Meditation Cushion

Recently I have been looking into meditation and mindfulness. After a very tough year I am looking into ways to help myself and this seems to be a great way. Now I am not going to tell you all about it, but I do like to be fully prepared when I try new things. So.. I thought I should fashion myself a comfortable cushion to be able to sit and spend a good amount of time on.

I have seen many around but they are so expensive. So I dived into my stash and spent some time working out the maths and got my large fabric scissors out. Excitingly it was my birthday a couple of weeks ago and I received a new sewing machine, so I got to try that out on this, it was very good!

I used yellows, oranges, blacks and greens and when I had patched together my top I used a pom pom edging between the top and the sides. To make it more comfy and less like a bean bag I used a 1 inch thick wadding under the top and embroidered basic stitches to give it a more ethnic and colourful look. I even found some mirrors to sew on which had a beautiful gold embroidered edge.

I filled the cushion with both cushion filling and bean bag beans to give stability and comfort. It has worked out well even if I say so myself! I think I may make a few more.

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One year on

I can't believe that it has been over a year since I started doing this blog. I started it as a reason for doing all the little bits a pieces that I do. But there was another reason too; to gain confidence. This past year has been a tough one for me, and as silly as it sounds, my craft has done a good job at keeping me going, and so has this blog. I have decided to keep going and through doing it, test myself to do things that I wouldn't normally do. I love One sheepish girls blogging for confidence series and I am taking it as inspiration. This next year I am going to challenge myself to as many new things as I can that I wouldn't normally do. I have sort of being doing this so far this year, I gave a crochet lesson in public. I found that lots of people came and asked what we were doing and genuinely seemed interested in it. The cafe we were in even said they should start up a knitting/crochet knit and natter night. I improved my baking skills, tried new things. Became the soup dragon and perfected my soup making abilities. Tried lots of new crafting skills including embroidery, and started a big project (no it's not finished yet) with my crochet skills. I thank you all for continuing to read my blog, and hope that you carry on. :)

Here are some of my favourite projects from this past year

Crochet bag

Bracelets

Embroidered frame

Owl Fascinator

Purse

Crochet Slippers

Crochet Snood

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Pin-ups

Spring is on it's way. I love the feeling, it is almost like relief that the darkness is going and the light is only around the corner. Today was so sunny and the crisp air just made me feel magical. So this week my pin-ups are all spring related crafts. I hope they get you guys excited too :)

Beautiful crochet flowers that will never die on you.

Beautiful tea cups made from paper. This artist makes some beautiful things.

Beautiful embroidery hoop decorations. With the light behind this looks like a stained glass window.

These crochet sandals are great for when you want to be barefoot but the occasion doesn't agree with it.

Monogrammed Hankies, so pretty.

For more of my Pins please check out and follow me on Pinterest. X

A bit of sparkle for a party x

Saturday night I have a party to go to. It's a bit of a posh number so I need some fancy head gear to go with my emerald green shift dress. I have made fascinators before here and here but this time I wanted something a bit special!

 
So I looked in my big pot of sparkles and found some green and black sequins and some white and green pearls. I purchased a fascinator cap from my local haberdashery and while I was there I spied some feathers and got my make on.

I really like it and I am looking forward to showing it off to a different crowd! :)

Bunting

It's officially party season, and who doesn't need bunting at a party? Or just to decorate a small corner :) I love making bunting, and it was the first thing I made when I purchased my sewing machine. I have made it for friends and family, and been told it's better than most that can be purchased in shops. I will take that compliment!!

What you will need:
* fabric
* ribbon - the length depends on how long your bunting will be (also I used a textured ribbon rather than a shiny finish) but the width should be around an inch across
* sewing machine or a needle and thread
* template like this one (draw a triangle 13cm across the top and 18cm to the point)

What you need to do:
1. Draw and cut out your template, and using a pen draw around the template. You need 2 Triangles for every flag on your bunting.

2. When you have drawn out all your triangles, cut them out and pair up.

3. Pin them together with the outsides touching together. Then sew around the two side edges around 5mm from the edge, and leave the top open.

4. When you have sewn up all your triangles turn them all inside out. Then iron them to make sure that they're flat.

5. Take your ribbon and pin the flags all along, making sure that the gaps in between are uniform. The ribbon should be wide enough for it to fold in half over the flag and cover the top gap. Pin all the way along and iron to make sure its flat. Then sew all along the ribbon making sure that the flags stay firm and the two ribbon edges are sewn together.

Beautiful!!

Hope your parties go well!

Kitty Cat and baby Mary Janes

It seems to be baby season and I have many baby gifts to make! With some already here and more on the way, I'd better get a move on quick! So, what fast things can I make for a little baby girl? Well, I found this amazing pattern for some cute crochet Mary Jane slippers. When I went to buy some baby yarn I found Sirdars Snuggly Snowflake, its super soft and when crocheted up its super snuggly and soft and looks like a little cloud.

Information
Size: 0-6 Months
Guage: Sole measures 3 1/2inches
 
Materials

A small amount of baby yarn - I used Sirdar Snowflake in white!
5.50mm Crochet hook

How To:
Sole
Ch 8
1. 2 HTR in 3rd ch from hook, TR in next 4 chs, 6TR in last ch. Working on other side of chain, in free loops, HTR in next 4 chs. (3 HTR) in last ch. Join w/ sl st to beg ch. (20 sts)
2. CH 1, 2 DC in same st. DC in next 8 sts, (2DC in next st)3 times. DC in next 6 sts. (2 DC in next st) 2 times. Join with sl st to first DC. (26 sts)

Sides
3. (Working in back loops this rnd) Ch 2, HTR in each st around. Join (26 sts) 
4. Ch 2, HTR in next 10 sts, (TR next 2 sts tog)3 times. HTR in next 7 sts. HTR next 2 sts tog. Join to first HTR. 
5. CH 1, DC in same st. DC in next 9 sts. TR 5 sts TOG as one--->[(YO, insert hook in next st, YO, pull up a loop, pull through 2 loops on hook)5 times. YO and pull through all loops on hook]. DC in next 7 sts. Join to first DC.

The Strap
6. Ch 1, DC in same st. DC in next 6 sts. Ch *4*, DC next 7 sts. DC in last 4 sts. Join to first DC (15) 
7. Ch 1, DC in same st. DC in all stitches around. Join (15)
The Bow - using a size 3.00mm crochet hook and some baby yarn.
1. Ch 17, TR in 3rd ch from hook and in each st across (14)
Row 2-6: CH 2, HTR across
Row 7: Sl st in next 7 sts, ch 10 and then tie off, wrap the chain around the bow making the centre tie. Leave the end to attatch to the Mary Jane shoes.

The second present I made was a little cat! I thought I wanted to make something along the lines of the Fox that I made my friends little boy when he was born, but this time I chose a cat. I chose a fleecy fabric to make it super soft and embroidered onto the cat rather than using buttons, just in case baby swallows them. A cute little make I think! :)

 

Craft-Off!

After seeing me make my embroidery hoop, my good friend Maisie down at Life of a Rockabilly asked me to be part of a craft-off. We decided that I would make an embroidery hoop for her and she would make me some Halloween bunting :) How can I say no to that? Halloween is Maisie's favourite time of year, it would be all year if she had her way! Another love of Maisie's is Tattoo's. She wants to be a tattoo artist one day and so I pinched one of her designs and crafted it up a little.

I figured when shes got her tattoo parlour she will probably spruce it up with some embroidery, and why wait?! I'm pretty proud of it :)

Halloween Bunting

How awesome is this, I love the skull with the eye coming out. Fabulous! I demand you too try a craft-off. Swapping craft skills should be something that we all do!

A little Welcome!

Hey,
I decided to put a little Hello by my front door for all the people who come to visit us! I am hoping to build up a little collection of fabric happiness :) It was really simple, I popped down to my local haberdashery and purchased an embroidery hoop. I used a left over cut off of the fabric from my cushion and popped it into the hoop. I then took some embroidery threads and with just basic stitches I embroidered the word hello into my fabric. To embellish it I decided to pop some vintage buttons on there. There you go, just tuck in the back edges of the fabric and your done. Beautiful fabric to brighten someone's day :)