Flower cushion

Tadaa!! My crochet flower cushion. I'm not experienced at crocheting, but I did make this and it turned out pretty nice. I followed a workshop by Natasha from Natashaakt.nl (too bad if you don't live in the Netherlands, but there are a lot of tutorials online as well). It is made with a 12 mm crochet needle and Shetland wool and probably looks more difficult than it actually is. The cushion is about 50 cm.

Birdhouse

The temperature dropped significantly this week so we started to think about feeding the birds again. I saw this birdhouse in a magazine and my boyfriend recreated it in a couple of hours! He used leftover pieces of wood that were overcrowding our small shed. I added a sketch to give you an idea of the measurements.

Ocean waves quilt

This is the first quilt I finished on my own!

It was a lot of work and there are some irregularities, but I'm still pretty proud of the end result. Ocean waves is a pattern made up out of a lot of small triangles. It's ideal for your fabric leftovers. I did cheat a little bit by using a square in the middle! The white fabric with large blue flowers is a fabric which my mother bought about 25 years ago and one of my best friends donated a piece of fabric as well, so besides it being my first 'big' quilt it also has an extra personal touch.

Edinburgh

Edinburgh, a city with an impressive castle, a beautiful park, lovely old buildings and GREAT shops!! The shops above (except for Bibi's Cake Boutique) were all in the Grassmarket area where we stayed for three days.

1. Mr. Wood's Fossils - we bought a Mosasaur tooth, which is around 70 million years old, for my nephew who turns five this week and is really into dinosaurs (like my boyfriend).

2. Materialise - this shop wasn't actually open when we came across it, but I loved the window. It's a a place to sew in, create, learn and share ideas in and a shop where you can find fabulous fabrics.

3. The Red Door Gallery - okay, so this one is my favorite out of all the shops. They call themselves a 'melting pot of affordable artwork, prints, artists books, accessories, jewellery, homewares and artist cards'. I refrained myself and only bought a brooch and some earrings for my niece who turns eleven in two weeks.

4. Owl & Lion - This is not only a shop where you buy books or prints but where you can also follow bookbinding courses.

5. Bibi's Cake Boutique - Just look at the website, I need not say more!

Freezer paper

I bought freezer paper from VANMARIEKE and downloaded the bowler hat and moustache image from Knippie a while ago. My nephew turned four last week so a nice chance to try them out together.
I printed out the image and traced it onto the 'paper' side of the freezer paper. The other side is more shiny. I cut out the image and laid my now iron-on stencil with the shiny side onto the fabric and ironed it on. The final step was to paint in the hat and moustache. Make sure you put a bit of cardboard inside the shirt so you don't get stains on the back. Let it dry for the amount of time it says on the paintbottle and 'klaar is kees' (as we say in Dutch)!

Recycling envelopes

My friend is going on an adventure to Nepal in October. She's going hiking so she can't bring a huge amount of luggage. But you always need something to write on and store your souvenirs in! I found the perfect gift. This handmade pocketbook made out of washipaper and - once send - envelopes by EnvelopeBook. We put a Saint Christopher pendant in who will keep her safe during her journey and the garland I made during last weeks Sewing Bee. It resembles a prayer flag, often found strung along mountain ridges and peaks in the Himalayas.

Sewing bee

 

Last Saturday one of my best friends celebrated her birthday with a sewing bee. Seven women, lots of felt and ribbons in different colors, cake and presents were the recipe of a great afternoon. The idea was to make a garland. It was fun to see that everybody added their personal touch and came up with a different design. The fact that I had already made two crochet flower garlands (see first picture) to go with my presents was a complete coincidence. I can't read crochet patterns, but you can find numerous tutorials on YouTube.