Love, love, LOVE English paper piecing. This will be a lap quilt for the couch. They're 2" hexagons so it's not too daunting for me. Some of the repro' fabrics were gifted to me by one of my Soul Sisters so it's a very special, mindful project for me.
Didn't he do well on his first stitching!
Crafty boys need their very own needle case for their supplies so Mum had to oblige.
LOVE this! Check out the new digital Toffee Magazine! It's a weeny bit of a sneaky way for me to indulge my magazine obsession without people seeing it;-)
I don't feel that I can really call this gigantor-style project knitting! I'm making rag rugs for the kids out of t-shirt yarn I found at the garden centre for tying plants to stakes. It is very awkward but hopefully will look cool;-) I'll try a crochet one too. I'm avoiding the braiding plus sewing method as it seems like too much hard work.
My major crafting this winter is the sampler quilt I'm making for M10. How exciting to read Pip's piece over at ever-inspirational Meet Me at Mikes about an English paper pieced quilt made by female prisoners of war in Changi prison in Singapore in World War Two. I'd just learned English paper piecing last week and completed the above block which I'll applique onto a 12" block. (Yes, my tacking threads are still in.)
Mrs Olga Henderson pointing out the block she made for the 'Tenko' quilt as a 13 year old Girl Guide and POW in Changi, 1943.
We hope that popping a few of these on our windows will brighten things up on gloomy winter days. It's not necessary today because we have sun, glorious, sun again! We're all making the most and are outside hooping, biking, skipping and drawing. Thanks for the star tutorial link, Nova.
The kids were fascinated that the very swing used by children over a hundred years ago is still in the tree.
This amazingly detailed dollshouse with working lights was gifted to the museum. We could have stood there for ages looking at the intricate details.
A slate, like the very one Anne bonked Gilbert on the head with! This thing is heavy - poor Gilbert.
A4 in front of one of Mum's favourite things - a Singer treadle machine. I want.
Pumping water would be fun for a while, but good, hard tedious work every day.
This photo screams Holly Hobbie to this '70s girl;-)
Some other thoughts on Pioneering:
My love for Sharon Astyk seems to know no bounds at the moment. I loved, loved, loved her recent commentary on Handwork. My handwork doesn't make me feel particularly virtuous but I felt a terrific sense of validation after reading this;-)"My grandmother told me that when I was a grown woman, I would live my life in a sea of labor that was done each morning, and undone before I went to bed. I would wash the dishes and cook meals, only to see them eaten and the dishes dirtied again. I would wash clothes, dry them, and see them back in the hamper. She observed to me that it was necessary that I learn to do something that “stayed done at the end of the day.” She was telling me how important this was to her, and she wanted very much to pass on the knowledge.
I was 10 or so, and I truly did not understand what she was saying to me. The life she portrayed seemed alien, distant and unimaginable. Of course I would end each day with some great accomplishment. Of course my work would stay done. I wasn’t going to be concerning myself with dishes and laundry (I think I thought magic fairies might do these for me), but with great events and great deeds - dishes didn’t figure into it. So why on earth did I need to know how to knit or crochet? How could such small things ever matter? I would never, I thought, be the sort of woman who needs, at the end of the day, to rest quietly and work on that one thing that will not be undone. I assumed that my grandmother was simply being fusty."
My latest piece of Handwork, finished last night while sitting companionably next to The Hubby, is a tea cozy for I7. She doesn't own a teapot yet so Mama gets to use it;-)
I had a lot of fun creating this felt princess crown for a wee friend of ours who turns five today. She loves her bling so I went a bit overboard with the pretty shiny bits;-) I used the tutorial here. There is another good one here which would be great for using up smaller pieces of felt. I foresee more of these in my future.
More Tomtens to lead us through Autumn into Winter. I may even share my sultana and cinnamon porridge with them.
Mr Hedgehog rustles around in leaves we collected on a fine day recently. (His eyes should be beadier.)
M9 did this for her guitar-totin' Daddy - soon to find pride of place in his office.
I, of course, continue the obsession;-) Funnily enough, a little fellow has already asked nicely if this can hang on his bedroom wall.
We had fun doing a couple of wee Valentine's crafts one rainy afternoon this week. M9 blanket stitched the red wool felt hearts from an idea in All Year Round - a book we're using for our seasonal crafts. Both girls beaded these pipe cleaner hearts. It was a nice easy activity for our little friend L4 to join in with.
I'm not sure if this falls into the realm of pointless crafting or not? Is there such a thing? My fancy was greatly tickled when I came upon a pattern for knitted olives ages ago. As I delved into my wool roving last night, deciding what to do while watching The Kite Runner, I discovered I had just the right colours to be able to needle-felt some of these babies. Husband gave me that look, you know, the "uuuuuuummmmmm, okaaaaaaay, interesting project dear" look. But he's happy to have his jar of olives sitting on his desk. And they make me happy too - not so pointless after all;-)
I made real preserves yesterday too. Pickled Gherkins from the one plant in our garden.
Some more thoughts. I was recently accused of being "holier than thou" because I hold passionate concerns for people and issues outside the four walls of my white, middle-class, privileged suburban existence - apparently I should be worrying about the "in crowd" or something instead. (I have never been "in" in my life, so it seems pointless to start worrying about it half way through!)
How could I resist this with all the young ladies I sew for!! What to do, what to do with it??
I've had to let go of my plans of finally having a knitted nativity scene this year as other knitting and sewing projects bump it further down the queue.
While M9 was at our local embroiderer's guild holiday programme, I6 did a bit of stitching of her own.
This afternoon The Three had to have a committee meeting to give the wee cat a name. A3 was under strict instructions not to suggest "Sam" (his usual favourite name), and his suggestion of "Maria" (yes, from The Sound of Music) was rejected. So meet "Sophie the Stripey Cat". We have a dog and an elephant to follow. I suppose they'll have to go through the complex naming rigmarole too.
I got my eagerly awaited package from The Nappy Network Hand-dyed Yarn Swap. My swapper chose the Indian festival of Holi as her theme for me. Look at those colours!
My parcel included some dried fruit - a traditional Holi gift, chai tea, incense, a pattern for a knitted Indian camel and some Indian recipes which we'll definitely try (we even have ghee & jaggery in our house).
How did she know I needed more stitch markers?
I feel the yarn is calling to be showcased on its own rather than on the camel so I'll knit him in a solid colour at a later stage. I'll buy some of the Holi dyes I've seen at our Indian supply shop and the kids and I will recreate it in our backyard.
Miss H11 did a super job on her girl. We both agree there is quite a Scandinavian vibe to her.
M8's woman is still in progress so we'll attack her in a voodoo doll-like fashion for a wee bit longer.
What a great activity for ages 3 to 37! Next week, we'll make flat felt pieces.
It was very difficult to take a decent photo in the gloom of the wintery downpour.
And what's the story, people? Noone wants my purty apron? Really? The Husband says it's because my readers must all be givers, unable to receive;-) Come on, humour me. Let me give!
