2023 December

Happy New Year

I started December with some playing with clay with Jane and Hayley.  We used air drying clay and made toadstools

My finished toadstools drying

and then painted

We had a Christmas themed class at Chertsey Museum, making seasonal badges

I made a few samples for a future class - I put out a plea for glass pots and loads of lovely people turned out their kitchen cupboards

My Christmas tree decorations are almost exclusively  hand made by me or friends, or bought on trips - I think I know where or who they all came from

I managed to make a few Gingers with Christmas trees

I had a few requests for Gingers - for a stable where a friend's daughter rides (yes I know their zip is upside down - she wanted them anyway!), and the other daughter's trampoline team

and the cheer-leading squad

I got some lovely crafty Christmas presents - this sewing machine was one of two decorations, plus some wool for crochet, an embroidery project kit, and some fabric as well as a hand made fabric bowl and other bits and pieces

EPP balls were gifted to the very gorgeous Amelia and Freddie who seemed to like them 

I got started on a crochet blanket in this lovely Northern Lights wool

Niki had a clear out of stuff left at ours, and her karate belts from 20 years ago got the heave ho.  I nearly let them go into textile recycling, but then started playing

And then the year ended!  I hope you had a good Christmas, and have a very happy and crafty new year

2022 April (second half)

 Hello all

This is brief run down of the last few week's:

These are prep for a class on Friday afternoon: scissor keepers!  The slightly cross eyed Owl has scissors for spectacles! 

These pics are from Crafty Church last weekend: a friend in the village has been doing some house clearance and scored the whole set of Quilter series, including all the magazines and fabric in unopened bags, and most of the "freebie" extras!  Lucy and Barbara made the first two blocks!

Another class saw the continuation of the silk screen printing class a few weeks ago: the ladies added stitches, bling, ribbon and buttons to their printed tote bags and all seemed to enjoy themselves

 

Yet another class saw ladies making pencil cases for an orphanage they have adopted (embarrassingly I cant remember where).  We set up quite a production line and there should be 18 or so when they are all finished.  We used a design from Aneela Houey's book, but I had to recreate it from memory as I've lost (or loaned?) the book

My Hexie swap flower garden is growing

I saw this on Facebook and wondered whether it might be the solution for finishing this?`

 

2021 Week 49

Still playing catch up on blog posts 

I made a whole load of Countdown to Christmas Gingers for little people 

We had a bust Crafty Church at the end of November: back in the church as the hall had been hired.  The other village was about to host a Christmas Tree Festival and this pic shows people crocheting squares and others sewing them together

This is the finished blanket

And this is our competed 'tree'

And my Ginger Nativity tree

Lucy and I have agreed our blanket should be donated to the local Hospice.  They have a scheme called Blanket Therapy: People are offered the opportunity to be gifted a blanket when they arrive and it stays with them for their stay.  When they finally pass on the blanket is gifted to their family.  I think that's a lovely idea and hope our blanket can be a hug for someone who needs it!

I was taught how to start granny squares by a very patient Hayley - inconsistent size, but I'm slowly getting the hang of it!

I finished 60 Gingers for the local senior boys scvhiool

I am part of a monthly hexie swap: this were the incoming November hexie flowers

And I've prepped my outgoing December flowers.  They were supposed to be red and green  so the five that fit the spec and the oines taht have gone in the post and the white one is mine

The Chertsey Museum ladies' had great fun making Christmas Ginks / Julenissen - each one has it's own personality!

And I think I've finally finished my Christmas tree decoration julenissen, ready to go in the post to friends

2019 Wk 49 - A Productive week

If you';d asked me I'd have said I hadn't had much crafting time, but the evidence says otherwise!!!

The Kaffe Fassett squares have been joined to the grey to make a top

And have been quilted.  No KF fabric left so I'm not sure where I'll go with the binding, so this has gone to the to-be-dealt-with pile: I am seriously in love though, thank you Jackie, I LOVE the fabric!

The Crafty Church and the Stitch trees represented us in the Christmas Tree Festival (They may have lost some decorations on route, but they didn't look too shabby!

 A whole load of customer and charity patches have been embroidered

 And a whole load of hexies have been cut

ready for adding to this flimsy

The last of my swap hexies has arrived, and I've cut and basted the next set

And Niki sent me this pic - half her cross stitch completed - fabulous for a first go at cross stitch!

 

2019 Wk 47 - where did the time go?

I rather feel this post is just going to be a list - but lots of pretty pics anyway!

I made green felt storage containers for another Chalice set at church.  I prefer the colour of the red but I think the design of the green is better

We had a fabulous Remembrance Day parade and service ten days or so ago - huge turnout and not only no rain, but incredibly blue skies

Lisa I attended a course where at one stage we had to "make" something to reflect what we had learned - our eyes lit up as we were allowed to rummage through bags of stickers and pipe cleaners etc.  I used needle and thread (of course I have a sewing kit in my handbag. doesn't everyone???) so the stickers dangled - we had great fun!

Another Pudsey hexie flower arrived

 And I joined a whole load of 1.5" squares into a long strip.  Jackie and I have a few million of these squares, but my seam allowance isn't accurate enough to make 3.5" squares (3x3) so our first plan has been abandoned.  I think something like this will work, and my dodgy seam allowance should be hidden!!!

I've also given up on a blanket crochet I started ages ago. I cant find any progress photos but it was far too wide and would never be finished with the two balls of wool I bought, so I frogged it all and Lisa started me off with a straight forward granny square

We had Crafty Church last week.  I got a bit on pinning done, not much more, but there was lots going on!

Carole visited us for the first time and taught several girls how to make decorations form corn stalks

Ulrike showed us how to make this star while others got on with patchwork or quilting

Others were making Suffolk puffs (with lavender inside), and Stitched Christmas cards

While others were knitting or crocheting or sewing buttons onto a tree for our Crafty Church entry into the next village's Christmas Tree Festival

Phew!  So that's where the time went!