Archive for the category: craft

:: An hour and a half, a yard and a half, a swimsuit and a half!

Posted by Kerry on July 21, 2008 | Permalink

I’ve been meaning to give Burdastyle a proper once-over for a while, but so far none of the free patterns that I’ve seen have really piqued my interest. Until now. Yowza!

The gorgeous, vintage-inspired bathing suit above is available as a free pattern for you to print out here. It’s rated as easy, and from the reviews on the site it sounds like it should be a breeze even for a newbie like me. I plan to give it a whirl in the next month or so - I’m planning a holiday to somewhere warm, for once, and I think it’d be a shame not to go for the full-on retro faded glamour approach.

I already have a turban and a pair of enormous sunglasses, so I guess all I need to complete the look is a tiny, vicious dog dog, a large martini and a packet of Sobranies. And a private pool. And a gay husband.

Categories: craft
Tags: bathing suit, burdastyle, free, patterns, sewing, swimming costume, swimsuit, tutorials, vintage

2 comments

:: Get Folksy

Posted by Joelle on July 16, 2008 | Permalink

Rulers by GetFolksy on Flickr
Enchanted by the name, I’ve been keeping an eye on folksy.com for a year or more, since a mysterious message appeared there about beta testing. It seems the project finally launched in beta a week ago, and is taking it’s first faltering steps towards becoming a suitably marvellous site.

A lot like a UK based Etsy, this is a place to buy and sell items by crafters and small designers. There’s also a making section which will showcase how to guides and stories about the making of items on the site. Currently there’s a good showing of work for sale from design graduates. Here’s my picks: Read more…

Categories: craft, design, shopping
Tags: craft, design, folksy, handmade

8 comments

:: Putting up my mum’s tapestries

Posted by Sonja on July 12, 2008 | Permalink

Dear Mum,

I wish I could show you how good your tapestries look in my living room. I was so excited about getting them down here - they’ve been waiting at dad’s house for about two years now but it was hard finding someone who could drive them down.

I wasn’t sure what order to position them in, I remember you saying something about them being different seasons but it’s hard to tell which is which - the trees are green in all of them.

I remember they took you a year each to make, when I was small, and I used to think that was a very long time. Now I know it can go fast.

The pictures still smell of home to me - they smell like sweet beer, attics and the landing. It feels so wrong to be hanging them somewhere else. They belong at home. But the brown wool wall hanging is long gone and the cream sofa is in dad’s new house now.

It was difficult nailing them up in a neat grid - because they were each framed at a different time, they’re slightly different sizes and the woods are different. There’s a scratch on one, probably Rowan did it when he was small and being naughty.

I expected to feel more pleased, having them hanging up, but I just feel quite empty, because you’re not here to see. I thought when you asked me three years ago which of your tapestries I would want to keep if you died, that I wouldn’t be getting those tapestries for a long long time, so I almost looked forward to having them, in some future house, some future home when I was grown up.

I suppose I’m grown up now - I own this flat but it’s your money really, and they’re your tapestries, and they always will be.

Love from,

Sonja
xx

Categories: about us, craft
Tags:

2 comments

:: New ways with rick rack

Posted by Joelle on July 9, 2008 | Permalink

I’m a big fan of rick rack. I have a bag of it in my sewing box, but frankly, though I often take it out to see if it would enhance a bit of sewing, I never seem to find opportunities to use it. It seems often just a bit too twee and retro for what I’m after.

However, having stumbled across this blanket tutorial over at Purl Bee, I have found a rather charming way of using it. Instead of just stitching it on as zig zag trim, it is sandwiched between two layers with the tips pointing out. I guess that doesn’t take a huge leap of imagination, and it’s simple enough to do, but I wouldn’t have come up with it, so I thought I’d share the idea.

My blanket is for the soon-due baby of a friend. She’s going to be called Poppy, and will have a very stylish mother, so it seemed the perfect opportunity to use this lovely bold fabric from Marimekko. Oh how I love their prints! Add some orange jumbo rick rack, and a very well matched yellow green fleece from Ikea et voila. I’m thinking of quilting around the flower outlines. Good idea?

Categories: blogs, craft, tutorial
Tags: baby blanket, marimekko, rick rack

3 comments

:: I’m tempted to buy seven new pairs of knickers and decorate them accordingly

Posted by Kerry on July 8, 2008 | Permalink

I dabbled with embroidery when I was a child, and then got really into it last year courtesy of Sublime Stitching. After the initial excitement of embroidering everything in sight, I put it away for a little while - the last and most ambitious project I did, embroidering an illustrated Dorothy Parker quotation on to a handbag, rather took it out of me and I felt I’d earned a rest.

I don’t know whether it’s a summer thing or maybe just that I’ve finally got bored of my Nintendo DS (say it ain’t so!), but over the past couple of weeks I’ve found myself itching to start embroidering again. Having lent Joelle my Sublime Stitching book, I was forced to improvise. I looked up old botanical images of poppies online to find the perfect image for a pillowcase, and copied the outline of an Egyptian-style scarab beetle on to a handkerchief for my boyfriend. I doodled, and encouraged others to doodle so that I could do something interesting with their designs. It was all very bold and experimental, and I felt pleased with it (heck, I might even take some pictures sometime).

And yet in spite of all my exciting modern designs, I still felt a hankering. There’s something about those kitschy old embroidery patterns, isn’t there? And it’s sadly something that I can’t capture in my own drawings, however cutesy I try to make them. This, dear reader, is where Needlecrafter.com comes in. I got put on to their excellent collection of vintage needlepoint patterns by a poster on craftster, and I’m delighted with what I found - a collection beautiful early 20th century embroidery patterns, all free to download and print out for your own use.

That’s certainly scratched the kitsch itch for now - however, I suspect that my limited research has revealed only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to free patterns online. Do any of you have your own favourites that you’d like to share?

Categories: craft
Tags: craftster, cross stitch, download, embroidery, free, needlecrafter, needlepoint, patterns, sewing

5 comments

:: Rachael Matthews for Next Queen

Posted by Sonja on July 4, 2008 | Permalink

I once looked into the application process for nominating someone for an OBE (we used to have a truly remarkable postman called Ken who definitely deserved one) but it looked far too complicated. I’m tempted to try again, so we can get Rachael Matthews to be awarded it by the Queen. Maybe if the Queen met Rachael she would appoint her as her royal successor. I think it would make sense.
Rachael set up Cast Off Knitting Club and now runs Prick Your Finger, the best haberdashery shop in the world. Her house, above the shop, is like her own natural palace - purposefully wonky, designed by a crazy architect in the eighties, full of random, fascinating stuff.
I strongly suggest reading Rachael’s blog. It’s the only blog I read apart from this one. Those are her hands in the picture above, writing it…

Categories: blogs, craft
Tags:

1 comment

:: It’s a wrap

Posted by Kerry on July 1, 2008 | Permalink

I would say that my absolute favourite thing to wear is a little cardigan/wrap/bolero - they’re so chic and dressy, and (unlike most of my other favourite things in this life) have at least some practical value.

I’ve been shopping around for a new one recently, and fell rather in love with the above. It’s by Irish indie fashion label Bonzie, whose Etsy store is filled with romantic, elegant delights.

Of course, being the kind of gal that I am, I couldn’t stop there. While it is undoubtedly a beautiful piece, I’m a) skint and b) in the mood for a new project, so I decided to find out how to make my own elegant evening wrap. After a bit of searching, I found this Threadbanger tutorial - with a few tweaks here and there, I think this’ll do the trick.

While I can’t guarantee the same beautiful results as the dreamy picture above, I can guarantee a couple of evenings out of the pub and a totally one of a kind garment. I hope to have a go at this during the next couple of weeks, so I’ll post the results when it’s ready. And I see absolutely no reason to stop coveting the above - I really don’t believe in the concept of too much of a good thing!

Bonzie

Categories: craft, tutorial
Tags: bolero, bonzie, cardigan, craft, etsy, jacket, sewing, threadbanger, wrap

5 comments

:: You know what’s exciting?

Posted by Vanessa on June 12, 2008 | Permalink

- I am dogsitting a bulldog called Vito. He is very shy and very sweet and he does not like walks at night time.
- Stephen made a pan rack out of a rod and some nails and hooks. Now all our pans hang from the ceiling. This is a good storage solution.
- I got my first copy of ‘Believer’ magazine today; my mum got me a subscription for my birthday. Once I’ve read it I’m going to use the text to decorate glass plates and make the match the table we collaged with Believer back issues. Hurray literary-hero themed crockery!

Categories: craft, design
Tags:

2 comments

:: Cut some rug

Posted by Sonja on May 27, 2008 | Permalink

One of my biggest ever craft undertakings is now, finally, over.

And here is the result, one magnificent hooked rug! Hurray! My glee knows no bounds.

It took 45 minutes to hook one row.

It took 45 rows before it began to look even vaguely rug-like.

Feeeeeeeeeel the labour hours!

This rug contains all my old clothes, my entire fabric stash, all my boyfriend’s old clothes, and anything fabric that couldn’t justify itself on the grounds of usefulness. While making it, it took up half my living room (as opposed to the one eighth it occupies now complete), and the bone that sticks out at the base of my thumb grew swollen from over-use of scissors, as I cut thousands of small fabric strips. An inch by six inches, by the thousand.

I still recommend that you make one. It’s a very pleasing thing. The pile is so deliciously thick.

My boyfriend helped too, which was nice.

Categories: craft
Tags:

8 comments

:: Sock it to ‘em!

Posted by Kirsty on May 1, 2008 | Permalink

I made socks! It was the scarier of my two NY resolutions, as I’m not that hot on DPNs, but with the Mister’s birthday coming up I decided to give it a go.

I used self-striping Opal 4-ply yarn (£6.50 from I Knit London or your LYS), which Simon chose, on 2.5mm DPNs, so the knit is thicker than everyday socks, but still quite fine. I threw a little paddy when it came to turning my first heel, then worked out what the crazy knitting language actually wanted from me and carried on. The cuff and foot knit up quite quickly and it’s definitely more instant gratification than a jumper, whilst being more interesting to work than a scarf or such. As a veteran of one whole pair of socks, though, I don’t feel like the time and money that is invested is really worth the end result. It may be because I’m slow, but I spent a good couple of weeks on these socks and, well, it’s only socks!

At least I can say that I’ve conquered DPNs!

Categories: craft
Tags: knitting, resolution, socks

8 comments