Week 8 Decoration- Felty chains again!

I've finished!! I know it's Wednesday but I couldn't post it uncompleted when I was almost there. I LOVE it and it was sooooo worth the effort. I must say, I'm a dab hand at blanket stitch now. You kind of have to after almost 2 weeks of work.

I loved stitching each chain by hand although I would consider using my sewing machine for a quicker gift one next time. I might come back to this another day...

Week 7 Decoration- Felty Chains!

Wow! It's Thursday already and I'm late, late, late darn it! I only started this project on Saturday and was holding off until Tuesday evening to get a bit more done when my laptop decided to develop a glitch. No Internet for 2 days was surprisingly stressful which is very sad really. I didn't realise just how much I pop on to check up little things. My iphone is even worse as I constantly have to answer those pointless questions that pop up every day.
Like: Who's the voice behind Sally from "Nightmare before Christmas?" (It's Maureen O'Hara who was the stepmother in Beetlejuice who did the possessed crazy dance at dinner!) Oh, and Danny Elfman -who seems to write music for everything- wrote the score for the film and

sang the part of Jack Skeleton... You see, pointless really.

Back to the project now. This felty paper chain was an idea I found on

http://paper-and-string.blogspot.com/p/tutorials_01.html

I've been eying it up for a while and decided to make it a two-week project. My husband looked at all the strips I cut ready and promptly declared that it would take me forever. But, as usual, just by doing a little bit each night the chain is growing nicely. I think sometimes people see these projects as too much hard work, but all crafters know that spending your time doing something you love where you end up with something to treasure is so worth the effort and time.

I'm loving it so far, especially using contrasting colours for the blanket stitch. It means my blanket stitch is really improving as wonky stitches look a little naff. I'm not aiming to decorate an entire room but make a length to go along the top of my dresser. I can't wait to see how it will look next week!

Am I stock-piling too much??

I've just looked back at my Blog to date and realised how much I have made since January! This is a GOOD thing except that I seem to be stock-piling. Under my bed is a growing number of boxes gradually being filled with gifts for the future- it's becoming an obsession.

You see, I'm going back to work in June and I know that time will be pretty much filled with everything else. So my boxes are my way of getting my crafty projects ready for when they are needed.

1- Christmas box

2- Birthday box

3- Baby box (there are 3 due in my extended family this year....sigh)

This was enough but now I'm adding a fourth! Katie's birthday in the Summer term always seems to sneak up on me. Frantic buying and baking always leave me flustered and, as Katie wants a few friends from school this time, I thought I would start making bits for pretty party bags. I know I will never have the time later in the year and I want these gifts to be unique, valued (and cheap- I plan to make the bags as well!)

So, number one for the bag is:

I like to stick to the "rule" of children's age= how many children to invite. So, there are six sweet cupcakes- Five for her guests and one for herself as she has been eying these up for a week now! I wonder which one she will pick?

This pattern is available on Ravelry free from Hannah Kaminsky

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/quick-cupcake

Week 6 Decoration- Tiny Felt Robin

Look at this!! I am so proud of this little guy as it is the first design that I've made that is a perfect match to the pattern.

1. I sketched out a robin from a google photo and traced each different section onto plain paper.


2. I cut out the teeny pieces and used sticky tape to hold them onto the felt. (This was a tip I got from a previous website. It makes it easier to cut very small pieces neatly, the felt piece comes away when the shape is cut out and the tape left on the template strenthens it)


3. I used silver, red and brown thread to embroider the details and then stitched all the pieces together. I added a plain, fine ribbon to keep the focus on the little guy

The whole thing from cutting to finishing took just over 40 minutes which I was surprised by, I must say! I wanted to scan in my pattern but my scanners gone phooey so I hope this picture will do.
FREEBIE ALERT
So, instead of a pattern to offer, I am going to start my first Freebie Giveaway. One condition though. I want to get up to 10 followers. When I have 10, I will put names into a hat and send this little guy out to you. So, if you want him, spread the word and help me complete my dastardly plan "Mwah- ha-ha!"

Just a few little bits and pieces...

I've not been posting as much this month- Sorry! I'm not losing interest, honest. It's just that we've all been having the worst month with either 1,2,3 or 4 of us ill at the same time. The washing machine has been on permanently and we have all been a bit sorry for ourselves. I haven't picked up my craft basket until today as, finally, all of us seem to be on the mend- Yippee.

My poor Christmas project had to sit on the back burners which I've been feeling guilty about, I must say. With back-to-work days and the lure of other projects, I have made the decision to downsize the project to a "once a month" piece. Thinking about it, I may have struggled to find homes for 52 Christmas decorations so it's probably the right decision.

Let me make it up by sharing a few bits and bobs I've been meaning to post for you now...

1- Ever since I found out that some of my nearest and dearest were expecting, I've been planning and starting my baby box. I wanted to make a pre-baby gift as a one-off for one yummy mummy. This teeny badge popped into my head as I couldn't stop singing the "Baby on Board" song sung by the Barbers shop quartet in the Simpsons. It ended up just over an inch wide and the wide safety pin in the back means it will pin onto bags, over straps and on tops easily.

2- Have you come across this online magazine! It's beautiful I must say. It's full of inspirational ideas, interviews with Bloggers and new craft enterprises and lots of advice on starting out in business. There are also some lovely free projects in a variety of techniques such as sugar craft, sewing, paper flowers (and I've only read 2 past issues!) The photography is elegant and fresh and new issues are sent to your email. There are ongoing new feeds on the website and items for sale. I keep dipping into it when I have time to sit back with a cup of coffee and perhaps a slice of cake- wonderful!

http://www.ukhandmade.co.uk/magazine

3. I started making these Baby blankets during the half term break 6 weeks ago using an Erika Knight pattern from "Essential Crochet". I used it for my own little girl using Sirdar Snuggly and it made a beautiful, fine blanket. This time I used chunky wool. This wool was King Cole washable chunky wool which is lovely and soft and has made two thick and warm blankets. Blue for a boy and Yellow for a "don't know"!

Joining the SIBOL

SIBOL is a group of wonderful women who crochet and knit an amazing variety of granny squares which are crocheted together to make heirloom blankets for the elderly. This project was created just last year by Sue (Mrs Twins) and has reached people all over the world. Her " Sunshine International Blankets of Love" have notched up an impressive 52 blankets to date in various themes and have featured in quite a few magazines!

Mrs Twins saw a note on my sisters blog about me and hopped over for a friendly hello and I loved looking through her blog and ravelry page.
http://www.ravelry.com/groups/-sibol-
http://sunshineinternationalblanketsoflove.blogspot.com/2011/02/sibol-giveaway.html
http://sunshineinternationalblanketsoflove.blogspot.com/2011/02/sibol-giveaway.html
I wanted to waited until I had made up a colourful batch before I made my first contribution but saw a great freebie giveaway and needed to send my little one off right away!
I unwound a previous mistake - it was supposed to be a baby hat that I started 3 years ago and got so completely confused by- and reused the wool to make this one. I hope you like it Sue! More will make their way to you over the year x

The Crochet Coral Reef- Sent off pieces!

I did have fun making these! I had planned to save these until next year's arrival of the Coral Reef and had labelled to hopefully use to help others have a go. Then I found an address where pieces are still being accepted so I sent these off yesterday- I hope they get used!

I never got to see my original pieces. My sister and I organised a day trip to London to see them and had a lovely morning chatting and having lunch at Pizza Express. We went into the display and, after much looking, realised that our pieces had not been included. Seriously ticked off, we went home and both emailed the organisers to say how disappointed we were to be excluded. Imagine our embarrassment when we found out they had been included and our names on the list of crocheters, it's just that we had gone into the wrong room! We had gone and seen the Reef from around the world I think!

The display has moved on now, so hopefully I will catch it next year and see my bits included.

If you have any pieces, you can send them to...
UK Reef
Crafts Council
44S Pentonville Road
London
N1 9BL