Baby knitting

I have completed 3 baby cardigans. Now for something a little more exciting. 

I've bought some lovely bright wool to knit a blanket. 

The blanket will be stripy and have a large binding all around. 

Baby quilt

My first finished quilting attempt. There's definitely a few mistakes in there but I'm really happy with it. 

My New Apron

I've been spending a lot of time on Pintrest lately and pinned loads of pictures on my sewing board. I finally got around to completing one of the projects this week. It was nice and easy, an apron made from an old pair of jeans.

I really like the idea of recycling and that theme runs through my sewing board. There is so much you can do with old jeans, tshirts, jumpers and even sheets. Can't wait to do some more. I have even been inspired to start sorting my wardrobe to see what treasures I can find. As the nights begin to shorten I'm begining to start thinking about my winter crafting. Something I can do in front of the telly is always good. Just heard today that there might be a bag of old wool in my mother's. Will have to ask about that.. Could be useful for some new gloves and hats. Here's hoping for a productive winter.

A couch transformed

My crafting sessions have become few and far between during these summer months. Not that you'd know it was summer though with the weather we are having, but the kids are off school so it must be. My latest project pictured above was a joint one with my husband. We recovered an old couch we had with some lovely green and red material. It wasn't as hard as you think a couple of long evenings and it was finished. My husband did the green frame and I did the cushions. It is such a transformation from the drab blue color it had become and really brightens up the kitchen where it's now situated We are both really happy with our work and suprised it looks so well.

Bags, bags, bags

It's been a while since I updated my blog but believe me I've been busy. It took me a while to decide on a project. First I started to practise my crochet making some samples but nothing too exciting. Then one of my aunts gave me lots of leather samples so I spent time researching on the internet before starting my project. It's still not  finished but here's the pictures so far. I decided to make a handbag. It has a zip and is fully lined. I really impressed myself.  I'm having difficulty finishing it though, it needs somnething. It could do with some handles and embellishments, but how? Some more web browsing required. 

While I was doing my leather research I spotted lots of lovely bag patterns on the net and  I just couldn't resist so I had to buy some fabric. First I made a large beach bag for my upcoming holiday. Next I made a lovely handbag. I was pleasently suprised at how easy they were to make and they only took a few hours each. I've lots of material left for more, so the leather and fabric bag story will be continued shortly...



Bright Springtime Cushions

 I am delighted with my finished cushions. I made 2 large crochet granny squares and one knitted one like the table runner. I made some cushion covers and sewed the granny squares onto the front. The knitted cushion was harder. It wasn't as strong and I had to sew a border along the edges and sew some lining material behind it before making up the cushion. I'm really happy now they brighten up the room and I'm now in springtime mood.

I've 2 other projects on the go a the moment. I've sewen a bag from more curtain material but now need to think about handles, embellishments and maybe a zip (should have thought about that before now!). I'm also crocheting granny squares from scraps of wool to make a knitting bag for myself. It's all about recycling a the moment! 

Clothesline Basket

I found the instructions for this while I was browsing the web one day and have been dying to try it. The basket is made with cotton clothesline which is wrapped with strips of fabric. It's all then sowen together using a large zig zag stitch. I'm not great using the sewing machine and had my usual teething problems but even still the basket only took me about 4 hours to make. You could probably do it in 2 if you were good on the machine. It's made with leftover curtain material my Granny had.  It looks a bit rougher in real life as you can see alll the frayed ends. I found instructions on the web for a similarbasket that didn't require any sewing. It was made in the exact same way but glue gunned together rather then sowen. So everyone can have a go.