Hello.....anyone there?

 My little blog has laid dormant for getting on 7 years!! I recently added to my ‘Books I’ve Read’ page, on here, and noticed on one of the posts that it’s almost the 15th anniversary of getting my Shed (of Raglan Thread Shed); so it seems fitting to add a post. I don’t imagine any of my previous followers are still around but you never know. I’m not even sure that anyone follows blogs these days!

The changes and events that have taken place over that time (in my life and in the world in general) have been unprecedented. In the UK we’ve had Brexit, financial and political turmoil, and numerous, so-called, once-in-a-lifetime weather events. Globally, there have been wars, the pandemic, terrorism, growing intolerance and climate devastation. On a personal level there’ve been marriages, births, deaths and health issues. 

But…….this is a craft blog, so that’s enough seriousness. I just wanted to acknowledge what a long time it’s been, and how much crazy stuff has happened. I’m still crafting, although in a more limited way these days.

Here’s a brief overview of the sorts of things I’ve been making: 

Tea-towel bucket hats proved very popular, especially the Welsh ones (when I could source them).

I love to sew using old linens, and this tablecloth top was a favourite that recently sold from my Etsy shop (I was sorry to have to forego my Folksy shop and defect to Etsy, but Folksy just wasn’t working for me).

My most recent popular product has been personalised newborn cardigans. 

Well, I'll leave it at that for now and see you next time. Maybe in another 7 years, but I hope not. 

Bye for now

Teresa x

A Question, a Request and some Crafting!

Do you trust your Google STATS? I get suspicious when my stats suddenly shoot up for no apparent reason. My last post had hundreds more views than normal, mostly from the USA. It's happened once before, a couple of years ago, but that time the views were all from Russia!

I''ve recently published a Facebook page for my Thread Shed crafts and currently have 20 'likes'. If you could take a little look and 'like' it too (if you genuinely LIKE it, that is) I would be very grateful.

I know the dragon should be red but I needed a red square to finish it off. The green is a much nicer, deep shade than in the photo

A friend recently gave me a pile of red and green knitted squares that her husband knitted before he died, a couple of years ago. Not being a knitter herself, she didn't know what to do with them, but as he had originally knitted them for a charity project she wanted a charity to benefit in some way and thought of my stitching group's charitable work. I knitted up the remainder of the yarn so that I had enough to make a blanket, making a feature of one square by knitting a Welsh dragon, and crocheted them together. When I took it back to her she kept it, gave me the charity money herself, and was looking forward to showing it to her children.

This little purple bag (yes, it is a lovely purple, I must learn to use my camera properly) started as a phone cover but was working out much too big. It's made from some of the wool that was donated to our group, so will go on the stall at our next event.

I've been thinking ahead (well ahead, for me) and making some Christmas products. I made a few of these stocking, Christmas tree decorations last year and they sold well. So, after modifying the design to make them easier to construct, I  ran up a few more with the limited festive fabrics I have. They're not as big as them seem next to that cotton reel!

When I un-ran a charity shop jumper and started making granny squares I didn't have a definite end result in mind (as usual). Luckily, though, 4 of the squares fitted exactly around these bolster cushion pads (I have two pads). I looked up how to make granny circles to finish off the ends and here's the result.

We've had a busy weekend looking after daughter's and SIL's 2 dogs, while they are at their cousin's wedding in Germany. We also went to a wedding ourselves on Saturday, of two good friends. Is it just me, or are there a lot more weddings than usual taking place this year? Another friend at the wedding told me she had been invited to SIX weddings (and three christenings) this summer.

Bye for now
Teresa x

More Makes!

When I started this blog I had hardly any crafting to show. Now, I have little else and it's in danger of getting a little 'samey'. I need to start carrying my camera around again!  However, it does mean that I've been busy making - which is a good thing.

Like the granny cushion from my last post, these 2 drawstring bags are made from donated materials and are destined for the stitching group stall at the school fete.

This one, though, is made from my own recycled materials and has been added to my shop, along with a couple of other items.

This is another item for the stitching group. This time it's for one of the group members who commissioned me to make it for her. She's been looking for a silver/grey bag for ages and asked me to make her one after seeing a similar one I made. This one has a zip fastening and a removable flower brooch.

The local Mother's Union is also having a craft stall at the school fete and one of their members asked me to make a few small things that she would buy from me to add to their stall.

I'm having stalls of my own at a couple of up-coming events in the next few months too so I need to get crafting for myself now. I will, however, try to add more variety to my posts.

Bye for now
Teresa x

Thank You!

 Hello again! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are looking forward to a crafty New Year.  I've been a bit under the weather the last few days (a nasty cold, that sapped my energy). I just managed to get through our Carol Services before it hit me, but had to miss Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve for the first time in many years.

I got a few items made during December including a batch of 3 bags. Due to her love of dogs, I decided to give this one to my auntie for Christmas.

My son's girlfriend likes penguins (yes, it is supposed to be a penguin!) and also commented on how much she liked my 'Practically Perfect Cushion', so I made this one for her in a similar style.

 This is the envelope style back, which I like just as much as the front.

No 2 of the 3 bags has a velvet ribbon and button embellishment and a giant press-stud fastener. The buttons match the fabrics better in 'reality' than they seem to here.

Bag No 3 has a jeans pocket on the outside and a button fastener. The last 2 bags will be in my Folksy Shop shortly.

Before I go, I'd like to thank you all for your support over 2013 (and previously). Without you I'd have no blog and, therefore, little outlet for my creative endeavours.

See you all in 2014.
Bye for now
Teresa x

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Follow my blog with Bloglovin




In light of the imminent demise of Google Reader, I've managed to transfer all the blogs I follow over to Bloglovin, and I've registered my blog with them.  What I should be able to do now is put this link in the sidebar information, so it's visible all the time, but I don't know how.  After I add another post this link will be out of sight! A possible solution would be to add a new page and put the link there, but that will have to wait for another day because I've got to get on over to Sew Mama Sew and enter a few more giveaways!

Bye for now
Teresa x

Win, Win, Work!

Goodness, it's taken me ages to get back here and post - it was much easier when I could put a quick something together in my lunchtime at work.

 I'd love to show you some photos from our performances of Anything Goes but I'm afraid cameras weren't allowed at the show, and I couldn't bring any costumes home to photograph because they were all hired! However, I can say that the run went really well, I enjoyed doing it (although, for some strange reason, not quite as much as last year), and we had a really good review in the local paper. We have one more performance of the title number, tonight at the Mayor's Show, and then we move on to the next project.

Above is my stall at the craft fair I mentioned last time.  Within the first 5 minutes of the doors opening I sold my first item!  It was a small pink baby quilt and more than covered my costs for the day.  Which was good because I didn't sell anything else after that!  Advice for selling at craft fairs often mentions having a 'story' behind a product to make it more interesting and meaningful - I found the opposite (where the customer has a story for buying the item) is also rewarding.  The granddaughter of the lady who bought the quilt was having a baby girl soon and the baby was going to be the first girl born into their family in nearly 50 years.  I felt quite honoured that they chose to buy my quilt for a child that was obviously very special for them.

I've had a couple of lucky wins lately!! First is this sweet little book that was reviewed and given away by Ali of the wonderful Very Berry Handmade.  I'm dying to have a go at one of these tiny little characters but I don't know where to start - there are so many to choose from.

Ali also sells bundles of lovely Liberty fabrics and I was thrilled to find a little package of pretty scraps in with the book.

My other lucky win was a packet of multi-coloured buttons from Craftseller magazine, that will be a very handy alternative to my stash of mainly browns and whites.

I'm having a stall at another craft fair this weekend and have managed to finish a quilt for a baby boy, this time.  You never know ......!

And I mustn't forget the lovely Marivel of Cristali Designs who very kindly awarded me a Liebster Award.  I think I'm supposed to say something about myself so, here goes:

My favourite colour is orange
I love to read, sew, sing, knit, crochet etc.
My middle name is Mary (so is my daughter's, it's also the first name of 2 aunties and was both my grandmothers')
I also like to watch The Mentalist, Marivel!
Oh, and I've got a new job - probably (more details to come).

Bye for now
Teresa x

Biting the Bullet!

It feels good to finally finish a project and lay it out - but not if you're unhappy with the result and know that changes have to be made.  I joined all the crocheted hexagons together, crocheted an edging all around and gave it a light press. This was the result!  It's intended to be a baby blanket but, with the hexagons being quite big, the result is a bit floppy, and I don't like the uneven sides.

There was no easy way out so I just had to 'bite the bullet' and start unravelling. It's better if I do it immediately so it doesn't end up on a pile of unfinished items that taunt me every time I catch sight of them.  So, straight away, I undid the edging and sat down to work out how to make half hexagons that matched.  Once I'd worked it out, I luckily had enough yarn left to make six of them to fill in the gaps on the sides.  I had to find another similar yarn to make the edging but I think it works well and I'm now much happier with  it.

 

I've had the crocheting bug recently and have almost finished another baby blanket.  I did have it finished once, but - you've guessed it - I was unhappy with the result and am in the middle of a re-do.

The colours are a bit muted for some reason in this photo (my rubbish editing skills probably!).  It's my attempt at dressmaking for the first time in over 20 years.  I made it up in size 18, but 16 would have possibly been enough; I didn't want it too tight, though.  This was the only suitable fabric that I had enough of and although it's not my favourite I didn't want to waste some new, expensive fabric with my experimenting. All I need now is some sun!

I don't know if I'll have much time for crafting or blogging over the next week or two.  I'm doing a craft fair on Saturday and then the mad week of rehearsing and performing starts for Anything Goes.  Why I booked  a fair in the middle of all this, I don't know - it seemed like a good idea at the time.

After it's all over, I think I need to do a bit of reorganising at A Time for Stitching.  My profile is out of date, I could do with a new banner photo and, with the imminent demise of Google Reader, I need to get something sorted.

Bye for now
Teresa x

Chalet Antics and Cheating!

Goodness me, I didn't realise it's been over a month since I last posted.  I intended popping in before we went away but time ran out.  I haven't any holiday snaps, without people in,  that are worth viewing so here are a few from before I went away. First though, a few comments on the holiday:

Clean beds
Good chalet staff (except for psycho host who broke his collarbone snowboarding and had to be replaced, and finally got sacked after getting drunk and going berserk, resulting in door entry code being changed to keep him out)
No hot water for 36 hrs
Good food (mostly - psycho host wasn't a very good baker)
Good skiing (apparently - I don't ski)
Good walking
Nice people sharing chalet (mother and daughter)
Coming back after a walk to find our chalet's French door wide open and no one inside, the day after having the door code changed due to psycho host's snowboard being stolen (or was it?).

Could have been worse - one of us could have come home with a broken leg and we're definitely going to dine out on this for quite a few years.

Now, back to reality, or so it seems.  OH loves apple pie but I don't make it very often because I don't like making pastry.  The only times we've had any recently is when my auntie makes it for us, from the apples we give her from our tree.  Due to a shortage of apples last autumn, apple pie was also in short supply and OH was beginning to suffer withdrawal symptoms.  What could I do but cheat?  Yes, I gave in and bought ready-made pastry.  And do you know what?  It was very good.  Easy to use, not too expensive and very tasty.

There was plenty in two blocks to make the apple pie, a spinach and mushroom quiche and a dozen jam tart cases.  It was pretty foolproof and I can see it making an appearance in my kitchen in the future. But perhaps I shouldn't leave it until the apple pie craving starts to re-surface.

Anyone who wondered about the tumbling block patchwork should be able to see from this photo why it's called that. The overall effect should be like cubes.  I tried to keep the darker fabric of each set of 3 to the right to continue the effect, but managed to sew one set on the wrong way around.

Just before I went away I revamped this bag that I had lying around.  I won it in a giveaway but didn't use it because it was like a back-pack and wasn't really practical.  I took off the straps, added the decorative ruffles and a matching lining, made the bottom corners 'square' then re-added the straps and fastening tab like a tote bag.

Progress since last time:

More tumbling blocks
Revamped bag
Prepared more un-run yarn 
Started crocheting hexagons from un-run jumper yarn (on holiday)

Bye for now
Teresa x

Very Berry Inspiration!

Some of the crafty and baking stuff I show here is inspired by fabulous bloggers that I follow or chance across from time to time, none more so than Ali from Very Berry Handmade who designs and makes gorgeous stylish things and sells lovely Liberty bundles on Folksy.

It was a coincidence recently that a crochet project and some baking I did both came from Ali.  I had book-marked the pattern for this triple layer crocheted flower quite a while ago but didn't get around to trying it out until the Christmas holiday. Then Ali blogged about this Chocolate Cardamom cake the other week and I couldn't resist giving it a try.  The flower came out quite large because I used some chunky yarn I had lying around. I made it into a brooch after finishing it off with ribbon and a button.

The cake is definitely only for special occasions as it contains two slabs of melted 70% chocolate, but despite being rich, it's not heavy or stodgy.  I made a full-sized cake by doubling all the ingredients (except the cardamom, which I was glad about because it had enough flavour with just the 2 pods).

Ali's cardamom pods looked huge compared to mine (I suppose being 4 years out of date might have had something to do with it)!   Above are the contents of 2 of my pods (one lot hard and crunchy, the other soft and much bigger).  All previous pods I'd used were filled with the small, hard seeds so I was reluctant to use the ones that resembled mice droppings (hence only using half the amount).

And while I'm on the subject of lovely inspirational blogs, here are a few more to browse:

Betz White (beautiful creations from felted woollen jumpers and her own organic cotton fabrics)
Wayside Sacraments (inspirational words and pictures from Leslie, who has become a good blog-friend)
The Scrappy Appleyard (Another blog-friend, John'aLee, who creates wonderful quilt patterns, and is so busy I wonder that she has time to blog let alone read and comment on mine!)
Posie Gets Cozy (If I could could take photos half as good as these, I'd be happy)
Patchwork Pottery (A blog full of wonderful, intricate patchwork designs with their own unique style)
Attic24 (Crochet fans should definitely visit Lucy's blog for a fix.

So, there you have it; I felt I should share some of the wonderful blogs I've discovered over the years (although I suspect they're not much of a secret to many of you) and not keep them to myself.  They've given me much food-for-thought and (as I said at the start) much inspiration in my own life and crafty journey.

Progress since last time:

Purple scarf finished
Charity shop jumper un-run
A few more tumbling blocks added

Bye for now
Teresa x

A Crazy Mix!

Oh dear, I'm not finding time to blog as often as I'd like.  Being at home most of the day there always seems to be something else to get done first, and blogging comes bottom of the list.  Still, never mind, I'm here now so I'll get on and tell you what I've been up to.

I mentioned last time that my crafting over Christmas consisted of fiddling and experimenting - which means mostly handwork since the machine was put away for the holiday.

 I bought this yarn, made from the bark of banana trees, a while ago just to see what it was like.  I couldn't decide what to do with it so just got out some needles and knitted it up into a square to see what it looked like.  It was quite difficult to work with because it was so tightly twisted (I presume to keep it together) that it kept curling around itself, and the thickness varied so much in places that it was difficult to keep any kind of tension.  I couldn't think of anything to make with it in a square, so I undid it and......

...after seeing an idea (somewhere, I can't remember - I really should make a note) found a loose, open stitch pattern to knit it into a sort of cowl/scarf.  This I am really pleased with and have worn it quite a lot already.  I'm now considering getting some of this in different colours to make some more.

I know that many of you patchworkers will, like me, have piles of scraps left over from projects, that you can't throw away.  The problem is, what to do with them.  While I was doing some sewing before Christmas I got some scraps out and just sewed them together randomly with very little thought of colour or design or what I was going to do with them. (Do you see a theme emerging here?) Looking at them the other day I remembered that DD said she liked the crazy patchwork place mats that they used when visiting her fiance's parents.  As her birthday is coming up soon..................do you see where this is going?

With the poor light we've been having around here lately I was trying all sorts to get a decent photo.  I liked the stained-glass window effect of this one.

Another thing I had a brief (shambolic) go at was free-motion machine quilting.  I've been too afraid to try before in case it was completely beyond me but decided to plunge in and go for it (a bit like the tap dancing last night!).  Not a complete disaster by any means, but I didn't have too high expectations anyway. I am glad  I didn't use a contrasting thread though because that would have been a little too revealing.

Finally, was the return of cross-stitching.  I forget between x-stitch projects how time-consuming it is and plunge straight back into another project thinking it will go swimmingly. Sorting these threads into the separate colours took ages, before I could even start.  And without colour names or symbols on the chart I'm floundering a bit. Some of the colours are very similar and there is only the coloured chart to go by.  I tried getting some clues from the picture of the finished item on  the packaging, but it's different from the chart in places, so I can't rely on that too much.  Lastly, is the issue of how many strands of thread to use.  I took my cue from the packaging, where there are pictures of threads which seem to be of 3 strands each. But now that I'm partly done, I think maybe I should be using 2 strands.  Lets just hope I don't run out, although I've found in the past that generous amounts are usually supplied.

What's that?  You want to know more about the tap dancing?  Well, for our next show, we've been asked to  give it a try.  "Anything Goes" is well known for it's tap-dancing, so we've got to try and include at least a little.  We've got a teacher and about 16 of us had our first lesson last night.  How did it go?  Well, let's just say, we've got plenty of time so we can only hope we get the hang of it soon!!

Bye for now
Teresa x

Hello friends, I hope you've all had a wonderful Christmas and are looking forward to a happy, healthy and prosperous 2013.  

The decorations are still up for now.

 We've spent lots of time with family and friends - eating, drinking and making merry.

The mince pies have been devoured.

The stollen is half gone and going down well despite the sloppy homemade marzipan inside.

The handmade present has been given and much appreciated (a laptop bag). I shortened the zip overhang and recovered the end before gift wrapping it (in case you're thinking it's a bit long).

I used a zip insertion method I haven't used before.  It turned out quite well but I will make a few modifications if I do it again.  

Progress since last time:

I had to clean off the kitchen table for the season and everything was put away in the shed, so recent progress has been limited to some fiddling and experimenting.  Hopefully, there'll be something to show for it next time. 

I've just been emailed my Ladies Group financial records after being persuaded to become the Treasurer/Joint Leader so I'm signing off now to try and get my head around it all.

(Thank you so much for the help and advice regarding my Blogger and photo issues,  I'll keep it all in mind.  The other day I accidentally found out how to reduce the size of photos while still on my camera so that will help)

Bye for now 

Teresa x

A Couple of Connected Hitches!

No, I'm not refering to a new type of knot!  Blogger told me recently I had reached my 1Gb photo limit in Picassa and that I would have to pay to increase it.  It put me in a bit of a quandry for a while; did I continue without photos, pay for more space or give up this blog (none of which appealled to me)!  There was one other option - delete some older, unused photos and hope the free limit is increased again soon, or I will have to seriously consider paying for more space.  So that is what I've done for now!

A few days later, I was taking pics of the map boxes when I dropped my camera.  The lens was out at the time and it bent and broke, so although the power still turned on, I was unable to use it anymore!

So, there I was, back with the same dilemma but for a different reason.  It did, however, solve a problem for OH.  The problem of what to get me for Christmas!!  A couple of days later he came home with an updated version of my broken camera and normal service was resumed. Well........ he couldn't wait until the big day when my need was so urgent.

Now, I'm able to show you the random items I've finished recently that you haven't seen yet. Top pic is a selection of felt and fabric brooches.  Next are the map boxes mentioned last time.  They are actually sets of 3 tucked inside each other, with the largest being about 4" square.  The odd yellow one is made from handmade paper a friend brought from abroad and didn't want any more.

This is the little bag made from a pair of child's jeans with a belt handle.  The purple crocheted/knitted bag had two previous incarnations as scarves but never really worked like that, so this is it's final re-form.

Finally, here's a big pile of potential given to me by my auntie (next-door-but-one) who used to make soft furnishings, and has lots more where this came from.  I had a great time going through it all and sorting it into piles. It took much longer that it should have as my mind whirred with what I could make.

Progress since last time:

More map boxes cut and glued
Purple bag finished
Christmas present started.

There'll be only one handmade gift made this Christmas (unless someone buys something I've already  made) and I'm not going to reveal it until after it's been received (I won't make that mistake again!)

Bye for now
Teresa x

The Best-Laid Plans............!!

 

 You know how it is with blogging; if normal routine is disrupted, the first thing to suffer is the blog.  And normal routine has certainly been disrupted here lately.  But before all that:

We went to the local annual raft race a couple of weeks ago.  This is OH and friends' Olympic Games themed raft with the 'torch' on the front.  DD and I went to a wedding fayre after they'd set off and hoped to be back to see them finish but, the river was higher than usual after the recent heavy rain and they finished in almost half  their previous time, so we missed it.

 The following weekend was the last of the local agricultural shows.  Our way around the show was blocked for a few minutes to let the winning animals into the ring for their parade.  It was a lovely day where once again we bumped into many friends, spoiled only slightly by a strange sore area below my right knee.

A rose in the garden during one of the many sunny spells we've had since September started (typical!)

 My leg soreness turned out to be a bacterial infection which (according to the out-of-hours emergency GP) needed antibiotics, but the pharmacist gave me half the correct dose tablets and I was taking them for nearly 2 days before I saw my own GP.

(An old metal sign and glass bottles OH found in an old building on the estate where he works  - I've suggested the sign would look good on the side of my shed)

 To cut a long story short, I am now on 2 different lots of antibiotics and having my leg dressed every day.  I was off sick for the whole of my last week at work leading up to my redundancy and missed a last night out with the 'girls' at work!  It was strange not being able to say goodbye to everyone properly but there are a few I will stay in touch with and a couple I will meet occasionally. I also missed choir practice and a music group rehearsal.

 While I was supposed to be resting with my leg up it was difficult to resist the urge to sew when sitting feet from it, which was irritating because I felt fine in myself. Unable to do much, I managed about half an hour a day and eventually got my Bee quilt blocks sashed.  I want to make it bigger than this so will need to think about what to do with it next.

In case you're worried about me being so near to my sewing machine for days on end without being able to do much - fear not - because it gave me the opportunity to get on with hand-sewing the hexagons that, luckily, I prepared recently.

So, what happens now?  I'm a 'lady of leisure' until I decide what to do next.  My leg is healing, so I should be back to normal soon.  This means there SHOULD be more stitching to show around here soon.

Oh...... and I'm looking forward to watching The Pillars of the Earth re-run on TV starting in about 20 minutes.  This time (Leslie) I won't miss the last episode!!!!

Bye for now
Teresa x