dishy dishy!

Hardly groundbreaking stuff, I know, but I do feel a tinsy bit proud of my first dishcloth. It's a cool wavy stitch that I learnt (basically knit one row, then the next row you knit, slip, knit, slip etc. Knit next row, the knit knit slip, knit slip knit slip etc. And repeat!) So easy!

And the back of the cloth comes out all nubbly and textured, which I'm sure will be effective on those left-from-last-night dishes which I seem to find in my kitchen quite frequently these days.

If you are interested in making your own, just google 'knit dishcloth patterns', you will get lots of sites to check out. Or how about these knitted dishtowels? I think they look just lovely, and I'd love to know how absorbent and practical they are.

Chair

Remember this chair? Trev and I designed and made it ourselves! The top part, that is. It sits on a barstool that we had lying around. I posted about it a while back and mentioned my plans to paint it green.




Well....here she is in all her glory! I really love the way it turned out. The green paint was a free sample I ordered a while ago, and I just happened to have a suitable fabric on hand to make the seat pad and ruffle.

It's really easy to wipe clean, and throw the fabric bits in the washing machine when needed. I love it lots!

By the way, I wish I could take credit for the ruffle, but I can't. My mum did it for me while she was visiting last week. It is held in place with Velcro.

first of many, I hope

This is my first ever scatter cushion. I used clearance fabric, piped with some from my stash. I didn't put a zip in because the fabric is not washable, so when it gets too dirty, I'll just cut it off and make a new one.

I like how it turned out, and Luke has already started using it as a cover for his cache of cars.

Teeny-weeny quilt

This is Lainey's new little blanket, for taking to bed with her. It's made of pre-cut squares of heart fabric, purchased on ebay about 3 years ago. I simply pieced them, used fusible fleece as batting, and quilted by stitching 'in-the'ditch'.

I am happy with it. Lainey loves it, because there are so many different patterns and colours in it. The best bit is that I managed to teach myself how to miter the corners on my binding, using a tutorial I can't find anymore, otherwise I'd link it.

This is a small quilt (maybe 25 inches square) It'll one day be perfect for a dolly's bed, and it has given me a taste for quilting and I can't wait to do more!

Outside blanket

Well, it was going to be an outside blanket, until we decided that it's actually just the right weight and size for snuggling on the couch. So, now it's an inside blanket. But that's okay.

The top fabric is from Ikea, about 5 or 6 years ago. The bottom is denim I already had, and that's what gives it a bit more weight, which I love.

boxes

Here's a quick project that can be done with materials that most 'crafty' people would probably have on hand.

Take a few old boxes. I used baby shoe boxes, as Lainey is demonstrating below-


Using scrapbook paper, Mod-Podge (pva glue) and felt, you can turn them into something quite attractive. Much better than the plain old boxes, don't you think?

I'm using them for accessible storage in my sewing area. I bet they would make nice gift-boxes, too.

bits

Recently, I've been doing all sorts. Crochet, knitting, sewing, home decor stuff...I've been starting projects galore and jumping from thing to thing without finishing any of them.

One thing that I'm way excited about is my crochet. I started making little flower motifs. I thought I could use them on headbands for Lainey, hats, clothes, whatever. So I promptly whipped up a little stash. (sample pictured below). Then, I thought, maybe this is what I could sell in my Etsy shop! Not sure though, but it's a thought.

I asked Trev to make a tall chair for Luke to sit at our bar. He got right on it (what a good example!) and it was finished a few days later. Finished, that is, except for making it look good, which is where I come in. We decided white with the red vinyl pad but it's not working so it's going to be green. Watch this space for updates on that!

This is for a wall display I'm doing in our living room. It came together really cheaply and I actually love it, and the way it fits in with our scheme (that I have planned...)

So, that's it for now. I've got 5 or 6 other things on the go and I'll add them soon.

Breathable crib bumpers

Lainey is at the stage where her arms and legs are always escaping through the bars of her crib. I'm a bit scared of traditional bumpers, it just seems like a baby could suffocate with them. So I came up with this simple idea to make them breathable.

I used a mesh material that I bought, oh, a year ago. I trimmed it with satin blanket binding, and made ties from bias tape. It's one piece that kind of weaves in and out of the crib bars (at the corners) and joins with velcro.

I used lavender, so that it will go with the quilt that my mum made and sent over for Lainey. Isn't it lovely? I love Beatrix Potter!

Luke's curtains

I'm just going to go ahead and start posting about some of the projects I've done recently. A while ago I made these curtains for Luke's room. The fabric was on clearance and so altogether they were very inexpensive to make. For my first pair of curtains I am pleased with how they turned out.