Show and Tell: Stripey Name Bunting

Show and Tell: Stripey Name Bunting

For ages now, like years even, I've been wanting to make my own fabric bunting. Ridiculous I know, considering what a beginner project this is! Now that I have a sewing machine, all my bunting dreams have come true! :D

I was able to sew this up in a matter of hours- from cutting to hanging. That is quite an achievement I have to say! 

I used a pattern for the size I wanted, you can find it here. The fabrics are from the remnants bin at Spotlight. I won't go into massive details about how I made my bunting, as I think most sewers have an idea and it's not that hard. So just quickly, my flags are double sided with a smaller piece of interfacing between; I used a zigzag stitch for everything including attaching the binding; and I used a glue gun to attach the wooden letters to the flags.

Something quick and fun to brighten up my little boy's bedroom and go with his new big boy bed. Sometimes the quickest, easiest crafts turn out to be the best!

Originally I was trying to find some black and white checkered fabric so I could go with more of the racing-car theme, but in the end, I think the blue and red colours look great. It's not over the top, blends in well with the rest of the decor, but is fun and bright at the same time.

Happy Making! 

Little Boy Blue Hat & Boots

Wow haven't these school holidays flown by?! I feel like I've been busier with activities than in term time! We've had play dates, story time to kindy, swimming, Chipmunks, family dinners, birthdays, the library, playing at the park.... I think that's enough for one almost 3 year old?? 

Stripey Crochet Granny Monkey Blanket + Pattern and Border Tutorial

As soon as I found out my brother-in-law and his wife were having a baby, I knew I wanted to make a blanket for the new addition. I was already working on the Crochet Baby Granny Blanket and also the Granny Square Scrap Blanket but I had a few ideas floating around in my head. I really liked the way that the Baby Granny Blanket turned out in the random stripes, so I was thinking about something along those lines but different colours. 

Finished Projects: Neutrals Crochet Baby Granny Blanket

I thought I would share with you a blanket I made as a gift for a friend who is having a baby. 

Completed Project: Granny Stripe Crochet Blanket

I am so proud of myself for persevering with this blanket and finishing it off (See previous post here about my failed attempts!) While it may not be perfect, it's still very usable and (I think) looks pretty great!

If you would like to have a go at this blanket, visit Maybe Matilda and check out the pattern here. The very BEST thing about this pattern is that there are step by step photos.  I don't know how many times I had to go back and refer to the pictures to see if I was doing it right. So helpful. I really don't think I would have attempted it without the pictures (so Rachel if you read this, here is one very grateful fan!)

Work in Progress: Granny Stripe Crochet Blanket

You might know they I have just started to teach myself crochet. I had my heart set on making a really cool crochet basket with this HUGE amount of t-shirt yarn (nearly did a bad yet apt typo then! ;) ) that I have had lying around (see here) but after literally a million tries, with several different patterns, I've put it on the back burner for now!
A blog I have started following for a while now, Maybe Matilda, posted a tutorial for this gorgeous baby blanket. And not only that, this tutorial has PHOTOS! The thing I can't quite get my head around yet is reading crochet patterns, so anything with photos or video, I am really into! 

However, even with this super easy tutorial, I am still foiled by crochet! I'm onto my third attempt now, having failed spectacularly with the first go:

I bought some smaller hooks for this attempt, but still failed...!

Although you can't really see, the edges were really going uneven and I couldn't continue with it being so crazy! 

This is where I'm currently at:

And already I'm a bit off track! I have no idea how one end it straight and the other seems to become uneven! (Actually I *think* it's because I made one mistake at the end of a row, I didn't think it would be a big deal, but turns out it is!) 

Hopefully as I go on I'll get the hang of it and end up with a nice even edge! I can't bear the thought of unpicking it a THIRD time when I like this version the best so far! 
Any tips??

How to: Make a T-Shirt Yarn Necklace

In my last post, I showed you a picture of a giant ball of stripy yarn. Just to refresh your memory, look below:

Would you believe I have TWO of these?? Each skein is approximately 200 metres! It's a stretchy type of fabric known as t-shirt yarn or "tarn". (You can google how to make t-shirt yarn and there are lots of intructionals about how to make it from old t-shirts. I'm more of a ready-made kind of girl!) 

I've been wanting to make SOMETHING with it for ages, but the only patterns and projects I've seen have been for crochet. So I decided to bite the bullet and teach myself to crochet, I didn't think it would be too hard, given I more or less taught myself to knit. I found this pattern for a fabulous chunky knit basket which I thought would be perfect for this type of yarn. Also, it is fairly large so I figured a I would use up most of the yarn. 

Finished projects....August: Hats

Thought I would update with some of those things that I started in August , and have now completed. I already posted about the baby booties, so have made just the 2 pairs of those. I have bought some gorgeous multi-coloured wool to use but now I love doing the hats so much I might use it for that instead!