Bunting for baby Thomas

I have a new nephew!  As I did knitted bunting for my niece when she was born I wanted to do the same for him. Changed it up a but and did a fabric bunting instead, mainly due to time constraints and the fact my sewing machine was out!

To do the letters I printed out the text at the right size and using a rotary cutter and scalpel cut out the letters.  Using a very tight zig zag stitch I went around the edges of the letters on one side of the bunting flags. Then with a straight stitch sewed the flags rightside facing then turned rightway out. Then I over sewed the tops to close the flags and attach the ribbon.

All fabric bought from Abakans in Manchester.

Velvet Patchwork

Something made out of nothing really. This velvet patchwork is made from the hanging sample of Designers Guild velvets that was being thrown away to make way for a new one. There was a 1sqm piece of the pink velvet and over 30 15cm squares of all the other shades.

I originally organised the squares in shade order and it looked a bit dull. So colours are sort of grouped together but shaken up.

The large pink piece became the borders and it is backed in fleece that I bought from Abakans in Manchester.

Did this on the sewing machine and finished it off by hand when turned inside out.

Christmas Gifts 1 - Reversable Knitting Bags

I have been waiting till after Christmas to post gifts I made up on the blog just in case the recipient had a look on here (however unlikely).

So here are some little reversible knitting bags for two new knitters. They will just fit an A4 pattern in them along with a ball of wool and a set of needles.

I gave the gifts as little starter kits with great success.

Fabrics are a mix of Amy Butler and some random cotton I got from Abakans in Manchester.

Adventures in Quilting

Having done patchwork before I thought it was about time I leaped into the world of quilting. Armed with my 'Dare to be Square' book I set to. I have made an end of bed/knee quilt for my niece as a Christmas gift. I hope it will become the blanket she takes with her though life as I give it to her now at 18 months. Finished photo to follow!

Cushion for Annabelle

Annabelle is 1!

Very keen to provide lovely things for my niece I made an appliqué cushion with her name and things beginning with 'A' on it. Apple, anchor, aardvark!

Main cushion cover made from felt with a zip closure on the back, appliquéd felt and Amy Butler fabric letters with embroidered apple and anchor and appliquéd aardvark.

Appliquéd Aardvark - if thats not a craft blog waiting to be published I don't know what is.

I digress!

As you can see, the cushion got a round of applause.

Charity Corsages

Me and my knitting group made a tree for Knit in Public day last month, full of leaves and flowers (and 3 slugs).

The plan was to sew these flowers and leaves together into corsages and then sell them for Mustard Tree; a charity for homeless and vulnerable people in Manchester.

So here are the finished articles! Some knitted, some sewn, some crocheted.

We have sold a few already and got over £40! If we continue to sell at similar prices we should get over £130, which I think is pretty good.