A little sewing and a little crochet

The problem with having so many projects on the go at once is managing to work on them regularly so they all keep moving forward. It is a juggling act but it's also lots of fun. With lots of projects I can suit my project to my mood and also just switch projects if I'm getting bored.. Today I fancied doing a little sewing and so I pulled out the dress pattern I had cut out and ready to go. I didn't want to spend all evening working on it, I just wanted a relaxing half to one hour sewing. We had an open day for prospective students today which was fun but very tiring so I wanted to do something to calm my brain and leave me ready to enjoy my day off tomorrow.  Sewing generally has a calming effect, unless I make a mistake with the pattern. I made sure I'd read all the instructions before starting and took the process of attaching the pockets to the skirt front and then adding the front bodice very slowly. Even the pressing process was enjoyable and relaxing. I forgot to take a photo of what I had achieved so I took a photo of the machine with the sewing so far.

I've had this fabric for some time, several years in fact. I love the colours in the fabric and it is a brushed cotton so will be great in the cooler weather. I tend to wear short sleeve dresses and cardigans to work as that way I have greater control over temperature control. The building has a very effective heating system (using a heat pump) and also an effective AC system. This dress has large pockets on the front that join into the side seams so these were added and the seams finished with an overlock stitch. I then added the front bodice before I stopped for the evening. The green tape on the machine footplate is the 1.5 cm seam allowance maker.

I now have a couple of jobs to do. First I need to sort out my daughter's crochet. Unfortunately our dogs knocked coffee over the bag her yarn was in and my son quickly grabbed the yarn, pulling it out of the bag so it wasn't covered in coffee and throwing onto his desk. In the process the yarns became tangled up. My job, is to untangle the mess that once was her beautifully organised yarns. No pressure! 

My second job, having finally found my crochet hooks is to do some work on the last challenge of the Chookshed Challenge for 2024. For me this is to continue joining together the crocheted squares into an Afghan blanket. This is how far I've got

As you can see from the photo the coloured squares are alternate to the white squares and I've used red to join the rows together. I have a whole box of finished squares.

I want to make the completed blanket big enough for a young child as a cuddle blanket. That is why I used a denser pattern than normal for the squares, less holes, especially larger holes, mean young children's fingers don't get caught so easily in the holes. Once completed this blanket will be donated to a local charity that provides bedding, clothing etc to parents, with young children, who are struggling due to high costs at present. This is also where I will be sending any quilts I make for donations from now on. 

So far this month I haven't worked on this challenge piece but there is still time to complete the blanket or at least move it forward. I'll let you know how I've got on later this month.

Tomorrow I need to complete my blog hop piece and also write the blog post. I have some bulbs to plant and a couple of pot plants to put in the garden.

Take care

Lyndsey