I was so inspired by Janette’s coasters and bowl (The Green Dragonfly) the other day that I had to try one myself:

I used Vinni’s DK Nikkim (cotton) and a 3.5mm hook. It’s turned out slightly bigger than I wanted so the next one will be with a 3.00 mm hook. I wanted to try an idea that I came up with all by myself, thinking about garbage and trash all the time like I do, and a smaller coaster would obviously work better. I did it anyway!
Glue a piece of felt or soft fabric to one side of a tin can lid. The can opener I use makes a pretty smooth edge on the tin but there might still be a bit of sharp here and there, so that’s the side I stuck the fabric on.

When it’s dry, trim the fabric so it makes a neat circle. Smear some glue over the other side of the lid and press the coaster onto it (wrong side down). I put the bottle of glue on top of the coaster so it would dry nice and flat:


If I was going to make these to sell them, I would make sure my fabric side was perfect and that no tin showed round the edges (ie. when you look at it sideways). But for my own coffee mug, I’m happy with it just as it is.

Apart from coasters, I also have doilies on the brain. Jam Tarts is going to be at the Doilie Market in Durbanville this Saturday, and I’ve been up to lots of repurposing with vintage doilies to give them a new lease of life.

This is my new bedside lamp: a doilie draped (permanently!) over a wire frame and the stand made from a liqueur bottle (cabled up by Rob wearing his electrician’s hat), painted white, then coated with modge and white tissue paper. I got the idea for that here.
Better go tidy the kitchen now. You can imagine what a mess it’s in.
To be continued…