Zakka Style Sew Along week 18 - Bread basket

For once, I'm not late with my Zakka Style Sew Along project!  I made it right after I finished the linen pouch.  I wasn't sure I was going to make this bread basket as I have no use for a basket for baguettes, but I did think it was cute and I have managed to find another use for it.  Nope, not to hold yarn as you'd guess from the photos, it holds all my spools of thread that don't fit on my thread racks.

I used my favourite grey linen with some FQs of Le Petit Ecole, gifted to me by the incredibly generous Nancy. 

I wasn't sure at all how this was going to come together, but the construction was actually pretty clever and very easy.

For once, there were no errors in the book!  Or if there were, I didn't notice them.  The picture below shows the back and the closure loop.  I didn't have any twine to hand, and as my basket isn't particularly rustic, I didn't think it would go anyway.  Instead I used 3 strands of black elastic plaited.

I was supposed to top stitch around the top of the basket, but my machine had a hissy fit and refused to do it... that machine is so damn temperamental! 

It looks a bit like the top is bound, but it isn't.  That's the lining.  I'm not sure what happened but my lining turned out bigger than the shell, I like it though, so I ironed it in place. 

Next week's challenge is the sugar cookies play biscuits.  I think I might make them for a certain little lady in my life. 

Zakka Style Sew Along week 17 - Linen pouch

Morning ladies.  Now I bet you thought I'd pulled out of the Zakka Style Sew Along, didn't you?  I haven't!  I did miss a few weeks, there were some projects I didn't fancy and one, the elephant bookmark, that I did but just couldn't make time for.  I have joined in this week!  Right against the wire as the deadline is today.

If you've joined in, or just want to see what others have made, the link up is here, you can also visit this week's host - Sukie at Don't You Know Who I Am?
This week we made a cute little linen pouch.  I made this for me, but have no idea what I'll do with it.  I'm sure I'll find a use!  When listing items in my shop (see that sneaky link I got in there??), I noticed that the vast majority of my makes are blue, probably because it's my favourite colour, but it's about time I branched out. 

Here's the front of my bag all laid out.  The scrap of fabric is from some fat quarters I won from the lovely Rosa.  If you don't know Rosa, go and visit her, she's lovely.  I used more of Rosa's fabric for the lining and binding.

The little bunny is from the lovely Sandra, I know a lot of you know Sandra but if you don't, go and visit her, she's lovely too.  In fact, Rosa and Sandra, do you know each other?  Back to the bunny - this time I sewed it on the right way round, yay, go me!

I laid it out exactly like in the photo in the book, I know, I'm so imaginative!  I did add the yellow plastic heart button as it was all getting a bit too vintage looking.  I also added the sewing machine charm.  Every bit of it was sewn on by machine, buttons, charms and all.  I'm just so lazy.  I did notice when I took the pictures that I've sewn the sewing machine on back-to-front.  But that's fine.  I wanted the back of a sewing machine on my pouch anyway.

It closes with a big button and some gold cord type stuff.  But it'll only close if it's incredibly full as the cord is too long!

As you can see, I used the wrong side of the linen on the back!  I used the old curtains my mum gave me again and forgot there was a front and a back as there isn't with the other linen I've been using. 

The only hand stitching I did was the binding at the top.
Now, I keep saying I'll be showing you progress shots and works in progress and I keep failing completely, so here's a work in progress shot!  It's a little embroidery I'm working on using Perle cotton size 8, I think.

1 more thing before you go.... ladies!  Stop chatting to Sandra and Rosa for a minute, you can go back to your gossiping later...  I've made it into the final round of July's Finest Week 3 and I'm in the running for July's Finest Week 4... if you fancy voting for me, can you please go here.  Feel free to vote for someone else of course, I'd rather people were honest and voted for the project they like best.

Right, I've got a caffetiere to fill with coffee.  Missing my coffee machine badly...

Remember, only 2 days to go!
Don't forget to enter my Something Old, Something New competition.  The deadline is 31st July and there is a prize!

Done!

Morning ladies!  I only woke up at 10 this morning, and that was only because Mr CA was crashing about.  You know how noisy men are when they're trying to be quiet?  I've got a lovely day planned.  Mr CA has taken the girls to town, so I'm going to catch up on a few blogs, then I'm going to make stuff.  Loads of stuff.

Something terrible has happened though.  I mean, really, really, how will I go on terrible.  My coffee machine has died.  Just like that.  Last week my GHDs died, then my hairdrier - that was bad enough, who wants to walk around looking like they've got a mop on their head?  But now my coffee machine?  I've got some seriously bad Karma going on.

I haven't managed to make much this week, but I have finished a few things off.  Want to see?

Remember I showed you the polymer clay beads I'd learnt to make?  Well I finished off the canes we'd made in class, then I made some more in red, blue and white.  Not terribly successful this time, the red and white were so squidgy.  I made them into beads too and then baked the lot.

I've also finished off my Geisha and the sewing lady and added them to my gallery.  I think it definitely warrents being called a gallery now.

By finished off, I mean the backs.  Before they were just laced at the back, but now I've added the felt.  Like this:

(didn't have a bit enough piece of felt and so had to join two).  And this:

I also added felt to the back of the teeny tiny embroidery that started it all off.  Before I'd just folded the fabric over the back of the hoop and stuck it down with washi tape.  I think this is more secure.

What do you think of my gallery then?  Coming along nicely I think!

Don't forget to enter my Something Old, Something New competition.  The deadline is 31st July and there is a prize!

LANT linky features

Afternoon ladies!  Well, I don't know what's going on with me.  A couple of weeks ago I had posts coming out of my ears.  I don't mean fence posts, I mean blog posts. Tons of subjects I had.  And now... suddenly... nothing.  I've got nothing finished.  Nothing to show you.  Nothing I'm working on that I haven't shown you before.  How rubbish am I?   Marks from 1-10 please.

So, instead of showing you what I've done, I'm going to show you what the lovely ladies who're joining in my Learn A New Technique challenge have done.  The linky party is ongoing, any time you learn a new craft, a new technique within a craft, a sub-craft (does that exist?), come and link up.  Need inspiration?  Try here.
Fiona at the Celtic Thistle made some dorset buttons

These are so sweet and look like good fun, must have a go.  I think I've pinned a tutorial somewhere...


Pam from Threading My Way used flat felled seams for the first time.

Fancy pants!  She also made her very first quilt, you wouldn't believe it's her first!

 

Circul Magic Shop had a go at fabric decopage, wow what a result!

Sandra at Sandra Sews branched out from her zipper pouches to installing a wide open zipper

That's another tutorial I've got pinned.

Made to Treasure tried some Tunisian crochet

I've been meaning to try that for a while, I just never got round to it.

So, any more takers?  Tried something new?  Come and link up.  It's open forever.

crochet sailing boats

Well it's been a long time since I did any Pretty, Crafty Homing, but I succeeded at the weekend.

I made one of these:

Do you know what it is?  It's being blocked in the photo above, and below you can see it hanging.

I've hung it in the bathroom. Mr CA hasn't noticed yet.  Or at least he hasn't mentioned it!  I can just imagine what he'll say when he does.

The pattern is by Bunny Mummy.  It's a fab pattern.  It works up quickly and uses tiny bits of yarn.  I shamelessly copied and added the same kind of embellishments.

The chunky glass beads and the little fish finish it off nicely.  I think so anyway.

And that's it today.  Not feeling very wordy.  I've spent hours and hour and hours today listing items in my new shop (I'm writing this post on Sunday).  Want to see my new shop?  Go on then, it's here.


Don't forget to enter my Something Old, Something New competition.  The deadline is 31st July and there is a prize!

manic jewellery making

The jewellery classes that I've been going to have totally inspired me.  After getting back from the mixed media class last week, I got my beads out and sat down to make.  I wanted to make a present for my friend's birthday and I thought a necklace would be a good idea.

I got out some white plastic flowers I've had a while and some beads and made this.

The red bead in the middle of the large flower is a kind of rubber material, very shiny, the smaller flowers have glass millefiori beads inside which you totally can't see in my rubbish photos!  I loved this necklace so much, I made one for myself.

As I'd already made two, I thought I might as well make another 3 to put in my shop.  I've set up a new Dewanda shop, but haven't done the listings yet, I'll share the link when I do. 

A blue one, a red one and a black one for my shop.  The photo below sort of shows the millefiori beads.

But I didn't stop there, oh no, I'd been bitten by the necklace bug and had the urge to try something different.  I wanted to try out the crimping pliers I'd got for Christmas which had been languishing in my plier holder.

There is a slight problem with this necklace.  I started with the big flat bead and added matching black rubber beads and mother of pearl flats.  When I'd finished, I realised the big flat bead was navy.  Oh dear.  Am I colour blind?

I was starting to doubt myself by this time and wasn't sure my friend would like the red flowre necklace.  A blue necklace was in order!

I found it hard to send this one off to her as I really like it.  I'm not sure why I didn't make another for myself. It's that heart shaped connector I love.

Even though the thought of earrings makes me feel nauseous, I made a matching pair of earrings for her! 

Artistic shot needed?

Hmmm, should have emptied the glass first...

P.S. my clay beads have been featured on To Sew With Love.  Please go and vote for them to be make of the month!




Don't forget to enter my Something Old, Something New competition.  The deadline is 31st July and there is a prize!

Vintage embroidery competition, or not.

Yay, it's Friday!!  It's just a shame it's not FNSI as I feel stitchy.  Speaking of which, do you remember my FSNI post on Saturday?  I showed you this little lady I was stitching up:

Well she's finished.  In fact, she was finished on Saturday night.  That must be some kind of record for me.  The poor thing never even got to be a WIP.

I've mostly used running stitch, though the chair is done in chain stitch, the rope thing that goes to the pedal was done in stem stitch and the sewing she's producing was satin stitched.  I used metallic thread for the machine (nightmare) and silk thread for the dress and sewing (pure heaven).  I was worried about my cracked eczema hands with the silk threads, but it was fine.  I used a mixture of brown and yellow for the hair to try to recreate my blond hair.  Yep, she's meant to be me, born in the wrong century I was. 

She was for the competition over at a group on Flickr, but the host of the competition was so damn rude to me that I pulled out, I just deleted my photos.  I didn't understand the 36 pages of rules apparently and had missed something out.  When I said that I didn't understand what I'd done wrong (which was invalidating my entry?!?) she got really shirty with me so that's a group I won't be visiting again.  Ah well, the pattern is lovely. 

I started with this vintage embroidery pattern, found in the Hoop Love Flickr group. I used a bit of fabric from one of the linen pieces my lovely friend Fiona sent me.

I wanted to finish her in a hoop, but not alone, I had an idea...

This fake hexie fabric has been in my stash for ages, bought on a whim from Fabricland.  I thought it was perfect for this project.  Especially as the purple in it was similar to the purple I'd used for the fabric in the picture.  That's right, I didn't think it through and use a thread to match the fabric I intended to use, I just stitched it!

It's meant to look like she's sewing the border.  I know it doesn't really work, but I kind of like it anyway.  I didn't like the wooden hoop against the design, so I wrapped it in white faric first.

And here she is, all hooped up.  From hoop to hoop in just 2 days!

Now I just need to get round to adding her to my gallery, that's two new pieces waiting to be hung!



Don't forget to enter my Something Old, Something New competition.  The deadline is 31st July and there is a prize!