My little sewing project

At last my little sewing project is finished....and here it is in all it's glory. Nothing exciting I know but after a lot of trial and error I eventually managed to sew a little cover for my banking pin pad.

It wasn't difficult at all, but I cut the felt wrong, made it all up as I went along and decided that I would not put on the embellishment I had made as it just looked silly. I don't like anything too fussy and I really just wanted something simple to protect the pin pad from all the dust and bits when it is kicking around my handbag.

And although it's not perfect I found the sewing very therapeutic and immensely enjoyable.

To think today I was looking at sewing patterns for a dress....talk about run before you can walk. Anyway, I love my little pouch and feel very proud of it.

Hope you all have a happy Wednesday. Tonight Jim and I are off to Notting Hill to watch a special pre-release of Elbow's latest DVD. Should be a good evening!

Tangled

Last night I reached for my felt, fabric and sewing box and settled down to create something. It's been a long while since I made something from scratch in this way - the last bit of sewing I did was sewing the names onto the Christmas stockings. It was so therapeutic to put the radio on and sew. It had been a bit of a day at work and my soul needed creative time.

It all went well until I reached for my white thread and saw the mess it was in. I have no-one to blame except myself and it took me a while to de-tangle it all. In the end I did have to cut it but hopefully didn't waste too much thread.

Then it was time to carry on sewing. It was all a bit trial and error really and it isn't quite finished yet but when it is I will post a picture, even if it is a bit hideous!

Hope your Wednesday evening was lovely and that you have a great Thursday. So close to the weekend too....hurry up Friday night - my best night of the week!

Helen xx

A craft store trip

It's been a lovely weekend and the only thing missing really was seeing my mum. I normally visit on a Saturday, but I just had too much to get sorted out ready for Christmas, so I am looking forward to seeing her next week.

On Saturday I managed to finally visit the new Hobbycraft that had opened up in Staines. Since moving this is now my nearest one. I know they are a bit overpriced but I went in determined not to spend any more than I needed. The thing with Hobbycraft is that it pretty much covers most hobbies which means there's tonnes to look at, touch and sigh over. But I was good and only bought what was on my list.

I wanted to make some felt decorations for the kiddies presents (ours and my friends) so I picked up some felt and thread. I will use them to decorate the present with and hopefully if they are good enough they can be used as tree decorations. Least that's the plan. I bought 10 sheets of felt but does anyone know where you can buy this any cheaper in larger sizes? They weren't really expensive but I just feel I could get a better deal (I'm asking as I really want to make more things with felt).

I also wanted to make stockings this year for us all, but my sewing machine is buried in stuff at the house which I am still doing up, so I thought I would buy these and personalise them. They are not brilliant stockings, but I didn't want to spend a fortune as I really want to spend time making lovely, long lasting ones. I guess that will have to be next year now. Still, I plan on making these look nice by giving them an individual look so I will use some of the felt I bought to add names etc to these.

I desperately needed some pinking shears and debated whether to buy Fiskars ones as my dressmaking shears are by them and really good quality. I mulled it over and ended up buying the Hobbycraft ones at half the price. I just hope they are not half the quality either. I also bought a pen to mark out my design on the felt and apparently the ink vanishes by air after 24 hours. Has anyone else used this? I hope it works.

At then Hobbycraft got me at the till. As I queued up they had chocolate bells in a big tub and I gave in and purchased them....still that was the only thing that wasn't on the list so I patted myself on the back!!

I put these on the tree when the kids were in bed and within 30 minutes of Ollie waking up he walked around the tree, stood on tiptoe, held one in his hands and said 'that is locklat'. It's amazing how at 3 and a half children can sniff out chocolate.

I don't know if it's to do with Christmas or not, but I really feel like making and learning lots and lots of crafts. It may have to do with Kirstie's Handmade Britain or all of the lovely Facebook pages I have found recently, but I really want to paint, take photo's, sew, bake and just totally lose myself in crafty things.

Hope you all had a great weekend and that your week is wonderful.

Helen

A dressy challenge

I was reading this blog and this blog and I am all inspired to create my own dress. One of my goals for this year was to dust off my sewing machine, so this is the perfect opportunity. And seeing as I am quite short and always find it hard to find clothes that fit, this idea is perfect. The slight flaw in my plan is that I have never made a dress before. I don't think I've ever actually followed a pattern either.

I have a sewing machine and dressmaking shears, pins and a tape measure which I think are the basic equipment I need....I just need to know how now! I am sure I could learn from a book, or maybe go to evening classes, but then I remembered that my amazing mum is brilliant when it comes to dressmaking. She made a lot of my clothes (and her's) when I was little, and she made my bridesmaid dress, has made numerous curtains, recovered sofas and chairs......so really, who else would I ask!

I can't find the book I want on amazon so I will look elsewhere, but I truly love this dress. I can see me in it!

So that's my latest challenge. To achieve one of my goals this year and to create something I love. Just need some time in between rennovating my cottage and working a day job, and the children, (so it may take a while) but hey, I do love a challenge!

Quilting and fabric envy...

I was looking at Julochka’s blog the other day as she has just started quilting and is using up endless fabrics she has purchased along with any remnants of previous projects ....and boy am I jealous. Not only because what she has produced is colourful, funky and unique, but because she has all this material to use up in the first place.

I love brightly coloured fabrics and I can’t wait to find some gems which I can store up like the squirrel I am. I am desperate....DESPERATE, to get out my sewing machine again and use that as my paint brush or pen for a bit.

I don’t know if you have seen any of the Kirsty’s Homemade programmes on Channel 4 but there was one episode where she used a free style technique on a sewing machine to create her teapot picture....it looked so much fun that I am dying to have a go. I watched them recently on 4OD so it’s well worth having a look.

So in between working my day job, I will create as much as I can, whether it’s by sketching, painting, crafting or sewing. The possibilities are endless!



I highly suggest you head on over to Julochka’s blog, as not only will you find it full of colourful pictures of her handiwork, you will also find a good read there too.

Hope you've had a great day - I'm exhausted, so off to bed now x

Time to learn and have some fun....

The friendly and inspiring Tam from Willowing.ning has created a free paint class called ‘The Heart of Art’ which I have just joined. Normally she charges for her workshops, but she has offered this free to anyone, and at the last count, 865 people have signed up – that is amazing!

It’s not the usual type of art I do, but at the moment I am trying out all different methods and mediums to see if I can find my style. So I am looking forward to being crafty, arty, sewing again and trying something new.

The class starts on Monday 18th (oooh tomorrow!!) and runs for 4 weeks.

I will post up my attempts here, and thank you Tam for being so generous. It is true what they say, by giving to others you receive back tenfold, so you will absolutely flourish!

Have a great Sunday everyone....I'm off to take up another creative challenge - post to follow soon! x