More stitching

I have a bit of a thing for Pinterest. It's kind of addictive. I currently have boards full of ideas for things to make in the future.

One of them was especially inspiring though: this embroidery. Love it! I kept going back to look at it so thought I would have a go at creating one of my own.

At the same time I was throwing around ideas for a new Kindle cover, and thought I would combine the cover with the embroidery.

I've seen a lot of Kindle covers online and most of them were much fancier than I wanted. A lot of them open like a book, or have an inbuilt stand so you don't actually have to hold your Kindle. I didn't want any of that, part of the beauty of the Kindle for me is its simplicity. All I wanted was a simple slip cover to keep it free from dust, scratches and toddler fingerprints.

I embroidered the cover design using three strands of DMC cotton. The entire design is French knots. Hundreds of them! It actually came together reasonably quickly though, and it was pretty relaxing to stitch away in front of the tv at night.

I'm pleased with the final product but if I did it again (and I won't!) I would make the font thicker. I would also outline the edge of each letter in a split stitch or back stitch to make it look crisper.


The finished product. I stitched on to the most beautiful linen from Kelani Fabric. The cover is a simple slip cover lined in a blue and white polka dot. It closes with a velcro tab (was initially a magnetic button but that was too clunky, so I had to get out the seam ripper).


Stitching detail.


French knots - this is only my second embroidery so I had to re-learn how to do these. I really recommend the tutorial on Sublime Stitching.


Same linen as I made my journal cover in. Love the look of them together (yes, I'm a dork).

More tiny shoes

Almost a whole month since I posted - eek!

I have been busy though, lots of crafting and sewing but the things I'm working on are sloooooow. It's satisfying seeing them come together but I've been itching for a quick project to get some instant gratification. So last night I sewed up a couple of pairs of baby shoes for my friend's brand new baby boy.

I made a pair of cloth baby sneakers, and some super cute baby boots for Winter.

The boots are made using a scrap of Kokka monkeys left over from this shirt, and lined with minkee. The sneakers were made using the gorgeous green elephants from Daiwobo, and lined with some orange dots (not so sure about that combination in hindsight).

I used two patterns from the fabulous I Think Sew: the Cameron sneakers and the Charlie boots. I really recommend these patterns, they're fabulous. I have many more waiting to be made up. I Think Sew also have some gorgeous handbag patterns - the bag I made recently was one of their designs.

I am especially in love with the boots and have plans to make some for my littlest this Winter. I don't think I'd use minkee lining again though, it was a bit of a nightmare to work with. If I did, I would take off a quarter inch all around, as it stretched a bit and is a bit baggy in the finished boots.

So there you have it. I hope to be a bit more regular with my blogging as my many works in progess are finished.


Minkee monkeys. Love love love this pattern, so quick and such a cute result.


Cloth baby sneakers. I think a more neutral lining would have been better, but I'm still happy with them.