A little something for the weekend

Long time no see! We have lots of crafty catching up to do, but last things first: my most recent project.



Despite having a bevy of beret-type hats lying around for a long time, I've only just discovered the joys of wearing them (more in a later post on those). Despite being very cute they don't keep my ears warm in the slightest... Action was required! And for some reason it ended up with cat ears on too...

Not entirely sure how much these will see the light of day, such a shame that I only had this idea a month after Halloween.  I suppose they're a sign that I haven't left the house in too long. Quasi-unemployment can warp perspectives a little.

Ravelried here.

Half a Game of Hopscotch

2 hours on (yet another) grey Saturday morning, and I have 3 beautiful squares for my first quilt!

In total I have 6 green fat quarters, 4 yellow, and the equivalent of 4 white. Let’s see how big the quilt top can get!

This tutorial http://www.quiltdad.com/2009/09/quilt-along-3-wonky-log-cabin-block.html provided both inspiration and instructions, although having read them obsessively while waiting for materials to arrive, I didn’t actually refer to them while I was sewing.

I deliberately decided not to follow Quilt Dad’s advice to press all seams to the outside, as I’m using quite a lot of white in this quilt. Instead, all seams are pressed in towards the coloured strips and away from the white:

It isn’t laying as flat as I’d hoped – perhaps sewing on the ‘bias’ isn’t as easy as I’d thought!

PS - sorry for the quality of the pictures once again, the weather really isn't cooperating with my photographic efforts.

A Single Step

From that to this:

Oh, alright, I cheated a little. I doubt anyone can piece their entire first quilt top in one day!

And not only did I not sew all of the blocks, I  didn’t even sew one!

Just playing with the layout, and seeing the different effects varying amounts of wonkiness can make, playing with the colours, etc. This is what I did make, just layers of strips laid out on my cutting mat:

But everyone has to start somewhere, right? Although I'm really hoping that this quilt won't be a journey of a thousand miles...

A Puzzle

From this:

to this:

But what will it be?

Two Heads Are Better Than One

Why? Because then I could wear both of these hats at the same time!

The first, white, hat, is crocheted from this pattern, the Swirls Cap (Ravelry links only I’m afraid, as that’s the only way the pattern is available).

Crocheted on my honeymoon in Venice, this hat will always hold a special place in my heart and on my head, but due to the cotton yarn and summery white colour, it won’t do so in winter!

‘Needing’ (what a special ability crafters have – to always be able to persuade oneself of a ‘need’ despite the quantity of perfectly fine hats/quilts/pincushions (delete as appropriate) already overflowing the FO box) a new hat therefore, to withstand the grey and drizzley, shivery winter, and more importantly to go with my black coat, I cast on for this Sockhead Hat, a brilliant non-sock use of favourite skeins of sock yarn.

I think my gauge may have been a bit loose, or I might be able to blame it on the superwash, non-elastic properties of Malabrigo Sock, but this hat is a little *too* baggy for me. However, I enjoy playing with the deep brim, and have found quite a few ways of wearing it. Due to cold weather, this is currently my favourite:

It stops the wind whistling in my ears and keeps the drizzle out of my eyes!

A Small Concession

When the view out of your window is as grey and uninspiring as this one:

what is really needed is a splash of summery happiness :D

This cute tote bag was made following a tutorial found on Sew-Mama-Sew (currently posting new ideas for Christmas gifts everyday). Such a great pattern! I did, however, make a couple of modifications. Lacking any strawberry heavy-weight fabric (the recipient has an obsession with fruit and vegetables) I decided to go for two layers of lightweight cotton, resulting in an elegantly lined bag. In addition, as the strawberry pattern doesn’t have a right way up I cut one long rectangle for the body of the bag, and only sewed the side seams, hopefully making the base of the bag less likely to break!

As I still have almost an entire reel of the East of India ribbon I used for the [buttercup bag] I decided to pop a secret message inside the pocket on this bag too. It’s a message that’s worth spreading, especially on drizzly days like this!

Only after finishing the bag and trying to take photos, did I realise that this shot would have been a lot easier if I had taken it before I attached the pocket to the bag!

I learnt quite a lot the first few times I made this bag, such as French seams, how to attach bag handles securely, etc. I really recommend giving it a go, especially as each bag only takes about an hour to make, and they are so useful!

PS: My one small concession? To Halloween. This bag, made using the same tutorial, is a long overdue present for my brother at university, who believes (quite rightly I think) that white plastic bags don’t ‘go’ with his style. Do they really go with anyone’s?

The Opposite of Halloween

Halloween is a 'celebration' of all things dark and spooky. What could be further from that than this cute little Buttercup Bag?

The pattern was taken from made.by.rae and is offered in two formats. The first, which I used to make this version, is available for free! The second version is both an enlarged version of the bag (stay tuned for mine!) and a licence to sell either the small or large Buttercup bags.

It has all sorts of lovely touches, such as a magnetic clasp to keep your phone and ipod safe, and a hidden pocket (not so hidden when you pipe the opening). I added my own little surprise: a ‘secret’ message made from East of India ribbon sewn into the lining opposite the pocket:

I decided to pipe the fabric joins, both between the body and neck of the bag, and between the lining and the outside. I think this really brings the inside and outside of the bag together, and of course a little pink never hurts when it’s for a girly-girl!

Oops, I guess I should have ironed it a little better!

I decided not to go with the optional button band decoration, because I know that my friend loves broaches and pins, so I made the flower from the tutorial here and attached it with a safety pin (a little more planning would have allowed me to buy a proper pin-backing, but never mind).

The fabrics were all bought from John Lewis, but the magnetic clasp was from u-handbag who also taught me how to pipe the seams in her free tutorial.

All in all, I really enjoyed making this bag, and I’ll definitely be making a few more!