About Me

Lincolnshire, United Kingdom
I'm an enthusiatic crafter with a love of variety and all things hand-made. Happiest when surrounded by the chaos of several projects on the go at once, rummaging in the remnant bin, or discovering hidden treasures in Antique markets. Living in a cottage by the sea with Ben and Boris our Black Lab.

Monday 16 May 2011

Glorious Sugarpaste


 

Well this past week has been particularly productive. First and foremost is our wonderful workshop which this week saw Julie Winson of www.cakesbyscarletribbons.co.uk showing us how to craft beautiful Sugarpaste Roses.


I've never seen everyone so quiet as they all watched Julie's demonstration avidly. After a bit of help we were soon working away, filling our boards with our delicate little creations.


Emma knocked us up some delicious cupcakes which we duly loaded up with lashings of buttercream, the perfect way to display our new skills. Hannah's posy of baby pink roses looked almost too good to eat, almost!






Kathleen's mix of rosebuds and daisies, made using a nifty stamp-type gadget, reminded me of a cottage garden with cleverly piped buttercream 'foliage'. Once we were working away Julie put together a wonderful example of what can be done with our new skills to really impress with a beautiful cake!


 And for those keen to see what else can be done with a lump of sugar, look at Sue's adorable Elephant. Perfect for Birthday or Christening cakes!


Just to prove how inspired we all were I found this picture of Emma's cupcakes being sold in the cafe at 28 Plough Hill this week. Success!


In other news I also paid a visit to A Good Yarn, a beautiful knitting boutique which has just opened on Cambridge Street in Cleethorpes (www.agoodyarn.co.uk). Over a cup of coffee with the owner we had a good natter while I browsed the beautiful yarns, books, patterns, gifts and everything else tucked away into the shelves. In the end I was very strong minded and only left with three balls of machine washable pure wool which I'm now crocheting into a striped hat for Ben's camping expeditions.


Last and literally least is today's project, which was squeezed in between gardening activities when Ben popped out for and hour to run an errand. I picked up some cover-your-own type buttons on my trip to CallyCo in Lincoln the other week so decided to give them a try. With a bit of Bondaweb to stick the little orange heart onto the teal backing fabric I then used a tiny zig-zag stitch to machine embroider around the edges. They measure 22mm across and the back snaps into place, securing the fabric in place. Quite pleased with the results, quick, easy and minimal mess! However I slightly regret not getting the badge version as then I could pin them everywhere...


Well I think that's quite enough for one post so I'll say TTFN. Love to hear your comments so do say hello! xx

Wednesday 11 May 2011

Knitting Needle Roll



Although beautiful, the skies were looking ferocious so I made the decision to stay safe indoors and play with a little idea which had been brewing in the back of my mind. 

I'd seen a photo of a Knitting Needle Roll made by Kathleen Watson, one of our Make and Doers. She had sewn long pockets into a rectangle of fabric which could store all her needles safely and be rolled up, neat and tidy. This would be a vast improvement to my method of chucking everything in a large bag and hiding it behind the sofa!

So I picked my fabric, dusted off the sewing machine and got to work. Once I figured out how to engineer the thing it was really straight forward to put together. I also discovered the joy of using pegs rather than pins to hold everything together (a tip from Kathleen) which was a revelation!


The finished article measured 19"x12" and had two layers of pockets for different sized needles and hooks. I made the pockets 1" wide which is plenty of room for even my chunky needles. I left a 4" flap at the top which folds over when you roll it up to stop needles from falling out.


 It's hard to tell from the photos but the polka dot fabric is a lovely aubergene purple. Overall I'm really pleased with the results, I hope it encourages me to get knitting now!

On a slightly different note, tomorrow night's Things to Make and Do workshop will be focussing on Sugar Craft. The extreemly talented Julie Winson will be showing us how to mold a lump of icing sugar into beautiful roses. Here's an example of some of her work on a slightly grander scale:


For more of her edible artwork go and have a look at her website www.cakesbyscarletribbons.co.uk which has lots of photos and information for you. xxx






Tuesday 10 May 2011

The Beginning!

Well we all have to start somewhere, and now is as good a point as any!

Welcome to my new blog for Things To Make & Do, the workshop my mum and I run on Thursday evenings from 28 Plough Hill, Caistor. While I have previously been content with our Facebook group I started to realise that those not afflicted with an addiction to the social networking site had no access to all the information, photos and gossip we've been sharing over the past few weeks. So here we are, accessible to the world!

The plan is to share photos, links to other inspirational websites, how-to demonstrations and lots of useful information here, as well as indulge my need to show off how talented we all are!

So please get in touch, add us to your bookmarks and keep your eyes peeled for future posts xx

This is a snap from our Needle Felting workshop, great fun and so easy to get great results :)