Making a vest

Old pyjama trousers

My sewing skills are still very amateur which is why I hate to purchase fabric but have no hesitation in re-purposing old clothes. These are an old pair of pyjama trousers that were so comfy that I continued to wear them long past their sell by date. Whilst some of the fabric was only fit for the compost much of it was still in reasonable condition.

Handspun, crocheted socks!

Handspun, crocheted socks from odd balls of wool.

I had to share these ugly mutts, I love them so much! They are made from yarn that I span when I first started spinning hence those bright solid colours. This yarn has been hanging around for a while preventing me from spinning more. After all, why should I spin when I have yarn to use? Sometimes I am too practical for my own good.

Spinning is a lovely therapeutic thing to do. Because the wheel doesn't come out often it hasn't lost it's thrill.

Crocheted socks are a crackers thing to make, they just aren't as comfortable to wear as knitted. But I do enjoy the process of making them and I find crochet is far more portable than knitting on double pointed needles.

spinning

Bobbin sat on spinning wheel.

I have an old Ashford Traditional spinning wheel that doesn't come out nearly as often as I wish. Which is a pity as spinning is a really therapeutic activity. Some might say monotonous but personally I find it very peaceful and relaxing. Mahatma Gandhi encouraged everyone to spin a little everyday for spiritual as well as economic reasons. Sounds good to me.

A little bit of sewing

New purse and pouch

I am so happy that I managed to squeeze in a little sewing this week. For some reason I'm not finding the time to craft at the moment but the creativity that this offers is very important to me so I've really been missing it.

My 2013 Christmas decorations: stars

Each year I make a few new decorations for the tree. This year, inspired by some that I saw in a Haskins garden centre, I'm making stars. Very simply made, a pile of stars using a cream calico fabric. Lightly stuffed with the contents of an old, lumpy pillow and embroidered around the edge with blanket stitch in bright colours. They still looked a little plain so I added a dorset button to the middle of each. I like them.

If I were to be picky I wouldn't use the large buttons again, the smaller ones look best. But as these are for my tree I'm keeping them as they are.

Dorset buttons are a type of button that used to be produced within Dorset. Mine are based on the blandford cartwheel and made using whatever rings I had around (I think one was the plastic bit left around the top of drinks bottle, not ideal) and embroidery thread. Looking up a tutorial to share I saw noticed several names used to describe the cartwheel design, I have no idea which is correct. All I can say is that the old ladies who taught me when I was a girl called it the blandford cartwheel and that name has stuck with me. 

My 2013 Christmas decorations: baubles

Decorated baubles, drying

I believe that this is the only craft that my boys helped me with this past Christmas and even then it was hard going getting them interested initially. But once they realised that glitter would be involved as well as a drying line across the room for J to bash his head on they were all for it!

Happy feet

First colour

There is colour on my painting! Always the hardest bit for me. Now to find more time to myself to get more detail on there.

Previous posts:
Wellies painting
Jumping in a puddle
Dancing in the rain

Art week

Day 1: canvas background

I don't do as much art as I would like to with my boys. I'm not really sure why but their total lack of interest definitely plays a part!

Sewing pyjamas

Pyjama trousers

I do have a tendency to wear clothes until they are falling apart, and this goes doubly so for nightwear. I never used to be a pyjama kind of girl but living in a cold house has definitely changed this for me.

Wellies painting.

sketching onto canvas

I've finally put pencil to canvas. I started collecting images on Pinterest over a year ago and the printout on the left is a close up of one of my inspiration photos (my Pinterest board can be seen here). The little girl looks as if she is having so much fun!The pencil drawing doesn't feel square yet but my fingers are crossed that it will work when the water is painted in. Hopefully the addition of colour will turn this flat image into one of energy and joy.

Previous posts:
Jumping in a puddle
Dancing in the rain

Hama beads

Dragons made using a dragon shaped peg board

My sons don't really enjoy crafts. I have collected many materials over the years but the only thing they have truly taken to are hama beads. These are little plastic beads that you iron to melt the pieces together. Not a particularly natural craft but it does get my boys creativity going.

Autumn bunting

Aren't these great? I wanted to add something to our walls so sat down with six different coloured sheets of paper and created these. I used a tree identification book to remind me of different leaf shapes and, cutting out six at a time, they are simply sown onto a single strand of embroidery thread using running stitch. I love them! Much less work than traditional bunting but a great quick and simple seasonal craft.

Since writing this I have seen more bunting from Here we are together where they used printables from here . Cute!

Jumping in a puddle

Canvasses waiting for paint

Okay, so maybe I've been talking about creating this painting for almost a year. But it will happen! I have primed a canvas ready for my masterpiece and another two besides. My intention is to have two pictures alongside my dancing in the rain quote (here). I am visualising a pair of wellies jumping into a puddle and on the second canvas a more elegant silhouette of somebody (or a couple) dancing in the rain. We will see how this progresses.

Welly shoes

Welly shoes from old boats

This Saturday I treated myself and my son to new wellies. I use them a lot in the garden and find that they break around the ankles thanks to a lot of kneeling and crouching (a big reason why I only buy bargain wellingtons, with the use I put them through a more comfortable but expensive pair would be an utter waste). Rather than bin the old ones I prefer to cut them down to make welly shoes. For the coldest 6 months of the year the grass in my garden will stay wet for most of the day (I put this down to living in the vicinity of a large river, it gets very damp here without necessarily raining). Rather than getting normal shoes soaked I like to use these, they are quicker to pull on than a full welly so are great for quick jobs outside like taking the laundry to the washing line.

You can buy welly shoes, I found some locally for £14. However my new wellies are only £12 and, as these have been made from my old pair, I'm feeling that I've got quite a bargain thanks to my repurposing.

Tatty old T shirts

T shirt with horizontal cuts

What do you do with clothes that your children have outgrown? Anything decent I pass on to friends or family and failing that they go to the charity shop. But to be honest, due to the horrific condition that they tend to be in by the time my boys have finished with them, most are only suitable for the compost bin.

Ukulele bag

Pattern pinned to fabric

For some strange reason, not even known to me, I felt that the ukulele needed a cover. This was actually made a couple of months ago when I had a couple of hours free and fancied creating something different not to mention improve my sewing skills. It is made entirely from scraps including an old, out of shape towel as the liner. I also gave it a long handle to easily carry it around. One would think that I was planning on taking it somewhere!

New dishcloths

Yarn for dishcloths, 5.5mm hook

Two of my dishcloths have holes in the middle. Time for a quick and easy craft! I bought this cotton rich yarn on offer a while ago specifically for making new cloths. This style dishcloth works so well and I love them, they also last well until some child (who will remain nameless) cleans a sharp knife with them and slices through the cloth, grrr.

Crocheted dishcloths

I like to make them with a large hook, the one shown is 5.5mm. This produces big holes that are great for scrubbing plates clean. Two years ago I made a pile of these in pretty yarns as gifts for Christmas, they are so easy to make in the winter evenings whilst watching TV. The recipients were somewhat surprised to be getting dishcloths, my mother still refuses to use them properly and has them as pretty heat mats instead.

Drawing for fun

An alien?

My youngest son hasn't really been into imaginative play until very recently. So I introduced him to a drawing game. He's loved it and it has sparked off so much inspiration for play. I'm not really sure what is going on in his mind at the moment but it is certainly creative!

 

Silly dolls

Naïve doll

The last time my nieces came to stay the youngest really wanted to make a doll. Time was running out so I suggested that she design it and I'ld make it.

I've been sewing



Sorbetto

 

In assessing the clothes in my wardrobe alongside my lifestyle it is clear that many layers are useful. I have quite a few knit-fabric vest tops but their numbers are slowing shrinking as time passes.