I finished the stitching part of my latest cross stitch project last week (I just need to sew it all up).
And I thought I would have a go at adding it to my RedBubble store, just to see what it looked like. It looks pretty funky on the cushions I think!
The piece was stitched out of fabric and threads I already had and had no other use for. So, I turned things that were likely to be thrown away into a future piece of ‘art’. It’s going to be a placemat/ trivet type thing once I get around to sewing it up.
I then turned that into other products by taking a picture of it and uploading it onto RedBubble.
You could do this with knitting and crochet projects too. I’ve seen some funky designs with pictures of patchwork quilts that have been added to places like RedBubble.
So, you can make a little bit of extra pocket money from a project you’ve already sewn/ knitted/ stitched etc. I mean, even if you took pictures of things you made for other people, you could still make money!
Just a quick idea to turn your projects into cash without much extra work!
You can find my RedBubble store here if you’re interested. I’m in the process of sorting it out and updating collections and banners etc. for the autumn.
I took a few days off because I wasn’t feeling great. I didn’t write much for Medium and didn’t publish much either over the weekend. Since I wasn’t feeling like sitting at a computer and writing, I took it easy and did some stitching.
And I managed to finish my cross-stitch project at last, yay!
I’ve used up what spare threads I had leftover from previous projects and that’s made some room in my craft drawer, not much but I need all the space I can get for new stuff!
I’m thinking a padded placemat or trivet type thing. And I need to do a few more rounds of black stitching on the edges to make it easier to sew up without any white edges showing.
But for now, it’s done!
The light looked better last night as I was taking the photo – it was 12:15am and I was just going to bed!
I’m glad it’s done, it kind of looks like there should be some code hidden in it like in The Matrix!
I enjoyed this mindless project but so many of the threads got tangled or knotted which doesn’t normally happen to me. I am careful not to cut the threads too long and to let them untangle, but it still was quite annoying to constantly untangle them!
Anyway it’s done.
Onto the next project, with is finishing a knitted baby cardigan and trying to get started again on my orange jumper!
I didn’t post anything yesterday or possibly the day before because I was getting a bit sick of staring at a screen to be honest. I’ve been writing and scheduling so much on Medium lately that doing the same over here felt a bit too much!
So, posting every day in August has a day or two missing!
I’ve been doing lots of cross stitch. I would say I’m 2/3 done with the piece I’m working on and it seems to be going much faster nearer the end!
Since I’m too tired to post much, I will leave you with this random piece from Youtube:
1 Hour Of Vintage Autumn Music
That’s all I got! Have a great weekend!
Here are a few of my more recent articles on Medium if you want to have a look:
I don’t actually have that many sewing patterns anymore!
A few weeks ago I had a period of manic sewing and went through a few patterns. If I like it I’ll keep it for another use. If not, then it goes straight in the paper recycling!
So, there’s a few less than about a month ago!!
All of the patterns below are free ones from sewing magazines. I think the bigger ones are from Simply Sewing. I can’t remember where I got the other two.
I’ve done the Anna Tote, that was a quick and easy pattern that I definitely want to do again. I’ll stick a picture below of the denim bag I did.
I like the long wrap skirt and the Fiona Dress (the blue one on the right of the pattern) as it has 3/4 length sleeves. I can’t honestly see myself doing the others anytime soon as I’m into knitting at the moment and I’m realising I go through phases of crafts!
But I want to keep them for the future. I have the satchel pattern all cut out and ready to go…just need to check what fabric I have left.
My first webbing (so ignore the wonky stitching!).
So there you go – a nosy into my sewing pattern stash! Just what you didn’t know you needed!!
I’m doing a random off the top of my head project to use up leftover embroidery threads (and Aida fabric).
It’s just a black outline which I’m filling with random colours. I’m trying to do lines rather than dots as it’s quicker.
I’m not sure what I’m going to do with it, but I’m thinking a trivet or a placemat with some wadding underneath and another piece of backing fabric on the back.
I like the fact that I had all the materials already for this project…I didn’t have to buy anything and I’m using up what would have been thrown away otherwise!
I’m about a third of the way done so far.
I don’t know why the light is so bad in these pics, but they look much better in real life!!
I did think about doing a shape in the middle, like an ‘S’ for Sarah…but in the end, I thought it would be easier to just do random lines! I would say if I do a bit every week, then it’ll be finished at the end of August/ early September.
But there really is no rush and it’s so nice not to be looking at a pattern all the time!
For a long time I have followed an Instagram account called The Magpie’s Eye. This account has an Etsy shop called TheMagpiesEyeCo and they make the most sparkly and amazing resin buttons as well as the odd tray or spoon rest I believe.
I ordered some tiny buttons a couple of weeks ago, some neon rainbow sparkly ones and some blue sparkly ones.
I had a go myself at making some resin items last year in the summer. I had some resin I bought the year before that and wanted to make some jewellery mostly. I was pleasantly surprised that the dish I made and the few earrings I made actually worked – they set perfectly and everything!. Except for the fact that the glitter sank a bit on the dish when I made mine. (Maybe I need to do it in layers but I’m so impatient lol).
Anyway, the amount of glitter in these buttons appeals to me a lot!
Here they are…I don’t have a specific project in mind for them yet.
I can’t get the light right to get them to sparkle…but they are a LOT sparklier in real life!
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The last week I have done more sewing than I have done in the past 6 months combined!
I now have space in my craft drawers as I’ve got rid of patterns that weren’t working/ that I will NEVER do again and I’ve used up lots of fabric too.
I had the pattern for a simple rucksack (simple…hahaha!) for a while and bought the denim fabric for it a couple of months ago. I already had the green lining fabric from a failed project years ago, as well as belt buckles, d-rings and other bits like webbing from other projects too. I had already cut out the outer pieces and the lining so I was all ready to sew last week.
What I thought would be an afternoon sewing the pieces together turned into Monday afternoon, Tuesday evening, Thursday evening and 2 hours on Friday.
I’m pretty much a beginner at sewing. I’ve done a few cushions, zip bags, a dress, a top, a pair of pj shorts, a skirt. That’s pretty much it apart from odd bits like hemming table cloths, Christmas makes like stockings, bunting, gift bags etc.
So, it really annoys me when patterns talk about bias binding without mentioning it on the list of things to buy! I haven’t bound the raw edges inside the bag, but apart from that, it’s done!
I had to add a red stripe on the front as my stitching on the zip fabric was atrocious! And I had to unpick the top zip as I went wonky. That’s why I didn’t do any more on Wednesday…I was DONE!
I also didn’t see I needed webbing non fray glue stuff…which I obviously don’t have! In fact, the sewing on the webbing for the handles and straps was the hardest part of the bag. I couldn’t get the cross in a square to look neat.
I had to unpick one of the handles as I didn’t realise it was ONE handle on each panel…I did so much unpicking for this project!
The bag as a whole doesn’t look too terrible from a distance…it looks like a bag! But I’m not so happy with the sewing up close. And some of the instructions could have been better too. I didn’t make a note of who it was by but it was a free pattern from a few months ago in the Simply Sewing Magazine.
I like the size and the shape and I love the denim fabric. This week when I made this and a denim tote bag is the first time I’ve worked with denim and I even changed the sewing machine needle to a denim one. The first time I’ve done that too!
I was pleasantly surprised that the denim needle managed to get through so many layers of thick fabric with little difficulty. Maybe I needed to change my needle anyway (I hadn’t done that ever since I got the machine oh…about 20 years ago! :O )
The eagle eyed among you will notice that the d-rings and belt buckles are silver and gold – I just used what I had on hand.
I didn’t topstitch once I’d sewn it together coz you know…I was so DONE with this project!
All in all it’s OK. Certainly better all sewn up than when I was preparing all the pieces.
It was hard to work out the pattern in places, but it was worth having a go. I’m still glad I had a try as now I have a better idea of how rucksacks are put together and I’ve learned a few new skills:
Changing the needle on my sewing machine
Adding webbing/ belt buckles/ d-rings
Making pockets
Making a zip casing (I can’t think of the proper term for the fabric around the zip!) and zipper tabs
Assembling a bag with a lining from a lot of pieces and using 2 zips in a project!
I still learned a lot from this project and it’s technically usable. It’ll go in a drawer or cupboard for now. I’m just glad it’s ticked off my list!
I’ve picked an awful colour scheme for this project! I know I’m using up my stash of threads and fabric…but still I feel I should point out that the colour choices are all mine and in no way am I following the pattern’s colours!!
The purples of the ‘YOU’ look OK, but the rest…I’m reminded of trains for some reason hahaha! Especially the ‘GOOD THOUGHTS’ colours.
See my previous post for details about the pattern. I won’t keep repeating myself.
It’s been nice working on this at night, listening to a SkillShare tutorial. They have some really good videos about graphic design and illustration which I really need to focus and watch the screen. But to have a general video on in the background about business, marketing, mindsets, that type of thing. Well, it’s like I’m watching a productive video, you know? Like I’m doing homework.
But then again…I LOVE homework!
I did a whole ONE ROW of a knitted bag project last week. At the risk of sounding like an old fart, I have wanted to rest my eyes a bit lately. I’m getting headaches from looking at small things like stitches, knitting stitches, and of course, computer/ I-pad screens. So, if I can come off the screens and not have to focus on small things, then so much the better!
I guess what I’m saying is that I’m taking it easy with the crafting for now. I do want to get a few projects finished this summer.
But right now my focus is on getting my Etsy shop set up. I have managed to reach a few goals that I set myself for May, which is exciting, but more on that later!
Have a lovely afternoon- it’s been grey and overcast all day. It even did a bit of mini ice hailing earlier on. I can’t wait for the warmer weather to arrive! May has had more hailstorms than I can remember in a long time.
This was the first time I have ever used black Aida fabric and I gotta say, not a fan! The result of the colours I chose (I didn’t stick to the exact ones from the pattern) and the contrast between them and the fabric looks good, I think.
But the fabric itself was really difficult to use and my stitching ended up looking horrible! The fabric was stiffer than usual, maybe because it’s been dyed black? I don’t know, it was really hard to use, especially to see where the needle needed to go – I did make sure to have a white piece of paper underneath to help, but I found my fat sauasage fingers blocked the white and made a shadow so it was still hard to see!
I still have more of the fabric to use up! Eek!
Here is the finished piece, not sure where to put it as of yet, maybe I’l just pin it to a pin board?!
Don’t count the days – make the days count!
I have one more cross stitch pattern to go, but a much bigger one.
I’m loving using up my stash – all I’ve paid for so far are the digital patterns. So, a lot of the colours might be the same, but that’s called a cohesive and consistent colour palette, right?!!
This is the first piece of cross-stitch I have finished in several years, technically it’s not only the first of the year but of the DECADE too!
I wanted to do something different, usually I go for big and complicated pieces, this was a smaller, quicker piece and was WRITING!!
I have never done this type of sampler before, but I was looking for something, dare I say, motivational! :O
I am feeling in a bit of a permanent rut at the moment, so I thought I would get something ‘motivational’ to stitch and put it somewhere I could see it in my everyday life. I completed it over maybe 4 or 5 evenings this past week and it was actually really nice to get back to a hobby I haven’t done in a while.
I used up some Aida fabric from my stash that I had lying around for ages (still got loads left!) and some leftover threads from previous projects, so all I bought was the downloadable pattern from an Etsy shop called Stichrovia.
Here is the link to the shop if you want to buy yourself something similar – I love the bigger patterns she does, like the Yin and Yang one and some of the kitchen samplers. I can’t help thinking a lot of them would be good to stitch and then sew up into cushion covers! :0
I realise that with the colours I had, the word BOLD looks like it has American cheerleader colours…oh well!
Pattern from an Etsy shop called Stitchrovia
A cheap frame from Wilkos and just ignore the few creases you can still see, would you believe I actually ironed this? It’s the first piece of finished cross stitch I have ever ironed in my life, since once I finish them they tend to go in a folder and get forgotten about. I think the creases would come out if I actually washed it too…but it’s not so bad if you look at it from a certain angle.
On the whole I’m pleased with it. I did think about doing it in pinks and purples, which I kind of wish I had done, but I do like the bold colours too…buying a one-off pattern for a couple of pounds is definitely the way forward now, as when I buy magazines, I never seem to do (or even like) many of the patterns. And it was really easy to buy and download and print off the pattern…very simple to do and use.
The pattern was four sheets of A4 and it shrinks down to just one when you stitch it up! 🙂
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Woolly Orbit 