Cross-Stitch UFO – Un-Finished Object

I bought this cross stitch 25 plus years ago.  At our Craft and Chat people turn up with un-finished objects all the time.

I was busy doing other things, but it kept re-appearing and whispering to me, I am un-loved and un-finished!!!!

So over Christmas this year I got down to it.

I had the presence of mind to put small pieces of thread against each colour years ago so I had an idea which colour was right.

Applying more recently acquired knowledge, I firmly decided which way was the right way up and stuck to it this time!!

I now have a slightly grubby finished article.

The big question is …. to wash or not to wash.

And shall I make it into a cushion using the same material on the back or a sturdier material to stabilise it?

Watch this space.

All suggestions gratefully received.

Clay Modelling 1

I have fancied a bit of clay modelling for a while and I received two blocks of DAS Modelling Material as a surprize Christmas present from Mick.

I saw a course to make a Green Man mask and was really keen to attend but it was on a date I could not manage.

So after many hours trawling websites I thought I would make a sun first.

Heck its more tricky than it looks.  I went to a school where we did none of this kind of thing, so I am doing my playing as an adult.

I started with a side plate to cut out a circle from the rolled out clay. 

I used half of a 500g block for the whole thing.

The internet said to use balls of rolled up paper under the mask to mould the shape of the face.

As I had no tools to form the features I used knitting needles, sewing needles, pins, crochet hooks, end of pencils and craft knives to eek out the face, using internet tips about the eyes, nose and mouth.

I then cut out triangles of rolled out clay to make the sun’s rays.

The clay is air dried, so I left it on cling film so that it did not stick.

24 hours later I had to turn it over as the underside was still quite damp.

Huh Oh, the rays started to fall off.

It dried to a lighter colour.

So when it was dry I stuck the rays on with hot glue, they are going nowhere now!

As an interesting exercise I made some beads with the left overs.

Then put them on cocktail sticks and painted them to see what the coverage was like and how the colours changed on application.  I was given a set of paints which needed trying too.

Well that was tedious.  Some took 6 coats and others I threw away as useless.

But now I have a Wilma Flintstone bracelet, if anyone is going to a fancy dress party.

Socks 3

During the summer it is good to have small projects on the go, so socks are perfect.

These were made for my biker friends to keep their tootsies warm.

I did ring to ask about shoe sizes, which was a little weird until I explained why, glad I did as Greg is a 9 and Mark an 11.  It would have been heart breaking to make them too small. 

They took me many weeks as I am not a fast knitter.

I was very diligent this time to take note of the colour I started on and start the second one at approximately the same place to keep the stripes even.

The third pair I made for myself as my friend Liz had given me a beautiful skein of beautifully soft wool for my birthday.

It is more of an artisan wool so the stripes are not so predictable.  It is lovely to knit with, a real treat.

They are super cosy.

Christmas Hat

Mick did several concerts during Christmas 2017 with the Clitheroe Ukulele Orchestra and on one occasion we realised he was the only one not wearing a festive hat.

I had some felt left from last Christmas and the fur was from a failed rabbit project.  The fur was just too soft to make a rabbit, but perfect for this.

Two large triangles of felt, sewed together.  Add the Hat band.  Make a bobble from a circle of fur filled with stuffing.

There are no pictures of him wearing it!  But he did.

Ropework 1

I have been playing around trying to make Turks Head Knots for a couple of years.

Last year I bought a small key-ring with a Turks Head Knot end and it started me off again.

Then this year Sister and Brother in Law bought a canal boat and on the tiller (steering stick) there is a brass pin which needs a device to stop it flying out.  Hence the request for this.  It hooks through a hole in the bottom of the pin and stops it from being accidentally lost.

I used ‘The Ultimate Encyclopaedia of Knots and Ropework’ by Geoffrey Budworth, which I found in a charity shop to get the ideas.  There are many tutorials on-line too.

This is my sixth attempt.

They take a lot more rope than you would think and the real art is having the patience to keep tightening and re-tightening it.

The Rope was a polyester mix, which will be more weather resistant.

Jackie and Murray were pleased with it and Murray has been spurred on to make some rope fenders.

It is a very satisfying pastime, but it hurts your fingers a bit.

Cushions – Trucks and Boats

This truck cushion was a Christening gift for a truck-mad little boy.

Front

Back

The fabric is way more expensive than I usually use, but I managed to buy a piece at a reduced price, so win-win.

The only tricky part was getting all the sign posts and lamp posts to fit into the square and prominently position the trucks.

Little boys grow into big boys and our friend Mark was having a 60th birthday party.  He is a sailing friend, so when I found this material it was an easy decision.

The pictures show the back and fronts of a pair of cushions.

All three cushions have zips and I sewed around them all twice for strength.

Bears 15

Short haired, faux fur, fully jointed.  I think this fur will look good on smaller bears.

Mohair, fully jointed.  Proper traditional looking bear.

The background is a beautiful tea towel with a Victoria sponge design which I bought for a present, but kept it!!

Zentangle

According to the person that created it.  ‘Zentangle is an easy to learn, relaxing and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns’.

A lady came to our W.I. to show us how to do this as it was an item in that years Craft Show and no one knew what it was.  We all thought at first it was fancy doodling, but the word ‘doodling’ made this lady bristle.

We were all given a set of instructions, a small bookmark sized piece of card and a 0.3 Fine Line pen.  We also had pencils and erasers just in case, but the idea really is to create in pen, crikey.

First pencil a simple design, like a zig-zig.

Then fill in the spaces using one of the Zentangle patterns on the handout.

I hope you can see that the left design is the start and the right design is the result.  The idea is to build up intricate patterns by starting very basic and adding elements.

It is very therapeutic and a little bit addictive, and in my opinion, a bit more creative than colouring, but that’s just me.

Erica’s Birthday Card

Lukas’s Birthday Card

Joanne’s Birthday card, she loves butterflies.

They take 2 – 4 hours to create and can be framed as a keepsake.

I like this possess as it takes very little start-up cost and can be very creative.  Pinterest has some great examples.  I like the black and white, but people use colours too.

Have a try, there are lots of patterns on the internet.

Round Neck Jersey Tops 2

I am a creature of habit and if something works it will be re-produced.

I used the McCalls M6964 F5 pattern sizes 16-24.

The material was acquired at Abakhan, Mostyn Near Rhyl on a Craft and Chat outing by coach.  18 ladies in search of fabric, my idea of heaven, some peoples idea of hell on earth.  There is a really nice cafe provided for people in the second category.

The blue starry material was much finer and was trickier to piece together.

Sadly I think the colours have run slightly after the first wash, but its still wearable.

The flowery material was thicker and has produced an old fashioned and I have to say a bit frumpy garment, but its fine for daytime.

They were both made using the over-locker and finished on the sewing machine.  I am still getting to grips with going round corners on the over-locker.  I did 2 passes on all the sleeve attachments.  Which is scary when its removing strips to make the shoulders fit.

I have bought some really nice Jersey for the next one, fingers crossed.

Travel Tags

Two sets of friends were going on big trips to mark landmark birthdays and I thought it would be nice to make some travel tags for their bags.

I used red spotty material because it reminds me of Dick Whittington and his knotted hanky bag.

I first appliqued letters onto pieces of material and then cut out the tag around it to approx 1 cm from the letter, using pinking shears.

Then I sandwiched some wadding in the centre and folded a strong piece of ribbon to make the handle. 

I sewed around the edge passing over the ribbon several times to make it secure.

The ribbon needs to be a bit longer as it attaches to a bag handle by passing the tag through the loop.

They certainly stand out from the crowd and were well received by their recipients.

Bon Voyage.