All Stops

Well I've certainly pulled out all the stops this Christmas! You see my mother in law has been using bricks covered in wrapping paper as her door stops for years. She's knows I have always been creative and into making 'stuff' but it was usually limited to either design and print, drawing or cutting and pasting. Now that I have added sewing into the repertoire of things I do, my MIL made mention that some 'proper' door stops might be a good idea....
Well I say not a good idea, but a great idea as I loved making these 3 little guys (Sorry gals, but I think they should be guys as they remind me of little soldiers on guard the doorway!) After a flick around the big wide web world, a quick sketch of how I wanted my doorstops to look and some advice from my wonderful sewing teacher, I created my first ever pattern from scratch and my new project was underway. I am delighted with the finished product, they will be a great little Chirstmas gift for my MIL and I will definitely be making more of these. I think I may have to do a little more research into the filling as it needs to be something that is weighty and doesn't attract any weevils, mice etc. I've used wheat in this first batch as it was really cost effective and I know it's used in wheat bags that often lie around the house, so I think these will be my test dummies and fingers crossed they don't attract and furry or crittery friends!

Little matching loopy handles - my fav part!

In position and on guard

One Stitch Forward & A Whole Cotton Reel Back

I seem to have hit a wall with my cushions... This week I've spent a number of hours unpicking, re-sewing and unpicking cushions and leaving cotton crumbs everywhere! It drives me crazy when I spend time trying to be productive and it feels like hours wasted! I don't know if I'm being super pedantic or if I just need to try harder, I mentioned in one of my previous posts the first cushion I sewed from this tutorial seemed pretty easy and I was happy with the outcome. Since taking sewing lessons, I have been shown the 'proper' way to make cushions. Now I know I might be starting to sound like a broken record with the whole zipper technique thing, but I just don't know which way to move forward.

Do I:
1. Go back to sewing cushions the way I did in the first place with 2 visible stitch lines around the zip?
2. Persist and hope that I can master the single visible stitch technique with a super neat finish and no fabric bunching up at the end?

Or maybe the question I should be asking is, if I was to sell these down the track, so long as they are sewn together really well and super neat, would anyone even care if they had 1 or 2 visible stitches around the zipper and is there in fact a 'proper way'?

Zipper 1, Zipper 2 - what do I do?

DIY Miniature Nappies

I know I'm starting to sound like the weekly weather station, but what on earth is going on at the moment! It is the middle of October, we've got fluffy little ducklings swimming around the pool which would indicate it's spring, but this weekend we've had to roll the heater back out and light the fire as it's been absolutely freezing with bucket loads of rain. No forecast predictions from me for this coming week, I think we'll just have to wait and see what weatherland has install for us and be sure to be armed with wooleys and a brolly at all times!

Onto craftier fun things and baby stations..... Today we're hosting a baby shower for my sister in law and I have been placed in charge of invitations, games and all things pretty -  all the things I love! Until last week I hadn't actually been to a baby shower, so luckily I was able to pick up some cute ideas. Amongst making and sewing some more cushions this week - I have quite a collection of cushion covers now and my zips are getting really good, I'll be sure to post some of the latest cushion action soon. I have made 20 miniature nappy broaches for one of the games we will be playing today. Last week my friend had ordered some pink ones online, they were ohh so cute but a little pricey. I figure as I am very much a DIY gal, I'd give these a whirl and after a few hours of cutting out felt, making a mess with glue and some hand stitches for reinforcement they're all ready for the games to begin!

A touch of lemon to keep in theme!

p.s. If you happen to be hosting a baby shower and want some tips and hints on how to make some of these super easy mini nappies, just drop me a comment and I will post some details.