Power off!

This lovely print popped up on my Etsy homepage yesterday and I instantly hearted it because the words spoke right to me.

Power off by Laura George just sums up exactly how I was feeling yesterday. I'm trying to get caught up with the lectures I couldn't study last week because of my exam, but instead of taking proper breaks and coming back feeling refreshed, I just kept wasting time on the internet. "I'll just quickly check my email"..."I wonder if anyone's written anything new on my google reader"..."I'll just check my blog"..."I'll just check my facebook"...the list goes on and on until it was suddenly 9pm, I'd only got through 1 and a half lectures and not done anything worth mentioning with my breaks.



I mentioned on my first post back after the holidays that it was really refreshing to have spent 2 weeks barely looking at a computer. I need to try and keep this going into the new year I think, it's so easy to just sit and waste time looking at the pretty things other people are doing and making, when in fact I need to get up off my arse and go do those things myself!

Turn off your computer and go outside is my new mantra. And if that doesn't work then I'm going to remind myself of this little gem:



Stress: Release by Laura George. Totally hearted.

Buttons, buttons, buttons

Remember I mentioned a few days ago about 2 tins full of buttons my friend Karen had given me? Well, I finally got round to sorting them!

Is there anything more fun than sorting through craft stuff? I sat for a good few hours on the floor in the lounge watching The Truman Show (definitely one of my favourite films) and sifting through piles of buttons, imagining all the projects I'm going to make with them.



The first official project I'm going to use them for is a thank you card to Karen's parents, who gave them to me in the first place. Karen's gran recently passed away and it was in clearing her house that they found this amazing stash. There's something both morbid and rejuvenating about using craft materials that have come to you in this way, it's a bit strange going through the possessions of someone who's died, you feel almost like you're stealing from them, even though you know logically they have no use for them any more. On the other hand though, I think there's something nice about using craft materials that have been given to you when someone died, it allows their memory to live on everytime you use those things. A lot of my material stash came to me from Andrew's gran and I think of her everytime I use a piece. It's rejuvenating in that it gives those items a new lease of life, allowing the memory of that person to be bound up in whatever project they become a part of.



I'm planning a day of making cards so hopefully tomorrow I'll have photos to show you! Also, remember to enter my 100 etsy hearts giveaway! ♥

Hedgehog hot pocket

Ahh, they grow up so fast...*wipes away tear*...

Remember when Hobbes AKA The Tronasaurus (Hobbes...Hobbetron...Tron...Tronasaurus...you see how we got there) was just a tiddly wee thing?



Well he grew up, into a grumpy huffy hedgehog and in the process, he burst out of his original hot pocket like a tiny prickly version of The Hulk.

Since then, Andrew's been badgering me to make him another hot pocket and in my frustration at not being able to finish my jacket last night, I figured a simple, easy sewing project would help me feel a bit less rubbish.

Since there's a Transformer called Megatron, coupled with the fact that Andrew is a giant Transformers dork, it seemed the perfect opportunity to use up the Transformers fat quarter I've had lurking in my stash for so long. I would have preferred a FQ that had the original cartoons on, instead of the Hollywood versions but then equally I would have preferred a boyfriend who wasn't far too old to be still watching children's television so c'est la vie.

Megatron!



Andrew's favourite Transformer from the film was Bumblebee, who could turn into a super fast car. Mine was Perceptor, who could turn into a microscope. I'm that cool.



I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out though and Tron seems to like it too so that's the main thing. It's lined with black fleece and has a layer of batting in between the lining and cotton outer layer, for added warmth. Tron is also now a famous hedgepig, with a film, a church, a theatre and a pub named after him. True story.

I'm pleased, you may feed me now



We're done here, you may leave now



Only 48 hours left to enter my 100 Etsy hearts giveaway! ♥

Attempts to reline a jacket

Avid readers (I flatter myself) might remember that a while back I mentioned that I was planning on relining my favourite jacket, a vintage Jaeger tweed jacket that I picked up for a snip from a thrift store. The lining was in pretty bad shape but I wore it for about 3 years before getting round to doing anything about it.

The jacket in action:



The jacket, plus mangy lining:



Made in Britain!



This Christmas, in an alcohol-fuelled over-confident moment of madness, I decided the time had come to do something about this shoddy lining. I set about carefully (as careful as one can be when one is three sheets to the wind) taking the lining out, then took it to pieces to serve as a pattern. At this point caution went out of the window and I completely forgot to follow the very clear, very useful tutorial over on Sewaholic.net, instead opting for a DIY approach. Sigh.

Jacket sans lining:



The dress, donated by my Grandmother, that will be hacked up for new lining material:



I cut out the new pieces of lining, using the old pieces as a template, but not bothering to make proper pattern pieces out of paper first. As a result, using slippery material as a template to cut out slippery material, the new lining pieces are looking decidedly wonky. Also, having not looked at them since Christmas, I just got them out to start sewing them together and realised that I cut one of the pieces backwards, meaning I have to cut another piece but the only material I have left now will involve going over an existing seam, leaving a seam line halfway up one piece of lining. I keep telling myself no one but me will notice.

The kitchen floor situation, as of this evening:



The new piece that needs cutting out, plus seamline. Sigh.



On top of that, when I laid everything out on the kitchen floor earlier this evening, I put one piece down in what I hope was a puddle of water (where it came from, I have no idea since no one has been in the flat all day) so it now has a dark stain that I hope will vanish when it dries. I'm on the borderline of giving up and starting again (or just shelling out the £60 to get it relined professionally, luckily this isn't a financial option) so have retreated to my study to drink some wine and read other people's much better, more professional blogs about their much better, more professional forays into the world of crafting.

I feel a bit of a failure right now.

2011 project plans

I'd like to stress that these aren't resolutions, since I might not get round to doing them, but they're definitely plans that I'm excited about trying!

Amy Butler is nice enough to offer some free patterns on her website. I've been planning on trying the fabric necklace for ages so when I saw the perfect necklace to salvage the beads, I jumped on it! £1 from a charity shop, bargain. Now to prettify it...



I have a pair of mustard coloured velvet curtains that for some reason I feel the need to turn into an item of clothing. Will this be super chic or properly granny? You'll have to tune in to find out! I'll be using Suzannah from Adventures in Dressmaking's tutorial for a gathered to waistband skirt.



I loved Grosgrain's Embellish Knits Month. I'm definitely having a go at day 8!



Hopefully these tutorials will help me get off my backside and stop reading about sewing, instead actually doing it!

Remember to enter my 100 heart giveaway! ♥

100 heart giveaway!

It's been a long time coming but Second Fiddle has finally hit 100 hearts! I know this is slow progress given that I've had the shop for 2 years now but juggling a degree and Etsy is no mean feat! You wait until I graduate, there'll be no stopping me then!

Ahem, anyway, back to the point in hand...celebratory giveaway! But what are the prizes? I hear you cry. Check out these beauts to choose from:

Prize number 1:

Paisley print cotton tote lined with purple velvet

Perfect fit to pop over your shoulder for browsing a farmer's market or carrying your books to school!



Prize number 2:

Set of 2 vintage postcards.

Perfect for scrapbooking or collage!





Prize number 3:

Set of 3 vintage 1960s and 1970s knitting patterns.

Knit yourself a vintage wardrobe in 2011!







But of course, there's a catch. There's always a catch. The rules are as follows:

1. You must be a follower of this blog or 'like' Second Fiddle on facebook. For two entries, you can do both!

2. Once you've done part 1, leave a comment stating which of the 3 prizes you'd like to be entered for, along with a contact email or blog link in case you're the lucky winner! If you do both (i.e. 'like' and 'follow'), be sure to comment twice so I know to count you twice.

3. For a bonus entry (so 3 possible entries available!) you can link back to me on your blog/facebook/twitter etc, just leave me another comment with a link to show me.

3. You have until midnight British time on Sunday 16th January to enter.

Good luck everybody! ♥

Dad's cycling headband

I knitted this for my Dad over Christmas using a kids pattern off Ravelry. Dad cycles to and from the station to get the train to work and since it's been so chilly recently, he's been complaining of cold ears. He also has sinus problems on and off so I figure anything that can help keep him snuggly warm while he's cycling in the snow should help! The bonus of this headband is you can wear a cycle helmet over the top of it so you're warm AND safe.



I used the left over New Lanark wool from the aran afghan so the headband is really thick and warm, though a tad itchy. If he complains about that then I was thinking I could hand stitch a fleece band round the inside so we'll see how he gets on.



I was really pleased with this so I made myself one too! I would take a photo of me modelling mine but sadly it's 3pm and I have yet to get out of my pyjamas so there will be no photos until I'm clean. What? I'm studying alright!