2021 Week 22

As mentioned in my last post: a long time ago a lovely lady called Iris,  from the Chertsey Museum class, asked me to be executor of her craft room when she passed.  Sadly she passed early this year and I was called by her neighbour to come and help empty the room.  To be honest it was not so much a craft room as a craft 4 bedroomed house!  There was every craft imaginable in every room of the house! 

So not much making to report this week - mostly sorting the goodies from Iris's, and categorising them as to where they go next: To give you an idea, I filled my car three times and Emma from the museum filled hers once (she took a lot of beads in case they can be used on the replica costumes and most of the paper based craft stuff as her sister Claire teaches that kind of craft there) 

So far the list of crafts I now have kits and / or resources for (or have passed them on to someone else) are at least:

Macrame

Needle punch 

Glass painting 

clay

leatherwork

beads

wire craft

EPP, 

cricut, 

leather 

scrap booking 

sizzix 

card making 

weaving 

painting 

stamping 

embroidery 

rug making 

Viking knitting 

tie dying 

patchwork 

dress making 

jewellery making 

crochet 

French knitting

circle cutting

ordinary knitting

Please, much as I loved her, DONT be like Iris - some of the resources she has two or three unopened packets of, some where bought from Woolworths or even pre-decimalisation (50+ years ago).  So there are now bags and boxes of craft stuff all over the house as I sort out the final bags of stuff from hers and at least have all the associated stuff together.

What I have done in breaks is finish piecing this little EPP hexi rainbow trip around the world

Made this for my God Daughters who works for the ambulance service as a 999 ambulance handler and recently delivers her first baby by phone

And I'm rather chuffed with myself in that (with Lisa's help) I actually cast one for a crochet poncho

And I made this - in anticipation of the day, surely coming soon, that we can all hug!!!

2020 Week 39 - Gingers Galore

 Halloween is approaching!  The friend who organised the "We're all in this together" Facebook events in the two villages (that fueled the Gingers sensation) is now planning a Pumpkin Trail.  It's obviously not safe for the kids to be accepting sweets from residents who may be inadvertently passing on the virus so we are at least hoping to give them all a number of displays to visit.

Of course this means Pumpkin and Halloween Gingers!!!

About the same time I was commissioned to make a Halloween quilt, so I might have made some more Gingers but as applique rather than hanging ones

What you cant see is that for the spider's eyes and around the letters in the name I have used glow in the dark thread!!!  I couldn't do more as this was the last few foot of precious glow thread that I've had for ages, but it was such fun to use I've given in and bought other spool

The quilt is looking good, just need to finish the binding.

But it's not the only one!  There are three waiting to be done!

Continuing the ginger theme . . .  yesterday was my birthday - I got two hand drawn Ginger cards from little fans in the village, and 5 Ginger Birthday themed images and GIFs from friends on Facebook!!!

I've clearly got myself a reputation!!!

Other birthday pressies included a painting by numbers kit (and a promise of a painting session with the girls one afternoon as they have one each too), a note book with a hand made hexie themed cover from Plum, a rock with an ammonite fossil in it (found and gifted by paleontologist God Daughter) and a beautiful carved wooden candle stick from a 'pre-loved' furniture barn near Lisa's new house

And a gorgeous bunch of flowers from Jackie!

2019 Wk 37: tea and trees and Dresdens

The girls and I took their God Mother and God Sister out for their combined birthdays this year: afternoon tea on a vintage London Double Decker bus

 All that food plus savoury muffins, and scones with cream and jam (or should that be jam and cream?) and lots of tea of coffee - a great afternoon out

 And we've finally got around to getting a gardening in to hack this lot down.  Behind that forest is my beautiful church - but you wouldn't know it.

The gardener got let down by his partner so he got his two lads to help - they did a great job first of all giving me back my view of the trees

and then cutting the last few down.  The stumps will protect the garden from un-authorised visitors, and if the apple tree in the garden gets too big that will have the same treatment!!!

At Chertsey Museum we had some show and tell of the handy pods and foundation paper piecing

and some Dresden plates were created (I was too late to get the other photos!)

2018 - Wk 2 Chertsey - waste fabric

The Christmas tree has been put away, I've had four days back at work, I've done my tax return, the new bedroom is sorted (and very 'cozy' - aka small) and I finally have a working computer in the new sewing room so things are heading in the right direction!

We had the first Chertsey Museum session of the year on Friday.  The finished EPP Christmas stars were brought in and admired: Some other were still up with Christmas decorations, others had been put away - Stephanie made 4 and strung string between them to hang her Christmas cards from!  I think we'll call that a success!

This month we were making waste fabric.- basically strips of waste fabric woven over rug canvas.  It's difficult to see from the pics but there were some great colour combinations here - I especially liked the ones that used black and white and a bit of colour.

Once the weaving has been done, the fabric is stitched on a sewing machine

I've told them to use all the fancy stitches they have never use - and to use up all the odd bobbins and spools of thread that aren't really worth keeping but we do because we don't like waste 

I look forward to seeing them next month

My sewing room is now looking like this

a bit busier than when it was my bedroom

And I keep trying to remember it's husband's office too!!!!!  (the wardrobes will eventually go!)

And finally - Goddaughter was delighted with her Christmas pressie:

2017 Wk 50 - Fun with Kids

I taught a great bunch of families yesterday! I think there were 30 people in today - mums with kids, and dads with kids. The theme was Christmas decorations and I told the adults that this was for the kids to make something, using their own imagination, and we didn't want to hear a single "no, not like that" type of comment - and on the whole they behaved!

I didn't get pics of them all but they were all amazing! I think the polar bear on a sledge is my absolute favourite - all her own idea!

And here they are all hard at work!

Meanwhile I have broken needles quilting through too many layers

Thank goodness for grippy scissors that can put the broken bits out (and thank goodness it was stuck in fabric this time!)

But it was worth it - I have quilted

And finally finished, God-Daughter's selvedge quilt

I've also embroidered a whole load of pre-school uniforms but that's too boring even to warrant a photo!

And I've progressed a bit on an I-Spy quilt for a cousin of this one (she arrived last week)

I had the triangles cut, and some joined back into squares. I finished the others. I planned the design and then realised I'm out of light grey spraytime so this one will have to wait

I had an order for a Christmas sack. I generally don't do these any more, but Magnus has three siblings and three cousins who all have one so it seem very unfair to say he *couldn't* have one too! (Just need to hand stitch some buttons to hold the ribbon in place)

And finally - we've manged to put up the Christmas tree and room decorations - It's starting to feel Christmassy here - jut 4 more working days yippee (I have Wednesday off. Double yippee!)!

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2017 Wk 37 Crafty Week

I was back at Chertsey Museum on Friday . . . but as a student rather than as a teacher. The lovely Claire was teaching a textured book cover - oh my gosh I loved this class!!

I was having far too much fun to take many stage pics but after sticking torn paper scraps and assorted sizzixed shapes onto a notebook we slathered black (or white) gesso and then some metallic paint on top of that. Once it was all dried we then used wax gilt to enhance ... well, whatever needed enhancing!

So I came home with this

And this

(Alice's looked like this before the metallic paint and wax)

So I confess I might have been http://www.thecraftbarn.co.uk/ to look at getting my own supplies!!!!!

Here are all the note books created:

What else do I have that I can show you? I only got one pic at Crafty Church today but my friend Jane joined us . . . and learnt how to crochet

She got it much quicker than I did, but being a couple of years ahead mine doesn't look too shabby:

I've made a bag for the Church Chalice out of some lush 4mm felt:

And I'm delighted to have got the maths right - and the bottom fitted perfectly!

I've started a gift for a friend

And finished three polo shirts for a customer

And made bunting for this Goddaughter who is on her way to university

I'm posting the A to her as a postcard! But planning she'll get the rest a few days later!

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