Make Do & Mend – Confessions of a Fibre Strumpet

I spied this little number smiling at me from the shelves of Eason in Dungarvan yesterday and was won over instantly. Containing a hefty 162 pages of things to make, knit, sew, crochet and bake what’s not to like?

Like many of the other ‘lifestyle’ magazines that are available at the moment it is a very photography heavy publication, leading you to aspire to all things quirky, vintage and floral. In addition to the numerous projects there are ‘Ideas & Inspirations’ and ‘Spring into Shopping’ sections. There’s also a great feature on craft courses and workshops and if that wasn’t enough the good people at Prima Makes have also thrown in a couple of sheets of fancy printed paper.

So I imagine you’d like to have a little look at some of my favourite little projects?

These 3 beauties are called High Flyers, Heaven Scent and Time for Tea. Soooooo pretty.

The very appropriately hat a Picture is so fantastic I’d actually like one please. The funky, patchwork laptop case ould make a great gift and Kitchen Stichin’ is for those of us that like a bit of crochet.

The pretty Tunic Top knitted in cotton has sizes from 6-12 months to 5 years and it would be hard to resist the little pairs of Baby’s First Shoes. Bobtail Bunny is a pocket sized pal worked in 4ply crochet.

Still more …..

For the bakers amongst us my 3 favourites are the Coconut Doughnuts, Shortbread Flowers and the Peppermint Marshmallows, yummy.

It shouldn’t come as any surprise to those of you that know me but Daisy Chain is my absolute favourite, isn’t it beautiful? I hope my crochet is up to it.

If you’re still in need of a little convincing, then the icing on the cake has to be that the magazine comes complete a free kit to make this little mousey pincushion.

Happy Knitting! (maybe that should be crafting?)

It seems we’ve finally got a hold of ourselves and tightened our belts (not sure mine was ever loose), we’ve seen the error of our ways and realised that everything isn’t disposable. There’s a whole upsurge in people learning how to remake, reupholster, upcycle and transform.

Hopefully there were very few of us that simply threw away a blouse if the buttons had fallen off but how many of us have given a dress away because we no longer like the style? Perhaps you cast away a piece of furniture because it didn’t fit in with your new contemporary styled living room? Can you see the charm in everyday objects from charity shops and house clearance stores if given a little love?

Reloved is a new quarterly magazine dedicated to restyling, transforming and revamping your world. In the first issue ‘Spring 2013’ there are 26 projects covering everything from transforming your clothes to upcycling your furniture. There is a masterclass on reupholstering a drop in seat pad chair and quick makes to create in an evening. There are several features including one on the original ‘Make Do & Mend’ series from the wartime upcyclers. Last but not least, there’s a guide to upcycling and knitting (ahem… of course).

The magazine welcomes you to a shabby chic lifestyle, full of colour and a renewed love for all things eclectic, mismatched and homely. Of all the projects some of my favourites are Changing Sleeves (above) and the Lacy Doily Lampshade which are really cool. In my house they’d have to be stained or painted though as the dust would turn them grey in a matter of minutes.

On page 16 and 17 there’s how to create the Vintage Cake Stand, all the rage at the moment and much cheaper than some of those to buy in the shops. I think they’d look really good made out of old mismatched plates and full of naughty teatime treats.

Loving all things knitted it goes without saying that the knitted Vase Covers on page 32 – 35 get my creative juices flowing and there’s also a lovely knitted footstool in the magazine. It’s cream and would again be a dirt magnet here, better to be done with it and make it in a tweedy grey for my home.

Last but not least and my absolute favourite item in this issue is the ‘All Wrapped Up Chair’ which has actually been taken from the book Granny Chic. If I ever get the time expect to see very similar looking chairs in the shop one day.

The magazine has been extremely popular and you may find it difficult to get hold of a copy however the digital edition will be available soon on Apple Newsstand, Google Play and Pocketmags.com. You can get further information on the Reloved website http://www.relovedmag.co.uk/

Happy Knitting!

(or should that be creating?)