Slipper Making with The Merry Bobbins

Back in January I spent a lovely ‘crafternoon’ with my sister-in-law Lizzi at a pop-up workshop run by the lovely ladies from The Merry Bobbins, making these rather awesome and uber-fluffy slippers out of recycled and felted jumpers and offcuts of fluffy car seat covers.

Lots of fun – but hard work to get even one finished in the time available!  Love the pom-poms on the top.

I do now have both slippers finished, but need to do a bit of adjustment to the back as they don’t stay on as well as they should – probably due to the crazy amount of fluff going on inside.  I might sew in a bit of elastic to the backs.

Fab!

Liberty Print Summer Frock

 This is such a quick and easy pattern, which I made up to wear to a friend’s wedding.  I splashed out a bit on 2m of stunning Liberty Print Tana Lawn, which mean that I had to line this throughout as it is a little see-through!

This simple bodice and flared skirt style seems to be popular at the moment – I keep coming accross dresses like this in Monsoon priced at £75 and thinking I could make it myself for a fraction of the price.

The belt was from H&M, and I found a pale pink tailored jacket which goes perfectly with this.

Such a multi-coloured pattern means you can pick out any of the colours for accessories / shoes / bags / hats etc – so I think I’ll get a lot of wear out of this in the years to come.

Definately worth splashing out on the Liberty Print!

Simplicity 2444

Upholstery

Before

I did an evening class in Upholstery for a term at West Herts College which was great fun, and managed to finish both this nursing chair and one of a pair of dining chairs during the 8-week course.

This lovely fabric was from John Lewis, (sorry, it was quite some time ago so I can’t remember the name or price).

If you haven’t tried upholstery before I can highly recommend it as a really satisfying crafty activity, and something  that can save you a fortune by buying and ‘tarting-up’ second hand furniture.  If you’re a beginner, do make sure that you’re not working on anything of great value or historical interest, as my tutor had horror stories of having seen valuable and very old pieces of furniture ruined by DIY-ers!

This is a great book to help you get started with the basics, with really clear and detailed instructions and lots of very helpful diagrams.

 

After!

Ladies Who Lunch: Peg Dolls

I wanted to make some ‘ladies who lunch’ for a post on The Veg Space and made Mollie and Mabel out of dolly pegs with heads and feet ordered from Its The Cats Whiskers who stock all sorts of handy bits and bobs.

I painted their faces and hair with standard acrylic paints, making Mabel’s beehive bun from embroidery thread.  Then coated the whole lot in varnish to seal.

They have pipe cleaner arms, and their trendy outfits are made from wide satin ribbon from St Albans market, all held together with a glue gun!

Mollie and Mabel

LBD in Sumptuous Silk

Not a great photo at all of what is actually a really nice dress!  I really should have ironed it, shouldn’t I? And the sheen on silk dupion makes it hard to photograph well.

The dupion was a Christmas present, bought from the lovely Ray Stitch, and was such a pleasure to sew.

 

 

Black Forest Fruits Rum

I blogged about this over at The Veg Space, but its almost ready to drink and I’m TOO excited.  We’re off to Wales in August on a self-catering holiday with lots of friends, so it might get its official opening ceremony then.

So easy. So satisfying. (Except for the purple fingers, that is).

Make some today.

Mollie Makes Felt Camera Case

This little felt kit was such a lovely giveaway with the fabulous Mollie Makes magazine.  I think it was supposed to be an i-phone case if I remember rightly, but I was in need of a camera case instead so made a few adaptations.

Cute! 

Wedding Blessing: Pebeo Painted Platter

This was a wedding present for my cousin Joshua and his lovely wife Charlotte, painted onto a plain white ceramic platter using fabulous Pebeo Porcelaine marker pen.

It couldn’t be easier – just draw on your design with the marker pen, making as many changes as you like, (it comes off with water), and when you’re happy with it just bake it in the oven and it becomes fully microwave- and dishwasher-proof. 

If I was making another one, I might try a cream rather than white plate, for more of a Emma Bridgewater look, but I was really pleased with this, and the bride and groom tell me they use it a lot, (but might well just be being polite!).

The blessing reads: “May you have warm words on a cold evening, a full moon on a dark night, and the road downhill all the way to your door“.

Not-quite-sure Navy Spot Dress

This is another version of the lovely Simplicity 2550, (see also my little black dress).  I’m not sure this was quite so successful, for some reason.

The fabric is a navy polka dot synthetic something-or-other I picked up from St Albans market for a few pounds a metre.  I liked the idea of a spotty version of this and intended it to be for a friend’s February wedding, but in the end it just didn’t quite do it for me so I wore something else instead.

I had a few problems with the bodice fitting this time, probably because the fabric was so fluid and drapey compared to the crisp black linen mix I used last time.

Despite all this moaning, its still a nice dress sitting in my wardrobe awaiting its first outing! I would definately wear it with a jacket or cardigan over the top, and just need to pluck up courage to wear it ‘au naturale’!!

Simplicity 2550

Giant Granny Square Bamboo Blanket

This is just a giant granny square, which I made up in mint green and white Rowan Bamboo Tape – now discontinued, but such a beautiful wool to work with as its so heavy and drapey.