Planning for warmer weather

We had a beautiful day today, reminding us that Spring is just around the corner. Sadly tomorrow is not looking so good.  I've decided to get back into clothes making this year. Mr Cymraeg is taking No 4 to a football weekend very soon so I shall have the house to myself. Ideal for getting my sewing machine out methinks. I already have the fabric and pattern, just a simple one to ease myself back into it.

More Hexies!

I've managed to buy some fabric which I think is sympathetic to the age of the hexie quilt. It took much pondering and the owner of the shop brought out an array of fabrics, which, just didn't do it for me. I've learned over the years that if  I am not totally happy with an element of a project then it sits forever unfinished and unloved.

The quilt top has sat unfinished for long enough and now that I own it I am determined to complete it. I have removed most of the paper from the quilt, many of them were falling out anyway.  Only the edge papers remain. It means that I can re-use them, which is nice.

I have decided on an edge that is true to the hexie, well, I did have help to chose this finish by No 4 who told me the hexie edge is cool! So that's that then. The look that I'd like to achieve is here,  not the quickest finish but one that I like . Thank you Jenny for the heads up on this one!

This evening I have made a start on my hexie making, I need 312 in total. I've made 14 so far this evening , although now I've done some preparation I should be able to rattle through a few more tomorrow evening  a bit quicker. I'm also hoping that blogging about my progress will mean that I really must finish this project! Watch this space!

Blogging!

I'm pleased to be back blogging and that I have made a decision to cool it with Instagram for a while. That's not to say that I won't visit IG at all, it's just that it has never gladdened my heart like blogging has. 2017 so far is like meeting up with an old friend! I have also discovered new blogs along the way. I've not been brave enough yet to join in with 5 on Friday but I do visit some of the blogs that have linked up. This week one of the blogs that I visited has prompted me to finish knitting a scarf that I started last year. You can find my inspiration here.  Annie has just finished a beautiful blue scarf!

My pattern is for the hitchhiker scarf that I bought from Ravelry a while back. Pattern here. This is the fourth one that I am making. I have selfishly made one for myself in autumnal colours, also a brightly coloured one for No 1 and a smaller matching version for my little granddaughter which, let me tell you, is sooooo cute! This one is for No 2 but my list to make this scarf will still not be complete as I need to make one for No 4. Phew! It's good that I'm back into knitting! Apologies for the photo, I'm in my pyjamas at 6pm on a Saturday evening. So rock and roll!

Alice in Wonderland

I am very blessed to work in a special needs school. It gladdens my heart to see my students everyday,  my staff aren't too bad either ; ). The theme for our class topic this term is Victorian Historians, we are currently working on Alice in Wonderland. 

We have done lots of sensory work around Alice in Wonderland which involves different materials that appeal to all the senses. It is often the process that holds the actual learning and I then turn it into something that visually appeals to the adults in my class. This keeps everyone happy! For instance my students have been touching a mixture of glitter, sequins and buttons, this was part of their learning activity. Prior to this an adult had supported them with squeezing a sauce bottle holding pva glue into making swirls/circles (onto black card) the amount and form of support depending on the student. This then became the platform on which to touch the sensory materials, which would stick to the glue and make a picture. 

My students don't particularly have any interest in the finished article but the staff that work with them do. This is the display of the student's work for our 'Down the rabbit hole' display board.

I also have a branch in the corner of my classroom to display other bits that have been made too.

Tomorrow we are ready to make Mad hatter hats!

I have a mixture of different textures to touch which will be over glue again. We will see how it all turns out tomorrow! Sometimes there is no salvaging for the adults! 

Sometimes when I get home I'm all done with creativity!

My hexie quilt

Yesterday I blogged about the beautiful  log cabin quilt top that I bought.  I also mentioned another quilt that I had. It's actually a quilt project as once again it needs a backing. So I've bought another project! This one dates I believe from the seventies. I bought it from a lovely lady called Diane Ashman, I have taken this picture from Diane's Facebook page and the colours are quite a good likeness:

I love to visit her shop for two reasons, one because of the amazing vintage and antique clothing and other bits of interest, and two because of Diane herself. She has such interesting stories to tell that I could listen to her forever.  I do wish that I had gone into the shop more often when I lived in Welshpool.

The pictures of the hexie top are not the best quality as it was late when I took them and the lighting was poor. I'm also no photographer, like you needed telling! The colours in the photo do not appear true, but you can get the idea of it. 

This topper was about £30 I think although I have had it a couple of years so I cannot quite remember. The question for this one is how should I finish it? 

I've also shown pictures of the back of the quilt, quietly telling tales of its history. Fascinating.

A reminder that I bought this in Wales!

A clue to the decade:

A touch of patchwork

One of the projects that I would like to complete this year is a patchwork quilt. I was so fortunate to buy this one as it was only 50p from the jumble sale. It has been washed and now awaits its backing. It's bigger than I remember it. I'm not totally sure what colour to have the backing to be honest. I just love it. I can't help but wonder it's history. It came with a stitched label celebrating a marriage. It must have come away in the wash because I couldn't find it this morning. I wondered if one person had custody of the backing and the other had the front! No matter I have it now and will become part of its history. Here are the pictures that I have taken this morning. Its much more vivid than the pictures show. I also have another one that I shall show tomorrow. Sadly this was not from the jumble sale but from a lovely little vintage shop in Welshpool, so it cost me a lot more than 50p.

Finished! Well almost!

Well I've completed another project this month. I won't mention that I started it this month too, that it wasn't one of my long discarded WIPs. I even won't say that I bought the yarn on my way home from work last week when I should really be using my stash. I will say that it's quite cute as cushions go and that the inner is indeed part of my stash. I bought it from Ikea, when in my head, I was heading towards the cushion making part of my life. It didn't happen and I ended up giving them to the jumble sale. This one along with one more somehow escaped the cull. That was lucky. Now to find some buttons.

No title tonight

It was a low sun on my drive home tonight, quite beautiful. 

On another note, No 4 is back doing her training again so Mum the taxi driver has to find ways to entertain herself during the wait! Tonight's entertainment was a few more rows of a cushion cover  that I'm making. I always feel the need to concentrate on housey things in January and this year I am trying to be more proactive. I hope it lasts long enough to make more than one cover!

Lillibet

Another post later in the evening than I would have liked, but I had to upload my assessment data tonight - sadly some of it twice as I typed 2016 instead of 2017 which then looked like no progress had been made! What a wally! Thankfully completed for the time being.

Between my post yesterday and this one I have made a start on stitching and stuffing those scrappy bits of knitting! Unlike many royalty over the years Lillibet has not been ruthlessly beheaded, she merely awaits her body with the dignity and patience befitting of a mouse of her standing.

Guess what it is?

As I'm quietly (if you knew me you would know that I'm never quiet) sorting through my craft bits I came across a tangled mess of yarn. I knew, what it was instantly. Of  course it was yet another project started but not completed. I started this project to celebrate the Queen's Golden Jubilee. I feel that ship sailed quite a while ago! I even chose a very patriotic red, white and blue to knit with. Anyway I have decided that this is the year that Lillibet (it had to be really) will be finished, after all she only needs to be stitched together. It's not my longest serving WIP but it's now on my list. I do like a list,  I clearly don't like finishing projects. You can't win 'em all!

A quiet day

Today has been mainly eating, keeping warm and knitting. It's been an intense week at work and I just need a recharge. Tomorrow it will mainly be being a football  Mum to No 4. She's back on the pitch after her operation, although I have insisted that she wears a scrum cap to protect her head. We have switch-on on Thursday and I will all need my emotional energy for then. I have done a little crafting of a project that I can't show you because it's for my swap. I  shall share my knitting instead!

Brrrrr!

If the weather forecasters are to be believed we will be having a cold spell this weekend.
Sadly I only managed to make a cover for one hot water bottle so we made need to share it!

Free ebook

I have followed Jenny's blog for a long time and I have always admired her designing and stitching. She is now offering a free ebook of her designs here.
A very generous gift by Jenny. Thank you.

Another Workshop

It's been quite a week and was more than grateful when the weekend came.On Saturday I was very fortunate to go to another workshop at Hope and Elvis. I can't tell you how wonderful it is to be there. Louise has an incredible knack of choosing beautiful fabrics and materials to delight and inspire. Couple that skill with some extremely talented people and you have the ingredients of a makers heaven!
It was the talented and quite lovely Viv of  'Hen's Teeth'  a textile artist who uses a combination of stitching and paint to make artwork and accessories. This has to be one of my most favourite workshops that I have attended. She started her demonstration with a gift for each of us - a name badge that she had made for us.

I enjoyed watching Viv show us how to create our very own works of art. the theme for this workshop was garden tins. We selected a vintage tin and carefully recreated our interpretation of a floral garden under Viv's gentle tutelage. Just choosing a tin was exciting, I do love things with a story to tell and these battered and well used items certainly had that.

I'm usually a slow starter, often because I don't want to stitch something that has no meaning to me. I like the fabrics to call to me, and I like what I like. I'm of an age where I recognise that one of my flaws is that I'm a non-finisher! So I have to help myself out a little by choosing things that inspire me. I did my own thing it and involved a tin and it involved flowers. It also involved an embroidery of myself! How indulgent! Viv seemed to love it and I do too.

I even had my photo taken with Viv as a reminder of a wonderful day.

A Craft Kit follow on

I think my excitement for my craft kit has waned slightly. I'm still loving the price at £3.99 and the lion is definitely cute. I would indeed like to crochet a friend. I'm just not sure that I can. I have all the ingredients; yarn, crochet hook, stuffing and needle. I also have the skills, despite me saying that I can only crochet Granny squares I really can do double crochet! I'm just not as confident with it as I am with many of my other crafts.

I've opened the kit and it's OK. Yarn quality is slightly squeaky which is to be expected at the price, but that's fine. I'm just not sure if I'm going to get on with the instructions. They seem a little basic, not enough helpful language for me.  It's maybe because I've followed Attic24 patterns before which have lots of language and photos. Even I can manage those. These instructions are not quite the same! I shall keep you updated with my progress ... or not. Opening the package was progress, wasn't it?

A craft kit

I just popped into Aldi and have discovered some crafty bits on sale. I can never resist crafty bits. Although I can crochet a little, I don't seem to have progressed from Granny squares to be honest, well maybe the odd triangle may have slipped in too! I thought that I would try to crochet out of my comfort zone and have bought a kit. I'm hoping to finish this one and not get bored mid leg! It's yarndale next weekend so there will be many more temptations.  I'm quite into needlefelting at the moment and have taught a few classes recently. I run them with my daughter which is lovely as I do enjoy spending time with my children. We are working on our final workshop of the year which will be Christmas themed. Where has the year gone?

Busy, busy, busy

I do like to keep busy and always have a million projects on the go at once. It's just the way it is.  Some projects sadly are destined not to be finished.  It's quite possible that we just didn't have a connection.  Maybe someone else will get excited by one of my unfinished wips in the future as I do when a stumble across a mystery piece in a Cs or jumble sale.  But when a project comes together and to a happy ending, well all is good with the world. I have such a project,  finished this week for a little girl who has just welcomed her baby brother into the world.

A little crafting

I committed myself and a friend to doing a craft stall at a local event. I have made a few bits and bobs but really need to up my game! The whole point of the stall is to promote the craft workshops that I have arranged.  I do like to draft a little help from my little friend and she truly considers herself drafted :-)

A quick wip!

Just because I only have a million works in progress I decided to start a new one. I am sewing them into strips of ten squares before I sew them together. This is the start with four strips. I love random but it does take a little planning!

February's Craft Group

It was craft night this week and I taught a group of ladies how to make some sweet Valentine crafts.  There was much hilarity and some serious paper bird envy!

 

 

These are some of the paper birds that were made but alas not photographs of the cards.

Trying to get the birds to stand on their spindly paperclip legs was a real work of art!

These two lovely ladies found the 'button box.'  It always makes me smile that whatever our age there is something irresistible about delving into a box of buttons. Most of us have memories of doing this as a child.

 

I have already planned the craft session in March and I thought I might do a tutorial for my blog too as I haven't done one of those for a while. But I shall be back before March!