Embroidered Eggs - No, really!!!!

No, this is not a late April fool.

Check out this Design Sponge tutorial for the ultimate Easter project.

Despite it's undoubted wonderfulness, with my limited free time this Easter holiday - I'll think I'll stick to chocolate eggs.

Tote-ally Tweet!

Yes, I should firstly apologise for the awful pun-tastic title...it won't happen again.
Moving swiftly on. A couple of weeks ago I reviewed Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts and this sweet little wren embroidery pattern is one of the many bird patterns from that book. I embroidered the design onto plain white linen (possibly the quickest embroidery project ever) and turned it into the focal point of this tote bag. I should say that I was lucky enough to work on the embroidery while sat next to a waterfall in Wales on a very warm day - so this piece will always have happy, sunny memories for me.
The side panels and handle fabric was chosen to match the embroidery thread I used (even though I chose the embroidery thread colour as it was the nearest to hand - must plan better in future). A tote bag is a great, quick project for smaller remnants (and is very eco-chic too). You can make a straightforward bag out of half a metre of fabric, or even patchwork much smaller pieces together to create a one off masterpiece. I didn't use a pattern for this tote (can you tell?), but if you would like one - this one from Skip to my Lou is great.
Don't forget as well as adding embroidery to your tote, you can print/paint your own designs, add buttons and ribbon or applique something fabulous on the front. Happy sewing xx

The Saturday Social - Embroidery Basics

Welcome to the Saturday Social (Designer Remnant's favourite tutorial from around the web).

This week we have found this fantastic online course from Mollie Johanson at Wild Olive. The photographs are beautiful and clear.

The course, so far (it is an ongoing course) has covered fabric and thread selection, what needles to use, basic stitches, transferring patterns and colour selection.

It has really helped with my latest project...

My Mexican day of the dead embroidery is coming along great guns (pattern is from Urban Threads where you can find the coolest hand embroidery patterns to download for $1 each).

So if you fancy giving embroidery a go, or you just need a refresher course - check out Embroidery Basics and you'll be embellishing every bit of fabric you own in no time at all.

Have a great Saturday!!

Sunday Book Review - Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts

Not a very catchy title for our 2nd Sunday book review book, but let's not judge a book by it's cover and take a look inside.

Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts has 150 (yes 150 - count them!) crafty projects. This book includes a CD packed with patterns and templates for you to print at home. I find this very handy and quite a bit easier than re-sizing patterns that are printed in some craft books (the books spine always gets in the way and messes up the pattern - ggggrh). 

The book includes a good "getting started" section which covers types of fabrics and threads and their uses, information for setting up a sewing area and some sewing organising tips. The book goes on to give advise on basic sewing techniques include hand sewing and machine sewing. There are also "technique" sections covering applique, embroidery, cross stitch, quilting and patchwork, dyeing, printing and bleaching.  

We then move into the "projects" (which is far and away the largest section of the book). Well, it is impressive and inspiring. I think there must be about 100 projects that I desperately want to start making NOW!!!

How about these...

I love a pretty pin cushion - don't you?

This is also on my "to do list"...

Silhouette tote bag - would be fab with your own silhouette (or you kids/loved one/dog's).

My current favourite has to be the "State Birds" embroidery templates (the patterns are included on the accompanying CD). There are 28 (some states chose the same "state bird" so only 28 are included).

These lovely embroidery patterns are definitely my next project.

All in all - I would highly recommend this book. A varied mix of projects from ideas to prettify your home to clothes to prettify you. There are so many good projects, this book should keep you crafting for a good long time.

The Saturday Social - Owl Sleep Mask by Kirsty Neale

We know!!!! Isn't it fabulous - We squeeeaaalled the first time we saw it too!

Today's Saturday Social project (our current favourite crafty tutorial from the wonderful world wide web) is this Owl Sleep Mask by Kirsty Neale at Ginger & George. Kirsty has generously written a tutorial for us to follow (thank you xxxxx).

We have following Kirsty's blog for a while and Deborah has also taken part in one of  The Copy and Paste Project's online courses (which is written and organised by Kirsty and the equally talented Julie Kirk - which Deborah said was super inspirational).

We are going to have a dig through our stash to find the perfect fabrics for this (there is a little piece of Liberty Tana Lawn in there somewhere that would be fab- but what to put with it? - hmmm).

We hope you enjoy this project - we would love to see your finished version.

Sprocket cushion - completed

I finally finished the Sprocket cushion - from the Saturday Social.

I really enjoyed choosing the colour combinations, which go really well with my living room and my sofa.

The project romped along very easily - until sewing the buttons on (which pulls the cushion in in the centre making it lovely and puffy). I like a very puffy pillow - but I may have over done it with the fibre fill. Cluck, Cluck Sew recommend using embroidery thread to sew the buttons on (as it is stronger than sewing thread), but even that was not up to the job on my cushion and kept breaking (arrrggh). I finally had to use upholstery thread and an extra, extra long needle, but we got there in the end - phew.

Hope those of you who had a go at this project enjoyed the process - we'd love to see your finished cushions!!

Sunday - Book Review

Happy Sunday - Especially all the Mums out there - as today is your day to be lavished with love and attention.
Haven't bought your mum a pressie yet? Well, you could do far worse than furnish her with Scandinavian Needlecraft by Clare Youngs which is the chosen title in this week's book review.

The book covers 35 sewing projects each with a Scandinavian feel. These projects include bags, clothes, slippers, Christmas crafts (never too early to start planning!), and home accessories.

First things first, the book looks beautiful. The photography is clear and uncluttered, nicely drawn instructions are included as are templates for you to resize and use yourself.

Some of the projects are simple - providing sewing instructions for the base item (think pillow slip, apron, table runner, Christmas stocking) and then instructions on how to beautify your creation the Scandinavian way - embroidery, bobbles, cutwork, applique.

The embellishment designs are lovely and would be easy to use in many other projects.

There are many projects in the book that I want to start making straight away - but this one especially caught my eye...

These reindeer are beautiful and I can't wait to have a go.

Also on my to do list are these...

and a couple of these egg cosies....

My 3 highlighted projects (and the front cover) all feature felt as the main fabric, and it would be one of my few criticisms of the book to say that it does seem to rely heavily on this material. But having said this, I am sure that we will be able to make strategic substitutions to use more variety from our existing fabric stash.

So are there any projects in the book I won't be making? - Very few, but these two are not on my must make list...

These are perfectly lovely ideas, but personally speaking, my life is too full for coat hanger covers and way too messy for chair covers that are thinner than hankerchiefs. So these, I will pass on - thanks anyway.

A couple more projects that I am very keen to try out...

Mittens with the lesser spotted no loss string - hooray!!!

The most darling baby booties ever.

Definately a book full of ideas and inspiration and if you don't buy it for your mum - don't you think you deserve a present yourself?

Introducing - "The Saturday Social"

This is the very 1st "Saturday Social" post. Each and every Saturday we will post our favourite sewing tutorial from elsewhere on the web.

On this, our inaugural week, we have got a belter of a project for you. This stash busting cushion from the ever inspiring Cluck Cluck Sew is presented in clear, beautiful photographs. Deborah is going to make one of these this afternoon and will post photographic evidence upon completion  (if it is worthy - no pressure!)

P.S: the name "Saturday Social" was taken from our favourite (now sadly departed) radio programme on BBC radio wales - we miss you Saturday Social.

Owl #2

"Chipper" - the heavyweight owl 

This is as, promised, the door-stop version of the cute owl that I posted earlier this week. Want to have a go yourself? I made both my owls from a slightly tweaked version of these beautiful instructions from Moonstitches

You only require a small amount of three fabrics (so this project won't eat into your fabric stash too much). You'll also need some embroidery thread/floss/silk, some cardboard, 2 buttons and some stuffing ( for this door-stop I used a combination of polyester wadding (from an old clumped pillow that needed throwing out - I teased out the clumpy wadding so that it didn't make my owl lumpy - how's that for recycling?)
and dried beans (well beyond their best before date, so more "greeny" points for me).

Both the standard version and the door-stop version were super quick to sew, so you could easily fit this project into an laid back crafting hour - happy days!

The dog with 3 names...

Meet "Jasper" - "Tobermory" - "Forever Lewis" - The dog with 3 names. When he was barely a puppy he was christened "Jasper" (a cheeky little chap with a penchant for practical jokes and japes of all kinds). By the time he was a little older (and slightly wiser) he had disowned his parents, rejected the name "Jasper" which he said reminded him of Jaffa cakes (which he can't stand) and taken on the mantle "Tobermory". "Tobermory" still liked to make the occasional prank telephone call and the neighbours complained that he was still knocking on their door and legging it before they could answer (what a card!). Now he is fully grown he has put aside childish things (the yo-yos and Scalextric are gathering dust in the attic) and he has settled on his forever name of "Lewis" so we fondly refer to him as "Forever Lewis" as we knock on his door and run away before he can answer.

A remnant scotty dog - "Forever Lewis" was made from a small remnant - 50cm by 120 cm of textured damask with a lovely bit of floral linen for his heart ("Forever Lewis" wears his heart on his belly not on his sleeve). He has a bit of a pink eye (but we are planning on getting him some eye drops for that) and the ensemble is completed with a tartan bow set at a jaunty angle - what a fashionista.