A December Start

 Hello to anyone who is still dropping by, I have been pretty much tied to my laptop or sewing machine but still not managed to get on here to post although I have to say it doesn't look like there is much activity anyway recently!  Have people stopped reading blogs? Please let me know if this is the case, I am very old fashioned and still like to read them myself. 

I have made a fabric wreath using up lots of oddments of Christmas fabric, the base is card wrapped in packaging then covered with fabric and all the leaves, cones, bow etc are handmade.  I did buy the three little bells but the rest is all handstitched.  I really love it when you can make something you want from recycled bits and not have to buy any special crafty bits.  It can be expensive to buy all the specialist equipment like wreath hoops and things like that, I much prefer to have my Blue  Peter moments (for those of you that watched that).  The cones were  result of a bit of experimentation, I am happy with their shapes and it has inspired me to create more things like this.  I seem to remember seeing a book in Waterstones about paper flowers that was very gorgeous, I have birthday money so I am thinking a trip to the shop may be in order to purchase that book.  Fabric and paper flowers coming up!  Anyway enough of the waffling, here is my wreath...

There have been lots of images floating around of very full wreaths covered in all sorts and of course you can make them as full as you desire but I got to this point and thought any more would just spoil the effect so I stopped.  What do you think?

I have a few more ideas of Christmas things I want to make, don't you always find you get to this stage of the year and one minute it is the 1st of December and the next you are running out of time for all the things you wanted to make.  Well one thing is some festive dog coats and I think if I plan on the dogs getting to wear these planned coats I had better get a move on.

Card making too, I am usually pretty good at getting this done as I tend to set aside a couple of chunks of time and get them all done.  That is going to have to start this week as we are seeing out of town relatives this Thursday so I can hand some over then.

I have had another few bad books in the reading department, one that was quite good was 'The Maidens' a little bit over done in places but it kept me turning the pages.  I have just started 'The Women of Troy' so we will see about that one.  My husband has bought me four Anthony Horrowitz books as a gift so I hope they will be good reads, not my usual  style but I did request some as I am trying new genres.

We had a lovely walk around Lagsett reservoire  on Friday morning before people were all aound.  We got there for eight fifteen so it was lovely if somewhat foggy .

Well I hope you are all having a lovely start to the festive season, let me know if you are still out there by leaving a comment, I do love to read them.  Bye for now. 

Burda Hoodie - Sewing Men's wear

 Hello, just a quick one today.  I thought I would share this hoodie that I made for my husband from Burda magazine 12/2020. I have had my eye on it for a while and I was going to make it as a surprise but then I decided it would be best to let my husband choose his own colours.   It was also useful for trying it on him too, for things such as cuffs.  

He opted for a shade of green (called old green) and also denim blue sweatshirting, the images in the magazine are navy and bright orange which I thought looked really good but I wasn't sure if he would wear it.  I think he needs to be a bit bolder with colours, anyway these colours look really nice together so it all worked out well.

I added a proper cuff to the pattern as the one in the magazine just had a binding around the bottom of the sleeve.  This is definitley a pattern I will make again and I am so pleased that he likes it as I really want to be able to make him more things in future.   

The old Burda magazines are all getting a good look through again too, there are so many options in there and even the ones you don't make first time around can look more interesting at a later date. It is good to use what we have so I am making the most of these issues, plus after a certain amount of time has passed it is like having a new magazine again (or is that just my age!). 

There has also been a bit of bag making as I haven't done any for a while...

I bought these books from the charity shop recently too, I can't quite remember if I shared these already. However after rereading The life changing magic of tidying up I decided once would have been enough and also this lady really loves throwing things away and while we have to declutter I would rather see things used and reused.  If you clear out your whole house in one go the chances are you will be tempted to just bin things you could have rehomed.  Ikigai- I listened to this with a voice over not of my liking on audio book and always felt i would have enjoyed it more if I had read the book so I am pleased with that find.  To kill a mocking bird is a gift.

Well that is all for today, take care. 

October...ing

 Hello everyone I hope you are all doing well and enjoying the Autumn.  I am really loving all the colours at the moment even though I would say I am very much a summer time person this season really does create some beautiful scenery. I thought I would close the month with an 'ing' post so here goes...

Travelling  to North Yorkshire for our last caravan trip of the year, we stay at a  little CL site called Spruce Gill farm and if you have a caravan I really recommend it.  Gorgeous scenery and it is a really well kept site.  It is also perfect for exploring the area and walking of course, we did have a really windy night one evening though and i thought we may end up finding the awning in the field opposite but it held up!

There were three caravans on the site while we were there now it does only aloow five anyway as it is a CL site but it really is gorgeous having so much space to ourselves.  It also means you can usually get in the toilet /shower block always a bonus. 😁

                              One of  our many and beautiful walks, it did rain a little but it soon blew over.

Dramatic grey skies, we saw a lot of people on this walk even though it was early and in term time.

Making lots of sweaters for work, I haven't got images of them all here as I have just chaged ny phone and they are not all on the laptop I nw realise.  Some I love some are being passed on, the latest one I made I think is my favourite and that is the one below...

Simplicity 8982 Brushwork Prints (Minerva)

This one is a really good shape, I did notice though that after having it on all day it made me a bit itchy at the front of the neck, I suppose that is the downside of having a high neck on a sweater knit.  Still love it though, I think maybe I had become a little warm.

                                         Simplicity 9385  Bubble Shoal sweater knit  (Minerva)

Simplicity 9450 Mimi G in Monstera street design (Minerva)

Simplicity 8177 Animal Glow (Minerva)

                                                    Rugged Trail sweater knit (Minerva)

So this last one has gone to my brother's girlfriend and the animal glow is going back to the office with a few other things.  I do find obviously I can't keep everything and in the spirit of not wanting to create waste I worry about this also I am sure a few other people will be with me on this.  No matter how much you love doing something you don't want to be responsible for added waste.  I would much rather things were used and loved. 

Reading  Priviledge by Guinevere Glasfurd, a really interesting story, historical fiction but with factual bits.  I always love a story about a period in history where the author has used real events it makes it much more fascinating and enjoyable.  I was pleased with this as I has a run of bad books before it.

Re-vamping my bathroom blind and also redecorating my bathroom, now the blind has gone through a number of transformations over the past fifteen years so you may have known me to do this before if you have been  around a while.  This time I used a thick oil cloth table cloth from Dunelm mill, as it was a nicer design than the fabrics they had on the roll.  It was a pretty quick job, just take out the old staples, remove the bottom bar or rod, sew a channel in the new fabric and restaple.

Framing some post cards tht I have had a year from Angelsey, they were just 30p each and the frames were £2 each from the charity shop.

                               It was a dark day when I took these photos, but I think they look cute.

Watching Buddy Holly and the Crickets tribute band at Penistone Paramount, we have had this booked for a year and they were really good.  We were sat right at the front which seemed like a good idea but then I actually felt quite conspicuous especially when they had everyone get up to dance to the slow songs.  A fabulous night out though.

Loving my new coat that I have just made, a friend gifted me the fabric as she didn't want it and the lining has just arrived today so I will be lining it now.   I will share more on this in another post.

Planning a bit of an overhaul of my wardobe, in terms of looking at what I can remake into more wearable items.  I make a lot now for work but it is not all practical  day to day or even my style.  The thrifty part of me thinks I should be using and wearing all of it so it is not wasted ans also so I don't waste money when I make clothes all the time.  However does this mean that I don't make clothes I love or that I have chosen the fabric for anymore in the spirit of being thrifty, and also making myself wear clothes that are not me is not going to make me happy is it?   I am going to be quite ruthless and refashion what I can, save some as they are for filming of course keep my favourites and of course whe have the option to pass on for demonstration purposes.  Anyone else feeling the same who is doing this?

Looking  forward to the new month ahead.  Thank you for stopping by today and if you have the time please watch my latest youtube video, I would also love it if you could comment and subscribe it would be great to meet you there.  Have a lovely week. 

                                                                                  watch here