For Mom

My mom is not a sewer or crafter or even a teeny bit artsy at all. So when it comes to anything like that, she runs to me with her requests. She often asks for some thread and a needle to hem a pair of pants or sew on a button. She knows I have an endless supply of such stuff. Well I decided to make things easier and I’m going to give her her own convenient sewing jar for Mother’s Day. I have seen so many tutorials for these, but I especially love this one with it’s pin-cushion lid from Creative Ramblings:

So I bought a jar, and I found some cute sewing supplies at our local Hypermarket – in little tins! I bought a tape measure in a cute little round tin, a tin of buttons, and a tin filled with pearl-head pins. I added a book of needles, 4 different coloured spools of thread and a small pair of needlework scissors.

I found this cute sewing label at The Graphics Fairy :

I edited it in Photoshop into a label for my jar complete with a little quote:

I am going to hang this matching card off the gift too:

And just for fun I made three other ‘vintagey’ tags which you can use for any occasion:

You are most welcome to download these free printables.

Simply click on each one for a larger image, then right click and save.

(The butterfly & bird are also from The Graphics Fairy)

Have a wonderful Mother’s Day tomorrow!

Today’s Tutorial : Crazy colourful crochet circles

Here’s a sneak peek of a project I’m busy with at the moment. In fact every moment when I sit still, I keep my hands busy with this.

I am crocheting loads of these colourful circles which will ultimately be sewn onto a long cushion for my daughter’s bed.

Now by “long”, I mean long- think the width of a Queen-size bed and then the height of a standard pillow.

I got the idea when we saw one in a shop recently, but it was simply too expensive - especially since I could make it! I’ll be making the cushion up in a lovely natural fabric- almost the colour of burlap (hessian) – perhaps a little lighter. I think it will look gorgeous with all those colours.

I’m almost done with all the crochet circles, and just as soon as I’ve finished straightening out my pigsty studio and found got out my sewing machine, then I’ll whip up the cushion. My daughter is hoping it’s before she changes her mind again on her decor scheme! - Remember the “orange” decor ?– well that’s evolving (thankfully) into a more pleasing  natural look finished off with these crocheted circles. Note- there is still splashes of orange in the circles –LOL!

After many a trial and error, I have finally figured out how to make these circles – (You’ll see some of mine aren’t ‘perfect’ – those are my trial and error ones which were kept anyway!! LOL). believe me, after you’ve made this many, you eventually figure it out!

If you would like to make these – here’s a tutorial how to crochet them :

(My first tutorial on crochet – so please forgive me if it’s not very clear- please ask questions if you need to!

If you click on any of the highlighted words, you’ll be redirected to a tutorial on how to do that particular stitch.

NOTE: In South Africa and the UK, we use the term Double Crochet instead of Single Crochet (US term). For the purpose of this tutorial, I’m going to refer to DC as SC – it’s easier as the tutorial I have found for you on the stitches refer to DC as SC. {hope that makes sense!}

I used a 4mm hook with Double knit yarn. (I think it was double knit- I’m no expert!-it’s just plain old ordinary wool – the thicker your yarn, the bigger your project will turn out.)

1. Crochet 6 chains.
2. Join into the first chain with a slipstitch to form a circle. Chain 1.
3. Crochet using SC into the ring as many times as you can. (Probably around 6-8). Join the circle with a slip stitch.
4. Chain 1.
5. Crochet into each chain twice using single crochet (This is how you increase stitches).
6. Join the circle again with a slipstitch into the first SC.
7. Add a new colour in. Chain 1.
8. Continue the next round with SC, but SC twice into every second chain. (First Row)This will ensure that your circle lies flat and does not curl up.
9. The next round, only increase into every 3rd stitch.
10. The round after that, increase into every 4th stitch –and so forth.
11. keep going until the circle is the size you would like. I have varied the sizes of my circles slightly and for further variation, here and there I’ve thrown in a row of DC (Treble – UK and RSA).

Remember : Join circle at the end of each round with a slipstitch and start each new round by chaining 1.

** NOTE : If there are too few or too many increases in a round, your circle will not lie flat. If it curls in, you have too few increases, if it buckles and gets wavy, you have too many increases.

There’s a really simple way to make an adjustable magic circle to start with – the circle is so much easier to control, especially in other projects when you need to add lots of stitches into a tiny centre circle. Watch the following video to see how:

Here is a video I just found (after writing this entire tutorial –LOL) which explains really well how to make a “magic circle” and how to do the slipstitch at the end of each round to join the circle. It also explains exactly how and where to increase each round. Easy Peasy! Go take a look – you will be able to learn exactly how to do this without having to read instructions!

What I love best about these circles is just when I start getting bored with my circle, it’s time to end it off and start a new one. LOL- Not much patience here ! Have fun!

Sew cute blouse to make!

Spring is here! We haven’t quite packed away the winter woolies yet as there is always a chance of one of those pesky cold fronts moving up-country from the Cape. Heck, we’ve even had one in November! But oh boy it is good to be smelling jasmine & lavender and seeing a haze of bright Spring green everywhere outside and of course, being able to wear lighter and brighter summery clothes.
Today I discovered this really cute blouse pattern and just had to share as it is super-easy! Once you’ve purchased the pattern, it’s a case of downloading it and then reading the easy-to-follow instructions.
There is no actual pattern to print or cut out, you simply follow the measuring instructions and cut directly on the fabric and voilà! The blouse is called the “Amelia shirt” and is by Frogs Legs and Ponytails (love the name!)
Another great thing about this pattern is that you cam make it to fit any size. Make it for yourself, your daughter, or even a doll!
I love that tie at the neckline. It has arguably a little Anthropologie feel to it. (I love Anthropologie and we don’t even have shops here in this country {sob!!} I fell in love with it on our London trip in June and I am smitten! –Please if any Anthropologie marketers read this- please send a couple of stores out here to South Africa! LOL!)
So getting back to the Amelia blouse… If you also want this fab pattern, click on the picture and it’ll take you straight to the website…

Speaking of the website, there are so many gorgeous projects to tackle over at “You can Make This” that it’s worth staying a while and browsing. There’s even a “free’ section with loads of quick things to make.
I’m off to find some cute fabric to make this blouse and I’ll share a pic as soon as it’s done.
Have a great weekend, and also pop over to The Girl Creative to add your bloglink on New Friend Friday so you can join in the Party Blog- so much fun and a great way to bring people to your artsy crafty blog.