Table runner - DONE!

Remember this? No? I'm not surprised!

I did finish my table runner a couple of months ago but I forgot to blog it! The family don't "get" it.

They asked if it was a table protector for hot pans or a narrow and unfinished tablecloth or if I was making another to make two "rows" of place mats. I explained it was for decoration as the big table doesn't get used for every meal any more as we eat at the kitchen table. It makes the view from the hall more interesting. As for the request that it is removed from the table before eating as it's not designed for frequent washing, was denounced as ridiculous. The curtain fabric is linen. I was very pleased I managed to eek out the apple green stripe to make the narrowest of bindings. The bright raspberry check is from IKEA

Anyway, I like it! Just don't look too closely at the workmanship.

I had painted our old pair of treacly 1930s chairs before Christmas, and recovered the seats in spare curtain fabric, and lightened the table by painting the fascia and legs too. It means we can sit 8 without having to rope in the computer chair and piano stool!

Well the reaction to the table runner was nothing compared to the outcry over the pom pom bunting I made in the autumn but had the audacity to NOT to take down after Christmas. The family have disowned me as a slight nut case. Our dining room is north facing and why should pom pom trim be just for Christmas? I made it in the curtain colours, not Christmas colours. I had bought a Clover pom pom maker months previously, what a clever invention. No more tracing round cups on the back of cereal packs in great Blue Peter style.

The dining room is the only room that has been decorated since we moved in over a year ago......and the magnolia paint stayed. I love the bright apple green fern print wallpaper, a B&Q bargain. My Portmeirion Pamona china happily sits alongside.

Great British Sewing Bee inspiration

Well to say the last 2+ weeks have been interesting is an overstatement, they have been horrendous. I had flu again, the second time this winter...the "can't get out of bed or attempt to open eyes or sleep or do anything" flu. I was off work for two weeks but I went back on Thursday knowing I then had three days off before my next shift tomorrow.  I only started knitting again on Wednesday, which was also the first day I managed to be up for more than an hour or two. What a relief I can do something again.

The only other thing I have done in those two weeks was manage to get up to watch the first two episodes of The Great British Sewing Bee on BBC2 aka GBSB. I love it. Like everyone else I want to see if I can still make clothes, I haven't made clothing in 20+ years as it was impossible finding fabric and expensive. Just like other hobbies, the internet has revolutionised the supplies available, the inspiration and the resources (many of which are free) available. I used to love my O level dressmaking classes at school and sewing at home too.

One very inspiring lady is "Tilly and the Buttons" who was on last year's GBSB....she now designs patterns and writes books and her inspirational blog. I love her Coco pattern which is a classic breton tunic with variations in cotton interlock fabric. I have never sewn with stretch fabrics and I want to have a go. I have scoured online, but the only fabric I can find suitable that I like is nearly £20 a metre!! That makes Boden look cheap. Yesterday I called in at Fabricland in Bristol, what an almighty load of tat, unless you want to make costumes for dance schools or theatre productions. I have resorted to sending off for samples from London shops enclosing stamped addressed envelopes that appear to have the stock, but don't have functioning websites. Antiquated and cute or just backward and annoying? So frustrating, I may be giving up before I get back into dressmaking at this rate. I know keeping a website up to date is hard work, but I did it with 1000s products for 8 years so I know it can be done.

I managed to make Get Knitted's knitting group on Friday morning, a huge tonic after being ill. I had cabin fever, but at least I was capable of having cabin fever! After knitting therapy with friends, I was driven to John Lewis by a lovely knitting friend and I bought some fabric, and I'm going to make a dress from the GBSB book that has lots of patterns in it. the material is a light cotton denim linen look.

Do I make this dress?

Shift Dress - pic from book

or this dress?

Skater Dress - pic from book

I am thinking the bottom one would be better in a stretch fabric, like Tilly's Coco, to wear with leggings. I canvassed my girls and they have given me a decision, it's interesting the bodices are identical and I could put the sleeves on the shift dress.

I am really inspired to make practical and different clothing that means I can still be active.....and I can wear whilst cycling as really I hate being seen wearing lycra, I'd like to be able to cycle into Bristol and be decent when I get there, not embarrassed!

Definitely a case of watch this space! Has anyone else been inspired to give making clothes a go again, or for the first time? I just hope the fabric sourcing problem doesn't continue to frustrate me and I give up again before getting started.

Sunday sewing...

I have had the sewing machine out for a couple of weeks so I thought I ought to get my table runner finished. I know its hardly started but I have good intentions on a rainy day. Patchwork always looks a mess before pressing.

The colours are subtle, jollying up of the dining room is nearly done. Only 2 months late!

In the background, by my tropical bag, are some limbs from my first Little Cotton Rabbits girl bunny, a pair of stripy legs ending in red Dolly shoes. There is a head knocking about in the bag, all very disconcerting!

Attic 24 Bag lining and a re-purposed basket

I've not been very inspiring recently. I have been plodding on with my French Stripey Throw and it is 3/4 done. Well I have used 75% of the yarn but cannot contemplate buying anymore even though I would like it to be bigger, for our bed not a single. I dug out some old Laura Ashley curtains and the easiest way to shorten them was to cut off the old tape as all the string was beyond hope to unravel, so I finally got my sewing machine out for the first time in 9 months or so. Our room now has denim coloured curtains with cream sprigs and this throw would look fabulous with them when finished. my plan is to start going round and round soon, the border helping to widen the throw, and making sure I get every last yard into the blanket so it is as big as possible.

The good thing being I also turned up a couple of other pairs of curtains and I got round to lining my Attic 24 "Lucy" bag at last! The stripey fabric were blinds in the bathroom about 15 years ago, I don't do subtle very well! I knew the fabric would be perfect and it was rediscovered in the moving house process. At least my hook and scissors don't make escape bids anymore.

Once the bag was done (hint, it is far easier to line BEFORE handles are sewn on the bag!) I still had loads of material left so a basket got lined as well, I made some fabric ties and threaded them through and now the yarn doesn't snag in it's lair. It is now a re-purposed basket, ha ha!

It has been so grey and so wet for so long that sun was a surprise last Tuesday. I managed to get out for a good walk with the dog and got a bit lost in the woods, it feels very suburban here compared to our old house but  there are still plenty of country walks that don't involve getting in the car first, thank goodness. I found my way out of the woods and found these snowdrops nestling the bank of the stream. The grass even dried out enough for me to mow it twice, and scarified. How a pocket handkerchief piece of grass can yield 10+ grass container loads of grass is beyond me, the house had been empty since the summer and I am not sure the grass had much attention since the summer. I was going to cycle the Sustrans Route 33 bike path today but it is so windy I fear I may end up blown on the railway line!

Roll on Spring!

 

Aran Cushions - Part 1

I have a bit of a problem. Too many things to knit, crochet, sew and bake but really I ought to do other stuff some of the time, unfortunately. Part of the problem is that the girls now want me to make some things for them too, which is very flattering, but the list grows! Perhaps my knitty knotty obsessions are not as fuddy duddy as they had previously led me to believe.

Raspberry Aran Cushion

L, the middle one, has also hampered me, in a very nice way, she is home from university over the summer and when she isn't serving cheese on the deli counter of a well-known supermarket to earn pennies for next year, she is sewing. L is studying 3D Design (Product and Furniture) up at Northumbria in term time, not textiles. Since I gave her my refurbished sewing machine at the start of the summer break (thank goodness we have a proper sewing machine shop that does servicing and repairs) it has been permanently up on the dining room table, I dare not get mine out too until she is back up north for the start of Year 2. She has made some beautiful cushions, the owl one was a present that she has now sent to a friend for her birthday, but I photographed with my rainbow ripple.

Owl Cushion close up

The red patchwork one she was not as happy with and I love it, so I have acquired it by default!

Patchwork Floor Cushion

Reverse of patchwork floor cushion

The large patchwork one is her most recent creation, and she likes the stripy back better. The cream and pink linen stripe one was a bargain somewhere, and the raspberry Aran creation was me finally doing some knitting again.

Cushion Collection for a student!

I found a pattern on Ravelry she approved of, and L chose some Stylecraft Chunky in Raspberry. I adapted the pattern and added another pattern repeat to fit a 40cm cushion pad, so a cast on of 72. I used my new Knit Pro circular needles that I had for Christmas!

Cable Close Up

L didn’t want any buttons or ugly closures, they dig in when in serious lounging mode, so I just knitted a 100cm length, finishing with a few rows of K2P2 rib.  The sewing up was the hardest bit, keeping it straight and at times catching in 3 layers and hoping I had worked the structure out correctly. Phew it did!

Finished Raspberry Aran Cushion

Now she has commissioned a 60cm floor cushion in Fondant and Cream, with a bobble pattern, to go with all her other cushions, student digs were not this posh 25 years ago! Hence the plural in "cushions" in the title, and the need for a Part 2!!

RASPBERRY ARAN CUSHION finished 19th August 2012, it took me a couple of weeks mixed in with other projects!

FINISHED SIZE: 40cm square

YARN: 3x100g Stylecraft Special Chunky Raspberry 1023.

NEEDLES: 6mm

PATTERNS: Based on this cabled cushion pattern, I will write up my adaptation soon!

KNITTY HAPPY INDEX: 8/10

PS I scheduled this to post last week whilst I was away and Blogger didn't obey, so with no thanks to naughty Blogger here is my post better late than never!!

A perfectly perfect birthday

I am not too sure I look forward to my birthday as eagerly every year as I used to; the years are galloping too fast for my liking. I was 47 on Monday, “that’s so old” say the 16 and 19yo! I have 4 months each year where I pretend I am a year younger than Mr Knotty…but I always catch up again very quickly. Monday birthdays are not the most sought after, but I was very lucky and had a wonderful birthday thanks to my family. I had bought myself a new sewing machine from our local Cotswold Sewing Machine shop in Stroud back in May, exactly the same offer that was available at the Malvern Quilt Show and online. Even better they repaired the presser foot and serviced my old one for less than £50 so L now has a machine of her own, a very early birthday present for her. If I ever have any problems I will get local service. That was a huge present and I was not expecting anything else, but my girls gave me a day to remember.

Mr Knotty brought me a cup of tea in bed before disappearing for work as usual, unfortunately. S made me breakfast, she really really wanted me to have it in bed but I don’t actually like breakfast in bed, so she served my perfectly cooked scrambled eggs and mushrooms with a pot of tea, OJ and toast and damson jam at the table and was lovely company. A 16yo being up and bright and cheery at 9.30am in the holidays is an honour. She had ordered me one of the crochet books on my “I would really really like but when everything is online you don’t really really need it do you?” list. 200 Crochet Blocks by Jan Eaton, knotty heaven.  Perfect. Flowers from my best friend.

Lovely B-day presents from L and S and flowers from my best friend A

K rang from her house in Holland and we had a lovely chat, and then the postman bought me her present and card on exactly the right day. She had bought me the silver cow charm for my Pandora bracelet. We live 100m from Minchinhampton Common (National Trust) where cows roam all summer, and end up in our garden if they go out on the razzle “downtown” and we forget to put the gate on.

Mr Knotty gave me my bracelet two years ago for my birthday and every charm has been a special present with meaning, perfect.

My Pandora Bracelet

L appeared a bit bleary eyed, she has worked two weeks solid at the supermarket deli, with no days off, so she deserved a lie in, she had turned down overtime to be at home on my birthday as well. I opened the present she proudly gave me, there was a card in an envelope and that was a voucher for a back, shoulder and neck massage. Bliss,  it can be redeemed in the village so I won’t have to go far for my pampering. I am saving that treat for September.

Then I opened the parcel, oh my goodness! She had sewn a beautiful crochet case, in the style of a mini spanner roll, stocked with 12 crochet hooks, darning needles in a case, green spotty scissors and a tape measure.

 She had chosen carefully coordinated fabrics in dusky purples and sage greens with cream and black and a lace loop to close over a rustic button. There are lots of sections for those all important knotty tools.

The best present in the world is something made especially for you with love. It was made totally secretly when I was away in Cumbria two weeks ago, so it was also a total surprise.

I was told I had to stay out of the kitchen in the afternoon, so I crocheted all afternoon, the weather cleared and I sat outside.  All will be revealed soon.

I can't wait to try these blocks out of my new book, I had been thinking about a granny and solid granny square combo, and the bobbles are fantastic!

Carefully timed to be served 20 minutes after Mr Knotty got in at 7, we had a delicious 3 course meal outside that L shopped and cooked for.

To start were French toasts with salmon paté and smoked salmon on a bed of dressed leaves. Main course was chicken breast stuffed with mozzarella, pesto and sun dried tomatoes wrapped in Serrano ham with pan fried potatoes, green beans and pesto sauce. To finish a trio of desserts; warm chocolate fondant, cheesecake and sponge all topped off with fresh raspberry coulis and raspberries. The weather was just cooperative enough to eat outside.

As I said, a perfectly perfect day!

Here we go.....

This could be interesting, a blog for me, talking to myself, somewhere to store ideas and progress of makes and recipes and plans and thoughts. One day I may even come up with an idea and I could do a tutorial! Previously I have only blogged for work purposes and that takes away the fun and inspiration. I am not a writer, nor dreadfully interesting or talented, just a very ordinary person that likes to make things. I'd love to be arty, be able to draw and design, but mainly I like following patterns and recipes and perhaps adapting things a bit. The internet is such a wonderful resource of inspiring and talented designers.

I am a 46 yo happily married mum of three (K is 22, L 19 and S 16), I used to be a business owner for 8 years (a scrapbooking retail shop and online store  founded when S started school) the recession created a lot of problems but earning nothing and working silly hours is no way to live.  Fortunately I have now sold the business (in 2011) and have the time to create (badly) for myself.  The girls are all older so no worrying about pins lying around, school runs and they can even feed themselves if I "forget" about dinner.  We are lucky to live in a picturesque small town in glorious countryside near Stroud,  Gloucestershire.  There are changes afoot but that's what this blog is about, escaping the changes, and forgetting the tough bits of life.

I have always baked, sewn, knitted and crocheted, my mum, nanna and gran taught me, nothing exceptional just lovely one to one time you remember as a child.  I like to upcycle and try ever so hard to be shabby chic but far more shabby than chic.

I have encouraged my girls to make things too, and cook decent food (cake is decent food!) I love making things for them although sometimes the homespun look is not what they are after.  It's nice that now K has graduated she has started making curtains and furnishings for her first home, and L now has my refurbished sewing machine at uni, and makes presents and cards for friends, as I treated myself to a new one.

The little one, S, was 16 in May, and I made her a very quick quilt from a pattern in Kirstie Allsop's Craft book that L had given me for Christmas.  Mainly IKEA Cath Kidston style Rosali fabric with a shocking pink fleece backing.  The workmanship is atrocious (my old machine was not behaving itself pre service/repair)

So I will be playing catch up with a few makes in the last few months.....so here is the Sweet 16 quilt, yes the daughter in question loves that awful tacky programme on TV...and really doesn't "get" handmade but I think she was pleased I had made her a quilt, secretly.

Apologies if I regularly go off on a tangent, I love travel, food, walking the dog and France in particular. I can go on about what I want as it's my blog!  

Today's "moment" was finding some supermarket points for a supermarket I refuse to use anymore due to their underhand tactics in conning consumers and producers, and trading them in online for a Country Living magazine subscription........ a huge treat, it feels very naughty. Small pleasures and all that!