SOS - Save Our Shops

Hi bloggies

I just wanted to do a post today on something that I am beginning to feel quite alarmed and very sad about.  The picture above shows some lovely art purchases that I made yesterday.  The gorgeous coloured pencils are watercolour pencils and I have been lusting over these ones since my art tutor introduced me to them ages ago.  They come in such lovely colours, and I thought that they would come in useful for my design work.  I also got some guache paint in gold and silver (not sure what I will do with them, I just liked them!) and a really cute box containing postcards made from watercolour paper.  Also, the lovely big watercolour pad that you can see underneath everything else. 

These purchases came about because sadly, the art  shop (my only art shop) where they came from is closing down.  Yes going, forever, no more.   And the reason that I am sad is because it is the second art shop to close around here recently.  When I went into the shop yesterday, business was very brisk indeed, in fact the shop was packed!  The last few visits I had made to the shop, well the shop was empty ...... perhaps one other person in there each time.  Yesterday, the shop was full of people like me, stocking up because everything was reduced by 50% and it was closing and I kind of felt guilty about it because maybe we could have all done something more  to help them survive and keep their business.

The main reason I am upset about it is because it is becoming harder and harder to find a decent craft shop these days.  More and more business is being done online.  This is to our advantage when we are looking for a good price, and we can seek out those that sell for less, but what I need is the shopping experience that I just can't get from the internet.  This is particularly true when buying yarn or fabric.  Unless you absolutely know what you are buying because you have bought the exact thing before, you can't browse around the shelves.  You can't see the true colour.  You can't pick it up and 'squish' it to see how soft it is.  You can't judge the quality and hold it up to the light and run your hand over it.  You can't compare it with something else to see if it coordinates with another item or product. You can't smell it (sorry I have a bit of a thing for paper, magazines, wood, new fabric etc).   

The more we use the internet to make purchases, the more likely we are to lose our local shops.  They cannot compete with the big giant, out of town stores because the running costs for a small shop is usually a lot higher, but what they can give us is the personal shopping experience, that quite frankly, is going to be lost forever very soon.  Then it will only be the giants left and we might find that some things will be completely unavailable, because profit is the name of the game for them!

Maybe we could think 'Use it or lose it'  when we shop for our crafts, or anything for that matter. Everybody is feeling the pinch at the moment and pulling in their belts, but are we only saving pennies elsewhere?  How much is postage costing these days?  How much further are our supplies having to travel around? Just a little thought, but one I hope you will share with me. X

 

BOOGIE KNITS

Or Boogie Crochet to be precise, but first .......

How lovely is this?  This is a picture of the beautiful blue sky over our house at 8.00am this morning.  Not one single rain cloud.  When we woke up this morning the sun was streaming in through the cracks in the bedroom curtains, I can't remember the last time that happened!!!!  I had to go out in my dressing gown and take this picture for you.  Can you imagine - me in the middle of the garden in my nightwear taking pictures of the sky......... bet the neighbours know think that I have finally lost the plot!!!

Anyway, back to my other bit of important news ........ my ta da ......

I have enjoyed this project so much!!!  It has been satisfying on so many levels

1.  It has got rid of so many balls of acrylic yarn that was taking up room in a cupboard in our house (and I have a halo above my head because I didn't need to buy any extra yarn - a real stash bash indeed!!!!!).

2.  I had so much fun working with the colours and came up with some interesting combinations because I had to work with the yarn I had.  I am sure I would not have picked such a bad bold colour combination if I had gone out and purchased the yarn for this project, but I feel that I have learned so much about taking chances with colours now.  It was a great chance to experiment.


3.  It was so quick to make, it has only taken two weeks of pleasant evening hooking and I could watch tv at the same time!!!  Very relaxing.

4.  I have a great feeling of satisfaction every time I look at it - it just reminds me so much of the  things that were around when I was a child in the 70's, lovely bold stripes of bright colour, it makes me feel like pulling on some hotpants and platforms and going for ankle breaking wobble boogie on down (ha ha if DD heard me saying that, she would be replying in disgust "mum that's sooo weird, please don't say that again" sigh, she just doesn't know what fun it was in the 70's.

5.  It makes me very happy that DD loves her new bed cover and she loves the fact that it's so colourful.

I decided to do a simple shell edging on the blanket to finish it off.  I got the instructions for this from The Crochet Stitch Bible by Betty Barnden.  I think it's quite a basic one called Shell Edging.

Have fun until next time X

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!!!!!!

You Will Always Need Your Umbrella

Hello from a very wet Wirral 

Ok, so I cheated, but I had to!  This picture was taken a long time ago..... in the month of June.... a few years back, to be precise.  The rain here has been relentless.  It has been splishing, splashing, sloshing and mostly drenching!!!!  No washing on the line (good job its been so cold that we need to have the heating on too, as this aids indoor washing drying).  No favourite walks along coastal paths.  Even the blossom on the trees are drooping under the weight of water.  Now I am sure there will be many folks around the country who are absolutely glad of all this rain, especially those who are having to put up with a hosepipe ban at the moment.  But here in the North West, I am sorry to grumble, but we do seem to get more than our fair share of rain, not always, but very, very often.  I wish we could programme the rain clouds and send them to where they are most needed.

We do also get lovely days here too.  Nothing beats a lovely crisp, blue, clear sunny winter morning.  And when the sun does appear in the summer, it shimmers on the sea and creates wonderful sunsets.  Anyway, if the weather was better, I would have gone out and taken some lovely inspirational pictures for you, but at the moment i'm having to use these old ones.  I do hope they will bring some welcome colour and cheer for you.

Gosh I have been quite busy, but I haven't managed to finish any projects, they are all still ongoing.  The crazy 70's crochet blanket is nearly finished.  I will post some pictures when it is complete.  I am now in the process of dreaming (yes dreaming, because I go to bed with these projects in my head and it's definitely more calming than thinking about food shopping and paying the bills!!!) of designing my next blanket and how I will be able to obtain the money for the huge amount of yarn it will take!  The jumper for DD is in the knitting bag untouched for a few weeks (she has reminded me).  And now i'm thinking about bunting for the Royal Jubilee and Olympics hmmm....  wish I was an octopus. 

Anyway, I will leave you with one of our lovely sunsets ........ i'm dreaming of some warm sunshine, just like the sun I used to know .......

Have fun!

 

 

A Hooky Kind of Love

That's better.........

I have something to show you today......  it's another WIP..... and it's all because of the lovely Lucy from the Attic24 blog.   I have been following her blog lately and like many others, have fallen under the hooky spell.  One minute i'm knitting a jumper and then, before I know what's happening, I have a crochet hook in my hand!

Well actually, it is a good thing (this is my excuse) because I have finally found a use for the TWO big bags of wool which have been stuffed in DD's wardrobe for ............ 19 years!!!! No I cannot believe that it has been there soooo long, but I know it has because it contains, amongst other yarns, odd amounts of yarn that were left over from garments that I knitted for DS and DD when they were babies.  It is a big fitted wardrobe which DD uses, but still contains some of my stuff (well quite a lot of my stuff actually), but as she is getting older she is gathering more clothes etc and running out room.  Hence the reason why it might be a good thing, this sudden crochet addiction of mine.

I have done some crochet in the past, but not much really, a few practice granny squares and a scarf to be precise.  When I was little, I used to sit with my nan and watch her crochet blankets.  I used to love helping her choose the colours for the different stripes and she used to flick her hook in and out so quickly, working around and around.  She used to make blankets for everybody in the family, but sadly I don't have any of them today.   I have got quite a few crochet books in my collection, with the intention of one day making a start on a project.   I do love delicate crocheted tops in white or black.  

When I saw Lucy's Attic24 blog, I just completely fell in love with her blankets and cushions and the lush, lush colours she uses.  I liked the look of the ripple blanket, I would definitely like to make one of these, but I think I need a bit more practice yet.  The sample piece I made didn't look like it had enough ripple, not as nice a Lucy's and so I will try some more samples of that before I start a full size project.  Then I liked the look of the granny stripe blanket,  but didn't fancy making the long chain  to start off with.  So I decided, what if I made a basic afghan square and just kept going around and around? (i'm sure this must have been done by so many people before).   I thought that it would be both easy and unfussy for my first project.  Because I am trying to use up what's in the stash, it's turning out to be a mix of outrageous, psychedelic, acrylic crazyness ...... but I love it, to me it looks retro and sort of from the 1970's.  Just like Lucy describes, when I'm not working on it, I drape it over the settee and lovingly gaze at it every time I walk into the room.  

I'm finding that at every spare moment, I want to pick it up and add another row.  The only downside to this construction is that the rows are getting longer and longer and because of this my colour choice is getting smaller because I need more of each colour to go around the four sides.  Mmmm may need a small purchase of a few extra balls (Shhh don't tell DH).


The granny blanket isn't even finished yet, but already it has a home - yes you might have guessed.......  DD is insisting it will look so good on her bed and how can I resist?  She has the same crazy colour taste as her mum.  I will let you know how it looks when it is finished.  Bye for now (just off to do some more rows, the washing up will have to do itself!!). X

 
 

Sunshine, Lollipops and Trainers?

I was travelling through blogland the other day when I came across a lovely blog called 'yrn around the hook'.  It was full of lots of lovely photographs and handmade crafts and I have become a follower.  The blog author had commented on how  blogs in general, may come across as being written by people with 'charmed and happy lives', because they only blog about the nice things when actually in reality this is not always the case, they just choose not to blog too much about any of the negative things that may be going on in their lives.  Judging by the response to this post, many felt the same way because they too only wanted to blog about the nicer things.   I am not sure if this came about because of a negative response by somebody to the blog, but I felt in agreement with the other comments that were posted.   We do have the freedom to read or not read whatever blogs we want to, and if something is not to our liking, we can choose not to read it.

When I started my blog, I decided that I would write about things which I like or find inspiring to do with my love of handmade crafts, and which I think others may also like to share, although I may sometimes put in the occasional life anecdote!  I have found many blogs out there that offer free patterns, advice and heaps of inspiration on knitting, crochet, sewing and interior design.  Lot's of bloggers doing lot's of hard work - and mostly offered for free.  I enjoy following them, and I hope that I too will inspire somebody out there with my own blog.

So I thought that for one post only, and just for a bit of fun, I would offer my own ALTERNATIVE visual inspiration for a blog post, although I have to say, I know plenty of people who are members of art groups that I attend, who would still find some positive inspiration in these pictures.  So with tongue firmly in my cheek, I present my alternative blog pictures.

Industrial Wasteland

A Giant Tortoise (not much movement going on there!)

Some Graffitti in France (hope it doesn't contain any rude words as I can't read it!)

Somebody's idea of a good paint job on the road

 Somebody's idea of a landscaped front garden

 

The great British weather on Easter Monday

 

Last years Lavender Plant

 

A piece of sandstone on concrete (DD's choice)

And finally, DH's favourite trainers - wish you had the added experience of stench over the internet!  Maybe even the whole shoe cupboard in our house.

I will try to bring you something a little nicer next time.

Until then, have fun! X

Can't Get Enough of That Funky Stuffing

Ahh, the great British weather it is at it again.  One day it is Summer in Spring, the next it is back to Winter again.  I can't complain too much though,  as we haven't actually had any snow here unlike half of the country, but it has been pretty cold here.

In my last post I mentioned about cushions and stuffing.  So I thought I would post today on the subject as promised.  This has made me think back to when I was a wee nipper in the early 70's (gosh yes, i'm really THAT old!).  Anyway, when I was young, we were encouraged to make things and crafting was a natural pastime.  My favourite TV programmes regularly showed 'how to make' your own things.  'Blue Peter' had a regular spot on the show featuring how to make and design things.  Later, a rival show called Magpie came along, which often featured making things.  There was a programme called 'How' which was quite scientific and especially good for boys as this showed things like how to make your own circuit boards.  And then, my favourite art programme 'Vision on' and the story telling programme called Jackanory.  Now I know that there have been art programmes in recent years, my own children loved Art Attack for example, but they just don't seem to be like our old programmes.  Art Attack usually involved me having to go out to a shop somewhere to find the right PVA glue, paint, felt pens and whatever else was needed for the major project.  In the early 70's, you had to make the glue as well (good old flour and water).

Now if this all seems a little archaic for the younger generations out there, I will back this up further by my primary education or Junior School as it was known then.   We had a Potter's Wheel in our school, the kind that you 'threw' the clay onto and pressed the pedal up and down with your feet.  We made animals and bowls etc.  We had a making class every week   in lesson time where we made stuffed animals, a slipper bag, a draught excluder and all kinds of other things.  It was during these lessons that I learned to use a sewing machine for the very first time!  This was in addition to our art lessons.  I can hear many teachers saying to themselves 'they were the good old days when teaching was fun'  and just imagine, we still learned to read and write, how did that happen?  And a teacher's day was not filled with worrying about statistics, performance and reaching targets .  Then once a week after school you could join a club where we learned to make soap, candles and some of the more sophisticated and time consuming items.  On top of all this, we were encouraged to use and reuse things.  We were encouraged to do patchwork from reused fabric.  The clothes for rag dolls were from recycled sources.  I assume this was to keep the costs down at the time, but what we learned from this was that you can often make things from what is at hand.  Therefore, I was always making things at home, especially clothes for my dolls.  I think that all these things helped to foster a creative spark in me, which is still with me today.  I am happy therefore, to see that many people are recycling and reusing today and not just sending things to the landfill site before they are worn out.


One of the things we did at school was to make our own stuffing.  We would get as many pairs of old tights that we could get our hands on (washed first, of course!) and we would snip them up into 1" pieces with some scissors.  Then we would use these pieces to stuff whatever it was that we were making, eg animal, rag doll etc.  It probably helped that most mums at that time wore 'American Tan' tights.  This was the colour that mums wore before fake tan caught on!  As the name implies, it was a fairly neutral colour and a great concealor.  Now i'm not suggesting for one minute that you could start a business, chopping up tights and stuffing them into things to sell on the internet, as I am sure that there would be a few health and safety issues to do with flammability and whether they had been laundered sufficiently or not.  But if it was something for your own personal use, or for somebody near and dear, why not indeed!  It may be necessary to find some grandmas who still wear American Tan tights though, but even black tights would do (as long as you couldn't see through the outer fabric of the thing you were stuffing.


Anyway, back to cushions.  I mentioned these in my last blog because sometimes I find that I cannot get the right size cushion inner and they are often quite expensive to buy.  If you find that this is the case, the simple answer could be to make your own.  Many craft shops these days are selling stuffing suitable for craft projects.  Before you splash out on calico and stuffing though, it is a good idea to price up the cushion pads (if you can get them) Vs making your own.  Now I have heard of somebody buying a cushion pad which didn't fit or was the wrong shape for the project in question, and taking out the stuffing and reusing it in a homemade cushion pad.  This is a good idea if it is cost effective.  I have found that you can buy some good stuffing on the internet, but you usually have to buy so many bags of it and the postage is quite expensive.  So shop around before you make a decision.  Making your own cushion pads or inners is a really good idea when you want to make a different shape eg a heart shaped cushion, a rectangle or even a bolster.  Sometimes it is even hard to track down circular cushion pads.  So here is what I would do to make my own.

Cut out some strong neutral coloured fabric in the shape and size of your intended cushion pad, remembering to add 1cm-1.5cm all round for seam allowances.  Calico is a good option for the fabric as it is strong and fairly economical to buy.  You need to choose something that won't let the stuffing out and that won't be seen through your outer cushion fabric.


Sew around your cushion pad shape but leave an opening in one side large enough to turn the fabric and to get your hand into for stuffing.

After you have sewn around the seams, trim them back - but not too close to the stitching as you don't want to cut the stitches or for it to fray.  Also, notice how I cut a triangle across the corners, again not too close to the stitches.  This makes it easier to turn the corners and should give a nice point.

Now use your stuffing to fill your cushion.  If you intend to sell your cushion it is a good idea to use a filling that has a BS safety number on it for cleanliness, washability and most importantly for fire safety.

Now put the stuffing into your cushion pad and fill it to make a nice firm cushion, but not too full or it may burst the stitching and will make it difficult to sew up the final gap.

Now take a needle and thread and sew the final opening with a nice strong backstitch.

Voila!  This is how I made the cushion inner for my last project.  Just remember that your outer fabric (cushion cover fabric) needs to have an extra seam allowance of 1cm-1.5cm all around, so that it will fit over the cushion pad.




Have a very Happy Easter.

BITS AND PIECES CUSHION

Well I can't believe that another week has gone by already - so many projects so little time.  Time just seems to be flashing by.  When we were young at home,  mum used to say that when time went quickly it was because the earth was spinning faster.  Now I have children of my own I definitely think that she is onto something!

 Knitted patchwork cushion

I have been asked to run some knitting classes at a local craft shop called Society Rocks and was trying to think of something to inspire a beginners knitting class.  I was thinking about how the two main stitches of knit and purl form the basis of so many different patterns and that there are so many variations and possibilities for experimentation.  Then I thought about how different pieces could be knitted and joined to form a patchwork of fabric.  Of course, when many knitters start their first knitted project  they very often knit a long length of fabric, which eventually may become a scarf, but in my experience this can get a little boring  and the project is very often left abandoned.  So I thought about knitting patches in different colours and stitches, thus enabling the beginner a chance to experiment and make a sort of knitted sampler. 

I thought about how these patches could be used on a small project to begin with and came up with the idea of using them on a cushion.  I know that knitting gauge can be a bit technical for a beginner, but if the same size needles were used for the patches, and the same weight of yarn throughout, with a little bit of estimation, the patches could be fitted together to make a cover to fit the cushion.  I decided to try this for one side of my cushion and used a piece of fabric for the other side.  Of course, two sides of patchwork in knitting could have been used.  The fabric was a fat quarter of Amy Butler fabric that I had in my stash and it went very well with the bits and pieces of Rowan yarns that I had left over from other knitted projects.  These were cashsoft and  a cotton glace yarn.  The cotton glace I used doubled to obtain a similar thickness to the cashsoft and they all have some cotton in them and therefore have a similar feel.  This could also be made using some recycled or vintage fabric on one side and any double knitting yarns on the other.


The patches were made by casting on 20 stitches for the small patches and 40 stitches for the large patch and 60 stitches for the bottom patch.  The long patch of 1 x 1 rib stitch had 30 stitches (an extra 10 stitches needed because rib pulls in slightly).  I made a cushion of 12" x 12" or 30.5cm x 30.5cm.  This same patchwork technique could be used to make larger cushions, a patchwork scarf or blanket and is a great way to use up any leftover yarn.

Knitted patches joined together to make a square.

Patches joined together using mattress stitch.  Also good practice for stitching knitted fabric together!

Don't pull up the stitches too tightly or they won't lie flat!

This is how the back of the work looked when I had joined all the patches together.

A piece of fabric cut out the same size as the cushion front, but 1" or 2.5cm added on one side for a hem turning.

These could be joined together using a neat back stitch by hand, but for speed and because I am lazy, I joined them with a sewing machine.

Turn a hem over on one end and sew it down on the wrong side of the fabric.

Now place the right sides of the knitted patchwork fabric and the other fabric together, pin and then sew around the outside, leaving an opening on the side with the turned hem.  First of all,  I went around the edges with a large  zig-zag stitch to hold the layers together.  You may need to gently push and pull the knitted fabric into shape with the other fabric square.  Then I set the machine to a fairly long stitch length (about 3.5) and sewed around the inside of the zig-zag stitch, again making sure to leave the opening with the hem free.

Turn it out to the right side and poke out the corners.

Sew some large poppers onto the hem of the open side.

Close up of the hand-sewn poppers.

Back view of the cushion.

Voila! a pretty patchwork cushion.

I will talk about stuffing and making your own cushion pads in my next post.