A busy time of year as I have been making presents as well as items for friends, see the photos of the "Frozen" cushion covers. These were made by taking the images into Craft artist software, adding a background and embellishments before printing on fabric and then stitching on the background fabric.
I have also just finished some baubles for the Embroidery Guild's Christmas tree . I made them by up cycling some embroidered furnishing fabric onto a polystyrene ball.
A busy week making small owl and fox bags, plus drawstring project bags and I have also made up a number of patchwork cushion kits. My new great niece was born last week and her parents seem to love the crochet blanket with the caterpillar.
Just finished a baby blanket using a pattern by Crafty Redman, available from Etsy. com. Will definitely make it again. Did a craft fair last Saturday which was very quiet but sold a few poppies so need to make some more. Have written my own pattern which I will publish at a later date.
The scarecrow revealed! Achieved 4th place in Ossett festival vote, came behind 3 school groups so don't think we did that badly!
I am back. My tablet gave up the ghost and blogging was a pain on my computer but tonight I decided it was time to try using my phone so here I am. I must have made lots of different items since my last post on June but my biggest achievement was my first attempt at air brushing for cake decoration. I also had a go at using the robo cutter to cut out the aeroplane shapes in icing but gave up and cut by hand, I just need more practice.
Just thought I would share photographs of my knitted gadget bags. They are made from pure wool which I bought on the Isle of Mull and the buttons are made from horn. I hope they appeal to men as they are the correct size for Ipads of similar size gadgets.
A quiet couple of weeks on the crafting front as I had a week on the Isle of Mull, enjoying the wildlife and the good food.
An old friend from college days is getting married this weekend so I made a card.
A very busy sewing week!
The small bags made from owl print fabrics have sold well at the last couple of fairs so having bought a wider range of fabrics I set about making 14. It is surprsing how long it took to make them even though I had a mini production line doing each stage at a time across all 14 bags.
I also made some pincushions to match the needle cases. I made these using 8 small squares (2.5inch) so good for using up scraps.
On the yarn front I have crocheted more brooches with Romano and knitted baby bootees for Lynne's baby stall which will be packaged for gifting.
I had one felted bag kit left so decided to knit it up asit looked lost as a kit on it's own.
Let's hope there is a good turn out tomorrow. I never make a profit but it is good to sell a few items and bring a smile to someone's face.
Another craft fair on Bank holiday Monday so I have spent sometime this week developing new products and building up stock.
Lynne has a couple of pink baby blankets so I have made a blue crochet one to redress the balance. It is a little different to the traditional granny square and a liitle more difficult to crochet but I believe it has been well worth the effort.
Just finished a bag that I knitted last year from Bamboo cotton but didn't get round to lining. It is very nautical, hope someone likes it.
The second photo shows a pair of socks knitted for a friend, she provided the yarn which is much thicker than I have used in the past so I am not sure that she wil like them as much as she does her others.
Very quiet 10 days on the crafting front as many other things, like painting doors, housework and social outings have got in the way.
I have however finished a cardigan for myself in grey Opium yarn. It is a very effective self patterning yarn but I am not sure I chose the right colour. It looks beter on me than it does on the model though.
On a coach trip to London I managed to crochet a dozen flowers that I have since made into brooches and hair clips for the stall.
On Wednesday a friend and I attended a bath bomb workshop run by Hearts and Homespun in Alfreton, Derbyshire. We had a fun, enjoyable afternoon where we made a number of bath bombs and truffles which smell beautiful and make the skin feel so soft. I bought a couple of kits as I feel I need more practice before mine are good enough to give as gifts. I will post the results sometime soon.
Decided to have a break from the normal jobs (ie housework ) this afternoon and made a jewellery set using my new "1 step looper". The tool makes the making of the loops required for hanging beads much easier but I stll need practice to get them perfect. I am pleased with the necklace and earrings but the bracelet wire is far too big for my wrist so need to check it on others before trying to alter it.
Last Monday my niece requested help with making a wedding guest book so we designed the inner pages and I printed them and bound them into a book for her. She intended making her own cover in fabric, I look forward to seeing the finished piece, the photographs show the stages that I was involved with.
As well as playing with papercrafts I finished some more brooches for Saturday's fair.
Well, what crafting have I done this week?
Another knitting bag in the same style as the ones I photographed last week and then I tried a different one from a magazine with lots of pockets but I am far from happy with it. There are far to many sections to it so it took too long to make and is not easy to keep presentable so it may be used in a corner but will not otherwise see the light of day!
Sticking with the project bag theme I made a roll up bag with pvc pockets, 2 are open and 1 has a zip. It is the first time I have sewn with pvc and was pleasantly surprised at how strong and flexible it is to work with.
Using scraps of fabric I have made some key fobs and then thought they would be good with names on that led to adding Mum for mother's day gifts.
In yarn crafts I have continued with my own cardigan in grey Opium and made a few crochet shamrocks for St. Patrick's day.
Another knitting bag made yesterday but still need to write up the instructions.
The key rings arrived in the post today so also finished the crochet owls.
After an afternoon of finishing off I now have a wider range of items for the stall, which is good as the first fair of the year is 2 weeks today!
The photographs show not only the finished items but some of the brooches and key rings being blocked to give them a better final shape.
Spent yesterday designing and making a project bag suitable for use as a sewing or knitting bag. I can see this being quite popular at craft fairs and on Lynne's market stall as she is often asked for knitting bags. I will make up a couple more in this style and when I have written the instructions I will make up some kits. I also think I need to design a different style and perhaps some tool rolls to co-ordinate with the bags.
Just a couple of additions to the photo gallery.
A few more flowers from the Romano yarn, they will be the last for the time being.
Next is the finished shirt blouse using the pattern made from the lutterloh system. I wish I had had this pattern making system last year when I was making waistcoats and jackets for other people as it easy to use and fits well.
Just completed a posy of crochet flowers using Romano yarn by King Cole. It is quite an expensive yarn so I will have to charge more than I do for my other crochet brooches.
Also finished the fingerless mittens which I intended to keep for myself for protecting my skin in the hot weather but now I think I would prefer a lacy pattern.
Since returning from the craft fair in Birmingham last week I have had the sewing bug and have made a shirt blouse from my own pattern ,which I will photograph when I have sewn the buttons on. Less successful is the quilted gilet that I cut out last year and decided I should finish. Unfortunately I made the mistake of not trying it on before adding the finishing touches and when I realised that it was far too big it would have meant too much work to put it right so I think the charity shop will benefit.
Next on the sewing to do list is a kniiting bag but I need to design it first.
