All for Protection!

I’ve had the sewing machine out for the first time in years. I think the last time I used it was before I moved in to the flat. I always make promises to bring it out but other things seem to take priority. We are now being asked to wear masks on public transport and so I thought I would make my own. I watched a video on Instagram by Tilly and the Buttons which gave a very simple tutorial on making them. You can find her tutorial on YouTube as well as her website.  

So a few things about picking up sewing in so many years. I had to remember how to use the machine again. For instance, threading the bobbin, attaching the foot and remembering to put the foot down. Yep, I made all of these mistakes. I also made the mistake of cutting my fabric before watching the tutorial in full so that my little toadstools are all travelling in the wrong direction. They are still cute though, right? It took me a while to make the first one but quickly zoomed through the second. It now takes longer to measure and cut out my fabrics than it does to sew it up. I have made one for my dad and uncle and have plans to make a few more. For my dad and uncles I actually struggled to find fabric that wasn’t girly. Then I remembered the bedsheets that I have that I don’t use anymore. So they now have orange and white striped masks.

I chose to go with he ties for the masks because the elastics are sore on the ears. Not a problem if your are only wearing them for a short time. However, I wear masks all day in work and it does ache. Some of us have to twist the elastic to ensure that it is secure to the face which makes it more painful. So these little knitted bands of fabric with buttons helped. The elastic goes round the buttons instead of the ears. This means a tighter fit and saves the skin behind the ears. I used leftover sock yarn to make them. I used my sock needles to cast on 25 stitches and I knitted up 15 rows. Didn’t take long at all.

I know that restrictions have eased a little but I hope that you all still stay safe and take precautions when you do go out and about.

I had also planned to do a separate posts to highlight some of the devastating events that’s came to light since the murder of George Floyd. I decided against it as I didn’t want my post to drown out the voices of those that really need to be heard. My little blog isn’t that far reaching but I didn’t want to take the risk. Instead I have donated and I have ordered some books as part of my own education. If you are interested on seeing those books I will post them on my instagram when they arrive and on twitter.

Stephen & Penelope

Every time I go somewhere I like to plan a trip to a local yarn shop. Not that I am well travelled. This year was a special birthday and I was taken to Prague. I’m a little sorry to say that I didn’t look out any local yarn shops. The year before we went on a family trip to Amsterdam. I love Amsterdam. I have been there at least 5 or 6 times and I am never bored of it. I love the culture, the atmosphere and the history. It was nice that we were going as a family and this time I was especially looking forward to one thing. I didn’t care what I did so long as at some point I got to visit Stephen & Penelope. A yarn store which is rather famous among knitters. Mainly because of Stephen is none other than Stephen West of  West Knits. One of my favourite knitting designers.

On our last full day there we did indeed make it to the famed store. It’s in a lovely area with lots of nice stores. Thankfully also a cafe nearby where my dad and uncle went so that I wouldn’t feel rushed. The store is lovely inside and out. Filled with beautiful yarns, books, kits and accessories. I was in heaven. The staff were lovely too and from what I could gather it seemed to be popular with locals as well as visitors like myself. If you are ever in Amsterdam you have to go. Just be prepared for the fact that you won’t leave without buying something.

Along the road from our hotel there was also a lovely little quilting shop. There was one day my sister and I had the morning to ourselves as there was a museum we wanted to visit and my dad and uncle had something else planned. Since my sister likes to sew too we couldn’t not pay it a visit. The shop is called Original Dutch Fabric and it is actually a lot bigger that it appears on the outside. The shop is filled with a fabulous choice in fabrics as well as quilts made by the owner and her friends. They were so beautiful and the lady who owns the shop was lovely and happily chatted away. 

While both my sister and I did buy some fabric I have put mine away with all of my other fabrics. I haven’t had the chance to look it out. Of course I also bought some yarn at Stephen & Penelope. My sister wanted to buy me some sock yarn. I only agreed to it if she picked and bought yarn for what would become a pair of socks for herself. She chose the pink. I picked out and bought the grey and I have plans to use that in the new year. I have purchased Hedgehog Fibre yarns before but it’s not the same as buying it in the shop.

I would have happily bought kits and books and spent a small fortune. Instead I limited myself to a couple of cute accessories. A little key ring that also acts as a needle gage. I have a few of these but none in the shape of a Dutch building. I also got these cute little bicycle stitch markers to add to my collection.

Even if you are not a knitter or a sewer I would still recommend Amsterdam. It’s a beautiful city which has a lot to offer all types of visitors. Even though I didn’t go to any yarn shops in Prague I would also recommend there too. It’s also beautiful with lots to see and do. I would suggest going during the week as wee did to avoid the stags and hens.

The Great British Sewing Bee - Week 1

At last! The Great British Sewing Bee is back and thus my Friday posts are once again dedicated to viewing other peoples creations. It was a little over due me thinks but they say good things come to those who wait and so the first episode was a good one. Before I go on I would like to point out that all of these images do not belong to me but belong to The Great British Sewing Bee itself. I highly recommend you follow their twitter account, particularly when viewing the show.

I was sad to hear that the show would be losing May Martin as a judge. I thought she complimented Patrick Grant very well and often played good cop to his bad cop. Not that she couldn't be a strict judge but I think I would have withered under Patrick's scrutiny more than May's (or maybe that has something to do with the fact that Patrick is the hottie of the sewing world).

May is replaced as a judge by Esme Young who is famous for costume design and has her own label. I think I am going to like her and she seems to be more of a perfectionist than Patrick (if that was at all possible). Maybe presumption based on her costume design background but I think she will appreciate the imaginative and adventurous design.

The show started with a simple top. Well, simple looking. They had to create a chevron top using striped fabric and this of course meant the judges were watching for pattern matching. Angeline's top was by far my favourite due to the fabric choice. However, Jamie's red top won it which I actually quite liked too. I think this would have been my mum's favourite.

For the alteration challenge the contestants were given the most hideous maternity dress I have ever seen. It basically looked like an oversized t-shirt. There was no limit to the things that could be done with it since it had no shape to it to begin with. Yet, the results were rather lacking in imagination. In fact the judges commented straight away on how disappointed they were. I would have made some kind of top I think but there were a whole array of skirts. The winner was Jamie's dress right at the end there. Not my favourite but I can see why it won. It had so many different skills within including the use of a lovely contrasting fabric. I just hope that my favourite challenge is stepped up a little as of next week.

For the final challenge the contestants had to create a shirt. My favourite skirt was a dark 50's inspired skirt by Jade. The winner though was a peplum pencil skirt by Angeline. I can see why she won. It was very well constructed. The fabric was lovely and as you can see above, the judges loved the fit (swearing on sewing bee - who would have thought it). Having said all that I HATE peplum skirts with a passion. I always have. I just do not find them attractive in the slightest. I remember watching old films and admiring the costumes when I was little and I would switch off at the slightest hint of a peplum.

While there is always a winner there is always a loser too. Poor Duncan was the first to leave. The only Scottish accent in the bunch. He did make the rookie error of cutting the hem of his skirt while the model was wearing it. Funnily enough it didn't work.

Normally I would end with some links of some kind like I did with Bake Off last year. At the end of this weeks show the above image was put on the screen. Sadly, Lorna Monje, one of the three finalists from last year has since passed away after losing her battle to Aplastic Anaemia. She was one of my favourite contestants last year and I very much remember those vibrant red poppies. I think my mum loved the skirt she made from it. There is a Just Giving page in her name raising money for Aplastic Anaemia which I have linked for you.

Next week the contestants will be making children's clothes. Never my favourite theme but I still look forward to it. I won't be live tweeting though as I will be away and will catch up on iPlayer later in the week.

Christmas Countdown Week 1 - Stockings

So this is my Friday replacement. I had to have a new theme to put in place of the Bake Off. I had a few ideas floating around but I settled on this one. I know that there will be many of you wondering why on earth I would be doing this since it's not even Halloween. Well, I have a number of reasons. First of all Christmas is going to be rubbish this year. Most of you will know that Christmas was my mum's holiday. She would have celebrated it all year long if she could and she would start preparing for the next Christmas as soon as the current one was over. Christmas films would make an appearance as early as July. It's also her birthday. So you can imagine that none of us are looking forward to it. My mum would have hated that and so I am trying to keep things more positive and this is my way of doing that. This is for her really.

The second reason is that if you are a crafter you will know there is no such thing as too early when it comes to starting you crafts for Christmas. I know a few people who have started already. If you include today there are actually only 10 Friday's left until the big day. That's not a lot of time to get your gifts ready. So each week I am going to post a few ideas with some links so that you can be ready too.

This week I decided to focus on stockings. I have always intended to make stockings for family. I even started once and I have no idea where that went to. My friend Lisa of For the Love of Yarn has created a stocking kit. You get some of her scrummy yarn (in red or green). Enough of which to make not one but two stockings. You get the pattern for the stocking as well as a few little extras. My kit arrived this week and I plan on getting started with it soon.

I then did my usual and looked around facebook for more inspiration. I came across this beautiful, Scandinavian style, knitted stocking. This pattern is available from ravelry and is by Kirsten Spurkland. It's not a free pattern and I doubt anyone would expect it to be. I would need more than the 10 Fridays we have to make at least one of these but I think it would be worth it.

The pattern for these stockings is free on the other hand and can also be found on ravelry. It's called Fabulously Festive Christmas Stockings by Julie King. I like their bright colours but I also like the fact that they make use of different types of crochet stitches. You could also pick your colour choices to suit the individual. The downside of course is all the ends you would have to sew in. Might be worth it though.

I decided that no stocking list would be complete without one that has been stitched. This particular one comes with a free tutorial by Sew Like Mum.You can also visit her blog here and have a look at lots of other good tutorials. I have added this link to my tutorial page and the blog to my blog list page. I would be very tempted to try this one as there are a lot of lovely Christmas fabrics out just now.

Last but not least I spotted these little Christmas stockings that you can hang on your tree. My mum had knitted a few of these for her tree when I was little and she used to fill them with candy canes and other sweets. I like that these ones are hung up like a garland and if you were to knit enough of them you could create an advent calendar. This is also a free pattern which is by Little Cotton Rabbits. I might even have a go at one myself this year. You never know. Little Cotton Rabbits itself looks like a lovely blog which you can find here (as well as on my craft blog page). There are lots of hand knit patterns on there.

So that's my first Christmas countdown. As well planned as I sound I have no idea what I am going to do next week. Hopefully you will like whatever I choose and I do have some ideas flying around my head. Let me know if you decide to make anything from this list. Would love to see it.

Pins I Love - Try Something New For Spring!

I honestly don't see why trying something new should be something you do in the new year. Let's face it. New Year is slap bang in the middle of winter. It's miserable and most of us are still reeling from the financial cost of Christmas. So what better time to try new things than spring. Spring is the proper time for the new. Everything is fresh. For most it brings us that spring in our steps that has been missing in the winter. Therefore I bring back my pinterest posts with some new things to try.

The first are these geeky cookies. I am hopeless at decorating of any kind although good at the baking part. I think even I could manage these though. There is a fab tutorial over at a fab baking blog, When Adobo Met Feijoada. You will need google translate though.

As always click on the image to get to the precise tutorial.

Okay, I tried to find a simple sewing pattern suitable for a beginner but struggled. As someone who has yet to pluck up the courage to sew much it all looks difficult to me. This tunic though looked quite nice and it has a good tutorial over at The Southern Institute. It shows you this tunic being made up in some lovely bright fabric. It's amazing how much a pattern can change just from the fabric.

I have taken part in tutorials and taught a few myself. What keeps people interested is the idea that they will have made something by the end of it. These mini granny squares are fantastic for anyone wanting to learn to crochet them. Plus you get a cute pocket for your ipad or ereader at the end of it. You will find this tutorial at Sugar Beans. Worth checking this blog out as it seams to have a lot of lovely tutorials.
 

I picked this lovely shawl for anyone wanting to move on with their knitting. It's a simple lace pattern and the shawl itself is lovely. You could even mix it up and add some stripes of colour in there. This one comes from ravelry.

It seemed only apt given my numerous gardening posts that I should have a gardening tutorial on this list. I picked this one because not everyone has a large garden or has direct sunlight. This website gives a tutorial into creating your own shade garden.


As I said earlier, clicking on to the images will take you direct to the tutorials. The few blogs that I have mentioned I will also add to my blog list.

Fabric Fiend!

For the last few years I have been wanting to get into sewing. I have managed one or two projects but have never had the confidence to try out something more than backing a cross stitch project. Thanks to some inspiring people at my knitting group I have been wanting to move beyond that. So with a voucher that was given to me by these ladies I got myself a couple of books that will help me (I hope) move beyond inspiring into actually doing. The first book is an accompaniment to last years series of The Great British Sewing Bee. There are one or two things in there that I would like to have a go at. The second book is actually by the runner up of the first series, Tilly Walnes. I have had my eye on this book for a while as I follow her on pinterest and she always pins images of makes from her book. I love all the patterns in it and I can't wait to have a shot. She also has a blog called Tilly and the Buttons. Worth checking out. She is also on twitter, instagram and pinterest. Think it will seem a little too stalkery to link all of those.

In a magazine I picked up recently there was a pattern to show you how to sew your own pants (or panties if you are American). I quite liked the idea and then saw this company advertised in the same magazine. Anncancan is a website where you can buy kits to make your own knickers. Offering different fabrics. Each kit contains three different patterns. It was this that sealed the deal for me as it contains a pattern for the beginner which would be me.

I am also still looking at decorating my flat with my makes (when I get it) and bought these two fabrics for my soon to be bedroom. I plan on making some patchwork pillows. The orange and teal will match the blanket I have almost finished making. All I need is some white on white fabric to set it off. The teal fabric I picked up in hobbycraft. The orange fabric I had to hunt for to find one that I liked. Orange fabric is a difficult one to get it would seem. I got it from Purple Stitches which seemed to have a nice selection.

While on that website I couldn't resist this one. I thought it was cute. I have no idea what I am going to do with it yet but it had to be done. This is how fabric collecting starts isn't it?

I have no idea when I am going to start all of these projects. I have quite a few on the go just now and need to be thinking about finishing one or two of those before I start. That and I need to build up the courage to start cutting into these lovely materials.

A Return of Sorts and The Great British Sewing Bee!

I could regale you with tales of as to why I have been absent. The festive period had me busy with crafting projects galore (as I had planned way back last January). I would by lying though. I managed to finish one pair of socks and those were the stripy horrors for my sister. I call them horrors for at the time of her picking out colours I hated them (liked them once they were finished). No Christmas baking got done. Not Christmas sweets. No socks for anyone (I mentioned that). And none of the other crafting projects I had planned. Who knew that working would be so exhausting. My days off were mostly spent reading, sleeping or catching up with my sister. I will get used to it in time. Maybe once I stop doing all the extra shifts. Saving to move out is hard work. On the positive side I now have a permanent full time job which I actually start this week. Not bad considering most of my class mates are still looking.

I digress. So now that the Christmas period is over I have been working away on a baby shower project which I can't show you yet. I have also been working at a few projects for the future flat. Which I also can't show you. Not because it's a secret but because I have been too lazy to take photo's during the day when the lighting is better.

I have also signed up to a blanket club that my friend has started up. Each month she sends us out enough yarn to create 26 squares, a pattern and a template for the blanket. The scrummy yarn above was from the first month (you guessed it, it's the lovely Lisa of For the Love of Yarn).

Sadly I only managed 25 squares. I must have been too generous with my sewing allowance as my mum managed 26 (she crochets a little bit more loosely than me). As a result it would mean that I wouldn't be able to follow the template. So my plan was to wait until I had all my squares and then decide on what order to sew them in (rather than sew as I go). My mum though gave me her leftover yarn and I managed to do a 26th square so I am now undecided.

As I had a pay cheque coming in for once I also signed up for Lisa's monthly yarn club. You don't have to sing up for it every month but it's nice to know that I can occasionally treat myself. This was January's yarn. I got a matching crochet hook, a yarn marker and a cute little box. Not sure what I am going to do with the yarn. I might look out a pattern for DK socks. Or I might try something else. We'll see.

I have other news but that involves me not being lazy and better lighting. So it will have to wait until later in the week. Thursday there saw the first episode of season 3 The Great British Sewing Bee. It has a very similar format to Bake off (only there is not cake at the end of it). I watched it for the first time last year and loved it. On Thursday I was visiting my sister and thanks to me she is now a fan too. I then watched it again on iPlayer with my mum who is now also a fan. You are welcome GB sewing Bee. It has me itching to get the sewing machine out but I think I should maybe master the basics first. There are a few people shining out already and there was a few at the bottom. Sadly I wasn't surprised when my fellow Scot was the first to go. Mainly I oohed and aahed over the pretty fabrics.

Pins I Love - Gotta Love a Stripe!

As promised, some stripe love in this weeks pins I love post. I actually didn't have as many stripey items on pinterest as I thought. I will rectify this in the future. However, I still had plenty to chose from for the purposes of this post.

The one I am starting with is kind of a cheat. Does pinstripe count? It's still a stripe if a subtle one so I am going to say yes. Plus I love this skirt. There is no pattern sadly but you can purchase it from etsy seller  Ma chemise d'homme. She upcycles menswear into women's clothing and sells them on her online store. This skirt (in case you can't tell) has been made from a pair of men's trousers. I think it looks better as a skirt.

I love this baby blanket. It's more of a wave but it's so sweet. I love the yarn used. It looks like a cotton from the image but it's actually merino. I also quite like the colours. I wouldn't have though gold to be a great choice but it works. Plus it's also not your stereotypical baby colours which give it extra appeal. This pattern is free to download on ravelry and was designed by Laurence Meriat.

I saw this on pinterest last night and instantly fell in love with it. So much so I immediately went to ravelry to see if I could download the pattern. It didn't have to be free I would have happily paid for it. Alas this is a test knit so there is no pattern available as yet. It was designed by Mairlynd who has sent it out to various knitters for testing. I will most definitely be watching for it. The designer also has a blog which I am linking.

I actually saw these mitts about a year ago. However, I pinned them again today as I couldn't find them on any of my boards. Which makes me think I saw them on facebook. Anyway. These are lovely crochet fingerless mitts. There are a few things I love about them. First of all it looks like it uses fairly simple stitches. Second the stripes and third the buttons. I would make these just for the buttons alone. The good news is that this is a free pattern and the author has even provided a tutorial on her blog.  Her blog is called Cherry Heart and there are lots of yummy crochet images on there.

Of course I am going to have a stripey sock on here. I wouldn't be me if I didn't. These are actually boys socks but I am sure that they can be adapted to fit an adult.You can't see it here but the leg of the sock is done entirely in rib (rather than just the cuff). I imaging this is to stop them falling down but it does have a nice effect on the pattern. Also the stripes are done in single rounds (the ones I am doing are in double). It gives it a nice effect and I have to admit at first I wasn't sure if it was a self striping yarn because of it. The patter itself is on Purl Bee which I am sure I have linked to before.

So that's my ode to the stripe. I have done a few stripey things myself in the past and there are loads of stripey possibilities on pinterest. So I have no doubt that somewhere down the line there will be more.

Pins I Love - Sewing Bee!

I have been enamoured by home sewing projects since watching The Great British Sewing Bee. I would love to have a go but my sewing skills are fairly basic. Time is also a factor. I have enough projects to be doing without adding to them. However, it doesn't stop me from looking. One day I WILL develop my sewing skills along with all the other crafty projects I want to try.

Until that time I have created a sewing bee board on pinterest (not to be confused with my stitch it board). On going through some sewing projects I spotted this cute dress. There isn't really a pattern for it (not from what I can see). It looks like a sewing page that takes dresses seen in high street stores and stitches them up with a similar fabric. I have to admit I was mainly attracted by the polka dots. If you are interested in the page click on the image above and it will take you straight to it.

I love this dress. It can be dressed up for all sorts of situations. Smart, dressy or every day. I do like a versatile dress. Plus it looks like quite a simple but effective design. It was stitched by a blogger who also knits socks. Always like to see another sock knitter. Think I will have to look into this blog later on. The link to the dress itself is the image above. However, the blog is called Little Home by Hand.

I like this dress too. It's a nice summer dress plus it's floaty. Who doesn't like a floaty dress? What I like about all these sewing patterns (got this from watching the Great British Sewing Bee) that just using a completely different fabric pattern can make an outfit look completely different. This pattern is by etsy seller Queen Bee Fabrics. She sells lots of lovely fabrics as well as sewing patterns.

I like this too although I think you might need to have the models physique to get away with it. Plus it might be a little bit more than a beginner's pattern. It looks good though. It comes from a website called craftsy. It is quite good for online sewing classes and sometimes has free patterns. Worth checking out if you are wanting to try something new.

I do like a pleated skirt (although maybe not with quite so many pleats). I enjoyed watching the contestants stitching up pleats on the programme although I am sure they found it frustrating. The image above links to a tutorial on how to stitch pleats. I can't say how good it is since I am a complete novice but it looks good. The website is by Julia Bobbin and she seems to have quite a few tutorials on there.

Pretty Balloons!

I have a book review planned. Okay, so most of it is still in my head but I will plan it out properly. The problem with these things is that quite often once I have finished a project I want to move on to the next. Even if I haven't blogged about it yet.

Anyway, I bought some pretty fabric. One thing you should know about me is that I am not a fabric hoarder. I tend to only buy as I need and that's not that often. However, I saw this fat quarter set in Hobbycraft and I couldn't walk by it. It also contained some cute animal prints. It was the hot air balloons that caught my eye. There seem to be a lot of items around just now featuring them (don't worry I still love the camper vans too). So I now have this pretty fabric that I don't want to cut but want to use at the same time. I understand that this is a problem that most fabric lovers have. My question is what should I make with it? Any ideas? Keep in mind that my skills are rather basic in this field.

Sewing by Wee Sis

I promised some more photo's of some of the things my sister has been sewing and here they are. The top two are flower broaches that she made me. One was for my Christmas.

This cute little felt pocket was also for my Christmas which had my broach and a few other things inside. I love these designs. Especially the buttons.

This one was for my birthday. Back to her original hand sewn bags. I use this to hold my sock knitting. I love the fabric.

This cute little bag was also for my birthday she had put some make up in it. So that's what I keep it for. Again I love the fabric and I love the little buttons and bows that decorate the border.

I also got more stash this week. They question is do you want me to bore you with a photo of it?