Gone To Earth

Magnetic snaps...

Sorry to be showing such an ugly photograph..... this magnetic snap has worn away the bag lining.

Now I remember why I always apply magnetic snaps this way ....

I've had this bag for ages. I like this bag, I use this bag everyday and now it's .... defunct....nothing I can do with it apart from re-making it into something else.

Sad now!

Let's talk Pincushions

Who doesn't love pincushions?

Essentially every little pincushion has a functional role to play in the sewing room. It valiantly holds onto those sharp finger pricking pins, pin heads, decorative or otherwise pointing upwards so that they are easy to grab hold of when you next need to hold your sewing in place. 

Somehow, though pincushions are so very much more than that. Their small size provides just enough room for a little bit of creative expression. A little bit of space for personalising your sewing equipment. They make brilliant gifts to give to sewing friends, they use up all those scraps of fabric, sell well at craft fairs and are a perfect size to indulge a little whimsy. Every sewing room/space should have a pincushion to be proud of shouldn't it ? 

 Here are few patterns to inspire you, gorgeous new pincushion patterns from Heather Bailey. Adorable Effie and Ollie the pachyderm pincushions can also be made as toys for little hands to hold and love. And they stack....think of all the games you could play.

Henrietta Turtle can be made a Henry Turtle just by not adding the flower...

Then there is Flutterby Pincushions - two butterfly designs, a bee and a ladybird, each has layered wings to hold on to your sewing needles.

If they don't set your pulse racing but you'd still like to try your hand at making a pincushion for yourself or for friends then here are a few lovely tutorials I've found around the web. (Bet you can't stop at making just one.)

This is a photograph of the pincushion I made using this tutorial. Eight Patch Pincushion 

Some patchwork block patterns make brilliant starting points for pincushions and it's a good way of practicing a new technique and an brilliant excuse for doing so. (There are some more pincushion tutorials based on patchwork blocks lower down this post.)

Tomato pincushions from Martha Stewart

Square cushion pincushion designed by Heather Bailey.

Toadstool cottage Pincushion (Too cute for words.)

Flower Pincushion designed by Anna Maria Horner.

This is a lovely idea (and tutorial) for a pincushion using a Matryoshka doll designed by Vintage Violet of Maximum Rabbit Designs.

Last but not least are these lovely little patchwork pincushions from the Purl Bee

Molly's miniature Pincushions

Do you have any pincushion ideas to share?

A how-to for Lamifix from Vilene

If you've never come across Lamifix before. This is it.

It's made by Vilene and it's part of their Creatives range. It's a transparent 'film' which you fuse to fabric and gives it a wipeable surface..... turns it into something a bit like an oilskin except you don't need any special sewing machine feet to be able to sew it.

Why would you want such a thing? Well, because it gives ordinary fabric a wipeable surface. It's suggested uses are; lunchbags, cosmetic bags. beach bags. tote bags, pencil cases, but I know that it's also being used to make wipeable place mats... wipeable baby changing mats that coordinate with baby 'changing bags'. Good idea that! I bet you can think lots more. So, if you do think of anything else then please share.... (Note: fabric cannot be laundered once lamifix has been fused to fabric.)

It doesn't look like much.... almost like a catering grade cling film. It comes in two finishes, this one has a glossy finish to it. It comes with quite detailed instructions about how to use it and how to apply the Lamifix to fabric. 

Basically, the 'film' is fused to fabric using the heat of an iron. However, there are a couple of necessary steps to follow to ensure success. First of all, you need to make sure that your fabric is smooth with no wrinkles and that the lamifix is free of any lint. It is inclined to be a little static but any 'bits' it does pick up can be lightly dusted away with a soft, lint free cloth. 

The complete instructions are on the shop, but ... I've found a little video made by Vilene which shows you exactly how to apply the lamifix to fabric.

Lamifix applied to some medium weight fabric.... it remains flexible like the original cloth - but now has a glossy finish and can be wiped clean. Lamifix product video made by Vilene.

Brilliant isn't it? So, much clearer than instructions ...... there are videos for all the other Vilenes too..... perhaps I should get out more :)

Speak soon ....