Busy, Busy, Busy

Sorry I've been so quiet - I've not been busy working away on secret Xmas projects, I'm on a two month work course which is sapping all my spare time.  On a positive note this has coincided with a sudden increase in weekend social engagements.  All in all I've gotten next to no craft work done (not even the shawl that is supposed to be complete by Xmas!).  I have managed to teach my mum to knit with beads and do basic fairisle so my hands have not been completely idle.  I may manage a post at the weekend to detail a recent trip to the big smoke but otherwise don't expect much from here till mid December, when, considering the fabric I've been hoarding and the season, there should be a sudden spate of posts.

Random Fabric Collection

Whilst visiting family and friends in North Wales I took the opportunity to pop into Aberkhan Fabrics - a fabric mill which sell seconds fabrics by the kilo.  This usually works out fairly cheap as long as you don't want a specific fabric and in the sales the reductions can be excellent...but anyway what did I get this time?

The green fabric and button are destined to be parts of Xmas presents for sometime readers of this blog so I can't say more yet (although there is plenty of the green so expect it to make repeated appearances!); the blue is winter themed with snowflakes and stars and should be perfect for the back of a Xmas themed quilt I want to make; the white isn't actually white but this was the best my camera could manage today - its off white and covered in gold glitter (I have a piece of its silver glitter twin) and is also destined for the Xmas quilt; The black and which is for the back of my sister's quilt which is not a surprise but considering the amount of questions I've been asking about designs and fabrics I bet my sister wishes it was!

Unfortunately non of these fabrics are to finish off any of the items on my WIPs list but are destined to add to that list!

Forgotten Finish!

I mentioned making a raggy quilt a while ago and then went to the course to learn how to make it; bound and tumble dried it and then promptly forgot to post it here!  Lucky the weather's getting cooler or it may never have made it to the blog.

I still love this fabric and how the quilt turned out, although I don't think Val and Sue at the quilt shop believe I am going to keep it for myself - but as I said in an earlier post I have had a very long attachment to Padding ton Bear.

And I managed to find some marmalade-esque binding.  This quilt will get plenty of use of the winter when I'm curled up on the sofa knitting.

Great South Run 2011

Sorry for the lack of posts - it will be like this for the next few weeks as I am on an academic course and the workload is high, so blogging and crafting will have to take a back seat for a while.


Luckily I still have fairly free weekends (barring my unusually busy social life!).


Last weekend I took part in the BUPA Great South Run.  I have run it twice before, using the term run fairly loosely.  It is a 10 mile fairly flat course and I enjoy it.  I managed to run almost non stop (excepting for water breaks as I can't run and drink) but unfortunately I finished it in my slowest time yet.  So I am going to apply for next year's and I am determined to get under the 2 hour mark.

A thankfully small shot of me approaching the finish line.


 I have rewarded myself with some new running trainers and am determined to re-loose some weight as I think this affected my time, that and the fact I run slowly!

Oops!

After writing a post suggesting everyone sign up to the Friday Night Sew In guess what I forgot to do...

Yep that's right I didn't sign myself up!!

I did however get some sewing done so I will share it now

It's not a huge amount but trimmed round my 6ft ish square quilt and started the epic handstitching of the binding.  Wish meluck this may take some time!

October Friday Night Sew In

It's here October's Friday Night Sew In...

The perfect way to welcome in the weekend and to craft with many others.

The rules are simple:

1.  sign up at Crafty Vegas Mom's Blog below with your blog/web address.  blog about it and invite everyone you know!
2.  on friday 10/21/11 make something FUN.  get your comfy clothes on and CRAFT until you cant go anymore.
3.  saturday 10/22/11 be sure and blog about your project.  post some pictures, talk about your night, surf other blogs to see what everyone else did. 
4.  sunday 10/23/11 check back at Crafty Vegas Mom's blog for the lucky winners picked by random.org

I thought I didn't have anything to do for this FNSI as my finishing off is going well but then I spotted my UFO list - I'll be busy!

Pinwheels Polished

Well the baby this quilt was created for is now four months old and I've eventually finished her quilt - which is lucky as I'm meeting her for the first time next weekend.

The pattern was from the free ones at fatquartershop.com and the fabric is mostly Makower Spectrum.  I've quilted diagonal, straight lines either side of the seams on the pinwheels and straight line between the pinwheels with white cotton. The stippled white border was done in a variegated primary colours type of thread.  I'm really pleased that this quilt has ended up looking just like I planned it would.

The Postman Calls...

And left...

 A very bright, somewhat squishy and fairly heavy parcel.  Looked like my fabric order from Hancocks had finally arrived.

I'd spotted Julie Paschkis' Catkin range (to the left of the picture) ealier in the year and had fallen in love with it.  But I patiently waited until free shipping appeared at Hancocks and pounced.  I've treated myself to pretty much half a yard each of the whole range (although I'm sill waiting for three back ordered fabrics with crossed fingers).  I haven't quite decided what to make with the fabric (so possibly I shouldn't have bought it) but it'll definitely be a quilt for me.   To make up the minimum spend amount for the free shipping I added the red fabrics (to the right of the photo) to the order.  These are eventually destined for a scrappy red and cream Farmer's Wife Quilt. I was amazed, even taking into account exchange rate and the commission for using me credit card on an overseas purchase how cheap the fabcric worked out compared to uk prices.  Add in the pretty quick service and I think I'll be taking advantage of this fabric shop again.

(Apologies for the slightly poor photo quality - I've had to use my I Pod as I don't have my camera with me.  Though I do think it makes a fair substitute)

No More Cold Hands

Sorry about the lack of posts this week and it's not as though I hadn't got anything to update the blog with.  Seem to on a finishing off jaunt at the moment.

The finished items for this post are the surprisingly quick and simple Debbie Abrahams fingerless mitts.

I was really pleased when I found out we were making these at the class as I suffer from very cold hands and tend to wear fingerless gloves alot.

I'd tried fairisle knitting before but not quite as neatly as on these mittens and I have fallen in love with beadwork - who'd have guessed it was so simple!

Think some more of these need to be made!

A Long Term Work In Progress

So my family came to visit this weekend and my sister brought along the French knitting we have been working on, on and off, since I was six.  I think it was given to me to do partly to keep me occupied and partly because we'd found some wooden cotton reels at my grandmother's house.  It also helped that my mum had a huge stash of double knitting wool oddments I could use for it.

When it arrived the French knitting was wound into a ball about 6 inches in diameter.  I set to laying it out in the rug shape we'd eventually like it to make - that took a fair while.

On completing this task I'd learnt a few things...
- Trying to lay out what is essentially a coil of string on top of a duvet covered bed neatly and accurately is nigh on impossible
- My mum and sister weren't joking when they said we didn't have enough knitting for a rug yet - the coil in the picture is definitely less than a metre across
- On a rough estimate we need to knit about the same amount againg to create a decent (smallish) rug for my sister's room! (Hopefully this will not take another 24 years to achieve!!!!) 

Another Quilting Course

It's a dangerous thing paying a visit to my LQS, I'd only popped in to get details for the Debbie Abrahams knitting course when I found myself signing up to the raggy quilt course the weekend after.

This is actually a course I've wanted to do since I started quilting but the classes and my free time have never coincided.  It looked like that was going to be the case with this course but I was, just that morning, informed that my family wouldn't be arriving at my house the Saturday of the course until 4pm at the earliest (that probably actually means 6pm). It seemed to be fate so I signed up for the course, and then realised I wasn't supposed to be buying any more fabric after spending a small fortune at Hancocks (with free international shipping and cat themed fabric I couldn't say no).

A little browsing of various shops' discount lines and I think I've found the, in my opinion, most perfect raggy quilt fabric ever...

Beautiful Paddington Bear fabric courtesy of Doughty's (who managed an inspired bit of fabric subbing via a phonecall - the top right hand turquoise fabric was selected by their staff)

This quilt is all for me; I love Padddington bear - I fondly remember my Paddington bed covers and curtains, I enjoyed the stories, and marmalade sanwiches have been a lunchtime staple for years.  I am really looking forward to this quilt.

I'm Late, I'm Late for A Very Important Small Blog Meet!

For the first time ever I'm joining up with Lily's Quilts Small Blog Meet a get together held by Lynne once a month for those of us with blogs with less than 50 followers to share our blogs with each other and to find some more excellent crafty blogs to while away our evenings with!

For those who've popped over from the small blog meet link - Hi! Feel free to have a look around this somewhat erratically updated blog.  I've only been blogging a year but have been crafting in one form or another for as long as I can remember - finger knitting does count as a craft?!  Hopefully, if all goes well, I'll be able to introduce you to one of my first ever proper craft projects (and still a UFO!) next weekend.

If you want to visit some of the other small blogs or check out Fresh Sewing day the click on the Small Blog button (it may work!)

Winter Mitts During Autmn Heatwave!

On being told a few weeks ago that during the Debbie Abrahams led fairisle and beadwork knitting class at Nimble Thimble I would be working towards a pair of mittens I thought what a lovely autumnal project that I'll probably be very keen to wear at the end of the day!


I didn't count on the temperature, on Saturday, during the course being 29 degrees centigrade (hotter than any day this summer.


Luckily the high temperatures did not do anything to dampen my enjoyment of the course and they gave me the perfect excuse for an ice cream break!


Debbie Abrahams is a very friendly and enthusiastic teacher; I learnt more than expected during the day and managed to get further throught the mitten than I imagined possible.

This was what I had to show by the end of the session.
Not only have I leant how to incorporate beads into my knitting, to strand and weave the back of fairisle properly, and to keep the whole lot untangled.  I also found out that I have been doing the thumb cast on wrong for the last 20 years - I had wondered why this supposedly stretchy cast on wasn't so stretchy!


I am definitely hooked on beads and colourwork and Debbie's designs, and spent the rest of the weekend poring over the copies of her books which I have had for years trying to figure out what to try next.