rubykittyruby

  A bit of a frustrating morning.  I was attempting to make coin purses with the idea of selling them at a craft fair, but I couldn't get them quite right.  My efforts were too clumsy, and I doubted anyone would part with their hard-earned cash for them.  Also, they looked ... dull.  Nothing original about them at all.  I gave up in the end.  I seem to be having false starts with a number of crafty things right now.  But that's the way it goes sometimes.  So I accept it and move on ... I did get this finished today.  It's a needlepoint needle-case, and no, your eyes don't deceive you, I have used a boot lace as a fastening for it!  Waste not, want not.  The needlepoint was originally going to be a spectacle case, but if you've ever tried needlepoint you'll know how easy it is for the canvas to become distorted during the stitching process.  Sometimes you can 'block' the stitched canvas, ie: dampen it and stretch it back in...

  I shared images the other day of a secondhand craft book I'd spent a grand total of £3.50 on, and here's another bargain for the same price.  The previous book was from the '90s, but this one's pure '70s.  More of that in a moment.   Firstly, how pretty is my corner of West Yorkshire?  The cow parsley's out, lining grass verges with clouds of frothy white flowers and lush greenery. This horse chestnut tree in a local cemetery promises conkers will be abundant in autumn.   In my small front garden the Love-in-the-Mist are starting to flower.   Mexican daisies and Evening Primrose have self-seeded everywhere. I should have peonies blooming soon, as well as foxgloves, calendula and goodness knows what else is in the mix.   Indoors, all these blocks are sewn together, and I've about 40 more that are waiting to be added.  Hopefully I won't need to make any more blocks, and I can soon add a layer of wadding and sort out backin...

  It's been a funny few days.  I must've eaten something that disagreed with me on Sunday as I've felt under the weather for days, and been moping around with a face like a wet weekend.  I've done a bit of stitching here and there, working on these two pieces of needlepoint.  Both destined to end up as spectacle cases and, when I eventually finish 'em, go in my Etsy shop.  Speaking of which, I've been making another embroidered fabric cuff, this one narrower than the previous effort.  The idea being to make a kit to go in the shop, all you need to make a cuff including embroidery thread, beads, sequins and so on.  I've assembled the packs, but now have to write out the instructions, which for me is the tricky part.  Writing clear, straightforward instructions that are easily understood is a skill in itself.  I really enjoyed selecting the material to go in the kits, and it was the ideal occupation for someone who didn't want to move far off t...

Saturday's here and it's a fine, bright morning.  Decidedly chilly, but then it's January so I'd be daft to expect anything else.  It's the sort of day when I think I ought to traipse down to the allotment and potter about, pull up some weeds, tidy up generally.  But - but - the radiators are on, I've the remains of yesterday's quiche to scoff for lunch and frankly I don't feel like shifting my well padded backside.  So, instead I've been looking through what's saved on an old SD card I found in the bureau, among the stacks of to-be-sorted paperwork, receipts, biros, greetings cards and other clutter.  There are lots of photos on the SD card that I'd forgotten I'd taken, including ones from the Knitting & Stitching Show in Harrrogate that I went to a couple of years ago.  (Will definitely book that for this year.  Such a terrific show and always so much to see.)  Anyway, I thought I'd show you some of the pictures I'd saved.  ...

  I've got pinpricks and little scratches all over my fingers.  But it'll be worth it as I'm nearing the end of making my Chris English style scrappy quilt.  Just gotta get the binding sewn on and I'm done.  Am really very pleased with it, and think it's among the nicest things I've made.  It's well padded too, so I'll be snug as a bug come next winter.   Apart from that I've been completing a floor cushion.  This dates back decades.  Literally.   I'd seen an image on the front of a children's poetry book, and decided to try and recreate it in needlepoint.  Or at least my version of it.  After putting in a lot of hours, I finished the needlepoint but the canvas was stretched out of shape by my stitching without a frame.  That distortion would've been too obvious if I'd displayed the needlepoint as a wall hanging, which'd been my intention.   So the needlepoint got bundled away and forgotten about.  Anyh...