Making the most of the light

The days feel so short at this time of year. It's dark when I get out of bed, and dark by about 4 o'clock in the afternoon. So when the weather's dry and there's a beautiful blue sky I can't help lacing up my walking boots and setting off for a wander. This is a view across the RSPB reserve near me. It was so peaceful. Just the occasional dog walkers and fellow wanderers out enjoying the fresh air too.

Back home I carried on with crafty odds and ends. I'm making embroidered name tags to attach to Christmas presents, trying to go for a folksy vintage-y kind of look to them. I'll show you them when I've finished and you can see if I've succeeded.

I've also been adding to my Jessie Chorley style 'doodle cloth'. Learning how to sew a wrapped chain stitch - in red and white it makes a perfect candy cane - and not taking it all too seriously.

I had to nip down to the High Street to collect a prescription and - of course - couldn't resist a quick nose around the charity shop. A wise move on my behalf as I bought some goodies. This 100% lambswool jumper by Fat Face for only £4.50. It's part of their menswear range, but that doesn't matter, I'll wear it anyway, the baggier the better.

It was a quid for the three books. The crochet one will be given to my niece as she crochets and I don't. I was really pleased with the felt book as the author's Corine Lapierre and I like her designs. Plus, there's a handsome hardback by Philippa Gregory to add to my ever expanding To-Be-Read pile.

I'd actually gone into the charity shop hoping to find a white or cream cotton shirt or skirt to cut up for the fabric. But look what I found instead! Six pristine white cotton napkins for £2.00 and this massive cream coloured piece of material for £3.00. It's a heavy, very smooth cotton - perhaps a tablecloth?, I'm not sure - but it's 54 inches x 100 inches and there's only one small mark on it. There was another set of napkins in the shop that I didn't buy, but maybe if they're still unsold in a few days time I'll go back and buy them.

Hope your day's been as pleasing as mine, and that the skies were blue too.

Comments

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....

Abstractuary ... no, I hadn't heard of it either

Goodbye January, the month that feels like it's stretched out to be extra-long, the month we have to plough through to get to February and real signs of Spring. You may know, if you've wandered by this blog before, that I'm beavering away at Ann Wood's 100 day stitchbook challenge. That's still going strong. Three pages done and I've started page four. But I've also stumbled across another monthly challenge, and this one originated with Tori Chatfield, a.k.a. Kool Kooky Kreatures. You can find her on YouTube and Facebook, and she runs something called Abstractuary. Tori's produced a list of prompts for each day in February, and the idea is that you produce something arty or crafty based on those prompts. You can stitch or paint or collage or use whatever kind of materials you want. I won't commit to following these prompts every single day of Feb, but I'm certainly going to use several of them. Tori's also produced a Pinterest...

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...

rubykittyruby

Search This Blog