Monday 28 May 2012

Déjà vu

I'm back! I survived!  I have no idea why the "I'm" at the beginning of the sentence looks like a link... try it, see where it goes.  Anyway, I could regale you with tales of snotgobbling taxi drivers and lack of coffee in hotels, but instead I'll start with a quick apology, and then move on to showing you things you've kind of seen before.  Wow, sounds, exciting doesn't it!

The apology: I'm weeks behind in my email replying.  You may have had a reply from an email sent the other day but not one weeks ago, that's because I've been randomly clicking and replying!  Secondly, I'm days behind on blog reading and my reader went mental at lunch and randomly started scrolling down and down and down, in the end I had to shut the computer down and I've lost a day or so of posts... and some of them looked really interesting as they were shooting past at the speed of light.  If there's anything I should have seen, let me know in the comments!  Let's see, May 23rd and 24th.

OK, on with the repeats!  A week or so ago I showed you my first attempt at a doily.  I've now blocked it and it looks... like a doily!  A real one!


I'm inordinately proud of it.  I've started the next and I'll show you soon as I've got to have it finished soon, I've been working on it for weeks.  I got back from Tunisia on Friday night and Mr CA went to site Saturday/Sunday.  To make up for him abandonning me and for leaving the house in a right state, I used his money to buy myself some flowers and put the doily underneath.

Excuse the backdrop of a pile of books.  They're to go on the higher shelves that I can't reach, even on the enormous ladder.  Being 5foot1 in a house with 13 feet ceilings can be a trial...

My second, third and fourth repeats are further versions of the coffee mat I made to go under my leaky coffee machine.  I used the same print fabric, one is backed with 2 face cloths sewn together, and for the other 2 I cut a tea towel in half.  I wanted to put a lace border on them.  This is the result.


When you try to be a smart-arse and mitre the corners of the lace, that's when you have to cut them open.  It doesn't work.  I know that's pretty obvious, but apparently not to me!

I tried a different method with the next one.  I rumpled the corners up and tacked them before sewing.  Yes, rumpling up is a technical term.


Hmm.  So that doesn't quite work either.  Never mind, they're to catch coffee drips, if the lace doesn't sit flat, it doesn't sit flat. 

The final one is lace free.  Even a disaster-merchant like me knows when to give in... sometimes.  I washed the original mat at the weekend and it came out the wash with the coffee stains still on.  So I washed it on 60 and put it in the tumble drier.  It's still in there.  I daren't look!

The green tea towel doesn't go perfectly with the mat, but who cares?  Below is a sideways picture of all three!

And finally, before I go away and do some work, a reminder about my competition.




Click here for the details.  You have until the end of June to make something out of something old along with something new.  There is a prize!  Please feel free to grab the button over on the right and help me spread the word.  I promise that if you do, I'll have loads of new disasters for you to laugh at... promise!

7 comments:

mdgtjulie said...

The word looks like a link, but it doesn't go anywhere, cause I tried it, lol. I love your doily all blocked, except the pic makes it look almost blue. I know it's white from the other pic I saw of it. Or maybe it's just my eyes... I love the flowers, and I'm glad you got back home safely. That's awesome. Grats on the coffee mats, and I know how to make the lace lay flat without having to cut it. (My mom is a seamstress, and I've picked up a few things over the years. When you sew it on, you gather the lace where you attach it. That way, there's enough to go around the edge. I think they call it a ruched (pronounced rucked) corner. I like your mats anyways though. Hope the coffee stain came out!!

Allie said...

Oh my goodness your doily is gorgeous - especially with the flowers on it! Beautiful. Love your coffee mats too, good to know about the lace, I've not tried that yet. Glad you're home and away from snotgobbling taxi drivers!

Fiona said...

glad you got back safely... but it doesn't sound like you came back to sit still? busy busy.. and as usual a fun and amusing post....
Hugz

JoJo said...

I clicked on the word and it kept opening up my email program. Weird. The doily came out great! Have you thought about making them in different sizes, large to small, then using starch to make them into a little doily Christmas tree?

Sandra :) said...

Holy crap, woman - that link took me TO NARNIA!! And you should have seen the traffic on the way back - brutal, I say!!! ;)

Sweet doily - I hope Mr. CA is pleased with the flowers he bought you ... HA!! Cute coffee mats too - even the ones with the lace - they're just a bit differently abled than other coffee mats - nothing wrong with that - they have SPIRIT! :)

Maya Kuzman said...

Your words opens up my Outlook wizard - figure that !!
As for the doily - it is stunning. I love it!!

The Dotty One said...

Your doily is fab - so cute and really sets off the flowers! I'm super behind in blogging, blog-reading and emailing too! You only have to lose a few days and before you know it you are so behind its impossible to catch up!