rubykittyruby

An embroidered fabric cuff is an easy project, and doesn't require any fancy stitches or expensive purchases.  If you're a seasoned crafter you're likely to have the materials already to hand, and possibly the only thing you might buy is a hair band.  But more of that later.   Let's start with the previouis fabric cuff I made.  (On the right in the photo above.)  I was pretty pleased with it, but decided it was too wide (though very good for keeping your wrist warm on a cold day!).  I learned a few things from making my cuff, mainly forget any notion of minimalism.  This cuff works best when you go heavily on the embellishments.  You've a small area to stitch on, so don't skimp on making the most of it.   I made a second version (above left), and here are the instructions if you want to make something similar.   You need to gather together:  2 pieces of felt, measurements discussed below, but mine were 8 inches x 1 ...

I used to work as an office administrator and must've written scores of departmental memos in my time.  I prided myself on being clear, precise, making points logically and so they could be easily understood.  So why do I now struggle with writing instructions?  Maybe I want to feel I've moved on from those sometimes fun but mainly times monotonous working days?  Anyway, whatever reason, I've spent way too long this morning writing a simple blog post explaining how to make a fabric cuff.  Now, I get to write another set of instructions to be printed and included in a kit, about how to make the very same thing.  Which is fair enough, but I'd rather be sewing!  Mind you, doing this stops me from thinking about the bowlful of washing up in the kitchen, so it's not all bad.   I've got this pretty Emma Bridgewater 'Strawberries & Cream' bowl next to me, filled with embroidery thread in equally pretty colours.  The bowl's got several chips...

  It's been a funny few days.  I must've eaten something that disagreed with me on Sunday as I've felt under the weather for days, and been moping around with a face like a wet weekend.  I've done a bit of stitching here and there, working on these two pieces of needlepoint.  Both destined to end up as spectacle cases and, when I eventually finish 'em, go in my Etsy shop.  Speaking of which, I've been making another embroidered fabric cuff, this one narrower than the previous effort.  The idea being to make a kit to go in the shop, all you need to make a cuff including embroidery thread, beads, sequins and so on.  I've assembled the packs, but now have to write out the instructions, which for me is the tricky part.  Writing clear, straightforward instructions that are easily understood is a skill in itself.  I really enjoyed selecting the material to go in the kits, and it was the ideal occupation for someone who didn't want to move far off t...

I've been getting near to finishing this piece of embroidery, adding lots more seed beads and bugle beads, really enjoying stitching into the fabric and feeling the texture of it change the more thread's worked into it.  I'm thinking it'll turn into a wall hanging of some kind, and did wonder about making a simple frame for it.  Cutting one out of cardboard and maybe covering that with either fabric or gell prints. Then I remembered I've got a dish full of shells somewhere.  Could I cobble together a frame covered in shells?  That might be worth a try.   This blue rice bag is not completed yet either.  I wanted to make the four loops on it out of denim, upcycling the straps off a denim dress.  But they proved way too bulky and impossible for my sewing machine to cope with.  So I've made two loops out of patterned cotton and two out of a beautiful blue velvet that came in a Bazaar scrap pack.  I really need to crack on and get the bag lin...

  Okay, this is usually a craft centred blog, but today I'm posting pictures of trees.  Specifically the bark on them, where it's all weather-beaten and mossy.   You see, I took myself off for a walk around the nearby RSPB reserve today, a site that's a former open cast mine and is now a home to countless birds.  Most of which I fail to identify.  I'll never make it as a twitcher.  Anyway, I was very taken with their trees.   I love these silver birches. Look at the colours on these.  They're pieces of textile art waiting to happen.  The photos don't quite capture how vivid the moss and lichens were.  So many shades of green, some with lots of yellow in them, others that're more of a blue-grey kind of green.  All that lovely texture too.  Wouldn't that be good to recreate in fabric and thread?   It's only a brief blog post, and a niche one at that. No doubt I'll be back to wittering on about sewing tomorrow....

It feels odd that Lent begins today.  With Ash Wednesday and also with St. Valentine's Day, so the shops and airwaves are full of hearts and flowers and talk of true lurve.  It's a strange contrast between the solemnity of the religious run-up to Easter alongside the commercialism of 14th Feb.   There was a wonderful photo I saw on the-site-formerly-known-as-Twitter, with several blokes staring in bewilderment at a Sainsburys display of dozens of Valentine cards.  You could almost hear their thoughts.  What should they buy?  What'll she like?  Jokey?  Sweetly sentimental?  They were probably mind-boggled by the prices too.  How much?  For a folded piece of card and an envelope!!!  It made me laugh anyway.   Right, on to crafty matters.  After finally listing packs of sari scraps on Etsy, I put together packs of journal ephemera too.  You see, I'd got stacks of vintage birthday cards, and was wondering w...

  Signs of spring on its way are everywhere you look.  Sadly these pretty hellebores aren't in my garden, but I saw them in a community flower bed, along with these primroses.   I think we're in for an early Easter this year, what with Lent starting next Wednesday.  I've been thinking about 'giving something up' which is what you traditionally do during Lent.  Abstain from something you enjoy.  I used to give up chocolate, but never managed more than a few days.  So instead I'm thinking of actively doing something instead.  So far my ideas include listening to a piece of classical music each day (as I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to classical stuff).  I've got Clemency Burton-Hill's 'Year of Wonder' book, where she picks out a piece of music each day and tells you a bit about the composer or other background to the piece.  I can base my listening on her selection.  I've set myself a New Year's Resolution in previous years to...

  I'm typing this as snow's falling, and has been steadily all day.  It's not settling to any great extent, though I bet by tomorrow morning the paths will be slippery with ice.  Which always makes me paranoid about falling over and at the very least looking undignified, but at worst breaking a bone or twisting an ankle.  Oh well, it's ideal weather to stay inside and craft, isn't it?  I finally got around to listing packs of sari scraps on Etsy this morning.  I only made up six bundles as I've no clue whether they'll sell or if I've set a reasonable enough price point.  Time will tell.   This is a link to the listing, if you're interested.  This vaguely pink fabric isn't from one of my Etsy packs.  It's from a bit of experimenting I was doing yesterday.  I'd seen a post on Instagram showing how a DIY version of batik could be done without using hot wax.  The Instagrammer used PVA instead, and I wanted to try this out....

In one of the scrap bags I bought recently was a packet of shisha mirrors, so this morning I had a go at using them.  There's a beautifully clear YouTube video explaining how to embroider around a mirror, attaching it to fabric, and I tried following that.  (The link's here .)  Only I went off-piste and did my own thing, which was why my first attempt wasn't good enough.  The mirror will fall out as the stitching's not wide enough to cover the mirror's edge.  My second attempt was more free-styling, but actually it wasn't bad.  The mirror's secure, which is the main thing.  I'll try again as practise makes perfect, and see if I can't get a more professional finish.   Once that was done, I dug out the gell plate and acrylics.  I'd a hankering to apply paint to fabric.  This smaller piece was previously plain white cotton.  (The photo's not great as it looks a dingy green when it's brighter in real life.)  The other material...