... and a Brief History of Stripes!

Today we have the pleasure of introducing Sarah Cross who is talented weaver, based in North Devon who has written a great guest post for us about the history of stripes in cloth making.

"I had wanted to weave for years, and since I got my hands on a loom, I haven't been able to stop! I am an now an (almost) full time weaver and I enjoy creating unique scarves as it allows me to indulge my love of colour and texture. I like to use a wide range of yarns in each scarf, as I think it allows each scarf to have its own personality.
Each scarf takes roughly 10 hours to make from start to finish, and they are made in a small room in my cottage in rural North Devon...."

Sarah's loom with a work in progress

... and an Embroidered Pencil Pot

I have been obsessed with all the posts on Pinterest where people have used embroidery and cross stitch on every day objects... And I finally got round to doing one of my own! This could be a great back to school project to organise a homework station, but we don't have to deal with any of that...yet!

... and a Pincushion Ring

Another pincushion?  Have we gone mad?!! (See also our Picture Frame Pincushion and Pin Cushion Boat with Net Thread Catcher...)

Well technically, as much as I use all of my pincushions, the idea of a ring one that is always handy (...on your...hand...!) was too good to pass up.When I saw the how-to in Issue 5 of Crafty magazine, I had to make my own!

Tips, Tools & Techniques - Cleaning a Washing Machine

Hello! Here's our regular feature where we share tips, tools & techniques that have caught our eye, things we have Pinned, and things we have tried. These are probably not going to change your life(!) but might make it a bit easier...

With all this lovely summer weather, it's a great time to be washing and hanging everything outside to dry. The downside is that my washing machine now needs a good clean to get rid of all the soap scum and mould that builds up! 

... and a Picture Frame Pincushion

You can never have too many pincushions right? As my crafting has definitely spread out all over my house (and not nicely contained within my craft room as I pretended would be the case), I felt the most sensible thing to do would be to make another pincushion. Having seen loads of these all over Pinterest, I was dying to make one that could stay on my desk in my craft room...

... and some Pretty Pins

We've been making lots of gifts lately - so this post is a bit of a change from that! I have been working in my craft room and realised I needed more coordinated items (actually we're meant to be starting on our Christmas stock to sell and I'm procrastinating!!!) So here are a selection of different types of Pretty Pins!

... and a Felt Needle Case

June is busy month for family and friend's birthdays, so I have been using it as a good excuse to spend time looking on Pinterest for inspiration! My brother's girlfriend, Alice enjoys crafting so I decided that a little needle case may come in handy, especially for while on the move.

Here's what you'll need if you want to make your own version....

... and Beach Combing for Sea Glass

During the Easter hols we went on a family trip to the Isle of Wight. It was lovely! This post is all about one tiny part of that holiday - my obsession with Sea Glass! I had read that Cowes beach was in the top 5 UK beaches for beach combing and as the weather wasn't good enough to actually sunbathe or get in the sea, we decided to make the most of it.

... and a 'Stab' at Needle Felting (!)

When we went to the Creative Stitches and Hobbycrafts Show recently, we treated ourselves to a great needle felting kit by The Frame Workshop and Molten Designs and used it to create a variety of our own designs!

Needle Felting is basically a way of fusing wools & fibres together onto a backing fabric, usually a felt. The kits we bought came with a selection of felt, threads, wools and foam block along with the all important felting tool.

... and a Visit to the Creative Stitches and Hobbycrafts Show

The popular Creative Stitches and Hobbycrafts Show came to the ExCeL in London for the first time and as it was only a train ride away, we just had to pay a visit! It was a great day out and here are some of things that inspired us...

Stitching a Welcome to Athletes of the World - a tribute by members of the Embroiderers' Guild to welcome athletes to the Olympics. Each country is represented by a series of embroidered postcards.

... and an "Attempt" at a Craft Room

One of my favourite things to look at on Pinterest is other people's craft rooms. I live in a constant state of admiration and envy. I thought if I planned to do a post on mine, it would encourage me to sort out my stuff and have a general tidy up. It is now my favourite room in our house (of course!!) 

... and a Homemade Lightbox!

On our stained glass course we met the lovely Jane Bonney. She is a local textile artist and runs courses at South Hill Park Arts Centre in  Bracknell, Berks. Her latest course is Creative Machine Stitching starting 15th February 2013. Jane first did stained glass with Nicola Kantorowicz about 5 years ago at an Oxford summer school - she has since been to 3 of her week long courses. This time round, Jane was working on the above piece inspired by her love of Rome and was using a technique called Sgraffito. The shaded areas within the glass panels are painted on with a special paint, and then the light details are etched off before the pieces are fired in a kiln. Jane wanted to use a lightbox to ensure the areas she was etching were in the right places. So she made her own!

PS. If you would like to read about our DIY Light Box that helps with taking better photos etc please click here. Otherwise please read on!!!

... and a Weaving Stick Dollies Kit

As much as I love to create and design things from scratch, sometimes you can't beat a good old craft kit - one where all the materials and equipment are provided for you and all you have to do is sit back, relax and get on with your project.

... and a Felt Travel Sewing Kit

So, here's a cool idea for a handmade Christmas present...

A while ago I got given a huge stash of felt...

... I needed a portable sewing / needlework / embroidery kit
... and I saw this cool tutorial on Sew4Home: