It’s the craftiest time of year.
Autumn is always over too quickly in my experience, so I love to make the most of it. Cold nights and warm days have turned the trees in our neighbourhood a fiery range of colours. There’s still time to enjoy the season indoors, too.
These 15 DIY projects mimic the earthy tones, harvest bounty, and cosy comfort of autumn.
Find-the-pin-with-your-toe isn’t a very fun game.
Trust me, I speak from experience. When I started crafting in earnest, I knew I needed a good way to store my pins. A little tomato with a flimsy thread loop wasn’t going to cut it. This pincushion was my first crochet design—not that I invented granny circles or anything. Instead of anything as ambitious as a blanket, my first crochet project became this pincushion. Circle, circle, insert, and done.
Ultimately less effort, and just as practical. Have no need for a pincushion? Fill it up with lavender for scent or rice to make a weight.
If you’ve been reading my blog for a while you’ll recognise this project. Two-and-a-half years after writing the original pincushion tutorial, I thought it deserved an update. I would hope I’ve gotten a bit better at explaining crochet through experience.
There’s a free PDF version to keep on the go, too. Let’s get making!
A crafter can never have too many patterns.
And Kerry Lord’s second book Edward’s Menagerie: Birds is enough to satisfy any pattern junkie. We’re treated to a selection of over 40 new patterns in her most colourful designs yet. I jumped at the chance to get a copy to review.
The book is beautifully laid out and easy to understand, even for a beginner. There are stitch lessons and step-by-step assembly instructions, which even experience crocheters will find useful. Each bird adapts shapes from a clever library of patterns to create the different species. For example Celine the Dove—the simplest “level 1” pattern—uses the “standard” body pattern and then adapts the “perching” leg to get the right look.
I’ll be completely honest. It took four months in this house for me to get my craft room organised.
First, my desk sat on the back wall. That wasted too much space throughout the rest of the room and was a bit dark. Then when my desk was by the window, there wasn’t any wifi signal. And the impractical period of 4PM to 8PM all summer was too bright for me to see the screen.
I felt a bit like Goldilocks. Too much space. Too dark. Too bright. Too little wifi.
Now the room is perfect. And I love having my blue bureau centred in the back.
When I was a kid I totally and 100% believed in astrology.
That might not be true now, but that love has been transferred to astronomy instead. I love watching the stars and hearing about the latest discoveries in space.
I’ll be honest; this project was supposed to get finished weeks ago. My three weeks away in Finland were so hectic I didn’t even get the chance to watch the Perseid shower, let alone make coasters in honour of it. C’est la vie.
Here’s a star-loving project for my fellow astronomy lovers. Fabric is courtesy of Zazzle.
