doggy neckerchiefs

max in a peach floral number

I have blogged about these doggy neckerchiefs before. I’ve made them for friends who have asked for them and I have given some as gifts, but people don’t seem to buy them.  During my days at Harringay Market, it occurred to me that the reason could be that it isn’t easy to work out what these little doggerchiefs actually are!

Hamlet modelling Agnes’s Doggerchief

Although Max goes down a treat with doggy shoppers at the market; he behaves like everyone loves him and he is always pleased to see anyone who makes eye contact with him, it’s not very fair to expect him or Hamlet to sit around modelling in the freezing conditions that we have had there JUST so that people understand what these doggerchiefs are.

doggy outline

So the solution is to have a stand in; A cardboard cut out of sorts (made of MDF to be precise).

It couldn’t have been easier:- a quick outline of a JRT (Max wriggled a bit but we managed to get him flattened out………only joking!!!! ) enlarged to about the right size, an off cut of MDF from the shed and a jig saw.

cardboard cut out

JC did the cutting for me and it is now done.

Although, I haven’t been making much lately and my pile of unfinished projects is really not getting any smaller making the cut out for the purpose of modelling the neckerchief, made me pick these out of the basket & I got them finished.

I must do some in more masculine fabrics as these all seem to be a bit more appropriate for girls but when you are working with vintage, it is hard to be sure what you will come across.

lady labrador’s neck warmer

Anyway, Agnes now has the cute daisy green, Bosley will get his blue and gingham one next time we see him and there is a labrador along with her chihuahua buddy who also have them in hertfordshire

I love this fabric!!

I love them and would put Max in a new one every day if JC didn’t think he looked ridiculous!!

the tiniest doggerchief in the world!!

LOVE is in the air

heart of buttons

I really am being rubbish at the moment but work is very full on and there seem to be sooooo many demands on my time

but

I did get another of the unfinished projects finished.

Alas, I have probably missed valentine’s day shoppers as it is a tad late.

Still, very much along the same lines as my last post about the valentine cushion, this one has the word ‘love’ on it but the ‘O’ is a heart and it is covered in buttons.

love heart cushion

It’s quite cute and a completely different shape to all the other cushions I have made in the past.

It’s nice and neat and I have been thinking about doing some doggy cushions and think this one lends itself to a dog image. however, since I still have a load of things to finish and a commission to squeeze in, I will have to hold onto that idea and do something about it another time.

The Village Haberdashery

spring trees

I found the fabulous Village Haberdashery when I bought some fabrics from them at the Alexandra Palace Knitting and Stitching Show in October.

Since then I have signed up to be an Official Member of their Advisory Board which means I am ocassionally invited to give feedback on fabrics they might want to stock and it is quite good fun.

meadows

I have done a couple of their surveys and Annie got in touch at the weekend to present me with a £10 voucher for their shop as a thanks for taking part in the survey but also to say Happy Birthday.

coral friends

I didn’t hesitate to do some shopping and here is what I chose.

birds and bees

I messed up on the check out and missed putting in the code to use my £10 voucher but having contacted Annie, it was all sorted out for me.

The fabrics have arrived and I’m not disappointed.

lovely

They have joined my small pile of new fabrics that will be transformed into something wonderful as soon as I have worked my way through the pile of ‘to do’s’ still sitting waiting in my ‘to do’ basket.

Thanks to the Village Haberdashery for the birthday gift.

Baby Bunting

leo bunting

My very clever friend V suggested that I try using small flags in my bunting. Having seen something at the knitting and stitching show, it got me thinking.

When a name is very short, it is difficult to make it interesting or even too decorated with cars, and hearts and flowers on the flags that don’t have letters on them. Very, very short names like Leo mean that without these extra flags, it is really short bunting, or very plain bunting.

alternate small flags

So, with V’s suggestion still in my head, and because one of the boy’s at work has just become a dad this week, the opportunity came up.

Little Leo now has this new style bunting for his nursery and I’m very pleased with it. It’s a great way to make bunting fun for a short name.

theodore grey bunting

Just as Leo arrived Theodore Gray was taking delivery of his bunting from his Grandma.

From one extreme to the other!

hedgehog motif for theodore gray

I have made the shortest bunting name ever and the longest ever all in the same week.

Now I have to get cracking with some for a very little person who has just arrived into my family in Canada!

rule breaker

fresh new stash

I broke one of my strictest making rules……

I bought some brand new fabrics!!!

Not thrifted, remnants or repurposed; brand spanking new and they come with that glorious smell that you get from fresh off the roll fabric.

yum yum

I couldn’t resist, I really couldn’t. I went to the knitting and sewing show at Ally Pally last weekend and just couldn’t walk away.

charlie fox

I know exactly what each piece is for and although I have stashed them and am saving them for later, as soon as my latest commission and some christmas makes are completed, I will be delving into them to get started.

ladybirds

The red foxes were the first to catch my eye and they (along with lots of the others) come from a lovely on line shop called pin it and stitch who are opening an outlet in West Hampstead soon and I can’t wait. It will be well worth a visit and the ladies at the show were lovely to deal with.

abstract

Myself and my friend V (of pearl barley and by appointment fame) both wanted to go so we got there early and were done by lunch time. It started to get very busy just as we were finishing and I sort of lose the will to live when I have to fight with the crowds (you can see I would be hopeless in the January Sales!!). I find shopping a bit frustrating anyway but I can get over that for all the lovely stuff at the show which is different; it’s a bit like being in a big sweet shop full of your favourite stuff but even that has it’s limits so we left quite early very happy with our purchases.

floral

Anyway, like last year, I have found some great on line shops while at the show which I will fall back on for certain things when my thrifting lets me down.

crafty ribbons for gift wrapping my makes

This year it was crafty ribbons who sell these lengths of lovely ribbon,

blooming felt starter kit

Blooming Felt who sell all things felting (thank you very much for your help Sarah – more of that later).

The Handweavers Studio which is only around the corner from where I live and I had no idea it was there but what a find.

felting wools from the handweaver’s studio

the black sheep craft barn who sell all the gorgeous Sublime wools and patterns for gorgeous, gorgeous knitting projects (how long were you able to hold back before you treated yourself and started your knitting V?)

hooplayarn were there will all their lovely T-shirt strips for the chunky knits and crochetting in your life

wanstead fabric merchants for floral prints

the eternal maker also did lovely fabrics like those at ‘pin it and stitch’

the village haberdashery or ray-stitch will fulfil all your haberdashery requirements

lady sew and sew for novelty fabrics.

I could go on……..

All fabulous in their own way but I was completely won over by ‘pin it and stitch’s’ gorgeous ranges and would like to thank them for their patience in the face of my indecision, I got there in the end and had to stop looking in the end otherwise I would never have managed to carry it all home.

delicious

Until next year, let’s hope I can keep to my rules and resist temptation.

heart patchwork

the finished blanket

I find it hard to keep up with all the things that I want to make, the list is endlessly long.

Sometimes seeing something that inspires me takes me back to an idea I had and thought I’d forgotten about.

the finished cushion

Heart patchwork is one of those and since I am on a bit of a patchwork roll, I thought I’d give my idea an airing.  I also recently bought quilting rings that hold the quilt in a neat roll while you do your quilting stitches.

quilting rings

I cheat (well, I think it is cheating) and quilt with my normal sewing machine. I’ve never done swirls or shapes and stick to straight lines mostly and it seems to work.

I was only going to do a cushion but got carried away cutting out and decided to do a matching cot quilt.

embroidery silks ready for the hearts

It came together quite quickly and was a real pleasure but the hand applique is still the most pleasurable part of it for me, it is sooooooo relaxing. The rainbow colours of the embroidery silks are like sweeties and selecting the right one for the work is as much fun as the sewing

quilt without wadding, backing, applique or quilting

I used to sit at my sewing machine for hours making clothes, curtains which I still love but given the choice I prefer the hand work and I now find delight in every stitch of hand appliqué.

appliqued heart

The theme was cream and pink with more emphasis on the cream as I wanted it to be subtle (unlike the next one I will make I think!).

applique heart

Anyway, they are both finished now and ready to be gifted or go onto my internet shop. Someone is due to have a baby soon and if it is a girl, it will be the perfect gift.

pretty princess pinafores

pink starburst

My nephew’s little girl is one year old shortly and it has given me the perfect excuse to make these lovely, simple pinafore dresses.

blue floral

Like all little girls these days, Ella likes pink. Well, I think her parents like her dressed in pink actually. It’s not important who is the the one who actually likes it, she looks adorable in whatever she wears. She may, however, be a little young yet for such heady fashionista decisions as what the colour of her clothes should be.

cut out and ready to put together

coming together nicely

my trusty frister rossman cub 7

Anyway, I have made her two pinafore dresses; one pinafore to suit her / her parents preferences and another because I think the fabric is sweet.

pocket detail

My mum found the hot pink starburst fabric and I found the floral. They are both remnants. The lining fabrics are offcuts and the threads are from the incredible thrifty purchase I made at a car boot sale some weeks ago. The buttons are from my vast collection that are organised into colours and lined up in jars on the window sill waiting for my workroom to be done. Everything has come from remnant sales, car boot sales, my mum’s and my gran’s sewing boxes, charity shops or have been thrifty gifts and some of the buttons came with my recently purchased vintage sewing box.

label

The pinafores are completed now, packaged and ready to be posted. Her birthday isn’t for a few weeks yet but I hope to see some photos of her in it to update the post.

I have been meaning to make something like these for so long and have really enjoyed making them so I have made some other sizes for my FB shop!!

patchwork cushion

fabric squares in pink

I have been on a real crafting roll this week. I finished my girls cot blanket in record time, have cut out all the fabric for another patchwork blanket, and a matching cushion, I have made another 2 cushions and I am half way through some bunting that is a gift for a fellow crafter.

patchwork border in pink

One of the cushions that I made has been on my rapidly lengthening ‘to do’ list but I grabbed the opportunity and got on with it. I finished it over the weekend even though most of the time I was glued to the olympics.

floral and gingham

I’ve made bunting and other cushions with names on but like the simplicity and the timelessness of a patchwork trim to a name cushion.

patchwork corner

There are more boys than girls in my family and amongst my friends but I still seem to have more pink fabric than anything else. Some of it is quite gorgeous so a cushion for Lucy had to be pink and I happen to know her favourite colour is pink (of course!).

border squares and centre panel ready to join together

I probably would have finished it sooner than Sunday but I couldn’t decide how to finish it so t put the fine detail out to vote on Facebook and Twitter.

with

Initially, the general favourite and what got most votes was the ‘with’ image but eventually, the overwhelming favourite was ‘without’ so ‘without’ it is.

without

The Lucy cushion is simple and clean and I tend to agree with my friends, groups and tweeps. It doesn’t need the flowers adding.

the hand appliquéd letters

This cushion has a home to go to but I’ve made another waiting for a different little girl’s name and it will go in my shop on Facebook, wowthankyou, coriandr and folksy.

finished!!

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• Sew easy cushions (welovecards.wordpress.com)

patchwork blanket

quilted squares

quilted patches

quilted patches and edging

I have had a really lovely week making this week. It has been unusual for me to be able find the time and I have thoroughly enjoyed it,,

When I sat down on Monday afternoon to cut out some selected squares to make a patchwork baby or cot blanket I really didn’t expect that I would be able to finish it by Tuesday night.  But I did.

squares sewn together

I have a couple of hand sewn pentagonal patchwork quilts part made. One is in red & white and the other is mixed and they will become a large bed throw eventually but I have wanted to make some patchwork cushions and children’s blankets for ages and my chance came up during this quiet week.

all the squares sewn together ready

It has been very satisfying seeing it take shape so swiftly, I’m mostly used to having to grab an hour here or a moment there. Choosing the patterns and laying them out so that the squares all work together is a lovely therapeutic process and it is very easy to understand how addictive patchwork becomes.

quilted edging

Each piece of fabric has a story, which came to mind with each square that found a place on the blanket. It might have been repurposed from something else, it might have been an off cut, or a car boot find, it might have been a bargain that my mum got or a piece that I have bought just because I like it. Some of them even have a second story having also been made into something by tinyinc, be it a blanket, cushion, letters on an apron or bunting. I love finally finding uses for these fabrics but I also love my fabric stash.

the finished blanket

I will do other cot blankets in different colours but it seems that my stash is dominated by pink at the moment so I concentrated on those so it appears that it my be for a little girl.

nice cup or rosy lea

new striped tea cosy

new flower top detail

I haven’t posted any tea cosies on here for a while and I finally got around to sewing tags onto my fresh stash and taking some photos of them.

purple stripes

purple top flower detail

These are a result of an idea my mum had, she has developed the pattern and they are all her hard work.

They differ from the previous ones that had a pom pom or a tied top. These have a new looped flower top detail mostly and the pattern is different to most of the previous ones.

teal and turquoise

oranges and lemons

magenta & navy

jubilee teacosy

I love them and my mum is very pleased with the outcome as she should be!

They will be a welcome addition to my online selling as I haven’t listed anything on there for ages either. Most of my recent sales have resulted directly from my blog posts or as a result of commissions.

I will slowly list them on one of the internet (folksy, etsy, coriandr & wowthankyou).