Mini Quilt Make Number 4...361 to go

I have been wanting to have a go at quilting for ages, so I bought a cheap set of random quilting squares off Ebay and this weekend have had a go at making a little quilt.

It was a bit tricky to start with but for a first attempt I think its ok. The colours and designs of the little squares aren't my choice I decided not to pay for expensive quilt squares and till I had mastered the art! The only bit I have had trouble with is figuring out how to get bias binding around the edge, think I may have to ask my nan for a bit of assistance with this as I just can't seem to get it to work.

Super Cute Sock Dog

As I seem to have lost my cardmaking mojo I decided to use my free time after work today to finish making my sock dog.

I had such great fun making the sock dog, its so easy to do and I have seen lots of different patterns out there to make other animals not just dogs, variation can also be achieved by using different patterns of socks. I plan to start making lots of different animals with socks and cant wait to get started on those. Hopefully they will be a bit neater then my dog here which I have decided to call patch as the sewing is a little bit patchy to say the least!

Overall though I loved making Patch and think he is super cute!! I have now got him sat on my chest of draws by me bed :)

Doodle Stitching Practice Project

So as I mentioned in my previous post I have been practicing my hand embroidery skills by sewing some of the doodle stitching designs on to a pillow case.

I have managed to use a number of stitches so far, see if you can spot them in the pictures.

• Running Stitch 
• Straight Stitch 
• Cross Stitch
• Back Stitch 
• Split Stitch
• Long and Short Stitch 

I have stitched a space scene and a under the sea scene. I think I am most happy with the little mermaid as I think the use of the split stitch here is really effective.

I found the stars on the space design almost impossible to sew, so they look pretty rubbish. I am going to try and watch some online videos to see how other people sew hand embroidered stars on before I attempt them again.

As you can see I have only covered a small section of the pillow so plenty more space to practice on. I will post again when I have filled some more of the pillow up.

P.S sorry about the quality of the photos they were taken on my phone, hopefully should have the camera back soon.

Doodle Stitching

I haven't managed to post as much as I would like this week as I am camera-less, I have lent it to a friend and haven't had the chance to pop and collect it. I didn't want to post any of the stuff I have been crafting on without some pictures. I still haven't got the camera back but am going to post with some photos from my phone which luckily takes fairly good snaps.

So yes anyways that why there haven't been many posts this week. I recently after seeing a review/project on  http://itsallfiddlefart.blogspot.com/ purchased this doodle stitching book.

It's a fab book not just for the projects but the second section of the book is full of little doodle designs varying from under the sea designs to trees, flowers, florals and patterns as well as many more. Not only are the designs included in the back of the book but there is a handy CD rom which means that the images can be manipulated to make them any size for any project.

So far I have just been using the designs directly from the book and tracing them on to a cheap pillow case I got from wilko in order to practice my embroidery skills before I embark on a full project. I will be posting later today with some photos of that project and how its going. I definitely recommend purchasing this book and giving hand embroidery a go, it has been thoroughly enjoying and absorbing. 

Learning to Knit

Tonight I have been trying to learn to knit, I think my grandma tried to teach me when I was little but I never got the hang of it. Im hoping now that I am a lot older I will be able to master it.

I have been looking around in Hobbycraft for a starter kit for knitting aimed at beginners but haven't been able to find anything suitable. I was in Tesco earlier and spotted the Knit and Crochet magazine which comes with a starter set of needles for knitting and a crochet hook as well as six yarns of wool. I decided to give it a go. There are lots of little projects included in the magazine which look really fun, but first I need to master the basics (casting on, the knit stitch, the purl stitch and casting off)

Thats the task for the next few hours so I plan to blog again later on and let everyone know how I have got on. Fingers crossed or should that be needles crossed!