every knitter needs one of these...

I made this a while ago, around the same time I was starting to get back into sewing and made my pin cushion. It's one of those creations that I put to use immediately after making it and so forgot to write a post about it until just recently.

Being a keen knitter I've certainly had plenty of well-meant mockery head my way over the years but knitting has clearly made a very convincing comeback in recent years. Did you know that typing 'knitting blog' into Google produces 28,600,000 results! 

I don't think I'll ever have a blog entirely devoted to knitting but I can admit to being quite a fan of it. (And I actually think it's one of my less embarrassing hobbies, I can honestly say that fantasy RPG computer games will never get a blog post!) 

And a keen knitter would be lost without a case for all her needles.

 

An Unnecessary Doorstop!

For my birthday in April I got given a book called The Crafty Minx by Kelly Doust. 

Kelly is an Australian with a knack for making handmade treasures out of recycled bits and pieces which is just up my street! I found her blog yesterday if you're interested to take a look: http://thecraftyminx.com.au/

The book has lots of ideas and patterns for things to make and I took inspiration for my latest cushion cover from it. This doorstop was first on a list of things that I have queued up to make. It's made from bits of fabric I've picked up here and there: an old pair of jeans, some old curtains, upholstery material and some fabric I inherited with my sewing machine. It's filled with the contents of a bag of rice and some extra stuffing so it's pretty solid.

The only problem with making a doorstop is that my bedroom door stays open by itself so it's not a necessary accessory and we don't need it anywhere else in the house. However, while I was on holiday with my parents a couple of weeks ago, my mum mentioned that she was in need of a new one for the lounge so happily I was able to send mine to a good home.

So not such an unnecessary doorstep after all!

giant cushions are the best sort of cushion

Having got myself in a cushion-making mood following Geri's birthday, I decided to make a cover for a floor cushion I bought in Ikea a little while ago. The fabric is also all Ikea (I'm not a huge fan of the shop but I do have a weakness for the textiles department!) and because it is thick upholstery material I didn't get issues with it sliding all over the place as I have done before when using silk. So it was quick and easy to make (I think I got it all done in an afternoon), including making buttonholes and adding an appliquéd bird from one my offcuts.

This is now my favourite cushion for leaning against when I'm sitting on my bed skyping my boyfriend in London :-)

(recycled) birthday cushion!

It was one of my oldest and best friend's birthday at the weekend and so I really wanted to make her something special as a present. I've had several spare cushions kicking around recently so that seemed an good thing to make. And I also had a silk top that I'd bought from a charity shop years ago because I loved the fabric, but I'd never worn it. It made for a really luxurious cover though and as the top was lined I had the perfect backing material too!

I wanted to avoid having any seams in the fabric so it was a bit of a stretch to make the cover big enough. It was slightly on the small side but the bonus of that is a plumper cushion in the end! I also used the original zip from the top which was only half the length that I'd normally use but as the colour was a perfect match I hope that's not too noticeable.

. 

Happy Birthday Geri! I hope that you enjoy your cushion :-) x

Dress to skirt in 10 easy (or not so easy) steps!

I saw this dress about four years ago in a sale and loved the material so I bought it even though it was a size too small. I've never really got a lot of use out of it though because it wasn't very comfortable to wear. So this year I made the practical decision to transform it into a skirt. Luckily for me, my Mum who is great at dressmaking wrote out a nicely numbered set of instructions, which I followed (nearly) to the letter.

I had to buy a zip but the buttons I pinched from an old t-shirt that wore out. The most time consuming thing was definitely lining up the fabric because every time I thought I'd got it right and the pattern matched up, it would slide around and end up wonky again! But I'm happy with the end result and it's a pretty popular wardrobe choice for work these days...

Recycled Cushions

I'm not always very good at throwing things away even if it's something I never use but I love to recycle. Clothing and other bits of material are especially good for this.

This green cushion was made out of a t-shirt that I'd had a little while and really loved but the style wasn't very good so I just didn't wear it much. It was fun to make (although not as easy as I'd expected it to be) and only took a few hours. I'd anticipated using the original side seams but they weren't straight enough so I ended up cutting a square each from the front and back and then sewing them together. I did however use the t-shirt's bottom hem on the back opening which gave a neat edge that I didn't have to do myself!

I also made the purple cushion from some old felt I had and another old t-shirt, but I can't claim originality for the idea because I found it on a Google image search!

My Old Bernina Record

This is my old sewing machine which I love.

My Bernina Record 730

It was given to me about eight years ago by a lady who'd bought it in 1967 for ninety-six pounds and nine shillings. I've been told that it was the Rolls Royce of sewing machines in it's day and although the pedal is sometimes a bit glitchy now, it still runs really well. I used it a little bit when I received it but I have to admit it remained largely untouched for several years. However, having resolved to make a particular effort this year to spend more time investing in creative hobbies, I decided it was time to have another play around with it.

My first sewing venture in a few years

90% recycled pincushion (the wadding was new)

One of my first projects was a pincushion as I wanted something nice and simple that I could do quickly. The patterned material was some Liberty fabric left over from a skirt my mum made years ago and the blue used to be bunting! It was a very practical item to make too and has come in very handy as I've progressed onto more complicated things. Expect plenty more blogs about sewing adventures!