I’ve just about kept up over the last few weeks – its been close but somehow I have managed it!
Its really starting to fill up now – i’m hoping that my choice of using a smaller hoop doesn’t end up causing me problems of not having enough space!
Week 18: Thistles completed and two dahlias added.
Week 19: Pine needles and winter pansies started.
Week 20: Winter pansies completed.
Week 21: Heather and red berries added.
Week 22: Asters added.
Weeks 23: Pumpkins and season names added.
I’ve had the idea for a flamingo cushion for a while now and when I received some Essential Trends fat quarters in pink by The Craft Cotton Company I knew they would be perfect for making one with.
It was great fun putting this cushion together and I have kept him sat on my craft desk as it makes me smile whenever I look at it – I will have to make some to go in some other rooms!
The tutorial to make your own is available over on The Craft Cotton Company blog :
https://www.craftcottonblog.co.uk/single-post/2018/05/31/Mini-Flamingo-Cushion
When I first saw the Star Gazer fat quarter set by The Craft Cotton Company I knew straight away what to make with it – an appliqué wall hanging, the fabric colours and patterns were perfect.
I opted to have a space rocket travelling through a star filled space surrounded by planets and stars and am really pleased with how it’s turned out.
The tutorial is available over on The Craft Cotton Company blog:
https://www.craftcottonblog.co.uk/single-post/2018/05/29/Space-Mini-Wall-Hanger
Don’t think it’s possible to have too many flowers so this English Garden fabric by The Craft Cotton Company was perfect for me to get making with! I decided on two different makes which combined used 1 jelly roll and 1 fat quarter set.
I was a bit worried about problems I might encounter with the woven cushion but the only thing that went wrong was me forgetting to pin some of the strips before lifting it up for sewing so they all went all over – serves me right for not checking they all had pins!
I really wanted to add something to the reversible bag when I had got it finished so decided to add a bow to the handles, I really like how it adds a little bit of detail.
These tutorials are available on The Craft Cotton Company blog:
Woven cushion:
https://www.craftcottonblog.co.uk/single-post/2018/05/15/Woven-Cushion-Cover-Tutorial
Shopping bag:
I have had the Edwards Imaginarium by Kerry Lord for a while now and have finally got round to making some of the fantastic creations from it, it took me ages to decide which to pick for my makes as I like so many of the different options it was hard to pick! As there were just so many I liked I decided to make two (for now!).
For the first I decided to use a Arran wool which would give me a slightly bigger monster than if i had used DK which I normally use for these. This monster uses the combination H:18, A:3, and F:5.
For the second I opted for a variegated chunky wool which I have had for a while now and have been waiting for the right project for it. This monster uses the combination H:20, A:9, and F19 (I didn’t cut the loops as i liked how it looked).
Cant wait to make a few more of these!!
Following my first successful attempt at corner to corner crochet with my corner to corner hearts blanket I decided to venture back and try something else. I have had an idea for some crochet storage cases for a while now and combined with my like for making things Minecraft related I decided to combine to two and make some Minecraft themed storage cases.
After digging out my graph paper again I got started on the patterns for a Creeper and a Ghast (I was thinking of starting with a mooshroom cow but didn’t have any red!). once I had got the pattern sorted I could get started on the crochet part.
These cases measure up at approximately 20 x 11 cm, when using DK wool and a 4 mm crochet hook. The Ghast uses 3 colours (grey, black, white) and the Creeper uses 4 (black, dark green, medium green, light/sage green).
After I had completed the crochet part and sewn in all the loose ends it was time to put the cases together. Taking one of the cases I folded it in half with the right sides together and slip stitched down the two sides.
After turning it back out it was time to sew on the zip. I used a 20 cm zip but make sure you measure along the top edge of your finished case to ensure your zip size due to variations in wool and tension. Before sewing in the zip I completed a few stitches at the bottom of the zip to hold the loose ends together which makes it much easier for sewing in.
I first sewed the zip along one of the top edges, then opened the zip and sewed it to the other side.
I decided to add some lining to my case just to ensure no bits could fall out. I opted for lining which had a white wrong side and pattern on the right side for my Ghast so that you wouldn’t see any pattern through the case but would on the inside, however, you could choose any pattern or colour you would like. To do this I cut a piece of fabric (for each case) 21 x 22 cm and folded this in half (placing right sides together) so I had a piece 21 x 11 cm and sewed down the sides.
I then folded the top edge over by 0.5 cm and pressed it so it would hold, then I was able to sew the lining into the case by placing the lining inside the case, pinning it in place with the top edge of the lining 0.5 cm from the zip and securing using a slip stitch.
How can we be in May already, it doesn’t seem two minutes since it was the start of January and I was just getting started on this year in stitches journey.
Here’s a little update on what’s been going on over the last 5 weeks (weeks 13-17).
Week 13: saw the completion of the tulips and the addition of a branch ready for some other flowers to be added.
Week 14: the identity of the branch detail added in week 13 was revealed as a bleeding heart plant with the addition of the leaves and flower detail.
Week 15: fluttering in were some purple butterflies.
Week 16: leaf stitch leaves were added and some flowers using a petal stitch.
Week 17: some more autumn leaves and snowflakes were sewn on, along with some grass detail and the start of some thistles.
Am loving how this is all coming together, can’t wait to see it continue to grow over the next few weeks.
I have been wanting to give corner to corner crochet a try for a while now but I’ve had too many other projects on the go to really give it a try, so a few weeks ago I found some wool that I really wanted to use for a corner to corner make so I got the wool and decided that the other projects could take a back seat for a while so that I could give it a try!
I dug out some graph paper – it’s amazing what you can find at the back of a craft cupboard and gathered some colouring pencils and set about drawing a pattern out. I didn’t want to do anything too crazy so decided to go with a repeating heart pattern mini blanket – can never have too many hearts about.
After the pattern was completed it was time to get going and surprisingly it went really well – I did manage to mess up a couple of times and got a bit carried away and forgot to change colour but luckily realised before I had got too far. Once I had finished the pattern I did a round of single crochet and a round of half treble (UK)/half double (US) around the edges in pink.
Can’t wait to start the next one of these – I’ve got a few half coloured designs already!
If you would like to make one here is the pattern I drew up:
Final size is 88 x 72 cm, you could duplicate the pattern to make it larger.
I’ve been looking at folded star/pine burr quilt designs for a little while now and have been wanting to see if I could make one. I received some gorgeous floral fabric from The Craft Cotton Company and decided it was now or never and would give it a try by making a cushion cover.
I seriously underestimated just how many triangles would go into making the cushion cover, but after a few extra cutting out and ironing sessions I had enough to put it all together. I was surprised how easy it was to make the folded triangles and put the star pattern together – the effect looks much more complicated when you see it all finished, the main thing was trying to keep all the gaps between the triangles the same distance, if the gap started to change it effected the overall pattern.
I really enjoyed making this and will be making another one soon – possibly a square cushion or maybe a quilt, although the amount of triangles needed to make a quilt would take me a age to get all cut out and ironed, then there’s still all the sewing together….
The tutorial to make one of these is available over on The Craft Cotton Company blog:
https://www.craftcottonblog.co.uk
