Yule Presents 2017 Continued

Yule Presents 2017 Continued

I have several lovely friends that are coincidentally in the same craft group so I thought I would like to make something crafty, personal and useful.

I had one of ‘my bright ideas’ which generally means it is okay in theory but could do with several months extra in which to make. Therefore I haven’t taken pictures as I have gone along but I will try and give you the idea.

The craft group is called The Witches’ Stitches. The presents are for three lovely ladies and two handsome gents. Ladies first -

Moira’s Yule Present Front 2017

I made these gifts simultaneously so they are in no particular order. I am making bags complete with zips using the Cross–Stitch technique on Aida Fabric. The bags are embroidered both sides with the group name on and are large enough to encompass long Knitting Needles.

Moira’s Yule Present Back 2017 

Although the lettering is the same each bag is unique to the person it is meant for. Moira is a White Witch and renowned Author so what could be better than a bell, BOOK and candle design complete with a pentagram.

Cayt’s Yule Present Front 2017

Cayt who set up the group is organised. She is a very cheerful person and is often sporting colourful clothing so bright colours were a must.

Cayt’s Yule Present Back 2017

She is also is a gardener. Therefore I felt that it would be nice to have a bit of Ivy clambering around the lettering.

Julia’s Yule Present Front 2017

Although Julia is a Crochet Demon rather than a Knitter I thought it would be nice to have the bag the same size as the other girls.

Julia’s Yule Present Back 2017

When I first met Julia she was often in flowing ethnic or tie die kind of clothes. Therefore I thought I would do a myriad of colours to go with her sparkling personality. Ye Gods never let me have an idea like that again

Now for the lads presents. Both the men do Cross Stitch so I made the bags shorter but deeper than the ladies. With luck they should be able to get a small hoop inside. This time the material used for the bag is felt and the Aida is sewn on top otherwise the small needles would fall through. Rather than using a zip this time I have used strong Velcro.

Tim’s Yule Present 2017 

After consultation with Cayt as to what colours Tim liked I decided on a blue background. I did wash the felt first because I didn’t want to risk the colour bleeding onto the White Aida.

I have tried to keep the pattern simple with a few of his gardening tools on. By sheer coincidence when I began to add the ribbon I had bought I noticed it said Merry Christmas.

Matt’s Yule Present 2017 

With the information from Julia that her Fiancé likes Tartan I proceeded to go with that theme. I think the ribbon used was definitely in the Festive mood because it just would not go on straight. – Sorry about that Matt!

Since Matt is musically inclined I add a few notes then went on to wash and press all the gifts ready for wrapping. Merry Yuletide 2017 folks!

If you want to know more about Moira’s work follow the link below

www.moirahodgkinson.com

Yule Present 2017 Leads To New Skill

Yule Present 2017 Leads To New Skill

I mentioned a couple of blogs ago how Laura from Alyssa Rose Boutique (https://www.facebook.com/Alyssa.Rose.Boutique/) had given me a great deal of craft items. These included some tools I had never seen before.

Small Tool

  

Medium Tool

Since they had originally belonged to Laura’s Gran I thought I would ask my mum if she knew what they were. She had never come across them either so time for an Internet Search!

Large Tool 

I should mention at this point that the Large Tool I couldn’t really see because it was incorporated into a project started by Laura’s Gran. Therefore I knew that the tools were old, metal and used for some kind of sewing craft.

I used various descriptions to search through images. I finally found what I was looking for and I was lucky enough to find a website linked to the photograph.

http://www.knitting-and.com/embroidery/kays.html

I heartily recommend going to this site as it will explain far more than I can. A brief synopsis is that the tools are from the 1920’ – 1930’s and known as Kay’s Practical Embroider.

Kay’s Practical Embroider

This is the set after I had got them out of the material and cleaned up. What I learnt is that there are two sets. There are others that are just small leaves/petals and two small circles. I am not entirely sure whether this is a complete set or a mixture of both.

This craft work is known generally as Plush Work, Chenille Work or Amish Stump Work. As far as I can tell from my research that there are differences between the three and I think Plush Work is the best term.

The principle is like that of making a Pom-Pom. Wind yarn around the template and then cut along the middle and remove the template. I decided to try and finish the project Laura’s Gran had started.

Laura’s Yule Present 2017

I was very nervous doing this but I think the result is quite good. For those that are interested the Three Red flowers were done by Gran along with the leaf and stalk of the largest flower.

I did the infilling of the petals and the dark green part of the large flower. I also finished the pink flower and other stalks plus the embroidered leaf and the plush leaf.

I wasn’t quite sure what kind of yarn had been used before but I decided to use embroidery silks. This gave a lovely soft feel to the work.

So thanks very much Laura that is another string to my craft bow.

Autumn Cape: A Stitch in Time Saves 9 – Part 2

Autumn Cape: A Stitch in Time Saves 9 – Part 2

If you are wondering if you have missed a blog you haven’t. The 1st Part was written in 2016. I have pasted the link at the end.* It might make more sense if you read that blog first.

With this the last blog of 2017 I thought it would be useful to touch on that sore subject – lack of money. Most people have spent a fortune over the Yuletide and will be cutting back in the New Year. Here is one way you can save money. Repair and modify old items.

Green Cape – Top Holes

 

The Green Cape I made has not been able to be worn of late as I noticed threads coming away in places. It needed mending – Again!

Green Cape - Middle Holes

Last time I simply did a quick darn with sewing in loose ends where I found them. This time I would have to find a better solution.

Green Cape – Top Centre Flower

In order to strength the whole area around where it is coming away or fraying I decided to do a spot of embroidery. Fortunately I had several balls of yarn of different colours left over from both the Green Cape project and others.

Green Cape – Top Right Flower

The small holes could be covered by small flowers. However some areas had several holes too close together to do small flowers singularly. Therefore I did a larger flower complete with leaves.

Green Cape – Lower Top Flowers 

The more flowers I embroidered the more holes I seemed to find. In order to spread out the colours I alternated between white, brown and purple flowers.

Green Cape – Middle Back Flowers

Some areas seemed to be fine until closer inspection. This is because the unravelling was showing on the underside rather than the right side.

Green Cape - Bottom Left Flower

This little hole nearly escaped my notice. It was the constant turning whilst embroidering the other flowers that loosened the threads enough to spot. I have more to repair on other parts of the Cape but until I have done that I will move on.

Other Money Saving Ideas

A kind friend - Laura of Alyssa Rose Boutique recently renovating her shop and saved lots of things for me that she thought I might like.(https://www.facebook.com/Alyssa.Rose.Boutique)

Old Chocolate Tin

Chocolate Tins and Tubs are in abundance around Yuletide. This particular one is very old and I had to look it up to find that it was made by Cadbury’s in the 1930’s.

Bead Tin

Inside the Tin was a collection of small bottles. Apparently Laura’s Grandmother used them to put beads in. So who am I to break with tradition?

More Beads 

I sorted all the loose beads I could find and put them into the bottles. I wish I had thought of this idea years ago as it not only gave me more room in my sewing box but I also found more that I had forgotten I had. It was certainly put to good use as I used some of the beads on the Flower Brooches from last week’s blog.

Another Needle Notion

Amongst the items given to me were knitting needles galore. It took me ages to sort them and when I did I found a few odd needles and a couple of broken ones. Rather than throwing them away I decided to use them as supports for my tomato seedlings.

I am still sorting through all the goodies so I may find other items that give me money saving ideas.

*

http://lady-jane-quirky.blogspot.co.uk/2016/10/autumn-cape-stitch-in-time-saves-9-but.html

Other Bits and Bobs 2017 Part 4

Other Bits and Bobs 2017 Part 4

In Other Bits and Bobs 2017 Part 3 I wrote about the Pink Beret I knitted. This blog covers the rest of the set and a couple of extra items.

Pink Gloves

After the Beret was finished I knitted a pair of Pink matching Gloves.

Pink Scarf

To complete the set I knitted a Scarf. A couple of snags occurred whilst knitting it. If you look at the photograph you can see a bump on the left side. This was a miss-stitch that I didn’t notice until far too late.

Also I inadvertently started a new ball of wool on the last section. It was only later that I found half a ball of wool tucked away in another part of my craft box – very annoying.

This meant when I reached the desired length I had two part balls left. It was this when I had an idea.

Pink Flower Brooch

A couple of years ago I made a top which was fastened with a knitted flower.

I thought this would be a great idea to do in some of the Pink wool I had left. I knitted the flower then proceeded to sew Pink Beads on it.

Brown Flower Brooch

Now the Pink Set was finished I started on another set in Brown Wool. Again I made a Flower Brooch. This time the centre bead was white and the rest were gold.

Back of Brooches

All that was left to do was to sew safety pins on the back.

Brown Beret

I am not exactly sure what I did whilst knitting this Beret but I kept getting the stitch count wrong. Therefore I had to make considerable adjustments whilst knitting in order to get it finished.

Brown Gloves 

Another mistake was made with the Brown Gloves. For some reason one glove is smaller than the other. I have either missed a couple of rows or picked up wrongly. Whatever the case the thumb on one glove is very tight and makes it difficult to move. I am hoping that when washed I might be able to stretch it a bit.

I still have the scarf to do but it will have to wait as I have other projects on the go.

Autumn Cape 2017 A long Term Project 2017 – Toggles Part 2

Autumn Cape 2017 A long Term Project 2017 – Toggles Part 2

In Part 1 I dealt with fixing the Toggles in place. In this blog I will deal with the other half – The Loops. However before that I have to state that when it came to comparing the two Front Pieces I realised that the Toggles on the Night Time side were way off.

I therefore had to undo three tacked Toggles and place them correctly. After that I had to add two extra Toggles so both sides had an equal amount.

I-Cord for Loop

After I finished sewing the rest of the Toggles on I then began to work on making the I-Cords for the Loops. I used the 2.25mm Double Ended needles and cast on 3 Stitches. I knitted until I reached roughly 14cm.

I-Cord Looped

Once I had the desired length I cast off and using the tail end sewed together to make a Loop.

Pinning Bottom for Loop

In order to make sure I got the Loops matching the Toggles I pinned the bottom of the pieces together.

Marking Place for Loops

Prior to sewing on the Loops I placed the Loop around the Toggle and then marked the place. Once satisfied I sewed the Loop on properly on the selvedge.

Loops Sewn Night Time Side

I continued to sew the rest of the Loops in place on both Front Pieces.

Securing Loops with Hem

The next thing to do was to make the edge look neater and make the Loops extra secure. I did this by folding the edge over and hemming it.

Daytime Loops Back View

The above photograph shows the view of the Loops from the back.

Daytime Loops Front View

As you can see from the front you cannot easily tell that there are any Loops added at all.