My first quilt

When I first got my sewing machine, last year, one of the main reasons was because I wanted to make a quilt. I spent many an hour at the end of 2009 looking online at quilting fabrics and found a company that I love called Moda who do lots of great fabrics. Not only do they do great fabrics but they do collections that you can get lots of fabrics that all go together. And what’s more you don’t have to buy masses of one fabric you can get different packets of small amounts of fabric from one collection. There is some strange jargon for the different shapes and sizes but some of the packs you can get are: Jelly Rolls, Charm packs, & Layer cakes.
I decided to use a Jelly Roll for my first quilting project. This contains 40 strips of 2.5 inch wide fabrics from one collection.
For Christmas I received 2 books with many quilt patterns for Jelly Rolls. I decided on a style, and then in January I bought the fabric I had been coveting for a couple of months. I used the collection called Eva. I had to also get some plainish fabric for backing to go along with the Jelly Roll to make the desired size.So after having the fabrics sitting around for months, my sister got some fabric to make a quilt for herself and started work on it. This really made me want to work on mine. Hence I decided I could take the time and make the quilt I wanted as a birthday present to myself. After spending a few evenings working on my quilt I took a day off of work and spent the whole day making my quilt. In the end I think it probably took me about 2 whole days to get the top part of my quilt finished. Now all I need to do is buy the wadding and backing and then I can finish the quilt. Jun 2010



I would place the bits over the living room floor to work out where I wanted it placed. Luckily I wasn't making the quilt any bigger because it fitted perfectly on the floor.




This is a section of my finished quilt top. It had a border on it and with that it didn't quite fit on the floor of my living room. Now I just need to add the batting and backing and do the quilting.

What every 3 year old boy wants...

Hmmm… what to make my nephew for his 3rd birthday. I didn’t think he would want a bag, or a cushion (these seem to be what I make the most of) so I went for a pair of pyjamas instead. I did cheat slightly by buying a plain blue t-shirt. I then made a little motif dinosaur to sew on the front that matched with the bottoms that I made. Jun 2010

Another bag

My sister-in-law loves green, so when it came time to make her present I knew I would use some green linen I had. Again I made a bag (very handy one-size-fits-all). I had a fat quarter of some quilting fabric that I had picked up just because I liked it and I thought it would make a good lining and detailing. A drew out a few designs and finally narrowed it down. It took me a while to make this one, as I had to keep trying to figure out the angles I needed to use. I put a front pocket on with the lining coming up over the edge to accentuate the edge. I then made the flap with the same edging. The bag turned out to be quite long in the end, but I was pleased with it over all. May 2010

Denim bag

When it came round to my nieces 12th birthday I decided to make her a bag. I used my old grey jeans that I had already used parts of on another bag, but this time I used the detail of a back pocket for the front of the bag. I used a flowery material (which I have used a couple of times before) to line it and also for the handle. I also had some brace clips I had bought previously, just because I liked them. I used these to attach the handle to the bag and also some matching poppers for the handle as well as the fastening on the front flap. May 2010

Yellow roses

My mum has been working on a cross-stitch of some yellow roses for years. The sewing has even travelled to Madagascar for two years with her. She finally finished this year and asked if I could make it into a cushion cover for her. It just so happened that her birthday was coming up so I said I would do it as my present to her. I found some fabric that I thought went well with the cross-stitch and then made a start. I made a border of my chosen fabric around the cross-stitch to make the front part of the cushion cover. I then made the back out of two bits of the fabric with a zip going across. This was the first time I had ever sewn a zip into anything so I was a little unsure of what I was doing, but used my trusty Sewing Book by DK to check the technique. I had also bought piping for the edge of the cushion, which like the zip I had never used before. I think it all came together pretty well. My mum loves it and it has pride of place in her living room. May 2010

This isn't the best picture, it's a bit dark, but you get the idea.

Bags of flowers

For my next project I decided to make a bag. I had some beige linen that I wanted to use and then I got some deep purple cotton to line the bag and do a flower to accessorize. I made this bag in a similar style to the first one I made (the red/grey/black one). I did a different sort of fastening for this, with a little flap that went over the top with a little loop that goes through a hole in the flap. I think it may have been better if the hole was a bit smaller, but it seemed to do the trick.
I wasn’t sure how to make a flower; I had an idea in mind but had a little look online anyway to see what was out there. In the end I just folded a length of purple cotton in half along the length and then sewed the open edges together with a wide stitch, then pulled the stitching to gather the edge. I then wound it into a circle and when I was happy that it looked like a flower I hand sewed it into place. Then sewed a button on to hide the mess in the middle, plus a safety pin on the back so that it can be detached from the bag if wanted. Apr 2010

Is it a bird... is it a plane... no it's a top!

I wasn’t sure what to make for my sister’s birthday and decided to try making a top similar to one I have. So I used my top for the main shape of the top, by folding it and drawing around it onto the fabric. This is probably one of the trickiest things I’ve made as I didn’t have much experience of making clothes and I was just making it up. I was pretty pleased with the out come. A couple of things that bothered me were 1) I didn’t attach the straps at the front of the top to the very outside edge of the top (but at least I know to change that if I make similar top) and 2) it looks quite boxy (I did put some elastic in the back to pull it in but I didn't do it tight enough. Plus when the top is on it doesn't look so boxy). Apr 2010

Lots of ribbons

My sister and I had decided to accessorize our living room with brown and teal, but I have been going through a green phase and wanted to add some green too. When I was out one day I saw a painting of flowers, which had teal and green flower heads. I loved it and decided that we could add green to our brown and teal bits in our flat. I went out and bought an assortment of green, teal and beige ribbons to sew onto a cushion cover to infuse the colours together. I did a plain brown cotton background and then sewed different widths, textures, and colours of ribbons across the fabric at various angles. I then sewed the length of fabric into an envelope style cushion cover. Mar 2010

Another udder

I grew up living in hand knitted cardies that my nan had made. So when it came round to her 80th birthday I decided to make her a needle udder to store the many needles that she has. I made it slightly smaller than my own one since she only uses short needles these days. She was very pleased with it, especially because her old storage case has recently broken and she said she couldn’t find a nice new one anywhere. Mar 2010

My first order

One day my 4-year-old niece came over and saw that I had a book about making skirts that I had borrowed from the library. She proceeded to look through the book and put in an order for the skirt she would like. She asked for a red skirt with flowers on, and went on to point out a few styles in the book that she liked. Since her birthday was coming up I decided I would try to make the desired skirt. Luckily I already had some red, flowery fabric. I had also seen a simple child’s skirt in a sewing magazine I had. The skirt wasn’t exactly what I wanted to do so I took a look and then started to make it up as I went a long. It was pretty basic to make and then I just added a belt and belt loops to add some more detail. The green parts are from the lining of a jacket I took apart since I loved the colour but hadn't worn it for ages because the style didn't look right on me. Mar 2010

Cushions, cushions, who's got the cushions?

At the end of 2009 I had purchased some curtain material to use for various soft furnishings in my flat. At last I decided to make some cushion covers with it. I did 3 the same. It was a very simple technique that I used. I used one length of fabric, hemmed two opposite ends then folded it so the ends over lapped and sewed down the sides. You can then put the cushion in through the over lap. I found you do need to make the overlap quite large because otherwise when the cushion is used it pops out the back a bit. I had made the covers the same size as the cushions I had bought, but later found out it is better to make the cover an inch or two smaller than the cushion so that it fills the cover well without saggy/empty corners. Feb 2010

Third time lucky

My first job to start off the New Year was to make a hat to go with my sister-in-law’s scarf I had made her for Christmas. Because I had made up the pattern for the scarf, I had to figure out how to use the same pattern to make a hat. I looked in a few books and online to find the best technique and then bought a cheap, small, ball of wall to give it a go. I was really pleased with the out come but it was quite small. I could only just about squeeze my head into it so figured I could give it to a child. When I mentioned the hat to one of my sisters she said she would have it. I was sceptical as to if it would fit, but I obviously have a big head because it fit her perfectly.

(Sorry, I don't appear to be able to find any pictures for this post at the moment. As soon as I do I'll post them)

Hat 1 info:
Wendy Mistral Chunky Shade 790
59 stitches
rows 1-6: Double rib using 6mm needles
row 7 onwards as follows using 8mm needles:
row 7: k1, p1 rep
row 8: p1, k1 rep
row 9: p1, k1 rep
row 10: k1, p1 rep
Continue rows 7-10 until hat is desired size ( I did 6 lots of the 4 rows)
After last row sew yarn end through loops of last row and pull in. Use this end to sew the sides together to make hat shape. I then sewed the top points together to gather in the top.

Once I knew how to make the hat I attempted it in the Sidar wool I used for the scarf but used more stitches. Unfortunately, I used too many and the hat was huge. Fortunately, big hats were quite the fashion so I kept that hat for myself.

Hat 2 info:
Sirdar Denim Chunky Shade 644
95 stitches
rows 1-8: double rib using 5mm needles
row 9 onwards as follows using 8mm needles:
row 9: k1, p1 rep
row 10: p1, k1 rep
row 11: p1, k1 rep
row 12: k1, p1 rep
Continue rows 9-12 until hat is desired size (I did 7 lots of the 4 rows)
Finish same as Hat 1.

As the saying goes ‘third time lucky’, at last I had made a hat the right size so this one went to the intended recipient.

Hat 3 info:
Sirdar Denim Chunky Shade 644
75 stitches
rows 1-7: double rib using 5mm needles
row 8 onwards as follows using 8mm needles:
row 8: k1, p1 rep
row 9: p1, k1 rep
row 10: p1, k1 rep
row 11: k1, p1 rep
Continue rows 8-11 until hat is desired size (I did 6 lots of the 4 rows)
Finish same as Hat 1.

A little udder

One of my sisters took up crocheting at the same time I started knitting so I made her a smaller version of my needle udder for her crochet hooks. She isn’t a fan of flowers or paisley or anything like that so I struggled to find a fabric I liked that I could use for the inside of the udder. I finally found an off cut that I could use, that was very plain, but a colour she liked. Then I used the same fur I had used on my one as I knew she loved it. I accented the udder with beige and brown fastenings. My sister told me this was her favourite Christmas present. Dec 2009

Following the pattern

This is the first time I have followed a pattern. I decided to make some pj bottoms for a friend but didn’t know where to start so I bought a Newlook pattern (6859). I went shopping for material and it took me nearly a whole morning trying to decide on the fabric. I didn’t want to use checked material as this makes it harder due to trying to match the pattern so I went for a busy flower pattern instead. This is another fabric that I got a lot of so, again, it pops up in some other projects.It took me a while to decipher how to read a pattern, but once I had figured it out I managed to get the bottoms made pretty quickly. Dec 2009


This picture makes the legs look different lengths, but I assure you they were the same length.

A little something

Once I had made the bag for my friend I decided to make a mini version for her young daughter who loves bags as much as her mummy. I used the same materials and did a similar, but simplified design. The handles are made out of the inner seam of the grey jeans. Dec 2009

The picture on the right shows mother and daughter matching bags.

And sew it starts

When I was young whenever my nan knitted me and my siblings cardies and jumpers there would always be a label in it saying ‘hand knitted by nan’. As I decided to sew a few presents for Christmas my first thought was to get some ‘handmade by Hev’ labels made. It took me a whole evening to choose the design I wanted, I don’t really know why, it’s not like there was that much choice. But a few days later the labels arrived and I was ready to start making.

My first present I decided to make was a bag for a friend. I had an idea in my head of what the bag would look like. It was going to be a big bag made out of a few different fabrics. I had a long, black cord, skirt that was in good condition but that I hadn’t worn in ages so I decided to cut it up to use. As well as this I had a pair of grey jeans I had out grown so I cut those up too. I did buy some red/black flecky material to accent these two fabrics. I also got some black cotton for the lining, plus some d-loops for the handles and a few large buttons for decoration.
I didn’t have a pattern, or any thing to follow so I just sort of made it up as I went along, knowing how I wanted it to look in the end. It took me a while as I had to figure out how to do each detail I wanted to add. The most annoying thing was when I sewed the lining on, I turned it all in the right way and realised I had sewn the lining on inside out. It took forever to unpick, but I’ve never made the same mistake again.
I think this is where it started, my tendency for making bags. This was my first bag I made but it was not going to be my last. When I’m trying to think of something to make I most commonly make bags. I guess it’s because bags are one-size-fits-all and there are so many things you can do to them to make them different. This was also the start of me re-using materials from old clothing (I call the things made from old clothing items rejuve in my blog labels). Dec 2009

You'll never see things the same way

When I go shopping or see people’s clothes and bags I never look at them as I used to. Now when I see something instead of thinking ‘ohh, I like that’, I look and say ‘ohh, I wonder how you make that!’ I look at the little details and try to figure out how I can replicate it. I got the idea for the next scarf I made from a cardigan that my niece had. I liked the pattern of the knitting so I had my mum have a look and try to figure out how I could knit it. Not sure that it reproduced exactly as I had seen it but I loved the pattern none-the-less. I made this scarf, in November, for my sister-in-law’s Christmas present and couldn’t wait to give it to her. I had originally looked for chunky charcoal grey wool, but I couldn’t find any that I liked and when I did find some it was really itchy, which isn’t good for a scarf (not very snugly). So in the end I got, what I thought, was black and grey flecky wool, but the more I knitted the more I thought it’s more blue and black.


Scarf modelled by the lovely Lou (my sister-in-law)
(I had forgotten to take a picture when I made it)

Scarf info:
Sirdar Denim Chunky Shade 644
8mm needles
31 stitches
row 1: k1, p1 rep to end of row
row 2: p1, k1 rep to end
row 3: p1, k1 rep to end
row 4: k1, p1 rep to end
Repeat rows 1-4 until scarf is desired length.
Add tassels

My first sewing project

When I started knitting I bought a book/magazine called Complete Guide to Knitting & Crochet and, believe it or not, I actually got my first sewing project idea from this. It had what was called a needle udder. It is a pouch you can roll up that you keep your knitting needles in and I think it was called an udder as the fabric used was cow skin-esque fur with a pink inner fabric. I decided to use other materials but used the concept from the book for how to make it. The fur I used for the outside is soooooo soft! There were cheaper furs, but they looked cheap and felt pretty nasty so I decided to spoil myself. I then used a small flower print fabric for the inside. (I actually bought too much of this fabric, as you will see it crops up in a few more of my later projects.) Oct 2009

My first knitting project

I started by practicing purl and knit stitches on some cheap wool and then played around with doing a rib stitch. Once I was happy with that I started my first project, a simple scarf. I made a rib scarf out of chunky wool. I used needles that were too small for the wool so it's quite a tight rib but for a first try, making it up as I went, I thought I did quite well. Whilst watching films (ones I had seen before) I would pick up my knitting. As my first project I couldn’t put it down and could often be found knitting late into the night.
I wasn’t making the scarf for anyone particular but when one of my sisters saw it she decided she wanted it as her birthday present (Oct 2009). And so it began, nearly everything I have made since has been given away as presents, hence I have taken pictures of everything so I had some evidence that I have actually made anything.


Scarf Info:
Robin Super Chunky Shade 1306
8mm needles (should have been 9mm)

30stitches
row 1: k
row 2: k
row 3: p
row 4: p
repeat for rows 5-8
row 9 onwards: k2 p2
When scarf is required length repeat rows 1-8
Add tassels by wrapping wool around a CD case three times. Cut and pull through knitting with a crochet hook.

I love to make things

Growing up I always loved making things. As I've got older most of my hobbies are creative. I started scrap booking about 12 years ago and now I also love card making, photography, and most recently I have taken up knitting and sewing.
At the end of 2009 I decided to teach myself knitting. My nan had taught me when I was young and so I could pick up the basics quite easily. I say easily, as easy as it is for a left-hander to knit. I have my own style of holding the needles that amuses most people, but it works for me. I then managed to get myself a, well cared for, second hand sewing machine and I was away. There was no stopping me.
I have no practical training except what I learnt in school, from friends and family, and any info I can find in books or online, but I love designing things and just giving it a go.
I have mainly been making things for family birthday presents etc, but I really wanted to have somewhere I could showcase what I've made for friends, family, and anyone else to see.
I would love feed back about anything you see here. All items I've made are one off, original, pieces.