Catching up

Last week was very busy and by the time I got home each evening I was worn out. The result... very little sewing or knitting got done. As it was busy I decided I needed to make sure I had a proper lunch break. I decided to take my lunch over to the park each day and I also took my carry along stitching. This has been living in my handbag for a while. When I was collecting youngest daughter from work I would often have a while to wait. The problem with nursing is that you can't just stop work as the shift ends. You need to finish whatever you are doing for the patient and the handover also has to happen. I'd put this cross stitch bookmark in my bag, it's small and easy to pick up where I'd left off, and on the evenings she was late finishing I'd have something to fill the time. Over lunchtimes last week I got quite a bit done. Here's how it looked at the beginning of last week.

I'm pleased with my progress, all done over lunch.

This bookmark has been around for ages so it will be great to finish it. This week I was also working on the Star Trek cross stitch during the evenings. Unfortunately I didn't have a lot of spare time in the evenings so I didn't get much done. Here's the before photo...

and after. I did some more of the yellow boxes but I also wanted to complte the blue banner but I didn't quite get it done. This will now be put away until next Monday. I have to admit I'm enjoying alternating the slow stitching projects. I should have thought of doing this earlier.

This week I'm back to working on the embroidered table cloth. I want to move the hoop this week. This is my starting point.

Yesterday John and I went to a Macmillan coffee morning organised by John's sister. We've gone to it the last two years. It was quiet when we arrived but it got very busy later. I took a couple of photos of embroidery completed by Sue Monk. This cat piece was supposed to be done on white aida and the baclground all done with black cross stitch. She decided to stitch on black aida. Her solution made the cat stand out much better.

I liked this delicate piece and all the patterns on it. It's rather small so remember you can blow up the photo.

Whilst at the coffee morning I bought some fabric and so did John. Here are my two pieces of fabric. They are both width of fabric with repeat of the pattern.

I have a plan for these two pieces but it won't happen until next year. These are John's fabrics. He also has a plan but won't tell me what it is.

These fabric are Shweshwe African fabrics. When you buy them they are very stiff, so the fabrics have to be pre-rinsed. This can be done in a machine using the shortest, coolest rinse cycle. Once rinsed and dried the fabrics are very soft.

I also won a bottle of white Malbec on the tombola stall. We'll enjoy that later in the week.

This last weekend we were away and we visited a very interesting museum about that area of Somerset. I'll write about it in my next post.

take care

Lyndsey

Playing catchup... and a finish.

This last week has been fun in places but a nightmare in others. This time of year is very busy preparing for an influx of new students but my final year students don't finish until the beginning of October. It will all settle down into a comfortable routine again somewhere in mid to late October. Meanwhile trying to fit in sewing and other crafts can be difficult.  However I have managed to fit some stitching in this week.

I decided to work on my embroidered table cloth and the Star Trek cross stitch alternate weeks. This last week was the table cloth. I didn't get as far as I wanted but there is progress. This is how it was at the begiinning of the week ....

and now. Not alot of difference but I have filled in some bits. I'll pick this up again next Sunday.

I've got the Star Trek cross stitch in the living room ready for any free moments to stitch. This is it as I start the week.

I have also done a little work on the celtic knot book mark. I have been carrying this in my handbag so I can stitch on it in odd moments.

Yesterday was a sewing day. John had gone on a walk with friends and I'd opted to stay home as I wanted to finish my red blouse. It took most of the day as I unpicked the sleeves from the body as they were not sitting properly. Once reinserted they were fine but I still needed to work on the collar, make button holes, make the sleeve cuffs and sew on buttons. Getting the sleeve right was a pain but I'm now very happy with them. I didn't have anyone to take a photo of me modelling the blouse so I've taken it on my mannakin. This will be coming with me next weekend, as we are away. It fits well and I'm looking forward to wearing it. It is so good to have finished it.

I also did some work on the cat cushions. I decided to stitch round the individual panels and I'm going to quilt round the cats with embroidery thread.

This afternoonI I plan on drawing out these two patterns. I like this pattern brand. They are easy to make and look and feel really good when wearing the outfit. I like to copy the pattern rather than cut the pattern to the size I need as this makes it easier when making any alterations / adjustments and the pattern can be use by someone else.

I also want to improve my dressmaking skills as I love making my own clothes and I would love to be better at making alterations to make the fit better.

This week at work should be a little calmer so maybe I'll have more time to play with fabric. For now I'm going to find my black threads so I can stitch round the cat shapes and hopefully get the cushions finished.

Take care

Lyndsey

September already.

August seemed to whizz by and here we are in September already. August was a good month for visits and outings. My sewing machine was away for a repair for quite a bit of the month but my older Elna machine enjoyed being pressed into service. My machine is now back with a new touch screen and is stitching perfectly and I hoping this weekend will be a good sewing weekend. September is National sewing month and I plan to complete my red blouse and make a dress. The blouse is almost done, with just the sleeves to finish off.  This month shouldn't be too busy and I'm hoping to complete a couple of projects.

I've decided this month to do a little work on my hand stitching projects each day starting from today. I plan to stitch on my embroidered table cloth this week and switch to the Star Trek cross stitch next Saturday. Having had a rest from my table cloth I'm itching to get back to working on it. I have one side left to complete. Here is where I've started today. I'll be doing some more stitching this evening.

This morning I had several household jobs to do. Unfortunately I slept badly last night and so everything took longer than it should. Over the day I've been taking lots of rests and in the afternoon I decided I needed a sewing hit so I pulled out more yellow scraps. I'm sewing the scraps into 8.5 inch squares and will use them to make a scrappy quilt. I managed to make 4 squares of yellow and now I only have some very small scraps left in the yellow bag. Sticking to sewing one colour meant I didn't create as much chaos as I did last week.

Tomorrow I'll attack the green or blue scraps and if I'm feeling less tired I want to finish the cat cushions I started last week.

This week I am also planning on finishing my gold work sea horse. I've done some work on this that I haven't shared, mostly because I keep forgetting to take a photo. This is how you last saw it.

I'll take a photo when I get it out to work on, which will be later in the week. 

I need to take the dogs for an evening walk and then I need to go to bed as this last week has been exhausting. 

take care

Lyndsey

The heavenly host posse

Yesterday I shared that I had some Christmas sewing that I wanted to get done. I made a good start on the cushions but yesterday afternoon and all of today I focussed on the heavenly host decorations. 

i bought this kit when I visited the Stitch festival with my friend Michelle. We both bought a kit and we planned to get them made in time for Christmas last year. In fact we both partially made one of them but that was it. I decided I needed to get them all made so yesterday I cut out all the pieces I needed. The dolls are made from felt and can be made as hanging decorations for the Christmas tree or to stand on a table. I decided I'd use them on the tree. I made the body of the second doll yesterday and today I got the third doll made. The dolls were the easy part. The bits for the embroidery, knitting and sewing machine were small and I spent a lot of time losing bits even though I had them all laid out carefully in the box. Eventually I got all three of them finished and I'm quite pleased with them.  This first one was the easiest.

The second one hand her embroider. The instructions tell you to use a thin strip of cardboard to make an embroidery hoop. I simply couldn't get that to work at all, although I did try for ages.

The sewing machine took a while to make as it was very fiddly.

The three will be fun to add to the tree. They are a little messy as my arthritis in my hands is a little sore at present but I'm just happy to have them finished

This month I've been working on the Star Trek cross stitch. I haven't got as far as I would have liked but it has moved forward. August just seems to have been a vey busy month. This cross stitch is staying by my favourite spot in our living room so I can carry on working on it.

For some reason I had built up the idea in my head that this pattern is really difficult. I spent some time going through the pattern and it's not difficult so much as large.....and stitched on black aida. It also doesn't help that cross stitch isn't my favourite type of embroidery.

I'm back at work tomorrow. I had hoped to work at home on Wednesday since my overlocker is being delivered but I have meetings I need to go to. Roll on Friday, my sewing day, when I can play with my new toy.

This evening I really feel like finding a good film to watch and just chilling out.

Take care

Lyndsey

A repair, a purchase and sewing.

A couple of weeks my machine went off for a spa treatment. At the beginning of the year I had the machine service but I was still having problems particularly with the touch screen. Whilst at the festival of quilts I spoke to a Brother engineer and he gave me the name of a service engineer who he desribed as amazing. So I booked a date to drop the machine off . The shop was sold machines and thread and Brett was knowledgable and interesting to talk to. A few days later to tell me the problem was the touch screen and he gave me a quote for the part and the work. Earlier in the week he called to say the machine was ready and working very well and I arranged to pick it up yesterday. He talked through what he had done and told me about how neat and organised the electrics were behind the touch screen. It was great to have my machine back in full working order and today I will be doing some sewing.

Whilst at the machine shop I had asked Brett if he would demonstrate the Babylock Aspire overlocker to me. He went through it all and I had a play which was a lot of fun. I bought my current overlocker when my children were little and the youngest is now 35. The technology of the overlocker is very old and I wanted to update it. The Aspire is also a cover stitch machine which woud be very useful. Having played with it I decided one needed to come home with me, so I bought it. Unfortunately the machine couldn't come home with me as we had taken the little sports car to collect my sewing machine and that took up most of the boot space but the overlocker will be delivered on Wednesday. I can't wait to play with it.

Whilst my machine was away I used my old Elna. I bought this machine in 1989 and it is still working well. It's a useful machine as it's smaller and more portable. I set it up on the dining table, planning to do some more work on my blouse but also scrap management. Scrap management is a big issue as I don't have much storage room for scraps or for my fabric. Currently scraps are taking over space that should be for fabric waiting for the next project. I got some of my scraps out and generally created a bit of a mess.

I am reliably informed that making a mess is part of the creative process! I had lots of fun with the scraps and managed to create these scrappy blocks. I already have some scrappy blocks made up, waiting for more to be created and then used in a quilt.

The blocks are 8.5 inches square. Once I have enough scrappy blocks I'll probably use a solid sashing in between the blocks. At the moment I still need to make more blocks. I also have some string blocks that I've made and again I need to make more to be able to make a good size quilt. Scrap management is the plan for today.

I also want to get on with some secret sewing. I have some small printed blocks with cats on and I'm going to use them to make a cushion for my son. Our old cat Picasso or Casso was originaly our older daughter's cat but being a cat he decided that my son was the most important person in the house and spent a lot of time with him. The blocks look just like casso. I have several gifts I want to make for Christmas and this cushion is one of them. I love these cat blocks.

The other fabrics I have for the projects.

Fast forward. Rather than finishing this post I had to use my machine. The test run was fine and I'm so happy to have it back fully working. A little later I had two cushion fronts. These need to be backed with wadding and I can then do some quilting before I finish the cushion covers. I had enough cat blocks to make two cushion fronts. The finished cushion covers will take a 18 inch cushion pad..

I know it's a little early to be thinking of Christmas but there are several things Iwant to make. These little robins are cute and I think my grandsons would like them. I have the fabric but need to find some brown felt.

I also want to finish the remaining two angels from this kit. I made the blue angel last year and she got on with her knitting over the Christmas period. I started the other two but haven't finished them. I need to get them done so the three of them can enjoy Christmas together.

I'm interested to see if I can finish both of these angels before the end of August. I'd better make a start on them rigt away.

Take care

Lyndsey.

A fun catch up weekend with my brother.

This weekend John and I travelled out of London to visit my brother. He lives on a canal boat on a marina in Leicestershire. The journey there was good, with the traffic flowing reasonably well. The journey took about 3 hours and we didn't stop on the way. I'd booked my car in for a service and the team were really good and finished it early so we could miss the worst of the rush hour traffic. Whilst the car was serviced we met up with older daughter and family for a walk. As we walked to meet them I spotted this on the side of a building. 

We decided to walk along the river Thames. We passed the back of Yorke House. You can see from the photo how dry the grass is. In some areas the grass is completly gone.

I liked this sculpture of bull rushes. Our grandson was fascinated by them. 

As we walked past some houses he spotted this door knocker and thought it was great fun.

We also liked this flower but I'm not sure what it is. The petals were delicate but puffed out like a very full skirt.

The morning passed quickly. We were able to collect the car and were soon on our way heading north. The traffic was heavy in places but there were no holdups. We arrived at the marina at about 6. My brother suggested we go to the onsite bar and restaurant for a meal. The food was delicious and we had fun chatting. Back on my brother's boat we sat up late chatting. Fortunately there was no need to be up early on Saturday morning.

On saturday we visited a small town near by. My sister in law was excited to show me the shops as they were very good. She was right, the bookshop was especially good and we spent quite a long time hunting for interesting titles. A good number of books came home with us. In the evening none of us felt like cooking so we went out to eat. Back at the boat there was a lot more laughing, chatting and enjoying each other's company. 

On sunday morning we went on a walk. We found hops growing in the hedgrow.

The hawthorn was covered in berries.

The rose hips were very pretty.

There were a lot of birds on the water including mallards, coots, moorhens, canada geese, and swans. 

This is what I saw looking the other way.

A look along the river. It was a quiet day for boats.

There were a lot of elderberries.

It was a very relaxing weekend but we had to head home. We left early afternoon. The traffic was fairly quiet and we had a good journey back

Today I had booked an annual leave day and I decided I needed to get on with my red blouse. I needed to add the sleeve. The one went in very neaty but the second was not so well behaved. I am going to unpick and reset the sleeve. I'm off on Wednesday so I'm hoping to get this shirt finished then.

On Friday I'm picking up my quilting machine. It has a new screen and everything is now working. I've also booked a demonstration of the new Babylock Aspire.  My old overlocker isn't working well and it is very old so I think I will treat myself to a new one. 

Take care

Lyndsey

Slow stitching and basket making.

Today is the end of my rwo weeks annual leave and tomorrow I will be back in the office sorting out my emails and preparing for teaching later in the week. My holiday has been a lot of fun with trips into London to see the Frida Kahlo exhibition, the Summer Exhibition at the RSA and the Hepworth sculptures at the Courtauld Gallery. We also had afternoon tea at a London hotel and a delightful walk around St James Park and seeing the pelicans. We live in outer London so we are able to take the tube to go into the central area, so musch easier than driving. We took a drive out of London to go to Wakehurst Place and took a long walk around the grounds and enjoyed tea and cake in the cafe. Katy, Olly and the two grandsons visited a week ago and we had a fun day together. In between we have worked on the garden, done some craft projects, taken my main sewing machine for repair and I've done some dress making and slow stitching. In quiet moments I've managed to read 3 books. Not bad for a stay home holiday and it being the hottest two weeks of the year. Of course we also went on our annual trip to the Festival of Quilts at the NEC.

My Chookshed challenge for this month is my Star Trek cross stitch. At the beginning of the holiday it looked like this.

I have managed to add to the cross stitch over the two weeks.

I do find it hard working on a black background but I will just have to persevere in order to finish this piece. 

Over this week I have been working on a willow basket. I bought the kit earlier in the year, ready to make during my holiday. The kit came with a video tutorial, to walk you through all the stages. My kit made a small foraging basket and I will be using it in the garden. I finished it this afternoon. It isn't perfect by any means but I've had a lot of enjoyment making it. It has also given me achy wrists but it was worth it.

Due to the hot weather the willow was drying out as I was using. I'm pleased with the result for a first attempt. I will make another basket at some point in the future as I learnt so much from this project. 

I realised that I hadn't taken a photo of the completed frog quilt so when we went to feed my daughter's cats whilst the family were away we took a photo. It's not a great photo but it shows the whole quilt.

If anyone woud like the frog pattern I am willing to post it. Please let me know in the comments. The pattern is complete, instructions and all embroidery patterns.

I had intended to finish my red blouse this week but I ran out of time. I've just got the sleeves left to finish. Hopefully I'll have time next week. Next weekend John and I are going to visit my brother and if the weather is good Alex is planning a trip on the river. My brother lives on a canal boat in a marina and has done for quite a number of years but to date I haven't been out on the river on his boat. Fingers crossed for next weekend.

Take care

Lyndsey