rubykittyruby

  Some odds and ends for you today.  First off, I love the work of an Instagram user by the name of ievate, and I was smitten with this crazy looking Folk Art style angel that she made.  Which meant I've collected fabric scraps & had a go at making my own version.   They're still very much W.I.P.s, and they're definitely not going to be your traditionally pretty angels!  (Once they're made I'm going to try a reindeer too .  After all, Christmas isn't that far off, is it?)  I'll remember to show you the angels once they're finished.   When I'm done with scrolling through Instagram with the first cuppa of the day, I like to scoff my morning porridge while watching crafty videos on YouTube.  Well, it beats listening to news reports full of doom 'n' disaster on the radio.  I'm enjoying Jude Hill's short pieces about her textile work.  This little video about weaving had me emptying out a matchbox in order to use it as a ...

  There are three or four blackberry bushes on my allotment, and the first of the berries to ripen and be ready to eat were picked today.  Served with fat free natural yoghurt and a meringue nest, completely delicious.  Lots of the hedgerows locally have blackberries growing in them, and I'll be out - with my freezer bags and plastic tubs - collecting berries in a few weeks time when they're at their peak of sweetness.   I was on my allotment today, making the most of the sunshine, and doing my best to tidy things up.  I've not been spending enough time down there this year.  A combination of cold, rainy weather and having other things to occupy myself with has kept me away.  Consequently, yesterday I received one of those official ' tidy your plot or we'll kick you off ' letters.  Ooops!  I've nearly four weeks to get my act together, which is do-able, and I've made a good start.  Pulling up weeds and flowers that've gone to seed, ...

  I was going to do some cleaning.  No, really!  I was.  But the vacuum cleaner's decided to give up on life.  I've tried resuscitation.  Switching it off and on again.  Also swearing at it.  But it won't work, and I've yet to buy a replacement.  I'm debating whether to buy a cheap 'n' cheerful model for about £60 or so, or splurge on a Henry at a more substantial £140.  The Henry looks like it'll last longer and be robust, so I suppose I'll end up getting that.  Anyway, being cleaner-less gave me an excuse to spend time on craftiness.  First up was this bag.  I'd decided that it needed an inside pocket.   So I dug out this denim pocket harvested from an old pair of jeans.  A simple task to sew it to the bag's lining.  A nifty bit of upcycling, I hope you'll agree.   Also completed is another zokin.  I went off-piste with the sashiko stitching and for some reason added circles. ...

 I do love a list.  It's not only the start of a fresh, brand spanking new month, but it's a Monday, so time to write down what I want to accomplish this week.  A lot of my list's the home admin type thing - check home insurance renewal date, move savings around from one account to another, contact the gutter cleaning company.  The sort of stuff that's dull, but necessary.  Especially the gutter cleaning company.  It's like the Hanging Gardens of Babylon have suddenly sprouted up there on the roof.  Anyway, I've also got several craft-based tasks on my list and - yay!!! - I've already got some of 'em done.  Like this needlebook.   I lined this piece of scrappy slow stitching with felt, then made felt pages to insert inside.  Today I finally sewed those pages in, and added a button & ribbon fastening.   It's a simple construction, but these kind of needle books are very handy.  Much better than pushing your needles...

This is a picture of me as a little girl, in my swimming costume and plastic sunglasses.  Probably at Weston-super-Mare or Barry Island.  I was bought up in a landlocked county, so going to the seaside was - and still is - a great pleasure.  I'm showing you this photo as I was remembering being a kid and getting sunburnt.  Red hair, freckles, pale skin, I burnt to a crisp on a hot day, and this was the late sixties/early seventies when nobody knew what S.P.F. stood for or bothered with sun protection.  Why were these memories coming to mind?  Because I had a mini-health-scare the other day.  I was getting undressed to have a shower and was trying to look at my back in the bathroom mirror.  You see, my back had been itchy, and wondered if I'd got a heat rash or insect bite that was causing it.  Anyway, I saw a little mark that looked odd, and the surface of it was rough to touch.  Those adverts urging us to keep an eye out for possib...