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!

a springtime cosy for rainy days

I made this tea cosy several months ago but it's taken me this long to get round to posting about it. It was one of the first projects I wanted to do when I brought my sewing machine up to Durham at the beginning of the year because it would a) not take too long to make, b) not require me to buy much fabric as it's nearly all recycled bits and pieces and c) be useful - we didn't have one in our house before!

I bought the green background but it was only a fat 1/4 and came very cheap from the quilting stall (which I frequent regularly) in Durham's indoor market. Although you can't see it in these photos, the tea cosy is lined with some checked material which was left over from a hat my Mum made me when I was about six. The floral Liberty fabric is the same that I used for my pincushion and the pink printed material was brought back from Ghana by my aunt and uncle when they lived there about fifteen years ago. And as you can see, my Mum found something useful to do with it back then but I've somewhat outgrown the trousers and top now.

I designed the cosy myself and made a paper pattern for it which I've hung onto in case I make one of these for a friend. It did become quite fiddly sewing on the letters and birds though as I wanted the stitching to be invisible so it was done be hand and had to be quite precise. I also spent longer than I needed quilting the background, pinning and tacking it first to get the distances and angles right before realising that I had a quilting foot on my machine which would do all that for me!

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!