Tea Towels to cushions

Over the years I have been given some very pretty tea towels, much too good to dry dishes with!! So I have made them into little cushions, it is a quick and fun project.

These are some I have made that we have at Riverton.

Our Melbourne dwelling daughter wanted some NZ themed cushions so I was pretty excited when I found these tea towels at Spotlight.

To start with you make 3 or 4 buttonholes at one end of the tea towel ( I usually use quite big buttons and often they are mismatched thrifted ones)

Then you decide where you want your pattern to be -  some towels are all over and there is no repeat pattern.   These ones have the Tui and Kowhai at either end.
When you know where you want the fold, put the right sides together, pin in place and whizz down the sides.
I don't even cut off the neatened edges, so it's all done for you.

 As you can see enthusiasm levels were so high that no pressing took place...you really should!

Turn right sides out, sew on the buttons...Press

and there you go!!!!!!! finished already!!!!

This one is a bit baggy on the inner because I was sending the covers only to Australia and its just modelling itself for you on another inner.   Another quick tip:   to make an inner  buy a pillow , run 2 lines of stitching through it at the size you require then cut between the stitched lines and you have 2 ready made pre-filled inners.

yikes.. it really does need a press ...but the yellow and black looks very kiwi.

For my birthday a friend gave me a caravan tea towel (and very cute key ring) ..no way am I going to be drying camping dishes with this cute wee number!...next project coming up !!

The sampler...

I set myself a goal for this week, some letters or words everyday to be stitched on the sampler!  and most days I did at least get a few stitches in...Wednesday, my day off, I sat down and stitched away, three and a half words...so pleased...smoothed it out and admiring.....Oh no!!!!!! very first letter I had put another loop on the n to make it m!!! amomg!   (LOL spell check just underlined this word for me...wish I had that on my embroidery!)  It took an hour and a half to unpick it....sigh!
I have this little hanger on my light stand and it really said it all!

And now the wording is finished....onwards and upwards, the end is in sight!  Yay!

After a prolonged stitching session on Friday night, decided a 'quick make' fix was required !!
I love to recycle, upcycle or make do and mend...I find this very rewarding....anyway , because I have quite a few( this is understated actually!) thrifted doilies , I decided to make some bathmats from some towels that no longer look their best.  My washing machine has hate sessions sometimes on towels and trys to rag them to pieces out of sheer spite.

Bathmat Tutorial
  I fold the towel in half whizz down the 3 open sides with the sewing machine on a slightly longer than normal stitch length, leaving a gap to turn it through. Turn it through and stitch opening closed.  Find a doily you like and sew it on, you can go round and round, across or both, depending on your mood!  Then when this is done sew about 5cms in from the edges all round to make a border.  You can of course use a new bathmat...but this doesn't count as upcycling! no points awarded!

 

blue mat is a purchased bath mat with attached doily the white one is a recycled towel

It feels special getting out of the bath or shower and standing on these.....

 

there has to be a blue and white one!

Because we are in the bathroom this the best view of it this week...

...and where you ask is the vexatious builder..well we haven't seen him for 2 weeks!!! but he has explained this , he's been a bit busy and wait for it....next week is going fishing for the WEEK!
sigh....

However there was a very happy lunchtime when I raced round to the local Restore and found these!!!!

(can you really have too many doilies?)
Also in this great find a pair of pretty vintage sheets with the pillowcases that Thrifty Fox will love, a cute teatowel edged with crochet and this divine pillowcase,

it has very fine crochet and little buttons that have tin on the back and the tops covered with very fine linen

isn't it beautiful.

And last but not least this cute old jigsaw puzzle complete with very busy elves, and a Teach a Tot ( I had this as a little girl and loved it , I like the expression on the little girls face on the box, and the fact that one of the pictures to make a word with is DONKEY!

Its always good to have a lunch break like that!
Another exciting find was in the garden yesterday some very, very early Matchheads decided to surprise me.

"Whether the eave-drops fall
Heard only in the trances of the blast
Or if the secret ministry of frost
Shall hang them up in silence icicles,
Quietly shining to the quiet moon".                        Samuel Taylor-Coleridge

                                                           diamonds on silken webs

 

 winter kale

The house smells of woodsmoke, apples and cones soaked in essential oils, its warm and cosy ...so much to like about winter.

It was so good this week to have a needlework gift framed and posted off to Thrifty fox.

I am really pleased with the way it turned out.  And he is a foxy fox! when selecting the mount and frame the framer said he thought it matched the  CAT  really well!!!  I had to point out "that is so NOT a cat!!! it's a FOX  !!!"  LOL

Found these words this week, it's an old Irish blessing and lovely I think

May you always be blessed with walls for the wind

a roof for the rain 

a warm cup of tea by the fire

laughter to cheer you

those you love near you

and all that your heart might desire.