Nest in Crouch End, Glasto... and my New Camera

Purely by accident I just came across Amy from Nest's responses to my recent crafty Q&A and here they are! I'm with you on Glasto Amy, but it's not returning until 2013 so that's plenty of time to buy some new wellies and a tent in preparation!

Still in my final year of school, I first made my way across the country to the legendary Glastonbury music festival 21 years ago. In January, I decided I was due another visit so have decided to try for tickets again for next year. I sincerely hope the magic's still there, as a young teenager, visiting Glastonbury was the highlight of my summer and I was in my element there, enjoying my favourite bands performing live on an outside stage and meandering through the fields gazing at the exotic food and second-hand clothing stalls and watching the circus of colourful characters who passed before me.  I am definitely regressing to my teenhood these days, I don't want to get any older than I am now, just gradually younger instead!

Tonight, with tape measure in hand, I will be sizing up my reclaimed black footstool to establish just how much fabric I'll need to re-cover it. As Amy reliably informs me, the Nest team will shortly be ordering a bijou collection of lovely fabrics for their Crouch End knitting shop. I'm sure that they will not disappoint! I'll also be playing around with my new Nikon Coolpix camera. Thanks to Anna and Josephine who kindly suggested some other quality point and shoots but I decided to stick with the Coolpix. So far I've been impressed with the visual quality of the video feature but haven't established whether I can adjust the volume on it or whether it's fixed at one level. The picture quality is ok, I'm not bowled over, but as I've only taken about 10 snaps, the jury is still out on that one. Will keep you posted!

Sew in... Upcycling Homeware

Bit of an 'aspirational' one from the Post Mistress today! Ahem... what I actually mean is I haven't actually made anything for a few days but as ever, I have lots of ideas brewing. First off, I have a dearly loved blue marble effect cushion I bought back in the 1980s and noticed on Sunday that sadly, the corners are now frayed and the piping is looking worn. These days, I hate throwing quality textiles away so as the cushion pad inside is still in near perfect condition, I have decided to get my beautiful new sewing machine out and re-cover it. I can even re-use the zip on the existing cover as it's still in perfect working order. It goes to show, if you invest in quality items, with a bit of ingenuity, they can last a lifetime.

Old cushion from the '80s with scuffed edges and frayed piping

Another idea I had was to recreate something similar to the vintage style round velvet cushion my grandmother used to have. As I remember, it had a panel that went around the edge which was about 2 inches wide and the front panel gathered in under a central fabric covered button. I'd really like to incorporate some fabric from my old thick cotton Paul's Boutique bag into the new cushion as I love the day-glo paisley flowers, but I will need to buy another complimentary fabric to go with it as there won't quite be enough. Scouring the net, I've managed to find a free pattern on how to sew a flat drum shaped round cushion, so watch this space!


Tatty oversized Paul's Boutique bag in neon with cream background

And finally, a habitual magpie, my husband rescued this footstool when a neighbour was throwing it out and I immediately spotted its potential. IKEA offers a wide selection of fabrics with cheerful modern prints and I will almost certainly breathe new life into this footstool by re-covering it in one of IKEA's colourful materials.


Reclaimed footstool with leatherette cover, ripe for a makeover



The reclaimed footstool with its cover removed

Lilac John Lewis sewing machine, isn't she beautiful!

How to Knit an iPhone Cover

Hello one and all! I have something in the pipeline to show you; it's a knitted iPhone pouch. I just need to reassemble my sewing machine to put a label on it and it's all complete!

As I've been up since 6am with only four hours sleep, I decided to forego my gym class this evening and have melted into the sofa instead.

I don't know whether I told you but I live in a flat. We are having a few problems with the property management company which is a source of huge frustration. It's got to the point where I'm so irritated by them, I can't even bare to look at them. Oh dear.

I guess I'll just have to knit my way back to serenity. Just a few rows and I'll be at peace again!

Bouquet Tea Cosy

And here she is at last, my finished tea cosy. As you can see, I covered her in daffodils, a lily, roses, poppies and leaves. I'm fairly pleased with how it turned out and will definitely make another tea cosy from a different pattern in the future. Tea cosies rock!

To make it a bit more interesting I broke the rules by using different sized needles so all the flowers were different sizes, and I knitted the leaves in three shades of green.

When I get near the end of a project I always underestimate how long it will take to darn in the ends. This project was no exception, it actually took ages to sew all the foliage on and tidy up the inside but I am quite pleased with my handiwork. You just can't really buy these, only in the every-one-identical, mass produced sense anyway!

Thanks to everyone whose free patterns I used, now everything's neatly stitched down it's ready for a tea party...!

Having a Cool Yule

Our Christmas Day went smoothly, with my mince pies and homemade ice cream receiving high praise! Mum completed a burgundy Donegal yarn hat, whilst I spent a couple of hours continuing to knit the pouffe. To my envy, mum also received a set of ergonomic Japanese crochet hooks.

Next week I plan to experiment with my fabulous new purple sewing machine, crochet and mochimochi (a Japanese word, meaning knitted toys) books. Bliss!

Here's my sister-in-law opening her presents on Christmas Day...