Little Monster

In my last post I published a picture of a pair of eyes.

I'm pleased to say they've now been attached to a body!

Here's my little monster!  I've written the pattern myself and he will soon be on his way to his new home at my sister's house.

Here's a view of his hairy back!

I also popped a little lavender pouch inside so he smells really sweet.

I also whipped up a manly phone cozy for my dad's Blackberry.

I used half treble crochet stitches so it was really simple.

And here's a little brooch for my mum :-)

Hope they are all pleased with their little gifts.

Just Lately...

 Just lately I've been working on these few items.  Firstly a pair of eyes for a monster for my big sister.  Not sure why one is looking bigger than the other though as they should be the same!  I've nearly finished the body now too so it's coming along nicely.  I'm writing down the pattern as I go along so hopefully I can easily recreate my little monster.

 I made another cushion cover to go in our caravan using one of the granny squares out of issue 43 of Let's Get Crafting magazine.

 These little booties are for a friend for a Christening.  I used a Bernat pattern for the base of the booties then sort of did my own thing for the tops.

Finally I decided to have a go of some hexagons.  The pattern can be found here on Oneloopshort's blog.  It's super simple to make.  I'm hoping to do a few as and when I can then make up a blanket or such like.  I love the idea of little spots of colour surrounded by crisp, clean white borders :-)

Granny Square Cushion

 I bought a copy of Let's Get Crafting (issue 43) whilst we were on our hols and made the 1st granny square with the free wool provided with the magazine.

 When we returned home I decided instead of the lap blanket the magazine intended the squares for I would make a cushion cover for one of the cushions in our caravan.  I made 3 more squares, bordering them in white. I joined them together, doing a few rounds of white then blue then white again.

I was lucky enough to have plenty of white wool in my Stash and even more fortunate to have a blue which exactly matched the blue provided with the magazine.

I made a stripey buttoned down back for the cushion cover and voila! 

When I get chance I think I will make one of the other granny square designs into another cover for our caravan :-)

Small and Easy Nappy/Diaper Bag Tutorial

I thought it was about time I made a mini nappy bag for my handbag as I'm always stuffing a nappy, wipes and nappy sack into my bag then they always get in the way when I'm trying to get my purse out plus I wanted everything in one place.  This bag can also hold a small fold up changing pad.

I didn't use a fancy sewing machine to make this as you can see from the stitch selection!  I just did a single layer of fabric too - no lining as I wanted as little bulk as possible.

 I started off by cutting some pieces of fabric 30cm x 45cm, 10cm x 30cm and a pocket 14cm x 10cm.

 With the wrong sides facing sew the 2 long edges together.

 Now if you're sensible (unlike me) you can sew your little front pocket (for hold a few nappy sacks) onto the front now (picture for this a little further on) otherwise fold in half and sew down the side and along the bottom, leaving the top open.  Neaten the edges if you want to prevent fraying.

 I folded over the bottom corners and sewed across them about 2.5cm in to create a boxy shape to my bag.

 Turn over your top edge and tack in place against the seam then sew around to neaten it.  It saves having a raw edge just on the inside of your bag and looks a little neater.  It also makes a double layer for attaching press studs for keeping it closed.  Of course you could also use Velcro, poppers or leave a gap in the top of the bag and thread a cord through and drawstring the opening closed.  It's up to you!

 Now here I am attaching the front pocket, which would have been a whole lot easier if I'd done it before sewing the side and bottom seams!  I pressed the edges over before pinning it in place then sewed around, obviously leaving the top open.

And here's the finished bag!  It easily holds a couple of nappies, a small folding changing mat, a packet of wet wipes and of course a few nappy sacks in the pocket :-)

Ireland Bike Fest 2012

Just a few pictures from this year's Bike Fest.

We had typical bank holiday weather but braved the rain.

Loads of brilliant bikes to see and crowds of people meaning I was unable to get as many pictures as I would have liked.  Brilliant live music too added to the atmosphere!

All in all an enjoyable outing :-)

My Summer Bag

 I've been working on this bag for a few weeks now and I'm pleased to say it's finished and getting lots of use already!  I used the tutorial from Lucy at Attic24.

 I also used her pattern for the flowers - she has such lovely projects on her blog.

 Lining the bag was all my own doing.  I cut a circle of fabric just slightly bigger than the bottom of my bag then made a tube big enough to fit inside and sewed them together.  I decided it would be handy to make a phone pocket too.

I also decided to line the handles to stop them stretching with use.  I'm really pleased with the end result.  The weather in Ireland can be a bit iffy but at least my bright bag brings a bit of cheer no matter what :-)

A Little Bit of Bling...

I recently purchased a Rhinestone Setter Kit so I decided to add a bit of bling to some plain t-shirts of the girls.  I've never done anything like this before so I decided to try something simple.  It was a little tricky as the stones had a tendency to get stuck in the heating tool once the glue melted but I'm pleased with the results.  Even better they've survived the wash and all stones are still attached to the shirts.