Tag: craft

One, The Other or Both

Categories Blogging, Home9 Comments on One, The Other or Both

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Part of my non-working routine here in Alabama is to read a range of blogs whilst having my breakfast and a few cup of Yorkshire Tea.  I favourite, like, share and comment in the hope of broadening my blogging network and finding future ideas and inspiration for myself.  The question that I’m asking myself everyday is whether I should use the ‘WordPress Reader’ or ‘Bloglovin’.

I like the WordPress Reader as it is easy to search for tags and easy to click the little follow button at the top of my  screen.  Making and replying to comments is smooth as I get notifications immediately on all devices.  I have found that if I am following a WordPress blog, they are aesthetically pleasing on the screen.  However, I have followed a couple of ‘non-wordpress’ blogs in the reader and they just look pants!  I find that I don’t want to click on them as nothing appeals to me 😦

Bloglovin is something that is quite new to me.  I have a profile and my blog is linked to my profile.  Being able to mark posts as ‘read’ is a fantastic idea, and when I like a post it appears on my profile in a tiled fashion.  I have followed loads of blogs that I like to read (and adore the photography of!).  I don’t quite understand the commenting system as all blogs are different and I never know if anyone has replied to my comments…if anyone can shed any light on this I would be extremely grateful!

Bloglovin seems to be the way forward.  The design, the features and the ability to follow all blogs, including WordPress blogs.  But I can’t help but think that I would be abandoning WordPress 😦  I like getting followers though WordPress and I’m sure others do too.  If someone followed me on Bloglovin, would they also follow me through their WordPress Reader?  Probably not!

I am interested to see what everyone uses.  Wordpress Reader? Bloglovin? Both?

… and if you fancy following me on WordPress, click the follow button at the top of your screen!

… or if you would like to follow me on bloglovin, click here 🙂

The Tale of the Short Sleeved Shirt

Categories Clothing, Sewing20 Comments on The Tale of the Short Sleeved Shirt

When fabric shopping last week, Adam found some burgundy cotton, scattered with small golden stars.  He asked if I would make him a shirt and of course, I agreed as long as he could find me a pattern.  So he did.  He chose a New Look pattern that had an option for a shirt for both of us.  I must admit that I was a little scared of the thought of making something that wasn’t clothing for me.  I couldn’t try  it on half way through and I knew that it had to be as close to perfect as possible as I know how fussy Adam can be with his clothes.

This was the first pattern where I had traced elements rather than cutting it all out to the size needed.  I used freezer paper to trace and it is nice to know that I have that pre-cut pattern now to use again.  Even if it did take an extra hour to trace and cut :-/

I made a few alterations to the instructions as it called for interfacing within the collar and under the shirt front.  I didn’t have any  so just went for a facing in the same material, which turned out to be just right and wasn’t too thick!  The body of the shirt came together perfectly and the facings were relatively easy to attach too.  The collar confused me loads and the instructions weren’t very clear; the pictures didn’t really help either.  I attached it and just hoped I had done it right!  It turned out fine but it seemed a very long winded way to attach a collar!  I also ended up catching a tiny bit of the facing in the collar seam….ggggrrrr!  Adam didn’t notice though!

Continue reading ➞ The Tale of the Short Sleeved Shirt

Sewing Selflessly

Categories Other, Sewing5 Comments on Sewing Selflessly

A few days agoI came across a blog by Jess at the Sometimes Sewist, which has inspired me to have a little think about the other things I could be making!

So:

I, Natalie, of Threads & Bobbins, pledge this Sew Selfless September to make at least 3 items for people other than myself!

There we go!  I’ve made my pledge and my first post will be on tomorrow once I’ve finished it 🙂  I like everything handmade, and handmade gifts made by me are even better!

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A Hidden Treasure

Categories Alabama, Other, Sewing, Travel6 Comments on A Hidden Treasure

I feel that Mobile isn’t really a big city for tourism.  There are many things to do here; museums, parks, shops…but it always seems to be quiet and peaceful.  We often end up wondering where everyone is and wonder if we are missing something!  Yesterday we headed downtown for some lunch and I then wanted to go and visit the library.  I was intrigued more than anything, not only was this grand building huge (bigger than most libraries I have seen), it was also quite mysterious.  From the outside, you could not see into the building.  Every time we had driven past, I had always wondered what it was like inside.

I had been on the website and looked into getting a library card.  I wasn’t entirely convinced that I would be eligible but I had proof of our stay and address.  The online catalogue also showed that there were some Mollie Makes books available; the ones that I had been looking at buying!

The car park was busy.  It appeared that this was the place where everyone was!  I filled out the form, presented my ID and was given a brand new library card.  Now, I hate to admit this but I haven’t used a library since my time in University, where all of the books I read were about various educational issues and they would help me to write assignments.  Over the last couple of years I have taken my class to visit their local library but never actually used it myself!

Continue reading ➞ A Hidden Treasure

A Sneaky Peek … and a Mini Giveaway!

Categories Other, Sewing1 Comment on A Sneaky Peek … and a Mini Giveaway!

So, I have been a little quiet on the blogging side this week!  I have been very busy sewing BUT I can’t really do proper blog posts about my creations for a couple of weeks!  They will be going across the Atlantic as presents for a few people back home!

However, I thought I could give you all a sneaky peek of what I have made!!

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AND in addition to this sneaky peek at my new creations… I am also going to announce that once I get to 100 followers, I’m going to run a little giveaway from my fabric stash 🙂  Just as a little celebration!!

For The Love of Sewing and The Hate of Bias Tape

Categories Home, Sewing19 Comments on For The Love of Sewing and The Hate of Bias Tape

Recently I have had plenty of time to re-connect with some of my hobbies; mainly sewing and photography.

Back in the UK, I was a Primary School Teacher and absolutely loved my job!  Ensuring that children enjoyed learning and had experienced different things was my passion.  I liked to do alternative activities and worked in a school where everyone worked hard to provide all children with opportunities that would set them up for the future.  As a teacher, I always found it hard to get the work/life balance right!  When I did have spare time, I would be decorating our house, walking the dog or just relaxing!  I know these are hobbies but there are other things that I love doing too; like sewing, photographing, blogging, crafting…..the list goes on!

For the last couple of weeks, I have fallen back into these hobbies and I LOVE it 🙂  There are so many ‘perks’ or ‘positives’ about sewing, so I thought I would list mine!

Continue reading ➞ For The Love of Sewing and The Hate of Bias Tape