January Furtling

The last of day of January, which seemed like a long month. Two weeks of this month not very well but over that now and ready to bring in a brighter February.

This month I finished two waistcoats, one of which was Luna sized and sewn, the other knitted.

Having watched the celebrity Sewing Bee programme just before New Year I realised I’d never sewn a waistcoat, so Luna’s was a good place to start and the pattern was from the original Luna Lapin book.

The second waistcoat is for me and knitted (though I’ve not worn it yet) is one made from chunky yarn

I’m back to making some Siblings Together blocks and made two this month, rainbow strip blocks

 What is really getting me going this month is some slow stitching.  I really enjoyed making the Sew 4 the Soul book from 2020, which I finished this time last year and thought of making another stitch book. before then at West Country Embroiderers there was a workshop on  Victorian Crazy Patchwork which I really enjoyed and since added bits onto. The piece below is 9.5” wide x 8”long. It was a joy to pick up as and when to tune into a You Tube or listen to a podcast and sew.

So my stitch book has 12” x 6” ‘pages’ of wadding, which is made up of scrap pieces sewn together and re-cut and i joined the signatures with blanket stitch. I’ve decided to theme the pages by colour and use some use other some elements, such as the themes of Roxy Creations Journal of Stitching for ideas. Let see how it goes. For this month and into February I’ve decided on pink.

I’ve also been enjoying some paper craft making ATC’s. Earlier this month the theme was Teatime and I made this custard cream biscuit card.  I started with a drawing and copied that to paint the biscuit in ochre paint. I’m pleased it looks almost edible! 

I received a card in return. When I make ATC’s I usually make 2 one to keep and one to send.

The card for February has been sent  for the swap and the theme is Winter.  I wasn’t inspired but found one of the Christmas cards has a winter scene so I copied that and added some sparkle and paper snowflakes and mounted onto blue painted card.  The original card design is by Lucy Grossmith for Museums and Galleries. 

One last quick make this month is a wash cloth of a dishcloth pattern from last year by The Kitchen Sink Shop, on Ravelry.  I subscribed to the mailing list to receive a monthly pattern.  This one is called Double Dutch, really quick to make I used King Cole Cottonsoft DK print. Far too pretty to be used in the kitchen!

So that’s it for January. Let's see what February brings.

Joining Mini Archie's Furtle Around the Blogosphere, link here.

Mid January Musing

 I have a finish - the chunky waistcoat 

It was a King Cole pattern and being chunky it didn’t take me long to.  It only cost me £2.50 and it’s very warm.  Bargain!

I’ve picked up a blue cardigan for Flo from before Christmas.  I’d done the back and most of one front. The second front is under way. For some reason, I knitted the first size not second on the back so I've had to frog back and start that again.  It won't take me long to catch up though.

A new start, which I hope will progress through this year is a new stitch book.  Based on the Sew 4 The Soul book I made year before last.  I’d sewn wadding scraps together before 8 pages cutting to size.

I’ve still yet to decide what the pages will contain, but I have started stitching, albeit that it was joining the  centres of the pages to create a spine. But I was encouraged by working on Victorian style crazy patchwork and enjoying the slow stitching.  The piece I've made is a little to big for the book, but I can make another to fit.  Meanwhile I am enjoying adding stitching and other elements to the original piece.  Below are how it looked last week...

And how it looks today...

There are several reference for me to look at for inspiration and that is Pintangle by Sharon Boggon, who runs an annual Take a Stitch Tuesday and I've also found a book called Crazy Patchwork by Janet Haigh. Most things are from my stash apart from the rose print and the red velvet (below the purple strip), which was from the tutor's, Pat's, collection.

I've also sewn 2 blocks for this month's block mamma's request for the Siblings Together quilt bee.

Happy rainbow blocks.  Put in the post today. Nice easy bit of strip cutting and sewing.

Happy-ish New Year

 

This year for me has started as the old one finished, still full of cold and coughing well but now I’m getting better and taking it easy until next Monday when the normal pattern for the week/month starts.

First finish for this year has been an ATC for the TG Swap, the deadline comes up by the end of this week, The theme this month is Tea Time. I had thought of making a scone from fabric but that didn’t work out, so I came up with the idea of a custard cream biscuit instead. After a Google search with some images I came up with a couple of drawings and used the one on the lower part on the white card.  I scanned in the image to make 2 copies.

When I’ve been making the ATC’s I usually make two, one for reference and one to send.  I painted the image in ochre watercolour paint and shaded the edge lightly with ochre pencil. The pattern is highlighted by brown fineliner pen.  I mounted it onto pink card, which was the inside of the wedding anniversary card.  I've cut another small piece from this card as I that might come in useful too.

Having watched the Great British Seeing Bee just before New Year I decided to have a go at making a waistcoat, not an adult one, but a rabbit sized one!  The pattern is in the first Luna Lapin book and is for Luna’s brother Alfie, but as I don’t have Alfie, Luna has modelled it instead.

I made this from some blue denim, with blue patterned fabric lining. It only took the afternoon to make. It is a bit different to an adult one as the bottom seam remains not sewn to turn out the waistcoat.  In an adult waistcoat one of the lining seams is left not sewn.  So now I can say Ive made a waistcoat!  You never know I may make Luna a new outfit.

In my quiet time Ive taken to doing some knitting and I bought some yarn in a craft sale back in October.  It was 7 skeins of chunky yarn (long discontinued) and I wondered whether it would make a cardigan or not, so I picked a pattern that a friend passed onto me quite a while ago.  Having knitted the back and fronts I have found it won't. However this pattern is a waistcoat too (there seems to be a theme with this blog post...) so it will become that.  The pattern is King Cole 4716, which is cardigan/waistcoat with a cable edging. I have a feeling that 2 of the skeins were incomplete and also found that a sleeve would take more than the one and a half skeins left, so there was no way of extending the yarn further, but I am quite happy with how its turning out.

I'm very tempted to make the new free sock pattern by Winwick Mum, which is in mosaic colour work, which looks really effective.  I had a go a this technique before with a hat using plain lilac and a multicoloured yarns.  Lets get the waistcoat out of the way and get going with that.  I'll have to work out what I have in stash first.

Lucy of Attic 24 is doing another Crochet A Long, the Harbour Blanket, but I've resisted temptation for this one and sitting this out.  But the colours are soooo lovely and bright, especially given the gloom of this time of year.  But unless I have a home for another blanket, I won't make one.

So this has been my first week of the New Year so far, a bit of artwork, a bit of sewing, a bit of knitting and just easing myself back into the swing of things.  I hope you are too.

Post Christmas and Furtling towards New Year.

Like my new header?  It was a bit bigger than I wanted it to be but it does convey much of what I do - a bit of this and bit of that, so that’s something new for 2022.  I am updating the finishes page too so you can see a roundup of finishes in 2021, so I don’t bog down this blog with what I’ve done through the year.

What was Christmas like for you?  Mine was a bit of a washout as I had a bad cold have been suffering over the holidays.  As I write this (on 30 December) it’s still hanging on with a cough and sore throat.  I have taken lateral flow tests, which have come out negative as I read that cold symptoms were one of the signs of Omicron. So we’ve not seen anyone over the holidays so Christmas has been a quiet one.

This month I finished my Advent project, which was a Gnome Knit A Long, hosted by Sarah Scherer of Imagined Landscapes.  The KAL produced not one but two gnomes - Gnombleberry and Gnewt, who is carried around in a rucksack. The heart button on Gnombleberry’s is from a wedding anniversary card sent by my Mum.  The clue for the pocket was around the date of our anniversary so seemed appropriate to use it. I used some lovely Christmas fabric as background.

Other finishes have included a pig in a Granny Square blanket, which has a new home at my friend’s house. She has a small crafted menagerie now!

I made fingerless mittens for my daughter in some WYS yarn. The picture is a bit dark, but the only one I took.  She is out and about in her job so she will need those in the cold weather to come.

I’ve even made some Christmas cards, some were for the online craft group and some for friends. I received some really lovely Christmas cards in return. There really are some talented people in the group.

I have made a quilt!  Ok, it is just 5.25” square, but it is a quilt.  I looked at a Facebook video (it was live on 16 December, but only watched the other day) of Julia’s mini quilts.  Julia Gahagan is known for making little scenic quilts. (You can search on Facebook - Julia’s mini quilts, or on Etsy by her name). So armed with scissors and glue stick I had a play.  I had some netting to cover the pieces and the thin wadding was replaced with felt.  I needed to have a bit of creative time get me out of myself, I was tired out but happy with my attempt. It’ll be my marker for January.

So hoping that things can only get better for 2022 (but I think that was the wish for 2021) I wish you all a 

HAPPY NEW YEAR 🥳 

Countdown to Christmas 5 🎅🎄☃️

 It’s nearly here ….

After the shopping and food prep and catching up with family it is time to rest and enjoy Christmas.  Both David and I are tired and have colds, so the next few days will be restful ones.

The last clue for the mystery Gnome KAL has been released so I can show not one, but two gnomes,  Gnomebleberry and little Gnewt.  I finished the details to Gnewt this afternoon, but you will have to forgive the artificial light I had yo use to take the photo.

Gnomebleberry has a backpack to carry Gnewt in.  However my Gnewt is a little on the large side as I could find what remains of my set of 2.25mm double pointed needles and had to use the larger 2.5mm ones.  So could be a struggle to fit him in.

The pattern is by Sarah Schera of Imagined Landscapes and the yarn set that I used is by Lamington Lass (on Etsy) and these little characters have been fun to make.Imagined Landscapes  

Enjoy your Christmas however you spend it and will do a catch up next week.

Best wishes

Sue x

Countdown to Christmas 4 ☃️

 I started this post on Saturday…..

Let’s have a snowman emoji, although it’s not snowing here.  Today I’ve been getting in the Christmas 🤶 mood with playing Christmas songs on Spotify while cooking.  I’ve made quiches, a cheesecake and rock buns to take to a family get together tomorrow at my youngest son’s.  Taking a lateral flow test before we go tomorrow so keeping fingers crossed that it’ll be ok.  I don’t do baking that often and earlier the kitchen looked like a bomb had hit it, but it all turned out ok and everything was put in its place so all good.  Then David asks, “what’s for dinner” but I haven’t thought about that yet.  I’m sure we’ll find something.  

I’ve got to finish off a pair of fingerless mitts for one of the presents, which will get done tonight while watching Strictly Cone Dancing - it’s the final tonight.  As there’s only two contestants left, I’m not sure how they will stretch the programme.

Now it’s Wednesday….

We now know what won Strictly Come Dancing and it was a well deserved win.  As for the prep for Sunday, well.

Sunday morning came and we had a phone call from youngest son that his boy had come down with tummy bug.  It had gone through the rest of the family but Freddie was the last one, so the family get together wasn’t happening. BUT, I invited my daughter, husband and granddaughter over for dinner instead, as Flo, my granddaughter, was staying here overnight and looking after her the next day, so that was ok.  Then older son, Alex said he would come here (it’s a 2 hour journey for him) to stay a while a exchange presents but then he turned up with the rest of his family, so it was a good job I had plenty of food in.  It was a bit of a squeeze with 9 of us in our small living room, but it was a good afternoon.  We will catch up with youngest son on Friday and all is well with his family, thankfully.  What a day that was!

After seeing my mum and sister yesterday for a lovely meal cooked by my Mum, I can feel I can get on with Christmas prep here at home.  The big bird is resting in the fridge, I’ve got red cabbage and apple cooking in the slow cooker and as it’s a sunny day I’m getting washing done too.  

Not much crafting I can show here today, but I can show the lovely display of Christmas trees at St Aldelm’s church in Branksome where we took Flo.

This is just a few of the pictures that we took of the trees, decorated by church groups, organisations and families.  It’s an annual (apart from last year) event and the atmosphere of the church makes it just a lovely place to go.

I received my ATC this week from Thelma on the theme of Victoriana, which is a lovely picture from an embroidery transfer sheet.

Below are mine (I usually make 2) and sent the one on the right hand side.

I also received some Christmas cards from the ATC group, which I’ll show on my next post, which I hope to do on Christmas Eve - blimey, that’s just 2 days away!

Christmas Countdown 3 🎅

 This has been a week of dinners out. First was one with Canford Heath Townswomen’s Guild at a local pub, which after missing Christmas last year was at its usual really good standard. Apart from mask wearing to and from the tables seemed almost normal.

This week David and I were celebrating our 44th wedding anniversary so a trip to Prezzo in Wimborne, which was really lovely and an adventure going on bus rides (it involves 2 buses) to get there and back.  

Having birthdays and anniversary close to the end of the year always has to compete with Christmas and trying not to have that take over events, but it is difficult.

I received a belated birthday present from my youngest son and daughter-in-law of a small stone owl.  I have a larger one out in the garden, but this will stay indoors, joining the others on the fireplace. Here is is just to the right of the light.

Today’s Christmas event is a quilty one, for a change.  Most Christmases, a local quilt group, Quarterjack Quilters, hold a lunch with a guest speaker, which was Judi Mendelssohn.  She was once editor of British Patchwork and Quilting magazine and I think now organises tours.

This was just one of her quilts in blues with brown/mustard contrast.

This was the speaker, explaining her work to some of the ladies after her talk. She bought several large bags with her.

A competition of small Christmas quilts.

And I won one of the prizes in the raffle. In fact most people won a prize in the raffle.  Mine was a Christmas oven gloves and hand towel, with a knitted tea cosy, pack of serviettes and tin of shortbread. Sorry about the shadow, I couldn’t avoid it.

But I have been making this week, unusually for me some cardmaking. I have two packs of 6 cards and envelopes. I had some tags cut from last year’s cards.  I’d also done some stamping in red and green inks of a bauble and the ‘Merry and Bright’, The background papers were some pads of papers after making cards for TG last year. I’m really pleased how these turned out.

I’ve got some more card and envelope packs, so I hope to get a few more done this week. 

The coming week, I hope, will be a bit quieter, with no events after tomorrow to get the cards sent and last of present shopping done.  That’s the theory, anyway! 

Countdown to Christmas 2 🎄

 I went to the first Christmas dinner this week to the local pub with the weekly Knit and Natter group.  It wasn’t a proper Christmas menu, but the atmosphere was good (and it saved me cooking later).  There are 2 more to go this month.

On Friday the Christmas tree was put up.  David and I have collected decorations from various places over the years and of course there are some made ones too.  There was barely space on the tree for baubles!

Decorating the mirror above the fireplace. Behind me on the door is the Christmas Mandala that I crocheted while on a cruise in December 2018 (it’s also on my header at the top of the blog).

The middle section of the tree - the alien in his spaceship from a holiday in the US, the reindeer from Banff, Canada, a pair of reindeer from Stratford Upon Avon, the pheasant (bought just last week) from our latest break.  The green bell I made when I used to go to Barnsley embroiderers - gosh that was a long time ago.

The wreath I crocheted as an Advent project in 2019.  Most of the patterns came from the Crocheted Wreaths and Garlands, by Kate Eastwood.

And another decoration that comes out each year is the Christmas pudding.  A polystyrene sphered covered in Somerset folded patchwork.  Underneath is a small table runner with Christmas trees appliquéd. So that’s just a selection of the decorations that we have. 

Another job we’ve done is to have our booster COVID jabs and pleased to have got that out of the way.

It is no surprise to people that know me that I like mince pies.  I’ve found out that Sainsbury’s do mince pie favour tea - I enjoyed the hot cross bun tea before Easter (so much so, that I will stock up before next Easter!) so I hope this will be good.  Also as an alternative to the pies McVities make Mince pie digestive biscuits, that’ll be interesting to try.   I hope to report back in another post how good they are.