New to Me in March!

It's the 25th of the month again (already?) and it is time to celebrate all the new things we have attempted in March.

My first New to Me this month is co-hosting a Flickr Swap with the talented UKMUMINUSA

As neither of us had ever hosted a Swap before we weren't quite sure what to expect, but we are delighted to have nearly 30 Crafty Cooks all stalking each other and debating whether skull and goldfish fabrics are appropriate on an apron or not :) Opinions are currently divided.

My second New to Me in March was part of Rikka's Fancy Feet Challenge, where I dusted off my Teflon Foot and got to grips with sewing with oilcloth to make this washbag.

The third New to Me activity I have attempted this month hasn't been quite as successful I have to admit. As part of my Christmas present, my husband bought me a Craft Drill set which has been sitting untouched in its smart blue zip-up case. I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it, but just hadn't plucked up the courage to have a go. With wind and snow forecast for the weekend it seemed like the perfect time to grab a cuppa, put some music on and finally unleash the drill.

All of that was easy until I attempted to make sense of the almost non-existent instructions. A quick Google search and it was evident that I wasn't alone in struggling with the lack of instructions and that this wasn't going to be as easy as I had hoped.

For a start I wanted to use the drill to etch on glass and it seemed that I didn't have the right drill bit (already I have a whole new language to learn!) so a trip to the local Dremel stockist was called for. Alas they only stocked the drills and accessories at Christmas, so the big out-of-town DIY superstore was next on the agenda. Yay! a whole stand of drills and bits, but sadly not the one I was looking for, so I bought what I hoped was the next best thing.

Unfortunately it was not the next best thing. So I am currently waiting on an online order, which will, hopefully, arrive in time for me to have a go at etching Easter bunnies onto glasses so that I can fill them with mini Chocolate Easter eggs.

If this plan fails the chocolates will be eaten and any mention of glasses filled with Easter Eggs will be hotly denied!

I hope your New to You attempts have been more successful than mine this month.

Link them up below and share your triumphs and/or disasters.

As ever please link back to this post in your post and/or add the blog button to your sidebar.

Check out the other links and leave a comment along the way. The emphasis of this link party is to celebrate the trying of something new, whether it works out exactly as planned or not, so a little encouragement here and there would not go amiss! 

The link will remain open until March 31st so if you haven't already tried something new you still have time :)

Putting my best foot forward

As many of you know Rikka hosts regular challenges that are aimed at getting us all to move out of our comfort zones and tackle something new. I missed the first few of her challenges but managed to get my act together to join in with the last two. So I have tackled

Celtic Knotwork Applique for the Ring your Neck Scarf Challenge

and Orange Peel Blocks for the Curved Seams Challenge.

This month's challenge was to use one of the fancy feet that sit still pristine in the storage compartment of my sewing machine. Which foot to use, decisions, decisions?

In the end I used 3 different feet to meet the Challenge, one I had used a few times before, one I have used once without any great success and one that has been lurking in the compartment for several years without ever being considered.

They were

A Zipper Foot

A Piping Foot

And a Teflon Foot, which really sounds like it should be in the kitchen!

The Teflon Foot is for sewing oilcloth and laminated fabric, amongst other things, and that is what I used it for in this challenge.

The local market in France has a stall selling a great selection of "Toile Ciree" which is mostly sold for tablecloths. Naturally I have been unable to resist buying a couple of metres of fabric and the appropriate foot for the sewing machine. Both have languished in cupboards until now, when the Fancy Feet Challenge presented the perfect opportunity to unearth and finally use them to make myself this.

Oilcloth, piping and a zipper!

Although the translation of the French is oilcloth, I think in actual fact this fabric is more like a laminated cotton. It was a dream to cut, but those curved edges were a challenge as there is no give in the fabric.

The Teflon foot worked like a charm and glided over the oilcloth without any drag or hitch, so I will definitely be giving it another outing soon. I used a jeans needle in my machine as, where the handles are joined in the seams, there were 6 layers of oilcloth plus piping to sew through!

I am delighted to have finally liberated this foot from its' dusty compartment and will certainly be taking an ever keener interest in the market stall on our next visit to France!

Linking up this finish with Finish it up Friday