A bit of secret crafting and some spinning

First of all, I took part in the Ironing Cover Swap recently,

 my partner being Leonie from Kiwi at Heart

We were both behind in sending our templates to each other....me especially....but we decided to hand them over in person when we both attended a spinning class at Cats a couple of weeks ago....

more on that later

So here is the ironing board cover I made for Leonie

I stalked her on her Pinterest, and got a sense for the look she likes and decided to add a little bit of patchwork near the head of the board and keep the rest untouched

I really wanted to find a red polkadot, as this is one of her favs....but after 3 stores I had to settle on this more salmon pink polkadot, so instead I added in some red into the patchwork, teaming it with aquas.

Also because I was so late sending my template.....like the week before our chosen deadline! My bad!

I decided to make this pincushion and a detachable thread bucket, that I have had on my to do list for a while.

I altered the orientation, and omitted the scissor pocket, so that it would sit across the ironing board, and then it could be used between sewing machine and ironing board 

I tested a few times....I will be making one soon :))

Also, on a side note, I joined in a the scrap fabric swap that Nin from Make Life Beautiful, a while back and was partnered with Juliet.... the blue typewriter fabric is from there....got some more great pieces too!!

And of course I got a cover in return from Leonie.....

I really needed it!

Now thanks to Leonie, I have a beautiful new cover

Its perfect! and just what I asked for, as I didn't want any seams....because I sew alot of clothes, and I need use of the whole board.....plus the added bonus was that it was padded!....which my board was clearly lacking.

And I love the fabric too!...so me :))

Now my ironing board is no longer an embarrassment...Phew!

On the day before the spinning class, I arrived at Cats to receive a wonderful and relaxing beauty treatment from Cat, part of a swap between myself and Cat.   My end of the bargain was another snapdragon Tam...wool supplied by Cat and knitting by me :))

That makes three total so far of these

I also went to craft night at Cats with Leonie from Sunshine x 3, and had the pleasure of staying over at Leonies and spending the morning with herself and her family......those three little girls are so sweet.....I spent most of the morning, colouring in and with Liesl on my knee :))) So sweet!!

And as for the spinning class I mentioned?

Louanna from NZ Green Buttons held a small class at Cats ....so Leonie, Lisa, Louanna, Cat and myself took over the living room with spinning wheels and lots of fluff from spinning wool.

I already have been spinning for a couple of years, on and off.....though I'm still practicing, but mainly I have been having trouble with my plying technique.....so it was fantastic to be shown how to Navajo ply......basically making a 3ply wool from one spool

Photo courtesy from Cat

I also got some great tips from Louanna that have really helped me achieve a better spin to my wool, and some great places to get wool roving, and other spinning accessories from.

And after a great afternoon spinning away, once I made the trip home, I spun the night away....eager to put the techniques I learnt to test.

Looking better :))

Linking in with Leonie at Show and Tell