I’ve been on a bit of a sewing thing the last few months – quick gifts and quick things to sell in the shop. For sale on the counter at Yarn Over at the moment are some cute ribbon and webbing key fob wrist-straps that I’ve been making:

Key Fob webbing/ribbon wrist-straps

I got the materials from EBay – webbing and key fobs – and using some Heat ‘n Bond tape and my iron, I adhered 7/8 inch ribbon to my 1 inch wide, 11 inch long piece of webbing, sewed the ends together and voila! One cute, yet useful key fob strap to carry your keys when out walking or can be attached to pram, baby bag where-ever!

They’re for sale in my physical shop for $7 each or if you’d like one please e-mail for pics or to place an order.

My cousin Steve and his wife Natalie are expecting their first baby around my birthday in March and for the last few months I’ve been busily making things for them. Yesterday I spent the day sewing some cute baby blocks and a scotty dog (although I may keep the dog for myself!).

The Scottie Dog is a pattern called ‘Grandma Bessie’s Scottie Dog’ that I bought as a kit from Alaska Quilting Aventures on EBay. It came with a Charm Pack of ‘Pure’ by Sweetwater, but for my first dog I used some Chenille squares which I also bought on EBay (where I get most of my fabric actually!).

Each square is 2.5″.

Chenille Scottie Dog toy/cushion

The second sewing project I did yesterday was a couple of baby blocks made from the left-over chenille squares from the scotty dog toy. Each square is 5 inches and for the extra squares required, I just used some squares from a charm pack – Kate Spain’s Central Park.

To make the blocks, just sew 6 squares together in the shape of a cross. Then sew right sides together all the way around, leaving one side open for stuffing. Before you sew the sides together, iron on any transfers/embellishments first (I used Beutron iron-on appliques). Turn right-side out, stuff with fibre-fill and insert a bell – available from Spotlight or any craft store. Sew the last side closed and voila! Soft, cute baby blocks – bright colours, nice textures and a pretty sound.

Fabric Baby Blocks with bell and applique

I just LOVE kits – I have all my crochet projects organised in zip-lock bags with patterns on a shelf in my craft room – ready for me to just grab one and start stitching!

So you can imagine how excited I was to see these cute kits!

Rag Doll Kit

Quilt Kit

Soft Book Kit

Tote Kit

Hobo Tote Kit

Messenger Tote Kit

I also sew and am a ‘lazy sewer’, so these kits are just perfect – wanna know why?? There’s no pattern!!

Yay! So how do they work?

They are pre-printed panels and pieces on cotton – all kits come with instructions and a list of other materials such as fibre-fill – all you have to do is cut and sew!

How cool is that!

We have all kits available for pre-order now – and if they are popluar, I will be carrying them all as regular stock items.

I just wanted to share with you some fab new box totes that I made myself and which we are now selling in-store and online:

A selection of our hand-made totes on display in-store

Box totes or ‘sock boxes’ some people like to call them, are great little carry-all project totes!  They are small and light – just the right size for a set of DPNs or a circular and a couple of 50g balls or 100g skein or your fave sock yarn.  They also make great gifts – just in time for Christmas!

We have a selection of styles available:

From the whimsical “Kimono Girl” -

Kimono Girl Box Tote

to Retro spots:

to Russian Matroyshka kitsch:

and even Christmas ones!:

These are all limited-edition, one-off designs, handmade by me!  I use quality quilting cotton and all bags are fully lined with quality zips.  There is a fabric label sewn in to each one and the carry strap is cotton webbing – very sturdy!

There are also pouches to match each box tote – great for storing notions, scissors (sheathed of course!), stitch markers etc…

Look out for our new range of crochet hook rolls and needle rolls coming soon!

So get yours quick – before they’re all gone!

Hit upon a new idea to use up all my fabric stash and whip up something quickly for the Craft Fair!

Bunting Flags!

Found this fab bunting flags tute online – will post pics when done.