Monday 21 December 2015

Early Resolutions

I know 1st January is the conventional time to make resolutions but I think it makes more sense to resolve to do things in the moment you resolve to do them, rather than at some later date. Hence my resolve to blog at least weekly from now on, having neglected this poor thing for some time now.

I'm writing this from the airport as I get ready to return to San Francisco after staying with my sister. It was my Dad who pointed out my neglected blog when I saw him yesterday, and made me think about how, as well as neglecting other communication tools (I am terrible at not replying to emails), I've also let this one slip.

It is always rather nice to see things you have made in use at a later date and this started as soon as I got to my sister's house and sat down with my niece to watch the first of several viewings of The Gruffalo. What a lovely story and a great little film! As we sat there she insisted on removing her tights so I tucked her blanket around her little bare legs.
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It's an i-spy blanket I made for her back in July. I ended up making a mini one for her toy rabbit and as I tucked her up in hers she handed me his and said "You can have this one." So thoughtful!

Later that night my sister and I took up the rainbow ripple blanket I crocheted back in 2011. Here is a photo of the two of us then...
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...and now...
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Maybe one or two extra grey hairs? Ahem. But we've not worn too badly!

I went to my Mum's for a few days in the middle of my stay and needed to use her sewing machine to finish something for Jasmine. The box next to it is my first applique dating from..maybe...1991?
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I have offered to get Mum a new machine but she seems wedded to that Viking. It's a former teaching machine from a secondary school in the days when girls did sewing and boys did woodwork. Rather odd to use after the joys of an electrical one.

Back at Sian's the item I had needed to finish went up on the wall.
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My fabric choice may not have made it the most distinct bunting ever but it does say 'jasmine' - plus Sian asked for one saying 'home' for the living room and being asked to make more of something is the kind of compliment every crafter will know makes the heart swell.

Saying goodbye this morning was heart breaking. My final view of Jasmine was her fast asleep last night on top of a Martha Stewart Living magazine which I had brought home for Sian to read and which Jasmine had adopted to 'read' to herself that night.
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The bunting on her pillow (which I made back in 2012 for my own bed) is entirely coincidental and unstaged. She is such a wonderful little girl with an equally wonderful Mum. I'll be thinking of them (and making for them) constantly until I can visit England again.

Just in case you aren't getting enough Lixie in your life you can often find me over on Instagram. I read daily even if I don't always post.


Tuesday 10 November 2015

Selfish Swap Inspiration Mosaic

I laughed when I saw the first Selfish Swap and thought I'd never stick to it. When I saw details of the second one I felt differently and my mind went to the bag I've been supposed to be making myself for at least a year now. A selfish swap is when you make yourself something you've been meaning to, or another of something you made for someone else and reluctantly sent out into the world. So not really selfish at all.
Selfish Swap Inspiration Mosaic
All of these bags have been pinned on this Pinterest board and I have borrowed the images just for inspiration purposes. I have botched enough projects to know that I want to buy a pattern if one exists but a few of these are purely inspirational with no templates attached.

I almost feel I'd like three bags - one shoulder for day-to-day, one cross-body for more casual usage and one for carrying my sewing machine. I suppose I would have more luck making a decision about which to use if I decided on just one of these rather than trying to juggle all ideas simultaneously.

There. I knew writing it all down would help me make a decision.


Saturday 7 November 2015

Sew Simple Saturday #2

Linking up with the Sew and Sow Farm's Sew Simple Saturday.

When it comes to simple, fabric precuts like jelly rolls make it a no brainer. Last month I was wowed by a quilt on another blogger's site and knew I had to give it a go. A bit of googling and waiting for it to arrive and I had a Gradations jelly roll.
Gradations Jelly Roll
I was using the Prism pattern by Nancy Rink. I was fairly amazed to find this wasn't a download but an actual paper pattern - I feel she's missing a trick there - so another week [snore] later I was ready to go.

Without needing to trim the strips at all you just sew them together along their lengths.
Gradations Jelly Roll Strips

From there it was a matter of cutting some triangles and then sewing them together.
Gradations Jelly Roll Quilt

Sewing triangles together isn't quite as simple as sewing straight strips so I am still half way through this but it is going well. As it has progressed I've realised it's not really to my taste so I'll probably donate it to the Guild's outreach project, but I'm glad I tried it out!


Friday 6 November 2015

So that must have been October

There was some of this. 
October 2015
Then at work I went full american-halloween-mode and this happened.
Halloween in the Office
Plus of course there were some kittens. 
Kittens
Not enough. But still. 

So that's me caught up. 


Saturday 3 October 2015

Sew Simple Saturday!

I am joining up with the Sew and Sow Farm Sew Simple Saturday linky! Joining in has made me think about what is meant by "simple sewing". Jan is encouraging us to think about what seams simple to us but to others seems like something really complicated. The craft that, for me, definitely falls into that category is cross stitch. I started doing cross stitch when I was a little girl using those cardboard punch cards that showed you where to put every stitch using a needle the size of a pen. I went through various kits starting with those plastic canvas and scratchy wool ones...
...and then for, I think, my 14th birthday I got this one. 
Unfinished house cross stitch
As you can see I haven't got too far in the last 22 years but I've not given up yet! 

Since then I have sewn some weird and wonderful things, some of which are here:
Deb's cross stitch framed
cross stitch book cover
Home Sweet Home Tardis
Cross Stitch Finished
These are all quite big but ultimately cross stitch comes down to putting straight stitches into a grid with holes in it. It's that simple. One of the workshops I taught in Tokyo was for cross stitch and there are a few basic rules to get going:
  1. Don't try and sew with thread longer than your finger tips to elbow. It will just get tangled. 
  2. To start a new cross stitch find the centre of your pattern and decide on a colour or element to start sewing with. Then fold your cloth in half left to right then top to bottom to find the centre and finger press to show where it is when you unfold again. Now you've found the centre of the cloth and know where to start to make sure your design is centred.
  3. Go ahead and knot your thread to start and finish. Purists might talk about working without knots but it's really "knot" a problem. 
Here is a little one that anyone can make using a scrap of aida fabric. 
cross stitch scissor fob
It's a fob for my tiny embroidery and applique scissors. And here is what I am currently working on:
Cross stitch ABC of Faith in progress
This a simple kit by Lizzie Kate called "ABCs of Faith". I am an Atheist so this isn't to my taste but I know the person I'm giving this to for Xmas will be very happy with it. 

Give Cross Stitch a try!