La Belle returns..............beware, it's a long 'un.....!!!xxx

Greetings lovely people!

After a nigh on four month blog sabbatical I am returning full of vim and vigour for the year ahead!!

Whilst being away from the keyboard I have felt pretty crap at times(thank you fibro) but I have also done a lot of sewing and found my new love.......crochet!

Now I was taught to crochet at a young age and, as a lot of people do, forgot all about it. I can't quite remember what triggered my wanting to 'hook' again but I did and it has been brilliant. I have reconnected with my crafting heart, made new friends and managed to make some decorations for Yule, as well as gifts! Whoop I say!

I'll put up some pics of some of the things I have created since September just so you can see I have been creating, if a little quietly.....

First up; a lavender pillow and butterfly for Big Nana x

In the beginning! This hat was crocheted using yarn from my late Little Nana and sparked some positive feedback.........

I also made a pair of 'wristlets' to match as I wear these a lot, especially when it's colder - numb fibro hands do make crochet difficult!x

My first commission piece which a lovely ex-colleague ordered from me having seen the one I made with Little Nana's wool. Everyone loved the original hat colours but that was made with genuinely old yarn, making it a one off piece so I checked other preferred colours thankfully the recipient was happy with her hat too! Phew!!x

                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Now this one was made for my friend for Christmas, using yarn from her own Grandmother. I liked being able to use this yarn as it made the gift that bit more personal and, luckily, it went down a storm!!

A 3d, crocheted Christmas tree?! Oh yes! It started to take a good while and I had to pause it to complete my gift-making so...........This year's the aim!!

Snowflake garlands were a fave festive make in 2014! 

Rebel snowflake! 

Ok, so for the OH's works 'do' I hooked a little clutch bag, added a vintage brooch for a touch of glam, and a pair of earrings from some sparkly beads and buttons................shame we didn't make the do in the end but the bag's had a successful outing over the festive season!x

Pretty bag!x

Little bit of upcycled Indian cotton lining? Don't mind if I do!x

So that's a little round up of my recent crafty, crochet makes. There have been other goods made but to show them all would be just too much!

Suffice it to say I've sewn, patchworked, crocheted, designed, procrastinated, planned and completely got caught up in the New Year 'shake things up' vibe. With a beautiful vintage sewing basket for Christmas, plus a crochet 'hamper', a load of funky veg seeds and new craft books to name but a few of the awesome gifts I received,  I'm feeling inspired and ready to a) make my dream of selling handmade goods a reality and b) kick fibromyalgia's backside as naturally as possible (the inner hippy never truly goes away).

Bring on the New Year!

Bring on the challenges!!

Bring on the trumpets!!! (Just for my sis Heidi-Jo Swain - she's gonna be a published author this year you know!)


See you soon for more mayhem and hookery!

Big Love, Loli B xxx

Getting back on the 'horse', a child's perspective and a birthday epiphany!

So lovely people, it's been a very long time since I last posted. I've been having it tough with the ol' fibro and then had an accident which left me feeling very bruised and battered - hence the lack of making and blogging...

I have managed a few makes which I will share in due course, and I'm currently working on some pieces for a special little lady with a birthday very soon.........

The weeks spent 'recovering' included a birthday for me which led to something of an epiphany. I suddenly woke up and realised I have been wasting energy on people/things whose sole aim is to drag me down/stop me/make me feel rubbish and it's time I put a stop to it once and for all.

I also saw two of my (four) nieces on my birthday and they were so interested in, and excited by, the various things I have made and upcycled that my enthusiasm was brought up past the pain and back to the top of my tree! Whoop indeed! (My upcycled bed linen tea towels were a hit for one thing!)

Sometimes it takes the perspective of a child, which is always honest, non-judgemental and straight to the point, to make us stop and reassess things. I was so lucky to have had this experience and have been designing, planning and sourcing ever since!

I'll post again soon with pics and more positive stuff!

Big Love, Loli B xxx

One step beyond......and a stitch debate

Howdy,

It's time for another patchwork post - it's about three dimensional patchwork again (and how I got hooked on making these bad boys!)

So, after the pin cushion/doorstop I made for my Mum and finding out the pattern was a) not for commercial use and b) much bigger than I expected, I decided to use the graph paper in my quilting book and doodle a bit......

I seem to like working with definite lines and angular structures so I got to trying rectangle and diamond combinations. These turned out to be perfect for a little pin cushion so I made my templates, cut my fabric, tacked the pieces and got stitching......... (N.B. NEVER use your dressmaking scissors to cut anything but fabric - they will get blunt really quickly and you will no longer love them!)

The essential bits and bobs

Super cute ice cream tubs make for fab storage!!

My local haberdashery, craft centre-type place sells samples of fabric in these dinky ice cream tubs. Not just lovely to look at - they come in handy for storage too!

With lots of scraps of fabric (mainly internet-acquired this time) I made the first pin cushion in bright fabric. The next three were all in softer blue tones and then I added a pink and yellow one along with a red and white one in the interests of not becoming a faded, vintage-style addict. (I totally love the vintage-looking cushions personally but I know not everyone shares my exquisite tastes!)

Here they are: 

The first (not -so-famous) five

Bing! Red and white number; enter stage left!

I used fabrics to compliment the main sections for the sides and hey presto; a little family of pin cushions came to be! Now I just need to decide how to sell my wares and get going. Small items like this are perfect for me as when the fibro flares up and I can't do a lot I can at least crack on and still feel like I've achieved something. Winner!.......even if I did become hooked on making them for a time.........

Just to prove they are 3-d!

To Whipstitch or not to whipstitch? (This bit refers to hand sewing patchwork - I'd rather do it by hand as it portable and easier to correct any mishaps!)

Well, that is indeed the question. Most quilting reference material I have read suggests using whipstitch to join the patchwork pieces together. This is when you hold two pieces, right side together, and catch one or two fibres from each piece with your needle and thread.

So, me being me, I cannot get this to look good on a finished piece and I find it uses a ton of thread. Therefore on my patchwork pieces I use the tiniest running stitch imaginable - seriously, we're talking around 1mm per stitch! This gives me a neat, surprisingly strong, finish with very little stitching showing if any at all.

I guess the best way is to practice and find what works for you - we're all different and that's what makes life interesting!

Right, signing off now to go and do some research on selling and doodle some more designs.

Toodle pip!

Big Love, Loli B xxx

A voyage into three dimensional patchwork!

Howdy folks, time for a little bit of gentle Sunday bloggage!

This time it's about my first go at making something patchwork that wasn't a quilt or a cushion cover.....

My copy of "Quilting on the go!" by Jessica Alexandrakis has already inspired me and led me to making the little bag mentioned in my 'Don't worry, bee happy!' post on 23/6/14. (Ok, so the bag was 3-d once it was made up you'll see what I mean about the next piece shortly!)

I decided it was time to try another project from the book as it has instructions and templates and I love looking through it, so I set about deciding on fabric to use and made the templates.

I wanted the pin cushion to be bright and cheerful so I went with pink, yellow and blue; and green buttons from the stash of buttons I inherited from my Great Aunt.

It's a tad daunting at first; trying to piece together the sections and see where they need to be joined to get the shape right but I got there. The stitches also need to be teeny tiny as once the cushion is stuffed if they're untidy it really shows up! (Note to self - future post re stitching required)

Anyway, I made the pin cushion and gave it to my Mum with a bit of a giggle - it's a big old pin cushion!! I followed the pattern and used the templates in the book, I just didn't realise quite how big it would be so I did suggest it could be used as a paperweight or a doorstop as you can see below:

The giant pin cushion! (To give an idea of scale the button is about the size of a 10p!)

(Can't blame my fibro-fog for the size of the pin cushion as it was just as the pattern said - maybe we're just used to little pin cushions over here?)

I emailed the author of the book and asked if the projects in it are protected, bearing in mind my plans to sell my handmade items. As I suspected, the projects are for personal/gift use only but inspired I started to play about with the graph paper in the book and I created my own little design for a cute little pin cushion..................

Pop back soon for the next installment of my handmade adventure!

Big Love, Loli B xxx

Howdy!

It's me again with another little tale of progress on the hand sewing front!

So, my Dad is not the easiest person to buy presents for - if you ask him what he'd like you'll usually get 'I can't think of anything' as a reply. Actually, he's not the only one - I find many folks these days appear to either not want anything or don't want to suggest anything in case the buyer's budget is somewhat slender. Sign of the times or a return to older values? Either way, if you are determined to give someone a present it can be very tricky to choose that perfect thing.

Step forward, my Mum! I'd had a brief idea of something to make Dad for Fathers Day and when I discussed it with my Mum she suggested the same thing.

So, armed with a few dimensions, fabric and other bits and bobs I set about making a teeny gadget case.

First things first; I had to decide on a fabric to use. Now, with my 'make do and mend' hat firmly plonked on my head I decided that as Dad's fave colour is green this should involved. It would just so happen that having raided a bag of stuff destined for the charity shop, I found a lovely dark green and blue shirt of Dad's.......yes, you guessed it, I technically gave him back a piece of his own shirt!

You may be thinking it was a bit cheeky but I knew it was a colour and pattern he liked and it also satisfied my upcycling obsession.

Here goes another first!x

Quilting is not something I've done before, by machine or hand, but I had to throw down the gauntlet to myself yet again and try!

I used quilt wadding and fixed this to the main fabric and backing with fixative spray before I started to 'quilt'.

The quilted inside of the case x

Next up I made some binding from a piece of black fabric and I stitched it to the case as you can see below. Again, stitching on a curve - when will I go for an easy option?!

 





Finally I added a piece of velcro inside the flap and hey presto! The case was done!















I can happily report that the case fits the gadget it was designed for (a pocket magnifier) perfectly, was padded to protect it and it was immediately placed with pride in my dad's top pocket! (He even found the use of his old shirt amusing thankfully!)

Next time, another little creation or two and my plans for world domination...........maybe........

Big Love, Loli B xxx