May 2019 finishes and WIPs

It's been a busy month which has been book ended by the boys being on school holidays. They only have 7 weeks left when they go back before the end of the school year - when did that happen??

So what have I been up to this month? As I did in April, we'll start with the finishes...

There has been a fair amount of knitting a couple of cards and some sewing all completed this month. First up is the unicorn birthday card I made for my niece who turned 5 this month. She loved it and my sister sent me a lovely video of her opening it. I did have a moment where I felt a little guilty for having coloured it in though and may well add in a picture for her to colour in too next time. Later in the month one of my neighbours lost his mum. She was 99 years old and had been unwell for a time, so it was expected but I still think it's important to mark it in some way and let their family know you are thinking of them. so I made a card with a simple lily design - I believe the thought was appreciated.

Knitting wise I finished the test knit for Craft it like Katie and if you fancy the pattern I believe it is going to be released shortly. It's a fairly straightforward knitting in the round project (no sewing up, yay!) and I had great fun making the pompom, reminiscing with Master L about how we used to make them when I was at school. I went old school with making the pompom too as I don't have one of these fancy pompom makers you can get now - it took a little while but I was pleased with the result. I also started (and finished) a jumper for little Miss which matches mine as I'd over-estimated the amount of wool I needed for mine and had a good 250 grams spare. It's turned out well and she absolutely loves it. When she's wearing it she strokes the front over her tummy saying "mine" - so cute!

I have also finished the Bambi themed baby quilt for my cousin's first baby who is due to arrive in a couple of months. The plan is to give it to my cousin at her baby shower so as she hasn't seen it yet, I'm only giving a sneak peak. I'll be releasing a blog post after the baby shower though with more details (and pics). It's been a labour of love at times with it being English paper piecing, but I have to admit I've really enjoyed doing it and am so, so pleased with how it has turned out - hopefully my cousin will be too.





I also want to add in here something that Master L has made as his teacher appreciation gift this year. I'm really proud of him as he did it himself (with a little guidance from me) and he has done a fantastic job. His stitching is really neat and I would definitely encourage people to let their kids have a go at some of the more complex crafts - they may just surprise you as he did me. Isn't it fantastic? It's a mug rug (albeit a slightly larger one) and as his teacher is quite in to things like that I'm positive she will love it.

OK, so on to the works in progress. I'm still going with the Lake Baikal cross stitch and am now almost half way there. The plan is to get to halfway by the end of June which at my current rate should be more than achievable. I just need to master the French knot. I've found a useful YouTube video so fingers crossed I'll crack it and if not my hubby has successfully managed it so he can do them 😂😂😂


I'm working on a bookmark for Master G's teacher for the end of the yearn (I fully expect this to be finished in June ready for July). I saw the concept on Instagram somewhere and tweaked it to suit my crafting abilities. Master G likes it and feels his teacher will so I'm happy with that.




I've also started work on a 'virus' blanket using the final lengths of yarn leftover from making mine and little Miss's jumper (yes, even after knitting up 2 jumpers I still had some leftover ha ha). I've bought 2 additional colours of yarn to add to it and am working it up with an 'ombre' effect. It's looking really nice, but this one isn't to keep - assuming I can get it away from little Miss. This one is going to be for sale when finished and will hopefully be the start of my new business. I have a number of ideas that I;m working on for this so I guess the business itself is a 'work in progress'. I'll keep you posted on that one 😀

Well that's us all up to date for the month.

Until next time,

M x

Cushion cover tutorial

As if it's been a week already! Time is literally flying past this year and even though I'm having some really productive days, I can sit down to write a blog post and wonder what I've actually achieved in the past week.

I've been carrying on with my two works in progress and am adding another to the pile at the weekend as I'm doing a test knit for the fabulous Katie from Craft it like Katie. Have to admit I'm really excited about it; it's my first time doing a test knit for someone other than myself (can you do a test knit for yourself?) and I'm hoping that it will help me develop my knowledge and skills even further as I offer to do more.

So for this week, as I'm trying to save finished projects for one monthly blog post and thereby reduce the pressure to finish something every week, I thought I'd share how I made the cushion covers I finished last month.

Cushion Cover Tutorial

Step 1: I made the front of the cushion cover first by cutting eight 2.5 inch wide strips and two 1.25 inch wide strips of the fabric I wanted to use. Each of the strips was 18 inches long. Using a 0.25 inch seam allowance I joined the strips together along the longest sides in the pattern I wanted for the front of the cushion cover. I then did a line of top stitching on either side of the fabric strips to give the impression of quilting without actually quilting the cover. The final measurements for the front cover were 18 x 18 inches

Step 2: I then constructed the back of the cushion. I cut out two panels to create the envelop backing: these were 18 x 13 and 18 x 14 inches. I turned a small double hem and top stitched two rows of stitching to secure. I used two rows as I prefer the way this looks and I also find that it stops any curling of the edges. I'll confess that I didn't press the hems before sewing them (I was being very lazy) but I'd recommend that you do this before stitching - it gives a cleaner edge and can often make it easier to sew too. 

Step 3: I then pinned the three pieces of the cushion, right sides facing, together. You will have a reasonably sized overlap on the back of the cushion with the two pieces of fabric that form the cushion back. When pinning you need to make sure that all the raw edges are together, and the two hemmed sides of the cushion cover back are towards the middle to create the opening. (stupidly I didn't take a photo of this step). You then sew all the way around the cushion cover with a 0.25 inch seam allowance. 

Step 4: Finally, very carefully trim the corners of your cushion cover (inside the seam allowance) removing a small triangle at each corner. Turn your cushion cover the right way round and voila! A finished cushion cover of your own creation 😀

Right that's me for the week. I'm off to carry on with my works in progress and plan something exciting that I'm hoping to launch in the next few months. Have a great weekend, a fabulous week and I'll see you next Friday.

Until next time,

M x