Giant Granny Square rug

I got a 3kg ball of Woolly Mahoosive Mammoth yarn for Christmas, so I Crocheted this Giant Granny Square rug. It was fun and it didn't take a huge amount of time, because the yarn is so huge!

I used almost all of the 3kg on this rug, and a 40mm giant crochet hook. The rug turned out about 85cm square, the colour is Mushroom pink.

Make it in Design Summer School Creative Brief - Pure Zen

For the last couple of weeks I've been coming up with a pattern design for the Make it in Design Summer School Creative Brief, which was themed "Pure Zen". 

My idea was based upon the idea of oriental origami being very calming to make. A Crane bird is a very popular design to make, and so I decided to base my pattern idea on the image of a folded paper crane.  I used a calming grey palette for the crane outlines and a very slight pink hue in the watercolour background. I'm fairly pleased with the end result although I didn't really have enough time to work on it!

Origami Cranes Pattern

Example of a possible application of the pattern as a wallpaper

Fabric application

More wallpaper

My folded paper origami Crane

3 x original interior images: Designed by Mrsiraphol / Freepik

Copper pipe bedside table

As I could not find a table small enough to fit beside my bed, I decided to make one from copper pipes, because I'd seen a lot of pictures and ideas on Pinterest. I chose a (what I thought was) simple shape that didn't require any bended corners or general complicatedness! 

Once I had assembled all the bits I decided it was best to glue them in place using araldite but it is probably better to solder them if you can! 

I'm really pleased with the result, though I think I need to give it a bit of a polish! Thanks to the guys at Plumbtech in Frome for cutting all the many pieces of pipe for me and Roman Glass where I got the custom cut bit of glass for the top.

 

 

New handmade Lampshades

Having made a few lampshades in the past, I decided I'd like to create some that were a little bit more original, so I have been experimenting a bit with crocheting a weaving tshirt yarn to make some unique shades. More to follow soon.

 

 

 

The following lampshade is a more traditional drum one, just thought I'd add it in to the post to show everyone. I can't remember the name of the fabric design but it is by Riley Blake Designs.

Sewing Machine Table Refurb

Having had this lovely but rather dark sewing machine table (which I inherited from my Nana) in my sitting room for about a year, I decided it was time to take the plunge and paint it a completely different colour! Unsurprisingly the colour was green.

The paint I used was Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Florence. I did 2 coats, then sanded the edges to give the table a distressed look. Then I waxed it using Annie Sloan soft wax, and then it was done! lovely. Now I must figure out the vintage sewing machine and do some sewing! Unfortunately I did manage to paint a bit of the curtains.

 

 

 

My Studio before and after!

I moved into my new house some 8 months ago and I'm just about getting things the way I want them. I thought I'd show you my studio/study, this is about as tidy as it gets as there are lots of projects going on! You might be able to spot some stuff from previous blogs :)

 

Corner before

Corner after, with custom built shelves and all my boxes! I do love Paperchase's boxes.

 Desk area before

 Desk area after, painted over the blue and added lots of lovely gift wraps and colourful stuff!