Thrifted sheets to cushion covers

I made these for a colleague for her birthday.  She is constantly helping me at work and she's just moved house so it seemed like the perfect moment to repay the favour!  I've had the fabric for years, the continual stash busting continues, its really satisfying to see something that's been languishing in the cupboard for years turned into something pretty for a friend.



The cushion inners were from Ikea, I know I shouldn't but I do love that place, the market place is especially brilliant for projects like this.



Got to love the little Second Fiddle labels, they make them look so much more professional.



The fabric scraps were useful to turn this White Company box into a hamper for another friend's birthday present.  You could see the White Company logo through the fabric but I didn't have any plain cotton or interfacing to back the fabric, so I ended up backing it with kitchen roll!  It worked a treat and made it stick really well onto the box.

Slowly regaining my craftiness

I know I've been moaning a lot recently about my lack of crafty vibes.  I've had a few mishaps on recent projects, coupled with my sewing machine being in Edinburgh and me being in York.  The whole York-Edinburgh situation is getting me down and I've been losing my motivation to create.  Plus between not finishing work until 7pm and fitting in running and job applications, I've not got a huge amount of time left to do fun stuff.



But!  No more moaning!  I've decided to be proactive and bring my sewing machine down to York.  I've got 2 sorbetto tops planned and since I entered Karen's (of Did you make that? ) 2013 Sewlutions, I really need to get a move on.  I pledged to make myself 6 items of clothing this year, with the thought that one item every other month would be manageable.  Well, we're now halfway through March and I have made...zero items.  But!  In a positive light, I only need to make one item of clothing and I'll be back on track.  Sorbetto top, here we come!



These little guys had to be made for a guy at work who changed my flat tyre a few weeks back.  I was going to bake him some pasties as a thank you, but then developed a stonking cold so didn't want to bake germ-riddled food items.  In the spirit of rekindling creativity (and saving money and using up stash!) I went with the old Christmas favourite, the monsters.  He's off on paternity leave after having his second baby so there's a bigger monster for his 2 year old and a smaller monster for the wee one.  I can feel my crafting mojo slowing returning...

Christmas presents - the penultimate chapter

I think this is the second-to-last installment of the Christmas presents posts, the last one will be Vicky's skirt but I can't do the big reveal until she's opened the parcel (it's winging it's way to you even as we speak love!). 

These were made for 3 of my friends' babies, I managed to catch these little guys on camera before they flew the coop to meet their new little buddies.  They were another stash make, which is always satisfying, though I think in the future using real felt, rather than felted jumpers, is the better option for the facial features.  Real felt gives a much cleaner edge, you can see the first monster's features are a bit more 'fluffy' round the edges.







See those fluffy edges?

You can tell the difference between photographs, I made the first guy back in September when the sun shone every so often!  Also the difference between taking time to make and photograph presents when you're organised and starting months beforehand vs. rushing to photograph and wrap before instantly giving away when you leave it to the last minute.



This little dude has a pocket, for all his monster possessions



This guy's face looks a bit Clockwork Orange, don't you think?

So far I've had good feedback, apparently the babies like to rub their faces on them, which was kind of my idea, I thought they might appreciate the soft, fluffy fake fur.  It made me want to rub my face on it to be honest!

Christmas presents part 5

This was an upcycling make, turning a friend's final year vet jacket into a coat for her dog.  Alison graduated and went back to the States, so was limited in what she could take back with her.  I fished this jacket out of the charity shop pile, thinking it would be too sentimental to give away but with no fixed plan of what to do with it.  After a month or two of pondering, I settled on a dog coat for Pickle.  I already had a template I knew would fit her since I traced one of her coats to make Badger's rain jacket.



I stupidly didn't take a 'before' picture, but the coat was almost identical to this one, with the logos and name tags across the chest.





We each had the option to buy them in final year, it's sort of a badge of honour as only final years get them, but I'll be honest, I didn't like mine at all.  It's that horrid blousy design that makes me look short and fat, it basically only looked good on tall slim guys so most of us looked ridiculous in them.  I'm keeping mine because I'm silly and sentimental but it's definitely going to be a 'throw on to take the compost out' type jacket, I won't be wearing it outside of the house any time soon.



The dog helped by licking his wanger on top of the jacket while I was trying to cut it out





I'm pleased with how this turned out, the waterproof material was a complete bitch to sew, it kept slipping around all over the place but at the same time, kept sticking to the needle and machine so it wouldn't go through smoothly.  There are a few slightly bodged areas but nothing too horrendous and since it's for a dog, I'm sure Pickle won't notice!

Christmas presents part 4

These are some terrible photos, so apologies, but I finished this one and had to instantly wrap it for Christmas.  It's based on Adventures in Dressmaking's faux fur snood tutorial, it's super simple to make and I'm pleased with the results!



I made this one smaller than the original, with the thought that it could be worn as a snood or headband.  I'm a bit worried it might be a bit small for the intended recepient, it was a bit snug on me but I think I have a reasonably chunky head.  All those brains or something...



I'd like to make one for myself, it would be great for walking the dog in style.  Especially since I got fancy Hunters for Christmas!



I like that you could make this in a range of colours, I really liked Suzannah's original in leopard print!

Christmas presents part 2

I made this scarf for my Grandad from a tartan ladies' kilt that was a relic of my old Etsy shop.  I got the idea from a few pretty Pinterest finds (originally blogged about over here), I don't know the official name for this kind of scarf but I think of it as a 'reading' scarf.  The type a gentleman with a library would wear whilst smoking his pipe in front of the fire, sat in a leather chair with a beagle at his feet and a green reading lamp to light the room.



The original tartan skirt.  100% wool made in Scotland, the real thing



It was really simple, I cut around a scarf of mine that I thought was the right size, cut out an identical piece from some satin I had in my stash, then sewed the two together.  My sewing machine then proceeded to break halway through, so this project took 2 weeks when it could have taken 20 minutes.



I bought a plain box from Paperchase to present it in, make it look a bit more professional and all that.  The fabric is lovely, it's the same material that I used for Andrew's tartan tablet case, I love real wool, it's probably my favourite type of fabric!



 

Hopefully Grandad will like it!  The perfect stash bustin', thriftin' Christmas make!

Christmas presents part 1

I think I'm safe to show off this present since its for a lady at work who doesn't know about the blog.  Ever tried explaining blogs to folk at work who aren't into the nerdy world of the internets?  Don't do it, you come away feeling even more of a dork than normal.



I've made loads of these bags in the past, especially when the Etsy shop was up and running.  Having not made them in a while though, I've not practiced and so this bag was a tad wonky in places.  The straps are uneven widths and the lining is too big, meaning there's an ugly pleat down one side.  Hopefully she'll like it anyway, it's the same material as Danica's bag, it used to be a pair of curtains in a previous life.  Gotta love a bit of 'upcycling'!



These photos came out all blurry for some reason, they don't look blurry on my phone but sadly I'd wrapped and given it away before I realised!  You'll have to squint a bit to compensate.

Disasterous refashion

Once upon a time a girl had a pair of lovely green satin knickers.  They were a Christmas gift from some friends and in the sales she stumbled upon the matching camisole.  In a cruel twist of fate however, the camisole was only available in a size too small or several sizes too large.

"Oh no!" cried the girl.  "Whatever shall I do?"

She racked her brains and decided to buy the smaller top, thinking with her magic sewing skills she would be able to transform it into a camisole fit for a princess.  But it was not in the stars for our young heroine, as we shall see if you turn the page...



It's so beautiful

By now you must have guessed that I am the fair maiden in the fairy story.  I figured it would be a quick and simple refashion, unpick the side hems, insert some black lace and there we have it, a lovely matching cami for my french knickers.  How wrong I was.



My sewing machine HATED this fabric, even remembering to put on a fine needle didn't help.  The thread kept getting snarled up, the fabric tore at the drop of a hat and an accident with the iron left one of the bottom lace panels a bit frazzled and holey.



Font credit

When I finally turned it right ways out, I realised that there were several gaping holes and the hems were misaligned.  By this time I was too frustrated to continue so I threw it back into the pile of clothes to refashion (a sizeable pile) and swore loudly at the dog.  Since then I haven't got the courage to pull it out again, it might have to be a bin job because every time I catch a glimpse of that lovely green fabric I feel this knot of burning frustration in my stomach and I'm forced (FORCED I tell you) to pour myself a large glass of wine.  I hate throwing away fabric, even fabric scraps make me feel guilty since they'll just sit in a landfill site and rot away for the next thousand years.  But it's even worse to throw away useable fabric, just because it upsets you so much to look at it.

Any suggestions folks?  I'm going to hang onto it for a while and see if inspiratio strikes but I think this little guy's days as an item of clothing are numbered...

Sewing niggles...

This is one of the many things that annoys me about sewing and it all comes back to the same point - I don't know what I'm doing.  I don't know what I'm doing with the machine this time (as opposed to not knowing about patterns) and so things like this happen.  Can anyone out there shed any light?  Or has anyone else had these problems?



This first one was a good learning experience - the people in your local sewing machine shop are AMAZING.  I had my machine serviced and about 2 weeks later this started happening.  I don't know if you can tell from the photo but the end of the needle has broken off and when you lower the needle it hits the foot, hence why it broke in the first place.  I was so annoyed at the time, thinking it was something to do with it being serviced, maybe they'd set the foot wrong or something.  Nope, turns out I'm an idiot trying to do a zig zag stitch through a regular straight stitch foot.  That's right folks - there are different feet for different stitches.  Who knew?!  Certainly not me, as the broken end of the needle went whizzing past, a hair's breadth from my cornea.  I need goggles to sew, it's a high risk activity.  The lady in the sewing machine shop spent a patient 20 minutes explaining this problem to me, my goodness I felt like an idiot...



This one I have yet to fathom.  From time to time, apparently randomly, my machine decides it wants to cause this little mess at the back of my sewing.  It's always where I've started sewing, there's a horrendous 'GNNNNN' sound, the needle refuses to move then all of a sudden it shoots away like the man Bolt, sewing every which way but the way you want and occasionally across my thumb in the process.  When I finally get it under control and turn my work over, there's this nice little bird's nest awaiting me.  Fun times.  It's at this point that I pour myself a large glass of wine and take up my knitting instead.

Anyone else got sewing woes to share? 

Zippered pouch and a sneak preview!

Remember the dinosaur zippered pouch I made, way back in January?  It's nothing special really, just a zippered pouch, though to me every zippered pouch is a MASSIVE TRIUMPH since I epically suck at putting in a zip.  I don't know what it is about zips, I follow the instructions carefully and use the right sewing foot but somehow they always come out slightly wonky.  This one didn't though, I'm very proud, it represents one small step for a sewing nerd, one giant leap for...hmm, well, me.


Does anyone else find that when they make photos smaller in Flickr, they somehow become less focused?  Is that a thing?  Or is it my crappy photography skills?  It happened in the inside shot of the vest top in the post below, and just happened again with this shot.  Weird stuffs.

This one I made for work, to hold all the kit needed for the blood machine.  Sexy right?  That 99p pillow case from the charity shop has served me well!



This little dude is hiding away, I can't show you him until after Christmas but he's pretty damn adorable!

Recycled t-shirt to vest

I recently inherited a whole pile of t-shirts from a friend, each with an awesome print on the front.  Since most of them were too big for me and some had stains in funny places, I thought it would be a good opportunity to finally have a bash at So Zo's free t-shirt to vest pattern.  I've been meaning to try this pattern for ages, since reading it on Zoe's blog and seeing successful 'upcycled' (to use the disgustingly trendy term) versions on Did you make that? and Scruffy Badger Time's blogs.



Please excuse the blotchiness, this was a straight-out-of-the-shower shot

They were not lying when they said this pattern is easy!  Zoe, I tip my hat to you, my fear of sewing patterns (recently mentioned over here) is somewhat abated, at least for the moment.  I only managed one of these on my week off (so much for 5 tops in 10 days, ha!), I did lots of non-clothing sewing too.



Don't mess with those arms, BEEFY ARMS WILL EAT YOU!

I love the recycling aspect of this project, that I can now buy charity shop men's t-shirts and turn them into something I would wear on a daily basis.  This one is going to be a sleeping vest, to go with a pair of pyjama bottoms I have yet to make.  



Look at that neat elastic sewing!  I'm so proud

The elastic was the best of a bad bunch from my local fabric store so is sadly of the type that reminds me of old lady bra straps.  You know the ones - functional, wide, comfortable but not at all sexy.  I know I can get nicer, cheaper versions online but I wanted a quick fix, I wanted it in my sweaty little palm right then and there.  I got duped, though it works for a sleeping vest.



Obligatory inside shot.  Sewing elastic is strangely satisfying

Next time I'm going to grade up a size from below the bust downwards.  Although this one technically fits me, it's a bit tight to wear outside (hence sleeping only).  It's comfortable, don't get me wrong, it's just that it clings that bit too much to my muffin tops.  Or after this week of holiday, cheese-take-out-and-wine-tops.  I'm on a health food kick this week, I have no holiday regrets but feel my arteries and liver have taken a pounding...

I have a craft room!

I can't believe it's been 2 and a half weeks since my last post, where is the time going?  I think of things to blog about all the time, I guess I need to start writing them down otherwise clearly I don't get round to doing it!  A Beautiful Mess recently posted 2 really interesting and inspiring articles about creating blog posts and planning them properly.  I actually already carry a little notepad round with me wherever I go, I use it for to do lists, shopping lists, things not to forget, it would be very easy to start noting down blog ideas.  We've also already got a massive whiteboard in the flat, so again, it would be easy to start organising the blog a bit better.  Hmmm...ideas to percolate on...I'm in no rush at the moment, just enjoying having a job and a real life for the first time in 8 years!



Which brings me nicely on to my topic of choice...I HAVE A CRAFT ROOM!!  This is something I've been dreaming about for years now, a room of my own to fill with fabric, wool and notions.  To have my sewing machine out permanently so I can sit down and sew for just 20 minutes if I want to, without having to go through all the faff and hassle of unpacking everything I need, then repacking it at the end.  To have my fabric and wool out on display, so I can be inspired by a particular print or colour. 



This all hinged on the fact that I don't need a study anymore, yay!  The box room was my study, meaning we couldn't use it for storage as much as we'd like.  A day spent dismantling furniture and moving boxes around and suddenly the box room is for storage and the spare room is an empty blank canvas to fill with craftiness!



What exciting things lie within?  Patterns, clothes to alter, batting, stuffing, embroidery hoops...


Andrew has his computer set up in one corner, which means I can sew and he can play computer games, 'together alone time' we call it!  The fireplace is now uncovered as well, so in the winter we can have the fire on while we craft and play.

Even the dog got involved, helping me sort which fabric was staying in the trunk and which was going on the shelves.



Ah, is there anything more satisfying and inspiring than a day spent organising your craft room?  It made me super productive too, I finished a So Zo t-shirt to vest and 4 stuffed hearts for my Etsy shop.  More on those to come...

Works in progress

A few little works in progress...

I'm half thinking of attempting a little challenge, 5 tops in 10 days.  I've got 10 days off soon and I think it might help give me a kick up the bum to get back to sewing clothes.  Watch this space to see if I manage it...

Getting back my sewing vibe

I've been out of the sewing loop for a wee whilie now, I got a bit disheartened, especially about sewing clothes.  There's nothing more frustrating than spending a valuable spare few hours sewing, only to find that what you produce is a) ugly, b) doesn't fit, c) doesn't make you look like the amazing quirky starlet à la Zooey Deschanel that you imagined it would. 

It's silly really, with baking and knitting I have a very gung ho approach, I take liberties with recipes, don't quite follow patterns, interpret and reinvent as I see fit.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't and I'm OK with that.  Not so with sewing though, oh no.  With sewing I get very frustrated if things don't turn out exactly the way I wanted them to.  I don't know what the difference is, other than I feel quite confident about knitting and have the knowledge and skills to be able to picture where a pattern is taking me and adjust as necessary.  I don't have that ability with sewing, so I find I spend a lot of time feeling out of control and floundering from one step to the next.  I don't know enough about material or patterns to be able to judge how a minor alteration might change the whole look of an outfit and I can't adjust a pattern to suit my figure, meaning half the time things come out too long/short/tight/loose/sack-like.



Since I'm in York for the next 6 months and have my weekday evenings to myself, I've decided to teach myself to sew clothes.  There are so many good sewalongs out there at the moment and so many nice patterns (I want to master Sewaholic's Renfrew and Colette's Clover amongst many others!), it seems a good opportunity to sit down in the evenings and really get to grips with the basics.  I'm leaving actual patterns sewing until after my first paycheque is in (got to get out of my overdraft first really before I splash out on patterns!) although I do have the Sorbetto to master, with some awesome fabric purchases over the summer I've yet to share with you all.



In the meantime, these two pictures are some simple clothing alterations to get me started.  The green cable cardigan I bought last summer from a vintage shop in Glasgow whose name escapes me, it was a bargain at £15 because it needed a few holes sewing up.  It was also a good few sizes too big but an hour on the sofa with the X Files and some vintage leather buttons later and it's now my new winter indoor jumper.  I moved the buttons over by about 3 inches and added some hooks and eyes on the inside to stop the inner flap flappin' so it now fastens asymmetrically.  It's super warm and snuggly and perfect for throwing on over anything to take the dog out to the garden.  

The dress is a work in progress I'll reveal soon but it's an alteration of another vintage find.  Keen eyed readers might recognise it from an earlier post but I'll do a before and after post once I finish it properly.  Baby steps right?  Got to get my confidence back!

Planning the next 3 months crafting

I don't think I've mentioned here yet but I've just got a job in York.  It's a small animal practice and I'm there on a 6 month temporary contract, which suits me perfectly since ideally I want to be in Scotland.  It'll give me the experience I need to hopefully get something more permanent in Edinburgh/Glasgow come next March.  It's a lovely practice, I worked there for 2 weeks a while ago and everyone is super friendly and helpful so I'm excited to start!

Since it's going to be 6 months away from the flat, I feel the need to plan my crafting for the next few months, at least up until Christmas.  I'm going to be back in Edinburgh every alternate weekend so in the meantime I'll need enough down in York to keep me occupied in the evenings.  I'm planning on joining a knitting group while I'm down there and I'd like to take a dressmaking course, if there's anything affordable and convenient timing-wise.  I'd also like to have riding lessons again but that's by-the-by since this is a craft blog!  I'm not going to have time to work at this rate...

I'm planning on taking my sewing machine with me, since I've also got Christmas presents to think of.  I'm currently halfway through sewing up a scarf for my Grandad, I'm using the red tartan from this skirt, it was left over from my Etsy shop when I shut down the vintage section and the material is lovely, 100% wool.  I'm backing it with some cream satin from my stash



I'm aiming for something like this (minus the tassels):

Source: jigsaw-online.com via Amy on Pinterest

For Victoria this year, I'm making this awesome cable knit mini skirt.  Since she chose the pattern and yarn (Pebble by New Lanark) I can talk about it on the blog without spoiling the surprise.  I'm excited to try this pattern, I love a) cables, b) New Lanark wool and c) chunky yarn since it knits up so quickly!

Source: ravelry.com via Amy on Pinterest

For my Mum I'm knitting Owls by Kate Davies, again from New Lanark wool (I'm putting in a mass order this week!).  After Christmas I plan to knit myself one of these too, Mum and I (and Vicky!) can be matchy-matchy!

Source: ravelry.com via Amy on Pinterest

For myself I'm still slogging away at the Still Light Tunic.  It's not that hard going, it's just been put on hold for other projects recently.  I'm also planning on knitting myself a sweater from some amazing British Herdwick wool my Gran bought me for my birthday, I'm thinking of this Simple summer tweed top down V-neck (what a mouthful) since I'm needing a simple jumper to throw on over anything.  It looks a bit dull in the photo, but the projects made by folk my size make it look cuter, I think the trick is going to be waist shaping so I don't end up looking like I'm wearing a sack.



I'm also wanting to knit myself a hat, since all I've got is a pink tartan fur bear trapper and an old brown handknit that Andrew says 'makes me look like an old lady'.  Thanks love.  It's also a bit scratchy.

I can't decide between these three (I know some of the photos are of kids, the pattern does adult sizes too, before you point out the obvious size issues there)

Source: ravelry.com via Amy on Pinterest

Source: ravelry.com via Amy on Pinterest

Source: ravelry.com via Amy on Pinterest

There's a bit of a cables theme going on right?  I've got some lovely green Debbie Bliss alpaca silk that's been languishing in my stash for too long now so I thought the time might be right for it to be hatified.

I've also got a baby present to make (I'm halfway through that but can't reveal just yet!) and the new house blanket to finish so I think for the moment I've got enough to be getting on with!  We'll see how much I get done between now and Christmas...