Tuesday 31 July 2012

Things to Make & Do - UFO's & Stash Busting

Hello, my lovelies!  A rubbish blogger that I am, I thought it was about time I popped by and showed you the bit of UFO & Stash Busting I have been doing in June & July.

To be honest there has not been that much, two projects to be precise. Most of what I have made has been for others (I know I am selfless), and shockingly I've even started knitting for Christmas, which is wholly unlike me! So a separate post will surely follow with all those goodies...but for now back to the busting

Candy Cane Beach Bra
(UFO & Stash Buster)

I bought this pattern early last year as I wanted to make it up for my summer hols but I never got around to doing more than cutting it out from the fabric, I am lazy!


Created By: Mrs Depew Vintage

Ingredients: 

  • Approx. 0.5 yard Cotton Outer
  • Approx. 0.5 yard Cotton Lining
  •  2 Buttons

There is not really much to say about this pattern as it was very simple and straightforward to make up, just 6 pieces (including the lining) so I really can't think why I took so long to finish it!


I absolutely love the 50's pointed collar on this top
Both the outer & lining (plain white cotton) fabrics were from Walthamstow market at £1 a meter and have been sitting in my stash for a few years, I found the candy stripe quite a little irritating to work with as it refused to match up (see the front seam) but that probably has more to do with me than the fabric!


I used two massive buttons on the back to make it a bit easier to open/close without asking for assistance and to ensure it doesn't suddenly ping open in public. I think I will have to have a go at making up a matching pair of shorts then all I'll need is some sunshine and a sandy beach!


Crewel Love
(UFO & Stash Buster)

I started this embroidery shortly after I finished my crewel embroidery kit back in February I had gone crazy pinning embroidery pictures and was keen to get stuck into something a bit more difficult.

My inspiration came from this 70s 'God Bless Our Pad' I loved it so much I knew I had to try my own take on it.


Source: racheldenbow.blogspot.com via Wendy on Pinterest

Not being the most religious of souls, I felt it would be more appropriate to have a different phrase and eventually I settled on The Beatles lyric 'Love is All You Need' which I think is in keeping with the flower power theme.


Pattern Here: Love is All You Need

Know How:  Split Stitch
                      Padded Satin Stitch
                      French Knot

Ingredients: 
  • 20" x 16" Frame without glass
  • 24" x 20" woven fabric 
  • Odds and ends of yarn
  • Embroidery Hoop or Frame

I've had the frame for years, I saved it from the bin (classy) back when I worked in a photo lab, the glass was missing so it could no longer be sold, but I knew that it would come in handy for something and at last it has.

The backing fabric was taken from a pair of Next curtains a college at work kindly gave to me as they were redecorating and though I could use them, unfortunately, they didn't fit any of our windows, so after much deliberating I decided to re-purpose them as they were the perfect colour and weave for a bit of embroidering.

I first outlined each letter in split stitch, then I used a huge Padded Satin Stitch to fill them in.




I traced my text onto the fabric using a pencil, which I soon learned was a mistake. The white wool was gradually turning grey as I stitched over the outlines, eeek!  Fortunately, I can report after washing it has pretty much gone, phew! Next time I will be using a water soluble pen much less stressful!


Making the most of stitching in the sunshine.
I bought myself a cheap tapestry frame from Hobbycraft as the hoop was just not big enough.
 I improvised the flowers as my embroidery skills are still rather limited I stuck to what I knew  (3 stitches) and kept it simple, but no less effective I think! If I were to make another I would definitely mark out the flowers beforehand as I did struggle to fill some gaps and not have too many of the same colour too close together.


I actually finished the last few flowers whilst watching the amazing Olympic opening ceremony, in between bouts of lump in the throat sobbing that is - what the heck! I had no idea I felt so patriotic - the boyfriend though I was having a breakdown - all I can say is thank goodness for Rowan Atkinson irreverent silliness, making me laugh myself out of it!


It needs a bit of a gentle press to reduce some of the creases caused by washing, and I may add a few more flowers at a later date. But all in all, I think it looks great and well worth the many, many hours it has taken to finish, as I really enjoyed each and everyone, especially those sat in the sunshine!

Oh, and as it's Tuesday I am going to link up to Lakota's Ta-da! Tuesday!!

Wendy x

Sunday 1 July 2012

The House The 50s Built

Evening all, I hope you're having wonderful weekends!

I'm off on my hols at the moment, I’ve popped up to my parents in Liverpool for a bit, I came up to see The Stone Roses play Heaton Park yesterday which was utterly fabulous, but it was a very long soggy day (we didn’t get in until 3am, I feel like a naughty teenager again), I am still exhausted though my brother somehow found the energy to get up at 9am to go for a 4 mile run - what a weirdo!

My recovery is more along the lines of, sleeping till 11 then spending the day watching copious amounts of catch-up TV and in doing so I've stumbled upon something blog worthy, so my day has not been totally wasted.  It’s a series called ‘The House The 50s built’ which was recently shown on Channel 4. I think it’s rather interesting and definitely worth a watch if you love science or history or are just a tad obsessed (like me) with the 40s & 50s.  Each episode highlights a different part of the 40s home and shows how the discoveries and inventions of the 50s led to a revolution in the way we decorated and used each room, it even has a guest appearance from the icon of vintage blogging Fleur DeGerre (ep 3) sporting her fabulous vintage undercrackers no less!

I have linked up to the youtube videos below, which I hope are multi-regional (I am sorry if not) Also I don't know how long these episodes will be active for so if you’re interested you ought to watch them as soon as you can.

Episode One - The Kitchen 
No longer available

Episode 2- The Living Room
No longer available

Episode 3 - The Bedroom
No longer available

Episode 4 - The Garden
No longer available

And while we are talking of the 50s home, I found this great little tutorial from Thread Banger on youtube,showing you how to make your very own Atomic Star Burst Mirror, surely a must for any vintage home!



I’m heading off  to the Isle of Wight for a few days tomorrow (I know little old jet-set me ...or should that be train-set!) and so will be internetless for a few days, I intend to fill my PC free hours with lots of reading, knitting, and charity shopping. Oh and I've just realised that this is my eleventy-first post (sci-fi nerd strikes again) so on my return I'll have another little giveaway which I hope you will like and I promise it won't be sci-fi related at all :)

Wendy x


If you want to see what I am getting up to you can check out the  new Instagram do-hickey on the side bar...Fancy eh!