LITTLE CRITTER POT HOLDERS

MY latest creations LITTLE CRITTER POT HOLDERS these, if I am honest, do not look like the animals they were supposed to be.  Instead of looking like cats and dogs I think they look more like rabbits and pigs.  

I am very pleased with them in spite of this.  And I am having so much fun making them.  

A good excuse to use my BIAS TAPE MACHINE.  So they either have contrasting or coordinating tape.

http://www.creativestores.co.uk/new/house-and-garden/for-the-kitchen/littlecritterpotholder.html


As the eyes and ears go on they develop their own characters.  And their tails fold over to make a useful hook for hanging.

Knitting and the search for inspiration

Finding a bag of fancy yarns stored in a cupboard has started me knitting.  There is only one ball of each type - I think I originally brought them for fibres on the cards I was making. 

One ball is enough to make a pair of fluffy/funky or fun fingerless mitts.  Great fun to make.  

 

A collar and matching mitts,  a glorious multi-coloured pair of mitts and a pair being knitted in the muted shades of an autumn sky.

There are still quite a few balls of yarn in some beautiful colours left to make up.

My bedtime reading at the moment is old craft books and magazines while I search for inspiration.  Searching for inspiration so I can start new projects may not be such a good idea as I seem to have the attention span of a mayfly and am trying to finish the stack of things that are piled up on the dinning table.  

 Assorted hair clips, pot holders and purses to name but a few.  

Making my own bias tape

Craft shops are a must on any shopping trip and I found this little gadget for making bias binding (bias tape) just after Christmas.  I had not realised I 'needed' to make bias binding until I saw these.  I brought the 3/4 inch one because it would be the most useful size.

 It is very simple - the fabric is cut into strips 'on the bias', is then threaded through and ironed flat.  It takes very little time to make, although it is a bit fiddly.  Lots and lots of co-ordinating bias binding ready to be used for my next project.

  Having started to make my own bias binding I wanted to be able to make other widths.  While I was looking I saw this - a Simplicity electric tape maker.  
 http://www.simplicity.com/p-2902-simplicity-bias-tape-maker.aspx

 A nice compact unit that will be easy to store.

Very simple to set up and use.



 

Just cut the fabric into the right size stripes.  Join together.  Thread into the machine.  And press a button.

A little help needed to go over seams but so simple. 

No need to iron the fabric, wind the cut fabric onto the roller, press the start button and away it goes.  A nice pile of bias binding ready to use.

BUTTONS, BUTTONS AND MORE BUTTONS

I recently found a bag of fancy yarn that had been 'put away safe' until it was wanted and as I was having a knitting phase, thanks to to wonderful OWL mug warmer and fingerless gloves in MOLLIE MAKES, I started knitting.

I made several pairs of mitts and then made a pair with a matching collar.   The asymmetric design needed a button to complete it.  http://www.creativestores.co.uk/new/clothing/women/handknittedcollarandmitts.html 

  Finding the right button was hard and the search triggered a slight button obsession and the buying of a couple of bulk bags of assorted buttons at Hobbycraft.

Sorting through the buttons took me back to childhood and the pure joy of 'playing' with Mum's button box.   A treat usually saved for when we were unwell.

tiny tiny buttons

I found buttons that had come as cover gifts.

The packs sold for scrapbooking and cardmaking.

 Some needle felt brooches that I decorated with buttons and beads.

http://www.creativestores.co.uk/new/accessories/pins-and-brooches/dreamsofmidnightblossom.html

from when I was making most of my clothes

The beautiful Fimo buttons that my Dad brought me over twenty five years ago.  Still unused because I love them so much.

Buttons are big - there are even card buttons.  Not quite sure why.

 I re-discovered these belt buckles in my button box.  I have no idea how old they are.  I brought them in a little shop in King Street, Ramsgate in the early to mid-eighties.  I used to buy mother-of-pearl buttons and cut work collars from there as well. 

ITS CHRISTMAS

IT'S CHRISTMAS and I did manage to be ready - I had doubts if I would be especially as I was lent seven Game of Thrones books at the end of november.  First two lots of presents are now opened, the cat is curled up at home and we are waiting for dinner.  Then later today we will be at my sisters for the evening and more presents.
I am hoping that people like the mug cosies I have made and the Owl fingerless gloves (from Mollie Makes) which to be honest were a bit of a nightmare (must improve knitting skills I kept dropping needles - in my defence sometimes there were five).  Looking foreward to crafting my little heart out in the new year and hopefully improving my online store so things really take off.
I brought my knitting with me today but I am sharing the chair with a dog so that will be for later.

MUG COSY CRAZY

When I saw the cover of issue 21 of MOLLIE MAKES I really liked the owl wrist warmers.  They looked so cosy and the owls design was very eye catching.

I didn't have the right size double ended needles to make the wrist warmers right away so I decided to start with the mug cosy by the same designer,  TANYA ANTONOVA.

 I didn't have the right wools or needles for that either but I thought I would give it a go.
 I have made a couple of mug warmers prior to this that I had designed myself using a cross stitch design of a reindeer to make them Christmassy.

 I am not a very fast knitter and I would never call myself an expert.  This is a very easy pattern to knit - if anyone has been wanting to try cable and thinks it is complicated then this is the item to make a start with.  

I had it completed in under 45 minutes (as I said I am not a fast knitter).  And it was such a fun design as well.  

Beginning to cast off.

To the right it is almost finished and below is the completed piece before sewing it up and attaching beads for eyes.

 The owl would have had better definition if I had used a thicker wool  but I am quite pleased with how this has turned out.
Today I am going to buy the right size needles and some chunky wool and have another go.

New tales and crafting adventures

Thank you all for your patience concerning the lack of new blogs.  I will be writting again soon.  I have been busy crafting away making various items for my shelf at ROUGH TRADE, my on-line shops and as presents.  I also seem to be in complete denial about Christmas.  I only baked the cakes on tuesday, I have not made any cards yet and have a multitude of other things that I usually bake cook or craft yet to do.  I think the only way I am keeping sane is by not counting days.  On top of this I have just been lent seven books of the GAME OF THRONES series.  Enjoyable reading but really not helping me get on with the pre-Christmas tasks.

WISH ME LUCK
and I will let you know how I am getting along