Orange Monsters

So first you have to gather together your colours. I found the spotty material in a shop window on Berwick street. At the time I had no idea what I could possibly use it for; now I am thinking long dangly legs. I have been doddling and thinking. At least I have my colours. I found a great online place to get felt.

Valentine's Love Monster

I found two boxes in Paperchase that matched the exact colours of two monsters so they made the valentine hitlist out of all the applicants. Here they are ready to go complete with label tags and a matching card which sits just inside the boxes. What I really needed was one of those stamps that stamp put mini labels. I saw one once, picked it up, carried it around the shop then put it back before I left. D'oh!

It's all a bit pink

I know that last one was very girly. I had to purge that really. My boyfriend finds the quilt a threat to his masculinity so I tried to make one for our new house. A lap quilt for the sofa which wouldn't seem too Little House on the Prairie. This is still waiting for it's borders.

The Oldest UFO

I mostly make quilts. My mum got me started. Her retirement has erupted into one huge patchwork orgy. she's obsessed. When she gets a sniff of a fat quarter she starts walking more briskly and can stand browsing for hours without tiredness. This passion is ultimately infectious so I gave it a go. I'm made quite a few now, all given away with no pictures to show for them, but here is my pile of UFO's which are all waiting for me to stop doing new things and finish them off.

The biggest casualty is my first ever quilt, still unfinished. This must be at least 5 years old. It's a great quilt because it has been done over such time, you can look at one quarter and see hundreds of mistakes, which all vanish by the time you get to the most recent quarter. It's a learning curver quilt. It's riddled with things I didn't think through, didn't get right, or didn't spend enough time over, maybe that's why I like it so much. It's having a big rest primarily due to the fact I can't find the right material for the backing. I went to my third quilt show this year looking for the just the right pink, just the right flower pattern. Nope. This quilt is destined to be one sided.

Tea and Cake

So I saw a little picture of a pin cushion in a magazine. I must have remembered it slightly differently though as I thought it was a slice of cake when in fact it is a heart. Anyway it started me off scouting about for similar things and I found these...

Wee's flowers I think these are beautiful but I just don't know where I can source those lovely delicate colours of felt in the UK. Then I found this Cake pin cushion tutorial which I just had to make. Oh the fun I had. Check out the amazing creator Aoi's other cakes

My cake's a little too big, my strawberry lacks the curves tip, my cream needs a twist. I then made the heart and realised you needed to have two seems in order to define the bow of the heart and the tip of it. Mine went a little warped when I tried to create both out of one strip of material. Next I am going to make a slice using a lace layer of cream in the middle. I just haven't quite decided whether to try using material or to stick with felt.



Can you see how I miscalculated the length of my pink felt? I shouldn't have cut it to size. i should have left it a little bit larger, but I wanted it to all line up.



I couldn't work out the maths so I thought a bit of a drip might look good.

Making a Monster

I know it's pretty obvious, but it's always nice to see some pictures if you've never done anything like this before. I found that the felt was really the most forgivving material. it just doesn't wrinkle so much. Otherwise I just used basic patchwork cotton.

1. Draw a template out of card, the size you want your monster
2. Draw round the template, then cut round it leaving a 1/8" seem
3. I folded some small bits of ribbon, creased the fold and taped the ends together. I then laid these in the seam facing inwards as I sowed. this allows them to face outwards when you turn them inside out
3. Sow on the line by hand or on machine leaving a gap to turn it inside out. Make it tight stitches if you do it by hand
4. Turn inside out and stuff. I used cheap wadding, I know proper stuffing is much less lumpy. Next time I'll be prepared.
5. Sow up the gap
6. I then appliqued on bellies and faces but I don't think you have to. it's quite trciky and I did mine very badly. Another lesson in Baltimore technique is called for from my mum. I used a variety of threads but I think button thread or perle is best.

My Monster Parade

Hello Nun Chucky, I like your neon face and spotty ribbon


Hello hungry, you're very bright aren't you?


Hello Teacake, you look like a japanese rabbit


Ello Treacle, I didn't think your thick felt was going to work, but I think you are my favourite.


Hello Miso, I can't work out if patterns are better then plains. I loved that fat quarter though, now I know what to do with that sort of material.


Hello Pickle, you chubby monkey you. Look at that yello belly. I can't work out if you're too pale.

Monsters

Because it's on my mind, I'll start with my newest love: making monsters. These are valentines monsters specially for all my friends. I decided to make a whole bunch to test out different materials and designs. Of course I love them all now and don't want to give any away, but I have to, it's what they're for, but before I do I have documented them for posterity.

I guess this kind of monster is around a lot at the moment but the place I got the idea was from a brilliant blog called Moopy + me

I think the things she makes are beautiful, really lovely. This combined with the master Burgerman is where my monsters could be. Now I've made them I feel like I should have sticked on them before i stuffed them then I could have done interesting faces. I think it's a free machining kind of thing though so I need to go home for a lesson mum. Rome wasn't built in a day I suppose.

Anyway, next post makes some introductions.

Bits n bobs

Welcome to my new blog. Why is it here? Well I started thinking of all the great craft blogs I see on the web and how inspiring I find them and decided to document all the projects I have, where the ideas I get come from and how I adapt them. I've been making things for as far back as I can remember, but two things happened recently which affect this blog. One I gave my mum my laptop and connected her to the internet in the hope she can see the things I am up to and two: my mum bought me the best sowing machine in the world: A Bernina. What can I say? she spoils me rotten, and I plan to revel in every glorious second of it.