Tuesday 21 October 2014

Fair Isle Cuffs

Hi all hope you are well on this very windy day.
Though it's days like this you need to
dig out your winter gear.

So out came my latest project i just finished,
these fabulous cuffs


 I got the pattern free here
on the Little Cotton Rabbits blog.
Julie is such a talented knitter i love her
animals, I've got a rabbit on the go at the moment.


I have altered it slightly from the original,
 i had to go up a needle size for it to fit.

I used a mixture of Drops Merino 4 ply and 
Debbie Bliss 4 ply.
I'm very impressed with Drops yarn it's so soft and 
it's good on price as well.
I chose similar colours to my Nordic shawl
so i can wear them together.


I haven't done any knitting for about a year, i started
getting wrist pain's so had to stop.

When i saw these cuffs i knew i needed to make some,
so i have learnt to knit in a different way.

It was tricky at first but by the time i had completed
the first cuff i was getting there.

I don't think this was the greatest pattern to learn with 
but hay ho i got there in the end and 

NO PAIN
YEAHHHH!!

XXXXX

Monday 20 October 2014

Coffee Pot cover


Hi all, i know...... I've not been here for a while.
I have just been enjoying the summer and
I didn't have a lot to show you,
so i took a bit of a break.

It's good to chill and take stock .

Anyhow here is a little something 
i wanted to share



A Coffee Pot cover i made for my
caravan,
 although i did really love how it turned out 
so i now
use it in the house.



I used a mixture of Cotton and Acrylic yarn in an 
Aran weight and a 5.00mm hook.
I made a foundation row just short of wrapping all around
the tin and then just made rows of
 Double and Treble crochets,
Until you reach the height you want. 


It's as simple as that.



The container is a recycled 
hot chocolate tin.
It was to nice a tin to throw away.


XXXXX

Tuesday 12 August 2014

Cathedral Window cushion

 Ta-Dah!!!

I've finished my cushion

and i love love love it.

I finished sewing the buttons on while watching 
TV last night, 
i think they finish it off nicely and also hide
the slightly scuwiff  joins in a few places.

I have used Tilda Fabric 
The All that is spring collection.
I love the muted tones, they are right up my street.
The buttons are also from the Tilda range.


 For the back i have used some gorgeous taupe
Clarke and Clarke spot and i actually
fitted a zip for the first time

WHOOOO!

I've always chickened out before and gone for an
envelope fold for the backs of my cushions.

I must confess i did have to unpick one side and resew it, as i did go
a little bit wonky.

It wasn't as tricky as i thought it would be,
thank god for YouTube
.
It now has pride of place on my bed.
Hubby doesn't understand why we have extra cushions
on the bed, i just tut at him an say
"because it looks pretty."

Fellas

 they have no idea!

XXXXXXXX

Monday 4 August 2014

Patchwork cushion

Hi blogger's I'm still here.
It's been a bit hectic here with my son starting his new 
Apprenticeship and we have to get him to work at 8 in the morn,
as he's not old enough to drive yet his dad and i are his Taxi.
(Not used to getting up so early)

It's been a couple of weeks now and we
are getting into a routine.
(can't wait for him to pass his driving test though!!!)


I've been having a play with patch working and just finished
a cushion 



My little stash of material


I'm not sure what this pattern is called i saw it in a magazine
i bought from W H Smiths patch working for beginners.
In the mag they made a place mat but i wanted to 
make mine into a more practical cushion.

I also had a go a free motion quilting 
managing a loopy swirl  travelling up and down the blocks.
Gosh it's harder than you think.
I had a few practise go's before i plucked up the courage
to work on my cushion front.
A little bit scared and a 
deep breath off i went.

It turned out alright for a first go,
there are some fab patterns out there
more practise needed though.


I even had a go at making my own bias edging.
I love it
  so much so as i was wandering around blogland
and came across a fabulous pattern called
Cathedral Window 
I was desperate to try.

So as soon as i finished this cushion i was straight onto the next
and a few YouTube tutorials later off i went.

Here's a sneaky peak




I have used some Tilda fabric i picked up cheap.

I will share it properly with you when i have finished it.

THANKS
XXXXXXXXXX

 

Wednesday 16 July 2014

Camper Sprocket Pillow

Hi all I've not been blogging
for a bit, the only reason is 
i haven't had any little projects to share.

The weather has been fab so I've been
pottering outside and hubby is also building himself
a workshop in the garden so it's a bit of a building site.

I am quietly getting on with my
crochet sampler blanket i will finish it this year.
i have also been thinking of having a dabble with
sewing.

Patchworking in particular.
i stumbled across a fabulous blog 
all i can say is wow she makes the most 
beautiful quilts and cushions.

When i saw this tutorial for a 
i knew i had found my first project.

So last night i set to and couldn't stop till i finished.


I had bought this camper van material in a pack with these other 
three last year. I had no idea what i was going to do with it,
i just loved it because it was pink and had campers on it.

When i saw the sprocket cushion i knew this pack was 
perfect. Oooh i felt a bit giddy at the thought and had to
start straight away.

So i rummaged around and found some plain cotton material
that Beth had left over from her patch blanket she made, and away i went.

It's not bad for a first attempt . 
I think i would prefer a patterned material
for the sides and back, and 
my front patchwork wouldn't lie flat after
i had sewn the pieces together.

Pulling it in the middle with a button did hide a lot of faults
so i got away with it.

I'm definitely going to make another, it's a good excuse to go
material shopping.

The only problem is it's yet another new hobby!
I need more space?
Oh yeah!! hubbies workshop.

I've more chance of winning the lotto 
than getting in there.

XXXXX

Saturday 21 June 2014

Zentangle Dad


Hi all i know I'm a bit late showing the card
i made for my Dad for Fathers day.

To be honest, i have spent the last week outside and 
not at the computer.
The weather has been glorious and
i would rather be outside,
Crocheting, Pottering, watching the Tennis,
sort of through the conservatory window.

I finished my matching cushion for my outdoor sofa,
I'll not bore you with another picture it's the same as this one.


So here at last is the card

Told you i made a card and gone
Zentangle Mad.

Doing this is so therapeutic, you get so 
engrossed in it time just flies.
I can imagine doing Zentangles would be a 
good stress buster.

I have finally got back on with the sampler blanket i started
a few months ago, i'm not going to start anything else until
this is finished.

The little voice in my head just Laughed 
and said "Yeah right".

See you soon
XXXX

Friday 6 June 2014

Anniversary Cards

Hi all i popped on today to show you 
a couple of anniversary cards i have made recently.

 This first one is for my Mum and Dad.
Mum loves Orchids and this digi stamp was perfect.
I've coloured it with Spectrum Noir pencils and blended with
Sansador and paper stumps.
the sentiment is from woodware and I've stamped it so it looks
all joined up.

I've also been having a play with the art of 
ZENTANGLE.

It's so so so addictive.

I made a little panel for the edge of the card.
I've also got another card to show soon were I've gone
zentangle mad.
 The second is for hubby.

this is also coloured with the Spectrum noir pencils.
and I've frantaged round the edge.
The papers are DCWV Nana's Nursery.
La La Land Bunting Die and hand wrote LOVE.
Lace from Dunelm Mill.


Thanks for stopping by, I'm off outside now, 
the sun is shining so i'm making the most
of it while its here.

XXXXX

Monday 26 May 2014

Crochet cushion Ta Dah!

Hi all on the gorgeous bank holiday Monday,
The sun is shining here and we have
a BBQ planned for tea time
(so pleeeze stay Mr sun).

Now the weather is better out came my
outdoor sofa and i wanted to make a crochet cushion
to match the cushions i made last year out of some
gorgeous Clarke and Clarke material i had stashed.



I had a bit of a change and made a ruffle trim 
around the cushion.


I bought some vintage buttons, they are all the same size
but different, i love them.


All the yarn came from my stash, bits of wool left over
from other projects.
The cream is Drops Lima the same wool as my recent pink 
cushion it's so nice to used and a very reasonable price.



Although i think it's looking a bit lonely LoL, so yes
number 2 in under way.
This sofa is the best thing we bought for outside, it's so
comfy, it's like having another room.
I spent a lot of time on it last year and also this year.
Morning brew, lunch, afternoon brew, crocheting.
It,s shaded in the morning and then gets the 
afternoon, evening sun.

I love it!!


Here are a couple of garden pic's the 
Lapins were full of bees, so i went to get my
camera to take some pic's and there was only one left when i got back.

I love these white foxgloves they are one of my
favourite flowers.
I don't seed them myself i let nature take its course 
and i have a lovely display every year.

Thanks for stopping by today,
I'm off to have my Lunch outside.

XXXXX

Monday 19 May 2014

R.I.P. Old faithful

After 22 years of faithful service, on nearly every day especially since the kiddies have been around
I have to announce the retirement of my washing machine. Boo Hoo.  

Our Zanussi has served us well but had started to show its age, like I had to kick the door to get it going, also all the writing had faded off so I had to put them back on with a marker pen. It also started to make a funny sound when draining.

So hubby took me out washing machine shopping,
after doing a bit of surfing on the internet for the best price.
Isn't the internet great you don't have to trawl around all the shops any more
then end up back at the first place because they were the best. 

So farewell old girl



And hello sexy



It's nearly double the drum size and has a 15 min wash, ooh how can you get so excited over a washing machine.
Can't wait to take it for a spin. Ha! Ha!

Xxxxxxx

Friday 16 May 2014

Spectrum Noir Pencils

Happy Friday all
What could be better, It's Friday, the sun is shinning
and i have just  received my complete set of 
Spectrum Noir pencils from C&C.
I love blendable pencils, i have the Polychromos ones
as you will probably know already.
But after seeing the fab pencils from Spectrum Noir on 
TV last week i had to give in and order them.
Well they were a very good price.

 You can download a colour chart from the 
website here
I did the A4 blank colour chart so i could colour
it in myself, then i would have a true colour copy for matching.

I did have one little problem i discovered that i had
two of the same colour in my essentials tin. That meant i was
missing one colour so i emailed  Crafters Companion and they said
they would mail me the missing pencil.
It hasn't arrived yet, but they couldn't have been more helpful.
Watch this space.

The first thing i wanted to do was to colour on Kraft card
they had some samples on kraft which looked great
so i wanted to give it a go.

Here's the result of a bit of playing last night.



Wow

I'm impressed


The colour goes on and blends beautifully.
I do feel i need a bit more practise on the 
skin to make it stand out more, but no I'm 
really happy with the results.

I used Crafters Companion Kraft card
and inked it up with vintage photo distress ink.
Handmade Coffee filter paper flowers. 
( I so need to make more).
Leaves are from a Crealies die.
Stamp i have used is Tilda with cherries in basket
 it's an older stamp but I'm going to make a point of using them more,
I keep buying new ones and the old ones seem to get forgotten about.
I can't tell you where the papers are from, i found this in my bits draw
and thought i would go perfectly.
Tim Holtz sentiment tag.
Lace from stash.


Well would you believe it the postie has just been
and my missing pencil has arrived.
You can't beat that for good customer service.

Thanks for stopping by and have a fab
weekend 

I'm off for another play with my pencils.
xxxxx


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I've had a little play


 The Postie also brought this little
beauty.
xxx

Sunday 11 May 2014

Tilda stamp storage technique

Hi all hope you are well,
I've been a bit poorly with 
Man Flu!!!!!
I couldn't actually take to my bed to recover
until this weekend you know how it is when your
a busy mum.
I have done absolutely nothing this weekend and
boy do i feel better for it.

Anyhow passing my craft desk i noticed i
still hadn't got round to laminating my new Tilda's
that arrived last week.

Which got me thinking, i don't think i have ever shared
how i store my stamps.
 (forgive me if i have my minds still a bit flu foggy.)

But here goes anyway.


I stamp the images onto spare paper
and write the name of the stamp
next to it and colour them in.



Then i roughly cut them out.



Then place them along with the card that came with the 
stamp into a laminating pouch.


 With the laminating machine warmed up
i put the piece to be laminated in the paper folder

then through the machine

There you have it

and the stamp clings to the back

I keep them in 3 draws, i love these plastic draws
you can keep adding to them as your stash grows
i could probably get one more set before i hit the ceiling lol.

As all my stamps have a picture on them i
find it a lot easier to flick through and find the one i want.



As you can see i have a few Tilda's,
i bet it's not as many as some of you out there.
She can be a bit addictive!
 
I hope you enjoyed looking at how i store my stamps.
Thanks for stopping by 
xxxxxx

Wednesday 7 May 2014

In the garden


 Hi all here are a few snaps i took in the garden 
yesterday


 I love this time of year


 All the flowers are making an appearance


 But they are not to over grown


 A sea of Forget-me-nots


 The smell of Apple Blossom


 The wild life fighting to survive
(I think this was a wood pigeon)


 Favourite nesting material
(they weren't to keen on the wool ends i put out last year)


 Wild flower patch coming to life


 Sweet peas in can't wait!


 Time for tea


And some hooky fun
(yes i know, yet another cushion on the go.
What can i say, watch this space).

xxxxx

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...