I was really pleased to finish my Bird Doorstops this week (I'm opting for "bird" as there seems to be much debate over the species!).

Somehow, I've managed to sew a crease into the fabric on one of them (I think the base had been cut out slightly wonky) but I needed one for my bedroom anyway, so I'll be keeping that one. So three more items for my Craft Fair Stock bag!  I've used different stuffing than that that I used for the original one and if I'm honest, I don't like it so much (it was a bit clumpy). I only really noticed a difference as I was putting the kids to bed and moving Bird I into place on George's bedroom door - it seems a little "plumper". Still, it won't be there at the fair for comparison and next time I need stuffing I'll know which type to buy.

Other than finishing these, my week has passed quickly in a haze of school/sport/children related activities. I thought this last half term would be a bit of a drag, especially given the impending Move to Big School for number 1 son but it's going by in a flash!

Thank you all for your helpful comments last week in regard to making cushions for Craft Fairs. I've decided I'm going to go with some covers and some pads, then people can see what the cover looks like "on" but can decide whether they want to buy it with or without the pad. My next job craft wise is to make said cushion covers but due to a cricket match on Saturday morning and then a tournament all day Sunday (to say nothing of Husband's birthday tomorrow and Fathers Day) I'm not sure that there will be a lot of crafting in these parts next week. Still, I shall keep an eye on what everyone else has been up to via Handmade Monday regardless (http://handmadeharbour.blogspot.co.uk/).

Hope you all have a fab week,
Love Natalie

Book Review: The Hand-Stitched Home by Caroline Zoob, and a Giveaway!

Neither the review nor the giveaway are from me but if you fancy entering a competition to win a copy of this book, which is by all accounts filled with inspiring photos and projects, then head over to A Time for Stitching http://atimeforstitching.blogspot.co.uk/ and leave a comment. I'm a sucker for gorgeous books about crafting so my entry is in!

Love Natalie

Time, eh? Where does it go? I actually started this post last week but ran out of time. So here I am finishing it off - I thought I'd have more to add but I seem to not have done anything all week! I have been doing some little bits of cross stitch to use at a later date and I have nearly finished a sunglasses case as featured in this months Craftseller Magazine but nothing finished to show off with. But it has been half term so I guess I was probably being overly optimistic that I could get much done.
What I have been doing is spending time in the evenings working on little projects to build up my craft stall stock. Love Stitching Magazine has some great little patterns for small projects so I worked up a few heart motifs that could be used on all manner of things. So here are the finished items so far:

And I also finished some keyring coin purses that were made using one of Wendy Massey's patterns:

Thinking that I ought to have some bigger items on my stall as well, I cut out the materials to make some more Duck Doorstops yesterday so I shall do some work on those during the week. And I'm having a great debate with myself about cushions for the stall - I really love decorating plain cushion covers or upcycling old fabrics into cushion covers. If I do this for the stall, should I sell them as replacement cushion covers or buy cushion pads and sell them as the finished item? Having not had a stall at a fair before, I'm mindful of the fact that sales aren't always high and I don't really want to end up with 10 cushions to store in the house! Thankfully I've still got a few weeks to decide.

Join me for Handmade Monday here http://handmadeharbour.blogspot.co.uk/.

Have a great week!

Love Natalie

A very quick post from me today as I've not had a lot of mojo this week so haven't accomplished much. I quite literally have made a few more lavender hearts

and I have "made" a cushion as a gift for someone

I say "made" as it's actually a shop bought, plain (but beautiful colour pink) cushion that I have decorated. It was so sunny outside (hurrah!) it's a little difficult to see the patterns on the material so I took an indoors picture

It was a little tricky to get the ribbon sewn on straight, despite marking a straight line in tailors chalk using a ruler, but any wiggles just add to the homemade effect! I hope the young lady it's intended for likes it - I have to say, it's might just be my favourite "make" so far, probably because it's pink and there's not a lot of that around here!

I shall be catching up with everyone over at Handmade Monday http://handmadeharbour.blogspot.co.uk/, which never fails to refill the mojo tanks.

Love Natalie

Now you see me.....

Now you don't!

I've been meaning to make a cover for my sewing machine for ages, particularly since I started spreading my crafting wears out and about onto various surfaces in the living room (my stash is spilling out of the linen box I've been using to house everything). Poor number 2 son had lots of homework to do this afternoon so whilst I was sitting helping him along the way (NB why do 9 year olds have to have so much homework?) I decided to get going with the cover. I heard or read a great sewing motto the other day - something along the lines of "Measure Twice, Sew Once" so I measured my machine, again and again. I was roughly working to the guide that I had read at http://chezlarsson.typepad.com/myblog/2008/10/sewing-machine-cover-how-to.html so was confident that I had covered all areas. I added on seam allowances, thought I might do a flashy seam at the bottom so added a bit more on and then cut the first piece of fabric. I've told you before that my straight lines leave something to be desired but they were OK today. But the piece of fabric I had cut was clearly far too small. I had mis-measured everything! Don't ask me how - I think I hadn't taken into account that the cover needed to be a little loose. So I re-measured, adjusted for seam allowances etc, added a cm on each measurement to allow some movement and then - in a moment of inspiration - cut the pieces from some old curtain lining fabric that I had decided to use as a lining (I had initially thought I might make a quilted cover but decided against it). Sense at last! I pinned the piece together and tried the cover for fit and it was perfect. So I used those pieces as a pattern to cut the main fabric from and then pieced everything together and - voila! Dare I say it is a bit too loose now? Not that I mind - at least there is plenty of room for me to pick the machine up using the handle whilst it's still covered. And I love this fabric and can now look at it everyday which is a bonus. A job ticked off the To Do List!

I've also been making a few more hanging hearts for my craft fair stock. I made a few lavender hearts

and I also made a couple of the felt ones

It was a bit windy when I was taking these photos, hence the peculiar way the hearts are hanging. If anyone recognises the pink cupcake material in the centre of the photo of lavender hearts, could you let me know where I could buy more? I bought a yard of it at a craft fair last year and have used it for quite a few projects but I've now run out of it and I'd love some more.

As always, I'll be linking up with Handmade Monday at http://handmadeharbour.blogspot.co.uk/ so do pop over there and catch up with everyone.

Hope you have a great week,
Love Natalie

 

 



 

 

 



Ta da!!

One pair of socks!

Fabulous photos taken by number one son.

I'm thrilled with them - I really am! They will be so lovely and warm inside my wellies when the time comes. Even my husband is impressed - he tried one on but whipped it off again before I could take a photo of him wearing something pink. I think I might make an ankle pair just for wandering around the house in - I think you can buy some sort of sticky stuff to give grip on the bottom. And I have a pattern for a lovely patterned pair that I feel more confident about now - I can knit with different colour yarns but I needed practise with the heel and instep. I am quite proud of myself! And I'm certainly glad I've finished them just in time for the flip flop weather....

Enjoy the rest of your week.
Love Natalie

What a lovely weekend! And best of all, we've still got a day off to go! Tomorrow I'm going to Nutfield Priory, to The Craft Barn, a craft shop that has recently relocated there (my Mum used to go to it's old shop and says it was brilliant). I did have plans to clean the oven as well but I'm rapidly going off that idea.....

I would just like to say a big thank you to everyone for the lovely comments last week about my quilted boxes, I'm glad everyone liked them. They really were simple to make and yet so pretty and effective, I recommend you all have a go.

There seems to have been an awful lot of sport going on around here of late so I've not done a huge amount of crafting. I managed to finish some carrier bag holders that I had started a little while ago. I had cut everything out to make one for myself and four others for my craft fair stock. One now hangs in my kitchen, dispensing carrier bags when needed. Two have made it into the stock bag:

The other two were snapped up by friends to give as presents!

Don't ask me why the one on the left looks so much bigger than the other one. I think I've said before that I'm rubbish at cutting straight lines but it looks like I measured it totally wrong. Not that it matters, but I was surprised at how there could be such a big difference.

Yesterday, I made number 2 and 3 sons a cushion each as I had been promising to make them for a couple of weeks. I'm all for re-using fabrics (the carrier bag holders are made using old curtain linings) so one cushion is made from some material from an old duvet cover and one is made from an outgrown dressing gown!

The back of the dressing gown wasn't big enough for the whole cover so I cut out the panels for the "back" of the cushion from the front of the dressing gown. It worked out that the pockets were placed perfectly on the cushion and the "back" is now the "front". It means the envelope fold is at the front but Henry doesn't mind. When I went in to make his bed this morning, he had put two of his smaller teddies in the pockets! He is really pleased with it and I think it has worked brilliantly.

I am about to crack open a bag of sweets that Mum brought over for me this afternoon, and catch up with everyone at Handmade Monday http://handmadeharbour.blogspot.co.uk/ whilst I eat them.

Enjoy Bank Holiday Monday everyone!
Love Natalie