Two Boos - Sew like your Nanna!

Coat from IKEA bag!!

2013-05-11T11:12:00.001+01:00

My friend Annie asked me to see if I could make a kids rain coat from an IKEA bag... Here is my first attempt!

A new shirt for Gideon!!

2013-05-05T17:13:00.001+01:00

2013-01-01T23:07:00.001+00:00

I have been experimenting with making some cure hats!!

Adventures with my knitting machine!

2012-11-11T17:58:00.001+00:00

I've had a breakthrough this week, I have received some punch cards in the post which I bought on Ebay and that prompted me to experiment with Fair Isle and Jacquard patterns! I realised that I didn't need the motif cams to do a multiple pattern, and even punched some of my own cards to see what would happen!

I punched a skull and cross bones pattern that I found on line as a cross stitch motif, it was tricky working out the spacing and I messed it up a bit so I can only do 4 rows before the pattern runs out! I made a super huge chunky neck warmer for myself, it is really just a huge hem with a stitched edge and some i-cord loops! Turned out ok I think!

I used a pre-punched jacquard card for this cushion cover, it used up LOADS of wool but it is really thick and made a great cushion cover.

I also played with the skull motif again to make a bolster cushion, really need to buy some inners from work!

My first attempt at a fair isle at the bottom, cute! Will be making some hot water bottle covers with this pattern for Christmas presents!

My single motif skull, first attempt at a cushion cover. Although it was just last night it feels like I've moved on considerably since then!!!

Anyway, still experimenting and seeing what I can come up with... it's lots of fun!

Knitting obsession!

2012-11-07T22:24:00.000+00:00

So, I am pretty much obsessed with the knitting machine (or as Barry calls it "That infernal noise maker") here is a hot water bottle cover I made!

I am also working on a Batman scarf for my friend!!

I found an excellent supplier of wool : Shadows Wool they are fairly local and really great value!

I am going to try knitting some nice cushion covers soon, I need to work out how to get a wider pattern than 24 stitches though!

Knitting machine

2012-10-22T12:37:00.002+01:00

A friend of mine recently inherited a Knitting Machine (Brother KH 890), we spent a good 6 hours at her place trying to get it to work, to no avail. Eventually we gave up and I brought it home to play with further and guess what? I got it going!!! Here are some things I have discovered:

Any wool will work as long as it is not too heavy for the machine (there are specific machines for chunky wool).

It take patience to make something wider than a scarf and you have to be very attentive of your wool tension!

It is best to practice with a few different types of wool and see which one work the best! Here you can see from left to right; sock wool, cheap poly craft wool (the type that is £1.99 for a huge ball), medium weight mid price wool blend.

Changing colours is easy to do stripes, just cut the wool at the ball and tie on your new colour. It is tricky getting it to start at the beginning of a row however.

Casting on takes a lot of practice, I have a good method now which works every time. Thread up your machine but don't hook the thread through the carriage yet, then make a slip knot in the loose end of the wool and tie in onto the first needle on the left with the carriage on the right. Then wind the wool around each needle individually in the motion you would use if you were writing a lower case e. When you get to the last needle pass the wool under the carriage and clip into the A slot with the rest of the wool still threaded through your machine. I will upload a picture tutorial soon.

You can experiment with different looks by changing the number of needles and pattern of needles you use, this is every third needle. I have ordered some punch cards so I can experiment with 2 colour patterns.

If I open the top drawer of my chest of drawers then I also get a knitting assistant. She takes care of all the loose bits of wool that I cut off.

More to follow.... back to the machine!

FINALLY!!! I have internet access!!!

2012-10-01T18:45:00.001+01:00

Hey all - sooooo sorry for the silence for the past month! We have moved house and I have only just managed to get back on line properly (thanks to a good Samaritan neighbour!) ... I have had a busy month without any internet and I have made many new and exciting things! Here is a short summary:

Revamped an old cable spool!

Made a show hanger for my friend Sam.

Learnt how to bake doughnuts.

Made some cakes!

And a pretty new dress!

And a nappy bag!!

Hope all is well with you all and apologies again for the long lapse in posts!! More to come...

Long time no see...

2012-07-08T20:02:00.000+01:00

So, it's been a busy few weeks! Apologies for the lack of posts. I have been doing a few things though! Here is the cushion I made from a lovely round cushion is got in IKEA for £5.

I have recovered the cushions we had on the sofa in some new colours!

I also bought this yellow blanket from IKEA for £9.99 then edged in with grey wool!!! I like the colours!!!

Here is our new laundry bag, an IKEA JALL hacked!

Barry and I have also started planning for the move into our new house, I've been plotting what it might look like!

I scored some paint for free from work, so I made my own paint samples!!

I also got some samples sent from Dulux!

So... busy busy!!!

Sketches by Ash

2012-06-08T10:36:00.001+01:00

Awesome black ink versions of a couple of the illustrations...

Love these!

posted from Bloggeroid

Teaching Nicole to sew

2012-05-31T16:12:00.001+01:00

posted from Bloggeroid

Bunting....

2012-05-19T22:36:00.000+01:00

Check out my friend Lynsey's new Facebook page! She has been crafting new and gorgeous bunting!!!!

http://www.facebook.com/BuntingFlags

New Twoboos Book!!!!

2012-05-18T11:14:00.000+01:00

I am working on an exciting project at the moment!!! I have decided to put some of my favourite patterns together and make my own book! Most craft books only have one or two patterns in them which are really useful so I have gathered all the ones that I use the most and I am in the process of making them up and photographing the steps!

These will also be a section on what equipment you need, but without all the extra stuff that you never use (I'm sure they ask you to buy heaps of equipment just so you'll spend more!) how to set up a good work space and how to keep your cost low!

AND there will be eight tutorials! Of which this cute bunting is one! So, if there is anything that you thing MUST be included then message me.... it will be available through Blurb soon and of course there will be a discount for Twoboos subscribers!!!

Watch this space!!!

Sailor dress....

2012-05-02T18:02:00.001+01:00

I finished off my Sailor Dress today! I used the standard Drindl pattern AGAIN!!!

Once I had cut the pattern pieces for the body I widened the neck and cut an extra wide facing panel.

I decided to put the facing to the outside and make a feature of it! I really like it! I also added a couple of cute anchor buttons to the collar!

I am a sucker for pockets so I added one to the seam on the right side!

Fits perfectly (as usual with that pattern).

Tea towel project

2012-04-21T00:03:00.001+01:00

IKEA has these union jack tea towels now for just £1.99 for a two pack! I zig zagged along the lined of the pattern then sewed the two together, a zip at one end makes filling it easy! It takes a regular size pillow.

Here is the Sherlock one I made! I used the swatch of my Sherlock fabric and appliqued it.

Then I added buttons to the end of this one.

posted from Bloggeroid

Matilda....

2012-04-19T21:29:00.001+01:00

This is my second bird shirt!!! I love it!!! It has a weird wonky collar and buttons on the side! Can't wait for warmer weather! I originally made this to wear for my amazing birthday excursion to see MATILDA!

New birthday shoes on and off to McDonald's for pancakes!

Covent Garden markets.... LOVELY!!!

A little bit of magic!

The Australian Food store!

This is A street Cat named Bob! I was allowed to pat him and I gave him £1 for biscuits.

The Cambridge Theatre is right near China Town so we had Dim Sum for lunch!! It was great!!!

The set was amazing!!! And the music was spectacular!!! When I grow up!

On route to the London eye...

We saw Tim Minchin!!! He was on the red carpet at the Olivier Awards!!! Matilda cleaned up with 7 awards and I URGE anyone who can to see it!!!!!

Hack your Baby Blue....

2012-04-10T17:51:00.001+01:00

What you will need.... Fabric of your choice, cotton, scissors, measuring tape or ruler, awesome IKEA SY machine (or sewing machine of your choice) and a Baby Blue IKEA bag.

Fill a bobbin with your cotton (if you are using your SY for the first time you will need to pop the right hand dial out to do this, it took me a while to figure this out!)

Cut 2 pieces of fabric, one 92cm x 28cm and one 20cm x 28cm. Fold and iron a 1cm hem on one 92cm edge.

Fold both pieces in half to find the centre, then pin the two folds right sides together and sew, leaving a 1cm space at each end of your stitching to allow for the corner.

Next continue to pin the long sides, folding the fabric at the corners so your stitching will meet. Sew these edges, again leaving a 1cm gap at the end.

Pin the remaining edges together until they meet in the middle, before sewing the final side sew the ends of the 92cm piece together. This will allow you to sew the remaining edge in one.

Now turn your work right sides out and push out the corners. Turn your Baby Blue inside out and insert it into your new bag.

Pin the two together and be sure to keep the straps out of the way.

Next, carefully sew your bag to your Baby Blue. You can use a straight stitch as I did for a simple double stitched effect or you can use a decorative stitch if you like.

Now your bag is complete!!! The Baby Blue will still take all of the weight, so you can still use it for things like shopping, going to the beach and carting stuff back and forth to work!!!

Hope you like it!

sewing in IKEA!

2012-04-10T17:00:00.003+01:00

This week has been school holidays and we have had some fun stuff going on at work! Annie has been showing off her sewing skills up in Living Rooms and teaching customers how easy it is to make bunting!!

Here she is in action:

We used a whole heap of offcuts and remnants to make this cute red/white/blue bunting! Later on we'll use it to decorate one of our Summer inspiration areas!!

She's using the IKEA SY sewing machine.... I got one for my birthday and it is EXCELLENT!!

2012-04-08T01:16:00.001+01:00

I can't begin to express how excited I am!!!! It is my birthday tomorrow and a few of the amazing people I am lucky enough to work with have given me a SY machine!!!! (see below!!) I can't believe it... totally over whelmed!!! So, as IKEA is closed tomorrow and I will be at home... I will be sewing ALL DAY!!!!!

SY with IKEA FAMILY

Check out the FAMILY site for some cool projects!!!

Birdy shirt....

2012-04-06T23:38:00.003+01:00

Everywhere I look at the moment there are birds!!! Bird prints are EVERYWHERE!!!! After the success of my black and white bird shirt I thought I'd make a more summery version!

I LOVE this one and wear it quite often now!

This one has shorter sleeves and a quirky spun collar, it buttons up off centre and the collar is twisted around to the side so it's a bit different! There are some SUPER CUTE bird fabrics on Spoonflower:

Sherlock!

2012-03-28T21:24:00.000+01:00

Check out this cute use for my Sherlock fabric! PhoebeBeeBee has some great British themed things in her shop...

PhoebeBeeBee

I also LOVE this tube map cushion!!!

Clever!

2012-03-25T21:39:00.001+01:00

Check out this adorable onesie made with my Poop Deck fabric from Spoonflower!

posted from Bloggeroid

2012-03-21T13:42:00.001+00:00

This past few months I have been having some huge success with my Spoonflower store! The Lego heads fabric has proved to be a winner so today I added some new designs!!!

Check out my shop here

COOKIES!!!

2012-02-28T16:42:00.002+00:00

Believe it or not, Barry and I still have chocolate left over from Christmas.... How is this possible I hear you cry...

Basically there are three catagories: ones he doesn't like, ones we both got sick of AND the ones I can't eat because of my braces. I will eat the ones he doesn't like as long as I can given my braces, he will eat the ones I can't as long as he likes them. We will both eat the ones the other is sick of as long as we like them or can physically eat them... where all these elements collide there are some left over chocolates... not many... but some!

Mainly SNICKERS... the new version of DAIM (which we are both sick of) and the occasional Quality St toffee...the Rocky is not supposed to be in there (I have rectified that now by eating it!)

So here is how to use them up!

Cut about a cups worth of them up into small chunks and melt in a glass bowl or jug like mine over boiling water...

In a bowl mix 150g of self raising flour, 150g of margarine, 50g of cocoa and 150g of sugar (I used half white and half brown). Mix it by hand or with the dough hooks of your electric mixer until you have a crumble type texture. Then add the hot melted chocolates, mix until you get a thick smooth doughy consistency.

Use two dessert spoons to make quenelles and line them up on a greased baking tray! Space them much further apart than mine as they spread out a lot!

Bake at 180 degrees for about 10 minutes but keep an eye on them if you over cook them they wont be chewy!

Poncho....

2012-02-27T19:03:00.001+00:00

I bought this shower curtain from IKEA for £2 (it was in bargain corner!) and I am going to make it into the most awesome rain cape/poncho ever!!! I am going to use the same pattern I used for my Sherlock cape!!

Making a start tomorrow so I will post some pictures!!

Cutting table

2012-02-19T17:34:00.001+00:00

I picked up this colourful tape measure in a design store in Stockholm, kind of the IKEA tape measure next generation. Today I totally revamped my sewing area and ended up with some free desk space (a miracle) so I taped it to the desk! Now I don't have to look around for a ruler all the time!

posted from Bloggeroid