Autumn Notebooks

Autumn is my most favourite time of the year. We can pull all those chunky knits, thick socks, boots and snugly coats out of the wardrobe and start preparing to hibernate over the chilly months. Today I went for a walk with my big scarf on (Yes I know it's warmer today than it has been, but I don't care!) and collected some leaves and acorns and things associated with Autumn.

I have decided that I want to document this coming autumn, keeping my leaves and essentially making an art journal of things that I find. I have many note books in my flat and most are very plain, but I love notebooks that are close-able so I have decided (as I have been banned from buying anymore) that I will adapt some ones that I already have.

You will need:
* Notebooks with firm but not too firm covers (you need to get a needle through there, but not flimsy enough for it to rip easily)
* Needle and Thread
* A button
* String or leather or whatever binding materials you would like.

How to do it:
1. Sew the button onto the notebook, not too close to the edge but wherever you want really.

2. Tie the string around the button into a knot and then wrap it around the notebook and back around the button to fasten.

You are done, simple!

X

Woven Placemat

This week I made a loom! It was really easy to do and got me so excited to create some of my own woven pieces! My frame is 16 x 11inches so I thought that would be the perfect size for a place mat. So I gathered my equipment and went to work.

I took some cream and beige cotton embroidery threads and tied it to one of the nails in the corner. I then went up and down the loom hooking the thread around each nail at the top and bottom until I got to the end and I tied it off. Make sure you keep it very tight to make the weave tight.

Then take yarns, threads, jerseys, whatever you want to use and go for it, weaving in and out of the embroidery threads, and when you get to the end of the row go back the opposite way! The great thing is that every single one is unique and special!

I went for blacks, greys, creams and greens and even incorporated some jersey yarn that I bought from my local haberdashery. The end product is beautiful, even if I say so myself!

Loom

Furthering my interest of all things woven I decided to make a loom. They are pretty expensive but you can knock one up pretty cheaply! I had an old frame lying around the flat and some nails and went to work.

What you need:
* Wooden frame
* Nails, not too short but not too long or too big
* Hammer
* Ruler
* Pencil

What to do:
1. Measure out where you want your nails to go using the ruler and pencil on two opposite sides of the frame.

2. Hammer the nails into where the markings are.

Done!