Other makes update: May 2026

Earlier in the year I shared my non-quilt sewing plans for the year, and in that post I said I preferred that phrase to other makes, but here I am talking about other makes again - what’s going on? Well, I’ve realised that ‘other makes’ while it isn’t great does mean I can share non-sewing makes too.

So for the time being, and until I can find a phrase I prefer, I’m sticking with other makes for these quarterly updates. They will most likely be predominantly non-quilt sewing items, but there may be crochet makes too (spoiler, there is a crochet make in this update)

So let’s see how I’m doing on the plans I set out

1 Pouches

I’m glad I put this at the top of the list as I’m pretty sure in every update I post I’ll have made a pouch (or two, or more). And I have, they continue to be something easy to make (mostly) and quick to put together (again mostly).

Some may take a while to get finished, especially when there’s some - or in this case - quite a lot of embroidery involved, and my tie up pink and orange pouch is one that fits into that category. It was worth the wait though, and while it hasn’t got much use yet it has been used, and it does do what I want (ie stop my hairbrush attaching itself to my clothes, and look prettier than a plastic bag).

Another one (or two) that have been in the take a while to get finished category is the project bags that I made using mum’s embroidery. I only finished the larger of the two last week, but the other one is technically a 2025 make as I finished that last August. It’s weird though as I had no real reason to put off making the orange one, but when I did I had the perfect variegated thread for it, the same one I used on the pink and orange pouch above, and yet when I first thought of making these that wasn’t even on my horizon. I guess I was meant to wait!

In my recap of last year’s makes I said I’d made some pouches as Christmas presents, well in a rare moment of tidying up in my craft room I found the leftover material, so rather than put it back in my stash I decided to piece it together to make myself a small pouch as I know at some point I’ll find a use for it.

I love how the fabrics go together, and how I’ve a memory of the pouches I’ve gifted.

2 A ‘take to’ sewing case

Nothing to see here, but I’ve chosen my fabric and got the supplies. And typically, I’m planning further additions without even starting the first one yet.

3 A bag or two, or more

I’ve added a couple of bags to my collection, one sewn, one crocheted. I made most of this Flying Geese bag one weekend when I’d planned to be at a patchwork group meeting but for one reason or another I didn’t get there. I’ve used it and it hasn’t fallen apart, which is always a plus. In fact recently it’s been used over and above its original intentions and I’ve used it to carry craft supplies and more, including my packed lunch for a non craft group event. I think I could be making another..

And I’ve repurposed a tote bag making my crochet bag for crochet. The downside is that I need to find myself a new crochet project to take to my crochet group!

4 Experimental and sewing for fun

The miniature makes that I shared in March were both experimental and practical. They started trying out if I could make a smaller pouch, how the bag lining would quilt and using up some square scraps from my block of the month quilt, and using those to become practical items - so these also cover number 6 below.

I’ve also tested out different quilting approaches, but as yet I’ve not put that into another make but I’m sure its time will come.

5 Patchwork design boards

Nothing to see here either, but they’re still on the list. I’ve learnt that cutting the foam board will dull/blunt my rotary cutter, which isn’t great news - but in better news I found my old one, which still has a blade in it (which probably needs changing) so that may be the way to go.

6 Some practical household items

See 4 above.

7 Wearables

I’ve not made the progress I’d like on actually sewing my summer dressing gown, which is a shame as once again it’s that time of year when I really could do with it, maybe the weather will spur me on with that one soon. And always thinking ahead, I think I’ve settled on what I’d make next - another dress, but not the same style as before. I need to gee myself up for both of these though.

But in more positive news, this technically is a wearable as it has been worn so I’m including it here. It’s another rosette, and requested by mum, to wear at my niece’s wedding, and for my mum it was always going to be all the pinks.

So I have made things, but perhaps not as much or in as structured way as I thought - but hey, life and the distractions it brings! There will be more though, of that I’m pretty sure…

A blue chandelier

It’s been up a while now, but it still makes me smile every time I see it. So I think we chose well - but it did take us a while to decide. When we moved in a light for the stairwell wasn’t our priority, but we knew it would need - and could take - something pretty spectacular. Our stairs double back on themselves, and so have a half landing - so while it’s not a big space because it is the full height of the house, it’s a very tall space, and our choice needed to do the space justice.

When we moved in there was the standard white fitting with a lightbulb on the tiniest length of cable. The electricians were here soon after we moved in and we said to them about it and they admitted they were waiting for us to call them to fit a light. So that was good to know, but it was a while before we called them back.

I’m not sure why though as I’d pinned the light we actually ending up buying soon after we started to think about what would work, though to be fair it was one of many coloured chandelier type lights and I’d originally opted for the jade version, as that’s much more our usual colour scheme.

Our final choice was helped by the large artwork we spontaneously bought on a trip to Nottingham, when we intended to look at a new sofa - oops. Anyway we had the picture hung by experts (and it was well worth it) and they also helped us plan its position in relation for the likely chandelier we knew we’d have at some point.

In January I was on the Dunelm site and thought I’d look at the chandelier I’d pinned so long ago again. It was THIRTY PERCENT OFF. I hadn’t expected that, but it was worth pursuing, and quickly as there were only a few days left of the sale. We tried to find a shop that had it on display, and I went all Beattie from BT calling shops but it wasn’t in our local and local(ish) branches. So we took the plunge and ordered it, hoping that if we really didn’t like it then Dunelm would come good on their promise of hassle free returns.

Thankfully we didn’t need to test that, as it arrived and it was gorgeous. Phew.

But it needed putting together, and there were many, many parts. The parts were labelled and there was a diagram, but it wasn’t always obvious.

But I got home from yoga one week, and with the electricians scheduled to come later in the week, to find MOH already making good progress with the blue crystal jigsaw we’d bought. And between us we got it all in mostly the right place.

With it successfully assembled it lived on our dining table, propped up by packing materials until the electrician’s arrival.

It made quite the centre piece!

And then it was up - with MOH assisting the electrician in the final stages - and thankfully without any ‘Only Fools and Horses’ moments, and it looks great.

No doubt it’s clear now why blue was the obvious choice.

It’s a stunning light, and works well in our space which is always likely to stay white. It was also a great price - even better with the sale discount, and despite looking like it probably isn’t, it’s just about reachable from a tall stepladder for any bulb changes, but hopefully that’s a long way off!

Putting mum's embroidery to use

I have finally finished both of these project bags where I’ve used some hand embroidery sewn by my mum. It’s taken a while to finish the larger of the two, and for no other reason than I’d not got around to it. When I was helping mum to relocate her sewing room she found some embroideries that she’d completed most likely in the 1990s as part of a magazine series, which she no longer wanted. Some went to the charity shop, and I brought a couple home with me always intending to adapt them into a project bag, and that’s what I did.

Delving into my stash I found the perfect fabrics to use. The smaller of the two (which is still approximately A4 size) makes use of some tiny bobble trim I felt particularly drawn to and some pink fabric which I think also came from mum. The lining is tiny rosebuds, and that was definitely from one of her old dresses - the turquoise paisley material is one I’d bought a while back and it just felt right to use for this.

The larger orange and purple one, which just about fits into one of the cubby holes in my Kallax unit, uses more from my stash. The orange and lilac wave fabric came as part of a set - and I’m not sure if you can see it but the text on the wave says ‘a smooth sea never made a skilled sailor’ and while mum’s not a sailor, I’m sure it’s something she’d agree with. Bizarrely the material reminds me of a dress she once had, but in actual fact it’s nothing like the actual dress - I remember the dress having swirls, though I suspect they were more likely paisley shapes, and the dress was a pale blue/lilac, so I’ve no idea why this material prompted that memory!!

They’ve turned out brilliantly and I’ve adapted my usual go to pouch pattern, and although they are larger and don’t have a vinyl front they use the same principle and construction with a tweak or two along the way, but the pouch is just a small part of it, mum’s embroidery is so much more.

Aren’t they great? And isn’t the embroidery just fab?