Stones...

As I write, the air in the house is pungent with the odour of chutney. Having harvested all of the damsons off the small tree in the back garden, then left said fruits to sit in the greenhouse for a few days while I decided what to do with them; it was becoming a rather pressing issue today. Do something or have to throw away the lot. So I now have three jars of damson jam and nine jars of damson chutney which will be ready and matured just in time for Christmas, not to mention a pair of stained rubber gloves from trying to extract 300 odd stones from a hot jammy mixture. And I still have half a bag of damsons left. Gin next me thinks...to make that is, not drink!

Its been a busy old time. Rollers have been working over time, paint has been painted, flooring has been laid (by Mr B, not me I hasten to add) birthdays have been had and the toy stock has once again increased! Eldest daughter Wilbsy is off to pre school on Monday and she is extremely excited about it. I'm surprised to find I have mixed emotions about it like most parents I imagine. Its another sign that my little girl is growing up.

I haven't been sitting idle on the makes this week either. It just wouldn't feel like I had used my time efficiently if I didn't have something to show for my evenings, and with a couple of craft fairs and art shows coming up, not to mention Christmas (say it quietly so as not to scare people!) I need to get a few new things on the table.
I put together these cute little fairy aprons from some ex curtain fabric and taking a pattern from an apron we already had.

Next up a wallet made from a pattern that feature in this months Mollie Makes magazine. I need one to match my bag as the little coin purse is far too small for anything but coins. (That's my excuse anyway and I'm sticking to it.)

A trip to Hobbycraft on Monday furnished me with some steam punk jewellery items. I can see steam punk cropping up with me from time to time, it appeals to the teenage goth I once was. The result, a very jangly bracelet.

 And finally, an end to the pile of jeans I have been turning into bags and aprons. I got left with a lot of odd sized remnants and that combined with the need for a new skirt and some inspiration from the Joe Browns catalogue resulted in this:

I took the best fitting top section I had and cut it just above the crotch.

I then cut a load of leg sections and stitched them all together, using a running stitch and a zigzag stitch to finish the edges.

I then sewed a running stitch along the top once the skirt section was long enough and gathered it. After that, all that's left is to attach the top to the bottom and that's it. No hemming required. One easy (and free) new skirt.

I've realised I'm always writing this during Torchwood and have absolutely no idea what's going on despite half watching it for weeks now, so I'm going to sign off and catch up. Take care. xx

what to do with hubby's old jeans..

Apart from make sure that he no longer needs them first! Obviously. When I first started I did a tutorial making a bag from a pair of old jeans, this one's a pinny. Many thanks to norfolkhomemademum's other half for the donation of his jeans. I hope she approves of what I've turned them into, well one leg that is. Haven't decided what to do with the other one yet.

(Modelled beautifully by my ironing board, the only volunteer in the house at the time. Too frilly for Mr B!)

This is ridiculously simple. First, cut up the side seam of the jeans and open out. Cut off the bottom hem then cut a square to the desired length. This one was 56cm long. Even up the width so that the seam runs central- the back of the leg is usually wider, then round the bottom corners.

Next cut two 10cm strips from a piece of standard with material which you join together to make one continuous length. Then you need to hem one of the edges, fold it over by 0.5cm then fold again, iron and pin before straight stitching.

Next you need to gather the other edge. Either do this by sewing a running stitch on the widest setting the pull the bobbin thread to gather it. Or do what I did, buy a cheap gathering foot off the Internet and the job is done in minutes. I think a smiley face is appropriate here :-)
Then you pin the frill on to the apron. Match the seam on the frill with the central seam on the apron, then right sides facing, pin it around the edges.

Sew it on with a 1cm seam allowance, then zigzag the edges to prevent fraying. Iron the frill open with the seam folded back against the denim then you want to top stitch it to hold the seam down flat. its at this point I had everything crossed for the safety of my machine and my life- maybe that's a slight exaggeration; but the old girl doesn't like denim and certainly doesn't like many layers of denim, but she did it. Bless.

Pocket next. cut two pieces of what ever shape you fancy and pin right sides facing. I copied the shape of a jeans back pocket. Stitch around the edge, leaving a two inch gap for turning. Clip the corners so that they turn to a sharp point then turn out and iron. Honestly, my iron has never seen so much action since I started this crafting You can either slip stitch it close or just make sure that you catch it when you sew it onto the apron.

You're on the home straight now. All that's left to do is the waistband tie. You need a strip of fabric that measures about 160com x 10com, you'll probably need to join two pieces together to get this. then iron both the edges in 1cm and fold in half. Find the central point of the waistband and place your apron in the middle, so that the waistband folds over the front and back. Pin it all together and sew along the open edge of the waistband from one end to the other, Tidy up your edges and you're all sorted.

This is the first year I've been doing this crafting thing, and it's quite scary how suddenly the run up to Christmas starts. My craft shop has been stocking Christmas material and ribbon for weeks now. As someone who usually blankly ignores Christmas until December, I found myself leafing through my Christmas crafting books yesterday evening. Ahhhhhhhhh! That was still only August!
BTW, thank you very much to Pink Chihuahua Kisses who mentioned me in her blog yesterday!
Take care.
xx