Thursday, 23 May 2013

Felt Animal Brooches

08:17 | Posted by Shell | | Edit Post

This week I finally got around to finishing off these felt animal brooches. I cut them out and made a start on them a while ago but due to the tiny stitches used on them I only do the sewing in daylight. The patterns for these were purchased from Gingermelon's Etsy shop.

There is a similar free pattern for the cats and rabbits available from the Gingermelon Dolls blog.

Labels: Felt, Sewing | 1 comments

Tuesday, 14 May 2013

Tim Burton Stitchalong

11:22 | Posted by Shell | | Edit Post

I've not done any embroidery for a while nor participated in a stitchalong so when I saw the Tim Burton stitchalong hosted by Follow the White Bunny, I had to join in as I love sewing embroidery from illustrations.

The illustration which I used is named Staring Girl and can be found in the book The Meloncholy Death Of Oyster Boy & Other Stories. It's only a small piece, measuring aprroximately 11cm x 10cm. I used water colours for the coloured parts and one thread of black embroidery cotton for the sewing. Having done this style of embroidery before I found out that if the fabric is fine I then end up with lots of trailing black thread showing through from the back so I doubled the fabric this time. I've not used water colours on fabric before and think that if I use them again I should made them bolder to stand out a bit more especially when I am using all black to sew with.

The flickr group for this stitchalong can be found here.

Labels: embroidery, stitchalong | 2 comments

Thursday, 9 May 2013

Destash Projects

06:06 | Posted by Shell | | Edit Post

I've made a bit of a start using the craft supplies given to me by my sister's friend. Firstly I made this simple summer dress for Little L. She's not really a skirt or dress wearer so I had to follow the strict terms and conditions of no pink, no frills, no flowers and no ribbon which she laid down regarding the making of the dress. 

The dress cost me nothing to make as everything I used was in the house and there is still enough fabric left to make Little L something else.

Little L chose the pattern for this jumper which has a slash neck and fastens with three buttons on one shoulder. It was a good choice for her I think as she sometimes gets a bit panicky putting clothing over her head. The pattern is for a boys jumper and I didn't think about the side it fastened on until I finished it. The jumper fastens on the left shoulder so should I have put them on the right for a girl ?. I don't suppose it matters to Little L anyway.

This slouchy hat ( very reluctantly modelled by Caleb ) was made using a pattern which I had purchased from Ravelry. The pattern is called Castiel by Woolly Wormhead.

Labels: knitting, Sewing | 0 comments

Tuesday, 7 May 2013

Colourful Crochet

09:21 | Posted by Shell | | Edit Post

These are just a couple of small things which I managed to finish off over the weekend.

These little bunnies just needed sewing together which was only a small job but sewing up has to be my least favourite part of any knitting or crocheting. Very quick to make and ideal for using up any scrap wool. The tutorial can be found here.

This scarf only needed the ends sewing in. It is made up of a simple flower motif which was crocheted together as I went along. It measures approximately 70in x 4in.

Labels: crochet | 2 comments

Tuesday, 30 April 2013

Trying New Recipes

02:31 | Posted by Shell | | Edit Post

I thought I'd share some new recipes which I have tried out over the past week.

Raspberry Jam Bars

These raspberry jam bars went so fast that I ended up baking two batches in a week. I had been popping them in to lunch boxes though. I found the recipe for these through The Big Oven app.

Pesto Straws

I made these pesto and cheese straws to use up half a pack of puff pastry I had left over after making a pie. The other ingredients were already in the house. Some unravelled slightly but most stayed nice and twisty. As soon as Caleb came home from school, he and his friend grabbed some to snack on and his friend described them as 'Well Nice'. The recipe is from Cut Out And Keep.

Lemoney Yoghurt Cake

This one, lemoney yogurt cake,  I only tried out yesterday and I can't see it lasting until the end of today. Quite a large chunk of it has already gone due to my cake loving husband and two teenage boys. This recipe can be found on the Homemade Life blog. Thank you for sharing your recipe Paula :)

Labels: Baking | 1 comments

Monday, 29 April 2013

Cheshire Craft Workshop

06:45 | Posted by Shell | | Edit Post

Yesterday we took Little L to the Cheshire Craft Workshop to paint some pottery. There is a large selection of pottery to choose from including plates, money boxes, cups and small ornaments. Little L settled on a small car. She was given an apron and empty palette, all the paints were ready laid out on the tables. There were quite a few people in there painting both children and adults. After the pottery is finished you can take it home as it is ,have it varnished which takes an hour to dry or have it glazed and fired which takes about 1 week. Little L had her ornament varnished as we were staying for a while anyway.

Next Little L had a go at candle dipping.

 She was so pleased with herself when it was twisted and finished off.

While waiting for the varnish to dry on Little L's car we nipped to look around the aquatics centre next door. As well all things fishy they sell birds, reptiles and small mammals and we ended up coming home with a new rabbit. A baby mini Rex which we named Coco. I have had a standard Rex rabbit before and she could be a bit snappy at times so I asked about the temperament of the mini ones and was told that they are not as bad tempered as the larger rabbits. The baby rabbits were used to being handled and Coco seems quite happy to sleep on our laps.

So we went out to paint a pot and came home with a baby rabbit. I wasn't expecting that when I got out of bed.

0 comments

Thursday, 25 April 2013

Little L's Bright Cushion

04:40 | Posted by Shell | | Edit Post

I finally made a cushion this week with the embroidery which I finished in January. Little L chose the fabric for the cushion which was in my stash. She'd had her eye on the coral print for ages and had asked me to make her something using it. To me, the cushion is a bit too bright and it sticks out like a sore thumb in Little L's room because it's mainly decorated in pastel shades but she loves it and it's her favourite cushion (for the time being, until she has an idea for another one anyway).

Labels: Sewing | 1 comments