Gifts for Guys

Thinking of things to sew as presents for males is a bit of a struggle. I find that so many patterns are aimed at females, and I'm so drawn to 'pretty things' that putting together gifts for guys is a problem!

My boyfriend's bedroom was a typical boy-cave - very bare and plain and crying our for some soft furnishings! He asked me to make him some curtains lined with blackout fabric. I got a bit carried away and ended up making him a double quilt from scraps, plus two cushions!

This cushion design came from Love Patchwork & Quilting Magazine (my favourite lie in read!) and is based on tetris shapes.

The second cushion is now named 'Beaky' and came about because poor Richard said he didn't mind "something quirky"... I think he might be regretting that statement!

Wall Hanging

For Mothers' Day this year I made my Mum a wall hanging for her newly decorated spare room. The pattern came from Love Patchwork & Quilting Magazine.


I used blues and whites in order to match the décor in the room. This was all made from scrap fabric. I put a payer of interfacing onto the wadding to make it a little stiffer.

Derrick the Dragon

I have had a bit of an obsession with dragons since I was little. And I love the squishy toy ones you can buy but not having kids I don't really have an excuse for purchasing one. So I decided to make one instead!

I found this sewing pattern on etsy and then printed it off as a pdf. The original size was half this one, I enlarged it on the photocopier. To be honest I found this size really fiddly to make, so I really don't know how I would have coped with the original size. But I do love the finished dragon!

Glass Fusing

Back in October I did a taster course in glass fusing at Silversides Glass Art in Bath. I found the course on Living Social, and at £18 it was a bargain!

We went through the basics of how glass is structured and how to cut and shape it. We had a practise with some cutting and realised how difficult it was to be exact! hen we had free rein to create whatever we wanted during the remainder of our time. I made a window hanger with a seaside theme which will probably end up living in my sewing room. I then made two glass pendants for Christmas presents.

It was a really fun way to spend an afternoon, and glass fusing is definitely addictive - I'd love to do a full course now! If you're looking for a new craft to get into, or just fancy doing something relaxing and a bit different have a look at the courses they run on the link below. They also have a lovely shop on the premises, with gorgeous jewellery, buttons and scarves for sale along with the glass pieces.

www.silversidesglass.com

Fox & Raccoon

These cute critters were Christmas presents for two special children, William & Josie. The pattern was Simplicity 1549, which I got free with Sew magazine, but is available for sale separately. 

They were so much fun to make, I highly recommend the pattern. It's simple to follow and I think the results are really great - the toys are big enough to be like cuddly pillows (especially the Raccoon) and the kids really loved them. Good result!

Rag Doll

This weekend I tried out a new rag doll sewing pattern that I purchased nearly a year ago but never got around to making.


She's about 50cm tall when standing, so a lot bigger than the other toys I've made.


She has removable bloomers, petticoat and dress as well as black felt shoes. Very cute!

Quilted Advent Calender

It might seem way too early to be even thinking about Christmas yet, but as sewing projects can take a while I wanted to start this one early! My Mum has a lovely quilted advent calendar that I have long coveted. I borrowed it from her over the summer so that I could copy the design and work out how to make one myself.

I copied the basic tree design pretty much exactly. On Mum's calendar she has cross stitched ornaments for the 25 days. I'm not much of a cross stitcher myself, so I decided to make felt sewn hearts to hang instead.

I'm very happy with the finished result, and have already made one for a friend as a gift. I'm taking orders for these now, for sale through Vintage Bee.