Skip to main content

Brrr! It's getting cold ...

SATURDAY:  There's no doubt winter's well and truly upon us, is there?  Last night was the first frost for many, many  months, and I'd to crack the ice on the makeshift birdbath this morning.  I made sure I topped up the peanut feeders for the hungry little birdies.  This morning I got the boring things out of the way - laundry, hoovering, paying bills - and spent a little while messing about with making a Victorian purse puzzle.  If you've not come across these before, and I hadn't until a couple of days ago, they're easy to make once you figure out which fold goes where. 

If you head over to YouTube there's a short video by Leapling Studio, titled 'Make with Me: Victorian Puzzle'.  The only slightly tricky bit is creating the windmill shape, but once that's understood then you've cracked it.  I'm not much good at drawing, but I splashed watercolours paints and coloured pencils over a square of sketchpad paper, and am still trying to conjure up an underwater scene.  I'll add metallcs for shimmer and shine.  

Apart from messing about with arty stuff, I'm trying to do some clutter-clearing.  Listing clothes I don't wear on eBay, taking broken or outdated electrical equipment to a recycling point, and passing on books I started but didn't like and never finished.  I reckon I've got more ruthless about novels that disappoint as the years have gone by.  I used to grit my teeth and plough on, but now I'm more likely to take them to the charity shop for someone else to (hopefully) enjoy.  I recently finished the fifth of Robert Galbraith's Strike series, and am in the library reserve queue for the latest, plus the new Richard Osman.  I'm 127th in line for the Strike novel and 211 for Mr Osman's!  Maybe Santa will bring me a book token and I can read them sooner?  Fingers crossed, eh?  
On the subject of reading, I've just started 'The Mercies' by Kiran Millwood Hargrave.  It's apparently based on a true story that happened in the early 1600s and concerned a remote Norwegian island.  All the men went out to sea, fishing, but a violent storm caused them to drown.  Leaving the island's women to take up their late husbands, brothers and fathers work, and to show an independence of spirit that wasn't welcomed by wider society.  The king at the time was a fan of our James I, who himself was a fanatic about fighting supposed witchcraft, and the Norwegian king summoned a Scottish witch hunter to deal with these strong minded, capable women.  It seems many women were condemned as witches and killed because of that misogynistic mistaken belief.  I'm looking forward to really getting stuck into 'The Mercies'.  It's looking promising.  
SUNDAY:  I was going to write more and take photos of the Victorian purse puzzle now I've added more detail to it.  But Saturday's been and gone, and it's now Sunday evening, and the artificial light's not bright enough to take a decent picture.  Anyway. I'm warm and cosy, full of pasta and about to soldier on with online Christmas shopping.  So that's all for now. Bye.  
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sari scraps, PVA, a couple of books and a necklace

  I'm typing this as snow's falling, and has been steadily all day.  It's not settling to any great extent, though I bet by tomorrow morning the paths will be slippery with ice.  Which always makes me paranoid about falling over and at the very least looking undignified, but at worst breaking a bone or twisting an ankle.  Oh well, it's ideal weather to stay inside and craft, isn't it?  I finally got around to listing packs of sari scraps on Etsy this morning.  I only made up six bundles as I've no clue whether they'll sell or if I've set a reasonable enough price point.  Time will tell.   This is a link to the listing, if you're interested.  This vaguely pink fabric isn't from one of my Etsy packs.  It's from a bit of experimenting I was doing yesterday.  I'd seen a post on Instagram showing how a DIY version of batik could be done without using hot wax.  The Instagrammer used PVA instead, and I wanted to try this out....
4 comments
Read more

In praise of wool

Just a quick post today. I'm offering you a short but peaceful break from the overwhelmingness (is that a word?) of Christmas.  By now you've probably eaten your bodyweight in sweets//roast potatoes/pigs in blankets/cake/After Eights ... whatever your festive indulgences are.  You're under-exericsed, over-stimulated, feeling broke and possibly guilty about an argument with a relative or friend you've never entirely got on with.  So, here's something to take your mind off all that.   I've two videos to refresh and revive, and they both concern wool.   Interesting fact.  Well, I found it interesting.  About 1% - yup, one per cent - of the world's textiles are made of wool.  Out of curiosity, I also googled how much is made of cotton.  That's higher, but it's only about 24% and that's heading downward instead of up.  Synthetic fibres are the bulk of all textile manufacture.  Anyway, back to woolly wonders.   My firs...
2 comments
Read more

HOW TO MAKE: these decorative birds

 I suggested yesterday that I'd run through how to make a fabric bird wall or window hanging (can't think of a snappier title for it than that!) so here goes.  I'll start with the first decorative hanging I made.   It's something you could make in any colour combination you want, and would look good hanging at a window with translucent beads that'd catch the light   I used five birds for this, but you could make it longer if you prefer.  (Incidentally, if you're wondering about what's hanging off the bottom on this, it's a metal Christmas decoration, shaped like a lantern.  For some reason I thought it looked appropriate to leave it there, looped over the end.)   WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO GATHER TOGETHER:  Assorted scraps of fabric for the front of the birds - aim for a mix of colours and textures.  Silk looks good, as does anything with embroidery or intricate patterns.  You might aim for a hippy-ish boho look, or maybe you're ...
4 comments
Read more