Nothing to show for it all

Hallo! Its been a month since I was here last, and I havent got a lot of sewing to show for it.

I have, however, been Knitting, Crocheting, Cleaning, Washing, Cooking, Sleeping, Travelling, Reading, Woodchopping, Loading, Unloading, Sawing, Painting, Wallpapering, Rearranging, Tidying, Supervising, Planning, Drinking, Visiting, Exercising, Singing, Driving, Working, Volunteering, Eating, Hoovering, Crafting, Experimenting, Scrabbling, Clearing, Dumping, Shopping, Retailing, Pinning, Parenting, Wifing and Cat Petting.

Phew!

Roll on December...

Paper, paper everywhere

Been busy at Casa Crabbit - but not with sewing. This one's room has been taking up much of our energy recently:

This is the 'before' pic, when all was enthusiasm and no one fell out. The 'after' pic would be of a disappearing pair of heels as she buggered off to phone Granny to play with her... (Note the table in the background, wallpaper cutting AND an excellent sewing table, I love the versatility of my stuff!)

The wee one's bedroom had been stripped back to the bones. At its worst, there was rafters on show and all the plasterboard had been taken off. When we stripped out the old insulation, work stopped for a couple of weeks as 2 wasps' nests were dealt with - and I refused to go into the room and do anything until the wasps were killed as I had the screaming heebies (well, wouldnt you??)

Fast forward to new windows, the joiners coming in and replacing insulation and plasterboard, then the lovely plasterer came in and covered the entire room, and I got total snow-blindness after painting 2 coats of brilliant white on every surface bar the floor...

So two walls are now papered, and that took me all day today. I decided that I wasnt up to papering the alcove and the eaves, plus the finish on the corner of the ceiling is so nice jsut plastered, and papering would have messed up the neatness of it. And too much blue would have made the room too dark. Of course herself thinks it should be different but, meh. She'll be happy once all her stuff is back in :)

This is how it looks so far:

Neither pic reflects the colour, its a blue with a slight green hint, and cream polka dots. The window wall and the alcove side are going to be painted (again, *sigh*) cream, and some matching curtains, unless herself has some other ideas. Carpet has been ordered (neutral) and will be fitted in a few days.

I must say, its fantastic to finally feel like progress is being made on something, Himself has been full of the cold for the last couple of days, and is has floored him, as all viruses do to someone with CFS so I have been tackling the wallpapering myself. Its been pretty straightforward, actually, with paste the wall paper making it so much easier! Ignore the wavy lines at the top of the wall, I'm sure some matching paint will sort out those white gaps in no time :D

Phew! Tomorrow, wood chopping if weather permits, buying the wee one a Beavers jersey, and doing some serious knitting while she goes to play at KidzPlay!

Enjoy your week xxx

variable results

Well I havent been doing much crafting apart from sock knitting recently, thanks to a wee trip to the capital, but have been to a couple of wool shops in the hour I had child-free today :)

First I went along Broughton Street to Kathy's Knits, a basement shop but cheery and bright, especially on a wet autumn morning :). Lovely welcoming music, bright well stocked shop, choice of needles, patterns, sofa and table, with knitted items and samples everywhere. In fact, the blanket on one end of the sofa led me to buy the pattern, in the book Handmade in the UK (luscious lace and artisan yarns), by Emily Wessel, and some Rennie yarn to go with. Kathy stocks all UK yarns and has some excellent names. Check out her website for a list of some of what's available. She doesnt sell online but will happily take any phone enquiries. (not sure if she does mail order but would be surprised if she doesnt). All in all, a lovely knitting experience.

Then I went here. K1 Yarns is on the Grassmarket, recently moved (within the last 2 years I think) from Glasgow's West End. Location is fantastic, and its surrounded by lovely wee boutiques and specialist shops; cheesemakers, tweed tailors, old books, classy clothes etc. ... I am loathe to diss a wool shop, especially as I know how hard it is to make a wool shop viable, but there is so much wasted potential in that shop. Shelves were half empty, it was too quiet (I personally like but of background in a shop) and although there was a stock order being unpacked, it still wouldnt have gone very far on the shelves.

Perhaps I am being v unfair, maybe it was a slow day and she'd sold loads over the weekend, but.....

It didnt benefit from the comparison. Still. I found a sock yarn for the mitre blanket :) Then I had to hunt for lunch for when the troops came back from the City Tour...

So it was an interesting wee diversion in a busy weekend. Lovely to be back home though!

What have you been up to?

Creations - of all kinds

Well, the house has been a shambles these last few weeks. With the cold hitting the household very hard, then a few days of building tear-downs and refits (the Blighter's bedroom) and the plasterer going through the house to plaster the bedroom, then today new windows are being fitted in 3 rooms upstairs.....

The place is a skip. A real mess. Dust, plaster, clothes everywhere, furniture has been moved from various rooms to accommodate the window and wall replacement. The sewing room is full of my last craft show stock plus stuff that has been dumped out of the way (see previous comments) so is also a mess.

Am fed up.

On the plus side, have had a birthday with cake:

There's even the gymball I sit on to sew! Fab, fab and delicious :D Although it looks more like my mother than me - this is what I have to look forward to!

And took the Blighter to pony club on Saturday, as a reward for getting enough stickers on her chart of good behaviour (the only thing we have found to really work).

And have been making wee xmas decorations that have worked out chuffingly well:

Just one of my ideas for the next Craft fair - and will hopefully be putting some up on Etsy once I get my finger out. Check me out at Fankle Quilting :)

And I managed to finish this too, which I really enjoyed making:

Single bed size, stitch in the dicth zig zag quilting, plain turq backing

And got this top finally finished too (Space! On the sewing room floor!):

Single bed size, will be big floral patch backing. Quilting - prob crosshatch.

And here's my boy who is just lovely :)

(Spot the sock mitre blanket in the corner, up to 50 squares now...)

Hope you're all having a good Monday. If that's at all possible.
Cheerie!

Filling the silence....

...with the sounds of the sewing machine. Hubby and daughter are away for the night so have the house to myself - have spent all day sewing WOOHOO! Peace, perfect peace, with takeaway food, the laptop entirely to myself and loads of sewing with no interruptions. Aaaaaaah. I will miss them tomorrow, but so far today, so good :)

And I'm finally tackling the pink/brown quilt top that has been lying on my design floor for ever. Phew. Currently sewing the rows together, with cider alongside and some choons on the puter - like this:

Different, but cool.

Aaaah. The silence! (Is unnerving, so will crank up the stereo.)

Ciao, I have some stitches to produce :) xx

In praise of the internet

Hallo. Apologies for the lack of blog posts on here lately. At the moment I am stuffed to the gunwales with snot, with throbbing sinuses and a rumbling toothache thrown in to boot.

Part of the joys of being diabetic, I reckon. Your immune system is shot to hell, because Diabetes type 1 (which is what I have) is caused when your body attacks itself and knackers your pancreas, so no more insulin, hello injections for ever.

 

Which is fine, except my immune system likes to keep itself amused by throwing huge viruses at me every so often. Hence my overwhelming tissue usage and my amazing ability to power a wind turbine with my sneezes.

Nice.

Oh, and a filling needed replaced the other week, got replaced, grumbled ever since, and there is now extended root treatment in my near future. And I hate going to the dentist. (shudder)

Ha! If only....

But, I am powering away on the mitre blanket, seeing as I am mostly anchored to the couch. Have got 6 blocks by 7 blocks done and working in the 7th row. Still looking good, and its keeping my lap toasty warm as I knit.

And thank you everyone in blogland for continuing to post beautiful pictures of your work, and thank you lovely bloggers like Crazy Mom Quilts for giving people a showcase to let them be admired. Yay for the internet when you feel rubbish!

Much snottery love to all xxxxx

Mine, all mine MWAHAHAHAHAHA!

Well, I bought it!

It was due to be delivered sometime today, so I planned my house tidying around it.

Luckily it came just before lunch so I had ALL AFTERNOON to play, and have been playing more tonight.

It's very fancy. It's very sensitive; my old machine was basic, but a workhorse, could handle most things with some low level grumbling and occasional outright refusals; this one takes negotiating skills and gentle handling, and paying attention to the instructions. (Would I be wrong to throw in some male/female comparisons here? Just saying...)

The range of stitches is astounding compared to my previous 22, and the feet! Oh the feet! I have no idea what some of them do, even after reading the manual. And boy, you have to read the manual, there's no getting around that. And it's programmable - I have to admit, so far I've skipped these pages, and gone straight for the buttonholes, stitches and basic tension wrangling. (reviews here and here)

I've got 30 days to return it if its not suitable, and I think I willl def need a few to get used to it, see if we get along. My pink/brown patchwork

is still on my design floor, so am putting the Husq through some simple piecing. I must admit the patchwork foot is a wee treasure - 1/4 inch lines marked on it and everything!

More later. Will keep you posted on the compatibility with the Fankle/Crabbit Quilter lifestyle :)

Starting - and ending the search, just like that

Am on the hunt for a new and fabby groovy sewing machine. So far, have been absolutely struck by this little baby....(drool, sigh)....I want...

Ta-DAH!! 

The Husqvarna Viking Sapphire 875Q - and have just been informed by a dealer that it's been discontinued (gasp!)

BUT that a new version is coming out in September (phew!)

Check out the youtube video of this little beauty working. Am totally smitten. I hope the new edition is as lovely!
I may still be tempted. Am not one to let old editions put me off!

Woohoo!

 Finally all the strands of my various activities have come together at last to allow me to post a Friday finish! Even though its actually Saturday over here, I'm sure it's Friday somewhere in the Universe, so feel completely justified :)

 I've been doing all the usual holiday things: driving family around to see others, driving us around to see family, being driven mad by my family, you know, the usual. School's back on Monday here in South Ayrshire, and I am frankly thrilled, and I suspect the Blighter is too, because mum and dad are, lets face it, nowhere near as much fun as your friends. Phew.

 In the meantime though, I have managed to finish a couple of cushions, which I totally love. Check (ha!) these out:

This check patchwork cushion looks a lot more golden and yellow (and nicer) in real life. The wee green trees I love, and the apple fabric is one of my favourites ever :)

This log cabin cushion started off because I couldn't fit the centre flower square into a design I was working in, so I decided to put in as the centre of something else. I love this too, the simplicity is very satisfying. And again, the colours are less washed out and more golden in real life too.

The reverse of both cushions is a rusty orange cotton canvas with a tweed effect, and I am smitten with the buttonhole attachment on my machine - so clever! (And nothing to do with the fact I'm nervous of putting in a zip AT ALL)

I've also been beavering away on my new sock mitre blanket, hang on, I'll see if I can get a decent picture of this:

Toes included for scale - the squares finish up at about 5 inches square. Still enjoying it :) Will keep you posted...

As Promised

Finally, a picture delivery as promised :)

Here is the original mitre sock blanket - see if you can find the patch, essential after a tangle in the buggy wheels Grrrr.
Measures just under 4 ft x 3 ft.

Loved making it and really enjoying working on #2 :)

PS

Got a new clock in the kitchen - How cool is this??! Its from Butlers, and its massive and I totally adore it!

Return of the Native

Been a quiet holiday for the blog, but I have been beavering away between family outings and driving miles around Scotland for holiday purposes.

M.M.B.A... AHEM, I mean, scenery...

I decided to take a couple of sock wool projects away with me. One was a Christmas present for a friend, so am not putting a pic up on the blog (just in case) but the other is a mitre blanket, and it goes something like this:

Various 4 ply (well, 3-4 ply really) sock yarn oddments, 3mm needles (yup, thats a tiny UK size 11 right there) and a basic mitre pattern which knits each square on as you go along. Totally addictive and great holiday knitting :)

Every other row is decreased by two, so as you get nearer to the finish, the rows are shorter and quicker - its like a race with yourself! And then you have to start another one, and then just do a couple of rows, and then another couple to see what the next stripe is, and then, and then...its 2 in the morning....

Let me know if you want the pattern, and I can rough out a copy :) I have done one already, but I cant seem to find a pic on the laptop - remind me to take a pic of that tomorrow and post it up!

When we came back home on Saturday from our holiday, I flew upstairs to my sewing room, possibly even barricading the door behind me, in case small whiny children appeared. Managed to crank out a couple of cushion fronts which are in the process of being quilted.

This log cabin came about from the centre square - couldnt find a place for a wee charm square and thought it would make a perfect centre. Looks like eyes peering out to me :) Photography shocking, colours bright and orange-yellow in real life.

this was taken in good light. Camera phone not liking, it must be a summer palette :)

Colours even more washed out in this one, but it looks fab really. Or at least it did until l tried grid quilting it. It seems that the walking foot is pressing down too heavily on the fabrics so they bunch up and pucker as you stitch towards the end of the squares where they join the next square. Short of getting a new machine, any hints or ideas as to how to stop this happening? Any and every comment gratefully received!

Hope you are all having a lovely crafty summer - and in fact you are, blogland is, as usual, filled with lovely things :D

XXX

Hmmm.

So its the hottest summer since forever, esp in Scotland. and I'm knitting. Go figure.

(it is hard to carry a sewing machine on my holiday though, so my only excuse is portability.)

Still creating, don't worry :D

Hope you are all enjoying your summer, whatever you get up to.

XXX

Global Warming

Thank flip it is now cool enough to sew. 

My sewing room is in the loft conversion, and the heat that builds up in there has to be experienced to be believed. I am not accustomed to such giddy celsian heights of mid-20 deg and can usually be found slowly melting into a greasy puddle before turning completely mental a la Dave's Syndrome (Black Books - fantastic). But without the beard.

So I've made my pal's wee guy a sun hat, after the success of my daughter's one. 

My daughter's hat

I used a cut up pair of jeans for the fabric, and it turned out - ok, useable but not as neatly finished as the first one.
Could have been due to the fabric, the bias stretch; the different needles and thread; or because I havent been properly sewing while the room's been cooking, so am a bit out of practice :)

Anyway. I wil try to remember to take pics tomorrow, and let you see for yourselves....

And for all you other peely-wallies out there, remember - slip, slop, slap!

(slop your fifth iced pint of water all over you accidentally on purpose; slap your other half for saying its lovely, what's wrong with you; slip into a coma as your organs turn into a puddle on the floor)

re: Woolfest

It. was. amaaaaazing!

Pics when I'm not so tired :D zzzzzzz

Woolfest!

WOOHOO! Going to this tomorrow and Saturday with my friend, cant wait!

Woolfest!

Will try to remember to take pics and not be overcome by wool fumes. (Ha! Fat chance!)

Note to self - when filling the car with magical and wonderful woollen purchases, try to leave enough space to see out of the windscreen......

Zombies

Am shambling along in a sleepy fashion, while barely alive. Not anything wrong, just lack of sleep, excess of child being VERY annoying, and imminent horror of summer holidays. I have done some sewing and knitting but am too lazy-arsed to connect the phone. And it keeps turning itself off and on again. Bugger.

See? Half-hearted.

More later......

Friday finish :)

Thanks to Crazy Mom, Friday finish for me - I've been meaning to do one of these for ages, and it is only recently that the right colour combination twitched my creative fibres :)

Finished top is 80" x 56" and I love it!

And because of the diagonals, I had loads of scraps left over, sitting waiting to be played with, so I grabbed some batting and started sewing bits onto it:

Cushion should finish at about 17" square.

And lo and behold, a cushion cover! Well, the front side of a cushion cover anyway. Quite enjoyed embracing the randomness of it. Am completely loving it, and have enough to make another one :D

Work In Progress

Friday Finish - only 2 days late! :D

I know, I know, bit of a cheek really :D but I have been looking after a sick almost 6-year old, so couldn't really get anything done before now. She's a lot better, started arguing back today after a day of being sick (Friday) and a day of lying on the couch shattered (Saturday). Poor wee soul. Kids are at their most forlorn when they're ill.

Anyway.

I've been a busy bee today - the long weekend has been a fantastic aid to sewing. And the sun has meant a request for a sun hat for said almost 6 year old.
Thanks to Riley Blake and April Cobb, I have a fantastic pattern to work from. Kt chose the colours, and off I went...

First I fused interfacing to the fabric, and then cut out some shapes:

Two fabrics, as the hat is reversible. Three pieces for the brim, three for the sides and one piece for the crown from each fabric, and interfacing ironed behind each bit.

Quarter inch seams used to sew the pieces together, then topsewn with an eighth seam to secure. You can see that on the back of the red spot. Then comes the hard part - sewing the round shapes together. Not v good at this, but got better with practice - black one is better than the red one I did first :)

Spot the deliberate mistake? Yes, I had to unpin this one ... Just as well my hubby spotted this!

I put the two hat pieces together WS out and sewed them round the brim. All the curved seams and the brim were 1/2 inch, cut down to 1/4 to reduce bulk with notches cut into them to ease the curves.
Leave a 3" gap, turn right sides out, and topstitch around the edge. Et Voila!

One reversible hat. It's a teeny bit big, but better that than the alternative! Took me a few hours over the day but I am really pleased with how it turned out. I love the colours she chose too, they look amazing together. I'd like to say she gets it from me, but I reckon the wee smasher has her own style. I'd love to show you her modelling prowess but she was in a foul mood by the time I'd finished so this is the best shot I have:

 Hehehe :D