Ruby's Button Tin

Time for tea and cakes

Lately I've been making knitted tea cosies, adapted from a Stitch 'n' Bitch pattern and shown in the picture is one I've recently finished. Along with a plate of softie jam tarts and a cake stand laden with goodies. Yet again my photography skills (lack of) are evident, but on the cake stand you should be able to make out an egg custard, slices of Battenburg cake, two Bakewell tarts, a couple of Bourbon biscuits, a slice of pie and a smattering of strawberries. I don't know what it is that's so satisfying about making felt food, but as so many of us do it there's gotta be some rhyme or reason. Hasn't there?

Inspiring books

If you find yourself bereft of ideas then leafing through a lavishly illustrated book is bound to spark off ideas.

KnitKnit is one of my most recent purchases, and features a really diverse range of artists and craftspeople, united by their love of knitting and their ability to push back the bounds of the craft. There are projects to make yourself, though several aren't suitable for beginners and you'd need to be a pretty confident knitter to tackle them. Having said that, a metallic and mohair belt featured would be a great project for anyone, and the section on Knitta Please is enough to make you itch to decorate your neighbourhood's lamp posts and telegraph poles with stripy cosies.
One of the Ladies Who Knit featured in KnitKnit is Rachael Matthews, and her book Knitorama is fabulously daft. Knitted cauliflower anyone? Knitted fried egg or boxing gloves? Gloriously eccentric in the finest English tradition.

Anna Torborg's The Crafter's Companion has lots of photos of crafty gals workrooms and treasure troves of material stashes and notions. I love seeing behind the scenes, whether it's at a theatre, a library or someone's home. Just nosy, I suppose!
An ideal book to dip into – and discover new blogs to visit too – is Amy Spencer's The Crafter Culture Handbook. Masses of things to make, whether you sew, knit, tinker with electrical whatnots or make your own beauty products. A truly inspiring collection.

Still getting the hang of it all ...

Hi
I'm still trying to get the hang of setting up this blog and especially the tricky (for me) business of posting images, so please hang on in there as it'll get better. This is an example of a needlepoint cushion I designed. I love the simple fish shape, and it's so versatile. You can make it multicoloured (a great way of using up oddments of wool) or choose a particular colourway - it'd look great in blue and white, for example.

A tray of felt cakes waiting to be eaten!

What I sew and how I sew it ...

I sew by hand, first off. I've got a sewing machine - one of those bells & whistles machines that do everything except make a cuppa and dunk your biscuit in it. But for me machine sewing is a chore not a delight. Hand sewing is quieter and more reflective. Without sounding too airy-fairy about it, there's a relationship that builds up between you and what you make. You handle the material, get a feel for how it stitches, the stretchiness of the fabric, the 'give' in it. I like seeing those imperfections too, the little irregularties of stitch length or placement.
For years I've sewn patchwork. For some reason - who knows why - I've stuck with hexagons. I've got masses of art quilt books, and love Amish quilts as well as Nancy Crow, but I keep doggedly to the English paper template method using hexagons as the basis of my patterns. I love lots of colour in my quilts, and am heavily influenced by Kaffe Fassett in that respect.

Apart from patchwork, I do needlepoint, coming up with original designs for cushion covers as well as smaller pieces.
Kaffe Fassett and Candace Bahouth are inspiring, but a trawl through any stack of postcards or birthday/occasional cards can provide ideas for needlepoint designs. Vintage china and fabric are great starting points for pattern design too. My ideal would be a stationery firm picking up on the needlepoint patterns, using them on giftwrap or greeting cards.

Lately I've got into making felt softies and felt bunting, embroidered lavender bags and knitting. But you've read enough text for now ...

I love the idea of thousands of people crafting and blogging, valuing creativity, originality, embracing ideas of thriftiness and recycling. It doesn't matter if it's people knitting mittens or embroidering tablecloths, sewing aprons, making felt softies, crocheting, doing macrame, growing marrows, baking cakes ... you get the picture. It's the making that matters.

It's also wonderfully weird to think of all those people who become so familiar through their blogs. You know what they look like, their taste in music, what they had for dinner last night ...
Before I really get going, can I first apologise for the not-very-good photography. I'm rubbish at taking pictures, and at the moment only have the most basic (ie: cheap!) digital camera. So sorry if the edges are a bit blurry. I'll get better. Promise.

Hello and welcome!

RUBY'S BUTTON TIN - STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION ... COME BACK IN A WHILE AND IT'LL ALL BE UP AND RUNNING ...

Hi, and welcome to the button tin. My very first blog. Ahhh, bless! I'm doing it mainly to spur myself on to keep crafting, but also to be part of a great online crafty community. I've discovered so many fantastic sites which are inspiring and make my fingers itch to make more. So many creative people out there, and great to see small businesses springing up left, right and centre. The web must be the best thing that's happened for DIY businesses, especially those run by women on (very) limited incomes.