SELF-HELP #8

Crikey… too much cricket!

Not a great deal of knitting has been done this weekend due to the heat. The boys have been glued to the Ashes. I have to admit I find it rather dull, they would say the same about my craft I suppose. 🤔

I have been busy trying to reclaim a piece of land the otherside of my garden fence. It does belong to the property but we have never done anything with it as a public footpath runs through it but all of the neighbours have tidied their bits up. My tangle of brambles and nettles was letting the side down – definitely not cricket!

My lovely dad came and chopped down the nettles and brambles and I have since been pulling out old roots. This is going to be a big WIP. Hoping to have something to talk about next year.

On another note I have signed up to do 50 miles during the month of August with my slimming group. I know to some this does not sound like much but SMALL STEPS… A friend signed up to do 1000 miles this year and has already achieved this. I have a long way to go.

Hopefully, the weather will freshen up again so my needles won’t be as sticky.

Sadly another 5 weeks of the Ashes 😣

STASH-BUSTING #6

A good old rummage…

I am visiting nooks and crannies around the house that have been neglected for years. Hence …

A number of years ago I bought a load of cross-stitch kits to make my own Christmas cards. I remember doing a few and I remember the delight on parents’ faces on receiving them but, sadly, they were very time-consuming so the bulk of them were stuffed into a cupboard and forgotten about 😣. I have done a couple in the hot weather, good advice from Mildlygranola who suggested sewing was a more bearable craft during a heatwave 🌞.

On the WIP front I have nearly completed a baby blanket.

The interesting colour scheme is due to the fact that I am using ends of balls. Another 2 rows of trebles and a couple of rows of doubles to finish off ♡♡♡

And of course…

there is another scarf on the go.

Clickety click best get knitting ♡♡♡

Macrame Monday #2

Knotting not knitting …

Occasional posts on my dabbling with macrame!

I have completed the macrame market bag (Hobbycraft pattern 0160).

Now I am not going to get all of my market shop in this. It is a strange narrow affair. My son did ask whether I had done any width by depth calculations? My bewildered expression lead him to comment it is quite good for a first attempt…

Well that is how I am going to look at it. I actually really enjoyed the criss-cross pattern and in the end I was quite proficient at square knots. Sat on the floor cross-legged knotting away with just the sound of the river in the background was quite therapeutic. I am still not convinced about my gathering knot and would certainly not want to carry anything heavy in it for fear the bottom gathering knot would give way! 😕

Anyway it is the perfect size to carry a bottle of wine…

So yes I will have another go but meanwhile chin chin 🍷…

STASH-BUSTING #5

Sticky needles 😡

Not much progress on the stash bag. It has been far too hot to wrestle with wool and needles so they have been cast aside for the last week or so. However, the weather broke yesterday so we had a joyous reunion!

Neglected olive hiding another scarf…

So I finished another scarf last night, just so that I could feel that buzz from having finished something. 😃

Current WIPs:

Fingerless mittens x 2
Bed / wellie socks
Baby blanket
Baby booties

And that is just what I have dug out plus I have loads of cheap and cheerful yarn that I have done absolutely nothing with. 🤑 I seem to have an awful lot of baby wool – all those good intentions that never materialised…

So back to working my way through it all…

Self-help #7

Sweaty Betty…

Not much crafting this week, like so many I have spent the week trying to keep cool. 35¤c on Thursday, that really is not on in good old Blighty. I have spent my time downing gallons of water and avoiding direct sunlight. Hands have been far too sweaty to knit, I did not want to make my wool all grubby. How do you manage to craft in warmer climes?🌞🌞🌞

The weather has changed today, much cooler and some rain. I have been out walking in the rain, a neighbour advised be careful not to catch a chill but really it was sensational feeling the cool rain on my skin. 🌧🌧🌧

So feeling much-better hydrated I am ready to tackle my stash bag again!

♡♡♡

Self-help #6

The Cherry Fair

I have had quite a stressful week at work, on practicing yoga this morning I realise that I have hardly been breathing all week. No wonder I have been so stressed!! For some reason my breathing has become very shallow? A joyous practice, Sun Salutations A and B and some triangular shapes, I feel that I have got air to all the parts of my body that have been missing out this week!

This afternoon I have had a walk into Bewdley to see what is going on at the Cherry Fair. Morris dancing by the river, vintage cars, loads of people dressed in 1940s gear. My main reason for going was to have a rummage around the craft stalls as this is probably how I am going to shift the results of my stash! I don’t think I know enough people to gift the scarves to and my theory is if I make any money I can buy some more yarn 😊

I would however be a little more controlled and use it before I bought the next lot – PROMISE. ..

A lovely sunny day. The Morris dancing was fun, the cars were beautiful, the craft stalls were wanting – cards and jam😕

Never mind enjoyed the sunshine and had a lovely cup of tea while listening to a man singing 40s hits 🎶🎵🎶

Self-help #5

Make do and mend!

Now I hark on about this a lot. Schools teach reading, writing and sums, some science, perhaps another language and some PE, all of which are very important but how prepared are some of our students for life outside school?

A lad I work with had ripped the seam of his trousers now I have had years of practice mending trousers. When my son was in primary school I would have had to buy new school trousers every week if it wasn’t for my needle and thread…

So during my coffee break this morning I sipped my wild berry tea and sewed up the seam. I also turned up the hem where it had come down. I hasten to add the young man gave me the trousers days ago. I had taken them home but black trousers and black thread were a bit much for my eyes in the evening light, hence I did them in the morning light. I handed them back, advising him to give them a bit of a press, especially the hems, before he wears them – I bet he doesn’t!

So trousers returned. This has not helped my decluttering but I do feel pleased with myself for helping another. 👖

Stash-busting #4

Those unfinished projects…

Digging through a stash bag I have found a number of WIPs that have been long forgotten. I have already photographed a couple but here is the story behind them.

A couple of weeks ago I was showing off some baby booties and mitts that I had made using some oddments of pink yarn. Sadly I found the unfinished baby blanket that it came from. However there was also a jersey, again unfinished, that I had been using the same yarn on. I finished the jersey.

♡ quite cute I thought♡

And happily there was some yarn left. I only had a border to finish on the blanket so I used the remnants of the jersey yarn.

Having held it up in natural light I cannot see a discernible difference in the colour so I must have bought the yarn at the same time because the dye seems to match… Phew!!

The little jersey I am going to give to the little girl who was the recipient of the booties and mitts. The blanket will be kept until needed. I did wonder about making another one in blue, just in case but that would mean buying more wool.

I have dug out some half-finished socks and some mittens which are next on my to do list. Happily I haven’t been dipping into the yarn this time ♡♡♡

Macrame Monday #1

Teaching an old dog new tricks!

I am happily working my way through my bags of crafting stuff, it is incredible what I have been hoarding over the years…

Anyway I have found a ball of macrame string and a pattern to make a shopping bag, bought in a moment of delusion obviously!! I think I bought it thinking I would make the bag and gift it to one of my poor sisters who I always insist on giving something handmade to for Christmas. I am sure they would prefer wine and chocolates!

Now my mission is to work through my stash so I think I had better give it a go. I have been on the Hobbycraft website and seen how to make the 2 knots used on the bag and I have practiced using some old wool from my stash. I did not want to practice using the string in case I ran out and had to buy more which would defeat the object of my current mission!

Gathering knotSquare knots

Now I have got to build up the courage to start cutting the string into lengths. I need 16 x 3 metre lengths. Now this is a concern my tape measure only goes up to 150 cm, I got it from a Christmas cracker…

More to follow on getting into a knot!

Self-help #4

Happy Blog day! 🎂

My little blog is a month old today. This has quite a satisfying feel. I am learning new things and moving out of my comfort zone by sharing my crafting. Like many women of a certain age I find it very difficult celebrating my own achievements, especially the small ones.

I am incorporating a little bit of yoga in my day. Sun salutations in the garden are glorious at the moment, feeling the warmth of the morning sun on my skin. I am also trying to walk more. This is very easy when the weather is good, I don’t know if I will be so dedicated when the weather changes…

With regards to working through my clutter I have completed a couple of unfinished projects and have started another scarf, not that there is a discernible dent in the stash yet but early days. This is a long term / life long project.

While I am talking about decluttering I have also started bagging stuff for the charity shop. Although I have had difficulty parting with several woollies that I made myself, not because I wear them a lot but because I remember the hours of work I have put into them.

So one month in and slowly building my blog but learning so much ♡♡♡