Wednesday is craft day!

I'm very happy with myself today. I actually crafted! I saw some work by some ladies where they took bluejeans and cut them up and made material out of it. I liked the idea, because I've been wanting to recycle and jeans can look a bit....well....naff in some projects. I've been wanting to make a bag that I could carry my embroidery around with me. I had a freebie that worked really well, but I needed to replace it. So here is what I've been doing. All material is from the same pair of jeans, just one side. I wanted the checkerboard effect more then the stripe, but though both sides don't have to look the same! I've zigzaged around the outside and then used a thiner zigzag on the horizontal lines. I don't want it to be perfect and so I've left the vertical so it can fray. My idea now is to use a fabric for the top and use another piece of jean to sew the bottom together. I want it to have a bit of a box like bottom to it. My scary part will be the zipper, but I found a good tutorial I've been saving here.

So Hurray for Crafting Wednesday!!!!!

Ra'Net has changed

I decided that I didn't like the pattern I was using for the scarf...so I've started over. Believe it or not I wanted something smaller......am I nuts.....well this blog isn't called crazy for nothing! I like it though, and it is going well. I can do a motif while I'm on train between home and work, so that is good. Should get a few done that way anyway.

I gave up on Henry, the yarn I was using (alpaca) split very badly and I couldn't get my count right. I hurt my back terribly doing it. It was so tight and stressful since there were so many slipped stitches. Hopefully, I find another pattern to do for my Dad.....really wanted a scarf for him!

I'm excited about teaching a crochet workshop. I hope that it goes well and I can do more. I'm going to teach a Granny patch that uses all of the crochet stitches that are most commonly used. Hopefully it will be great fun! I have several friends that have signed up....so that will be great.
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Projects - Scarves

I'm having fun working on scarves for Christmas. Above is the start of Henry which is a Knitty pattern. This one should actually go to my Dad, MOM KEEP YOUR MITTS OFF! I should have checked out Ravelry before I bought the yarn....most people said it was hard and took a lot of time. Oh well....never like me to back down from Alpaca, which is tearing up my fingers. Didn't know I was allergic to it. I like the alpaca though, it is Artesano 4ply.

Below is the start of a scarf for one of my sister's. I made up the motif and thought I would use some of the fab yarn I got from I Knit show.

What have I been up to?

I picked up a couple rug kits while we were on vacation. This is locker hooking, which I'm enjoying very much. I hope you don't mind the YouTube link, but it really shows you how to do it. I'm using some green fabric that I had tried to make a rug from before and some shirts that I've "grown out of". Actually, I need some more...might have to do some charity shopping tomorrow!

Hello Kitty fun

Here are a couple of presents I've made recently. I love the top pattern book the most. But I like the way you stitch on the face on the bottom picture. My Niece Paige got the Kitty and her mom told me she took it to a sleep over the next night. I had to make something for her, when we visited last everything that was knitted in my suitcase she would ask..."Did you make this?" Her brother is getting a doggie, and possibly more from the easily found book below. It uses a type of chart for the directions which is handy.
Off on vacation now. Taking a bag and a basket full of crafting goodness. Wonder if I'll get any of it done?

So what have I been working on???

This.....Rowan Joy, Rowan Handknit cotton

And this.....
The first and second pictures are of a sweater I started a few months ago. The crocheting has been easy, but I had to work to make the sleeves large enough for my huge arms....no it isn't muscle. Anyway, the first picture is closer to the real color of the green then the second.

The third picture is an experiment I'm doing. I've been wanting to make some rugs...don't know why...just did. Well in July I have been asked to do a quick lesson on luceting with the gals at the guild. So I thought it would be good to actually have something sort of made for it. I love the square braid this makes and it sews together very easy. I'm making this out of Peaches and Cream cotton I bought in the States when I was home for Thanksgiving!

Wednesday craft day

Hey! I did it! With some distractions.....

as this in my face as I try and make this:

I like this, but decided it wasn't long enough....and of course I didn't have enough of the tiny beads...so off for more. I used waxed linen and I've learned that using beeswax and letting the end get hard a bit makes it go through the holes much easier. Stuff like that you can't learn from a book!

Next I took apart a necklace I bought at a charity shop to make one that I've been inspired from Instyle Mag. Of course, again not enough beads. I was going to make it out of wood beads, but didn't like that they are dyed and can't be guaranteed not too bleed. Then I thought of glass beads, but that was going to be very heavy. The necklace in the mag was made of resin...so I thought it would be ok. Especially when I walk into the only charity shop I went in that day and found this necklace! So I just need to find a few more small plastic beads and I'll have that one made. I'm not sure if I'm going to keep either of these necklaces. I like them, but the colors aren't really me. I've been tempted to open an Etsy shop....but not too sure.....what do you guys think...and give me your real opinion....you won't hurt my feelings.



I started working on this box then...again don't have what I need. I used some cool double stick tape I bought that is suppose to be really good. But I still think it needs some glue to fill in the wholes and make the whole thing more stable. I've had this mix of beads for ever. I think it looks cute on here. It is just a box that I got with some jewelry I bought. Thought it would be cool to recycle some more!There...so I finally did something! Now I'm going to watch telly with hubby and maybe fool around....with my blog layout....fooled ya!

Brighton Show

She will probably kill me for this....but I had to show the work of this lovely lady I met on Saturday at the Craft show in Brighton. Sue Allan, who works under the name Sew Sister, is so enthusiastic and full of love for the work she is doing. She really helped me get some ideas going in my head of things I want to do. Her dolls are beautiful and if you have had a look at the Textile Directory, you will see they have her dolls everywhere! It is wonderful! Here is a sample of what she does. Unfortunately, you don't get a good view of the texture of these pieces. They are so wonderfully tactile and she was nice enough to let us know her secrets....this is the kind of stuff I love to do myself. Take fabric and then embellish it until it becomes something else almost.

I couldn't resist of course....I mean how beautiful is she! Her name is Tansy, she names them all and they definitely have great personality. Here she is with her friends....
And her she is proudly at home with me....she looks happy doesn't she......

Sue brought to my attention the Needlepunch felt that I actually own some of....typical of me really. This is what she uses to get the texture on her work. I don't know why I didn't think of using this to make rugs. We need some rugs in the house and I've been trying to think of ways I can A) recycle and B) make my own. I think I'm going to make one for the stairs by felting the needlepunch in the washing machine. Then cutting to fit, putting some of the fabric I have for woven rugs underneath for stability, and embellishing with felt flowers...or I think dots. HMMM.....watch this space........

Finally some WIPs....

This is what I've been frantically working on at the moment. It is a Colinette pattern called Enid, out of the book Iona. I'm not using the silk yarn they asked for....well I've never made a sweater and I'm not so sure about paying that much when I'm not sure how it is going to work out. I'm doing it in Skye Magenta.....it definitely has a WOW factor as far as color. I was knitting outside in the little bit of sunlight we actually have had this week and it seemed a bit brighter then the sun!
I'm also working on a Granny Blanket. Some of the yarn was given to me and I didn't know what to do with it. I bought the bright pink, which is another yummy yarn called Marshmallow. I need to get some more...hopefully Ippikins will still have some.



If you venture into my house...don't be surprised to find a few body parts laying around.....I bought this book recently.....

and I've been trying to make one of the teddies....but the body parts keep disappearing.....the culprit is one of my kitties that has decided that anything I make is for her sole use as a toy!

Needlepoint - anyone?

Nothing like scanning a piece to realize that you STILL need to stretch it!!!! How weird. I love this piece though. This is a kit that I bought at the NEC show. The designer, Abigail Bury, was sitting amongst beautiful colors and I couldn't resist stopping and chatting. Her use of color was amazing and even though she had some more traditional kits, the use of the purple color and the bright pinky/orange in this kit just made me smile. I've never really done needlepoint, but now I'm hooked! I bought the apple tree kit for one of my sis-n-laws (don't worry she doesn't check my blog!) I haven't put the buttons on this yet, because I now have to stretch it.....ugh....but at least you can see how nice the kit is and the colors. I'm now going to use the pattern for a beading project. That is what I love about pixel type patterns, they lend themselves to so many different uses! Don't worry, I will be sending Abigail a picture of the beaded project and hopefully she will be able to show that off as another use for her patterns! I'll take a pic of what I ended up doing with it...which I think will be a pillow!

The kit came with more then enough yarn to go with it, the canvas and a needle. The directions were very clear and the chart easy to read. The canvas was unpainted, but she does have some that are painted. Being use to cross stitch I didn't really mind. It was sooo worth the cost of the kit.

Finally getting down to some Embroidery

I've had this book for a while...I've probably posted about it...though I can't remember. I've been inspired by many of the patterns. I have to admit it, I'm getting really excited about free-style stitching. I'm trying to not use a pattern that is copied on to the material. I want to see if my stitching is better then my drawing. So far it isn't too bad.


This is my interpretation of the cover.....





(wool felt - cotton 6 strand)



and this is a poor scan of my edging.




(Cotton Velvet hand dyed, wool thread, cotton 6 strand, cotton one strand)

I have to admit something to you all. I'm knitting, but it isn't my first passion. I've become obsessed with fiber in all of its guises. I also like to blog about Indie craft/arts people that I come across. I will be doing more and more of that. I love buying stuff from other crafters and I love spreading the message about them. Like many of you, I've been on a bit of a hiatus from blogging.... work and life gets in the way. But I pledge to do better. I've got lots of pictures of stuff that I want to post about...lots of stuff I need to take pictures of.....so I will try and work out how I can post more often and hopefully get others excited about what I see out there too!

I can't even believe that I've not posted about Knitting and Stitching at the NEC, Origins - London craft fair, or the Knitting and Stitching at Alexandra Palace....not to mention Wingham wools at the Guild this weekend...where I swore I wasn't going to spend much...and ended up with a huge bag full of lovely fleece to spin...and other things......

Goodbye Sybil...you will be missed!

This is Sybil, one of the Librarians who has decided to retire this summer. She will be sorely missed, especially by me. She has been an inspiration for some of my crafting, even though she doesn't really know it. The neck piece that she is wearing was her going away present from me. I've been wanting to make this for a while. I bought tons of beads in black...which most of you know really isn't me!...and had a good time trying to decide how do make a piece that I knew that Sybil would like. She is very creative and arty and I new that she could pull off this idea I had. I got the inspiration from a piece I saw on-line that I thought was a shade for a lamp (it ended up being a neck piece....but hey. I can't find the picture right now. )

Kenner's blanket

This is one of two blankets I made out of the same pattern with the same yarn (bought too much obviously!) It is really nice though and I think my nephew will enjoy it!

Blogger is acting up and I can't put a title on this....oh well. Do you guys do this? You buy books, you look at them...and you still design something yourself? I bought Sasha Kagan's new book about crochet. It is very good and I've enjoyed looking at it. I bought several Japanese books on crochet motifs, and yet I still designed the motifs in the picture.

I have just finished another baby blanket, that I hadn't realized I didn't post about. (I took a pic, but the camera is now dead so I'll post about it later.) I've got lots of left over yarn, so I decided that it would be nice to put together some crocheted squares...which became circle motifs instead. I'm enjoying doing them. They are very simple and good stress relief since I'm home finishing up a paper for my MA, that is turning into a Diploma instead (long story...to long actually.) Anyway, I started this yesterday at 5 and I got all these done by 6:30.....and that is deciding what the pattern was going to look like. I have to admit, I'm loving the fact that crochet is back "in". Need to work on the sweater that I have the material for....these motifs are more fun!

Experimenting....

Does this look like a heart? I feel it is good, would be better if I had pulled the center a bit more I think....don't know. What do you guys think?

Crochet goodness

So this is what I've been up too! I bought these two japanese books from SaucyLouise. I love them! I picked up some tapestry yarn at a textile gallery they have in Llandiloes where my sis-in-law lives. The flowers are So much fun to make! I'm going to make the purse on the front of the book on the left. I can't get over how much I enjoy these Japanese magazines.

Wednesday craft night

So this is what I had to hurdle to get into my craft room...left over mess from the bathroom remodeling. Oh well, I made it in and managed to ....









to kill a die cutter.... ruin three ears and finish one rabbit! I wanted to have so many more of the flowers. I thought it would look really neat, but unfortunately I broke the cutter. Oh well...it was going so well! Now I know why they buy already cut felt flowers! It just felt good to get in there!

Easter projects

So here is what I've been up too. I've actually...shock...horror...have been assembly lining! I've never done that before, I must admit I'm usually a one time project maker. With all the Secret pals and just plain friends I have, I thought I would make a few of these up. I'm going to embellish the heck out of them once they are sewn up. I got the pattern from a wonderful felter Betz White. One of these days I'm going to try my hand at making my own pattern. At the moment, it is easier to have a pattern and then embellish it with my own ideas. Some of this fabric is new, some I've had, and some was given to me.


Doesn't she look cute! This one will be getting some embroidery on it I think. Who are the lucky recipients? Well, we shall see.....

Valentines projects....

Here is the card I made Rich. I'm testing out my new scanner, so instead of taking a picture of it, I've scanned it. It will look a bit silly because of that.


Can you guess what I love? (The last is a book, since it is more difficult to check.) The last page had a mirror under the flap...which was really small so just showed his nose!

These are the cards I made my niece and nephews. I just wanted to send them a little something.