WIP: Wonder Woman quilt

Hello! So, recently I decided that I should make a quilt. The ideal quilt maker would probably be someone mathematically minded, precise, meticulous, patient, and good at sticking to a plan ... I am none of those things. Nonetheless I'm giving it a red hot crack!

I've only done part of the quilt top at the moment; I'm planning on adding a border and then, of course, I will need to add a back and squishy middle and binding and then actually quilt it ... yeah, I've got a bit to go! It's currently 77cm by 72cm (about 30.5 inches x 28.5 inch), but hopefully the border will help it more more lap blanket size, rather than it's currently baby quilt size! ^___^

I started off with a jelly roll pack and some Wonder Woman fabric, both that I got from Spotlight. Unfortunately the strips that came in the jelly roll were not all the same size, so I had to cut each of them down >____< I cut all of my strips so that they were 2 inches wide, and about 25 inches long. 

After sewing four differently patterned strips together, I cut the resulting fabric into 7 inch lengths. Now, here is where my maths failed me slightly. I was planning on making 7 inch squares, but actually ended up with 6 inch by 7 inch rectangles. Oops!

But I decided to carry on anyway, and change my original idea for the pattern into a brick repeat instead. To do a brick repeat you slightly offset your pattern, which means that your edges won't line up properly. To fix this, you make four halves of your pattern squares and use them to fill in the gaps.

Then I sewed all the blocks together! And now I have a mostly finished quilt top - yay! The seams don't all line up probably and I have no idea why (probably something to do with the aforementioned lacking skills) but I'm not really concerned about it enough to unpick it all and start again. 

Maybe this can just be my test quilt; I'll make all the mistakes on this one and then my next one will be amazing! ~___^

Of course, this quilt does have Wonder Woman on it, which means it's still at least a little amazing ^____^

- Lisa xx

Doily spider web hoop, pom-pom spider, and a Hipster Wonder Woman cosplay

Hello! I know Halloween is over now (noooooooooooooooooo ; __ ;) but I still have some spooky things to show you! ^__^

I made this super simple cobweb decoration by framing an old doily in an embroidery hoop and glueing on a couple of plastic spiders ^__^

 

It was seriously so easy to do, and I'm really sad that it didn't have a long display period since I ended up decorating so late this year! >__<

 

But, at least I've got a head start on crafting for next year, right? ^__^

 

Here's the one tiny little corner that looked properly Halloween-ey (what's with all the end of year assignments, teachers? I don't have enough time for decorating! ~__^). Most of this is store brought, but I did make the glittery skulls and the washi tape skeletons (which you saw in the last post!).

I did also make the spider in the jar. It was very easy and I think balances on the line between spooky and cute very well ^__^

I used this tutorial to make the spider, although mine is a bit smaller so that it would fit into the jar and I gave it little eyes as well ^__^ After the spider was finished, I threaded a needle and pushed it through his belly, which created the hanging string.

I glued the string to the underside of the jar lid and then, when it was dry, covered the jar top with a scrap of fabric and some baker's twine. Easy peasy! ^__^

Lastly, here's my Halloween costume! ^__^ I decided on hipster Wonder Woman this year because I wanted to wear my glasses (so many people have told me that they look hipster!) and a skirt (because pants and I still aren't friends!).

 

This gorgeous illustration by Elizabeth Beals was the inspiration for most of my costume (you should check out all of her hipster superheroines, they're amazing!)

I made the headband using some gold ribbon and a piece of red leather which I cut into a star shape. My earrings are vintage that I got at an op-shop (and then soaked in antiseptic overnight ~__^), and my necklace is made from polymer clay and painted with acrylics. Unlike Elizabeth's Diana, I wasn't comfortable going out in just a bra so I wore a red corset style top underneath my transparent black top. I found the transparent top at an opshop and was so excited because it's vitually identical to the one in the picture! ^__^ My belt and skirt were also both from the opshop, as were my shoes and bag which I didn't take photos of (they are red high heeled Mary Janes and a red leather envelope bag with a gold chain strap respectively!). I already had the stack of silver bracelets, and the stars on my skirt are made from white felt and are just tacked on. 

Phew! And that's it! ^__^

Did you have a great Halloween? Tell me about it! ^__^

- Lisa xx

Girls just wanna have crafts

Hello! I have something to show you ^_^

Now, I have no idea why it's insisting on being side-ways (>_<) but *anyway* this is proof that I finally learnt how to follow a charted crochet pattern. Huzzah! As you can tell (hopefully), it's the Wonder Woman logo. Since WW is awesome and nerdy it was perfect to enter as my first project for the Summer Nerd Games ^_^

 

Once I was done with the charted section, I added on a few plain rows so that I could make it into a case for my iPad. Now I can take it to uni without worrying about it getting scratched up in my handbag ^_^

 

I've got a couple more projects planned, but I haven't made much progress on them as today Bec, Catherine, and I went to the Quilt and Craft Fair ^_^

I didn't make many photos, but I had to share with you these awesome Weasley-esque tea cozies - aren't they great? ^_^

We also saw some great quilts but since my phone isn't great for really wide shots, I stayed up close and personal ~_^

 

I love the colours on this one ...

 

... we suspect this one is made from clothing off-cuts (clever *and* thrifty!) ...

 

... and this one was a great mix of all kinds of vintage fabrics! ^_^

And, of course, I picked up a couple of things for myself as well ^_^

Six new washi tapes (nooo, I don't have a problem; why do you ask?), a cute vintage sewing machine brooch, a maneki-neko fabric badge, a book on needle-felting, and a heap of business card sized pictures. I got ten different vintage ladies in one set, and the other two sets are steam-punk style illustrations. There were really too many to photograph all of them though, so I just included three of my favourites ^_^

I can't wait to start creating with my new things! Any suggestions on what I should make? ^_^

What did you do this weekend? I hope you had fun!

- Lisa x