Getting reacquainted.

Sounds daft, I know. It is a very long time since I really knew my old machine, it's foibles , weaknesses, strengths. I got the strong feeling this last week that, if I was ever to get any sewing done whilst my younger daughter has my own machine, then I would really have to get to know this machine really well once more. I need to trust it. It needs to trust me............

I may be going too far here, but I do talk to my machines and, in return they purr along to me as they work. If I forget to talk to them, they stop working well.......... It has happened far too often for it to be anything other than the truth................... Or perhaps I am going completely around the bend towards insanity.

No, if it works, don't stop doing it.....................

I started by cleaning my untidy workroom. No views of the "before". Believe me, you would not have been able to see much more than glimpses of the floor, and very little of any of the surfaces. There was also an enormous pile of stuff to the left hand side of the sewing machine. This is now tidily put away in the wardrobe. (Away to the right of this photo.)

My dear husband had mentioned the dreadful phrase "throw out...........".

As a true lover of fabric, fibre, yarn and thread, my various stashes have now been caressed, folded, tidied and put away neatly. Only two lengths of a truly dreadful polyester cotton sheeting that had pilled, and which I could never see myself even using as a "muslin" have been sacrificed.

I should explain that the white desk really should belong in my younger daughter's bedroom. There is no room for it in there, so it does service as the table for my overlocker (serger). The books upon it are hers.

I now feel better, more confident and have started using my old machine once more. It was also cleaned during the general tidy-up and is ready to go...........

The latest edition of "Sew Hip", found on a recent trip into W.H.Smiths was truly well-timed. It has this delightful blouse on the front cover. I shall make this, though I shall probably have to alter it quite a lot to fit my more ample bustline.

Inside was this lovely little hanging.

Fun to make, and so useful, it now hangs on my wall. I used scraps of upholstery fabric left over from making a bag. The lining came from the remnants of a skirt I had made from an overly wide-legged pair of trousers.

The extra pocket on the bottom was made from two extra pocket pieces and their lining.

I also added a small pocket inside to hold my sewing machine screwdrivers - so helpful to have those immediately to hand when needing to retrieve the broken point of a needle.......................... Or does it only happen to me?

I have not done very much knitting lately, but the tunic I have struggled with now looks a little more possible.

The cabled jacket abandoned a little while ago looks as if it may get restarted. Well, three WIPs (Works in Progress) is much better than one WIP and two hibernating projects. Isn't it?

Of course, the socks are still under way, albeit at a rather slow (for me) pace.

Perhaps this is an irrelevant thought, but I can even see the telephone on my window sill. True happiness is made of this.

Back to the sewing machine.

Yes, I have started work again with my sewing machine. There is a large pile of fabric pieces on my workbench ready to be cut up. A vague plan has been drawn on squared paper, notes written on a small piece of notepaper and my rotary cutter lying on it's side ready to be put to use again. A pile of pinned fabric lies ready for sewing by the sewing machine. A new needle has been inserted, the bobbins are filled and I am ready to go as soon as I find where the cotton reel has disappeared to................

This afternoon I had an interesting trip into Lidl. They had some cotton yarn for a silly price. I just had to put it in my trolley.

The tiny flower belongs to a miniature rose which opened its petals last week. It is a really bright splash of colour on my kitchen windowsill. A second bud looks almost ready to open.............

Recently I have managed to collect these little zip tags. They are wonderful for those fiddly little pieces of metal used for opening and closing the zips I use for the inside pockets of the bags where I have added a lining. I'm sure I have a ladybird one somewhere, but I haven't spotted it recently. (Ooops, sorry for the pun.)

May I give my heartfelt thanks to those lovely people who have added their names as followers of this Blog. I really enjoy visiting your Blogs and encourage anyone reading this message to go and do the same.

Jenny is an inspirational embroiderer, Robin a maker of delightful quilts, Donna is an expert in knitting socks (now, now, don't be modest!), and Mrs J has a really interesting Blog and is a fellow member of Ravelry. Scatty has just joined too. Thank you all.

Oooops!

I made the mistake of accompanying my younger daughter on a trip to Abakhan yesterday. I have been so good lately , not buying much fabric to add to my enormous stash. And then I go to help Rosemary get some fabric for her dress....................... I must remember not to take my purse next time.

Well, I suppose I have not been as naughty as all that, since much of the fabric will go towards making quilts for Italy. I intend to make more than one, but am not too sure whether I shall be able to achieve this. I shall do my best. There are very few pieces of bright child-like prints amidst my stash.

I couldn't resist the sock yarn. Its really soft.

My knitting has been coming along quite well. It feels slow, but then I've been busy with other projects too.

All the pieces of my summer top have been completed, now all that remains is to sew it all together and get the neckband done. I shall search amidst my collection of buttons for the placket fastening for the back. (Colours are more accurate in the photo on the right.)

I have now completed the left front for the cardigan.

The right front has been started. Hopefully I shall get the ribbing finished soon - not my favourite part. Which sounds almost silly since a lot of the rest of the cardigan will be ribbing. It will look good when it is finished.

Plans

At long last I have started knitting again and I have plans for a quilt!


Its been a funny time just lately, far too busy to really get my head together to do any sewing or stitching of any kind Now the sun has come out and today looks really nice outside. I should really be outside enjoying the weather rather than contemplating starting any sewing! I think I should compromise, and take myself off for a walk and then come back to sew a little later on.


Ah!!!





The plant above, a Spathyphyllum, is the latest addition to my workroom. It was given to me last weekend as a birthday present by my younger daughter, Rosie. Its such an elegant plant.


Now, the sewing.
I rather fancy having a couple of quilts I can bundle into the car, ready for sitting on the grass for a picnic. The pattern below, I have had for quite a time now. I really should try it out.




Last weekend, I went to Hobbycraft and found these stripes and checked fabrics. The plan started to come together at long last.






The colours are such fun. Reduced price too! Just couldn't resist.



Then on Thursday, at the Knots and Needles meeting, we had a speaker, Barbara Crompton, who also runs the shop "Material Pleasures". She got all of us doing some English Patchwork using papers. I hadn't done any of this style of patchwork for a very long time. It got me back into sewing again. Thanks Barbara!


She had brought some items from her shop along with her. I found these. Just the right range of colours to go with the bright stripes and checks!




So now, the fabric has been washed and ironed and I am ready to go.........................

Oh yes, yesterday, I went into Aldi and found the perfect yarn for my next cardigan.




The design is by Sirdar for their Click DK range of yarns. The leaflet number is 8956.


The colour I chose? Well, its a rather nice green acrylic. Acrylic? Yes, well this cardi will be used for school and I do like to be able to wash things easily.




As usual, I rather overdid it and bought enough for three garments (3 x 500g!) The other two colours will come in for some other tops and cardigans I really need.


Then, because I was in the mood, I resurrected this pattern by Vladimir Teriokhin. (Vogue Knitting International, Spring / Summer 2008). This is a design I really love, but last time attempted to knit it using the wrong yarn. This time I am using bamboo, just like the original! It feels lovely..........................

Knitting for chilly weather.

I managed to get two items completed this week - the cowl (Aibhlinn by Mary Burr) and also a hat (Cabled Beret by Ashley Hasse).



Here is the beret sitting atop my Aibhlinn. I wore the cowl for the first time today, since it was very chilly outside. It is so cosy! It will quickly become a favourite.
The beret is now in my younger daughter's possession. It only took a day to knit, so I think I shall make myself one.




Speaking of chilly weather, I took some photos of the spider webs before they thawed this morning. You may just see the frost still lying on the grass under fence. These water drops have still not thawed enough to fall.



My bamboo yarn arrived during the week. Oh it feels so gorgeous.......... I keep handling it, it is so very soft. I bought it from Cucumberpatch. The colourway is called Mocha.



My final photo is of a sticker I bought from the Quilter's Guild stand at Harrogate. This is now in the back of my car, on the side window. I used to have one of these in my old car a few years ago. I just loved the message. Sadly, the sticker was too fragile to be removed from my old car and I have had to wait until now for the sticker to be republished.

Knitting and Stitching Show, Harrogate.

Well, I am so glad I went to Harrogate yesterday. The weather today has been dreadful. Cold and wet with hailstones and very windy.

The following images are all of the wonderful Royal Hall in Harrogate. The Knitting and Stitching show used the exhibition halls linked to this wonderful building. This was where the fashion shows were staged during the Show. Sadly, I was too busy elswhere to remember to return and come and sit to watch. Still, I would not have missed one moment of the time I spent searching around the exhibitions and stalls.

These first two show the stage and the wonderful ceiling in the ornate hall.

The next two show the design and decoration of the passages serving the main hall.

The last photo is of a pair of doors opening off one of the passages.

I travelled to Harrogate on a coach organised by the local Embroiderer's Guild. I am not a member, but they are happy to take non-members. It is so much nicer to be driven to such an exhibition and also brought back. I took Kathryn, my next door neighbour and her daughter. Kathryn beads when she has the time, and her daughter is studying Textiles for one of her GCSEs. Emily had not been looking forward to coming with us, but on the way home she was enthusiastic about coming again next year. She bought some items for projects of her own too!

There was so much to see. I went to see the exhibition about the Schiffli Project. I bought myself a copy of the book and it's accompanying DVD so that I can revisit the wonderful range of work which came out of the project. This was one I have been promising myself I would see for ages. I missed the exhibition when it was housed in Macclesfield, so was delighted to be able to catch up with it in Harrogate. The exhibits were every bit as fascinating as I had hoped.

Another thing I had hoped to find was yarn - well, specifically bamboo yarn. Toni, the writer of "A little yarn on the side", had suggested I buy bamboo yarn for a knitted top I had been having difficulties with. I didn't fancy buying yarn that I had not been able to handle first, so waited until getting to Harrogate. I did find some, but it was sock yarn and not suited for the top. Oh, it felt gorgeous. A definite must-get. Not finding any at Harrogate, I ordered some on-line today! I chose the mocha. I'll let you know what its like when it gets here. I can hardly wait!

I bought myself a new book full of gorgeous applique designs. The designer uses gauze and a soldering iron to create her wonderful pieces. Needless to say, I bought a small soldering iron too.... I'm looking forward to trying these techniques.

Then I treated myself to two new magazines.

Then it was off to the second-hand book stalls, my favourite stomping ground.

I even got some old patterns!

Then it was off to find threads and buttons, fabric for a project I should have completed months ago and some special wadding.

The fabric is silk and so is the wadding. They are destined to help me complete Serenity. This is a doll I started rather a long time ago. She will recline upon a chaise-longue, clothed in silk. The wadding is for the quilted cover of the chaise.

This is Serenity - not quite ready for her entrance yet. She is made from self-hardening clay, garden wire and cloth scraps. The fabric and rat tail silk ribbon is all to be used in the project. I have an idea in my mind, but I'm still not sure how she will turn out. This link is to my first figure.

This rather strange picture is Serenity, before I started wrapping her in strips of old cotton sheeting. Her joints are designed to work so that I can position her. She looks rather better now.