Water

Not at all craft related but, oh, have we had rain?

This is our lane, probably about 6 inches under water. It leads onto the bottom road, which is probably about 4 feet deep in places.

This photo came out really well. I may print and frame it!

None of this  is unusual round here. I had a good look a the pubs and houses on the river and they are still dry. Maybe this year they will be OK, it depends on next week's rainfall.

New job, New Year, new beginnings.

Hello, sadly ignored blog. How are you doing?

Me? Well, I've finished the first term in my new role and all seems to be going well. I'll know more when we get the first set of results come through.

I am actually making things. No, really, truly, I am! I have bought a craft light and am cutting at weekends and hand sewing during the week... sort of. I found I needed pattern weights so I can make some rub off patterns of the few clothes that actually fit me. I found a book (No! Did you Stef. Going to review it? Waste a bit more time?), the review, and piccies of my makes, will follow. But it gave me an idea, a new one! It is a pincushion book and, taking the authors advice, I am stuffing some with aquarium sand. Weighs down patterns and fabric and keeps my pins sharp and clean too. Handy and fun!

I have had a wander round a number of town centres close to me and may have found a place I can begin to sell. I will go and have a chat with the organisers in the New Year. I am having a good think about what I will sell and have based my decision based on my own needs as a sewing newbie. So that means pincushions, needle books, knitting needle rolls, sewing bags, project organisers, pockets, pockets everywhere... that sort of stuff.

I wouldn't ask to do aprons and other kitchen stuff as a lady there already does those. So I thought notions for crafters always seem to need organising, I always seem to lose a thing just as I need it. So maybe some notion solutions might be nice for beginner and seasoned bod alike. I have quite a few patterns already and could make a nice list, create a couple of 'lines' and see what happens.

So, the hibernating months will be spent researching (yeah, I know, more procrastination), practising, pricing, and making lists. As soon as the winter lifts I will be back out trawling charity shops for materials, making like a demon and, hopefully, selling!

All in all, blog dear, this means that I will be back more often, prattling on about my trials and tribulations.

So, cheer up, I will be back, very soon xx

Sorted most of the stash

Well I managed to sort through it. Dragged it up from the cellar, out from under the bed, washed it, folded it, stacked it. OK, I have another 2 bin bags to go through yet and there is some in the washing machine.

But this is most of the fabric stash. The pink and green boxes have clothes that will be recycled and the shoe boxes have odd bits and pieces that will probably be sewn in as surface decoration, should I ever get to grips with free motion embroidery.

The bags at the bottom have interfacing, upholstery squares and pillowcases and tank tops ready to be brought downstairs and made into totes.

This one is my craft corner. the box on top has felted woollens and the pillowcase and golf balls it takes to full a jumper. Then books, a shelf of broken jewellery and beads and craft equipment, tools and lots of little trays to use for individual project pieces.

It includes a wire jig, pliers, glue gun, polystyrene block for drying paper beads, templates,  lots of hair scrunchies, clippies and other pound shop trophies.


 
I also have smaller trug things for felting, ribbons and one full of the doings for sewing books and needle cases - my next project. There is also 20metres of brown paper for patterns, a carrier bag of elastic and, out of shot, tea bag paper for use as tearaway paper and three bags of jeans and other clothes for upcycling.









I also have a rucksack full of threads, scissors, pins and other sewing 'hardware'.

Question: Do you think I have enough, or do I need to collect more before I could sit down and actually sew things?

Seriously, I have a red basket full of soon to be totes, project 1, and a pink truglet full of sewing case materials, project 2, all ready to go. The rollaway under the bed is full of jeans. This will be project number 3, skirt tops, bags, coasters, oven mitts etc. Then the box of jumpers will be project number 4. I will need to cut patterns first then hats, scarflets and wrist warmers.

Then, when I have cleared the space, I can start on making a skirt or 2 for myself. Project 5 is pattern drafting a pencil skirt and an A line skirt.

But, if you are still reading, you know that I read and think more than I sew. Maybe I will review a couple of books before I start :D

Hopefully I will be back soon with something from Project 1.

Now... will this be the push I need?

Oh the lovely people on Craftsforum have put up their Summer Show competition here

So now I have the perfect excuse for getting off my laptop and onto the machine. I want to enter at least two of the classes:
Sing me a song
Out of the blue
Over the rainbow
Garden of delight
New from old

But maybe not the under 11 class, they may not believe me :D

New from old seems the obvious choice for me. Maybe a skirt from a shirt, a bag from a blouse, oh the list is endless.

So why am I still here? Cos this is what I do, I prevaricate rather than fabricate!

So much has happened... so little got done

So, promises, promises. Same old story, all talk and no sewing! Not a single post this year. That is just inexcusable, so I won't even try.

But I have been busy. I got a promotion, so that went really well!

And I carried on losing weight, I am now working on my third stone. But now none of my clothes fit me and I don't want to buy any more. What to do? Well, I have been scanning Pinterest, reading a lot of blogs and thinking. I'm off for summer so I have a new plan to get new clothes as cheaply as possible. I'll try refashioning them!

Yeah, right Stef!

I know. But I am all ready to go. I have some very large clothes that I don't mind wrecking. Others could be used as patterns, with some adjustment as they are also too big.

So, starting on Thursday, my new promise is to wind up my camera and make a new thing every week. Pictures, progress and tales of woe will follow!

Let's get 2013 started properly

I know, it has been a bad end to my excited start for 2012. Still I have learned a lot:

Crafting: well that's such a dangerous world and I have no idea what my brilliant USP make will be. But the research has been amazingly good fun and I have met so many lovely people on Craft Forum I have joined in 2 secret makes, Easter Bunny and the current Secret Santa - I can barely stand the wait to see what I got! Stupidly I forgot to photograph what I sent out, ah well!

What I have definitely decided is that I will be recycling and upcycling regardless of what I end up making.

Sewing: well I still can't. I know I need a craft light as my eyes are just so badly focussed close up that I need all the help I can get. the Sewing Forum has been a great giggle, though I have read far more than I have posted. Who knew so many people made tutu's?

Again I have made a decision and I have bought a couple of books to help, already reviewed I think. I have one more to go, but will review it once I have used it. My decision is again to recycle all material and clothing and to trace existing clothing for patterns as much as possible. I have a few cheap tops that I intend to sew a skirt onto, like this (I wish).

So how do I make 2013 a much more productive year? I mean I have a promotion to contend with, an OH who needs TLC and I am still lacking in gumption and not particularly brimming with energy. Whatever I do I will also need to continue losing weight and get some exercise in - but that's another blog!

An art teacher friend has supplied me with a big black sketchpad for my journaling, fabric ideas one way round, non fabric the other (I have all of that jewellery stuff too, remember?). So I will be keeping a proper journal of my ideas. Hopefully that will be fun! I can use it alongside my e-notebook OneNote, that is where I keep all online ideas, links and pictures, as well as my Pinterest obsession.

Wotcha gonna do, Stef?
Immediately I have 3 ideas that will let me practice different sewing skills:

• Bags from old things: Tops, shirts, jackets and pillowcases I bought over the year can all be made up into bags of different sizes and shapes. Hopefully I will come up with 2 or 3 simple enough patterns that I can size and use for almost anything I fall across when out scavenging. I think if I can turn the piles of stuff into piles of things I will feel better. Though I do have to admit that the piles of  'potential' are really exciting in themselves.
• Hat, scarf and glove sets: I still love these. I have a few different shapes for the hats and enough old jumpers to really get to grips with different finishes. I am looking forward to that. I also have some jumpers that won't shrink in the wash. I will see what I can make out of them.
• Brooches: scraps of material  with free motion machine embroidery. Well, I couldn't not do any jewellery at all, could I? It is where I started all those years ago! I have so much broken jewellery, buttons and bits that I think I could keep myself occupied for a few months on this alone. But it is the free motion embroidery I am most interested in.

 

 I will make more than I read, think, plan or wish!

I am so very, very sorry

I have been so very, very busy and tired. I know I expected it but I didn't think that the beginning of term would be such a complete stop to all things non work related! I have got to get over that!


I have been seduced by an old passion, weaving. I found some great looking looms, from a proper weaving heddle loom to peg looms, dolly bobbins, weaving sticks and lucets. I have asked he who is currently not at work to make me the last 4 and threatened him with my wanting one of the heddles.

I have so much material that could be woven and I don't anticipate using wool very often.

When I was a kid I had a little plastic heddle loom and I loved it, I have no idea where it went, but it was very narrow, about 2 inches perhaps. I have always wanted to do something more arty and thought I'd start at the bottom of weaving and work my way up! Easy, especially when you can't knit or crochet to save your life!

So if Mike doesn't make at least the sticks for me, I shall do it myself and get started over the holidays!

Rigid Heddle

Peg Loom

Lucets - they make cord!