bits and pieces

I've been busy trying to use up the wee scraps of fabric that seem to breed when I'm not paying attention. I decided to gather some of them into two baskets - one full of strips and one full of bits.

Then I started sewing them together to make wee blocks.

Then into bigger blocks ...

... until they were roughly 12" square.

I now have 14 made and will keep going until I have enough to make a lap quilt. I'm enjoying doing it as playing with fabric - no matter how small! - is always a favourite game of mine.

I was over at Debbie's last week and got to play with these girlies. Just have to blow my own trumpet here to point out that both girls are wearing outfits I made for them.

Molly had to get in on the action too - she does like sniffing faces! Isla loves watching her.

I was there to help get Emily to her audiologist appointment. The testers were very impressed with her telling Debbie that one of the tests she did was usually only done with 5 year olds. Emily isn't even 3 yet. I'm sure I said last time that we are soooooo proud of her - and of Debbie and Jason too. Let's face it, they are the ones who are bringing up a child with hearing problems and they are doing a grand job!

I put away my small blocks temporarily as I wanted to make a small picnic blanket for Emily's birthday - she's 3 next week! Where has the time gone? Anyway, we're giving her this picnic set -

... and I wanted to make a blanket to go with it. I finished the top this afternoon and am absolutely delighted with it.

It's only 36" square which, hopefully, is a good size for a wee girl to have a picnic with her teddy bears and dollies. I doubt she'll get outside for a picnic any time soon - if it's not raining, it's snowing or blowing a gale! She'll be able to use it inside the house until it is warm enough to take it outside. I know she'll have fun with it wherever she plays with it!

a blankie and a quilt

I finally decided that the ripple blankie I was making for Emily was finished. That's the good thing about crocheting a baby blankie - if you've had enough of it and it's a decent size for a baby's cot, you can just call it finished!

This is a not-so-good photo of it but you'll get the idea.

This is an arty-type photo of the blankie all rolled up.

Emily loves the blankie so that's all that matters to me!

I've been busy making a heart quilt over the last two weeks. It all started off so well. I used a heart which I had designed in Photoshop.

I was even fairly pleased with it when I had sewn the rows together and put it on our bed to see how it looked.

But then I decided I didn't really like the deep pink around the heart or the pink I'd used as the background or the pink background for the embroidered "family heart" in the centre. So I unpicked all of those. Took me ages!

I then replaced the deep pink with the pink I'd used for the background in the original and changed the background to white. I also re-did the "family heart" embroidery on a white background. Much better.

Then I started to add the outside borders - alternating coloured/white squares. I only got the side borders put on ...

... before I decided I didn't like it! More unpicking was done.

I then decided to replace the alternating colour/white squares border and what would have been the outside white border with one wider pink border instead. Much better.

This was the quilt as it was on Saturday - all pinned and ready for quilting.

I have now done all the quilting and am about to attach the binding so, hopefully, it will get finished soon. This quilt has seemed to take ages but that's what happens when you change your mind about practically every part of it! *eyeroll*

oddments blankie

Baby girl is still keeping us waiting. We were all hoping that she would come today so we could call her "Pancake". 😁 Joanna (Auntie-in-waiting) and I were laughing this evening when I said that it looks like our baby girl was going to be a March baby. Joanna's reply was "at the rate she's going, she's going to be a pumpkin!". 🎃 LOL

Last time we went to see Debbie (mum-in-waiting), I forgot to take my crocheting with me so she handed me a basket full of granny squares and said "here you go". I spent the afternoon crocheting them together with my usual slip stitch in the gap then 3 chain to the next gap. It makes joining squares together much more enjoyable when you get them done fairly quickly.

I then brought the joined squares home with me, joined in all the ends - somebody needs to invent a way of doing that quickly! - and then did a 3 row border of granny trebles around the outside. I think it turned out really well considering there was little to no planning of what square went where.

Here's a photo with my slippers showing to show the size of the blankie - not big but fun, bright and will probably be well-loved by baby girl.

another catch up post!

I got into trouble yesterday when we went to see Debbie, Jason, Molly & baby bump for not blogging. Debbie told me in no uncertain terms she was fed up refreshing the page only to see the same photo of hyacinths again and again. Okay, next time you refresh, you'll see a photo of my sale jammies. Happy now? :oP

Yes, I bought some jammies in the sales - you just can't make jammies for £8 these days. Crumbs, a dressmaking pattern costs more than that! Anyway, I wore them for one night and *had* to do something about the buttons. They were so small that they kept coming out of the buttonholes - not good in this chilly weather! So, I went to replace the buttons and didn't have enough of the right size. Isn't that always the way? I have thousands of buttons - no word of a lie - and it's crazy how many times I don't have enough for what I want to do! Then I had a bit of a brainwave - why do they need to be the same? They don't! So the replacement buttons don't match and I don't care one hoot. I love these jammies. They are so comfy and cosy - especially now that they stay shut!

I made a couple of lemon cakes. I doubled the quantity as I had a lot of lemons to use up. They're all gone now but they were delicious! My mouth's watering just thinking about them!

I decided to stop crocheting the ripple blankie I was making for the new baby - blogged about here. I've not ripped it out, just put it away for now. Instead I've made the same kind of blankie I made for both our girls when they were babies - your good old traditional granny squares.

When we found out Debbie was pregnant, my next door neighbour asked me if Debbie would like a traditional shawl. Debbie was delighted at the idea and C gave it to us last week to give to Debbie. Oh. My. Goodness. It is absolutely gorgeous. What a lot of time and effort she's put into it! Debbie - having been brought up well ;o) - has already written a thank you note. She just loves it!

When Debbie and Jason went on holiday to Canada last year, a friend took her to the quilting shop we'd gone to in 2011 - blogged about here - and bought her fabric to make a quilt for the baby. At that time, Debbie didn't know what sex the baby was so the fabrics are non-gender-specific. I've spent the last week or so making them into a quilt top.

It's now pinned on to a fleece for the backing so I hope to get it quilted together this week.

One of Joanna's work colleagues was admiring her diary cover (blogged about here) and oohing and aahing and drooling over it. Maybe the last bit isn't quite true but it was a close thing! Joanna asked me if I'd make a cover for Gail. Of course, I said yes.

Here's the front:

The back:

The inside front cover showing part of the quote Joanna chose:

The inside back cover with the rest of the quote - I did the quote using my embroidery machine. So easy peasy!

I hope Gail likes it - I'm sure she will!

You might have noticed some wee paws in the photo showing the back cover. That's because Tilly decided she wanted in on the act. Butter wouldn't melt! :o)

a top, a jacket, blankie plans and books

I was trying to think what I'd been doing all week and, for once, my camera didn't help me! The only photos on there since the finishing of the crocheted hexagon blankie were this top which I made for Debbie last week.

It's made from this pattern - Butterick 5495, view A.

I can't honestly say I enjoyed making it. The fabric was really flimsy - it's a knitted jersey but has very little body to it. The loopy thing at the centre front, whilst not hard to do, didn't look that great to me. It's made by leaving small gaps in one of the seams - ie holes! - and then you put a loop of fabric through said holes and hand-sew it together. Even though I hand-sewed it really carefully, I have visions of my hand-sewing coming apart and Debbie falling out of this top! Crumbs I hope not! Debbie tells me the top is at least 5" too long. I suspected it would be long but I just made it as it was on the pattern so maybe it's meant to be worn by giants?

I have been making myself a jacket which I hope to wear to our next Singers' concert at the end of April but it hasn't been going well. The pattern is the same as the red jacket I made for the Christmas concert.

The pattern is from the 90s and so has dropped shoulders. It actually needs shoulder pads, they stick out so much! I want the shoulders to be not quite so dropped. You'd think it would be a quick thing to do but no. I'm now on my third attempt. If this one doesn't succeed, I will most definitely *not* be attempting a fourth! I will think of something else - or I'll just wear the blouse I've already got!

I've been pondering what my next crochet project will be. I found this pin at the weekend and liked it a lot.

Source: via Anne on Pinterest

It's done in a lovely V-shaped stitch made from the tr2tog (treble2together) stitch. (The pattern calls it DC2tog but that's US crochet terminology.) I don't think I'll be doing it in shades of pink - although I do like it - but it'll probably be a random-whatever-colour-I-grab-next kind of blanket. I might not even do it in a square as you can't use up wee bits of yarn that way. I'm thinking maybe a stripe alternating with a random colour and the black I have left over from the hexi blankie. Lots of plans in my head - I just need to make a start!

I was adding my most recently completed book to my "read in 2016" page and realised that I have just started my 30th book of the year. According to my dairy, we are on day 82. 29 books read in 82 days? And those are all full length books - no short stories! A-ma-zing!

Before anyone asks when I have time to do all that reading, I'll tell you.

• I'm usually awake at least an hour before it's getting up time so I'll read for that hour.
• Then I'll read my book at breakfast time. (Douglas is reading the news on his iPad so it's not like I'm ignoring him!!)
• And at morning snack time.
• And with my cup of tea after lunchtime.
• Then in the afternoon, when I've finished my sewing for the day and before it's time to start making the tea, I'll read my book.
• Then after tea before any programmes that I want to watch on the telly come on, I'll read my book.
• Then, in the evening, if there's nothing on the telly, I'll read my book.
• Then at bedtime, I'll read for at least half an hour if not a whole hour.

So a lot of reading gets done by me in the day. Obviously! 29 books read in 82 days! Wow!

crocheted hexagon blankie finished!

I finished my crocheted hexagon blankie this afternoon and I couldn't be more chuffed with it.

This is the blankie on my Hague linker getting the last rows linked/joined together.

This is it thrown on to the sewing table ready to get those ends dealt with. Because I'd caught most of them in when I was joining the blankie they could simply be cut off. There were actually very few that needed sewn in. Whoopeee!

This is the back of the blankie. I like how the linked edges have made ridges so that each hexagon now looks almost like a wee saucer!

This is the front of the blankie on the table.

Then I took it down to the living room where the floor made a great place to lay it out. It's interesting to see how those 6 dark purple ones really catch the eye.

>

Or maybe it's the yellow ones that catch the eye?

I haven't decided if I'll do half hexies for the short ends or not. If I was doing it for a competition - which I most assuredly am not!! - I'd maybe do the halfs (halves??) but this if for us to cuddle under when it's chilly or for Tilly to lie on or for just admiring the colours so I'm thinking maybe I'll just leave it as it is and simply enjoy it.

I am so pleased with the blankie - and even more pleased that I joined it with the Hague linker. I know that, if I was joining it by hand, I probably wouldn't even have all the single hexies joined into rows by now, never mind having it finished. I love it! :o)

lots of sewing, baking and linking

I didn't think I'd done too much sewing this week but my camera tells me otherwise! I started by making a blouse for Debbie. The pattern is (yet another version of) New Look 6407, view E.

My neighbour asked me the other day if I still did sewing and would I be willing to make her some oven gloves? She had definite ideas on what style she wanted - gauntlet type, small hands, long in the length, definitely with thumbs. Aaargh! The last time I made gauntlet gloves I had terrible problems turning those thumbs!

First of all I made a prototype and let her try it on - she was delighted with the fit. (The thumbs were much better this time!) These are the gloves I made for her. She's so pleased to have "oven gloves that fit me for the first time in my life!"

I had intended making another glove like the prototype but, numpty that I am, I cut the two glove shapes the same way so they're not a pair. Joanna kindly took these off my hands!

I was doing some tidying in the sewing room and found the square in a square block I made a while ago - Feb 2014, to be exact!

I decided to make another one just like it and turned them into a new pincushion.

I also made another pincushion just because I could!

I finished the rainbow steps quilt. I have to say, I *love* it!

The back is plain blue fleece which shows the stepped quilting quite nicely.

Wee Ted wanted in on the act so here he is showing it off.

I spotted a pin on Pinterest the other day for one hour rolls using plain flour.

Source: via Anne on Pinterest

I gave them a go yesterday. Here they are rising before they went into the oven.

And here they are all cooked and delicious. Douglas and I had already sampled one each by the time I got the photo taken.

Boy, they were good. I will *definitely* be making those again.

I finally decided that I had enough crocheted hexagons for my blankie and laid them out on the livingroom floor trying to make a "random" pattern. Douglas helped me and we gathered them into rows for joining.

I must admit, I wasn't looking forward to joining them for a couple of reasons.
Reason 1 - black yarn is not the easiest to use to join things. It's hard to see it!
Reason 2 - laziness. I wanted the blankie joined up now!

That's when I got to thinking about my old Hague Linker which I used years and years ago to join together the knitted things that I'd made on my knitting machines. Douglas got it out of the hall cupboard for me and I set it up wondering if I would remember how to use it. I did! Or at least my hands knew what to do. It was wonderful to use it again!

And, you can weave in all the ends as you're linking so I shouldn't have any ends to sew in - or at least, not many! I got all 12 rows linked together this afternoon - far, far more than I'd have managed to join if I'd been doing them by hand.

Hopefully I'll get the rows joined together this week then I'll have to decide if I'm just going to leave it with the hexagon edges or if I'll make half hexies to fit in. I know "Reason 2 - laziness" might be a factor in that decision! :oD