What I did with an old jumper

  Cut it up!! 

Turned an ugly old jumper into more useful mittens and beanie!  Inspired by the internet of course.  Google recycled sweaters and you will find a tutorial.  Or get yourself either "Felt it, Stitch it, Fabulous" by Katheryn Tidwell Bieber, or  "The Crafty Minx" by Kelly Doust.

 

I should visit some flower making sites for a tutorial because I had a crap time making these flowers by myself.   There are no short cuts to a nice fabric flower it seems.  It's defiantly an "Art". lol

"Oh what fun, it is to sew..."

I love Tone Finnanger patterns!  I have just finished her xmas stocking project from the book Crafting Christmas Gifts.  While looking for a link for people who may be interested, I went to Quilt Fabric Delights but she has sold out of this book.  But while there I ordered the Easter book by Tone Finnanger.  Can't wait for it to get here.  She is super fast with deliveries.  The only hold up is I do not have a credit card. Yes indeed I do not and never have owned a credit card.  People look at me strangely when I tell them that but it must be why I live debt free.  I only pay cash so if I don't have any I don't spend any. I will be getting a debit VISA card one day as paying by money order is getting expensive ($4.50 + stamp + envelope costs). Visa Debit cards use your own money I hear but what are the fees?

xmas stocking from a Tone Finnanger pattern

I made this stocking for a work colleague for no other reason than we started talking about xmas and she mentioned wanting to get a stocking for her very first grandchild.  Well! I jumped right in and offered to make her one.  Also her grandson is gorgeous! Chubby cheeks! I love chubby cheeks!

Most of the fabric came from my stash except the lining.  All cotton type fabrics were used and I used thin fleece for the interfacing (turned out a bit bulky).  I would leave out the interfacing next time and see how it goes.

All the patterns I have come across from this talented lady are very easy to do.  AND the best bit is I haven't come across any errors in the patterns or instructions yet.  It makes me really confident of success when starting her patterns and therefore a good sewing session is guaranteed!  How many people have come across a project in a book or wherever and half way through it just makes no sense?  You are left wondering if something was left out of the instructions and you end up having a disappointing sewing day.

A big thank you to all pattern makers who proof read their books before publishing!

More Softies

 No name softie from the book Softies is meant to be a giraffe.  That's what the designer calls her design, but my friends call my creation an alien. My skinny little alien.  A fun project to do and one of the first projects started and finished from the book.  I have been reading the Two little Banshees blog for years and fell in love with all her great softies.

A pattern for one of her creations in the book "Softies" was THE reason I purchased it.  I also have made her platypus design published in a Handmade Magazine. Pics soon.

I know the pics are not great and I should get a kick thumbs down award for them but my camera is not being my friend at the moment.

One of my first softies made ever!  I just scribbled a shape on newspaper and cut them out, did the face and some sewing/stuffing and voila!  Inspiration came from some blogs read 2006/2007? and the only blog I can remember the most was called Moopy and Me.

The temperature here

is hot, hot, HOT, and we are told to expect another three days of it.  DH tells me that it will be a record heat wave for November.  Well that helps me cope......not!!

Too hot to do housework.  So I have been trying to sew.  Yes I said TRYING as its even too hot to sew anything new.  I have been pottering around doing little bits to some UFO's.  Very little bits that don't make much  difference to the pile of UFO's but they are getting closer to being finished.

I have some pics of completed projects from before I started blogging and will post about them until this heat wave is over.

 This oven mitt was fun to make.  I don't know if anyone else gets the urge to make something with  what I call "yucky" fabric.  Just to get rid of it.  As I can't just throw away fabric even "yucky" stuff.  And does anyone else find that the project ends up fun to do and the finished article looks unbelievably good?

This oven mitt was such a project.  The lining was not inspiring me or the scraps I used for the applique, but made into a linen mitt the fabrics all work right.

Pattern was from Lotta Jansdotter's "Simple Sewing" book, but I just followed my own plan in making it up.  It would have been an exceptionally quick project except I decided to hand quilt both sides of gloves and hand quilt the lining (in front of telly so no hard task).

I am a Naughty Girl!

Time is moving on and the tax return deadline is only a few nights away and what am I doing?




A green "Pleated Beauty Handbag" from the Bend the Rules Sewing book. Making this bag has been heaps of fun. Selecting fabric and matching contrast fabric, embroidery, and slowing seeing it come together has been an oasis in a boring life of work and tax. And as you can see I am nowhere near finished.





Its very easy to make but for the pleats ( I'm embarrassed to say). Firstly I couldn't decide which side I should press the seam allowances and I think this would make a world of difference in lining up the pleats.(maybe). I will try it differently next time. (I pressed the seam allowance toward outer plain green fabric).

What a day!

When your already have a day full of "tasks that need doing" like taking a kid to the doctor, bills to pay, shopping etc, you don't need your car to play up!!!

Everything was fine until some tough looking fellows approached me and asked for help. Their car had a flat battery. I drove my car over to where they were parked and opened the bonnet. They had jumper leads and were men so I let them get on with it. No action from their car.  One guy scratches his head and says he's sure its the battery. I get out of my car and look under my bonnet. And politely ask if they would mind me putting the leads on the battery and not on the plastic casing they had it on. Voila! cars start, battery's charge and away everyone goes.

Well!.... my car gives me grief down the road and stalls all the way to drop off daughter and then all the way home. I give up on registering hubby's car (got until Monday anyway).

I told my husband about the problem with the car and he is puzzled until later I tell him about helping some strangers. He said jump starting cars nowadays can upset the computers in them. Power surge kind of thing.

Morale of story is not to jump start a car unless 1) you have the modern leads with a surge protector, or 2) you don't connect the negative to the flat cars battery.  You clamp it onto the engine somewhere and the positive onto battery terminal.
Both clamps can be attached to good car. Both cars must be off completely when attaching jumper leads. This post should be "How to be a good Samaritan".

I hope hubby didn't want to rest this weekend. ha ha