New things

So I have been playing around with a few ideas for things for me to make and hopefully to sell. I love bags and have played with a few designs and stuff and I thought about patchwork but not the detailed handstitched ones. Those would take too long for me and also cost too much, although many are beautiful. So a few days ago I did the easy thing and ordered from ebay 2 sets of 6" squares.

One pack was plains and the others patterned with mostly flower mixtures. But they looked good together although it took me ages to get the pattern right. I didn't want any of the same patterns touching at the corners nor any of the plain squares. But just to make it that little bit more tricky there were odd amount in the packs but hey - I got it sorted.

I am not an experienced quilt maker but I can machine stich in straight lines and I will then back the wrong side with wadding and then a plain sheet. After that's all been done I'll machine a quilted pattern onto it and see if there is any interest in it. Hopefully this could be the start of a different tangent in my life but if not I have an pleasant throw to snuggle under when it gets cold.

One World One Heart Winners

Yeah - I have done the semi-impossible (okay not at all impossible, just a bit dull) and have managed to select the winners of my giveaway.

I have contacted them by email so am looking forward to sending out the hearts.

Thank you to everyone who dropped by and who entered my draw. I really enjoyed seeing the variations in the different crafts that we practice and the different skills that we have. Some people have amazing talent and we love what we do and that is the main thing. To create something with love makes it special for everyone involved.

I hope that everyone had a grand OWOH and I am already planning for next year. Does anyone know if there are anymore of these types of giveaways where there are loads of lovely blogs to be looking at?

Closing my giveaway

As I am absolutely shattered and really need my sleep so I shall be closing my giveaway tomorrow morning at 8am. That's a GMT time zone and technically it will be the 12th for me but still the 11th in the far west (like the US and Canada). I'll make the draw a short while after using the random number generator thingy and hopefully post to the winners there and then but might have to wait until later - it depends on how busy I am in the morning.

Make sure that you add your comment to that post - not this one to be in with a chance of winning one of my knitted and felted hearts

From GlamGirl Knits

So there is still time to enter and good luck to everyone.

UK Swap Goodies

I lurve getting presents, well who doesn't? And after a week of being away I came home to find a parcel waiting for me with my neighbour. It can be a bit hit and miss whether the postie takes it there but hurrah hurrah he did and now I have goodies.

My partner, Nic has knitted a lovely pair of blue mittens for me from Colinette Skye.

They are a fabulous colour and fit wonderfully well. I tried typing in them but it all got a bit messy but my house is FREEZING.
She also included a book on Country Crafts that has a section in on spinning, dyeing and weaving: all things I am interested in. There was also some lovely Hand Food hand cream because I need things to help with dry hands from being outside all day. There were also some hot chocolate drinks, but the lite kind to help in my rather none existent diet - it's tricky eating well when you're away from a kitchen.
And finally there was a lovely skein of Cherry Tree Hill Supersock DK yarn in the Wild Cherry colourway.

So all in all a fabulous stash of pressies and just what I needed after a cold and dull week away from my lovely little house.

OOo - I forgot to add that there is still time to enter my One World - One Heart giveaway. Please follow the link and add your comment.

Things to do in a hotel room (Pt 1)

As some will know, I have been working away from my lovely little house in Sheffield and am currently spending the week dabbling in holes in Gloucester. Before the new year I was there for a couple of months and now I am there for another few weeks but possibly a month and this is making me very sad.

I have been trying to get my act together and start making things to sell on the wonders of etsy, da wanda, folksy and misi and the like as well as trying to set up a website selling copies and originals of my vintage knitting and crochet patterns. But being away from home has disconcerted me and I find my time is spent perving the web for craft things, tweating and generally not feeling very good about things.

So I have decided to stop feeling sorry for myself and actually get some of those random crafty idas I have bopping around into place and see what I can do in a hotel room.
And this is it (well one of the things)

Granted it's not amazingly pretty but it does offer so many potentials.

I got the fibre from visiting Get Knitted yesterday on a day off. I then used my plastic lunchbox to layer the fibre in and added a little of the complimentary shower gel to the boiling water from the kettle which was then dribbled over the fibre mat. A bit of jigging back and forth with my fingers and the mat was strong enough to take out the box and rub on the shower tray. I haven't got any bubblewrap (well it's not something that you'd usually carry around with you is it?) so I thought that the raised bits on the tray would do. A quick rinse through with cold water and a roll in a towel, then I put it on the radiator to dry.

The felted bit works well enough but the shower gel was difficult to rinse out completely and I was a bit heavy handed in the shower tray section of the proceedings but otherwise I am very happy with the result.

Next week I plan on bringing the fibre with me again along with a baking tray of some sort and some bubble wrap and see what I can get up to.

Ruffy Neckwarmer

This was knitted up for a swap that I am in and I hope that my partner likes it, or at least has a friend who might like it.

I have had the yarn - Gedifra Capriola - for ages and could never find a decent project for it. It's one of those super bulky, sort of flat felted look yarns and this ws multi coloured too. But I saw the Little Ruff in One Skein Wonders and realise that it would do for a ruff or neckwarmer.

Well this is the finished results and I like this alot

I changed parts of the pattern. The original calls for an aran weight but I used bulky and increased the needle size to 10mm. I then only cast on 14 stitches and on the short rows did a differing pattern. On one side it's a 2 and 4 short row repeat and on the other it's a 2, 3 and 4 repeat. I think this has made the neckwarmer sit better without being too floppy - but I would say that ;o)

Anyway it is done and I shall hopefully post it off tomorrow if I can slip and slide my way to the post office.