovered a toy. What started as a small personal project has now spread around the world and become known as a Random Act of Craft. I decided to make…
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I am really enjoying making things for my little one. He has a great bedtime routine which means by 7 we have evenings to ourselves and I can get my sewing out! A couple of weeks ago I started on some simple tshirts which I finally finished: hedgehog giraffe dinosaur jellyfish I bought the tshirts and followed a simple pattern from Sew Hip magazine. Each animal is decorated with some colourful ric rac and the name of the animal embroidered. I didn’t enjoy the freehand embroidery (they look a little too like a child’s handwriting!) but I love the finished…
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So last night I tried one of the projects on my to-do list – an embellished tshirt for my little boy. I followed an old pattern from Sew Hip magazine. It was pretty simple consisting of an applique motif decorated with colourful ribbons for the mane and tail. I was excited as this was my first time using fusible webbing and I have plenty of other projects I want to try using this. Everything was going well until I managed to melt the ribbon on to the iron not once, but twice! I removed the gunk with a paste of…
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I have been busy making hexagons for some time. It’s the kind of craft project you can do when you have 5 minutes and I’m trying to make some every evening. I even managed to take some away on our recent holiday. I didn’t realise quite how many fabrics I had – there’s plenty of scope for all kinds of patchwork projects in a variety of colours 🙂 I’m making the hexagons the traditional way using English paper piecing. Some are big, some are small, and I am planning to use them on some Christmas presents!
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I seem to have lost my crafting mojo recently. It’s probably due to a lack of ‘me’ time which is natural with a new baby. However, Edward has gone to bed at 7 since we brought him home from hospital and I don’t feel the need to collapse on the sofa after he has gone to bed as much as I used to. So I recently picked up my sewing machine and made a new bib for him from some lovely fleecy fabric. complete with milk stains! It’s not the best thing I have ever made but it was practical…