craft-a-thon

I really have been on a roll this weekend! I continued my sewing spree by starting my pillow collection. I have a tonne of single bedding from student halls and a bunch of old scraps that I decided to make use of. I love beds with lots of mismatched pillows so I wanted to recreate the look for my student house!

I carried on with my new-found love of making button holes. I like the mismatched look that I've got here, shabby chic maybe? :-P

And to finish off I added a rosette! It was really simple to make! My friend Liz went to indie tracks festival and met Eithne Farry the author of "Yeah! I made it myself" and she taught a rosette workshop. Liz passed on the details to me and VOILA! It also made me happy to use a button that I bought ageeeees ago too!

All you need to do if you want to make your own is cut 12 circles. I used two different kinds of fabrics for effect. Layer the first two and sew them together. Fold a further four fabrics in half and layer two next to each other and then the other two on top. With the remaining four circles fold them in to quarters and stitch them into place filling the circle.

Put a button in the middle and your done!

Jumble sale!

Friday was such a busy day for me! I had two shifts in work, one starting at 7 and the other at 4.30, so after I got home from my first shift at 9, I had a cat nap and headed straight out to Liverpool.

I heard through the grape vine that a vintage boutique in Liverpool was having a massive clear out and by paying £10 you could fill a tote bag full of whatever you wanted from a selection! We had to wait for about an hour to get into the small room, but I was made up when I did! It probably wasn't to everyone's taste (a few girls walked down the stairs saying that it wasn't too good which worried me a lot) but for me it was a gold mine. Not only did I get a few nice dresses and skirts but whatever didn't fit (some had VERY tiny waistbands) I can use the fabrics for some pillows that I want for my new house in Manchester! I plan to fill my bed with them in all different shapes!

I'm going to continue with my sewing spree though, because some of the skirts are too nice to use for pillows so I am going to adjust the waists so that they fit!

I'll post some pictures soon of my finds and what I turn them in to!

Busy busy bee

It's been on my to do list forever to follow a pattern and make a dress. I made a skirt once, it was really simple, just two seams and an elastic waist band (gutted - I actually stood on it a few months ago and ripped the waist band!) but I thought that it was the best thing ever. I also made a toile in university for a fashion unit, that was daunting because it was the first time that I had ever used an over-locker and industrial machine!

Well over the weekend I finally got myself together and with the help of my mum I made a dress!

And I am the proudest person ever (and as soppy as it sounds - I also have the best mum ever!!!)

I am super pleased that I made button holes and there are pockets inside too! Next time I will use a lighter fabric that hangs better :-)

My domestic skills are really starting to come a long!