Project 11: Fabric Letters

In August last year, our little family of four headed to the United States to visit some friends.  I had a list of shops to visit but highest priority was given to Jess's suggestion of Anthropologie - temple of bohemian clothes and gorgeous homewares.  It became a bit of an obsession as we hit numerous shopping centres to kill time or escape the heat, clocking up about 6 stores in our 3 weeks abroad.  I wanted to bring something back for Jess as a thank you for introducing Anthropologie into my life so she scored a fabric covered lower case "j" for her wall and unable to stop at one, the kids earned a letter each too.

The more I looked at those letters hanging on the wall, the more I wondered how easy they would be to make.  There are a few sites that tackle the task but this one seems to be the best.  After a fraught visit to Spotlight, we had the cardboard letters (no lower case letters available sadly), wadding and various material pieces ready for a night of crafting.

Kate used leftover material and binding tape for her "L" and "J" which will stay in the family home or find their way into the present box.  She worked as fast as the wind as usual and made it look all too easy!  Jess and I were determined to replicate the Anthropologie letters so after applying wadding and front material, we laboured at the stitching before attaching the edging.  This did lengthen the whole exercise considerably but I was very happy with the final result - a "R" for my sister-in-law's birthday. Last I heard, Jess was still toiling on her beautiful "B" - will post a pic once the masterpiece is complete!

They are fiddly and using the glue gun is a hazard for your poor fingertips but I do think they make a very personal, decorative present - so choose your recipients wisely!

Amanda

Project 10: Rainbow Fabric Baskets

I am not sure in what order we did this! It seems so long ago. Do I say that every post??!

I fell in love with these baskets after reading Denise Vanderlugt's book "Where Rainbows Live" and was glad to have a chance to make some of my own.

We used plastic shopping bags, cut into strips for the structure. We used strips of fabric and wrapped and threaded them around the plastic using a darning needle. It takes a couple of rows to work out the tension, too tight and you can't poke the next row through, too loose and the basket will collapse on itself. I recommend keeping your colours together for a little bit of order. 

We didn't finish any on the night! A few days later, Amanda turned one into a shallow open basket for keys and I have one as a lidded basket. I have started another that I am planning on giving as a present, although as always I tempted to keep it and start a collection. As for Kate, I think she tempted to also keep it as an open basket but is undecided. I will have to check on her progress and get back to you. Jess