Reindeer or gerbil?

Brrrr! It's cold enough to want to stay indoors all day and drink endless cups of tea. Which is more or less what I did, and to fill part of my day I completed a few more pages of Lorna Scobie's book '365 Days of Creativity'. This page particularly appealed to me. There were splotches of colour, & you'd to turn those into animals. After completing this, I decided to make some splotches of my own in watercolour, using an old sketchbook -

- and turned those into weird creatures. Daft, but fun.

That daftness was followed by me sewing an equally daft reindeer in gingham trousers. As you do. You might've seen me mention an Instagram account under the name of Ievate. She makes quirky fabric animals, and I was very smitten with the reindeers she's made recently. So I had a go at making one.

I drew a simple outline, and sorted out a red & white gingham, plus a faux suede material for the body and ears. My sewing machine definitely didn't like the texture of the faux suede, & kept skipping stitches and acting up. But I persevered.

The twiggy arms - which are far too short - and the facial features are embroidered, and I managed to use embroidery thread to make a pair of wonky antlers. But my reindeer doesn't look very reindeer-like to me. He's less Rudolf and more ... gerbil. I think the brown fabric's wrong. The texture's fine, but the colour's too milk chocolatey and the suede effect is too much like teddy bear's fur. Which means I need to sift through my fabric stash to find something more suitable for a second attempt. Oh, and the ears aren't the right shape. They're too rounded. However, I do like those gingham trousers. And the bright red nose, of course. We'll all be getting one of those if this cold snap continues ...

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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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