Appliqued Home Bunting

Embroidered Cow Garland

Having spent the last week decoupaging eggs, I'm now ready to 'moo've' back into stitching again. I wanted a lovely spring project with bright fresh colours to lift me from the grey dark days of a UK winter.  The wind is blowing a gale outside and 'brrr, I'm Friesian'! 

You've got the hang of this post and yup I'm really 'milking' it here.  Any more puns would be 'udder' overkill!  So I'll stop and let you have a little look at this instead;

It's a present for a special friend who is really quite poorly at the moment.  I had been intending to make her some bunting for her classroom but that project has been put on hold as it might be some time before she is well enough to return to teaching.  Cows are her favourite animals so hopefully this cheery character will lift her spirits during a trying time.

I began by drawing a basic cow's face which would easily translate into an applique.  I then added a bit of colour so I could check that the design would work before I actually started cutting any fabric.

The photos don't reflect the colours particularly well, but I used brown for the facial markings and then some little scraps of polka dot fabric in shades of pink, white and green for the rest of the design.

The bias-binding is part of a batch which I made from an old pillow case.  It was perfect for this project as, by a stroke of luck, it contained all the right colours even down to the soft apple green of the lettering!

 

Get well soon Fiona!

Oh, So Shabby French Chic - Decoupage Eggs!

 'Vintage' Papier Mache Book Page Eggs - Part Deux

Whilst up in the loft this weekend I discovered some more plastic Easter eggs so, once again, I got busy with the PVA glue and created these gorgeously shabby chic decoupage eggs!

I applied strips torn from an old book of quotations for the background layer and 'aged' the eggs with a quick wash of watered down poster paint before adding images cut from a pack of paper napkins.

If you feel inspired to create your own Easter objects d'art take a look at my Decoupage Egg Tutorial where you will find full step by step instructions and photos.

 The serviettes I used for this project were 'Butterfly Mail' by Paper-Design.

I purchased mine on eBay and was lucky enough to be the only bidder and paid just 99p for the pack of twenty.  I made fourteen eggs in total and only used three napkins as each one has four printed sides.   Quite a few shops on the internet have them in stock at the moment, including Cuddlybuddly.com and Amazon, or you might just pick up a bargain at eBay.  I also have some spares if you're desperate, just message me!

I then spotted these 'Butterfly Print Cloche and Bases' whilst I was shopping in Sainsburys and I'm hoping Mr Larkin and the children might treat me to one (or two) as a Mothering Sunday gift.  They would look perfect displaying my eggs on Easter Sunday either adorning the piano or dinner table.  

The description on the Sainsbury's site states 'The butterfly print cloche from our botanical range is a beautiful object in its own right, and a lovely way of displaying treasured possessions'. 

Hmm....do my eggs count as 'treasured possessions'?

Fabric Watch Strap Tutorial

Upcycled Watch Band

My watch strap broke this week and, as it was only an inexpensive watch in the first place, it didn't seem worth paying for a replacement but I didn't want to throw the whole thing away.  So I got rummaging in my stash of fabric scraps and stitched myself a new one. As broken straps are a common problem, and the replacement was extremely quick and easy to sew, I thought I would share a little tutorial.

How To Sew A Watch Strap

The catch refused to stay closed and it was only a matter of time before it fell off and got lost, so it had to go!  I carefully removed it using a pin and grabbed the rest of my supplies;

Fabric, rotary cutter or scissors, ruler and elastic

The elastic needs to be just a bit narrower than the strap it is replacing.  Wrap it around your wrist to determine how long it needs to be.  Remember it doesn't need to go around your entire wrist, it attaches to both sides of the watch face, a larger face therefore means you need less elastic.

My poor ruler looks like it has suffered an attack by the rotary cutter!

Cut a strip of fabric twice the finished width plus seam allowance.  My fabric was a slightly worn 'shabby chic' piece of durable cotton canvas.  I wanted the strap to be just under 2 cm when finished so I cut a strip 5cm wide (2cm + 2cm + 1cm seam allowance).  It needs to be long enough to slip over your wrist, the exact measurement depends on how gathered you want the finished strap to be, mine was 35cm which was perfect.

Now stitch along the long edge to form a thin tube.  Trim your seam allowance and turn through to the right side using a safety pin.  Press the seam open by slipping the tube over a thick knitting needle.  I find this trick means I can achieve a lovely neatly finished seam without squashing the whole tube.  In the photo it looks as though the sides have been pressed flat but it's just the camera angle, trust me the tube is still gorgeously round!

You now need to use your safety pin to thread the elastic into the tube.  Remember to pin the first end firmly into place so that it doesn't just pull straight through.

Push the elastic back into the tube so that ends of the fabric extend beyond the elastic by about 1cm.  Pin in place and then machine stitch securely, so that you just catch the ends of the elastic.  

Fold the raw edges over so that they are tucked inside the new strap and hand sew the gap closed using little slip stitches. 

Now turn the ends over to the back and, again using tiny hand stitches, catch them into the line of machine stitching you used to secure the elastic.  This gives you a tiny channel which the watch pins will go through.  The following picture shows the pins in place ready to be reattached to the watch face.

Now just click the pins into place and that's it - All done!  

You could sew some to coordinate with all your outfits or be really kitch and make one to actually match your outfit.  Hey, how about making some in the same fabric as your bridesmaids' outfits so that they coordinate with the other girls and their dresses! The mind boggle at the possibilities........

Oh, that I were a glove upon that hand.....

Alice loves fingerless gloves and my Mum was looking for 'easy to transport' knitting projects which she could take to hospital appointments to while away waiting times.  A match made in heaven!  We turned to the internet for inspiration and found this wonderful picture, post and pattern from the very talented Laura over at Pickin' and Throwin'.  

XO Cable Knit Fingerless Mittens - Tutorial and Pattern

Alice calls them her 'Hugs and Kisses' mittens, as here in the UK people often sign off Birthday cards with a series of 'XOXOXO's' which are then known as hugs and kisses!

She wanted a chunky grey wool and Granny got started immediately.  She must be a quick worker as they were on Alice's hands within a week, including postal time!

Mum was a little disappointed that the dappled grey colour slightly obscured Laura's lovely cable design but the upside is that the shadings should also prevent the mitts from needing a wash after every wearing!

Thanks Granny xxx

Plastic Eggs ~ Napkin Decoupage Tutorial

Using PVA is much 'cheeper' than Mod Podge!

Last Friday I received an email from the rather marvellous 'Style at Home' magazine asking me about my plans for the Easter Bank Holiday.  'Blimey' I thought 'Christmas was only a fortnight ago!'.  Jen and her team have to work months ahead in order to meet the tight deadlines required to get the magazine onto the shelves for all us eager readers.  Still, that email gave me the little push I needed to start thinking about Spring and Easter projects.  I am planning to make 30 personalised and embroidered linen egg cosies as gifts for the guests at our annual party, which we hold after Mass on Easter Sunday.  I am still mulling over designs in my head (read procrastinating), so I grabbed my scissors and PVA glue and placed all thoughts of stitching aside.

Instead I decided to 'age' these unattractive plastic eggs.  We have bags of them left over from the egg hunts which the children used to enjoy when they were younger.  

 Most of the children in our social group are reaching the teenage years and an egg hunt is 'too young' for them.  So after lunch on Easter Sunday we either go for or a walk or have a retro sports day.  They're not too old for egg and spoon, sack and three-legged races!

The plastic eggs are now surplus to requirements so I got creative with an old book of quotations and some paper napkins and this is what I ended up with....

Antique Eggs!

 I wasn't sure how they would turn out, but I am really pleased with them.  They remind me of gorgeous Victorian botanical prints and book plates.  They were quite time consuming to produce, but the process was actually very easy and I am already dreaming about displaying batches of them under glass cloches and hurricane vases on the dinner table.

They cost next to nothing to produce and if you are a keen crafter you will probably already have all the supplies you need.  I used plastic eggs (obviously), book pages, watered down PVA glue, brown paint and some pretty paper dinner serviettes.

Tutorial 

I didn't prepare the eggs in any way at all, I didn't even bother gluing the two halves together and they worked perfectly, so grab your bits and pieces and jump straight in.

The first step was to stick on a layer of plain paper, I used some blank pages from the front of the book, onto to eggs using watered down PVA glue.  You don't need to worry about the exact ratio of glue to water, just aim for the consistency of very thin single cream.  I felt this first layer was necessary as the eggs were such lurid colours.  I guess you could just add more than one layer of printed book pages, but I didn't want too much print showing through.  Make sure you tear the paper rather than cutting it as this gives the pieces softer edges which blend into each other better when pasted down.

I worked in a little production line so that whilst one layer was drying I got started on the next egg.  I found that if I tried to stick too many paper strips onto an egg in one go I just ended up in a sticky mess!  I used an old, yellowed book of quotations, but if you don't have a suitable book to hand just use newspaper.

Once all the layers were completely dry, it was time to get creative with the paper napkins. I used botanical and butterfly themed versions.

Cut out your chosen image from the napkins, being sure to trim the design as closely as possible. Then separate the layers and, using the top ply only, smooth into place on your egg using more of the watered down PVA glue.  I used my finger for this part of the process as I found I had more control this way rather than using a paint brush.

 To complete the aging process I brushed some watered down brown poster paint over the eggs before quickly wiping off any excess.  A final coat of the PVA mixture will seal your finished final design and then you can simply sit back and admire your handiwork!

   

Baby Bunting Appliqued Garland

Personalised Flags with Appliqué

During the Christmas holidays we received the much awaited news that Alice's godmother had given birth to her second beautiful daughter and so I got straight down to some special stitching to mark this happy occasion.

The new arrival was a very bouncing 11lb 6oz and is pictured here with her proud big sister

I first met her Mummy when she was still at primary school and her mother was the landlord of the house whose floor I was sleeping on whilst the purchase of my own house went through.  I sometimes find it hard to believe that she is now all grown up and that over twenty years have slipped by.  She and her lovely husband are both engineers and spent the first part of their married life working out in Abu Dhabi but are now back in the UK.  Easier for visiting family and friends I guess, but not quite as warm!

I have just finished stitching each of the girls a string of personalised fabric bunting in coordinating pastel colours.  As ever the material is upcycled, this time I have used a piece of well laundered fabric which was originally a 'Next' duvet cover.  The years of washing have left it with a lovely soft 'shabby chic' feel!

Bunting is always well received as a gift and is pretty easy to make.  Even better it uses very little fabric especially if you alternate your flags/pennants when you mark them out.  You can even back the triangles with plain fabric if you are using a more expensive fabric for the front pieces.

Having cut out my flags, I then traced the necessary letters onto fusible web.  I used a font reminiscent of an American college alphabet as I felt the girls would be less likely to outgrow these later.  If you are having a go yourself don't forget to reverse your letters when you trace them onto the iron-on web, you won't believe how many times I have made this rookie mistake!

I created each set in the same colour palette so that they wouldn't clash if they were hung together.

Both sets are shown in these pictures, so the letters are mixed up.  In reality the owl bunting has all the teal letters and the butterfly features the pink.

Both the letters and the motifs were applied using fusible web (bondaweb) and then I simply highlighted the details by machine stitching around them with black thread.  The picture below shows the butterflies before and after the stitching has been added.

The bias-binding was made from an old pillowcase and I used a scrap of the same fabric for the owls' tummy, which really pulled the whole design together.

My first project of this year, thanks for joining me and visit again soon xx

If you go down to the woods today.....

Family time

It's hard to believe that today is the children's first Monday of school since 2013!  Christmas and the New Year seem like a dim and distant memory, so I thought I would post a couple of snaps from the holidays before I get back to my stitching.  

If you look carefully at the following picture you can just make out a lake glinting behind the trees.  We are lucky enough to live within walking distance of a nature reserve, ancient woodland, river, lakes and a stunning English Heritage site with breathtaking ruins. 

The girls had each been given a 'crossbow' for Christmas and had a wonderful time ambushing their brothers.

 If you go down to the woods today.............

Meeting these two might just give you that 'big surprise'!