quilting

this quilting thing really seems to be taking hold. after the success i have been having with the quilt i am making for my new nephew-on-the-way, i thought i'd have another go at a simpler quilt.

basically the idea stems comes from the fact that my friend has wooden floors and wanted something a bit soft to be able put her bub down on. a floor quilt. i whipped this one up in an less than two hours. using two pillowcases and some of an old quilted dressing gown as the wadding. i am pretty happy with the outcome:

i learnt a lot about machine quilting in this (given i had no idea before i started, it was easy to learn a lot) and in retrospect i think doing the quilting in a mix of brown thread / yellow bobbin would have added to the finished look. (truth be told, i did think of it at the time, but was too lazy to run upstairs to get the brown thread and don't actually own any yellow). the next one i make however, will have feature colour machine quilting. and i am thinking i will possibly make it a little bigger (this one was limited by the scrap of dressing gown i had).

oh dear, see i used the term "the next one"... it seems like i'm planning it already. i tell you what if i get addicted to quilting i'm going to blame gina (check out her fabulous green quilt, and this one here the one that started me on this whole quilting venture). i really don't know if my life can fit in another addiction or another obsession...

not about crochet

ok so, i do know that not everyone crochets. and that not everyone is into crochet. and after reading and reflecting on this slightly mocking post from gina at clutterpunk* i've realised that i do post an awful lot about crochet. so today, i thought i'd do a post not about crochet.

i was thinking, see, that i could post about the current sewing project i am working on for terrible comfort's show, which opens next week.

 (they will be mexican wrestling masks, black and white ones, copied from the blue and yellow ones - i should be working on these at the moment...)

or i was thinking that i could post about these fabulous vintage op-shop finds: a pillowcase and a doona** cover (which is for my yet to be fully worked out next project).

 but really what i want to post about is this new wool that i bought and the granny square scarf that i started last night. 

so ok, hi, my name's becclebee and i'm a crochet addict... 

*i'd like to note i love gina and i'm completely ok with her hassling us all about our crochet addictions
** doona (also known as ' duvet', or 'quilt' for those non-aussies)

a pillow pal

i did a random and unexpected bit of op-shopping today. and came across this... a CPR "pillow pal". what fun! a pillow case designed to help you remember and practice your cardio-pulmonary resuscitation.

i definitely couldn't leave it there, not with my continuing pillowcase obession. for 99 cents this gem was mine. but what to do with it?

well, a little lace, a little scrap material, and here you have it, the latest addition to my ever-growing bag collection. 

i love the way it looks on the inside too... 

a day of half finished projects

so, i am trying out my new crochet book, and it seems i am less good at following patterns than i thought. the first square i tried was, well, to start off with - not square. so i tried again, the pattern seemed simple enough...  

i'm halfway through this "square" and things are not going well. (in yellow of course for my current baby blanket project)

so i thought i would stop and make something else.

like a wheat bag. see, the request was for a wheat bag with a cover, that can be taken off and washed, like a wheatbag-case. so i made it out of a pillowcase (no surprise there). the base wheatbag is the slightly shorter one. and the wheatbag-case has the lengthways stripe.

however, to finish it, i am in need of some wheat... (and, now that i look at the photo, i think i am also in need of an iron)

holidays and projects

aren't holidays so much fun! mine were full of all sorts of lovely goodness. much food and family and friends and beaches and hanging round at home and (whispers quietly) cricket and of course, crafting... 

oh the crafting i did - making, sewing, unpicking, threading buttons, crocheting. and as i slowly drag myself back into the everyday, i am keen to share some of my holiday projects...

the owl bag:

see, i got a request for a bag. i thought and thought and decided it should be made out of a pillowcase (ok, a fairly obvious choice given my current obession), lined with the sheet, and with a thread sketched design - an owl. 

see:

and it has a little internal pocket for the keeping of a phone, and a zip to keep the things inside it all secure...

i am really happy with it, and so is it's new owner! don't you love it when you sit down with an idea in your head and by the end of the afternoon, there it is in front of you!

more thread sketching

its pillowcase and thread sketch central 'round here (you may have noticed already). i've been making more pillowcase veggie bags, and a request came in for a peg bag... i had to peg it both sides in this pic (simply to get the photo right), but it actually has a tab at the top for pegging to the line. i am so in love with thread sketching (and we have the wonderful gina to thank for it)

my sunday afternoon

so, how was your sunday afternoon? mine was great, thanks.

i made a skirt.

without a pattern.

out of a pillowcase.



i am so very very pleased with it....

my creative space

my creative space this week is filled with a combination of my two new favourite things. op-shopped vintage pillowcases and thread sketching... you have to believe gina when she says its easy - it really is. and play along with other spacers and the lovely kirsty...

so excited....

i love it when inspiration builds on inspiration... see, i was feeling inspired to make some more pillowcase veggie bags. i have been talking with some friends from my church about being more sustainable - including reducing packaging etc. and as part of the discussion, i showed them my veggie bags and from the positive result decided to make a few extras to pass around. but a few of my recent pillowcase purchases were fairly plain single colours. hmm, i thought - what can i do to make them a bit more interesting? the lovely gina from clutterpunk inspired a solution, with her thread sketching the other day - followed by a great tutorial today. so here they are (not quite finished - they still need draw strings, but i was so excited i had to share) note the pre-requisite bird on a branch (i suspect we will see this design popping up everywhere as a first attempt). big thanks gina!!!

obsession confession

ok, so. i may have popped into another opshop this week to feed my current pillowcase obsession. opps... (and actually, the floral one on the end there is from my fabric stash, but it happily joins the others). i can't wait for tomorrow - it will be pillowcase central round here.

a new obsession

so, i am an op-shopper (thrift-shopper) from way back. but recently i have developed a new op-shop obsession. pillow cases. its kinda weird, but also makes much sense. see it all started with the vintage pillow case veggie bags i made a little while ago. i am in love with them. i use them all the time and am finding that 4 is not enough. so a few weeks ago i popped down to the op shop to grab another pillow case to make some more (using pillowcases is brilliant, as some of the seams are already done, and being second hand or vintage - they are often well worn and therefore very light weight). i came home with a couple and put them on a pile of my things to do. then today, i popped into an op-shop during lunch (it was right next to the post office) and came out with another 3 (oh, and a brown and orange linen tablecloth). the fabric in the pillowcases is really lovely. i enjoy the patterns and the different styles. today i came up with a great plan too. a new pillowcase project i'm pretty excited about it, i really think it will work - now its just finding the time to make all these pillow case projects up!

another look

so i went shopping this morning and used my new post-life pillowcase veggie bags. seeing blooger and i are back on photo friendly terms, i thought i would post a pic of them in action... potatoes in one, and onions in the other. i love it!

a little project

i have always found plastic bags a bit of a frustration at the supermarket. i take along my own bags for the groceries at the end and i always just pop my veggies loose in the bottom of the trolley. but beans and the like remain problematic - i inevitably end up having to use the plastic bags they supply. the bags (usually) work beautifully getting my beans from the shelf to my dinner, but then i just throw them out. they are too little to re-use as bin liners, and my imagination peters out after that. ahh, but not anymore. leonie's post about her hula potato bags got me thinking and gina's quick and dirty sewing project gave me further inspiration. i combined the two ideas with a little op-shopping and here we have it. four post-life pillowcase veggie bags. i picked this pillowcase, both because it is so pretty, but its also very lightweight fabric. and i used both white ribbon and yellow bias binding i had at home for the drawstrings. so now, off to the supermarket to try them out...