The great British Bank Holiday

Well, it looks like another typical Bank Holiday weatherwise, so I think I'll have a tidy up!  Ugh!   I have been doing all kinds of crafty things this week so it's time to put everything back in its rightful place and  start afresh.   Can anyone explain why, when I've tried to use up some scraps and bits and pieces from my 'stash', there never seems to be any more space?

I actually finished spinning the alpaca fleece this week - the results are not terribly successful - it's been washed again and wound into a ball, but there isn't enough to make anything with!.   The 'waste'. which was too short to spin, I decided to make a piece of felt with.   Despite lots of rubbing and rolling it turned out as just a hairy mass which is only just hanging together.    Not one of my successful ventures at all.

I've made great strides with backing up files and the archiving of photos which I had been putting off for ages - I've now archived everything up to the beginning of this year.  However, I  had hoped that clearing them all off the hard drive would speed things up a bit and it hasn't - a bit disappointing really.

I didn't get round to any feltmaking as I'd hoped, but perhaps I will today.   I have completed 10 more quilt squares but I'm fast running out of fabric - the idea was to use up stuff - not to have to buy more.   What a dilemma?    I've actually completed 3 of the 'treasure bags' - red and gold, purples and turquoise and jade green.   I am absolutely delighted with them - they look stunning.   I've posted a photo of the red and gold one and more photos will follow - hopefully, next week.

As promised, last week, I've posted a couple of photos of the glittery, knitted cowls - the photos don't really do them justice, they are very light and easy to wear and look really good worn with a plain top.  

And finally, I made the fabric for a book cover, yesterday, out of various  offcuts of felt which I'd used to make other book covers a while ago.   I used the embellisher to needlefelt them and some scraps of muslin which I'd dyed previously,  onto a piece of cotton which someone had given me.   My recycling instincts ( or is it just meanness) coming to the fore there.    To finish it off, I added some wool yarn and quilted the whole thing with curvy lines - it is, I think, spectacularly successful and I'll have a photo of that next week too.   

All in all a very productive week - can't promise as much next week though - some catching up with garden, housework, admin and other boring things to be done.

Spinning!

 I haven't posted a blog for a fortnight now and that's partly because I was away last weekend visiting our daughter.   I'm still trying to catch up with all the things I said I was going to do in the last blog.   I haven't been idle though - I've done a bit of gardening, continued with the bags, knitted a couple of scarves but no more archiving.   I really must continue with that this week - my hard-drive is getting clogged up with photos.

We went to a craft fair at Fir Tree Farm, this Saturday and, strangely, didn't sell very much - I only sold some  photo cards and a print, and poor old Liz didn't sell anything.   We had both been busy knitting some glittery cowls out of a yarn called 'Starlight'  - they're like necklaces and very attractive.  I'll post a photo of one or two, next blog.  I hope they might be popular as autumn comes in.  

Today, I've spent ages carding some wool from one of  Margaret Hunter's alpacas - it is very fine, almost like human hair.   I've had a go at spinning it - it's not easy - in fact, it's a bit frustrating at times.   Because it is quite short and silky it needs a lot of joining and that's one thing I haven't quite got the hang of yet.   Anyway, it is good experience and I hope to try knitting it once it's been washed again.

Plans for this week include backing up all the files on my computer, ugh!    Another routine, boring, necessary job.    I'm hoping, all being well, to make some more felt for book covers, make some more squares for the quilt and to finish at least one of the bags (if I'm successful, there'll be a picture of that next week as well).   

That was the weekend that was!

 Had quite a hectic time again this week although I do seem to have achieved something for a change,  and what’s more, the hectic week was followed by an even more hectic weekend.  However,  we survived.

Alas, once again, the garden didn’t get any attention, but we did press on with plans to have the front drive paved and generally sorted out, so we spent a lot of time visiting garden centres etc. to find a suitable paving stone.   You wouldn’t think that would be difficult but it is. 

I continued with my archiving of photos – I’m up to June 2010 now – still a way to go though.    As well as finishing off the felt book covers I mentioned in last week’s blog, I made a couple of covers from felt pieces I had made ages ago and never finished.   I am determined to finish off some of the pieces commonly known as ufo’s (i.e. unfinished objects) and get more organised.   I managed also to make another couple of the organza flower brooches like the ones I made in June – one in greens and one in purples.     They are very attractive and I think I’d like to make some more in different colours.   

Because Friday’s textile group didn’t meet this week, I used to the time to prepare fabrics to use for some ‘treasure bags’  which I’ve also made before – they make lovely evening  bags or gifts.   I’m hoping to get on with them in the coming week.  

The weekend has been spent at craft fairs at Bickerstock Music Festival and Knowsley Flower Show.   At Bickerstock we were in a gazebo and were really lucky with the weather – it was very threatening most of the day but, luckily, we only had a couple of spots of rain.   It was a lovely atmosphere, very well organised and with a variety bands and groups.     The festival goers were interested and interesting; especially one lovely lady who was so enthusiastic about all the felt work and another lovely lady who actually bought 5 felt covered notebooks!   In fact, I had to go home that night and make some more felt covered books because I had so few left to take to Knowsley Flower Show.    In the event, nobody at Knowsley gave the book covers a second glance – that’s craft fairs for you!     At Knowsley we were in quite a large marquee so we didn’t have to worry so much about the weather.     Although I had quite a quiet time there, I was happy to sell a print of the waterfront at night.   Liz was very pleased with herself, she sold several of her lovely knitted bags.   All in all, a successful weekend if a bit on the exhausting side.