Skeleton Boy

We are back from Cambridge and survived the river and just about the wedding talks with all the folks and are now at home having this week off... bliss.

This is what B and I have been working on together. I made the black jumpsuit and B cleverly made the skeleton transfer. I am very pleased with the result. I slightly cheated using an old black t-shirt and therefore keeping the neck from that, and there are poppers on the insides of the legs for nappy changing, which were a bit of a pain to sew on, but other than that it was fairly straightforward.The occasion is a wedding in two weeks time. The kids have been encouraged to come in fancy dress and we knew M would never keep any fancy dress accessories on for any period so it had to be an all-in-one.

I also managed to get a stack of bunting flags done yesterday, enthused by the wedding talks over the weekend... I am loving my sewing machine at the moment!

A marmalade jar and a clutch

I have a desk job Monday to Wednesday and on Thursdays and Fridays I look after my little boy whilst (soon to be) Mr Elastic works in the local book shop. M is just about still having a nap, about an hour before lunch, and yesterday during this time I managed to make the bulk of this little clutch from Amy Karol's Bend the Rules book. It is a lot smaller than I had expected from her picture, but it is nice to get back on the machine doing something colourful.

The clutch is for a friends birthday. We are off to Cambridge at the weekend which is both B and my home town. We are to be celebrating this birthday by punting up to Granchester Meadows for a picnic, which I haven't done in donkeys. I hope M will be alright in the boat - I have visions of him leaping off the edge and having to go in after him.

I also went down to our local junk/ antique shop yesterday and bought this old marmalade jar. Just what I have been looking for - a jar wide enough and squat enough to not topple over with the weight of four pairs of scissors. And, I put my buttons in a kilner. Hmm. I could do with a few more I think!

It feels good to make these little steps to getting myself organised for sewing. I am doing a lot more and have another couple of projects on the go. One is a colaboration with Mr Elastic and we were both working on it last night... soon to be revealed!

A bag for a chair

We have a travel high chair on loan to us from my brother. It has been used a lot, going with us whenever we go away. It gets clamped to the dining table wherever we are and M sort of hangs in it... brilliant! M is just about getting too big for it now and I am due to pass it back to my brother for their next one. However, the bag that it came in has seen better days and definitely needs to go in the bin. It was horrible to begin with but now it is split and the fastenings have had it, so it is useless as well as ugly, please see below:


So, ta da! I have whipped up a new bag for it. Using the end of some calico and handles out of some liberated cushion covers.

I made a little knife and fork patch to practise my hand stitching too. I am pretty pleased!

I release you!

It has been weekend after weekend of events in our house... I guess that is just how summer is. I have, however, found the time to sort out my box of material. And this isn't just washing and folding but as I have a habit of keeping old bits of clothing/ cushion covers etc for reincarnation, this also means releasing material from the being of it's former self (using scissors).


So, I have been snipping, washing, ironing, folding. Look what wonders I have created! I didn't take a before picture, shocking though it would have been, as I was too enthused to pause for even a second.

Ah, it's enough to make you want to sew!

Zipper Pull

Here, look, I made a zipper pull for my new project. I am going to make a zipper pouch and I thought a pull with a clue as to it's contents would be fun. I am pleased with the design although not sure about the colours (might go for something a little subtler) and that stitching is pretty terrible. I'll have to gen up on tidy stitching too.

Birds for Hens

Cognac was lovely, we had great pool weather, I got flip-flop tan lines, and ate baguette and cheese for breakfast every day... what more could a girl want? But, phew, that first week back from holiday is always manic. You have to hit the ground running. I did, however, sneak some crafting in.

Look at these little birds. How cute are they? The pattern from spool sewing is dead simple to follow, and I really enjoyed having a hand sewing project. Much calmer than working on the machine. I could make more and more of these, and I might have to seeing as I've just given them all away. I gave them away in mis-matching pairs. One pair for a very special birthday girl, and one pair to my good friend who is getting married in September. It was her hen party on Saturday and I got myself on a train to the big smoke and met up with lots of lovely ladies for a picnic on Hamstead Heath.

And hen picnics deserve some homebaked items, so it was just as well that on that rainy Friday I had two willing helpers in the shape of my sisters. We hit Nigella's How to be a domestic goddess... first blueberry muffins:

We doubled the receipes so that both hens and cooks alike would be satisfied. I couldn't resist popping into shot those birdie parcels all wrapped and ribboned and ready to go.

And then banana bread: one packaged for the picnic and the other for pudding served with ice cream... delicious! You might also spot my brand new stove top kettle in the background there. I have to admit, it does take rather longer than the electric kettle (now banished to the cupboard) but look how jolly it is!

Hmm, okay, what project next?