Nini Makes

Sleep-time teddies from outgrown pajamas

Tristan wouldn't give up his favourite brushed-cotton pajamas that he'd long outgrown but a hole in one knee the size of a football made me finally take the scissors to them. Though the fabric was fairly threadbare I salvaged enough to make him a soft teddy so he could still enjoy it. Gracie wanted one too and has the perfect pair of way-too-small jammies with tiny pink rosebuds I couldn't wait to use, but no, she wanted her brother's fabric, and absolutely no pink. Luckily, I was able to maneuver the pattern enough to squeeze out a second teddy.

To make them I drew a simple one-part teddy pattern, cut it out and stitched features on the pieces to keep them entirely soft. I then stitched around it and left a gap for stuffing. I stuffed the head and limbs with soft filler, made a little pouch of the filler and poured in some lavender, then tucked the pouch into the teddy's tummy. I could bearly get the gap stitched up before they were usurped for a cuddle. T & G love the lavender scent and both are snuggling with their new friends as I type.

They're so simple I thought I should share them. My children always appreciate the things we make from re-purposed materials much more than those from new materials; to them the process of transformation is a little bit magical and it is to me too!

The teddies say thank you Sonia for the nature finds they're modeling with ; )

Last minute make

Make these spontaneous patchwork angels to hang on the tree or to tie to gifts. Yet another way to use up more scraps and the unfinished edges mean these ornaments are quick and easy to make.

 Here's how:

1. 
   
   Click here to download this template and cut out the ornament pattern
2. Cut out two pieces of fabric larger than your ornament template
3. Take one of the pieces of fabric and using a small zig-zag stitch, sew scraps all over the piece of fabric going in any direction - be sure each edge of each scrap is stitched down
4. Cut a piece of felt or heavy interfacing out using the smaller, inner template of your ornament pattern
5. On the unstitched piece of fabric trace your ornament template in fine pencil or water soluble pen, then flip it over, tape it to a window so the light shines through it and trace the template on the other side (the tracing should be in the same position on both sides of the fabric)
6. Add a tiny bit of glue to your felt piece and center it in the middle of one side of the tracing and let it dry for a couple of minutes
7. Lay your zig-zag patchwork fabric on top of the other fabric (patchwork side up) sandwiching the felt shape inside
8. Pin a looped ribbon or string, loop pointing up, inside the sandwiched pieces at the top of the ornament template
9. Pin the pieces together, turn them with the plain fabric facing up and stitch around the tracing marks using a straight or zig-zag stitch
10. Trim the fabric right up to the edge of the outer stitching, finished!

Note: Try embroidering a name, message or date on the plain backing fabric before gluing the felt shape on the opposite side and pinning your pieces together.

The down-loadable template includes a few different simple shapes which can be used in many different ways. Tristan and Gracie have been colouring, cutting and gluing them today.

I hope, unlike me, everyone is very organized and ready for Christmas, then you'll have time to whip up this simple project.

Also, thanks to Annet for sharing her Tree Family wall hanging with me.

I love the ornament earrings she gave the mama tree and the spotty, snowy fabric she used. Visit Annet's blog Fat-Quarter to see more of her fantastic quilting and patchwork pieces.

Hope you're all cuddled up with your families, or your cat and are keeping warm.

Night-night!

It's raining, it's pouring

During my absence we've been hit with serious rain and wind but nothing like up north in Cumbria. Our thoughts are with all of those affected by the terrible floods.

As you can see by the dim light in the photo above, it's still raining here and this poor dolly is waiting for me to get off the computer to put on her hair and make her a dress. She's a larger version of Gracie's doll and will be going off to Oz for the Softies for Mirabel project. I hope Royal Mail won't take too long getting her there as I'm cutting it quite close.

I've kind of been Christmas crafting. A package of projects to help other crafters with their last minute  gift list has been keeping me busy. A pattern for dolly is one of the projects in development - didn't realize sewing patterns were so tricky. This little stitch-up below is also planned as part of another project.

The light on my desk has been burning through midnight and on again before the birds wake and I can't wait to show you the results (hope they look good in daylight ; )

Time just disappears like sand through a sieve this time of year doesn't it?
Last night Gracie said:
Mummy I need a cowboy hat, cowboy clothes and cowboy boots for assembly on Wednesday.
Mummy: That's okay assembly isn't until the 25th so we have a week.
Gracie: No Mummy, the 25th is THIS Wednesday (imagine a very exasperated tone in the 8 year old's voice)

Somehow I lost last week.

On the home front, Tris got this cast replaced yesterday with a fetching new blue one, three more weeks - oh my!!! It's just precautionary, he's healed but the doc says he wants it protected a while longer. A cast leads to lots of excuses for children: I can't bathe - my cast, I can't vacuum - my cast, I can't go outside it's too wet - my cast.... Mummy has come up with solutions to all of these things, except vacuuming but that's been swapped with laundry folding.

Soon I hope to get a chance to make these dala ornaments Pam shows. She uses Pendleton wool and needle felts, they'll be great fun to make. Check out the rest of her site for everything Christmas.
Pam's horse reminds me, there's also a new embroidery pattern coming up in my package.

We've cut down on buying things in our family except for the children so my Christmas gift list seems to be largely a wish list for myself. At the top are these new gorgeous cushions by Geninne. I'm really hoping the London Urban Outfitters will start to carry them, her birds are sublime.

Also topping my list is one of Margie's crochet and sea glass neckaces, but I don't think I'll be able to nip off to Paris to buy one. Perhaps I could have a word with Father Christmas.

I hope to be back very soon. Have a great Tuesday!

A treat in London Town

Ceiling of Alexandra Palace with streamers of spun yarn descending

Friday I had an unexpected and fantastic treat. I received email Thursday afternoon from Selvedge about the Knitting and Stitching show taking place in London at Alexandra Palace the following day and weekend. As Selvedge were involved I thought it might be good, and through serendipitous good fortune my friend Claudia and I were able to go to it last minute.

She from Kent and me from Hampshire hopped on early trains and met in town. We knew nothing about the show, had there been more time I'd have researched, though being clueless added to my excitement.

We emerged from the tube station to find a block-long queue for the shuttle service and we realized it was big. Not the patient sorts we legged it up the hill to Alexandra Palace skipping the shuttle, too eager to get there. The entrance to the show hinted at what lay ahead; a full sized knitted sailboat and mountains of hand-spun yarn, amazing! It was enormous, being newbies we didn't know where to start, we simply wandered around the halls in awe. Products for everything knitting and stitching were everywhere, there were workshops and a gallery too.

Knitted sailboat

The day flew by and I feel we only scratched the surface. We didn't even find out there was a gallery until we stopped for a sandwich and met two veterans who told us about it, it was their seventeenth year to attend. Next time I think we'll start with the gallery and see all the artists work, we only saw a tiny part of it.

Hand dyed cotton and silk embroidery floss

I managed to purchase a few special items like some of this hand-dyed thread, Liberty fabric, pretty beads for Gracie and a couple of books. Everything was less expensive than in the shops, special rates for the show.

 
Mixed-media shoes by Ingried Swan

Here are a couple of the artists exhibits: these shoes and hat were part of a whole outfit made with formed and stitched pages from an Atlas.

Textile themed porcelain

And this very delicate porcelain which is decorated with fabric designs and notions. It's all been fired, there's no actual fabric on the pieces, they just look like there is. Sorry to have not found the artist's name on this one, it was closing time and we were being whisked out the door.

It was a great show and lovely to see the age range attending, from teenagers and groups of school children to grandmothers. Next year if I have a chance to go to this show again I'll know to bring a lunch (the food wasn't great,) start with the gallery and try and go for two of the days in order to take advantage of the workshops.

Window display, characters from Fantastic Mr Fox

The whole day was brilliant and topped off by tumbling back outside in a downpour of rain followed by a sprint straight onto a bus. Then after a quick trip on the underground we hopped off in Covent Garden for a gorgeous Thai meal. While walking to dinner we saw this sweet window display with characters from Fantastic Mr Fox, a favourite Roald Dahl story and soon to be released movie.

The whole day we felt like two kids skiving off school and I can't wait to do it again. If anyone knows of other creative events happening in Southern England please let us know about them. Although I never need an event to go into London, just a willing husband to collect our children from school and feed them, thanks hubby.

I hope you all had exciting weekends too :)

Cheater's patchwork, a tutorial

Yet another project that uses up those scraps. These mini patchwork patches have multiple uses and are so easy it feels like a cheater's version of patchwork. They can be used to appliqué on t-shirts, for patching holes, stitching on to paper or cards or used as whole pieces of fabric to cover moleskines, make wallets, etc.

Supplies
Sewing machine * fabric scraps * small iron * fusible webbing * rotary cutter or scissors

How to
Determine the size you want the final piece of patchwork to be, cut out a piece of fabric that size and iron a piece of fusible webbing to it.

Cut out a variety of small squares of fabric, best to use a rotary cutter for accuracy. My squares are very small, about 13 mm or 1/2 an inch; larger squares would be even easier.

Peel the backing paper of the fusible webbing off of your base piece of fabric then begin lining up your squares (right-side-up) on to the side of the fabric that you removed the paper from (the "glue" side.) Line them up horizontally and vertically with no spaces between the squares forming a grid with them.

Next begin pressing your squares with a small hot iron, I used a Clover Mini Iron but a travel iron would work too. I found it easiest to do one line of squares at a time instead of trying to line up the whole grid.

When you have filled the area you want to cover with squares secure them using a zig-zag stitch with your sewing machine stitching along the gutters of the squares of your grid. Experiment with your zig-zag stitch width and length before stitching the patchwork.

Note: It's easiest to not clip the threads at the end of each line, just lift the presser foot and gently move the fabric to your next line.

To finish, trim the edges of your fabric or cut a shape out of it and adhere another piece of fusible webbing to the back of your finished patchwork - thus creating a finished, ready-to-use patch. When you remove the backing paper from your finished patch be sure it is completely cool before gently lifting it off.

I find I can iron these patches on to paper to make cards or iron them on to fabric with equal success. You will need to stitch around the outer edge on to the fabric or paper the patch is adhered to. This is also an easy way to create quick pieces of patchwork for making small sewn items like wallets, just skip the final step and leave off the last piece of fusible webbing.

Note: I use the Bondaweb brand of fusible webbing because in the UK it seems to be easiest to come by. If you've never used fusible webbing before simply follow the manufacturer's instructions for whichever brand you use.

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I hope you give these a try. It's another project that becomes a little addictive, I started going mad with tiny squares when I first tried out this idea.

About the Clover Mini Iron
Of all the various forms of appliqué one of my favourites is using fusible webbing then stitching the edges, it makes a neat job of small pieces appliqué. I bought the mini iron mainly for this purpose. Mine was about £25 which has been a worthwhile investment as I use it a lot. Clover now make a new version (Clover Mini Iron II) which allows for different attachments.
If like me, you wouldn't need any of the attachments the new iron can accommodate there are now bargains to be found on the old models like mine - I've seen it as low as £7 on ebay.

Happy Birthday Baby Rufus

Welcome to very new baby Rufus, born this morning. Rufus may look older than less than a day old but that would be due to the fact that he is a whopping 11.2 pounds (5.1 kilos.) He's so beautiful, definitely worth the wait.

Happy birthday Rufus and congratulations to mummy, daddy and your very excited big brothers.

With lots of love from all of us! xoxo

Secret present revealed.

 

A little something for Rufus to wrap up in and play on. It's baby size but still a whole finished quilt, my first.

It's a departure from the antique linens and fabrics I like but this Moda charm pack spoke to me and said "Buy me because I'm easy to stitch up, you'll have time to finish and I'm full of fun prints." I agreed.

I love surprises

This was a surprise, because it was so quick & easy to make. I'd made the flower from a felted bit of dyed blanket ages ago and it had been sitting next to my sewing machine (along with too many other things) for ages. So I finally stitched an elasticated bracelet for it, added leaves and voila. A little pin ditty for my wrist.

Wonderful surprise. Lovely, witty Amy sent me Amanda Soule's book. Am I the last English speaking mother on earth who didn't already have it? I'll crack it open this week during our half-term break. She also sent me a mountain of hexagons in gorgeous fabrics and gingham pouch, this photo doesn't really show just how many hexies there are. Thank you generous Amy, it made me smile very wide indeed and your note, as always, made me guffaw like a mad-woman :)

Amy is hosting her Clothesline Challenge again this year, so ban the tumble dryer and join in. And if you can't ban it, try and use it a bit less. I'm very excited to say we finally have warm enough weather to hang the laundry out instead of in.

Another surprise this week came in the form of a beautifully decorated envelope filled with very pretty stitched paper greetings, cheery floral photos and the sweetest loom flowers that I'd admired on Flickr. Most of you will recognize the handiwork of the very kind Nanou; her parcels are so thoughtful and lovingly prepared, even her delicate handwriting is a treat to read. Thank you again Nanou  :)

 

Wishing you all a warm and sunny weekend!

Sprinting into year 3

Technically this giveaway should be in May, but we'll be away in Holland visiting some family next week during our school half-term break. I'll draw a name or do the number generator thing the evening of June first.

This contest is open to everyone everywhere, blog or no blog, from the UK to Kathmandu. Simply leave a comment on this post to enter. As usual, be sure to enter an email address not just a Typepad profile or I may have no way to contact you if you win (email addresses are not visible to blog readers.)

The winner will receive the following:

1. Grandma's bed pincushion, the prize cushion may not be the one pictured, I'm working on a couple more with the same materials. I will ship the winner my best version.

2. Ten squares of Liberty cotton fabrics (the ones pictured) all are at least 14 cm (5.5 inches) square.

3. Over a metre of antique, handmade lace trim; perfect for a pillow case or to edge a shelf.

4. A set of four large mother of pearl buttons (one inch) and two matching etched glass buttons.

5. A surprise gift from our trip to Holland (I can tell you it won't be cheese and as this is a family blog, it won't be from the Red Light District either.) The little Dutch doll pictured is not included in the prize package, she's simply a representative.

About Grandma: turns out it wasn't Grandma after all, it was a big, bad wolf. But Grandma is fine and the wolf won't be harming anyone, he's stuck up high on my sewing room shelf and can't get down.

Inspiration is a funny thing, here's the story of Grandma's bed.

If I'm sewing while sitting on the sofa I stick my needles into the arm of the sofa next to me but our sofa fabric is a perfect colour to camouflage needles.

After school one day recently, tired Gracie lay her head on the side of the sofa and got poked with one of my hidden needles. Feeling terrible, I decided to make a little mattress shaped pincushion that could sit nicely on the arm of the sofa and vowed never to stick needles into furniture again.

So I made the mattress but decided it would look sweet with a wire-work headboard. Then I thought the mini bed would be perfect for a little wolf dressed in Grandma's clothes; so then came the wolf followed by Grandma's night dress and cap. But of course the wolf, though clothed, looked cold so then came the tiny quilt.

The end

Note: Gracie was fine, no blood drawn :)

Incidentally, I usually get my best ideas while I'm brushing my teeth, when or how do you get yours?

Have a great Monday :)

Grandma's Quilt

The weather has been so blustery this week I whipped up a quilt for Grandma to keep her toasty warm; well not exactly whipped up, that implies a measure of speed. It's the first quilt I've actually finished, and at only 6.25 x 6.75 inches you'd have thought it would be a breeze but I think a king size would have taken me less time.

It's nearly all hand stitched using mostly Liberty. No measuring or precise cutting, I just snipped little bits of fabric and gleefully stitched them together. Liberty has a way of spreading happiness, maybe it will reach all of you.

So now Grandma has become my little guardian watching over me from a shelf in my sewing room. She will be back on Monday to finally share the giveaway news and Liberty may be involved:)

Have a lovely weekend.

PS, I'll put a full picture of it on Flickr, see just how imprecise my cutting and stitching is.

We love holidays

Gracie has sidled up next to me in my sewing room a lot over this holiday. Yesterday she created this mermaid picture, apparently they're teenage mermaids. Slow to develop I'd say, no need for bikini tops or the usual scallop shells covering them.

The warmer weather has meant mostly outdoor play during this Easter break, which I must say has been much nicer than last years April snow. That's wild garlic growing under the tree there, you can just see some of it starting to flower right underneath Gracie. It grows throughout the woods around our area followed by bluebells which will be out soon. You cook the leaves of wild garlic, not the bulb - it's milder but tasty.

 

Lovely Nanou recently asked if my children sew. They've done embroidery for a while now and have both dabbled with machine sewing but this week Gracie made her first skirt. She chose the fabric, then designed and made this skirt herself. I helped her cut it out because we made up the pattern according to her design and used no template.

She wanted a skirt with no gathering but I explained a zip wasn't best for her first go. We settled on gathering at the back keeping the front flatter. We did this by making the front panel of the skirt smaller in width then the back panel. Then we stitched down the elastic by the side seams to keep most of the gathered fabric at the back.

I had better pictures showing off her design but she wanted this photo.

 

Also during this holiday Tristan made this cushion for me and hubby. He wanted to embroider a heart with "Mummy + Daddy" in the centre but after completing the heart he decided it was finished. He then made an envelope style cushion using his embroidered panel of linen and was extremely proud of his results (and so was mummy.) 

While they both like to sew they wouldn't choose to do it all the time, but I love to indulge them whenever the mood hits!

Favourite seasonal recipe coming soon.