Sewing essentials

Today I just wanted to talk about some of my sewing essentials/ just pretty sewing things I own. I own plenty of of vintage and wooden cotton reels but I kind of just love this one. Its a linen thread, but the thing that stands out is the red on top which just shows the age and the general size of it. although its a shame that most of the red sticker has peeled off. But a collection of well stocked sewing thread colours and thread widths. Its also good to keep some bobbins empty and full but mostly just white for light colours thread and black for darker thread.

Obviously you will need pins and needles. But also a good selection of fastenings is quite good. In the pictures I have some buttons which I have to be honest aren't particularly pretty but I really couldn't find the nice pearl ones. I also have some hook and eyes in the pictures which come in some really pretty packaging. I don't think I could quite get it in focus but there are some ladies in dresses, I just really like the colours same as the thread. Tape measures are essential for marking the seam allowance on patterns and just measurements for clothes and such. 

But my favorite Item has to be the scissors! They have some really intricate and just really pretty patterns that work their way up the handle. They also have some form of hallmark on the handle but I couldn't track down the hallmark at all. But if anyone reading this knows please tell me it would be really nice. The scissors themselves are actually really bad but now that they have been oiled they can cut little threads. When your sewing you have to get a decent pair of scissors, you have to invest in a decent pair. Also a pair of pinking shears will really help, as they stop the edges from fraying and it also means you don't have to spend loads of time constantly edging your fabric. And please future sewers,DO NOT CUT PAPER WITH FABRIC SCISSORS. 

What is in your sewing box that you just couldn't live without? I would also love to know if there was something you want me to blog about. Thanks x            

Cross stitch

Hey guys! I decided today to brighten up my room. I did a cross stitch M with some autumnal/ Summery colours. I really just like the blocky triangle. It takes along time but I think it really brightens up my room. When I do cross stitch I tend to use a frame as it stretches the fabric out and definitely makes the stitching neater. I didn't really do a pattern that could be posted but I'm sure it would be quite easy to do. If you want a tutorial I could post one? Thanks x 

Lace making

I just started doing some basic lace making, I set out just thinking it was pretty and knew it would be quite difficult. However what I hadn't anticipated was the fact that the art of lace making is practically dead. You cant find lace making bobbins or accessories in any craft shop (including hobby craft) and most second hand stores don't even have them. I resorted to EBay where they have lots of these tools but are somewhat over priced for second hand tools. It would make sense if they were antique but a lot of them are plastic and not good quality. Eventually I managed to find ten sets wooden and spangled, for a decent price. After many hours trawling through the internet I found a basic beginner's level pattern After a few hours of hard work I was actually really pleased with the results. I'm not complaining particularly, well I am, but it's such a shame that a art that has been used for centuries is slowly dying out. This could be because of peoples lack of appreciation for how much time and effort each project takes,(fellow crafters know the feeling. Anyway here is my finished lace!

I would take pictures of all of it but I have to say that the ends aren't the neatest!

Just say if you want some guidance on anything to do with lace making and I will try and help you or guide you in the right direction as I'm definitely not the experienced lace maker!

Felt camera

Recently I made a felt camera for a birthday present. I was planning on including loads of details, but kind of ended up getting carried away by it all. I started off with just a cuboid of felt and went on to add buttons and the lens. I think it came out really well and I was kind of upset I had to give it away! It was also crazy cheap, as the felt is from a local scrap centre where you can get 3 stacks of felt cut offs that can be really small or really big. I actually just generally love working with it because the colours are so natural and I just love the way I don't have to bother with edging it or doing using pinking shears. So with all that here it is:

Back of the camera. I put in dials and even a strip of Velcro supposed to be a film strip!

Front of camera. Flash and buttons. Even put on a brown leather strap and all the dials,

I based my designs off the Leica cameras. Not only are they really expensive but they are generally really pretty so I just really loved doing my camera design off this. It was really cool and I made the pattern off a few rough sketches. If you all want a pattern I might think of posting one. But it is quite personal and it takes so long to make, so its definitely not for the faint hearted. So if you really want it just comment below.