midnight sewing basket makeover
The other night I couldn't sleep and I did what any crafter might do, I starting pottering around my sewing space. On the windowsill sits a sewing basket. A perfectly nice, floral sewing basket. I think it was gifted to me but I don't actually remember. I really like the colours but it's a little twee for my taste and it doesn't really fit my vibe. So - I'm sure to some peoples utter horror - I found a way to make it more me.
Now if you've been here a while, you know I love stickers. I will put them on anything but fabric?! no.
What is the fabric alternative to stickers? Patches!
Here's how I did it and what I learned in the process...
vintage sewing set ~ scissor fob
A satisfying and useful little make, combining things I love and using up what I have - this scissor fob is keeping my scissors safe!
I have been so enjoying a lot of hand stitching time recently and my cross stitch obsession is growing. Counted cross stitch is so relaxing, I have to concentrate enough so that my mind is not engulfed in worries or to do lists (as it often is) and the patterns mean that even though you are repeating the same stitch over and over it doesn't get boring. Also you can create little projects like this one or work on much bigger pieces, so there's variety. The rabbit hole that is FlossTube (search flosstube on YouTube) led me to discover the website Tiny Modernist Cross Stitch and I fell in love with the Vintage Red Sewing Set pattern. I will stitch the pincushion at some point but as I kept loosing my scissors down the side of the sofa, I bought the pattern to make the scissor fob.
Stitched on an offcut of linen from my current big cross stitch project (Modern Folk Embroidery SAL), it was a quick stitch and I spent some time thinking about how to finish it off. I know a lot of people use the little glass seed beads beads but I don't have any and didn't want to buy anything new. I searched though my boxes of stuff and found these wooden beads from AGES ago - my mum has saved them from when I was a teenager (I was obsessed with the bead shop in Affleck's Palace and the bead shop in The Lanes in Brighton, where we spent holidays). She had given me a bag of beads and these wooden ones are such nice colours.
life is short you're capable
I made a thing! The original plan was for this to be a pincushion but I like it too much to stick pins in it, so it's a decorative little pillow. I like just having it around, a nice reminder and message to myself.
I designed this embroidery pattern as a companion to my You're Capable cushion/mini quilt pattern, which was inspired by Gwen Stefani lyrics and created to give empowerment.
It was a quick stitch, using couching with double strands and a single stand, and 3 strands for the back stitch with Aurifloss in # ???. It was complete chance that the dot of the fabric fit perfectly in the tail end of the Y but it does make me smile.
The fabric is Double Dots, Black & White by Cotton + Steel 2017. I fused Shape Flex SF101 to the back of the fabric before stitching. It is easily my favourite interfacing, it gives stability without stiffness and it fuses so nicely. I find myself using it often with different projects and it's perfect for this kind of thing.
I am lacking in trimmings stash and though I do love pom poms, I wanted to try something a bit different and used a THIN ribbon for edging. I had to carefully baste it in place because there was a risk of loosing it completely in the seam allowance, thankfully though it worked out and I love the extra pop of pink on the edges.
Then I added handmade tassels because why not add corner pizzazz too?!
Since I'm on a kick of using my hoarded stash fabrics, I couldn't resist using the fabulous telephone print on the back - ok, this officially makes it double sided!!
Telephones, Trinket by Melody Miller.
It's pretty and squishy and I will certainly be using ribbon this way again because it was fun to sew.
If you'd like to stitch this message, you'll find the embroidery template as part of the You're Capable pattern available in my shop!
kerchief girl ⋈ bow tie laptop case
It's great being asked to create a project when it's something you actually need! I've had my current laptop for a while but didn't have a case for it. My youngest has adopted my previous laptop, since all the online schooling started it made sense for her to use it. She has adopted my last homemade case to go with it. Clearly we don't need them for travel but it's nice to put devices away at the end of the day and keep them safe from dust and spills and the like.
The brief was to design a laptop case use bow tie blocks, a classic block that was calling out for some fussy cutting. I've had the kerchief girls prints in my stash for a while and this was the perfect project to finally cut into them for. I mixed in some scraps of low volume prints and pulled the library stamp print from JOT by Heather Givans for the lining fabric. I tried to pair the colours of kerchief girls with prints in my stash to coordinate the bow tie blocks. Not my normal colour palette but I only picked the kerchief girl colours I was drawn to and I wasn't in a yellow mood!
I used Essex Manchester Yarn Dyed in Metallic Onyx for the back and for some of the bow tie blocks, I love the texture of this fabric so much.
The quilting was done with Aurifil Forty3 thread in #2310, simple straight lines to showcase the blocks and I carried the lines onto the back for added texture.
My favourite part was the picking buttons for the closure. I have a wonderful tin of (mostly) mismatched buttons that I inherited from my Nan. I dove in and chose some contenders, it was a bit Goldilocks... some were too big, some were too small but there were no pairs that were just right!
have courage and be kind
Finishing a project is such a joy! But then so is starting a project... and working on a project, no wonder I am always making ;)
This finish is a special one for a few reasons. The cross stitch kit is from Stitchsperation, I love her kits and had already completed one which you can see here. She hand paints the fabric and not only is that really cool but it means you get a unique piece of fabric to stitch on. I chose 28ct evenweave and as a change I stitched this in hand rather than using a hoop.
Now I really like my Q-snap frames and won't be giving them up completely but I also really like stitching in hand and I'll probably just decide on a project by project basis what I feel like doing.
New to me, I also used the sewing method to stitch this design. Usually I stitch one cross at a time, I don't like the other way of making half stitches and going back on yourself. But the sewing method is a bit of a revelation and is quicker too (not that speed matters). I really enjoyed stitching this way, although on occasion I did do my usual one cross method (for travelling in a certain direction), I know you can turn the work around but I hate that - my brain literally can't cope and my counting goes off.
If you cross stitch and haven't tried the sewing method, give it a go! I watched this YouTube video tutorial on the Fat Quarter Shop FlossTube channel and seeing Priscilla, Chelsea and Kimberly each show how they stitch was so helpful. Kimberly's tip of loosening the frame to stitch this way really works and that's what I'm doing with another project I have on the go!
The Stitchsperation cross stitch kits comes with thread, though as I have a lot already I requested she didn't send any so I can use what I already have. This was stitched with Aurifloss #2692 using 3 strands of floss over two. I love how it turned out!
I framed it in an Ikea frame and hung it on the gallery wall we have in our dining room. Eventually I need to frame more of my completed projects and then hang them on the opposite wall. It would be nice to have the wall dedicated to stitchy things so I can look at them as I'm at my sewing machine (or eating dinner! - small house means multiple use dining room!).
In other news, I've been joining in with CraftyMonkies over on instagram for the #monkiemotivation photo challenge. I can't always do it everyday because, well life gets in the way but there are some really fun prompts to inspire you creatively and they are a great way to play and escape for a bit.
Yesterday they suggested making a colour palette using the website Coolors, it's so easy to use and I really enjoyed playing about with it. I actually have photographs that I've taken while we've been out walking, mostly of things with colours that inspire me and this would be a great way to pull a palette together from those pictures. There are inbuilt pictures too, so you can scroll through those to find colours you love if you're not into taking photographs.
I went with this photograph and use the colour picker to select colours that I liked and I think they make a nice palette!
This selfie was taken with my husband yesterday as we celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary! We had a quiet night in and ordered a takeaway (after earlier making pancakes with the kids!). A lockdown anniversary celebration.
Finally I just wanted to let you know that I have some upcoming classes with CraftyMonkies, my next class is Stitches & Thread - explore sewing machine stitches and expand your options using thread! I will show how to best set up your sewing machine for using different stitches, as well as types of thread and tips for preparing your fabric. Learn all about selecting needles, weights and varieties of thread for different uses. Whether purely to decorate small makes or items of clothing or for applique stitching or quilting, this class will inspire you to use and enjoy your machine to the max! Click the image below to book your place.
Excitingly you will now find videos of some of my live classes available in the CraftyMonkies online shop! If you're interested in learning how to do Big Stitch Hand Quilting & Tying a quilt or would like to watch me demonstrate making my Stitchy Pie needle case pattern, head HERE.
And I am thrilled to be taking a live class myself this weekend! I'm doing the Mindful Stitch Journal class with Gary Mills and can't wait to spend an afternoon relaxing, learning and sewing. If you'd like to join the class too visit CraftyMonkies.
Hope you're all having a good week, staying safe and enjoying working on your sewing projects!
sew organised
I'm going to show you around a little bit, sharing how I (try to) keep my sewing supplies and projects organised and how, as someone that has a lot of projects on the go, I like to keep things accessible and easy! The theme of this post 'sew organised' is the Aurifil Artisan challenge for this month and I thought it was the perfect opportunity for a peek at my honest craft space. Hopefully some of these ideas or tips might be helpful to you, or you simply enjoy seeing what works for me.
I do not have a minimalist space, as much as I love that look I have yet to achieve it. I sew at a desk in our dining room and sewing time happens any time I can take it. It's nice to have things on hand, every now and again I have a good tidy up but I'd rather be making stuff when I have the opportunity. So usually the threads I have been using stay out until I'm moved to put them back away. The baskets on my desk store the things I use most often; pouches filled with clips, basting safety pins, scissors I can grab etc. I always have bits an bobs I'm working on, you can see my notebook above which is filled with ideas for designs and some cut up pieces of aida that I sent out and recently used to teach cross stitch to a children's group on Zoom.
My fabric is nicely organised, I have an Ikea PS cabinet, half of which is pictured below and three baskets filled with fabric. I don't organise by colour but rather by theme or designer. This helps me because I usually know the look or vibe I want to go for. I've tried rainbow stacks but I find it limiting, somehow I can't create interesting palettes when it's already organised by colour! So I have stacks of low volume, some by designers like original Cotton + Steel/Ruby Star, Anna Maria Horner and Tula Pink, prints for fussy cutting, linens and solids.
shapely rope basket
This was a 2020 finish but am just getting round to sharing it now. My hand sewn basket was a learning experience and the result truly has that handmade, rustic look. You are either going to love it or pity me!
There are plenty of tutorials out there for machine sewn and hand sewn rope baskets. I've made many machine versions but really wanted to try sewing one by hand. It has a different look that I really like and honestly I will make one again but here's what I found...
The base is really fun to stitch, it creates such a beautiful effect and I was very happy with that. I used Aurifloss to stitch the basket, staring with a beige colour and then switching to neutral white/cream for the main part of the basket.
So far so good...
handmade stitching extras
These are extras but could be deemed necessities. Each project is contributing to helping me stay neat and organised while stitching. I have been down the rabbit hole of flosstube videos on YouTube and decided to make a thread catcher mat and also try making a 'grime guard' for my new 11" Q-Snap frame. My 2021 cross stitch project needed a project bag to house the larger frame too (it would also be perfect for storing quilt blocks) so that's where it started. The slippery slope of making things to prepare to make things!
I searched through a lot of online tutorials and videos and am sharing today which ones I used to make my projects and explain why these makes are all so useful.
Perhaps, like me, you have a sofa/armchair/floor covered in bits of thread. I like to hand sew sitting on the sofa and the armrest is where most of my snipped threads end up. Occasionally (most of the time!) I forget to move them and they can end up in little nests all over the place. I've seen a whole load of different styles of thread catchers and I actually have a really cute little book thread catcher kindly made for me by Archie the Wonder Dog a while ago. That one lives with my sewing kit that I take out and about (not right now!) - to prevent trains/classrooms/cafes having to deal with my thread nests! Ultimately I decided to make these thread catcher mats, which again there are different variants of, but what I like about this version is you can easily replace the square of wadding when it gets worn out. Also it a good size and as it's flat it can easily fit into a project bag.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)