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.Cool Shops! HOOKED ZPAGETTI.

It’s been quite awhile since my last Cool Shop blog post.  I’ve got a great new one for you tonight though, have you heard of Hooked Zpagetti?

I was first introduced to Hooked Zpagetti when I was at the Craft & Quilt Fairs in Sydney and Melbourne earlier this year.  There were people walking around everywhere with these great big cones of chunky yarn and I was intrigued!  After a little questioning and was directed to the Hooked Zpagetti stand and after seeing some of their funky creations, I guess you could say I was hooked!!

Zpagetti uses offcuts of latest knit fashion material and makes a chunky yarn ideal for crocheting and knitting.  The yarn is avaliable in a huge range of colours and designs.  The number one draw-card for me was that because the yarn is so chunky anything you knit or crochet with it is going to be a FAST project!

You can quickly and easily make handbags, soft toys, cushion covers, scarves, bowls, baskets and other home ware items with Zpagetti.  I was immediately taken by some lovely bowls they had displayed on their stand so grabbed a couple of spools of yarn, a pattern and bamboo crochet hook and was set!

Being a novice crocheter, it did take me a few tries to get used to the weight and elasticity of the yarn and to work out exactly how big I wanted my bowl to turn out, but once I had everything sorted out I had TWO bowls crocheted in under 2 hours!  So if you think you can’t crochet, don’t be scared to give Zpagetti a go – it really is simple.

First off, I made a fruit bowl for the kitchen bench – love the rustic, earthy feel the crochet look and chunkiness of the yarn gives.

I had a bit of yarn left over so started on a second bowl, it ended up a decent size and at the moment is housing eggs!

I couldn’t believe how cheap the cones of yarn are – $17.95 and you’ve got yourself two funky bowls!  These would be great to give away as gifts, and don’t have to be used in the kitchen…pop them anywhere to attractively store odds and ends.

I’m enjoying mine in the kitchen at the moment though…

Here’s a pic of the Hooked Zpagetti stand at one of the Fairs…they have HEAPS of colours to choose from.  There was also a gorgeous big floor rug on display at the fair, would love to make one of those…or some big floor cushions…or maybe a big round pouffe…

If you would like to try your hand at a bit of Zpagetti (and you really should!) then order now because until the 7th November, all Make It Perfect readers will receive a 10% discount on all orders placed through the Hooked Zpagetti website!  Use the code “Makeitperfect” during checkout to activate the discount.

Hooked Zpagetti Links:
October 19, 2011
Other

.Shout Outs.

I’ve got a few fun things to share with you today…

First of all, have you heard about the Premium Mothers Retreat being held in Sydney early next year? 

The retreat sounds amazing and is sure to refuel worn out Mothers with loads of inspirational presentations and workshops.  Early bird rates are avaliable until 18th November, then prices will increase by 20% so hurry and book now!

Next up (and this may be of interest to local peeps….) 

Inspire Handmade Market – a funky market full of lots of cool handmade goodness, going to be held in March at Deloraine Primary School – I’ll be there with some bits and pieces for sale…will talk more about it as the time draws closer, but for now – if you are interested in having a stall at the market, contact The Handmade Team ASAP as tables are filling up fast!

And for anyone looking for an easy way to learn a new craft, check out Emily Falconbridge’s Fabulous Felting course!

Learning something at home is super convenient for busy people…I like it ’cause it means I can stay in my jammies and do things at my own pace.  I’ve never tried wet felting before, it has always intrigued me though!  I especially love those rugs made of hundreds of little felted beads…so cool!

October 15, 2011
Other

.A sad ending.

Please remind me never to make a soft toy for my children again.

I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when presented with these victims.  Time of death…usually an hour or so after the kids go to bed.  They have no toys in their bedroom so when they aren’t ready for sleep and still have a bit of energy to kill they start playing with their softies.  What starts off as a game ends in somebody getting hurt.  

 

My children aren’t usually destructive, I promise.   They tell me they are too strong and weren’t even playing tug-of-war very hard.

 

All I could think about was the hours of time I put into sewing each one of those little critters up, with visions of them being passed down as family heirlooms to children’s children.  I’m not sure if I can be bothered patching them up – is it really going to be worth the effort?!

 
This is Giddy Up – all stuffing removed.  He was in REALLY bad shape…

 Sorry Magoo, Mrs Perkins x 2 and Giddy Up.  My children will never be trusted with a softie again.

October 5, 2011
Other

.Cushions replaced!.

A change is as good as a holiday, right?  I finished new cushion covers to live in the loungeroom last night and couldn’t be happier with them today.  You might remember my old cushions…I made them at the end of last year and they just haven’t worked for me or our home.  Wrong colours, wrong designs.
 

This time around I took my time selecting the fabrics.  I didn’t want anything matchy-matchy so grabbed a few of my favourite fabrics from my stash and played around until I came up with a collection I was happy with. 

There is definitley nothing matchy-matchy about these fabrics!  Although the more I look at them, I can see why they work well together – there are a few from the same ranges, the scale of most of the prints are small or have a small detail about them and there is a focus on grey, lilac, aqua and green…

Cushions really are a quick and easy way to spruce up a room and freshen things up a bit – could I claim this as my spring cleaning for the year?!

 

My favourite method for making cushion covers is hiding the zipper under a folded flap of fabric.  It gives a really neat and professional finish.  I don’t like envelope closures as they always tend to stretch open and look sloppy over time.  If you are interested, here is a handy tutorial to hide the zippers in your cushion covers.

I was a little worried about using regular quilting weight cotton to make the cushions.  In past experience they have become saggy and stretched and haven’t been able to withstand the beatings that our cushions get (see below) so this time I fully lined each cushion using a piece of (dodgy) scrap fabric I had lying around.  Nothing fancy with the lining, just cut a piece the same as the exterior and overlocked them together around the edge and then worked with the joined pieces as one.  It has made a huge difference in the stability of the cushions and I’m confident they will be long-lasting.

Now, as much as I love my cushions to decorate our home and inject a pop of colour, the kids love them more to throw around and play with!  Some days it drives me C.R.A.Z.Y!  I am constantly picking cushions up off the floor, but the small-fries love it!!
Hmm, looks like fun…I might have to join them in their antics next time! 
SUPPLIES:
Umbrella Prints, Floating Flowers
Umbrella Prints, Elephants
Umbrella Prints, Raindrops
Erin McMorris, Summersault, Pixiestick Posies in Turquoise
Erin McMorris, Summersault, Raindrops in Celery
Erin McMorris, Wildwood, Checked Floral in Green
Saffron Craig, Magical Lands, Magic Spots
Lizzy House, 1001 Peeps, Pearl Bracelet in Purple
Jennifer Moore, Monaluna, Hip to Be Square in Steel 
 
 
 
September 21, 2011
Other

.A whole lota zippers.

Awhile ago my sister gave me a massive zip-lock bag full of zippers.  She had been to a deceased estate sale and the lady of the house must have been into thrifty sewing because she had a whole hoard of zippers stashed in one of her draws – most of them had been unpicked from old items of clothing.

I’m just about to start making some new cushion covers for our couch cushions but have been pushing the project back as it means making a trip to the shops to pick up some zippers – then I remembered the big bag of old lady zippers in the cupboard and problem solved!!

I didn’t think I would ever use them, still overcoming my issues with second-hand stuff, but if it means saving me a trip to the shops and a bit of money I think I’m going to face my issues and get on with it!

There are actually some really cool zippers in the stash…lots of retro looking ones and funky shaped pulls.  Even some brand new ones still in their vintage packaging.  

 
I’ll definitley be remembering to dive into my zipper collection next time I need to sew something with zippers, who knows what treasures I will find?!  Perhaps I’ll make one of these funky no-fabric zippered pouches just to use some of them up!
September 20, 2011