a 55cm version of may mouse…

…myfanwy

images from fabrickideezs (awesome site)

recently my husband peter did an amazing job giving our tired old kitchen a makeover.

i love how it’s turned out & I’m now enjoying, adding the final little touches to bring it to life.

i saw the above potholders on pinterest & thought they would be both practical & decorative for our home.

i made some this weekend & here they are…

…the little patches of maze & vale fabric goes perfectly with our maze & vale t. towel.

i saw these dreamy beauties on pinterest & was captivated.

“the toy you destroy to enjoy“

made by *Charles Gregor creations in the 1950′s & recently sold on etsy.

These unopened surprise balls contain layers & layers of coloured crepe paper & hidden little treasures in the different layers.

an idea & tradition that has featured in different cultures through history.

watch this awesome video by Nathalie Lete opening a ball made by Gina Namkung.

to say i was inspired is under statement…

i hope you like my first foray into making surprise balls.

I’m very excited to be adding them to the cloth and thread range soon!

* charles gregor surprise ball photo’s via thelovelyandthestrange

some small cute items from cloth and thread’s little online craft market soon…

a little store update at down that little lane …

soft pinks, neutrals & fur!

it’s a very nicely curated store with goodies of all description &

mr. dandy lion is very happy to be residing there…

…in the company of the dolled up gal’s below,

store

blog

for a great girl!

:+)

kido’s jeans too short…

…snip, snip, snip…

…made a gathered frill 9cm in height & double the measure of cut hem eg. hem circumference 80cm – frill length 160cm…

..(.ignore hem,i  undid it) & pinned gathered edge to jean cut hem…

…i added another frill 13cm in height & 200cm in length (didn’t want next frill too gathered)

hem & attach to the hem of 1st frill

note: i would use a ruler next time when chopping off crutch & legs ;)

things…

plain white singlet

10cm of bemsilk lining (112cm wide) in pale pink, torn into 6cm wide strips (raw edge top & bottom)

-sew 3 rows of gathering stitches, leaving long ends of cotton to tie in knots.

-1st row 8mm from top edge, 2nd & 3rd rows 8mm spaced from each other.

-gather all threads from one end & tie off into a knot (without misshaping side of strip, not too tight)

-from unknoted end, pull 3 top gather threads from each row together & gather (distributing gathers evenly)

-when happy with amount of gathers, tie off the 3 rows ends & knot together (once again not too tight to misshape side of strip)

-cut gathered strip into 3 different graduating strip lengths.

-i did 17cm for 1st row, 14cm for 2nd row & 11cm for 3rd row.

-fold side edges under 1cm each edge, pin a little above the top of the singlet neckline, so raw edge is feature along the neckline.

- sew across gather stitches with triple stitch zig zag (this stitch has some stretch in it for stretch singlet material) & a little down the sides to secure the gather stitches but leave frill free.

-repeat this method for the 2nd & 3rd gathered strips, pinning each a little under the bottom edge of the row on top.

-press strips when attached with a cool iron (careful, bemsilk melt’s if too hot) to flatten gathers.

-finished…..but if your littlie is like mine, you will be ironing some light stretch interfacing to the back of the singlet where the strips have been attached to cover all the stitches.

via b4 it fades