A Little Bit of Something Does You Good.

While working on the hard dusty graft of house building it is good to keep myself motivated with a little interior decor. I know it is really too soon to be thinking about this kind of thing but sewing for the new house keeps me painting rooms and grouting tiles. If I am honest, although I love sewing, doing all that kind of thing in one massive slog at the end would feel too tedious anyway.

This year, one of my crafting resolutions was to learn to make roman blinds...properly. I have made some bodged up ones in the past which ended up in our weekend cabin because when let down, they didn't actually reach the bottoms of the windows! Roman blinds are not hard to sew but don't be fooled; the maths is critical. These are from the first Great British Sewing Bee book. 

These fit and were very precise. My motivation to continue to learn how to make these blinds did waiver because on a toile I got the fabric the wrong way round. I nearly gave up but when I saw how much they were to be made professionally, I soldiered on.

These are for the office. The only modification I will do after this initial first hang is to put a tiny hand stitch in the centres between the lining and the spot fabric to stop the slight sag - but I am being picky.

I had originally chose this house/cat fabric from Minerva but it had a screen print error running through it so I was unable to make the blinds. They contacted the supplier, however there was a bigger problem than just the piece I had. Luckily, I was able to keep the piece and was sent the spotty fabric instead. I wanted to use the house fabric so I ordered a sewing bin kit from Dannells.

This will go in the window for pens, notebooks etc. They are really easy to cover and very reasonably priced. I also had a waste paper bin kit and a table lampshade which I will cover with the last of the spotty fabric.

The fabrics work well together and stop it looking too much the same.

I have removed the blind and packed the whole lot up in a dust sheet to keep it clean. It will probably be another 18 months before I actually get to put them out in the room. I have had a fantastic time making these interior accessories and now my attention will turn to making for another room. I am pleased I have accomplished one of my 2019 resolutions - two more blinds to go.

Jo xxxx

Spice for Life Blanket

This should been a long term stash busting project but it turned out to be such a row turner that the yarn was simply gobbled up night after night. I have really enjoyed making this blanket, it has been the most fulfilling project. One of my new years crafting resolutions eaten away as quickly as I made it.

These kind of blankets are always a little bonkers but I simply love making them. If they turnout really awful you can always donate them to a dog basket nearby. As it turned out, this one was a corker.

I thought that the little bit of orange I had in my original basket would end up being rejected but I found another whole ball of orange. I felt that if I could repeat orange within the overall blanket it would look more intentional rather than just one rogue stripe of orange and I am glad I used it now. I am normally a little frightened of yellow but again ensuring that it was evenly distributed on slimmer rows gave it a real colour lift.

I sewed the ends in at about every third point of the blanket so that it wasn't too daunting. Did I follow the pattern? A little bit here and there. Unfortunately,I started with more chains than the original pattern stated to get a bigger blanket but was then unable to use the waypoint stitch counts to keep me on track so there are some wobbly edges. I repeated my favourite stitch combinations and left some others after I had tried them once. I found out that I really like doing a V-stitch.

I don't mind the wobbly edge though, it is just for us to use as a TV blanket when we all sit down together. I did however rather enjoy making it in February. February is definitely the time to make a blanket. It kept me warm as I made it. 

For the border, I kept some yarn back. I used a granny stitch to give some movement on the uneven edge and stayed away from a double crochet edge which would have exacerbated the issue. The final row is crab stitch or reverse double crochet.

This is Bruce today not knowing that he was going to go to the dog groomers in an hours time. 

We had put him on a diet because we thought he was getting a bit chubby but...

...it turns out he was just really really hairy!

Anyway, The spice for life blanket is especially good as a stash busting choice because it is very versatile and you can dip in and out of the pattern and colour choices. I recommend it.

Are you stash busting? Stupid question really - you probably all are! Thanks for dropping in. Jo xxx

Crafting resolutions 2019

I don't often look back, I am a forward looking kinda girl but I did pretty well with my crafting resolutions for 2018. 

I used so many of my sewing machine feet in the little Orla Kiely tin on the shelf. Not all but most - I learnt to use the binding foot to apply bias binding to quilts. I seem to have two zipper feet, I found out that one gets really close and the other doesn't! I used my invisible zipper foot a lot which I hadn't used before. I learnt how to use my piping foot by making cushions. The walking foot was excellent for quilting projects. I can make a button hole first time now without wondering whether it is going to sew the hole off the edge of the fabric and I mastered my rolled hem foot too working with chiffon.

The ruffle foot didn't get an airing, it wasn't needed for anything but one day I will learn how to use that damn thing and I have a decorative flower foot that came with an old sewing machine but still haven't messed around with it. I suppose it is not a useful bit of kit if I haven't needed it in 12 months!

My sock knitting is getting better with every pair. I made a lace pair which was a 2018 resolution. I have however found my favourite pattern. A ribbed pair from Christina's free patterns. The comfiest socks ever!

The star of 2018 was our king size quilt named 'Lucky'. It was 1008 pieces of total joy all sewn together to make this heirloom quilt and I am so proud of myself for completing it. It will be the centre piece of our new bedroom when our new house is built - my dad would have thought I was bonkers for making it but deep down he would have known it was a great achievement. 

Finally, I have tried many different pattern companies this year but hands down my favourite makes have been from clothes made by Tilly and the Buttons patterns. They are well made, the tutorials are well photographed and the instructions are second to none. My favourite this year was the Stevie dress although my Ness skirt, which I am yet to reveal, is looking pretty fab at the moment too but it is not finished.

Looking ahead, I have some plans for 2019 - no fad diets or abstaining from the odd cider I enjoy, for me it is all about the making.

1.) To learn how to sew Roman blinds. I have tried before but always got the sizing wrong. I need lots for our new house.

2.) To crochet a blanket to bust some stash. Who isn't doing this?

3.) To complete my postage stamp quilt of 5 x 5 cm squares.

4.) To knit something from my ravelry favourites queue that has been there for more than two years!

I love that you visit this little part of my world, leave comments and share some love. Keep making stuff folks, it is really important. I will leave you with some fun photos of us all dressed up for the Circus themed New Year Party we attended last night.

Happy New Year Everyone!

Jo xxxx

Ps. I have spent an hour with a hangover trying to get the gap out of the text today but I am unable to do it :( It looks fine in the drafts but is always there on publish??