Zakka Style SAL week 3 - pincushion

I'm back with another project for the Zakka Style Sew-Along, and I'm lucky to be here.  OK, so that's a tad dramatic.  It's been chucking it down in Nottingham the past 2 days and yesterday I aquaplaned in my car.  It's never happened to me before and my heart hurt so much I actually wondered if I'd had a heart attack! 

If you're interested in the Zakka Style Sew-Along, you can link up here and go and see the post by this week's host, Ayumi at Pink Penguin.

This week's project was a sweet little pincushion.  I could actually do with another as I like to have them scattered all around my sewing room so I was definitely in with this one.

I used some grey linen scraps, the back is grey linen too as I don't have pink linen as the book suggested, or any other colour apart from neutrals.  The scrap of fabric is from Ruby and the button is covered in a tiny piece of Bliss.

This was my first time fabric stamping.  I ordered a red and a black fabric ink pad on line which took some doing.  The first shop I tried wanted £4 for delivery!  £4 to deliver 2 ink pads??  I don't think so!  It took a couple of attempts to get a good impression on my cotton tape, then I messed one up by ironing it too soon after I'd stamped which made the ink run. 

I've covered buttons before so that bit was easy, sewing the trim on was not!  It just kept shifting.  It wasn't until I'd made the pin cushion that I read Ayumi's post - she suggests using glue to hold it down whilst you sew.  Too late now! 

Can you see that the pincushion is a bit of an odd shape around the button?  I came to fill it and realised I didn't have any fibre fill, it's been on my craft shopping list (along with pins and chunky white yarn) for so long, I'd forgotten I needed it.  I used some lavendar instead.

See what I mean about the oddness?  I quite like it though, and it smells nice.

I also had a parcel this week.  When I opened it, I couldn't remember buying this elephant fabric, then I touched it and realised it was the PUL I'd ordered as a lining for a new lunch box for me.  It's from Prints to Polka Dots.  I didn't remember ordering the butterfly fabric either, but I'm glad I did!  I did remember buying the Heat and Bond that came with the fabric though!

Whilst I was buying, I added in a little scrap pack of blues for my bathroom curtains (It's taking me so long to make them, I'm sure you've forgotten, except you Dotty as you'll have entered it into your spreadsheet...  but I'm doing granny blocks...).  So, a peak at my scraps especially for Katherine.

I got Pips!  The Superman print is destined for a Jacob babygrow...

Next weeks SAL is a sewing kit, I'm in on that one too and then I've got Jacoby-type things to make, a poofie to reupholster for my brother (how did I get dragged into that??  What do I know about upholstery?), oven gloves to sew, candles to make... the curtains aren't going to get a look in.

  

Sewing machine cover #2

Can you guess what it is yet? 

Oh, I told you in the title.  Well that spoilt that then.  I was asked by a friend to make her a sewing machine cover like the one I made for myself - see this post if you are at all interested. 

I made some changes this time.  Instead of using the DMC light effects thread, I used Perle Cotton number 5.  Well ladies, call me a heathen, call me anything you like, but I do not understand the hype about this thread.  It's pretty much like any other embroidery thread, just not stranded.  What am I missing?  Other bloggers rave about Perle Cotton.

I used all pink buttons this time.  On my own cover I used a mixture of pink and red from my stash, but I didn't have 6 of one and 7 of the other this time and had to buy a pack.  They had no nice ones in red at all in Hobbycraft so I made do with all pink.  The tape measure ribbon is different too.  On my machine I used some ribbon I'd bought from East of India but I didn't have enough left so I had to make do with this cheaper version from the craft show.

I'd also ran out of the blue spot Bliss fabric I used for my lining.  The only think I had to hand in sufficient quantities was Lily and Will yardage which I'd bought for dining room stuff.  It goes well enough.  This time my lining is MUCH better.  Confession?  I made a lining, remembered how big it was on the last version so made it smaller.  It was way too small!  I had to rip it out and start again.  This second version worked perfectly.  In fact, on this second go around the whole thing went like a dream, other than the lining issue and the 4 or 5 times I was merrily sewing when I realised my bobbin had run out about 10 minutes before!  I'm really happy with it.
I decided to pop in a little pincushion as an extra.  What follows is not a tutorial, but I did take some pictures along the way, just because! 

I made a 9-patch square from 2 inch Bliss squares.  Almost all the points match!  Wahoo!  I cut 4 strips of linen 5.5 x 2 inches and one square 5.5 inches.  I sewed the strips together to form the sides of the cushion.

I then sewed the sides to the top and this was tricky.  I hadn't thought about those corners.  I had to kind of lay them flat diagonally.  By the way - notice I press my seams away from each other.  I always do that.  Everyone else says not to but I read one blog where it said it was better and I find this way the seams of darker fabrics don't show through the lighter parts.

I turned it right side out with bated breath.... OK, so the corners are lacking in skill, but never mind!

And ta-da! One wrinkly, badly-sewed, badly-ironed pin cushion!   How do you iron things like this?  The turning inside out made the linen very wrinkly but I just couldn't iron it without making it worse!

Side view.  Hm.  I think I've made better!  Maybe I should have put piping in the edges...
You also get a glimpse of my WIP shelf there.  "A WIP shelf?" I hear you cry!  Oh yes, of course, who DOESN'T have a WIP shelf?  More about that next time...

Productive Saturday

It has just taken me half an hour to upload these photos to Blogger.  I'm hating having to go out of the post each time, to another screen, then back to the post just to upload a single photo!  More frustrating is the fact I uploaded all these yesterday and Blogger stole them!

Something very exciting happened today.  I was sneakily checking my emails and saw that I've won a giveaway!!  My first!  I won a gorgeous bag over on Cathy's Blog.  Click here to visit Cathy and join in her Christmas challenge.  Come on girls, last push before December is on us and there are millions of things to do.

So, without further ado.  On Thursday night I "mastered" the crocheted flowers - well they kind of look like flowers so that will do for me!  I used Rowan HandKnit Cotton in the end and they seemed to hold their shape better.  What do you think?

 I went to the Craft Show on Friday, and on Saturday I spent the day sewing and making.  Luxury weekend!  I finished mum's birthday presents.  First up is a little pouch to hold her sewing machine accessories.  It matches the sewing machine cover I made. 

Did you spot the deliberate mistake?  Yep, I just can't seem to keep my animals the right way up!

The lining fabric matches the lining on the sewing machine cover.

I'm pretty pleased with how it came out as I didn't have a pattern.   I then made a little pin cushion to match.

It had to feature a pig as they are her favourite.  The back is in the lining fabric again.

And yes, I did even manage to mess a pin cushion up!  I hate slip stitching by hand, it's so messy, so I decided to stitch it on the machine.  It would have been a neat little line, except that the first two times I sewed it, I missed the fabric on the back!

Despite the problems, it only took 10 minutes to knock up so I made myself one too with this lovely Matroyshka fabric.  It has a red backside.  I do want to make a fancy pin cushion at some point, but this will do until then.

Next up was a needle book.  I took the pattern from Cath Kidston's Sew! but changed it a little to suit.

The inside has felt pages.  I made a mistake at first and cut the first one too small, but it worked out in the end...

Except for the fact the ribbon is upside down!  A mistake every single project.

Finally, I made a set of little notecards, they measure 9.5cm x 6.5cm.

And then I made a birthday card.  This is the first time I've machine sewn on paper and I loved it!  My cards will be featuring a lot of sewing from now on.

I also had to make mum a card from dad, so I put those crocheted flowers to good use!

And last, but not least, is an engagement card for my friend featuring an iron-on embroidery and a charm from the craft fair.

It's mum's birthday today so I'll get to find out tonight if she likes them.  Then I have to get on with dad's presents!