HOME MADE CUSHIONS…

Cushion

As you know I bought a large (400g) ball of wool to keep me busy after my foot surgery and the first thing I knitted was a cushion cover (see above).

I’d originally planned to knit a throw but soon realised that I would get bored of knitting all the squares and decided to try a cushion cover instead.

simple knits

I have a lovely book which has some lovely patterns for your home called ‘Simple knits for easy living’, by Erika Knight (see above, available from Amazon) which has superb pictures to inspire you and easy to follow patterns.

Of course cushion covers don’t have to be knitted covers, it’s just quite fashionable at the moment. However, ‘cushions’ especially ‘heart shaped’ are just about everywhere.

I bought the small heart shaped one below that says ‘Thanks’ on it for a friend to give her after a party she held. It’s little ones like that which can come in very handy as gifts to people and could be made up of old bits of fabric or even clothes you no longer wear.

xmas home

There is a brilliant website http://www.cushionsandmore.com/cushion-patterns.html which has patterns and details on every type of cushion you could ever think of, from pin cushions to floor cushions.

I’m definitely going to make some small heart cushions with ‘Thanks’ and ‘Get Well Soon’ and ‘Happy Birthday’ on them as it makes a change from a bunch of flowers and you will always need them.

TAKE UP SEWING, VINTAGE STYLE…

apron

Why not start a new hobby in 2012 by taking up sewing, vintage style. Not only could you take it up but you could also get your children to take it up as some of the fabulous accessories are creative for children to make as well as grown ups.

A pretty first sewing kit ‘I love Retro’, .www.iloveretro.co.uk is a good start or for Cath Kidson fans ‘Scissors’, http://www.cathkidson.co.uk

Tape Measure http://www.johnlewis.com or a pin cushion that looks like a cupcake by Lauren Denney http://www.laurendenney.com

An electric sewing machine can be bought from BHS for only £50 http://www.bhs.co.uk

Sewing baskets and kits for ‘The Contemporary Home’ from http://www.tchinet.com

VINTAGE CLOTHING….

vintage FASHION

Vintage clothing has become popular with many a celebrity including Kate Moss, the Royal Family and Sienna Miller.

Each item tells a story, and these stories define the romance of vintage clothing. For many, this is the main reason for buying the vintage. Also UK now has very few of its own manufacturers, so it’s nice to see clothes with ‘made in the UK’, on the label.

Sadly with the way things are going at the moment, even more UK manufacturers could end up closing. Of course, our labels also decree, ‘fair pay and good conditions for workers’, which is something not guaranteed on goods made in the developing world.

The other almost ‘guarantee’ about a vintage purchase is that the chances are you will not bump into someone else wearing the same outfit.

And of course, the quality of vintage clothing is quite different from the mass produced clothing of today.