First sewing venture and Etsy

I haven't written in a while as I've been very tired after Guy's sister's fantastic wedding last weekend. However, I have been quietly working away on my top-secret present for my stepmum's birthday and have made quite a bit of progress this week!

Yesterday I decided to venture into sewing (more than just a bag lining) by making a little purse for a friend's birthday. I got the pattern from this book - Sew Fabulous Fabrics - and it was really easy to make. I had some fabric from I-don't-know-when so I used it with some fusible interfacing and all in all it only took about an hour to make. The trickiest bit was sewing on the popper (I sewed it on the wrong way round) and the little button.

Here are some pictures of the finished object:




I love the little button which I found in my mum's old button box. There are some great buttons in there, including stars and lions!

To put in the purse, I bought some handmade earrings from this shop on Etsy.com. I absolutely love her jewellery and have also bought 3 pairs of earrings and a ring for me! The items are gorgeous, very reasonably-priced and the shipping rates are great too, even fto the UK. Hope my friend likes her present!

Reupholstering chairs

This weekend we went to John Lewis to do our wedding gift list, and I visited their haberdashery department for the first time. The shop near us has a great haberdashery with lots of different yarns, threads and great fabric. I have been meaning to reupholster our dining room chairs almost since we got them from a kind person through Freecycle, and this was the perfect excuse to get some great fabric.

I got two meters of purple cotton to cover 6 chairs, and actually it was only slightly too much. I also got a staple gun (getting the right staples was a nightmare involving visitng Hobbycraft and Paperchase just before closing time).

All I did to cover the chairs was unscrew the seat covers, take off one of the existing pieces of fabris, cut a square of new fabric the same size and staple it over the existing cover. It was really easy but quite time-consuming and tiring to do. Anyway, I think it ended up looking really good and fits great with our dining room decor.

BEFORE: stained, old-fashioned fabric that doesn't go with our decor!


AFTER: Lovely new purple fabric that fits in perfectly


I like this fabric so much that I'm thinking about making a tablecloth to go with the seat covers. Not sure how easy this will be so I'll have to investigate it!

The excitement of a new sewing machine AND a new blog

I decided to start this blog to document my ever-growing obsession with crafts, in particular crocheting, sewing, knitting and jewellery-making. My love affair with crochet started at Christmas 2008 when my fiance's sister showed me all the fantastic things she'd been making. After a bit of a halting start I managed to pick it up using Debbie Stoller's Stitch N Bitch Crochet which is a great book. So far I've made hats, scarves, bags, gloves, a purse and I am currently working on a large project for a present.

Knitting quickly followed crocheting, although I haven't picked that up as easily and it's been put aside for the time being. I also re-discovered sewing and pulled out my grandmother's old sewing machine to find it only does one stitch.

Which brings me to yesterday: after spending quite a while searching for a new sewing machine that wouldn't break my (very small) budget but that had all the features I would need for a good couple of years, I finally found the perfect one on eBay. It's a Brother XL220 (can't find the link) and it is an 'A Grade' which means it has either been opened and returned or has had a slight manufacturing fault that has been repaired. It arrived yesterday and I set it up as soon as I got home from work, and it is fantastic! So easy to use, even comes with a needle threader, and I managed to easily line my latest Fat Bottomed Bag with only a couple of mishaps (caused by me, not the machine). Can't wait to receive the two books I've ordered: Sew U and S.E.W. and begin sewing some clothes!