HM@No27 - My September Makes

Hi there everyone

It's been a really busy September for Hand Made at Number 27 and I've had a go at making quite a few new things.

You may have seen some of them already over on my Facebook page but here's what I got up to in September ...

Christmas Stocking Tree Decorations
I had made a start on these last month, but have managed to now use up all of my green Christmas themed patchwork look material, which I was actually quite sad about.

These Christmas stocking decorations are my first real go at quilting and this fabric really made it easy for me, already being a patchwork design. It is also a design which works any way up, which definitely helped.

They are all hand finished with a ribbon hanging loop and decorative button.










Christmas Star Tree Topper
Still on the Christmas theme, I had been challenged by one of my lovely customers to make a fabric decoration for the top of the Christmas tree. After all, if all of her other decorations were fabric, this really need to be too.

At first I wasn't sure where I was going to go with this, but I managed to find a free tutorial for a star Christmas tree decoration on Pinterest and it was just a case of doubling up on the size.

I've made it up to match some Christmas bunting that I've already made and I've attached a long length of ribbon to the back, which can be used to tie it to the top of the tree.

I ended up with this as a first attempt, which I am actually quite happy with.

Gingerbread Man Gift Tags
My next make is a new addition to my gift tag range. Last year I did sets of hearts, Christmas trees and stars.
This year I have added a gingerbread man gift tag, which is pretty darn cute, if I say so myself. It has been very popular already, so I think I am going to be making lots more of these.

Dog Bandanas
I'm now up to 20 of the 200 dog bandanas I need to make for a local dog grooming parlour, so still a way to go, but these will be my next big priority, along with stock for a Christmas craft fair that I am attending in November.
As well as these I've had a couple of orders for bandanas from new customers and these two fellas look very handsome in their's, it was nice to make some up in a non-Christmas fabric for a change.

Crocheted Baby Bootees
Now for something completely different, as good old Kenny Everett used to say! I've a new niece or nephew due in the course of the next few months and I decided to have a go at crocheting some baby bootees.

There are hundreds of designs and patterns for all manner of these on Pinterest and I decided to start of with something fairly simple, or so I thought, and made up this Ugg style pair in grey, with bright red buttons.

They were a bit fiddly, but I managed to make them up in an evening and I'm quite pleased with how they've turned out.
Motivated by my success I decided to up the ante a bit and went on to make a pair of far more complicated owl bootees, which are just so darn cute. Not sure how serviceable they are, but they will look nice on display, if nothing else!
I've now got a Pinterest board just full of different designs of these but have decided to rein myself in a bit for now. I need to see how the sizing is when the baby actually comes and to find out if it's a boy or a girl. I'm sure these will not be the last I make of these.

And finally for September ...

Wedding Hearts
A friend had asked me if I could make three stuffed hearts that she could give her nephew's wife to hold on their wedding day.

They needed to be decorated in an ivory, burgundy and silver theme and we wanted to try and incorporate a piece of handmade lace, made by friend's mum, who is sadly no longer with us.

She was also the groom's nan, and we thought she would have loved to have thought that piece of lace would have been used in this way.

I did have to cut it and I can not begin to explain how sick I felt inside when I did this. After all there would be no going back and we couldn't just knock up another piece.

In the end all turned out well and I am looking forward to seeing pictures from the wedding, but here is what they ended up like. I hope the bride loves them and manages to find a good use for them after the wedding ...

So that's what I've been up to in September. We now get to spend a couple of lovely weeks in The New Forest before getting out the sewing machine again, with lots to get made for the arrival of my new niece or nephew and to stock my Christmas craft stall, so I will see you all back here again at the beginning of November, where you can see how I've got on.