In the Making...

During the Easter break, we went to Scarborough for the day and I always have to make a stop at the Scarborough Sewing Centre . It’s a hidden treasure trove.  The shop is packed to the ceiling with bolts and they are very reasonably priced. I’d seen these Lap Duvets by Purl Bee and thought that it would be a fun and easy project to do. I’m often attracted to large print patterns for fabric but I don’t like the effect of them within patchwork; so this would be an ideal project to try out something different. I picked two large print fabrics that caught my eye; I did spend quite some time looking at everything and thankfully Mr. has a lot of patience. I wanted to try a different wadding too; something a little more luxurious. I bought the Dream Orient Wadding from Cotton Patch . It’s a mix of bamboo, silk, tencel and cotton. It has a lovely drape to it. It didn’t take long at all to make and now I have a pretty lap duvet to snuggle up in (and the walls have ...

I’ve been a dedicated user of circular knitting needles since I first started knitting. I work everything on circulars, including plain straight knitting. Recently, I’ve found myself working on little samples in different size needles and I was being slowed down by changing the tops. So I bought myself some Karbonz Straight Needles to add to the ever growing collection. As I’ve exclusively worked with circular needles, I found that I didn’t have a home to put these new straights. After some stash diving later, I came up with a combination of fabrics that I liked and worked out how to make a needle roll from them. The outer fabric is a beautiful Japanese style fabric and I’ve lined it with fusible fleece to give it extra body. The lining is a combination of fabrics and I have used iron on interfacing for the lining too. This double layer of interfacing will hopefully give my needles all the protection they need. The binding and the ribbon is from my the collection of fabric tha...

Recently, I was asked to help out with a project. This wonderful blanket (designed by Debbie Abrahams from her book, Blanket and Throws to Knit ) was knitted by Ann. I was asked to piece it together and back it. The finished blanket is being used to raise money for When you Wish Upon a Star. The yarn was donated by A Good Yarn and the fabric and cotton by L & C Fabrics . I thought I’d show you how I went about backing the blanket, I went about it as I would a quilt. Though, I decided tying would be the best way of layering it together, as traditional quilting would be difficult on a knitted fabric. 1. Block the blanket. I pinned it out and spritzed it. Normally, I would wet block, but I was concerned that the red may bleed and it would take some time to dry too. 2. My blanket was too large for a standard width so I pieced the backing. The backing should be a few inches larger than the knitted blanket. Place it right side down on the floor. I then tape it down o...

I had a little treat last week. I’ve been so overly excited about it, that it verges on the ridiculous – so I thought I’d share it with you. I bought a beautiful new bag for my knitting needles – a KnitPro Thames Bag . I bought mine from A Good Yarn and if they’re not in stock, then they can be ordered in for you (I ordered mine). They’re available in black, yellow, red, purple and blue. I bought the blue one and I’m really glad I did. It’s a beautiful blue – almost verging on purple and the velour material on the inside is such a rich colour. I do take my needles out with me to knit and natter quite often. I had one of the fabric KnitPro cases for quite awhile and it did the job, but if the case was upside down, then sometimes the needles fell out and the soft fabric didn’t quite feel like enough protection. I kept a few fixed circulars in one of the pockets too, which was a bit cramped for them; so I’ve been on the look out for something that fit the bill better. The Th...

That fabric, from last week, must have been calling my name, because it didn't sit there long before it was transformed into a cushion. I felt that the blue one (on the left) didn't want to be cut up too small, otherwise the pattern would be lost. This really did limit my options. In the end I went for a very simple stripe pattern and put the work into the free motion quilting to bring out the shapes. This was the pre quilted panel, basted and ready to go. It did take some fussy cutting to try and get those panels to be lined up perfectly (if you don't look too close, they look the same!) I was inordinately pleased with the zip. It's the first zip that I've been happy with and sadly, what I keep showing people who come to the house. Not look at my new Downton Abbey cushion, but look at this zip!! I found it hard to photograph the zip and I'm sure it's not up to the standards of most sewers; but I was pleased with it. The fr...

I had a little retail therapy the other weekend. There was quite a lot of fabric bought. This was the haul! The rippled one really did remind me of the Old Shale stitch pattern ( what most people erroneously call Feather and Fan ). Though Mr says it makes his eyes funny, so it won't be used for cushion as I'd intended. These two were from Andover Fabrics' Downton Abbey range. And the charm pack is one I've been on the look out for - Road 15 by Moda . My patchwork cushions in the lounge have been very well loved and could do with replacing so hopefully these fabrics will step up and take their place. I learnt a new crochet stitch that same weekend. Its modern name seems to be Diagonal Box Stitch - a rather uninspiring name. It was fun to do. Michele from Yarn Aloud taught us how to do it. There were a few examples about and I liked the look of it in a finer yarn.  So after some stash rummaging later, I came up with a ball...