This was my first cross stitch project in many, many, many years ... I bought this kit at a craft fair last year and plonked it away for a rainy day.  The rainy day came upon me one evening when I'd finished a knitting project but couldn't decide what to knit next.

I don't know how long it took me ... maybe 3 weeks (just working in the evenings).  I was kindof concerned about making something from a kit, because it felt a little un-creative somehow.  But I'm really very happy with the result:



(It really is rectangular, the photo is taken from a bad angle)

The kit came from Traveller's Tales:  http://www.travellers-tales.com/ - it's called the "Mien trouser panel".  I had a couple of disappointments - the chart was wrong in a few places, and some of it was printed so lightly that I had to go over with a pen and mark in the stitches by looking at a photo of the finished project.

I was also very disappointed that the needle which came with the kit broke when I was only about halfway done!  I've broken many sewing machine needles before, but never any kind of hand-sewing needle.  So I finished it with a not-quite-appropriate (too sharp, too long, and too hard to thread) needle that I had on hand.  I feel like doing more embroidery now so I guess I should shop for some good quality embroidery needles.

When I ordered flannel for making cloth nappies, I somewhat overcatered ... so I used the many leftovers for this baby quilt for my little girl. The circles were great for using up the small pieces left over from cutting out nappies.



Here is the back:



I was inspired and guided by this tutorial: http://andothersillythings.blogspot.com/2009/07/polka-dot-quilt-tutorial.html

Sewing the circles was kinda tedious, kinda fun. I think it would have been much more fun with more different fabrics - working with just two colours made the piecing a bit boring.  I'm really pleased with it, can't wait to make the next one!

My in-laws gave us a Swedish wooden "kitchen sofa" when we moved into our new house - and I love it, but a wooden sofa is not the most comfortable thing to sit on!

While shopping in IKEA one day I saw a pile of this fabric: http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/60141083 on sale and had a vision.

So I convinced my husband that I needed a few bolts of this fabric and 5 cheap cushions.  He let me buy it all (and didn't even argue that I could use the stash!) and went into town to get a big piece of foam from a store that makes boat cushions.  I covered the five cheap cushions first (easy) and then tackled making a seat cushion by covering the big piece of foam (trickier).

Now the vision is complete!




Now my butt doesn't go to sleep if I sit here to eat my breakfast, and it's in a nice spot that catches the morning sun so it's nice to stretch out on.  I'm really pleased!

I have loads of fabric left, and I'm considering using it as a cheap option for trying my first quilt ... if I dare.

at last ... ACTION SHOTS!  i'm sorry it's taken so long to get to these, but you know what it's like when you move house.  and you know what it's like when one of your parents comes to stay for a month.  now put those two things together and that's been my life lately!

anyway, here is my beautiful tuatara tray all ready to take the breakfast beverages to the back yard on a sunny sunday morning:


and here it is with the associated breakfast ... smoked salmon and scrambled eggs on toast, cooked by my honey.  yes i am one lucky girl, in so many ways   


i love this tray so much, and i always show it off ... my friends are amazed that someone who's never met me could come up with something that suits me so well!!  mommabear, you have a very special gift 

what about slippers, the slip-on kind?

something like this: 

they could look really funky if you had cool patterned towelling!

i made these armwarmers over the christmas holidays ... they helped me pass time on the very long journey home from london to new zealand (i was so glad i was allowed to knit on the plane!)







the pattern is here:  http://www.straw.com/cpy/patterns/mikado-gloves.html, although i changed the cable a bit and made some slight adjustments to make them snugger on my skinny runty arms    the yarn is from a sweater i bought for £1 at a car boot sale and unravelled - the label said 100% wool but that's all i know about it.

now i'm back in london, and it's cold, and i am LOVING them!  thanks for looking!

i just finished off my christmas presents (phew!), and these two bags were the last things ... i've made several other bags before but these are the first ones i've photographed & posted.  they're for 2 girlfriends of mine, who are sisters.

corduroy with leaves:



and denim with snowlfakes (i got a bit carried away after making paper snowflakes with my housemates, and decided i could make fabric ones as well  ):


i didn't photograph the insides because there was nothing remarkable in there ... each bag is lined in cream cotton and has a small pocket inside closed with a button.

thanks for looking   

i was about to post this as a new topic but i guess it belongs here ...

i made myself this skirt from an old duvet cover i found at the cancer research shop:


which i am very pleased with, but now i have more than half of the duvet cover left over, and i don't think i really need another brown florally item

so, the rest of the fabric is free to a good home!   it's a fairly lightweight, but kindof stiff, cotton - or possibly polycotton?  i donno really.   i'm not fussed about a swap (i have enough stash to work through already!!) but if you have anything you particularly want to offer then of course i will consider it ... mainly i'd just like to see it go to someone who might use it.

if you want to see some more pictures use these links:
here's a shot of the whole thing (it's one side of a double-bed-sized duvet cover):
http://www.tineke.net/craftster/duvet.jpg

and some detail on the less ... erm ... "busy" part of the pattern:
http://www.tineke.net/craftster/detail.jpg

i'll happily post within the UK ... any takers?