Costing Christmas (NaMoBloPo #24)

Like a lot of people my budget for xmas presents is way down this year. I go through phases of making them vs buying them. This year there are a lot of people I'll be giving to who will appreciate the effort so I'm making. But that doesn't really reduce the cost. Materials are definitely one cost but the other is the one that often goes unacknowledged in our calculations - time.

Even the most vanilla of socks requires hours of work, while something more complicated can take that into days. But then when the gift is appreciated it makes it all worthwhile.

Ahead of a little more making I have acquired a few new fat quarters to replenish my stash. I should have waited until the sales but these were v cheap so I gave in.

I do love the button one, top right. That is going to be saved for me! The others may pop up in other forms in coming weeks! Speaking of which...what connects letraset, google maps, and cocktails?

I'm leaving you in suspense for now...

I haven't been blogging about it but things between Pooch and I have been a bit up and down the last few months. However, with some external assistance, we've been really good recently, despite his many and varied colds. I've found that the best thing for a germy male is a glass of wine and a crochet blanket.

Touch wood I've avoided everything that is going around to date. I can only think it must be down to my preventative chocolate intake. Nom.

Acquisitions (NaMoBloPo #23)

Were I better organised I would by now have sent a thank you email for this.

Someone emailed me to ask if I'd like some fabric scraps as their Mum was having a clearout. I'm pretty sure it was a direct email and not a blog comment. I said yes and after having a post office red card in my bag for two weeks finally picked this up at the weekend! That's not even all of it - it's just all I could carry home from work. The yellow/blue is particularly lovely and reminds me of my sister's bedroom when we were little. I am thinking diamond patchwork cushion cover for that. Whoever sent it to me please get back in touch because I cannot find your email and I feel awful not being able to thank you!

I've also had a few other things arrive chez byrne. These are the butterflies I bought last weekend with Nickerjac's LB.

I'm still not entirely sure how I am going to use them, but then that is what this weekend is for! It's not like I have a social life so expect to see more of these before my sister's wedding actually takes place. It was physically impossible to go to that shop and just come out with a few butterflies....so....

Don't ask about the polka dot toadstools. I can't think what I'll do with them either, but I had to have them. Those jewelled pins were a bit like that although mildly more practical. Mildly. Then there was the long awaited arrival from China.

The big one is ideally for a bag for the wedding but I don't know if I'll have time now. There are more of the other ones. Aren't those tiny ones sweet? That's the same size I used to make this tiny one for a swap a month or two ago.

You don't get an idea of the scale but they are about 2" across. I'm thinking dpn holders.

Then finally there is a FO to show. On the fourth attempt I got it right!

I will take better photos when I have a moment - November has been SO busy which probably makes it both the best and worst months for taking part in NaMoBloPo. Lots to write about but little time to do it. Hopefully the weekend will give me some time to get caught up and finish a few time dependant projects. I shall spend it wrapped up in the jumper above alternated with this one that Pooch got me.

Meow!

Bashing the Bishops (NaMoBloPo #22)

This makes me angry.

I'm not a believer. I don't care if the christians faff about and continue to put off people from following christianity. What I cannot stand is the idea that it is acceptable, on any grounds, to discriminate against someone on account of their gender. As a woman, am I less able to communicate with people than men? Does their God genuinely not want women in senior positions? Is their God threatened by Women? Perhaps their God fears women might stage a takeover attempt? Might oust them as God? Then there would be a WoGod presumably? And then goodness knows where it would end.

Wheeeeeeeeeee! (NaMoBloPo #21)

21 in a row! And all on time!

I'm starting to think I'll actually make it through a whole month of National Blog Posting Month!

Meanwhile, you and I might not think much of this kind of generic hotel space filler.

Except of course you don't work with the people I do. While I was running an event in Manchester yesterday one of the delegates pointed out that they were bathroom loafers wired to pieces of bamboo.

So now you know.

Manchester, Home of the Mancunian (NaMoBloPo #20)

Remember that scene in Wayne's World when they go "Delaware! We're in....delaware...". That's me.

I'm in Manchester. For work. It wasn't raining when I arrived so it is, QED, about to rain.

But let's not forget - it also has Abakhan Fabrics. This weird fluorescent lit, frankly dirty shop is packed with crafty gubbins, most of which isn't dirty. I was very restrained. The fact I only got there ten minutes before closing has no relevance.

Isn't that yarn a lovely turquoise? I have a pregnant friend who loves that colour so will be crafting a cardi and perhaps a hat for the baby out of it. I also got a couple of wooden embroidery frames - one circle and one oval, to frame WIPs. The thread is viscose which means it is all shiny and therefore great for machine embroidery. Mmmmm, shiny...

Live Music (NaMoBloPo #19)

I hardly ever go to anything live. I don't even watch TV when it's being broadcast most of the time. When my Dad gave me a call asking if I'd go to a gig with him I agreed without knowing anything about the singer. I now definitely do.

Her name was Beth Hart and she had one hell of a voice on her. She sang, played piano and danced about for about 2.5 hours with no break. That takes one amazing pair of lungs.

Her official website is here. There is also a lot on YouTube. I'd start with Chocolate Jesus as an example. It's not one of her songs but her voice is pretty incredible.

On the Fun Bus (NoMoBloPo #18)

I had the honour of spending a chunk of Saturday with Nickerjac's little boy. He showed me how to get to a shop I needed to visit and I then joined him on his favourite activity - bus hopping. I'd never tried this before but having definitely been on more than 12 buses today I now feel I am an expert. The first stop was S&A in Upminster where I got all the feather butterflies I could possibly need to make a hat to wear to my sister's wedding next month. LB was so good and expressed his artistic side with my camera while he waited for me to choose my colours.

The shop is a warehouse crammed from floor to rafters with stuff. Mainly party stuff (see the 6 foot inflatable champagne bottle in the background above - a mere £14.99) but most of it could be put to a crafty purpose. If I hadn't been accompanied I think I'd still be there now.

The upstairs is all fake flowers, bushes, trees, topiary and more. There's also an extra christmas warehouse.

Hide and seek among the flowers. Awesome.

We sat upstairs on all the buses (obviously) which gave the LB full reign with his playground radar. The slightest hint of a ball pond or swing and we were off.

These things really amaze me. There was no such thing when I was his age. It was literally swings and roundabouts. And a see-saw. See-saws have definitely vanished from the modern playground. Although there is a one person version.

Now would you say that was a camel or a sheep?

Getting Up To Speed (NoMoBloPo #17)

A little while ago I got excited about this pin on pinterest.

Source: lolalina.com via Alex on Pinterest

I've had it in the back on my mind since and so I used one of my work lunchtimes to do a little work on it. I don't know about you - but at my work Avery L7163 is our label of choice. 14 to a page and the right size for addresses.

Now I just need to cut them out with suitably crazy bladed scissors. Now I 'just' need to decide on the string. Do I faff about with baker's twine or shall I just use proper string? Certainly not buying it.

Cunning. 

6 weekends til Christmas people...

A is for... (NaMoBloPo #16)

A is for awesome friend who got me a chocolate letter A.

Nom nom nom.

Keeping Track Tutorial (NaMoBloPo #15)

Sister Diane of CraftyPod has been looking at keeping up to date with what your favourite bloggers are doing. I'm going to share what I do.

She mentions an aggregator called FlipBoard and this is what I use. It's a free app I've got installed on my phone. You can use it to keep track of multiple media sites, or not, as you desire. For me the main use is for keeping track of blogs. This is my first screen when I open the app.

The top section is what the app decides are the top stories from all the other boxes you have. Then below that I've chosen to have UK news and Technology news. I can touch any of these to go into them in more detail. Then this is my second page of the app (I only have 2).

From the top I've got Science news, Flickr uploads by me and my Flickr friends, Google reader (this is the one I use most), Craftzine, Twitter and Facebook. It's Google reader I'm going to concentrate on as it makes keeping track of blogs so amazingly simple.

First up you need a Google account. I defy you not to have one already. If you use Google+, blogger or gmail account you've already got one. If by some chance you don't just click here and create one. If you do have one go to http://www.google.com/reader, click on the red 'subscribe' button and think of a blog you enjoy reading. Type or copy and paste the blog address into the box and click 'add'.

Simple!

Now the clever part. Open your Flipboard app and one of the grey squares will say 'More'. Tap it then select 'Accounts' and 'Add an Account'. This is where you add your Google Reader account details.

And that's it. Now, whenever you want to see what's new with the blogs you follow you open Flipbook and tap your Google Reader square. It will bring up the most recent updates. So for example...here we have something from the book guru Knitting on the Green.

It gives me the main pic and a few lines of text. To read the whole post I tap and it opens up. I can comment on and read other posts if I want to. If I don't want to read the whole post I just stroke the screen to flip it upwards and move onto the next most recent post.

And that's it!

Pay it Forward Attempt Two (NaPoMoBlo #14)

Someone on the U'R Priceless bloghop mentioned 'pay it forward' which reminded me...

I did a Pay it Forward post a month ago and no one took me up on the offer.

A bit of googling gave me this TED event last December where they talk about pay it forward as "the values and proactive attitudes that need to make their way from generation to generation, in order to boost commitment towards a better world". I kinda like that.

Now get to that old post and sign up before I slaps ya.

We're All Mad Here (NaMoBloPo #13)

The best definition of patchwork I've seen was "cutting up bits of fabric and sewing them back together". It captures exactly what happens from both the crafter's point of view and from that of the bemused looker-on. It is something that *had* to have evolved out of necessity - making things out of other things which had part worn out - because you'd not deliberately start out with that intention in mind when you could just get a piece of fabric printed with any patchwork pattern. Plenty of examples can be seen on Spoonflower.

Source: spoonflower.com via Alex on Pinterest

Source: spoonflower.com via Alex on Pinterest

And yet...there is this compulsion to do exactly that. There can be only one explanation. Quilters are obsessive compulsive. Which in itself reminds me...

Have you signed up yet?

Idealist (NaMoBloPo #12)

I was on Pinterest last night, pinning away merrily, when I wanted to check if I'd already pinned something. I very quickly realised I'd forgotten a lot of what I pinned. It was time to give those Boards an airing.

For example, I've been looking for a belt to wear to my sister's wedding. Then I see this.

Source: flickr.com via Alex on Pinterest

That way I can make it exactly the size I want.

I've been pinning lots of little house blocks for more than a year now. I have the wooden blocks my Dad made me to paint and I have more than enough supplies to make some of these little ones.

Source: blog.anydns.com via Alex on Pinterest

I could kill two birds and make them into a mobile. Possibly to go alongside some of the other zillion mobiles I've pinned.

Source: etsy.com via Alex on Pinterest

Source: kiflieslevendula.blogspot.com via Alex on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Alex on Pinterest

Then there are all the patchwork blocks I want to try. There are too many to share here but I bought a dresden plate template when I saw this.

Source: lurlineg.blogspot.com via Alex on Pinterest

Perhaps that will be next!

So, people of Pinterest...don't just keep pinning. Remember to revisit your neglected Boards!

Lest We Forget (NaBloMoPo #11)

"In war, there are no unwounded soldiers."

Lucky Number 10 (NaBloPoMo #10)

I've never made it this far through a National Month of Blog Posts before without missing one.

That is all. 

Wrong Handed (NaBloPoMo #9)

My understanding is that most people are by nature right or left handed. It's a natural preference to use one over the other for particularly manual, dexterous  tasks. The occasional person is ambidextrous and goes both ways but that's fairly unusual.

On Tuesday I woke up with a really painful shoulder. It's kind of inside the shoulder, behind the scapula. It hurts when I do most things including typing so a short post. But knitting, using a mouse, sewing with my right hand - those all make it worse. It is gradually easing but it's bloody annoying in the meantime.

So I've moved my mouse to my left at work and tonight I tried sewing some patchwork pieces together using the needle in my left hand. It was about 1/4 the speed of my right but not actually that hard - and I've found the same thing with my mouse at work. It all has me thinking - is it worth training yourself to use both equally? Or at least to use your non-dominant hand competently.

Of course you still have to hold the fabric with your other hand so sewing with your left doesn't really help. I just can't bear sitting here doing nothing though.

TV To Knit Things By Part 2 (NaMoBloPo #8)

A few weeks ago I did this post on TV series to knit along to. It got quite a few comments and hits and there were many suggestions. I thought I'd summarise them here.

Person of Interest

I've gone from knowing nothing to addict in just a few weeks. The main character is played by Jim Caveizel (on the left above) who played Jesus in Mel Gibson's film. He is sooooooo nice to look at but, sadly, it's 0/10 for removal of shirt. He plays an ex CIA black ops guy (i.e. he killed people cleverly) and, like Minority Report but secreter, there's a machine that knows when someone is going to be involved in a crime. Loads of conspiracy stuff, excellent supporting characters. All good.

Silent Witness
I've not loved this but Becky commented to say she'd fallen back in love with it so maybe I should try again. BBC website link here. I guess this is kind of the english equivalent to CSI so if you're non UK you may want to try this.

Miss Marple
Oh yeah baby. I only left her and Poirot off because I never think of them as series. Whether it is Joan Hickson (the definitive Marple imho) or another they are all good. Got to love Marple.

The Killing (Danish version)
Tracy left a comment about this and is not the first to recommend it. I haven't got around to it but as she says "It is a bit tricky to knit to with subtitles, but you just need to make it a simple knit - completely worth it :)" I believe this is the one with 'the' jumper. Which reminds me. Lopi jumper tool anyone? This site and the accompanying Ravelry group is genius. Put in your measurements and gauge and then either adapt a standard pattern or design your own. Pure genius.

Rosemary & Thyme
Now bagqueen said Murder She Wrote was too corny for her while Ynot suggested this one. For me R&T is just too much. The two women in it are hamming it up so much - Felicity Kendal especially. I can't bear it. Give me Murder She Wrote anytime. Ahhh...Jessica

DCI Banks, Wire in the Blood and Scott & Bailey
I know nothing except they are all british.

I hope you've all enjoyed this little series and let me know if I forgot anything!