Robyns gym bag

woohoo it's taken 4 days to make but finally finished Robyns P.E bag. All the lettering and the robin were hand appliqued which took forever. I decided to go for it with the sewing machine after 2 days of sewing scrap strips to check the tension and practising going in a straight line (harder than it looks) so the lining and the sides were sewn up super quick. Robyn loves it and so do I, roll on 2012 when Daisy hits primary school so can make her one too....hmmm I could make it early ha ha

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starting the robin

lining up the name

the pretty lining

the finished bag

my week 5 make

Here's my 52MMMC week 5 creation - a little scottie dog using a pattern from Allsorts blog, she has a nice tutorial here http://allsorts.typepad.com/allsorts/2006/05/softie_scotty_d.html I used felt but you can also use fleece, cotton whatever really. I just like felt as its versatile and easy to use.

I have dusted off the sewing machine that Loui gave me 2 years ago and spend nearly a day figuring out how to thread it and to work out the very complicated bobbin casing. I'm still not sure on the tension especially not knowing what button does what and theres no manual with it but hopefully I'll learn through trial and error. It would be nice to do some bigger sewing projects like a couple of quilts for the girls that take about 4 months to hand sew. Using the machine should cut it down to a week or so. I've seen blogs where people have made an entire small quilt in a day and feel very jealous.

Now i just need to find a table for it as it's currently on the dining table and a pain to move everytime the kids get dinner as it is heavy.

bunny

This cute bunny was made from a pair of Daisys old cord trousers size 2-3 years, she was horrified when she saw the trousers all chopped up but a few days later was very happy with the end result. It took a while as I hand sew which takes a lot longer and I decided the body looked too fat for the head so had to unstuff and resew about half a cm in all round to make it thinner, then I decided the head looked too much like a sheep than a bunny and actually dragged my poor babies out of their hutch several times before realising that bunnies actually do resemble sheep a bit.

The ears and paws are cut out from a nightie that I picked up from the thrift shop as the fabric was very pretty. Pattern is from the June 2010 issue of Crafts Beautiful magazine. their version is a stunning turquoise blue. Daisy has already decided her pink cord trousers will soon be perfect for bunny number two.

felt letters

Finally made the felt name banners, I love the sparkly feel to them with the beads and sequins added. I was a bit dubious about adding anything as I tend to like plain and simple but they were too plain as just stitched letters. The gitls love them and they are now hanging up in their room.

I also made Rocky Road bars this week and shock horror my fussy kids dont like them as they are too rich so thats my diet completely screwed for this week as I cant just leave them now can I

I am now working away on my bunny from an old Crafts Beautiful magazine, its being made from a pair of Daisys old trousers which she was shocked and horrifed to wake up and find I had chopped them to pieces ha ha

more makes

my tudor style necklace

Finally finished my tudor inspired necklace woohoo. I bought the bead kit from HobbyCraft way bak at christmas time when I was last in Aberdeen and even though I started making it that same evening I wasnt happy with the strength of the thread in the kit, the bracelets I made seemed like they might break just stretching them the teensy bit needed to slip onto my wrists so I put it aside then forgot about it for months.

Recently I have been watching the new season of Tudors and it got me wanting to finish the necklace so quick trip to the local crafty shop and I have much stronger thread and clasps so got it made up in one evening as I'd already had them layed out how I wanted. The cross in the middle is from a choker that I've had since I was 15 so its great to see it put to use after 20 years in a jewellery box

work in progress and yes I'm a messy, sit on the sofa crafter

I have several projects on the go right now, felt names for my girls room a wee scottie dog from this wonderful blog http://allsorts.typepad.com/allsorts/2006/05/softie_scotty_d.html and I am gonna attempt to turn an old pair of Daisys corduroy trousers into a bunny from a pattern in an old Crafts Beautiful magazine

52 Marvellous Makes Madness Challenge

I have decided to join the 52 Marvellous Makes Madness Challenge over at The Thrifty Mrs blog - http://thefurtheradventuresofathriftymrs.blogspot.com/2010/06/52-marvelous-makes-madness-challenge.html which is simply to make something each week that you love doing - crochet, sewing, baking, knitting, scrapping anything.

As the challenge was posted on the 30th June I think I'm a week behind so I'm going to submit my owl that I made last week as my week one effort. I should put up Robyns works too as she is a crafty little monkey especially over the holidays, Daisy too although she is just 3 so tends to get bored after 5 mins unless it involves paint or glitter glue. This week they were hard at work painting a wooden letter set

hard at work

the end result

little owl

I found the cutest little owl egg cozy tutorial here - http://lucykatecrafts.blogspot.com/2008/06/owl-egg-cosy-tutorial.html and decided to have a go as I have loads of felt and scraps of material. He was really easy to make and the tutorial was really straightforward to follow. My girls shrieked when they saw him (or should it be her...it's pale pink felt) and they both want one each and Robyn being the ever cheeky madam says she walso wants a bigger plushie version and in "proper owl colours"

I've also spent a week making cusion covers for a friend, I made 2 plain and decided to put a pattern on one as a surprise and decided on a flower applique. It's the first time I've done anything like that so I was very pleased

with the way it turned out. I'm having serious deja vu feelings with it though, even though the pattern came from the top of my head, I cant help feeling I've seen it before and I think it may have been on one of my daughters baby tops....will have to do a hunt through the millions of photos I have of them now