Week #22 - update on Lavender Bag!

Hello again crafty followers! Just a little update on the lavender bag project I posted on a few days ago!

** please note the auctions above update only once an hour, so there may be less time to bid than you think! please click to follow the link.

After posting about how much I enjoyed making the project and gushing about Debbie and her fabulous kits, Debbie came up with another great idea to add to the project. 

Now of course I would like to encourage you to buy this little rag rugged lavender bag to use at home, but if you are just itching to make your own Debbie has agreed to donate £1.00 of your kit's price to Macmilllan Cancer as well. 

That means that you can bid on the ready made item above, or order your own for just £13.50p including postage, and if you use the word ‘Lazy Crafternoons’ in your e-mail/letter with cheque Macmillan will receive that £1 donation. Please visit Rag Rug Textiles and get in touch with Debbie to order yours now!

please note: normally I ship items for the fundraiser to UK, Europe, North America and Australia, but because this item contains dried flowers I can only send it within the UK.

Week #22 - Rag Rug Lavender Bag

One of my main reasons for starting the 52 weeks : 52 crafts project (aside from it being a way to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support, or course!) was that I wanted to learn new skills and get other makers and crafters involved in the project.  So I was pleased as punch when Debbie from Rag Rug Textiles got in touch and offered to send me one of her wonderful kits.

At first I wasn't too sure if Rag Rugging would be for me... although I do have patience for certain craft activities, I'm a person of quite low patience in life and where things fall on my patience scale tends to be a bit unpredictable. But once I got poking, prodding and ragging on this project I could start to see a world of possibilities beyond the little lavender bag I was making!

Debbie's lavender bag kits include everything you need to get rag rugging: a pre assembled lavender bag that you have to rag rug and then finish off with a line of stitching, recycled/rehomed fabric to cut into strips and do your rag rugging, a rag rugging tool, instructions and even a sample piece which helps illustrate how to do the rag rugging.

Debbie's kit was a great starter to get me going and I'm now thinking about other projects I'd like to start and how I could work my the techniques into some of the other crafts I already make.

It's no wonder that Debbie knows how to put together such a wonderful and easy to follow kit - she has been sewing and teaching almost all her life!  Debbie was taught to knit and sew at five years old, so that she could make for her dolls and by seven she was embroidering, and if that isn't impressive enough, she was dressmaking at only eleven years old!  Throughout her career she has taught handicrafts through work in social services and delivering workshops to community groups. Currently Debbie works for the WEA in several centres across Devon with a number of different client groups...  She also has a full calendar of workshops and demonstrations ahead so please check out her website to see if she might be making a stop near you.  Oh yes, and if online shopping isn't your thing, you can also buy her kits at a number of National Trust properties.

So after a wee bit (okay, quite a lot of!) of prodding and pulling, my lavender bag turned out like so.

Personally I think its a really sweet item, just perfect for tucking into a drawer or tucking away in your airing cupboard to leave your clothes, towels and home smelling of the lovely fresh scent of natural lavender flowers!

If you have any questions for me or Debbie, please do comment below and we'll answer as I post throughout the week.

As always this item will be auctioned off for Macmillan Cancer Support, with the auction ending Sunday July 1st.  Remember that 100% of your bid will go to the charity, so please bid generously and do spread the word.  When the auction is on it will appear below:

** please note the auctions above update only once an hour, so there may be less time to bid than you think! please click to follow the link.

Week #21.5 - Curious Cushion

If you've been paying attention you'll know that I've been on holiday and that week #21 was a craft clearout week - but those who are extra sharp will know that I didn't actually make anything last week, so I'm now posting week #21.5 (really my 21st project) and I'll be catching up soon with project #22.

Since reading this post on Mollie Makes about Amy Butler's husband David Butler's new line of fabric called 'Curious Nature' I have been itching to get my hands on a few fat quarters to have a play with myself.... and since going overboard and buying myself quite a few meters of the fabric, I've been itching (bus also a little hesitant) to get making with it.

It's been one of those situations where I covet the fabric so much, and know I want to make something for myself with it, but because I don't know how much I'll need or what I'd like to do with it, I just can't seem to get going with it.  So rather than start cutting and piecing and let my work go to waste, I decided I could spare a few strips and donate them to the 52 weeks : 52 crafts project as means of getting myself going and getting started playing with the fabric.

Add in a not-so-great weekend of weather, a tutorial for a 'Strippy Pillow' that's been on my tute-do list for quite a few months, and a full day of terrible films on telly (and I do mean terrible - Speed 2: Cruise Control, anyone?) and I found myself in the perfect storm of crafting.

I followed this tutorial from Quilting in the Rain but cut my own strips a bit larger (3 inch strip instead of the usual 2 1/2 in from a jelly roll) and spaced mine a little further apart.  I also decided to make the cushion soft and cosy by using a contrasting corduroy for the background.

and here is how I did;

I suppose I especially loved working with this fabric because it is 'very me', and because I struggle to find modern but not too girly fabric to work with... but also I just love the way the actual pattern designs both perfectly contrast and perfectly complement one another.  On their own the fabrics seem a bit dull and read as very sort of 'gun-shot grey' as I described it to someone, but together all sorts of deep blues and bluey greens start to emerge and they come together to create a sort of muted vibrance if that makes any sense. (Probably just hit about a 10/10 on the poncey meter).

(from the side here you can see the corduroy back)

Anyway, the slight shame I felt from indulging myself and purchasing these fabrics is long gone, and in fact I think I might have to buy just a few more pieces in different colours - I especially love some of the brighter greens and darker greys (my favourite below) and can't wait to mix them into the bunch.

As you may have guessed (clever you!) this cushion will be going on sale to raise more funds for Macmillan Cancer Support. 

Currently my spring clear out is happening, but as these auctions end the cushion will be listed and it will appear below:

** please note the auctions below update only once an hour, so there may be less time to bid than you think! please click to follow the link.

In the meantime why not browse through the auctions ending this evening, and stay tuned to the blog for some of my holiday pics and crafty finds in France!

Week #21 - Craft Clear Out

While I'm on holiday this week searching for crafty inspiration in France, I'm doing a big ole' fashioned spring clean, and clearing out the 52 Weeks: 52 Crafts stock room (aka. the shelves in my lounge) to give all your forgetful bidders a second change to buy some unsold items and try to add to the grand total for Macmillan Cancer Support.

Don't worry - I'm working away on a new project and will still be posting a new craft for Week #21 (maybe week #21.5?)... and it will go on sale during week #22... but for now I need to focus on doing a big clear out and make sure that every last item finds a home!

There are seed bombs, and tangrams, and wallets, and passport holders and more! All for sale in auctions starting tonight and ending next Sunday, June 17th between 18:30 and 20:00 British Summer Time.

If you are having trouble remembering all the projects I've rallied together over the past 21 weeks, you can also visit and follow the 52 Weeks: 52 Crafts Tumblr where each week's item gets posted.  Please spread the word and help me raise more funds for Macmillan!

As the auctions go live, they will appear here;

** please note the auctions below update only once an hour, so there may be less time to bid than you think! please click to follow the link.

Week #20 - I spy with my little eye...

Week #20 is a special week for me, because I've been working away on this project secretly for a few weeks now and I've been getting more and more excited to show it off.  Also, week #20 marks the time for me to take a little holiday from 52 weeks 52 crafts - next week while I'm away on holiday, I'll be doing a few re-cap blogs and posting auctions for a project clear-out for some of the unsold items which have yet to find homes.

But enough of that, time to get to the project.

Many months ago I came across this tutorial for a quillow and since then I've been absolutely enchanted with the idea of making small travel quilts that can be either quilt or pillow while you're on the go. It occurred to me that if I'm making a two-in-one project, why not extend the purpose even more and make a three-in-one quillow, pillow and activity.

Presenting the I-Spy Quillow:

It is the perfect combination of comfort and fun that you need for a long car journey, a summer vacation away, or even just a regular night in at home.

Cuddle up, cozy up, and see what you can spy.

The quilt is made up of 12, 14" blocks make up of smaller squares - and includes 122 different squares ranging from everything from flowers, pirate skulls, books, pasta, handprints, and more!  The back of the quilt is a comfy blue polar fleece, and the wadding is a natural cotton to help the quilt breathe.  The quilt measures roughly 42" by 56" - and folds into a 14" by 14" pillow, which is the perfect size to take on holiday or to a sleep over/night away from home.

Just lay it out.

Fold it up.

Tuck it in, and turn it out...

and Ta-Dah!

As with every week in the craft challenge, this item will be auctioned off on e-bay starting this evening - with the auction end on Sunday June 10th.

Please note that the listings below update hourly, so there may be less time to bid than there appears!