CAL Part 6 - Nearly there !!

The Peackock Tail Bag CAL Part 6 was released this week and my bag now looks like a bag! Albeit without a handle/strap yet...

What do you think?? Not bad eh, even if I do say so myself.

Here's a close up of the double crochet band around the top. Very neat.

And the inside!! Did I mention I decided not to darn in the ends, just secure them? As the bag will be lined no-ones going to see them, so why bother??...

I made a little bag charm to go with it with beads I bought for goodness knows what but never used,

This shot shows how the front and back are joined. The pattern called for placing the 2 sides together right side out and working a row of double crochet through both layers. This would have formed a ridge along the join on the right side that I didn't fancy. So I put the 2 sides wrong side out before joining, so the ridge is on the inside and the outside is smooth.

And here are some more purely gratuitous photos!

I need to make the strap still - I've pretty well decided that I'll make a crocheted strap that will have fabric one side for strength. Just need to make it...

The final part next week will have details on how to make and attach the lining. I think I can work that out for myself and may well do a photo tutorial as I'll be adding pockets and a zip.

Am I getting on with that strap today?? No, of course not! I started another project.

I made this little bag a year ago and I've used it so much - it's perfect for a day out when all I need is my wallet, camera, phone and car keys.
I've often thought over the summer that it would be nice to work one in crochet using the purple cotton yarn leftover from my crochet bolero. Highlighted with variegated pink from the abandoned cardigan.

I drew round the bag on a piece of paper to use it as a pattern - crochet is brilliant like that. Just draw your shape and keep laying your work on it, and adjust the stitch height etc as you go.
This is what I've done I've got so far -

I have made a start on the other side - it's completely different, using freeform crochet. I've never tried that before but have plunged in to give it a try. Not sure quite how it's going to go but I do enjoy not having to follow a pattern - except a drawn shape that is!!

And I did a teeny bit of sewing too! We had some tiny embroidery scissors in at work in pastel colours and I thought maybe I could buy a pair to keep in my bargello project bag and make a little scissor keeper/needle rest for it. I used some of the scraps of flamingo fabric from the dress a girl dresses I made a couple of weeks ago, along with a scrap of aida and binca - they both have nice big holes, perfect for a darning/tapestry needle. (I only made one but it's double sided.)

  

 

I wonder what the girls at work will make of it tomorrow?? Til next time - T xx

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! And what a year it's been too...I hope next year will be better.

Having a quick read through of some of my favourite bloggers, they all seem to be doing annual round-ups of their year in blogland - and they've been blogging long enough to know that takes a bit of planning. So I won't do that.
I thought perhaps I'd simply say which are my 3 most read posts - that's easy to find as google kindly present me with a whole list of stats, and then my favourite photos.

The most read post is easy to find. It was back on July 12th and was a ta-dah moment, showing one of the little dresses I made for Dress a Girl Around the World. I think I'd sent an email to one of the organisers and mentioned that I'd been writing about it on my blog, and she kindly added a link to their site. So THIS POST has had 163 views so far - thankyou ladies!

The second most popular post from April 12th had 65 views  - Scissor keeper, pin cushion & pin box. Take my advice if you decide to make a pin box though - don't line it with felt. I don't think it actually worked as a lining...

Third up with 59 views is Mara's Sewing Kit also from April 12th. How and why it came to be made is a long story - go and read it and follow the links. Suffice to say that Mara is a teenage girl in the Philippines, who is sponsored by a friend and he was going to visit her. I had decided to make her a sewing kit and got a bit carried away... This post showed the finished kit that he took out with him.

My own favourite post though, was probably the photo tutorial I did for Mara's Needlecase. It was a joy to make and I truly hope it is giving Mara as much pleasure as it gave me to make it.

And now some photos. I've shared so many...here are just 4, in no particular order.

Right - I'm popping outside to watch the fireworks and listen to the fog horns. You can't have New Year without foghorns! I might even make a little video and share it tomorrow.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

PS No foghorns... and the streetlight right outside meant the video was rubbish. Ah well...

Mara's Sewing Kit

In case you haven't been following what I've been making and why, here's a quick recap.
One of my friend's sponsors a 12 year old girl called Mara, who lives in the Philippines. He's going to visit her very soon, through the company that organises the sponsorship - Compassion.
I wanted to make something for her and decided initially on a book cover. Then I made some little hearts, which was followed by a needle-case and then putting together a sewing kit.

This is the final stage - the sewing kit. I've bought all sorts of bits and bobs to go in it and quickly "out-grew" the little tin I bought for it. So I bought a second one. And filled it. Then I bought a third one. And filled it. The rest will have to just go in a little bag, I daren't buy another tin...

Here's the bulk of the bits and bobs I've collected - including a mini bar of chocolate, a bird brooch and some brooch pins.

I went through (some of) my fabrics and pulled out/cut some small pieces in an assortment of colours. I got carried away and ended up with a pile that Fills the extra tin I bought...Luckily, due to the decorating, a lot of my fabric was packed away, or I might have chosen enough for 3 or 4 tins!!

Hopefully, she and her friends can use it to make all sorts of things with it (all sorts, get it??) and who knows, maybe they'll be able to make things to sell and earn themselves a few pennies...

Wouldn't you just love to have a sweet little tin full of fabric to play with??

Hopefully, I've managed to fill these little tins with the right tools to make a really useful sewing kit for Mara.
Who knows, maybe she'll develope a love of crafting and designing like I did and will still have these tools into adulthood...

I've really enjoyed putting it together and making things for Mara. What am I going to do now?...

Scissor keeper, pin cushion & pin box

One of the blogs I read is Sandra of  Cherry Heart and just over a year ago she posted a lovely little crochet Boho Heart she had designed. (She has a lovely blog and it's well worth a look if you have time, with lots of pretty things she's made - some with a free tutorial and some with patterns for sale.)

I used Sandra's pattern to make myself a little padded scissor keeper. It's also very handy to use as mini pin cushion/needle holder when you're crocheting or sewing and constantly cutting off ends etc.

I simply followed Sandra's pattern and made 2 hearts, then crocheted them together with a little stuffing inside. I added a few beads as decoration and a crocheted loop to attach it to my scissors.

I thought it would be nice to make one for Mara to go with the little pink scissors I've bought - 

As soon as it was done I got cracking with the pin cushion. (The decorating is drawing to a conclusion so we were able to put the dining table up - hence the sewing machine came out to play for this one!!) I used the lovely floral fabric from the needle-case and the last scrap of lace from her book cover on one side, and that last teeny piece of pink gingham managed to sneak in on the other side. I had seen some lovely pink polka dot binding that had a little white picot edge and just had to buy some. However, it was very hard to attach and doesn't look brilliant. Had I thought through mitring the corners and joining the ends, I would never have used it... 

Those sweet little heart topped pins you can see in the picture needed an equally sweet little box to keep them in. I used an empty swan vesta match box, which I gave a couple of coats of pva glue to stiffen it nicely. Then it was covered on the outside with some pink patterned paper and the inside had a pink felt lining.

(It actually took ages to make but turned out well.)

(Update - Do NOT line your pin box with felt! Your pins will grab hold every time you try to put them in! Line with paper.)

Then I returned to the needle-case one last time. I had emailed a lot of the staff at work asking them to each donate a button or 2 to go in the sewing kit. Some of the buttons were so lovely that I stitched them into the needle-case. In the front I put an antique glass button from a 1950's dress. And in the back, several colourful buttons.

I think I've made everything I wanted to, so it's time I actually put together the complete sewing kit.

But that will get it's own post!