Handmade slippers

 Despite the lack of activity on the blog, I have still been busy making. I always wear slippers in the house, but my old slippers were in a right state, just about ready to drop apart. Rather than part with at least £20 for a new pair, my other half suggested I should make some instead. So I did! I bought felting yarn (Filzit yarn, four balls), followed the wonderful pattern by Pilgrim Purse , and knitted my slippers. I felted and shaped them, stuffing them with plastic bags to keep their shape until they dried. Although you can felt in a machine, I did mine by hand so that I could ensure I got them just the right size for my feet.

Once I was happy with the shape and look of my slippers, I set about decorating them! I used my needle felting skills to add a simple colourful design.

 Needle felting is quite easy to do and not too expensive to start up - have a look at Gillian Gladrag's delightful site for some great tips and starter kits.

Once I had finished my needle felting I added leather soles to the bottom of my slippers. Because however much I tell myself that I won't go outside in them, I know I'll forget ...

I used a bradawl to poke holes through the leather at even intervals, which I had marked previously with a pounce wheel. That made it much easier to attach the leather to the soles. You can see the pounce wheel in the top left of this picture.

And here are my finished slippers! They are a little bit wider than I would have liked, but it means they are nice and airy for the summer. I think I may knit woollen liners for the winter!

Spring has sprung ...

The grass is riz ...
I wonder where dem birdies is ...

De little birdz is on de wing ...

Ain't dat absurd!

De little wings is on de bird!!

(Poem often attributed to ee cummings but it is in fact anonymous)

Sleepy birdies now for sale! If you are local to me you will find them at Eye Candy, if you are not local and would like one then just let me know (either leave me a comment on here, or message me on Facebook and I'll get back to you straight away). The birdies on a stick are £5 each and the handbag charms are £5 also. Please note, that due to packing issues the birdies will be sent without a stick (an ordinary wooden skewer will do the trick!). They look lovely nestling amongst your plants or snuggling up in a pen pot, or even as a wee flock in a vase!

I'm thinking I might make some with wire feet that could then "roost" on a plant, or picture frame ... mmm!

More fun things tomorrow - I'm working on easter rabbits just now.

A repair with bite!

My youngest son Euan loves his combat trousers, but they had already taken a hammering by his big brother before they were passed on to him, so it wasn't long before the knee bit the dust. He really wanted to keep them though, so I promised to repair them for him. As a surprise, I turned a boring patch into a biting one!

First of all, I trimmed all the loose threads around the knee where the material had torn (actually I've just noticed that I hadn't actually done that when I took this picture! Let's just pretend I did then).

Next, I cut out the elements of the patch: a black oval shape for the mouth, two rows of sharp teeth, and a small semi-circle for the tongue.

I used felt for my shapes so that I didn't have any seams to deal with; hopefully it will stand up to a bit of wear and tear!

Next, I used dots of fabric glue to assemble all the parts of the patch before sewing it on to the trousers:

Then I attached the patch by machine using white thread. It's a bit of a faff doing it by machine, as I had to do each side separately, but I wanted to make sure it was really firmly attached. After machine sewing, I went round with a bit of black thread to make doubly sure the tongue and the sides of the mouth weren't going to work loose.

Result - one very happy boy!

In other exciting news - I finished my nearly-finished long-term project this afternoon! It's taken me over six months altogether and I am so delighted with it. I will post some pictures of it very soon.

Lots of news and deliciousness!

So much has happened over the past week!

Firstly, I have started working with a lovely local gift shop called Eye Candy who sell some fabulous gifts. She has some cupcakes and owls that I have created, look!

They look like they are jostling each other for the front spot, don't they?!

 I also made her some little Easter chicks - aww cute!

Soon to go into Eye Candy - exclusive bags and birthday bunting. Watch this space! It's lovely to work with a local business who "gets" handmade craft :o)

Another local business who I mentioned recently has just taken delivery of some more gorgeousness for their shop. Puffin Croft Farm Shop in John O'Groats now stocks these yummy lavender hearts:

And the commissions continue - here's a cupcake phone cover I made last week:

It even has cupcake lining fabric and a cupcake button - more cute!

As you can see, I have been busy, with lots of things in progress behind the scenes too!

I am very busy at the moment trying to improve my workspace. Currently I have all my things squished into a couple of cupboard shelves, with the overspill behind the sofa. However the overspill is threatening to take over and so Nick has cleared all his things out of the cupboard this afternoon so I can organise my own things in there a little more efficiently. I reckon that once I have sorted everything out I will save at least a couple of hours a week that I currently waste looking for things! Well, that's the theory anyway. If I am brave I might post some before and after pictures. Hmm.

A busy week

I have been trying to get on the computer for a while now but it seems to have taken forever to get near it to post this week! I've been busily working on a few projects, two of which are still under wraps, but can post up a couple of completed ones and a couple of teasers!

First up is my first attempt at an iphone case. This was a wee bit of a challenge as I don't have an iphone, so I did a lot of careful measurement-taking and calculating to make sure it was just the right size and not too big or small! Fortunately it is a perfect fit, I am told. I was asked for a pale pink ipod with "a big fat strawberry on the front":

Then I added a couple of extra surprises in the form of a strawberry button:

And lined it in strawberry fabric:

One very pleased recipient!
Another commission I have been working on this week is the bunting. I hit a major problem in the middle of the week - my usually trusty 1980s Singer sewing machine refused to sew through the bias binding and the flannel layers to create the final effect. After changing the needle, thread, bobbin, and giving it a thorough clean and oil, I finally admitted defeat and broke out the big guns - namely, my 1941 Singer machine! I haven't got a picture of it but will post one next time as it is a beautiful specimen and cost me the princely sum of £30 (baaaargain!!!). True to expectation, my vintage Singer performed the job perfectly and my bunting is now winging its way across the channel to California and its new home. Until it arrives I shan't share a picture of the final result, but here is a little teaser:

Yummy colours!!
Also in the parcel was this, a thinking lemon (I love these, they are so deliciously random!)

And finally ...

<<<>>>

... the heel has turned!

Another past project

Here's another in the series "What I have been up to in the last year" !

This is a gift I put together for a friend who is having a tough time at the moment. Firstly, I made her a Dammit Doll to help ease the stress and emotions she may be feeling:

Dammit Doll

And just in case you are unsure of her role, here is the little card I sent with it (apologies for the poor picture, I seem to have been suffering from camera shake! NOT alcohol induced!)

Hence you can see why I gave her felt hair (which unfortunately bears more resemblance to an old-fashioned crash helmet, but we'll let that one go) as I thought wool hair may work loose over time!
Also, since she will be spending lots of time being wanged about (if she is doing her job properly), I thought I would save her modesty (if not her dignity):

Knickers!

I also made her a shawl in a nice bright red, to add a bit of colour to the hospital ward (they tend to be very beige, I've noticed) and to keep her shoulders warm if she got chilly:

It was a lovely quick knit, in King Cole Haze, which I was a little dubious about before I used it but I think it knits up well and is lovely and soft.

Then I made her a bag to keep all her bits and pieces in for when she goes to hospital appointments. This bag is made from curtain fabric samples, I think I used seven in all! It's double layered and has two pockets inside, for drinks and books etc. Unfortunately it came out a bit bigger than I intended, but hopefully it's still a useful size.

I added a couple of vintage buttons to each side to complete the look.

 And here's the inside:

This friend has a young daughter, so I sent her a sock monkey too so that she didn't feel left out:

They were all well received and it was nice to feel I could do a little something, even though I live far away from my friend.