Remind me again, what day it is?

It's that strange time of year, isn't it? Twixtmas, the in-betweenie days between Christmas and New Year. When we all regret overeating and overbuying and know we ought to move off the sofa and do something ... but it's dreary outside and Storm Gerrit's doing its thing right now. All gusty wind and rain, meaning it's best to stay indoors and - well, maybe not lie for hours on the sofa but get crafty things done.

Santa bought me some very welcome gifts on 25th. Among them, two new gell plates, Pebeo paints and a handful of stencils. I'm going to have fun with those. But rather than get stuck into those I did some sewing instead. Making more blocks for my Terry Rowland style quilt. I've made roughly 125 so far, and probably need to make at least another 125 in order to get enough colours and patterns to achieve a pleasing colourwash effect.

The postie called in the afternoon with an eBay parcel of new fabric, but it's not destined for patchwork blocks. I bought a bundle of scarves and sari fabric. The scarves were maybe the less successful purchase, but I'm much happier with the saris. (The colour in these photos isn't great. They're much more vivid.)

The idea is to sell packs of fabric on Etsy, for fellow crafters who want to either make boho beads or decorate art journal covers, or make dolls clothes or who knows what! When I was making my own boho style beads I was thinking about what fabric I'd ideally like for them. That led me to decide I'd try and sell a selection of pretty materials myself. I'm thinking about offering several pieces, maybe a dozen, in each pack, and for at least three or four of them to be reasonably sized. Maybe 12 inch squares? I want to include enough fabric that buyers feel they've got good value for money. Tomorrow I'll put together a sample pack and play around until I'm happy that it's right.

Hope you had a good Christmas, and that you're cosy and warm. The days are getting longer now we've had the Winter Solstice, so let's look forward to 2024 and all the good things a new year can bring.

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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....

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...

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 ...

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