rubykittyruby

  The days are getting longer, and there are snowdrops in the garden.  I'm on day 13 of the Ann Wood stitchbook challenge, and still enjoying myself. I try to get my minimum of 15 minutes sewing done after breakfast, while I'm full of porridge and feeling optimistic about the day ahead.  I'm also still trying, and not particularly succeeding with making mini collages.   I did remember I'd got a stack of printing stamps and ink pads, which has helped.  My problem with crafty supplies is that if I put 'em away in the drawer or cupboard, I forget about them.  Out of sight, out of mind. So those stamps and ink pads went right out of my head for ages, until that doh! moment when I thought, 'Yup, they'd be useful for a collage'.  In fact, I got so enthusiastic about stamping I used them on fabric too.   Before Christmas I'd bought about a dozen white cotton napkins from my local charity shop, and used one to print on.  I don't know how pr...

  It's about 3 o'clock on a Sunday afternoon, and it's all grey sky and rain outside.  I'm slouched on the sofa, a patchwork quilt thrown over my legs, and am quickly writing this blog post before getting totally engrossed in a Belgian subtitled crime thriller on Channel 4's iplayer.  It's that kind of a Sunday.  Where you just want to nest.  To curl up indoors with the heating on and snacks to hand.   I have been doing something crafty, namely sewing.  Finishing off page two in my 100 days stitchbook challenge.  The second page is certainly different from the moody blues of the first.   I've also been stitching at a denim patchwork of sorts.  It's partly inspired by Jude Hill's style of working, but also by sashiko and boro textiles.  I've had to stop for a while because pushing and pulling a threaded needle repeatedly through sometimes tough denim has resulted in sore spots and tiny cuts on my fingers.  I had tried ...

Storm Eowyn's here, despite the deceptively clear blue sky and sunshine.  Thankfully it's not raining in my part of Yorkshire, but the wind's strong enough to be whoosing through the branches of trees in nearby gardens.  Moving their bare branches to and fro like they're in a washing machine on spin cycle.  I'll venture out later in the day when it's died down.  If I don't stretch my legs for a stroll, however brief, I feel cooped up, so I'll wander to the Co-op for milk and veggies.  Not the most exciting outing, but it'll burn off a few calories, won't it? In the meantime I've being stitching on page two of Ann Wood's 100 stitchbook challenge.  It's got very blingy.  There's a shisha mirror, a boho style bead and a shiny bit of pleated trimming.  I've still two days left to fully complete this page, so I've no idea what else I can squish in there.   Doing this stitching challenge has made me realise how I'm happy to ...

  These are a few photos from the other day.  Blue sky and reasonably mild weather drew me outside for a brisk stroll around the RSPB reserve near my home.  No exotic birds to be seen, just the usual ducks, swans and magpies.  I have seen red kites and kestrels there, even an owl during daylight hours, but not that day.   I love the washed out colour of these dried grasses, and especially the sounds they make when the wind's blowing through them.   Back at home, I've been making myself a simple pair of fingerless gloves, using the Yarnsmiths Lagoon wool I bought.   They're so straightforward to make, knitted on two needles rather than double-pointed.  Cast on 44 stitches, then several rows of K2 P2 rib.  I decreased by 4 stitches, did a few rows of stocking stitch, then lots of seed stitch before switching back to stocking stitch, increasing by 4 stitches, then more ribbing.  Easy peasy!   The variegated wool wor...

I'm not very good at setting myself daily stitching (or drawing, painting, etc) goals and carrying them through for a month or however long I intend to make myself do them.  I start off in a burst of enthusiasm, which gradually drains away, I lose confidence, it seems too daunting and the project gets quietly shelved.  Soooooo .... I'm giving it another try.  Textile artist Ann Wood (www.annwoodhandmade.com) is running a 100 day stitch book challenge.  The idea is that you sew every day, for 100 days, but for only 15 minutes per day.  Which for most of us is achievable.  At the end of the 100 days you assemble your work into a fabric book.  All the details are on her website, including short videos that clearly explain the whole process.  I've been gathering up fabric scraps, trying to limit my initial selection of material so I'm not spending too much of my daily 15 minutes dithering and fretting about choosing which material to applique on to a ...

I keep thinking it's Wednesday, but no, it's only Tuesday, and it's also astonishingly mild too.  I was out in the garden without a coat on!  Makes a change from shivering in layers of thermals and woolies during the recent freezing cold weather.  A bit of blue sky and warmish weather really does lift the spirits.  I've noticed the days are getting ever-so-slightly longer too.  There's the not-too-distant promise of light evenings and spring flowers.  Speaking of flowers, the perfume from these blue hyacinths is gorgeous.  Nicer than any scented candle.   In other 'news', I've been making progress with this scrappy patchwork.  It's had its binding attached, and is waiting to be quilted.   I know using my sewing machine for those quilt lines would be speedier, but I like the softer look hand stitching gives.   The binding's as scrappy as the patchwork squares.  I've jumbled up colours and patterns, so there's ever...

It's too easy, isn't it?  Browsing a website, slinging things into a virtual basket, telling yourself you're not going to make it as far as the checkout.  Then, in a moment of weakness you're clicking on the Paypal button and - oops! - you've done it again.  Ordering more crafty stuff when you're supposed to be using up what you've got and not buying more.  Guilty as charged, m'lud.  My excuse is that the yarn was half price, and it was four 100g balls for a tenner.  So I bought twelve in these luscious colours.   It's from www.woolwarehouse.co.uk and the brand's Yarnsmiths Lagoon DK.  (It's 100% acrylic, but you're not getting pure new wool for that price, are you?)  I've ordered from this company before, and they send everything out in organza bags, which make very useful storage bags.   The thing that looks like a processed cheese slice is actually a piece of felt!  I ordered a single square of it as I wanted to check w...

  Bye bye snow.  It began falling on Saturday evening and lasted till close of play on Sunday.  By Monday the pristine snow was slushy and grey, occasionally icy and treacherous underfoot.  Today, it's almost a distant memory.  Just the odd dusting here and there.  I'm in West Yorkshire, but I understand North Yorkshire had it worse.  Roads were closed on higher ground, trains cancelled or delayed, people advised to stay at home rather than travel, and farmers having to pull their sheep out of snow drifts.  It really doesn't take a lot of 'bad weather' to make this country's infrastructure grind to a near-halt, does it?  Of course, some areas of the country are now experiencing the flooding that comes after snow melts and rivers swell.  I can't imagine the awful mess, expense and disruption to your life that happens when your home's flooded.  It must be heartbreaking.  Anyway, let's move on to less upsetting subjects.  I'v...

  It's the first day of a new year, and I've managed to catch a cold.  Which isn't surprising as there are cold and flu bugs everywhere right now.  So I've spent the day mainly curled up on the sofa, listening to the radio, re-watching 'Mary Poppins' on TV, eating far too much chocolate and ... knitting.  I don't knit very much at all, and my skills are basic, entry level.  But for some reason the thought lodged in my head that I wanted to knit a shawl.  I watched several YouTube videos and tried a few methods of knitting a triangular shape, and this was by far the easiest.  You simply cast on three stitches - double knitting wool, size 4mm needles - and then increase 1 stitch at the beginning of each row.  The video I watched showed the shawl being made entirely in garter stitch, but I prefer the look of plain and purl.  The yarn used isn't actually sheep's wool, but 100% acrylic.  However, it's not scratchy or unpleasant to handle, and...