The Chair!

You've seen the chair before but now it's had its upcycling make over!

From this...

 

 

To this...

I needed an extra seat cushiion to make it easier for me to get up so we covered a piece of foam in a Cath Kidston-esque fabric before stapling a matching piece across to original seat to cover the older material.

Very happy with it, it's now in-situ by my bed, my own little space in the house.

Crochet Goodness

I finally finished a project that is meant for me! Hurrah!

When I read through the whole of Lucy's Attic 24 blog I was blown away by it and literally had to stop myself from sitting up and reading the whole thing at once. One of her projects jumped out at me as perfect for sitting on my new chair (which is still awaiting a new cushion cover).

So, using the yarn I've already got which is probably not what I would have chosen immediately but the colour go together well enough, I settled down to make my a start on my own attempt. Now there was much cursing and frogging (my own fault not the pattern!) before I got the hang of it and finally I made it. Following a search for a round cushion I managed to find one online which turned out to be flat on one side but no matter, here is the finished article.

It isn't perfect, not by a long way but I'm very proud of it. The back isn't my best work (I need to work on my colour changing!)

You can find the pattern for Lucy's Blooming flower cushion here.

I've also crocheted this dolphin for my friend who is a teacher and her class name is Dolphins. I hope she will like it when I can give it to her. I found the pattern here.

 

You can see my new duvet cover in the picture, it was a £2 bargain in the Wilkinson sale. Not the highest quality but perfectly good enough for me (and the cat!) You can also see it here with another Wilkinson's bargain...one of their Christmas gift range, I think it was called Little Birds, it was £1 and full of hand care stuff, in the clearance bin because of a tiny dent. I snapped it up!! Perfect for my ribbon collection (well half of it.)

It is entirely possible I have too much ribbon and this is only the Christmas selection! Is iit possible to have too much ribbon???

One last thing, today my Dad retired so it's a new era in the household. To celebrate I baked a coffee and walnut cake, a favourite in this house, only let down by the lack of chocolate to melt over the top! It's yummy though!

So I figured that as I've gotten back into crafting, albeit sewing and crochet rather than cardmaking and scrapbooking I should resurrect my long neglected blog!

Anyone following before would know that I do become addicted to pretty crafting things very easily, the forgotten promarkers, nestabilites, papers etc which are stashed in cupboards and wardrobes are testament to that. Well I have a feeling that fabric and yarn are just, if not more so, as addictive!

It all started during the recent snow when I couldn't get out (artificial joints, balance issues and snow and ice do not mix!) and I saw the sewing machine that was on offer in Lidl. Well to cut a long story short, we opted for a Toyota from Argos instead and the rest is history. Here's a little taster of what's been made so far!

 

 

Excuse the poor light in the photos, but I took them after dark this evening and energy saving bulbs do not aid good photography!

 

Obviously my favourite is the sock monkey! He needs a name (all suggestions gratefully received!) but I also love how the bag turned out considering it's from an unwanted duvet cover and jeans. The crochet hook roll takes us onto my other addiction!

 

I have attempted crochet once before (stretchy christmas stockings) but since finding Lucy's Attic 24 Blog I have fallen in love all over again. The first project was a blanket for my Nan, using some old part acrylic/part wool cygnet aran which said Nan passed to me, along with a new ball of cream luckily found in Sue Ryder. Now I didn't block this, I didn't join as you go and I didn't learn how to edge without ripply edges until yesterday so it isn't perfect...but here it is.

 

 

 

Then, using my limited supply (remember the snow?) of Stylecraft Special DK yarn I set about making my own version of the "Lucy bag". It's not that strong but it will do for yarn ;) I have some aran to make another for shopping!

 

 

 

The next project to use up said unmatching Stylecraft is a Blooming flower cushion, again from Attic 24, to go on my "new" chair. I wanted a tub chair for my bedroom but they were just too big for the space I had (not to mention expensive) so after a charity shop hunt we came across this. All it needs is a throw, another cushion and some little cushions and it'll be perfect.

 







More soon!

Testing

Testing due to live writer issues.

First Christmas Card

Its that time of year again! I figured I should get started early. Played around with digi stamps and my promarkers.

Digi stamp used: Karen’s Doodles Bigsby

Promarkers: Henna, Mustard, Sandstone, Ruby, Forest Green, Rose Pink, Blush, Canary, Sky Blue.

Paper: Cosmo Cricket and handmade paper

Eyelets: WRMK

WOYWW – Week 9

Just a short post from me this week but I’ve had a bit of a reorganize! Having been to TK Maxx I had to find somewhere to store all the ribbons and card I bought!

Out came a big box where I house all my assorted junk (CDs, PC leads, Camera manuals etc) and I tipped a lot more into there and lo and behold I had space in the cupboard!!

The snazzy red pencil case houses my promarkers…it’s already full!!!

The rest of my space is not so tidy as I’ve actually been crafting this week!

My poor old trimmer is being retired to the bin…it rips up all my paper and I know it doesn’t cut straight, so I’ve ordered myself a new one which hopefully will arrive today!

If you're interested in seeing more workspaces or sharing your own, pop over here to see more!

I didn't manage to get round any desks last week thanks to my manky shoulder but hopefully this week I can do much better!

Photography Thursday

Yes I’ve finally been out with my camera again! Managed to get a nice day yesterday so while in town I popped into a local park next to the town library and then to the quay by the river and managed to get some good shots. I was there taking pics to make up a panorama as part of Cheryl Johnson’s latest workshop. Here’s the result.

And a few of the other photos I managed to get…

WOYWW – Week 8

Shock horror, I’ve crafted!!!

The delivery of my promarkers prompted me to dig out my messy rabbit stamps once more and put them to good use, rather than sitting in a box!  Here’s the result. It needs something more but can’t work out what! Together with card and ribbons from American Crafts found in TK Maxx!

Onto the workspace. This was taken last night and you can see the in progress digi stamps I’m using from digi boutique and my promarkers (which have somehow multiplied since last night…how did that happen!!), and my PC desk along with my photoshop magazine/book I bought last week. Much better than the big thick book as it has pictures…! Oh and my new mouse mat which is very apt for this household!

If you’re interested in why I’m showing you my messy desk, pop over here to find out!

WOYWW – Sort of…

My crafting has once again been non existent but I wanted to post and reply to a few of the comments left last week :)

First though for all those who asked to see some of the cards I made for the museum, I managed to grab a couple before they were taken to them and take photos.

Not the best photos but you get the idea.

Spyder asked me about the rocker blocks. I love them…my hands are so small I can only use the tiny one and the medium (around A7) sized one but they make life much easier. I have regular acrylic blocks too for foam backed or larger stamps but I can’t stamp as well with them! The cutter was a QVC bargain buy…it’s great except for on copy paper which it tends to shred a bit.

Julia, I’ve not learnt photoshop from the book unfortunately. I bought it with that intention and it has been helpful but I have learnt more from Cheryl Johnson’s latest course than I ever would  from that book lol. That and online tutorials!! Still not touched even 10% of photoshop though!!

Pics above were taken with my new little tripod, which I adore!!

Hopefully some craftyness next week!!! In fact definitely as I have succumbed to the power of promarkers. Bought a set from QVC on impulse this afternoon and have a feeling this could be the start of either a beautiful friendship or a spiral into another crafting addiction!!

If you’re wondering what I’m rambling on about, pop over here to Julia’s blog for more information on WOYWW!

Another Post…

Just a quick second post for the day. A few people commented on my WOYWW about my making cards for the museum. Here’s the link to the website, if anyone is interested.

http://www.truesyard.co.uk/

It plays a recording when you open it so beware.

It’s very close to my heart because most of my Dad’s ancestors were fishermen in the local area and this tells the story of them.

Also found a little bargain today.

This little tripod is a free gift with Practical Photography magazine. It’s exclusive to Tesco’s but it’s very handy and compact for a handbag. You never know when you might need it. I don’t normally buy the magazine but saw it and thought what the hell. Supposedly it’s worth £4.99 and the mag is £3.99 so I thought why not. It fits my compact camera very nicely.