Tote With Vintage Stocking Ad

I sewed this simple tote today, transferring a vintage ad for McCallum stockings from the 1930s.

I have a tutorial for the tote here You would sew the tote minus the ruffles shown on the tutorial.

If you would like to know how to transfer images onto fabrics, I have a tutorial for that here.

I had cut this brown eyelet off of a skirt and almost threw it away recently when I was tidying up my stash. I was thinking, when will I ever use this stuff? The answer is, six years after cutting it off of a skirt.  Never throw your stuff away!

Felt iPod Sleeve

I guess I am officially addicted to felt crafting.  

 

Back View

How it's kept closed.

Felt Pin Cushion

I have been sewing since I was a child and yet I've never had a pin cushion. I remedied that situation today.

I used the same colours as had in the needle case I made a while ago so that I have a matched set.

 Here's a quick and easy tutorial:

                           Cut two circles 6 1/2 inches in diameter.

Sew 1/4 inch seam all the way around.

Cut a one inch X carefully in the center on one side of the fabric and turn right side out.

Stuff firmly.

Stitch up the X.

Using 6 strands of embroidery floss (about 48 inches long) and a long needle, and starting on the wrong side (where the X is), push the needle through the center of the circle from the back to the front.

Pull the embroidery floss tightly around to the back side and push the needle through the center of the circle again (back to front). Position the embroidery floss over the same strand you just stitched, wrap the floss tautly around to the back, and push your needle through the center of the circle from back to front again.

Continue to tautly wrap the floss in the same manner as above so that you section the circle into quarters.  Remember to wrap each stitch twice.

Tightly wrap the floss in between each quarter.  You should end up with 8 sections.

I drew out a flower design on paper and traced it out onto felt, stacking the petal parts.  I did the same with circles, and then sewed a button through all the layers.  I embroidered wee stitches around the circles and petal edges, using two strands of floss.  

I attached the flower to the pin cushion (on the side which has the X) using hot glue.

Knit Shawlette

I knit this shawlette to replace one that a staff member of a department store walked away with. 

I much preferred the pattern of the shawl that was taken from me, but the yarn used to knit this one is so much softer as it contains cashmere.

I'll knit the pattern of the original shawl when the store compensates me for the loss and I can find a nice yarn in brick red.  

This photo shows the whole shawl, but the colour isn't showing up correctly. The actual colour is shown in the first photo.

More information and a link to the free pattern can be found on my Ravelry page

Felt Flower Wicker Basket

I made this no-sew felt flower to recover an old wicker basket that I'm using to store bits of lace.

 The tutorial for the felt flowers can be found here.

Grape Crate Reconstruction

My father-in-law bought thirty crates of California grapes to make wine and I took one apart to make this box.

I actually constructed it to be a floating shelf, but I kind of like it where I've placed it for now.  One down, twenty-nine to go.

Twine Words

I found this idea on Pinterest the other day.

Simply mix some white glue with a bit of water to get a runny consistency. Soak your twine (I used jute) in the glue mixture for about five minutes. Lay down a sheet of waxed paper and spell out your word. I wrote out the word beforehand on the wax paper using pencil, then followed the markings with the twine.

Let dry on a flat surface overnight and carefully peel away the waxed paper. If you have a few areas where the twine didn't quite stick together on an overlap, glue it down with hot glue.

Jute Twine Flowers

I made these fast and easy jute twine flowers today.

They can be used for multitude of things like wreaths, gift wrapping and scrapbook embellishments, bunting and more. I made a strand of them to hang on the long narrow window beside my front door. I hung them on this post at the stairway because the sunlight in the foyer wasn't suitable to take a photo

The tutorial to make these flowers can be found here.
 

I did change one thing from the tutorial to make these. Instead of cutting out circles from cardboard and futzing with her more involved technique, I simply cut a circle out of foam (I used an old flip flop because that's what I had and it's -32 C and I wasn't about to go out and find something else) and eyeballed where the straight pins go instead of being all precise with a ruler and compass and all that noise. Either way will give you the same results, but I promise you - my way is going to save you a mad amount of time.

Meredith Lace Knit Baby Dress

I knit this lace edged baby dress for no other reason than I coveted it. I'm hanging it in my guest room for decorative purposes until a baby girl magically appears in my life to twirl around and look adorable in it.

The free pattern and other details are on my Ravelry page.

Please feel free to send me a baby girl. 

Arrowhead Lace Wrap/Scarf

I knit this to wear as a wrap with a dress I wore to a wedding in the fall, but it's a shade too narrow so I've been wearing it as a scarf this winter.

Annabelle was unwilling to wait for me to take a photo, and if you can't beat them, you may as well shoot them.  

So here is Annabelle finding out that there is really no difference between walking on the bed with a scarf laid down on it or not, other than the fact that she will get a bit more attention when someone is trying to take a photo of said scarf. 

Details and stuff are on my Ravelry page.

Indigo House Socks

I saw a pair of diamond cabled house socks in a flyer before Christmas and sort of coveted them, so I’ve developed a pattern to replicate them.  I have knit them in Bernat Satin worsted weight acrylic yarn (don’t judge, ye snobs of yarnage!) because it’s crazy soft and that’s the way I wanted to go, plus wool has been making me itchy this winter. 

I'm sharing the pattern after the cut.

Christmas Gingerbread Men Decorations

I made some gingerbread men out of salt dough and have used them in a few different ways.

I used all dollar store items to wrap and decorate the gifts. I used Kraft paper to wrap, and cut the burlap into thin stips and tied jute twine over it. The greenery was from a small wreath that I disassembled, and I glued berries, pine cones, and small bells to add some colour.

 I ended up with leftover pieces of burlap that were too small to use for wrapping, and I used them to make bows so that nothing much was wasted.

This is the wreath that was left over after I had cut off the branches to decorate the gifts. I waste nothing!

I make these twig signs for each season, so here is winter (obviously!).

Hugs & Kisses Fingerless Mittens

The girly pink colour of this leftover yarn led me to knit gushy lovey dovey cables.  I've listed these for sale in my Etsy store too.

Sweet Hearts Fingerless Gloves

I finished knitting these yesterday with yarn I had left over from a sweater.  The pink was pretty much dictating something with hearts, so that's what ended up happening.  I luff them.

They're up on my Etsy store because I've run out of people to give them to.

Children's Fingerless Gloves

After knitting Erica's fingerless gloves, I still had yarn left over so I decided to knit a matching pair for her little cousin.

This yarn seems to be like the loaves and fishes story in the bible because I had enough to knit a third pair that will fit a toddler.  I thought that would be the end of it but no, I have enough yarn to knit a fourth toddler pair.

I don't know any toddlers so I'll put them up on my Etsy account.

Knit Trivets

 I knit these simple flower shaped trivets.

Details and free pattern are on my Ravelry Page.

Lacy Knit Bar Soap Holders

I like the idea of showering with a never ending supply of bubbles at the ready on a face cloth, so I decided to make these soap holders because I like knitting and I like lacy things.