Pictures


In case I haven't updated my blog or my Folksy shop in a while, here is a link to my Flickr albums for you to see what I've been making.


This is where I store all pictures of the Nursery Name Hangers so you can see colours schemes.
Feel free to email me at lou.bluebird@googlemail.com if you see anything you'd like to order.

Tuesday 9 November 2010

Excuses excuses...

So I've been neglecting my blog of late but in my defence I did nip off to China and Malaysia for half of October!!! I hadn't seen my Dad for about 4 years and I decided it was time for a visit and an introduction to my boyfriend. Dad moved out to Chengdu (where pandas come from) in 2006, which makes family visits a tad tricky and costly but so worth it...
So boyfriend and I spent a week hanging out with my Dad and Stepmum Xiuling, who is charmingly nutty. We ate food which was way too spicy and took hundreds of photos. I'll more when I'm on my laptop (using boyfriend's MacBook right now cos its hard disk isn't as clogged as mine so it goes significantly faster).

***

After China we hopped across to beautiful Langkawi Island off the north west coast of Malaysia for a bit of R & R. Didn't get much of that though - we got a bit carried away with all the wacky activities on the island. Day 1: Aquarium and shopping in the backpacker beach town Pantai Cenang. Here we saw the biggest fish in the world (not the one in the picture though that one was mahoosive!) and found the Yellow Cafe. The staff there were a breath of fresh air after the stuffy uptight guys in our resort on the posh side of the island. And the beer was significantly cheaper!

We discovered a wonderful Malaysian dish called Rendang. Warmly spiced with chilli and ginger, we've tried twice at home to recreate it!

This chap we found in the aquarium. He was about five feet long and looked really grumpy!!

A beautiful sunset on our resort's private beach on our first night. Holiday's are lush!

Sunday 1 August 2010

Easy Peasy Headband Tutorial


Ok, so I've noticed that other people often use their blogs to give back in the way of doing a tutorial. I thought it would be nice to do the same. This is a super easy project that you can complete in just a couple of hours and at the end of it you have something new to wear - yey! I'm proudly wearing the one I made last night for the tutorial photos :)

This is the first time I've written a tutorial so please let me know if I've missed a crucial step or my instructions aren't clear. So here goes...

"How to make an easy peasy knitted headband with crochet flower embellishment" 

by lou bluebird


Ok, here's what you need:

1. around 50g of yarn. Any kind, it doesn't matter as long as it has some stretch or it'll fall off your head all the time!
2. a small amount of a complementary yarn. This is for your flower embellishment.
3. size 4mm knitting needles
4. crochet hook (I think mine is 4mm but it doesn't really matter, you'll just have a slightly bigger or smaller flower)
5. embroidery needle

Step One - Making the band (wasn't that a tv show?)

First, cast on 8 stitches and knit two rows. It should look like this:
Keep knitting every row until the band goes around your head (forehead to nape of neck), stretching it a little so it'll have a bit of purchase when it's on. Mine measures about 60cm when stretched. Just keeping checking it against your head as you go.

Once you've knitted the desired length, cast off your stitches and cut the yarn. Be sure to leave a length of around 20cm for sewing together, like this:
Hold the two ends flush together and use a simple blanket stitch to join them. Neaten by using the embroidery needle to pull your loose ends through the join and snipping off. It should now look like this:

Now just turn it the right why out...
That's your band finished! Told you it was easy.


Step Two - Making the flower


To begin, make a slipknot, leaving about a 10cm tail,  and then make 3 chains:

Next, insert the crochet hook into the first chain and make a slip stitch, forming a small circle.

Chain 1. Make 5 treble crochets into the centre of the circle. It can be a bit tricky to find the centre so you might need to pull the stitches out a little to get in there. 
Once you have made all your trebles, insert the hook into the first stitch and make a slip stitch to join the circle:


To make one petal:
  • Chain 2
  • Make 2 treble crochets into same stitch
  • Chain 2
  • Make a slip stitch into next hole
You now have one petal, like this:
Repeat these steps to make 5 petals. Cut the yarn, leaving a 10 cm tail and pull the last stitch tight.
Use the embroidery needles to pull the tail through to the back of your flower. You should now have 2 lengths of yarn coming from the middle.

Step 3 - Putting it all together



Position the flower on the top side (right side) of the band where you want it to sit. I like mine slightly off centre. Pull the tails through to the back of the band using the crochet hook and tie tightly in a knot. Snip off the excess yarn but be careful not to cut too close to the knot or it might come undone.

Turn it back out the right way and that's it, you've finished! Now wear your headband with pride! 
Now you've made one, you can experiment with be different colour combinations, maybe add more flowers or some buttons. It's up to you to make it your own. 

Enjoy :)

Sunday 4 July 2010

pictures ahoy!!







Ok, prepare for lots of pictures now i have painstakingly emailed them from my blackberry (because I can't find the cable that connects my phone to my laptop!).
Firstly, a kitty update...Ana is doing great. She started being a bit naughty, bitey and distant last week but she's now reverted back to cute sleepy lovely kitten. Here she is sunbathing on my new vintage 60s cushion cover!

Ok, what's next? My garden! The veg patch is really coming along. We've got some kohl rabi in that has just gone crazy. I love it for the purple and green! My sunflowers have had to be moved to save them from the dreaded ants that seek to destroy...

And of course I've been making stuff. I've been very unfocussed of late. Can't decide whether I'm making sock buddies, plushies, cushion covers, pillowcase dresses, bags or what!! So I made all of them. It's making it very difficult to pin down a tag line to get some business cards printed. I'm thinking about "Handmade new and recycled fabric gifts, accessories & whatnot". Anyway, here's the rest of the photos...

Tuesday 29 June 2010

wow. i haven't done this for ages! having bizarre problems logging in for some reason. no pics today as i'm on boyfriend's laptop but i've been doing loads and loads with the new sewing machine. finished a pair of stripey cushion covers for boyfriend's sister and then took a big step and made myself a shoulder bag out of a charity shop skirt and an old pillow case. i *love* it. i love it so much i've made 2 more and a third is in the planning stages but (as always) i've now been distracted by a new project - little girls' pillow case dresses!!

i'm forming more of a solid picture in my head of the direction i want to take bluebird in and it seems to be heading in an 'upcycling' direction at the moment. not only is hunting our fantastic fabrics in the form of skirts and old lady blouses in charity shops an absolute joy, but the idea that i'm doing something green and making something shiny and exciting makes me feel all warm and content :)

anyway, back soon with pictures!

p.s. kitty is doing well. she likes to wake us up at 5am by bouncing on the bed and biting our noses!!

Tuesday 1 June 2010






well the big news is that i bought myself a really exciting new sewing machine last week and have been busy putting it to good use! i've already made 2 cushion covers and a peg bag and there's more in the pipeline. it's amazing. my previous one is an antique and only does a straight running stitch and only when it feels like it! this new is all singing all dancing. it's got about 6 different kinds of feet and over fifty preset stitches. no idea what they're all for yet!

i've also sold my first item on folksy which was a real boost! even better was that it was closely followed by another sale! i've really enjoyed packaging them up with ribbons and tissue paper and sending them off to my lovely buyers. thank you buyers :)

and here's a pictoral representation of the last couple of weeks (as you can see it's been all crafting and playing with kitty!)...

Saturday 15 May 2010



i've been crafting as much as i can recently. this is the selection i've got in electric gypsy at the moment. don't forget you can also look at my shop at folksy.com.

the next project in the pipeline is some small metal clasp purses made with vintage fabrics. hopefully i'll get some pics up tomorrow (if i don't spend the day cleaning instead!)

Sunday 2 May 2010

kittens and bunnies




It's kittens and bunnies season in my crafty studio at the moment. I just love their contrasting stripey cat tails and chubby little ears. 

Don't forget you can buy these little beauties from my shop on Folksy.com

I will also make to order to if anyone has a sock or two lying around that they think would be much better served in a new life a a little kitty or bunny, please contact me and I'd be happy to oblige. lou.bluebird@googlemail.com

Monday 19 April 2010


I bought a Goonies t-shirt at the carboot sale and made it into a cushion for my boyfriend :))

Sunday 18 April 2010

i'm off to a car boot sale today to see what goodies and i can find to bring home and turn into something crafty. and possibly a table...and a kitten...

Tuesday 13 April 2010

my eyes.....


well, i'm now well and truly knee deep in my little online underworld of craft selling and marketing. i have created the beginnings of an online shop at folksy.com. please bear with me as i'm new to this and it seems that everything i try to do involves registering with some new website. so now i have tired eyes and haven't made my flyers. but on the plus side i have a new hat so at least i have a warm head... :-)))

Monday 12 April 2010


despite the VERY slow (but free) wifi, i'm living it up in the 21st century this morning: laptop, coffee and blackberry. and it's only just gone 9am...

Saturday 10 April 2010






has been busy making sock kitties and things...