Learning Stuff

I really like learning new things. Whether it's from something I've read or a podcast I've listened to, it makes life interesting. Now that my life is so constricted, mastering new crafts or projects in particular gives me a real sense of progress on what are mostly very difficult days.

Recently I've been working on a mixture of crafts, not to turn them into patterns (although I always make notes in case I want to try them again) but just because I feel like it. I've been trying various little ideas using some of my vast collection of scrap fabrics. First I made these.

A dozen new hankies. Why has it taken me so long to realise that I could make my own hankies? My existing stock were wearing thin and it's not easy to find anywhere to buy hankies now, especially when you can't go out. These are 12" squares, double hemmed on the machine. They're a bit thicker than bought ones but they're already softening up after a few washes. I have plans to make some Christmas ones too and then bigger ones from plain fabrics for when I have a cold.

The internet is a great source of inspiration for small sewing projects. I found this little collapsible thread catcher on a blog and then worked out my own version. I used a ring of plastic canvas in place of the cardboard tube and changed the measurements a bit. This means that there's a little hole n the middle when the pot is twisted closed but I liked the fact that it was shorter. I gave this one to my daughter.

It's a clever idea but does involve a fair bit of hand sewing so it's not particularly quick to make.

Next I started looking for origami ideas that could be made from fabric scraps and found several ideas that I liked. I made a little butterfly which is rather nice. Those antennae are cut from a black paper clip, not at all safe but it didn't look very much like a butterfly without them.

It took me a while to get the hang of these folded fabric flowers. I used my Sizzix machine to cut out circles and then folded and gathered them into flower shapes. The centres are another fabric circle gathered round a button. These hide all the raw edges. Again, these were hand sewn but they don't take long.

I blu-tacked them to the side of the shelf for this picture but they soon fell off so now they've got wooden stalks and are standing in one of my pencil pots.

My favourite make though was this little folded fabric ornament. Again, it's just two circles of fabric cut with the Sizzix and sewn together. A bit of folding and pressing and a few hand stitches and you're done. The clever thing is that you can tuck a square of card in the back which gives it a bit of stability. I used this tutorial but started off with smaller circles to make a little ornament. 

Regular readers will know that I am working on improving my tatting skills this year and I'm glad to say that it's paying off. I'm now able to tackle some of the lovely patterns in this book.

There are actually 49 snowflakes as a sample pattern is included at the beginning. I'm working through the easiest ones first and, so far, I've mastered five of them.

I love the fact that the designer includes diagrams and written instructions, together with clear photos of the finished snowflakes so I can work out where I'm going. I tend to get confused in the diagrams when the work is reversed so the written instructions really help. I am working each snowflake three times in size 20, 40 and 60 thread. Repeating the patterns with thinner thread is a challenge but gives me lots of practice so that I can fix the techniques in my head. Here's the first snowflake (the sample pattern) in all three sizes.

I stiffen them with diluted superstarch and then store them on card as you can see. Then each set goes in a little square envelope that I make with the envelope punch board I found in Orinoco. This is a very handy little tool. I've been using six inch squares of Christmas paper to make the envelopes.

In between tatting snowflakes, I've also been making a few of Diane's different Ice Drops. I'd only ever attempted her basic design before but I felt ready to try a few of the others now.

The two little snowflakes with metal flowers in the middle are Diane's pattern too, the first of her Doodad Snowflakes. I don't know if my glass gems are smaller than hers or if I just tat more loosely but I was having trouble getting the tatting to fit. Even after soaking in hot water, the gems would sometimes fall out. so, I plucked up my courage and tried paying with the stitch count to get a version that worked for me and I'm very proud of the result.

I've also been doing a lot of weaving lately. My absolute favourite yarn for weaving is King Cole Bramble DK. It's a variegated yarn with a heathery look to it that really works well when woven and it comes in lots of lovely colourways. At the moment I'm using the shade Thistle to weave lots and lots of four inch squares.

I'm trying to finish five squares a day so that I can get on with the joining as I want to try out a lace join that I haven't used before. I need 81 squares all together and I've got eleven to go so I'm nearly there.

I was weaving with the loom on my lap when it occurred to me that I could use my small book chair to hold it upright. This worked but the loom kept moving around and then inspiration struck - Lego! I had fun playing around with my small collection of Lego bricks and finally came up with a loom holder that holds the loom firmly in place while I weave.

I'm very pleased with this and it does make the weaving quicker. Now I'm wondering what other craft tools I could make with Lego. There's quite a bit of K'Nex in the cellar too ...

After this blanket is finished I want to try joining woven pieces together on the loom, something I've seen before but not really understood. Finally, I found these instructions and light dawned. Not only does it give a perfect join on the right side but I quite look the look on the back of the pieces too.

I have lots of ideas for using this technique but first, I'm going to finish that blanket.

Daisy Time

 

It's that time of year when my garden is at its wildest and even I start to think it might be time to cut the grass. I have to wait for the Ox-Eye Daisies to flower first though and they're in their full glory right now.

This is the view of the garden from my bedroom. The bottom half is a bit tamer and you might just be able to make out the winding cat (and human) path that goes through the middle of it. All the visiting cats keep to it, including Violet who doesn't live here but thinks she does. I have to keep the back door shut if I'm upstairs or she wanders in and helps herself to Tolly's food.

As well as the daisies, my roses are all flowering now after a slow start because of the lack of rain this Spring. Here's Kew Gardens all mixed up with some Love-in-the-mist and a Geranium.

Next to it and hiding behind another rose is one of my short foxgloves. I know, they're meant to be taller than this but all mine only grow this high. Maybe they give up once their roots hit the heavy clay soil? 

The big leaves by the wall are some of the Hollyhocks that I planted this year. These look like they might be a more respectable height anyway. I bought them from the plant stall in our market which has really nice plants that you can get when they're small (and cheap). I'm very lucky to have that stall nearby now that I can't drive to garden centres as I used to. I do have to enlist help to carry my purchases though as I can't carry things and breathe at the same time.

This is Buff Beauty which lives on the other side of the garden and has lots of coffee coloured flowers. David Austin roses aren't cheap but they are really good quality and grow quickly even when planted as bare roots. 

Just up from this one is  my rose in a cage ...

I planted The Pilgrim inside this big obelisk about three or four years ago and it looked ridiculous sitting at the bottom. It's being making good progress ever since though and the frame is doing a good job of supporting it.

Yellow roses are my favourites but what I call marmalade coloured ones come a close second. This one is Lady of Shalott and is holding its own against the wild daisies now that it's got a bit bigger.

That's more hollyhocks next to it; these ones aren't as tall as the others yet although they all started off the same. Isn't this a gorgeous colour?

Tucked down by the side of the house where it gets virtually no sun is a rose that has been in this garden longer than I have. I'm not sure of its name - possibly Maiden's Blush although the pictures I've seen all look more pink than mine which is very pale. That could be down to it to being in a shady spot perhaps?

Last Spring my daughter helped me plant three new bare root roses in the front garden, two more yellow with a white one in between. They flowered last Summer which I hadn't been expecting but have really come into their own this year.

This is the wonderfully named Tottering-by-Gently and, next to the gate, is The Poet's Wife.

Apparently, this one has a nice scent. I try to buy scented roses even if my Long Covid means that I can't smell them. Passers-by can enjoy them. The white rose in between (White Flower Carpet) is a ground cover rather than a shrub rose so it only just reaches up to the railings at the moment. It's absolutely full of blooms though.

This year I planted two Lavender Hidcote plants in between these three roses. They're tiny at the moment but they will grow. I particularly wanted the Hidcote variety as they reminded me of a lovely day spent at Hidcote Gardens back in the days when I was well. It's a series of little gardens, almost like rooms, each with their own character and style and I spent a long time wandering through them.

In between admiring my daisies and roses, I've been crocheting flowers. Some big ...

... some small ...

... and some absolutely tiny.

These ones are crocheted with a 1 mm hook using size 20 Lizbeth tatting thread. The buttons are about half an inch across. I got the idea from Diane's blog - if you search 'button flowers' on there you can see hundreds of lovely examples. I enjoy reading a blog by someone else who does lots of different crafts like I do. Anyway, I just used part of the pattern for my bigger flowers to make my little buttons. I want to make more of these but I'm going to order a more comfortable hook first. I find thin metal hooks tricky to grip so I shall get one of my favourite Clover Amour hooks to play with.