A mixed day

Sunday was a day of bits and pieces,  I knitted while the grand prix was on, then did a bit of sewing before going back to the knitting.

 In one of the recent Mollie Makes magazine, there was a cover kit to make a purse.  I thought, these or something similar would make good gifts, so I finally gave it a go.

The kit had two different fabrics for the back and front, so it looks like two different purses.  It was a bit fiddly, but for a first effort, didn't turn out too bad.  I shall see if I can find some fittings, and make some more.

 Once I'd done that, it was back to my buttons.  This is my ball button, and I love how they turn out.  I can see using these on future projects

There are a few more buttons to make to finish the class, and I'm hoping to get a start on those today.

A New Wallet

I can't say I've been very impressed with a lot of the projects in Mollie Makes, but one in the current issue did take my fancy.  After my wonderful son decided to leave his bag, complete with wallet in a taxi,  and wasn't able to find it, a new wallet was soon top of the needed list.  Out came all my black fabric.  I didn't have much, but there was just enough to make this.

 There are four pocket on the inside to hold all his cards and a button to keep it done up/

Next time, I'll make the button loop longer, to make fastening easier, and I think some pretty ones might be in the making too.

This month's Rainbow Scrap Challenge is black, and, at the moment,  I think this may be my sole contribution.  I'm not sure what I can do with the little bits I have left.

Josie's Garden

This is probably only the second project from Mollie Makes that I really enjoyed doing, this is much more my type of thing.

I used DMC pearl cotton size 8 for the stitching and used a variety of stitches-running stitch for the border, back stitch outlines, long and short stitch, straight stitch, satin stitch, couching for some of the stems, french knots, whipped running stitch, and spider stitch.

Not exactly sure what I will be doing with this, but at the moment, I'm thinking of a wall hanging.

Meet Wan

This is another one of the little creatures featured in the Mollie Makes magazine.  He's only about three inches in size, so you can imagine how fiddly some of the pieces were.

There were a whole collection of little friends, but I've decided, this is the only one for me.  I enjoyed making the larger ones, but the small ones are just not for me.  I am glad I gave it a go, but now on to something else.

Foxy Lady

 This was another fun project from Mollie Makes.  Once all the pieces are cut, it doesn't take long to get these put together.  If enlarged, this would make a great cushion.

As I still have some felt left, I may have a go at making the set of little animals that come later in the magazine.   I know some little people who love these.

Strawberry Pincushions

I saw these pincushions in one of the Mollie Makes magazines, and as I like pincushions, I really wanted to give it a try.  I wasn't too sure if I would be able to get the emery powder for inside, but after an Internet search, and a phone call to a very pleasant lady, I soon had a bag of emery powder in my possession.

Although the size make these fiddly to do, they are very simple to make, and didn't take long at all.  A five inch square of fabric gave me two pincushions.  I have lots more emery sand, so there could be some more of these in the future.

Not always a success

Not everything I try turns out the way it should.  This felt flower was the free kit from the second issue of Mollie Makes.  There were minimal instructions, but I didn't really like how it turned out.

It's definitely not wasted, I've tried it, didn't like it, but it's is hanging from the handle on my cupboard.

 Much more successful, was my hunt for buttons. I tried a stall in the Sheffield Markets I've not used before, and found a very helpful lady who picked out some lovely buttons to try.  It will be worth going back, just for the service, and now the cardigan and baby jacket are completely finished. 



Now, I think I am off to do something I know I will be happy with and enjoy at the same time.

Another Magazine Kit

Karen introduced me to the new magazine, Mollie Makes, after over enthusiastically buying the first issue.  I helped her out by taking one of the extra copies.  Each copy comes with a cover kit, and I didn't want it to go to waste, so here's the first one made up.



There was a glitch with this one, the white felt had been left out of the the package, so I had to wait until my kind son bought me some home last week.  Having all I needed, it was a pleasant hour, hand sewing every thing into place.

I used running stitch around all the pieces and blanket stitch for the outer edge.  All I need now is an ipod to go inside!

This project reminded me how much fun it was to use felt, no fraying edges, and relaxing hand stitching to get a very pleasant end result.  I'll have to see what other felt projects I can find to do.