2018 Wk 39 - Things I forgot about

When I blogged yesterday I, ahem, implied that I hadn't done much - and I believed it myself  . . . until I started getting stuff out for a class I am teaching on Friday at Chertsey Museum, and then I realised I've actually done quite a lot in the way of prep!

Usually everyone does the same, but they wanted to try weaving and I have a few sets of a lot of different methods, so this time we are doing this over 2 sessions so everyone gets a chance to try everything.  Of course this means me setting up everything so they can spend their 90 minutes actually weaving!

Triaxial weaving:

 Lace making (of a sort -I cant get the hang of this!)

Medieval cords

Weaving with a small loom and fine wool

Bead weaving

Straw weaving

 Chunky weaving

a different type of loom

French knitting / Knitting Nancies

and a super fast mechanical version

And hoop weaving

There are also 3 20" looms - two have been set up and started and one will be set up as a demo

So I have been a bit busy!!!!

2018 Wk 39 - excuses

It's rubbish really - no blogging for three weeks and still nothing to show!  In my defence I've been busy, away and ill

Busy at work - closing our Slough office and preparing to move to Reading (about an hour further away) and busy job hunting, and also busy at the Borough Voluntary Sector awards when we won join second place and £250 for Stitch!

And too ill for one planned weekend away but managed a second one, to Athens

View from apartment

And still having coughing fits every few minutes!  Still it's getting a little better each day.  Hopefully I'll get back to sewing soon

I did managed two embroidery designs for Kathy

2018 Wk 36 - bits and pieces

Last weekend was the Church's 'Garden Party' (a village fair really but arranged by the church) in the sister village.  The Vicar's wife and I manned the Stitch stall - selling boomerang bags and talking to people about Stitch (and Days for Girls) and showing the kits.  We sold lots of bags while dressed as Vikings (this year's theme).  We listened to Abba music all afternoon, enjoyed the end of summer sunshine, and took donations of £85 - pretty much a perfect afternoon!

In other news - I treated myself to a EPP template organiser (Amazon think it's a jewellery organiser but what do they know?) and have sorted all my templates

Some of the templates were then used at Chertsey Museum on Friday - we did Quilt As You Go hexies - looking good ladies!

As for me, Lizzie and I have been working on a dozen or so babygros (onesies) and vests - just a little bit fiddly to hoop!

And husband has repainited two walls in our bedroom  . . .

and assembled a corner unit for me as a kind of dressing table

And finally a pic from the lady who one my Black & White & Bits of Bright quilt in a WI raffle - she used it as a picnic blanket!

2018 Wk 35 - Dalwyn don't look

I don't think my friend Dalwyn stalks these pages, but so, now is the time to go away!

I have completely finished the stole - and checked the length against my vicar (seen modelling it here) and it looks about spot on - thank goodness!  Thank you Colin for being a guinea pig!

I had done some test stitchouts (the triangle cross and the celtic cross) on some spare green linen, so I have added a few other logos (North Bedfordshire circuit, where he will be working, St Anne's broken cross for the university where he studied, and logos for the two Windsor schools that he taught at).  Placement isn't brilliant, but it makes a fun cushion!

I've also been making pencil / make up cases for colleagues at work - a few belated birthdays, one early birthday and two leaving pressies (plus an excuse to play with Lizzie's font library!)

 Hope you are all having fun!

2018 Wk 34 - Hand finished finishes

We went to Mum's today: about a 75 minute drive, and husband had a list of odd jobs to do for her, so I had some sewing time on the journey, and while we were there.

So these hexies became this and with the addition of some hooks and eyes becomes this bowl

This project box and tray got finished

I left Lizzie embroidering the chunky mandala and came home to this lush design

And photos arrived from Jackie showing that she won two firsts, a second and a highly commended in the county show - well done Jackie well deserved!!!!

2018 Wk 34 - catch up

I've been doing the boring pre-school embroideries, but also some hand sewing, embroidery design and prep for the next few Chertsey Museum classes.

This mandala pattern is one that I designed and stitched using variegated thread - I've since made the satin stitch wider, so we'll see how that comes out.

I finished the edges of the two interchange wall hangings:

And I created this celtic cross embroidery design

It needed several tweeks, but I've now stitched it on the purple stole fabric and the two sides are ready to be stitched together to make the reversible stole

At Crafty Church we have started getting ready for our Remembrance day (100 years) display.  We've decided to go with poppy shapes.  (or rather approximately poppy shapes - I see a red snowman, but I have been assured that when I see loads of them I will see poppies - and to be fair they are very similar to the British Legion poppies!)

Janet is taking the sizzix and the circle dies to cut poppies for all 36 from the village involved in WW1

 I'm teaching Quilt As You Go hexies at Chertsey early September, so I sizzixed these

and made some of these

 
 which will be joined into this sort of shape

And finally, not me, but Jackie made this and I think it's far too gorgeous not to share! Perfect for a baby girl's essentials - a few nappies and a pack of wet wipes: and a pocket for mama's phone too

2018 Wk 33 - mostly Rainbows

Just look at these lush threads I used today!

My old Boss has been training to become a Methodist Minister and starts this on 2nd September.  I was honoured to be asked to make him a stole, but then panicked and have procrastinated for several months.  However 2nd if September isn't that far away, so today I pulled on my big girl pants and cut the first two pieces, and embroidered them.  He was a maths teacher before being a Head Teacher and now Minister so a cross made of triangles was ideal for this side.

The other side will be purple, and I'll do a Celtic cross for that side - maybe next weekend!

At the same time as embroidering the rainbows, and Lizzie was embroidering some uniforms, I was sizzixing card pieces for a WW1 project starting next weekend, and sizzixing fabric for Chertsey Museum in a few week's time - my lovely new big desk is only just big enough to hold everything!

These hexies are the start of a rainbow quilt-as-you-go project for Chertsey

I got a bit further with them tonight but they need stitching together still

I also did some patches for aprons for Monty's Popdog stand

And embroidered over 50 pieces of school uniform . . .which made a *bit* of a dent in the pile - just 125 left to go!

And earlier this week I finished hand quilting the last block (Australia) and put together the pieces from my interchange applique.  I decided to make two mini quilts rather than one big one as I only wanted one of each shape on the quilt.  I can't remember how to finish the edges so I'm hoping a R&Q friend will remind me (that's probably you, Plum!)

In case you can't make out the shapes, they are, from top left to bottom right . . .

• Scissors, Boris the skink, Halsnøy Island (south of Bergen), husband's spanner
• Button, wine glass, coffee cup (UK), Mr Twiglet the hedgehog
• Daffodil, Viking ship, Cat (representing the 7 we've had over the years), Tango the rabbit
• EPP Hexies, husband's hammer, sewing machine, coffee cup (Ireland)
• Australia, St Michael's Church, a bee (one of 4: we live at 4B) and a budgie (representing 4 budgies and two+ lovebirds over the years (they were a breeding pair: 14 chicks in total I think)

And the same again, but inverse design, and different placement

 Back to work tomorrow for a rest I think!