Market and make its...

Where does the time go? I keep planning to do a new post, then get caught up making listings or liking some great shops on Facebook... That's not to say I spend all day on the laptop- nooo! I do get a little bit of work done too!

I'm halfway through a selection of items in my collaged textiles so I thought I'd show you my process... As I've mentioned before I make each piece on a 12 x 14" base, so once it's used up, that's it- totally unique and utterly limited. 

It takes a good few hours to cut and layer scraps of fabrics, plastics, punchinella, wool, or whatever feels right, and interweave it with embroidery and machining in different stitches and colours. Once it's finished the hardest thing is to decide what to use it for... if  I'm planning a backpack I need to take that first because it takes most of the piece, from there I choose items according to what I can squeeze out of it.. a needlecase, pincushion, and if there's any left, maybe a dongle cover or keyring...

I spent yesterday at the Dover Bluebird Market, and as usual I took along some pieces to work on, all cut, prepped and ribbons, buttons and pages chosen.

Here's what I  managed to get done...

 

So here they are,2 new needlecases, 7 keyrings and a pincushion...  2 more cases to go, sew in the pages and they'll be ready. Next I have to finish  a waistcoat... watch this space!

PYRAMIDS IN MY STUDIO...

Continuing on from mum's pressies, I got out some denim that I'd had kicking around and set about creating a few pincushions for Etsy. I wanted something original but useful, so I tried a cube, but felt it was too ordinary and bulky, and the pockets just didn't seem right... so I played with some other shapes and finally settled on a pyramid.

The pyramid gives me a chance to add a pocket using my collaged textiles which match the needlecases on one side, a ribbon on another to keep scissors, and a 3rd side for pins, needles etc. I get to decorate each side in a different way, but still keeping in style and colour. Each has a loop for carrying- you know how you always end up carrying too much at once when setting up for a project! I finish with one of my cute multi-coloured crocheted flowers.

Here's a few completed, they are so sweet I'm going to have to make one for myself, probably in the purple textile I collaged at the weekend while hiding from my kitchen ceiling! (Long messy story...)

Yellow, I keep set colours of textile in stock, but take orders for special combos

Each side in detail- ribbon strap, pin-side and textile pocket

 I shall be making more with the denim- I usually use coloured hessian, but I like the contrast! I feel some sewing sets coming on for Christmas- perfect gifts for crafty friends and relatives. I'm also going to start taking orders for personalised colours and detailing, adding an embroidered name to the ribbon, so if you're stuck for ideas then shoot over to Etsy and email me with your requirements... 

Needlecase sewing set, mum's birthday pressie...

I'm sure I'm not the only one with this problem- what do you give  your mum when they can buy what they want themselves, and spent many years teaching dressmaking so expects perfection?

I'm trying to get her back into sewing now she's retired, so eventually I decided to make a couple of things that might inspire her to get the machine out again- a needlecase and a wrist pincushion. I usually use bright colours and funky patterns- but that's not mum, so I had to raid my stash...

I've added a step by step tutorial over in the how-to textiles section, pop over and have a go- they're really quick and fun to make- honest!!

 

I used a remnant of sea striped canvas, some felt for the pages and a few of my crocheted flowers. Needless to say I made one of my gift bags  to present them in, and huge sighs of relief when mum really liked them, and has agreed to make my daughter a hunting jacket to christen them- hooray!! 

Having seen her old tattered pincushion I spent this morning making a replacement ball pincushion in matching fabrics... hope she likes it too.

Fabric fun... pincushions, needlecases and flowers...

This week's  art-time has pretty much been taken up with fabrics and fibres. I've had several things I needed to replace for quite some time... eg, a pincushion, a new needle book, a case for my crochet needles... many of which I've had for faaaaaaar too long and are long past their youthful sturdiness.

I found some nice fabrics a while back and decided to use some of that, especially as I can use 3 patterns. The ball I made is so easy- it's an adaption of a baby soft toy. I cut 12 ovals each in 3 fabrics... this should be about 2 inches long, 1 inch wide, but you can make larger or smaller... smaller is seriously cute!!

Here's the finished pincushion...

As you can see it's very simple to create. Sew 3 pieces together and stuff to make a segment. (I added 1/8th inch to the template because I was using a machine and turning them out, but you can oversew if the material allows)

Then sew 4 segments together at one end, twice. The remaining 4 segments are sewn to each available end to create the waist of the ball. I finished it off with buttons and ribbon.

This can be made in one fabric, but I like to vary what I use- both in patterns and material...

As I was in a wool and crochet cycle I spent some time making flowers and hearts... these are cute little things that I hadn't made for a long while and was reminded of by a friend...

I keep all my wool ends just for such projects....

simple crocheted roses

crocheted lilies

sweet frilly hearts

fun combo....

As I'm gradually posting a number of creations that need a pattern of some description I shall create a pattern section soon and add them all there, so if you fancy trying something yourself the details will be available.

Here's a pic of the felted crocet hook case