pincushion trials and tribulations!

My mission for wednesday
was to make a pincushion
i had the idea in my head
i was in the mood for making
so off i went to my craft room to get to work

after a quick rummage through my
vintage embroidered linen cloths
i found this tray cloth
i used a large embroiderey hoop
to select the section i wanted
marked out a circle and cut it out

i then made a suffolk puff
but didn't pull the threads tight

then i made another the same size
with a plain linen napkin

i filled the plain puff with a LOT of polyester stuffing
next i pulled the threads tight - very tight

*POP*
oops that was too tight and the thread just wasn't up to it so it snapped under the pressure

feeling slightly annoyed i re-did the puff with stronger thread
and tied it up as tight as i could
whilst wishing i had an extra pair of hands to help

i popped the plain stuffed puff into the embroidered one so that the hole was on top under the embroidered linen and stitched a vintage dorset button on to the outer puff and a plastic button onto the plain puff pulling nice and tight to get a nice dimple in the middle

hmmm anyone else thinking this is all rather over complicated?

then i pulled in the threads
to finish the puff and tied them off

okay so it does looks quite pretty
but at the end of the day it's wasting the plain napkin 'cause no-one can see it.
So i left it on the side and cracked on with making another version which i'm not going to show
as it's for a swap ;op

********
After working on the secret pincushion and having learned from some of my previous mistakes, i came back to this one and decided NO i don't like it and dismantled it!
That plain area NEEDS something i thought
so i got out a hoop and sewed on this little phrase that's been going round and round my head
it seems very familiar {not the words themself as i know they are song lyrics} and i'm worried i may have lifted the idea from someone else
but i've no idea where the inspiration came from?

the pin marks the spot for a button
to give a nice middle dimple

dimpled!
i used the plain green stuffed puff for the inside again with them placed in opposite directions so the button sits nicely in the hole off the puff, i didn't bother with a button on the bottom as it's a real faff trying to get the needle through the holes of both buttons and it was nice to see the green showing through the puff-hole!

The lettering's a bit distorted where it got stretched
for the dimple but it's only for me so hey-ho!

For some reason i always seem to over-complicate what should really be a simple project, everytime i take part in a swap i make twice as many things as i need because i can't work out how to make something and have to make several prototypes!!!

Now i've got a couple of different pincushions under my belt, i think i may make a few for the shops
do you think they would sell?

suffolk puffs or yo-yo's

i've been meaning to try making these for AGES
and today was the day
i followed this lovely clear tutorial

http://heatherbailey.typepad.com/photos/how_to_make_a_yoyo/index.html

here's my first attempt which i made into a hair clip
using a clip i got as part of a giveaway i won from
Gone to Earth
http://www.gonetoearth.co.uk/primrosecorner/

then i made this
i'd already made the lace and duck button part
but it needed something else so i made a puff with one
of the fat quarters i'd won in the same giveaway

then i added another vintage doily from my stash
and a brooch pin on the back

here's a brooch i'd made awhile ago
but i've finally added a brooch pin
i'll be adding these to my Folksy shop today

********

look what i found in the charity shop
oh so fragile vintage glass baubles
they were a complete steal at 50p

yes really 50p !
i'm so pleased with my thrifting skills right now!

hand-made goodies in the post!

well i was the lucky winner of Murano Silver's
St.George's Day blog giveaway
i won a gorgeous customised ring
i choose to have my internetty name
stamped onto it

it is so lovely

i can't stop looking at it!

i'm thinking there is room for another ring on that finger
and my birthday is coming up so i'm on the look out for a
simple stone set ring to do with it - i'm thinking amethyst

if you fancy a ring like this take a look at Nicola's shop
Murano Silver
she has some beautiful pieces in her shop
and my daughter has already requested a ring for her birthday!

thanks again Nic x

*******

who is this?

two happy little chaps

they are very cuddly!

and quite a handfull!

i was window shopping at FOLKSY
when i came across a Jelly-Bean baby amigurumi toy in
Rowena's Shop
it was in rainbow yarn but i asked if she could make me one in white
i think it is obvious why?
my kids are both HUGE Doctor Who fans and the Adipose episode was a real favourite!
if you remember i made my Mum an adipose brooch on christmas day!

My kids loved them but my son's will be heading
towards the washing machine very soon i think
Nate and white don't go together so well!

crafter...oo's comic relief shop

well it's red nose day
don't forget to check out the crafter...oo comic relief shop and make a difference
loads of different crafters have donated their items to the shop so there is lots to choose from
I gave in to temptation yesterday and bought these amazing polymer clay buttons from Gill @
HollingdaleDesigns.folksy.com

http://www.folksy.com/shops/CrafterooShop

we've made over £450 and it would
be so great to go over £500
go on go on go on!!!!

***** OwL sWaP *****

i've been dying to blog about what i made for the owl swap organised by
MeridianAriel @ http://meridianariel.blogspot.com/
but i needed to wait until my swapee had received her parcel , it went to
Karalea @ http://karalea-karalea.blogspot.com/
in the USA
i'm always nervous when the swap is in transit
hoping it doesn't get lost or worse still that the swapee will be disappointed especially after seeing all the other fantastic owls being sent and received http://www.flickr.com/groups/970960@N24/ here
but it got there safely and Karalea said
"I absolutely LOVE it" - phew!!

here is what i sent to Karalea

a felt brooch - a pair of owl eye buttons & a owly greetings card

unfortunately i took my photo's in a bit of a hurry and most of them came out blurry these were the best of the bunch
i'm glad i take so many photo's of each item!

*******
here is another owl brooch which sold on Folksy yesterday


http://www.folksy.com/shops/maximumRABBITdesigns

i'm really enjoying making these fat owl brooches and so i will be making some more for the shops
do you think the bright coloured ones or the natural coloured ones look best?
I can't decide!

buy handmade!

i was just mooching about on flickr minding my own business when i found this gorgeous and totally appropriate doll made by imagingermonkey http://www.imagingermonkey.blogspot.com/
i say totally appropriate because it was my bestest friends baby daughters first birthday a couple of days later and her extremely cute little girl is called "Holly" as was said dolly!
and it has no buttons or bits baby Holly will chew off - yeah!! Well i HAD to buy her, didn't i?


i think she got here just in time - you can see in these photo's she arrived to beautiful sunshine - yeah it's cold but if you look on her creators blog they had SNOW i'm pretty jealous actually we don't get snow maybe 'cause of the salt air?


it was lovely to see one of gingermonkeys creations in the flesh/fabric!
the whole family loved her
especially my son who said "oooohh she is really coot if you bought me one of dem it would sleep in my bed"
hmmmmm d'ya think that's a subtle hint?
anyhow i'd highly recommend one of these cute dollies
BUY HANDMADE
it feels good!