Making felt toys with Feltmistress

For a long time, Al and I have admired the wonderful felt characters Feltmistress creates through Instagram and Twitter. So when we saw she was running a toy making workshop at Somerset House Pick Me Up exhibition - and that it was the day after the marathon when I had a day off - we had to go.

Groam (right!)

We met two of her felt gurus G'goob and Groam - whom we'd previously admired from afar.

G'goob

Then we started trying to make our own.

There were lots of templates and suggested features - or we could try making our own. Still high on the marathon, I decided mine was going to be some kind of bemedalled superhero...

Feltmistress showed us how to add the eyes and we started sewing our toys features on to their bodies.

You'll have someones eye out with that ;)

We'd arrived early but while we were working the workshop got incredibly busy, with some amazing creations going on..

Here's our two. We couldn't stay to finish them but they're ready to be sewn together and stuffed back home.

Just love the expression on Alex's (left). Mine just looks insanely happy to have got a medal!

Later that evening I finished them off..

And photographed them next to my own felt creations - a robot and blackbird cushion for Al's worrisome warrior... 

..and the Elmer cushions for my toothy medal winner...

And here they are enjoying the sun together. Awww.

Homemade and recycled Christmas tree decorations

Christmas trees and their decorations are one of my favourite parts of the Christmas period. In my family home we added more decorations, often homemade, each year. Now, decorating the tree becomes a reminder of all the Christmases and years past. Each decoration is familiar and friendly, all too easily forgotten until you unwrap it from its newspaper or get it out of its box. And everything looks great on a Christmas tree, whether an intricate and delicate bauble, a fir cone covered in glitter or a santa claus made with cotton wool and red cardboard in playgroup.

I've been very aware of what I post about Christmas after writing this blog post on Christmas, making comparisons and mental health. However, I couldn't help but share my own collection of decorations as it starts to grow. My favourite are these Christmas mice. They are made from the inside of an eggbox (a six pack of eggs can make two mice), sprayed gold or silver and then decorated with glitter, beads and wire. A pipe cleaner tail attached to the back can help hold them on to the tree.

I also really like these butterflies. I made these with craft paper from Cowling and Wilcox from a tutorial in the Guardian family section last year. Cut a circle and a square and fold in half to make an oval and a triangle. Fold the paper like a fan into the central folds of each and then squash together at the centre. Wrap wire or thread around to hold them together. I added beads and ribbons too.

The wire can be used to hold them in the tree.

And of course, your spraypainted and glittery fircone. I made one last year while volunteering at Radio Lollipop for Great Ormond St hospital.In fact, you can spray any twigs, fircones or leaves silver or gold, add some glitter and attach them to the tree!

This holly decoration has lasted three years now - the silver spray must preserve it!

This owl is made from half a strip of cut and folded old book with mince pie cases for eyes.

And here is the tree in all it's homemade glory.

A farewell octopus - a felt applique card

Yesterday, my manager of four years left the charity where I work. He's looked after a team of seven for a long time now, and I wanted to make him a card to recognise that.

The octopus probably needs some explanation. He's our mascot, much appreciated by the young people in our community, given out as prizes (until recently when we sent out the last one!) and photographed all over the world.  It's Octi who I hope to dress up as when running the London Marathon next year. On his legs are all the members of our team.

Team Engagement and Support

I did realise that actually it has turned out looking like a felt version of those cards (or teatowels) we all make in primary school where everyone draws a very simple face on a circle! And in addition, I got my own parting the wrong way round. But at least Octi is recognisable.

And it was fun to make.

A cut out Octi ready to be appliqued. 

Appliqued felt, with the faces glued on and then stitched through the eyes to hold them in place.

Autumnal coloured craftings..

Dad's birthday is in October, and he loves autumnal colours. For a long time he's been hinting after a cushion for room he rents when he is away for work. I used a mixture of coloured felt in browns, oranges, reds and yellows and some printed cotton pieces - the first time I've mixed felt and cotton.

Here's one side;

And here's the other;

I also had another go at using the embroidered letters setting on my machine - this time using the smallest, fanciest stitch. It worked quite well  - except for the 'from' - I don't think I was pulling the material through the machine fast enough.

After I'd sent it, I remembered that last year I made an autumnally coloured gift for Dad too - a card of leaves in pastels;

A cushion for the 12th Mechanized Brigade

My sewing machine is back from the expert ministrations of Tony from Lewisham and Deptford Sewing Machines (recommended by Barley from Fabrications), smelling of oil and running beautifully. It was time to get on with making this cushion I had been promising one of our volunteers on TheSite.org for so long. And here it is.

I took the logo from the Brigade's Facebook page and printed out a template.

I initially wanted to do the logo from felt and the backing from red material, thus enabling me to make a bigger cushion - but I found that the heirloom stitch I was using to make a thick line was rucking up the material making it look crumpled. I decided to use felt for the background too. This made for a smaller cushion, but I thought this wasn't necessarily a bad thing, especially if it was going on tour! Here is is in progress, with the template.

And here it is with Alonso, the rather stern gentleman found in a charity shop by a university friend many years ago, and given to us three or four years past. He looks rather army like and official so I thought he might enjoy being photographed with the army cushion;

And finally, here's the man himself, in TheSite.org towers with his cushion. Hopefully he likes it - it's hard to tell from that smile....

And, in the background you can see a pinky purple Octopus, our YouthNet mascot Octi. At some point, I have to make an Octi costume as I plan to run the London Marathon 2013 dressed as him. I'm not entirely sure how to go about this eight legged sewing project - but I'll keep you posted...

Threaded letters - a peekaboo card

For the first time, I had a go using the embroidery settings on my machine to write these birthday messages for little Leo - on a simple felt card.  Lots of his favourite animals including owls and 'lilydirbs'.

And if you look under the flaps... you can tell Leo is Alex's nephew - silly faces and fluffy blonde hair all round!

And, while Leo was 2, Rich was 21, and I made him some felt numbers, with wooden buttons and secret dinosaurs peeking out too - you're never too old for hiding dinosaurs...

Spotty and multicoloured - another Apple Patch

It was nice to be back at the sewing machine after a couple of weeks where I've been too ill to face it. Last night I finished off another 'Apple Patch' - a case for my own laptop - with multi-coloured squares and a spotty lining.

I got the spots from a warehouse style shop in Brick Lane, as suggested by DIYCouture's wonderful fabric shops guide.

 Here you could buy cheap fabrics for £3 or so a metre (minimum spend £12 - but that wasn't a problem!)

Lots to choose from in Epra Fabrics. Next came cutting out the squares, something else I did a couple of weeks ago.

  

Finally, the normal sewing and sandwiching to make the finished product.

 

Ready to sandwich with the 'walking foot'. After the pieces are sewn together, I use a fabric cutter to trim them all to the same size. It's easier to have a bit of leeway with the wadding and lining when actually sewing them together.

The finished product was a little larger than planned - not quite the snug envelope of the others I had made. I blame slightly mushed 'ill-brain'! Still, it means I can also carry the cable with the laptop inside the case - so it could be an advantage after all.

Cloth & stitch beaches and tents

I've started using my sewing machine to make my cards as well. Poor pastels and paints not getting a look in any more. It's a great opportunity to experiment with the different stitches my sewing machine does.

This one was for Olly, requested by Alison

A tent in a wood for Nat on her birthday.

Hand patchworking at Fabrications

Fabrications on Broadway Market is one of my new favourite places to learn all things sewing. Have a look at their calendar. They run all sorts of open days and sewing classes in Barley's newly created Imaginarium.

I recently went to a 'taste of patchworking' class there with Katherine May.- I'd been getting good at making patchwork on my machine, but I wanted to have a go at doing it by hand, using the old fashioned paper templates.

We used paper templates to handsew a simple square of patchwork, which we quilted to a lining with some wadding from The Cotton Patch (I have used some more of this since and it's really nice pure cotton wadding). There were a number of other people at the class too, and I really enjoyed the feeling of sitting around and occasionally chatting, each absorbed in our own projects but with Katherine there to help out if we got stuck. I didn't have time to fold the lining material over into a hem in the class, but I'll do it later.

I had this idea that I wanted to have a go making patchwork spheres (or 'peas') and I found a great set of instructions on the internet on how to make a patchwork ball. Armed with a bit more confidence from the class, I had a go that evening.

The day's work

Material and paper templates for another patchwork sphere.

I decided to use the first one for a pin cushion, and made another from felt.

My first patchwork pea

More Fabrications fun

Fabrications is an official supplier of Brother sewing machines, so they often run open days where people can come and test drive their machines - and ask questions to Brother representatives. Most recently was a bunting making day, which I popped along to for an hour after work. I experimented with a range of new stitches on their more modern Brother machines and Rachel from Brother showed to how to work my walking foot - and how useful it is when quilting.

Material ready for bunting.

Next week, I'm going along to a skirt making workshop there - I'll keep you posted ;)

Football cushion

My brother wanted his own cushion to go alongside all his girlfriend's home decor. I printed out a number of copies of the logo and cut out all the separate pieces in paper, and then into felt. I used patchwork stitch on my machine to applique the logo together.