Anything Goes - part 2

My second project for this week's Charisma Cardz 'Anything Goes' blog challenge is my most recent bunch of hand sewn hair clips, made from felt scraps left over from the batch of whimsy dolls I made last Christmas. I really love these and have to actually put my little basket of scraps away otherwise I would continue making them until our house is overrun with hair clips! Atleast my daughter and I have long hair, so can make use of them! Sewing them by hand is really theraputic and I enjoy the fact that they are made with such tiny scraps that would otherwise be thrown away.

Anything Goes

As you will know by now, I am hooked on Blog Challenges. I am still relatively new to them, but love them all the same. Some challenges have prizes, others do not. Sometimes entries are judged on skill, artistic/crafty talent etc. and some blogs use random selection to choose winners. I just love the fun of entering whatever the outcome.

This week's challenge over at Charisma Cardz is 'Anything Goes' and they really do mean anything! Not just papercraft projects, but anything crafty! I love lots of different crafts and always have several projects on the go. This week's challenge gives me an excuse to post piccies of 3 of my finished projects, one knitted, one sewn and, for good measure, a scrap layout including a sketch (that is, a pencil drawing as opposed to the meaning of 'sketch' as a diagram for a design layout). In order to enter them all into the challenge, each project must be posted separately, so I will give each it's own little bit of bloggy space.

The knitted project, as you can see, is a sweet little pair of baby shoes knitted in bamboo yarn from Rowan, modelled by my son at 2 days old! I love making them and have made many, many pairs for all of my children and for friends too. I love this pair, because of their simplicity. I have made far fancier pairs, with cabling and so on, but I actually love the garter stitch side out, with the smooth stocking stitch inwards for the baby's comfort.

In Stitches

Sometimes it is good to send people a card as a way of letting them know that they are in your thoughts. More personal than the usual text or email. Certainly nicer through your letterbox than a credit card bill or road tax reminder!

I came across some old photos recently and I thought I would send a copy to a friend to remind her of old times and to let her know she is in my thoughts. Rather than just emailing them or posting them on their own, I have made a card which will help them to stay uncreased in the post.

This week's Charisma Cardz challenge has the theme of 'In Stitches', which can be real or faux and I am a fan of both. My card has real zig zag stitching across the paper to highlight the 'remember' sentiment, but I chose to make it quite random-looking to fit the style of the distressed paper. I also sewed the purple button onto the ribbon bow rather than just glueing it. I scrunched some damp felt and left it to dry overnight to wrinkle it before hand-cutting rough circles to make a couple of pink flowers. I stitched a pearly button on to the centre to hold the layers together as felt is a bit tricky to glue.

One of My Favourite Things

I love bags, but in recent years, I have moved away from leather and leather-styles to softer fabric bags. Maybe it is because they tend to be larger and I am generally carrying a ton of baby stuff with me whenever I leave the house, but I think it is most probably because I just love fabrics.

I love making bags and have tried all sorts of patterns and designs of my own, but for a quick and easy handmade gift, I keep coming back to the simple, chuck it all in, bucket-style bag.

As I have been thinking about making myself a new bag, I thought I would share a few snaps of some of the large bucket bags I have made recently. I have used some gorgeous cotton prints (Michael Miller, Cath Kidston, Amy Butler, Moda included), usually using a contrasting lining, also of 100% cotton. If I am using the lighter weight cottons, such as gorgeous quilting fabrics or lovely Liberty lawn prints, I always make sure I have strengthened the bag with a heavy duty interlining. If using cotton duck or similar, such as the Cath Kidston range, I generally just use an equal quality lining, but always double stitch the seams.

Another bag I like to make is the messenger-style, also from 100% cotton. Now that I am using a wheelchair, having an open topped bag is not really great as far as security is concerned. My bag has to go on the back of my chair, so I need to have a flap or fastening to make sure no-one can easily dip their hand in the bag. A wide velcro fastening is a good idea, as it is noisy to open and would get my attention. Perhaps I could just put some of my collection of jingle bells inside the flap, in the same way cat owners attach bells to the little kitties' collars to warn off neighbourhood birdies! An adjustable strap is useful so that it is long enough to go diagonally over my body, but can be shortened when hanging on the handles of the chair. I think I will make a co-ordinating set of one large bag for the back of my chair to hold todller and family essentials (juice, nappies, kitchen sink etc) and a smaller one to wear across my shoulder whilst sitting in the chair. This keeps my hands free to push the wheels, but still means that my phone, purse and medication are within easy reach and are kept safe. My wheelchair is black and grey, so I think muted tones will work best (if I have to use a wheelchair for now, I may atleast be co-ordinated!). I have some black denim and some black and white polka dots fabric. I think a couple of fabric roses made from grey zips and a little felt, a few buttons and some ribbon ties will finish the look. I have just bought myself a new black winter coat. I think I might have to make some matching zipper roses as a brooch for the coat too. A girl can never have too many accessories!