Waves in Progress

By writing this post, I have broken one of my own rules.   However, I am supremely confident that the recipients of this beauty will NEVER read the blog, so there'll be no little surprises for them before unwrapping it on Christmas morning!   This is going to be a double bed size blanket made in fifteen different shades of blues, greens, greys and sand.  A proper seaside inspired blanket.  

The inspiration for this came from Lucy who writes the Attic 24 blog - her version is a crochet blanket and she very kindly gave us the colour order too.

It very soon became apparent that I had seriously underestimated how big crochet stitches are in comparison to knitted rows.   So, instead of Lucy's eighty-four rows, when I get to the end of my eighty-rows, I then have to go backwards so I have a mirror image blanket - but it will still be the same length as Lucy's.   I may need to buy more wool!

So, here are the fifteen colours - I've used Stylecraft wool in a 100 per cent acrylic mix, which is very hardwearing, especially as I think the finished blanket will be used at home, in the caravan, on picnics and at the beach.   The rows have 456 stitches and it is made in a basic feather and fan pattern - one of my favourites as I don't need a pattern, it's engraved on my brain!   The colours are Denim, Aspen, Teal, Silver, Cloud, Meadow, Parchment, Camel, Khaki, Grey, Petrol, Turquoise, Sherbet, Aster and Bluebell.  

When I first started making the blanket, I wasn't at all sure that I liked it.  But I've discovered that the more rows I do, the more I love it.  Just need to get it finished for Christmas now!

Tada! "It's Curtains For You" Bag

After my first foray into bag making, I wanted to have another go, but using recycled fabric, rather than going and buying new.   On a visit to the Craft Room a couple of months ago, Bryony showed me a stash of fabric which had been pre-used - really beautiful fabrics.   I chose three curtains in a white background with lavender/ purple/ grey flowers and foliage and thought it would be perfect for Mary's birthday present.

Because the fabric was made into curtains and nothing more fiddly with heaps of seams and tricky corners, it was really easy to set to with my seam ripper to take all the sewing cotton out, then chuck the whole lot in the washing machine and, hey presto, ready to use gorgeous vintage fabric.  

The lining (not shown unfortunately in the photo as I was really pleased with it) is the blue fabric that I used for Shiriin's scrubs - post still to follow!   The quilting fabric was a bargain from Dunelm Mill - I needed a metre but it was nearly the end of the roll so I got an extra metre and a bit (as it had been badly cut and not at all even) - loads more bags on the way!   The webbing for the handles was a bit of a disaster - stupidly, I didn't take the material with me to match it all up, so I had to guess.  And I think I was way out - but at least it's a very bright contrast.   I will know for the next time ...

Tada! "Tiger In The Tank(tops)"

I've started making all my Christmas presents now - the list is prepared and I'm knitting or sewing twenty-two presents - eek!  

But I'm well aware that I've not made much for Folksy or for the Craft Room for ages - despite knitting baby blankets in my lunch break at work - so figured it was about time I sewed up the projects that are awaiting finishing off and I could then pop them on line for sale.   I haven't been very well lately and have had quite a bit of time off work, so slobbing about has mainly been the order of the day, while watching rubbish daytime TV and drinking endless cups of hot blackcurrant or hot lemon to keep my fluid intake up.   Because I like to do all my sewing up sitting at the dining table, rather than flumping on the sofa, the thought of sewing up big projects has not filled me with joy - however, I have plenty of children's clothes to work on instead.

I love these tanktops - they are so neat and small - they'll fit up to a two year old.   The pattern was provided by Bev - I'd made a couple of smart grey tanktops for her a couple of years ago, so had photocopied the pattern before giving it back - thinking it might come in handy.   The wool is King Cole Zigzag 4 ply and lovely to knit with - really soft.  I've mostly used it for socks or gloves, but I think it works really well in these tanktops.  I realise that not everyone loves this type of jazziness, but they kept me very happy making them.  Gorgeous!

Tada! "Imperfect Symmetry" Skirt

To say that this skirt has been a bit of a challenge is an understatement.   Having finished my trousers two weeks before the end of term, I wanted to learn something in the last two weeks of class that I might not be able to work out for myself at home.   I had bought quite a simple skirt pattern because I wanted to try pattern matching and I really needed some tuition on where to start - and I didn't want to overcomplicate things by making something really fiddly.  Our teacher took one look at my fabric - huge pattern AND corduroy - and announced that she would see everyone else in the class while working up the impetus to deal with me!   Charming!   It soon became apparent what she meant though.   

It took practically a whole class just to cut out the pattern and prep the fabric - pins everywhere!   Still, it was worth all the prep for the finished result.

It's not perfect by any means.   But ... I have a full pattern just below the pockets and also right in the front of the skirt.   I also have a symmetrical front and almost there on the back.  Where I have failed horribly though is the waistband - I didn't even TRY and pattern match with that.  Not only that, but the waistband was cut way too big.  I did my usual overestimating - despite measuring and remeasuring - and added an extra two inches into the waistband.  But then, when I sewed up the side seams and tried it on, the skirt was enormous. So I took two inches out either side, which meant I had an extra six inches of waistband I didn't need. Instead of doing the sensible thing, I thought I'd try and gather it all in.  So I sewed it up and tried it on again and it was awful.  Truly terrible.  So the waistband was then taken off and I pinned it back on with no gathering and ended up cutting the three inches off each end to fit.   What a palaver!   The skirt is still too big, but - and my teacher will be horrified when she sees it this term - because the skirt ended up being shorter than planned - because of having to shorten the waistband - it now sits right on my hips which makes it a bit longer.  I know it's a cheat, but I don't care!   At least I'll be able to wear it now!

The other challenge is the colours - I have no idea how I'm going to match anything to it.  I've been through my wardrobe and I think the only thing for it is a black top, black tights and boots.   The skirt is quite thin - it probably needs lining, but I need to work my way up to that challenge! So thick tights and boots will at least make it not quite so skimpy.  I guess in the summer, with a tan, it will look ok with a white teeshirt, but we're fast heading to the back end of the year and I'd quite like to wear it before next July!  

And this is the slightly blurry back view - again, almost symmetrical, but not quite there.  Hey ho, I will definitely have another go at this, but the next one will be more fitted and longer.   And quite possibly in a plain fabric!   

Aunties (plus Dad!)

Auntie Alma recently turned ninety so Mum and Dad headed down to Surrey to have a family weekend with the aunties and cousins, and to celebrate with a family meal to mark the occasion.   We're such a huge family and so spread out around the world, that getting together was always going to be a bit tricky.  And, to be fair, if I were ninety, I'm not sure I'd want to spend my day with hordes of people anyway!  

I love this photo - showing Auntie Renee, Dad, Auntie Alma the birthday girl and Auntie Ann.  God, they all look alike!

Views Through Windows

Autumn is well and truly here - ironically, this week has been glorious but I've been off sick and haven't been able to take advantage of it - I seem to have developed asthma and now have inhalers.  At least I now understand why I've been so breathless and not wanting to get out and work in the garden!

A few weeks back though we had endless rain - my goodness, everything got a good watering in the garden. It was desperately needed though.

It was especially lovely that everything instantly seemed fresher again and the birds appeared in my garden by the hundred - all enticed by the worms that made their way across the garden.   I could hear them chattering for ages and snuck upstairs to the spare room to try and get some photos of them through the windows as they sat and chatted on the branches of the apple tree.

We also got some amazing skies at night - gorgeous pinks and reds across the rooftops.

Sadly, though, the nights are already drawing in and it's dark so quickly in the evenings.   I love this time of year - I love not having to make excuses for not going out.  And having a good excuse to snuggle up on the sofa in front of the TV with Finn.   Time to hibernate!

Fruit Picking

It's certainly been a good year for fruit - I've had bumper crops of apples, plums and blackberries so far and I haven't even started picking the pears yet - there's thousands of them out in the garden!

Finn trying to snaffle some of the apples from the table top!

As for plums, I've got nine pounds of plums in the freezer now and I think I've given five or six pounds of them away.   The fruit has been so heavy, that the branches have been snapping off.

And I've made my first ever apple and blackberry pie - not the prettiest pie in the world, but it tasted fab!

Folksy Sale #5

Our most recent Folksy sale is a shawl that I made yonks ago - in fact, it's so long ago that I have no idea where the pattern is or whether I just made it up!   It's a shame as it's a lovely shawl and has had a lot of interest - including a lady in America who was desperate to buy it, although begrudged paying three times its worth for the postage!  I will maybe do a pattern audit to see if it's still knocking about in the loft and maybe I'll make another.