Granny bunting.

One of the many great things about blogging is reading other people's blogs.

Other blogs offer loads of inspiration and many have tutorials.

One of my favourite bloggers who crochets is a lady called Lucy at Attic 24

http://attic24.typepad.com/weblog/

 It's from her blog that I learnt how to make granny bunting.

I really am not great with instructions (I don't do instructions is one of my mantras) but I got the hang of it within 15 mins.

 

 

 

 

I figured I could join bunting into a circle and  I started to wing it..

 

This was going to be a bag but as I go along it  seems to be evolving into a cushion or a hat for a giant. I suppose if you freestyle you have to expect the unexpected.

 

x

 



Blanket update

 I've just finished joining another row.

It almost covers the sofa but still a way to go for it to be big enough to cover our bed.

 

 

x

Ciabatta recipe, easy-peasy.

If I had put together a Bucket List, learning to make ciabatta would have featured for me.

I gave it a go a few times and failed miserably. I resigned myself to never getting the knack of making.

Then I watched Paul Hollywood's series on bread on BBC2, bought the book and decided to give it a a go.

 

 The recipe is easy to follow but I will say me it took me until my fourth attempt before I was really happy with the result and I did watch the episode again on iplayer.

 

 

 I found that making the sponge (flour water and half the yeast) before I go to bed, when I come to make the bread the following morning it is really nicely fermented and ready to go.

 

 

I put in the rest of the water, salt, sponge, flour and then lastly the yeast, in that order.

 

Combine on the lowest setting then increase to the next setting and then I mixed on number 3 for the last 7 minutes (15 mins in total)

 

The mistake I made was to put it in too big a box to prove.  

 

In the 2 hours it is left to prove, with the right size box, it will reach right to the top and when you slowly tip it out it won't flop as much.

 



 

Next on my Bucket List would be to keep a sourdough starter going and make a really good sourdough.

Watch this space.....

 

x

 

Discovering the joys of crochet

For 40th Birthday, some lovely friends bought me a place on a crochet class.

I have never been able to crochet before but always longed to and had several failed attempts at teaching myself.

The lessons were invaluable, it was like something just clicked and I got it.

Now I've started, there really is no stopping me.

I've done blankets for the kids and I'm now working on one for me and Dave.

 

 

I started out making granny squares, not really sure where I was going with it.

 

 

Then I figured out how to join the squares.

 

 

 

Then I bordered the block of squares and joined together one row of 6 blocks.

 

 

I completed another row and joined the two together.

 

A work in progress......

 

I am hooked (pun intended).

 

x

 

 



Getting to know my new sewing machine

I was very lucky to get a sewing machine. It's a lovely one and a thing of beauty. Having had a go on one at a sewing cafe, I longed to get one. Because it was also my 40th, Dave got it for me.

I've had a go at a few things, decorated a blanket for my nephew and Leah asked me to make her one.

I used a fleece blanket from Ikea, I don't think it cost anymore than £5.

I used my Big Shot die cutter to cut out the letters in fabric backed with Bondaweb.

And them ironed her name on,

then stitched around her name.

Edged the blanket with different stitches.

The stitching around the letters will take a few more goes to perfect but it's something she absolutely loves and just in time for the coming cold snap.

x

An altered pinboard.

I've had this idea in my head for a while, to make Leah a board where she could store her hairbands and stuff. She tends to use the same ones over and over again or the ones she does use end up on our bed or bedroom floor. The hope was that if she has a way of displaying and storing them, she'll use different ones and keep them in one place. A person can but dream!

It took me a while to find the board. Two weeks ago I finally found one, in Wilkinsons for £2.50 I think it was. Everything else I used was from my craft stash.

The board

The (general) idea

White acrylic paint and a little water.

One coat is enough, the papers I covered it with are thin so it looks better being backed by white rather than brown.

These are decoupage papers I got while on holiday, pack of 24 for £3.99.

I got Leah to pick out just 4 colours to try and keep it simple and make it easier to work with.

I started, roughly, in the middle putting down a thin layer of mod podge and then smoothing down each rectangle.

All covered.



Faux stitch lines with a promarker pen.

Then a coat of mod podge.

Cut grungeboard for bunting and covered in the same way as the board.

I made a rosette using ribbon and sewed and glued it to the board.

I coloured the pegs with promarkers to match.

The bunting is backed by small pegs.

The idea of the rosette is that hair slides can be put on the ribbon.

It's not perfect but for a first try, I'm happy.

I really enjoyed making it.

Leah was very happy, thankfully.

Maybe, just maybe I will stop stepping on hairbands in the middle of the night.

x

Getting to where I want to be...

My crafting has been practically non-existent.

I found my self in a deep, dark, lonely, crafting rut!

Everything was in the living room, covered in a layer of dust, inaccessible, unused and unloved.

For sometime now, my crafting (when it has happened) has taken place on a small table with me hunched up and everything in a mess around me.

When you stop crafting because getting everything out just seems like a hassle is when you know it's time for a change.

After a while, a plan formed in my mind. 

To cut a long story short, this involved moving all my craft stuff down stairs, to the space under the stairs. I'll spare you the details, just know it took over a week of sorting, dusting, sneezing and thinking.

Now I can work on the kitchen table and everything has a place, amazingly.

To the left of the stairs is the cupboard which houses the unit that powers the warm air heating, the door was an ugly brown and had seen better days so out came my old friend, blackboard paint. Several coats later.

Then found a button that I bought ages ago, just because I liked it. Stuck it on the handle with a mixture of silicone and super glue.

Even Dave liked it.

Now I'm looking forward to getting more crafting done.

x