Crafty Happenings - Week 5

 

Look at that - a blue sky and no rain - we've had a couple of days like that this week, it makes me feel so much better :)

 

 

Well, given these Crafty updates are all I'm posting at the moment I'm ridiculously late with last week's but I have an excuse - it was P's birthday, My Boy was home from Uni with his Girlfriend for a visit and My Girl moved out into a flat for the first time.  Frankly, it's been manic and, despite having a few days off I am totally knackered!

 

I didn't manage much of a crafty nature but everything counts right?

 

Finished Object:

 

No not this, this is donkey's years old

 

 My Girl and her Flatmate need a draught excluder for their front door - yes, I appreciate this is a doorstop but I had found the pattern I'd previously used for this so I just made it longer ...

 

 

Done - and using a curtain remnant I bought only a few weeks ago and the remains of a bag of toy stuffing I've had knocking about for years - I'm calling this £2.00 - bargain!

 

 

 Fabric:

Some fat eighths - they always come in useful - I might have a bit of a thing about polka dots ...

Both of these fabrics were 50% off in the sale  - I have a plan.
Oh, more dots, fancy that.

And these ... with dots, again.

I had the print at the front already - my brother gave me an early Christmas voucher for Britex
when we were in San Francisco at the end of last year.
It was always destined to be napkins for our dining table - I just needed the right backing fabric -
who knew it would have polka dots?
 

And this is the table runner I started last April -
I realised the 'perfect' backing fabric wasn't out there and I actually want to
get it finished and use it so I bought the solid and I'm looking forward to getting it done.
Oh no dots, shame :)
 

I know I haven't finished my quilt but this layer cake was
seriously discounted in the sale and I have a pattern I want to make already planned and in my
'to do' queue.
I absolutely will not start it until my other quilt is finished :)

 

 

Supplies:

No I don't need any more wool but it was ridiculously cheap and
it matches the sofa in our Board Room, in fact you can hardly see it,
I'm inadvertently camouflaging the stuff I bring into the house!

 

I picked this up in the charity shop - I love the patterns and you
trace them onto grided sewing paper. 
I have very strong memories of my mother making patterns this way when I was very small
 - from scratch mind you, she's very talented.
Even the illustrations on this book blend in with the sofa!



 

 

Jacq

x

 

 

 



Crafty Happenings - Week 1

 

A nice new notebook from my pink friend S (she really doesn't
acknowledge many other colours!) - I do love new stationery

 

Hello there! 

 

I've been reading lots of Year End/Year Beginning posts over the last few days - catching up with my favourite blogs.

 

I love looking at the round-up posts and reading the thought processes that make something a hit or a miss for that person, it's so individual.

 

I thought about doing something similar but, if I'm entirely honest with myself, it doesn't really work for me - you've only got to look at how out of date my yearly Achievements pages are to see that!  I am going to update my Achievements page for last year (when I get half an hour spare), otherwise I'll forget entirely. 

 

Plus, I'm an outstanding Starter but I don't finish a project before I start the next one.  I know, I'm probably doing it wrong.  It just doesn't work for me - I'm sure I'd be a million times more productive but I have to be in the right frame of mind.  Crafting is a pleasure for me, it feels more like a chore if I make myself finish a crochet project when I'm in a sewing frame of mind.  And I'm never going to be the world's most productive clothes maker because I'm actually comfortable with a pretty small wardrobe of pieces that work together for me.

 

So, I'm going to come at this from a different angle this year.  This is the first of my weekly posts of craft-related progress in my life.  It might be something I've bought or made the plans for or, hold onto your hats, actually got on and made!  But for me this year is about the steps forward, not the finished items.  I have a feeling this will be more motivating for me - it's certainly worth a go.

 

I kind of tied myself in a knot about taking decent photos but it isn't going to happen, if I'm going to do this regularly I'll have to take them when I have time - given the current weather in the UK expect them to be poor quality and taken when it's dark and raining!

Here goes then:

Fabric

Curtain samples - bought in the sale for a bargainous £1 each,
I just see scraps as a challenge!

The biggest pieces of each one are sufficient for a bag -
I've been making lots of tote bags lately and have orders for more.
This weight of fabric is perfect.
 

Supplies

A great needlepoint book from the Oxfam shop for £1.49

8 reels of white and cream thread for my overlocker -
I must be using it more than I thought as I've entirely run out

I have a great many craft books so, even if they are a bargain,
I don't buy them now unless there's a pattern/project that
I love - I really want to make this bird cushion, it's beautiful.

Cross-stitch

Progress on the Batman & Friends cross-stitch I'm making for P -
originally this was going to be a Christmas gift but trying to sew in
secret was not working at all
You can find the pattern here http://www.etsy.com/people/weelittlestitches

 

Quilting

My new A1 size cutting mat arrived this week - goodness it's brilliant,
I can't believe what a difference it makes having had only a tiny little
one before, it was really for card making and just wasn't suitable.
 I'm whizzing through my cutting out now.

My first Jelly Roll quilt (fabric bought for me by my brothers last April!)
All the squares are sewn together and I've figured out the sizes for corner and
setting squares.
I can't make any more process now until I pick out my border fabrics

 

 

That's all folks!

 

x