Meeting up with other stitchers

A really lovely day yesterday was spent meeting up with fellow stitchers in Nuneaton.

I wish i could bottle up the lovely atmosphere, friendliness and really great time that is had. I remember being so scared before i attended my first one, but everyone was so lovely. Please ladies, if you are considering attending a group near you, take the plunge and go along, you wont be disappointed, there is always a warm welcome and you'll soon feel right at home. We were missing a few regular ladies yesterday and they were definately missed.

There was lots of lovely stitching on show, great work ladies. Some fabulous beading work by Lindsay, that was simply amazing and looks so intricate to do.





















The pictures never do the work justice do they.

Vicky from India Grace was with us and she had brought along samples of her lovely designs.

These are simply stunning, and something that i wouldn't dare venture to have a go at. Lots of inticate hardanger, but they are stunning to look at, i do armire her talent in creating these beauties.

I took some recent finishes with me. There were a couple that i finished last week and haven't shared with you here yet.

Amy's ripple cushion was one of them. I have loved every stitch of this one. The Sampler Girl - In the Meadow, my SAL stitch project on a Wednesday evening was completed last week too. A lovely project to stitch, i just need to decide how to finish it now, any suggestions?









Shores has also been out of the box. Block 5 was completed last night after i returned home. It's nice to get back to this one, i hadn't realised how much i had missed stitching on a big project. The next block is a double block with the masted ship so that will be another interesting one, all those white sails, oh boy thats going to be lovely...










Tina (no blog but she really should have one to show off her beautiful stitching) and i practised a ribbon edging on our monthly ornament at the meet up.

My design is from the 2010 JCS ornament edition and is by Susan Greening of Still Stitching with Susan. It's called Angels Sent and was lovely to stitch. The thread is a DMC variegated 115 and stitched up fabulous with the face turning out to be stitched in the lighter part of the variation, i'm really pleased with how this turned out and another to add to my collection for Christmas gifts.

I wish i had taken a pic of Tina's so you could see how beautiful her golden little man was. Well done Tina, he's beautiful.

After the meeting, some of the ladies headed off to the pub for a lovely meal, a beautifully cooked meal it was too and very reasonable, it finished the day off lovely. DH soon arrived to collect me as we only live a short drive away and we headed home. We were home in time to watch Strictly, so the day ended perfectly and a very happy but tired stitcher drifted off to sleep thinking of the fun time that had been had on a sunny Saturday in September. Thank you ladies for a lovely day, see you all next time.

Back from a week away...

A catch up week this week, catching up on chores, laundry, a bit of a blog reading catch up (i still need to do some more of that, i will get up to date on your blog soon if i am a reader). Thats what happens when you have a week away isn't it.

I haven't forgotten about the pics of our trip, we bought a new camera before we went and i still haven't got the foggiest idea how it works properly, DH used it mostly whilst we were away, but as soon as he uploads the pics to the computer i'll share some of them with you.

Crochet









Finally made up Amy's granny square cushion, this was made using all the odd little bits that get left in the bottom of the wool bag. The front of the second one is almost complete and i hope to get the back done this week especially now that Strictly Come Dancing is back on TV and i really have to be sitting down to watch It Takes Two each evening as well. Any other avid Strictly fans out there? i bet your productivity is much better at this time of the year like mine LOL

Stitching

Sampler Girl SAL - In The Meadow

A little birdie that was added this time tells me that he thinks i'll have a happy dance with this next week.

There's only a small amount to do in the bottom right hand corner so maybe he's right, i did manage to add the alphabet too this week. Do i get the gold star this week Barb??

Knitting

When packing for our trip i decided not to take any stitching with me, i took some knitting instead just in case we had time to sit in the caravan in the evenings.

Two 100grm balls of aran is all that is takes to knit this beauty. A self striping wool and so pretty too.

The wool was from a lady at the stitching club. She knitted a hat and mitts for one of her great grandchildren and the mother didn't like the colours so she passed them onto Amy for Isabelle and i used the extra two balls to knit a cardigan to match and finished it off last night (whilst watching Strictly!)

The pattern i have is so worn out you can hardly see the writing, i have knitted this so many times for my own children and many others too. It's a Patons Argyll and the number is 659, but i have been unable to find a link to it. What i did find though was Vintage knitting patterns, i have a few that this lady has for sale that belonged to old family members and have been passed on to me. There are a few more on there that i like too. The vintage patterns seem to be making a comeback.

Thats all the crafting news thats been happening here this week. Next Saturday, i'm off to a meet up with the ladies from Needlecraft Haven in Nuneaton and am really looking forward to seeing them all again.

I hope you are all well and life is being kind to you all.

Take care, love to you all

Hook, stitch and explore

A little hooky time ...

I now have 30 grannys to make Amy's cushion. 15 brightly triple coloured with the black edge for the front and 15 single coloured with again black edge for the back.

Just need to make an effort and do the sewing up and make it look presentable now, thats the boring bit, a good DVD and an hour or two sitting in the daytime needed, you just can't sew black in the evening with the artificial light.

I happened to be looking at Rachael's hookabilities blog when Amy was here and she noticed the lovely ripple Rachael is working on. Oooh's and ahhhh's and she asked if the second cushion could be a ripple. I've never done a ripple before, but have given it a go, it's growing nicely, a few more rows added since this pic and a couple more colours too.

A little stitching time ...

A monthly ornament for September. This one is for Isabelle. As you can see i've stitched 'Isabelle's 1st Christmas' on it. Amy has a new ornament each year for her tree and this year it's going to be this one.

This little design i'm sure you all know well. It's one of the 2006 12 Blessings of Christmas by Lizzie Kate. These have a very special meaning to me. I lost my dad December 2005 and during 2006 i stitched the Blessings onto one piece of fabric in memory of dad - a very therapeutic stitching project - and gave it to a local hospice and they have it on show each Christmas in their chapel. I thought that as Isabelle is our little angel and my dad is an angel dad it would be most appropriate, some of you might thank thats silly?

Wednesday evenings have been spent in the parlour with Barb and some of the ladies in the Sampler Girl SAL at Needlecraft Haven. I've managed to build a house this month, why is it house stitching/building always seems to take so long? I do find that it seems to take me longer to stitch a house than anything else, is it the same for you? Do you avoid designs that have houses on them for this reason?

A little relaxation time ....

A few days away for DH and i, some quality time hoping to visit places we have never been to before, it's nice to have a little holiday, i'll show you pics of our trip when we return.

Hope you are all well and happy

COVERED TAPE MEASURE - TUTORIAL

Last year i was so impressed when i saw a covered tape measure i knew i just had give it a go. I looked at a few tutorials to get ideas.

This is how i covered the ones i have sent out to friends. It might not be the right way to do it, but it works for me and i am happy with the finished result. I haven't had any complaints from ladies who have received them that they have fallen apart yet!

I was asked if i could provide a tutorial of how i make them, so here goes, my first attempt at anything like this, i'll try my best.

The last one i made i tried to photograph at each stage -

Materials you will need :-
1. Retractable tape measure (i buy mine at a well known supermarket on the haberdashery stand, there are other sizes and shapes available)
2. Double sided tape
3. Scissors - 2 pairs, sharp pointed ones and standard ones (where are my sharp ones in this pic?)
4. Craft glue
5. Paintbrush
6. Stitched design - please make sure it fits before you start
7. Backing fabric
8. Braiding (as deep as the side of the tape measure)




Fix 2 strips of double sided tape to the retractable side making sure you cut the edges to the curved shape - be careful not to cover the button




Fix 2 strips to the other side the same




Stick the double sided tape all around the edge making sure you go right to the ends near the puller. I use a 1cm tape as it is the perfect size for this type of tape measure. (Forgot to take a pic of that but you can see it in the pic below)




Remove the backing from the double sided tape on the flat side and attach your stitched piece making sure you centre it. Don't worry if you get it wrong, it often happens, just take it off carefully and reposition. You might need to remove the tape if it's not so sticky and start again. Press down firmly and then carefully cut around the fabric leaving only enough to go down the side of the measure halfway.




Remove the backing tape along the side and carefully press down the fabric all around the edge. You will need to cut around the hole carefully with your sharp scissors - here they are in this picture, i knew i took a pic of them!




Remove the the backing tape on the reverse side and do exactly the same thing again with your chosen backing fabric.




Place the braid around the tape measure and cut to length




Now for the messy bit with paintbrush and glue. I use the plastic cover that the tape came in and put some glue into that, it's so much easier to use with the paintbrush and you dont get too sticky and it's not so messy, you just throw it away when you've finished with it.




Put a layer of glue all around the edge of the tape measure along the middle to hold the braid, being sure to cover the edges of both fabrics.




Press the braiding into place. I always put glue all the way around the square opening to secure all the loose threads of the fabric to stop the stitched piece from fraying and to stop the braid fraying. The PVA glue i use dries clear so is not seen, make sure your glue is clear when dried too.




Be patient while you leave it to dry thoroughly, mine are left overnight to be sure.

HEY PRESTO...... a lovely gift for a friends birthday, or for your own workbox. I really should make myself one of these!



I hope this makes sense and would really love to see any that you make. If you need anything clarifying or have a problem, there is an email button top left of the blog or you can leave me a comment.

Happy tape measure covering.

Fruit & Veg Show

The fruit and veg show was a huge success. Lots of new exhibitors this time and the tables were laden with produce and crafting items.

The guy that usually takess the pics for us was not there this year, DH did manage to snap a few before the judges from the Royal Horticultural Society did their best to award prizes - its a hard job and they have 3 years training and a written and practical exam to be able to wear the gold plated badge and have the honour of being allowed to judge at a show.

I am so disappointed though, the ones of the craft table didn't come out so nothing to show my crafting friends of the talents of our local ladies.

Here's the pics DH took of the hall. I'm hoping someone else has some so i'll be able to show you the craft stuff at a later date, i am asking others who attended but so far no luck.

The floral arrangement section was disappointing this time, it usually does so well and the childrens section was also disappointing. One young man was thrilled though that his 'Miniature garden in a standard seed tray' won him a trophy and a 1st place rosette, he had sewn real grass seed over the summer hols and kept it clipped with scissors, pure dedication!

The fruit and vegetables were amazing, we had some guys from a new allotment society entering, they were such fun when they came to sign in and were surprised at the things that had to be done to some of their goodies to make them suitable for showing. Anyone involved with a show like this will know the special requirements that have to be adhered to unless you want to be disqualified with a 'not in schedule' ticket on your beautiful exhibit. I have had that happen to me before and it is so disappointing when you have taken such pride in your exhibit.

Plants and flowers were in adundance and we did well in the cookery section. This includes cakes, fruit pies, jams, marmalades etc. I entered a few things into this one and didn't do too badly. The marmalade that the stitch club ladies love so much won me a 1st place!

All together i was lucky to receive 1 x 1st place, 2 x 2nd place and 2 x 3rd place (Isabelle's crochet bunny was one of these in the handmade toy category).

Dh did somewhat better, he had 3 x 1st place, 2 x 2nd place, and 4 x 3rd place. I must say that we did not enter as much as we usually do this time as we have won the trophys for so many years we both felt it was time for someone new to have a win instead.

One of the ladies from our stitch group won the 1st place in the cross stitch and my Grand Marquoir came 2nd, she was delighted and so was i as it was her first time in entering. She had stitched a 'stitch-a-photo' pic of her 6 grandchildren.

I did remember to get a pic of the prize books with their stitched design on the front for you to see them all together, i took them the day before the show. These are given out with the trophy so the winner had something to keep, one for each category that had a trophy. They looks so lovely all together, i stitched 2 of them and the others were done by the lady who runs the stitch club. The sampler was well received by the Best in Show winner, that went to one of the organisers for her floral arrangement display, so has a good home.

I also entered a hand knitted garment into the show.

I had just finished a new cardigan for Isabelle, here she is modelling it. It looks so much better modelled than on the table!

A beautiful pattern that i borrowed from one of the stitch club ladies, it is a Snuggly Double Knit pattern number 1708, an easy knit but the fringe did give me some trouble to start with till i got the hang of it.

The day of the show was Clare's birthday, i had remembered before hand and sent off a little parcel to her. I made her one of my covered tape measures and as she loves everything French thought part of an old free design by Windy Willows was perfect.

I was asked some time ago to do a tutorial for one of these and very cafrefully took pics of all the stages of putting it together, so i'll put that together for you soon, but silly me forgot to take a pic of the final finish, so i have snagged this one from Clare's blog. I'm pleased you liked it Clare and that you had a lovely birthday.

I am looking forward to getting back to normal now the show is over for another year, even though it is enjoyable it does take up a lot of time nearer to the event and my hobbies do suffer. The nights are drawing in now so plenty of time to snuggle on the sofa of an evening and get crafting, so watch this space for updates of what i have been beavering away at (hopefully - fingers crossed) ......