Plastic Canvas Bunting and a Penny Rug

So we started our plastic canvas circles here, with a plan to turn them into some bunting for our living room. It has taken quite a while but they are finally finished and in place.

Venetia and I both made four each, and Theo made one. Maria is still making hers!

 



Now I've managed to get photos uploading again I've gone for overkill on them!



I added pompoms between each circle. My pompom making skills are very poor, so I used a pompom maker (here), even with this, my early attempts were completely pathetic. With a bit of practice and some help from Theo, this was the evolution of my pompoms!

They got to a point where they were just about good enough to be used and I simply threaded a long, double length of wool through the pompoms and through the backs of the circles, alternating between the two.

It turned out just as I imagined right at the start of our making and I really like how well it goes with my rug. Did you spot it on the floor in the photo above?

I made this quite a while ago, before I started blogging. It was all hand stitched, which is unusual for me. I started it one Christmas and finished it soon after the following Christmas, it was something that was done very gradually, as and when I was in the mood for some hand sewing. It's made entirely of recycled wools which I found in Charity Shops. Lots of jumpers, jackets and skirts all chopped up. (I could really do with taking a photo of it outside in daylight so you might get a better picture of some of the lovely fabrics, but, with our short daylight hours now, I'm afraid I don't have any big enough helpers around while it is light, maybe at the weekend.)

The background and the base of the rug are from a wool blanket, which I dyed, and it has another layer of blanket in the middle to give it a good weight. I 'quilted' it by hand, in a thick wool, with crosses between the 'pennies'.

And after finishing the rug, I made a few cushions from the same fabrics.

The bunting is just what I needed to add an extra wool dimension to the room, and although it's only just gone up, it feels like it's always been there. I think that's an indication of how well it fits in.

  

I'll be back tomorrow with a photo, Sally.