More To See And Do

Scraps of fabric can be made into a new fabric to cover a photo album

In the last few days I have added two new pages onto this blog: Hints & Tips and Scrappy Projects. Many of the items included on those pages were first published by me on my old blog. However, I have deleted that blog and hope that everything on there has transferred over here. There was a Hints and Tips page on the old blog, but the Scrappy Projects page is new.

Odds and ends of yarn or fabric can be made into brooches

It occurred to me that scrappy projects are popular because, as crafters, we are bound to accumulate scraps of one sort or another. I enjoy creating things using scraps and noticed that many of the things I have shown on my craft blog, Facebook or other places, are “scrappy”. It seemed to make sense to gather together lots of the projects in one place as a “go to” page for ideas and inspiration.

Scraps of card and fabric can be used to make gift tags

Not all of the ideas are sewing or knitting oriented, as you will see, some of them use card or paper scraps.

Stitch your tiniest scraps of fabric and yarn in a sandwich of water-soluble stabiliser and use to make cards

And I make use of the tiniest bits and pieces!

Shaggy hats knitted from scraps of yarn knotted together

Sometimes I even colour coordinate the scraps!

You could make a colour-coordinated shaggy hat

Scraps of similar colours used to make coasters

Scrappy strips of paper or fabric can be stitched onto the front of a card blank to make a unique card

Or they could even be themed:

Use leftover wrapping paper or fabric to make a Christmas tree wall hanging

There’s something for everyone. Just click on “Scrappy Projects” at the top of this page.

Happy scrapping!

Housekeeping and Extreme Knitting Go Well Together

Housekeeping, not cleaning!

I know, it’s a shocking thought: Bossymamma doing housekeeping!

Keep calm. Don’t panic.

Don’t worry, I’m not talking about that sort of housekeeping.

Ah, I see…

No, I don’t mean that sort, either.

????

Got it!

It’s that sort of housekeeping: on the computer. Phew! That was a near thing, wasn’t it?

I have far too many photos stored on my iPad, my phone and the laptop which means that I keep getting nasty messages telling me that my cloud storage is almost full. Eek! Consequently, I thought it was about time I dealt with the problem, so that’s what I’ve been doing. And it was during that housekeeping process that I stumbled across some photos taken during our amazing trip to Antarctica, that I forgot to share with you.

Whenever we go on holiday abroad, I like to try and buy some craft-related items that I will be able to use in a project and that will remind me of the holiday. Whilst we were in Ushuaia, before sailing across the Drake Passage, I happened to find some local wool in one of the shops and decided to buy it. Jump a few days and we are waiting to be ferried ashore for the first of our landings in Antarctica when, suddenly, I have a light bulb moment… Ding*. Extreme knitting! Oh. 😦 I don’t have any knitting needles. 😦 Ding ding**.  Cue Bossymamma scrounging items from all over the ship, much to the confusion of passengers and crew alike. Et, voilá! Knitting needles made from wooden skewers! 🙂 [Sorry, no photograph.]

Off I go, in the zodiac inflatable, heading for land, wool and ‘needles’ secreted about my person. Luckily the needles didn’t attack me during all the manoeuvering in and out of the zodiac, nor did they break. And so, ladies and gentlemen, I give you…

Bossymamma, Extreme Knitting in Antarctica!

It was a little chilly when I began knitting, but I soon warmed up and had to remove my new penguin hat. My knitting caused interest and amusement amongst passengers and crew alike… One of the passengers came over to watch me knitting.

An impromptu demonstration of knitting

But the wildlife took no notice!

Chinstrap penguins carrying on regardless

Have you ever seen such idyllic surroundings in which to knit?

A little taste of heaven while I’m knitting!

Well, What Do You Know?

It’s been a bit quiet here lately, hasn’t it? What do you think the reason might have been? Well, here’s a clue:

And, here’s another:

And here is your final clue:

Yes. I’ve been on holiday. Peter and I went on a tour of Turkey. Consequently there wasn’t  much crafting going on during the second half of March. In fact, despite the fact that we were doing a coach tour, up until I was finishing my packing on the day we were leaving, I wasn’t even going to take anything crafty with me! No, really! I had decided that I would go craft-less for the duration. However, once I had seen how much room was left in my suitcase at the end of the packing process, I thought I may as well take some knitting. Here are some of the things I brought back:

Shaggy hats for Syria Relief

Regular readers will have seen similar shaggy hats previously, but the stripey hats below are a variation on the scrappy yarn theme. I had found several small remainders of balls of yarn and decided that, rather than chop them down for shaggy hats or crochet multicolour squares, I would join them all together randomly and knit as a complete ball of yarn.

Hats for Syria Relief, knitted with scraps and ends of balls

I am quite pleased with the result of that experiment so shall probably try that again, when I have another collection of part-balls.

Old Uzbek Suzani

The hats are not the only things I brought back from Turkey. I treated myself to the Suzani in the above photo, which had been imported to Turkey from Uzbekistan. That photo doesn’t do it justice so let’s try this one:

Detail of old Uzbek Suzani

Hmm, that’s still not great. How about this:

Corner detail of Suzani

I think that’s probably the best reproduction I can get.

Peter and I were visiting an old tower in Istanbul when I noticed that there was a shop selling textiles. Well, it would have been rude not to visit, wouldn’t it? And, once you’re there, you have to buy, don’t you? When we saw this old Suzani from Uzbekistan we both really liked it so I decided to buy it. It cost far more than I would usually pay for a textile item but it is beautifully worked, silk on silk and I just didn’t want to resist – so I didn’t!

The final photograph I am going to show you is of a shop window I saw one afternoon, in Ankara, I think.

Singer sewing machines are truly international!

No, I didn’t buy one of those!

I’m Going To Let You Into A Little Secret

Today I’ve been to Derry, formerly also known as Londonderry, and I have to admit to being very pleasantly surprised at what I found there.

I only recently learnt that it is a walled city, not only that, but it is regarded as among the best preserved walled cities in Europe. Isn’t that surprising? Well, to someone of my generation or older, it may well be a surprise because of memories of the Troubles. It also boasts a stunning Guildhall: the architecture and stained glass were amazingly beautiful. You must visit Derry and whilst you’re there, you must go inside the Guildhall.

The other place you must visit while you’re in Derry is the Craft Village just off Shipquay Street. It is a selection of mainly independent shops and cafes. We began our visit with a light lunch in Mollie’s Cafe. We were given a friendly welcome and upon asking for a scone I was offered “fruit, plain, or helicopter”. My brain was on a go-slow so I had to ask for an explanation. ** I asked a chap in Mollie’s to point me in the direction of the best artisan/craft shops in the Village. He said I should go into Craft Village Collective and Walled City Crafters. Both stores sell goods made by local crafters.

I went first to Walled City Crafters and was immediately warmly greeted by a lovely lady who was keeping a watchful eye on the window display whilst a young woman was adding items to the display. Unfortunately I didn’t have a camera with me so I can’t show all the lovely items that were on show. I saw a beautiful pair of diamond-shaped pendant earrings which made me wish I didn’t have an allergy which turns my ears into beaming red beacons if I dare to wear earrings of any type.

There was a variety of craft items displayed in the window and it certainly enticed me into the shop. The first thing I noticed as I entered the shop, apart from the welcome, was how bright and clean it was. The lighting in the store seemed to highlight the quality of the hand-crafted pieces.

My eyes fell upon some gorgeous hand-woven woollen scarves and wraps. Interesting colours were used in each scarf and they complemented each other beautifully. The prices being asked for them were extremely reasonable, as were all of the prices that I saw in the shop. I think this is because the shop is run on a non-profit basis in order that the crafters receive a reasonable sum or their labours.

Some of the loveliness for sale included ceramic brooches, handmade make-up bags, miniature wire sculpture pictures, decorative glass plaques, jewellery, soap, keyrings and fabric brooches. There was a wonderful range of crafts with prices to suit all pockets.

I bought three things whilst I was in there: a ceramic brooch for myself made by Michelle 
Butler Ceramics, some soap from The Pink House Company and a pretty decorated box. I don’t know who made the box and, as it was so carefully wrapped in the shop for me, to protect it during my homeward journey, I don’t want to unwrap it!

I am so pleased to have found Walled City Crafters. It is a fabulous shop, with beautiful items at good prices. It’s a secret I am happy to share because I really hope that the shop and its makers have a successful future. Please, please support them if you visit Derry.

As for the second shop that was recommended, when I went there it was unexpectedly closed for a short while and I didn’t have time to return later. I shall have to hope that I visit Derry again very soon.




** Plain = plane so ‘helicopter’ is simply a play on words. Corny, but fun.

December Is Here Already!

I haven’t forgotten you all, I promise. It’s just that I haven’t been doing any crafting lately. Too little time and too much tiredness, I’m afraid!

Life is very hectic at the moment – not because of Christmas, nor because of craft. I shall tell you about it in a while. In the meantime, I hope you manage to finish all of your Christmas crafting in time.

Happy crafting one and all!

Seriously, Today I’ve Been Properly Creative

After the silliness of my last post today I have done some proper, hands-on, getting messy, trying different ways, good and less good results type of creative arty stuff.

As I mentioned last time, the Summer Journal project which Myfanwy is organising begins soon. In fact, the first day is tomorrow. Myfanwy suggested that we might like to colourwash some pages in our journal beforehand. The idea is that rather than being confronted by a blank white page, which can be rather intimidating, a colourwashed page is easier to start working on.

I began by using cold tea as a wash. The results were disappointing, as you can see:

Paper with a tea colourwash

My second colourwash was commercially produced beetroot juice:

Beetroot juice applied with bubble wrap – still wet

The beetroot juice was interesting to use. I used three different textures for applying it: a kitchen scourer, a pastry brush and bubble wrap.

Applied using a pan scourer

The pan scourer produced a mottled effect (which does not show up well in this picture – sorry, I only have the camera on my iPad with me). When it was dry the colour was much paler than when wet, which was to be expected. What I didn’t expect, though, was that it would be opaque. I thought it would remain translucent but, in fact, all three methods produced opaque colour.

Beetroot juice painted on with a pastry brush

Using a pastry brush achieved fairly even coverage, although I must mention that I think my last use of a brush on paper was probably at school, aged about 14. On the left hand page I swirled the brush around and across the sheet, whereas I used smooth, even strokes on the right hand sheet.

Bubble wrap stippled beetroot juice – still wet

The beetroot juice after it had dried, having been applied by stippling with bubble wrap

Above you can see the bubble wrap stippled effect when wet and once it had dried. The colours in the photos are misleading. I think this may be due, in part, to the photo of it ‘wet’ having been taken in strong sunlight. However, I think the opacity is easy to see, once it had dried.

I am pleased with results of my colourwashing today, especially as it was done amid the chaos that reigns in this particular neck of the woods!

Dorset Buttons – a very portable craft

A selection of Dorset buttons

At the moment I am staying with my mother, in Kent. The visit was made for two particular reasons: (1) to go to the Royal Albert Hall to watch Carlos Acosta dancing in Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet and (2) to help my mother move home. I haven’t looked in the mirror lately but I’m guessing I have metamorphosed (hmm, or should that be “metamorphosised”?). You know what they say about ‘the best laid plans of mice and men’? Well, I know I’m not a “men” so it stands to reason that I must be a “mice” because my ‘best laid plans’ have been well and truly scuppered!

Anyway, ignoring that – if only I could! – when deciding what craft activity to bring with me on this trip I needed to choose something small so that it wouldn’t be in the way nor need lots of space during the move. Aha! Dorset buttons fitted the bill perfectly!

A Yarrell design Dorset button

The first button I made was a Yarrell. I hadn’t attempted one before (neither had I made the following two designs previously). I was interested in creating the variation in stitch/texture on the button. This button is slightly lopsided because when I laid the spokes they were exactly centred. That meant there was insufficient room to complete the fourth round of double stitches. Apart from that, I am pleased with the resulting button.

Dorset button – Petal design

My next experiment was making a Petal design button. For this design, ten spokes are laid and stitches are each worked across two spokes, making a total of five ‘petals’. I am not satisfied with this button as the petals look uneven and untidy. However, it’s not too bad for a first attempt.

A Basket Weave Dorset button

The third button I have made during this trip is a Basket Weave. This one was worked using a knitting yarn which has led to the stitch definition being less than satisfactory. I enjoyed making this design and shall definitely be trying it again, but I think I shall use thread rather than yarn for the next attempt.

Three designs of Dorset Button

When I put together the materials to bring away with me, my intention was to make at least one set of buttons. To date, I have always made just one button in any design/colourway. However, once I started working, I decided I wanted to try designs that I hadn’t attempted before.

Dorset Button Accessories by Jen Best

If you are interested in making Dorset buttons, the instructions I used were in the book Dorset Button Accessories written by Jen Best of Beaker Button. It is available in .pdf or hard copy.