Monday’s Meander Round the Garden

Posted on January 9, 2017 by craftycreeky

One of my New Year resolutions this year is to take a photo of the garden every day and post it on facebook. I did it about three years ago as a way of seeing what’s good in the garden, rather than seeing the weeds and the work. The byproduct of this was that I went into the garden alot more and did alot more gardening, the garden was the best it has ever been that year…and it’s been going down hill since!! I’ve a lot of plans for the garden this year so hopefully this will help me get the energy and the drive to get it done! I quite like the decaying winter garden look, but I think it’s time to get out there and sort it…

Winter Garden

This week there’s been quite a lot of chopping down, falling down and pushing over!! It started a couple of days ago when an old lilac tree at the top of the garden fell over. They seem to be prone to this, they get to a certain age and then just go rotten at the base, after previous experience of this I do give my lilacs a bit of a testing push every so often! Lucky it happened now and not in a couple of months time when Mr & Mrs Bluetit would have been nesting.

Winter Garden

Our neighbour is having a lot of work done in his garden at the moment, including replacing the dividing fence, which is great news as the current one looked very patchy. He was outside yesterday clearing some of the shrubs and I took the opportunity to cut down a philladephus. I’d been planning to do this before the spring anyway as it’s becoming quite a thug and as there is a much bigger one on the back lane, we will get the scent anyway. It worked really well as it’s in the way of the new fence so he was more than happy to help and even better, his digger will pull up the roots!

I had a huge pile of twiggy branches when I turned my eye to our other lilac which is also spreading over the boundary. I decided to ‘test’ the main trunk, very wobbly, it didn’t take much to pull that one down. I then check a side branch and that came straight down too! I now have a big pile of wood to sort out! Good job we’ve got a wood burner!

On a more positive note, I found the first shoots peeping through, I think they’re snowdrops. The cyclamen are still flowering too.

We’ve quite a few evergreen shrubs which add a bit of interest at this time of year, this is osmanthus (great alternative to holly in Christmas decorations!) and eunonymous, which after years of just being a heap on the ground has suddenly made a bid for freedom up the wall!

Here’s an overview of the back garden, looking I have to say, a bit sorry for itself! The area to the left is being cleared for a new graveled circle with deep beds.  Other areas need tidying or clearing, depending on how infested with weeds they are. The chickens are sulking after the one month quarantine imposed by DEFRA was extended to three months! It’s all to do with preventing bird flu but  they’re not happy! We’ve not had one egg!!

Spring will soon be here and then it will start looking better 🙂

Winter Garden

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SAL 5

Posted on January 8, 2017 by craftycreeky

It’s three weeks since my last stitch-a-long post, with Christmas and New Year and life  in general in between I only managed to spend one evening on my flower lattice embroidery.

This is an embroidery I started a couple of months ago which was designed by Di Van Niekirk, it includes ribbon embroidery and stumpwork so it’s a huge learning curve for me as it’s what I call ‘proper embroidery’!!

This is where I was three weeks ago, I’d just finished my first block with the cute little spider…

Flower Lattice

The second block is entitled ‘ A daisy, a snail & wild sorghum’, I have to admit I have no idea what wild sorghum is, but it looks pretty!!

The daisy is embroidered with a warm, pale yellow silk ribbon with lazy daisy stitches. One thing I learned here is that it is worth following the instructions and using a 16 chenille needle. I stitched the stems first with a needle I picked out of my pincushion, whilst I didn’t have a problem making the stitches it did damage the silk ribbon pretty quickly. Once I swapped to the size 16 chenille it made a bigger hole in the fabric and therefore the ribbon wasn’t damaged. Every third stitch on the daisy is just a twisted straight stitch, this reduces the bulkiness of the flower. The centre is french knots in a variegated thread using one or two wraps to get a bit of texture.

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I’ve not bought the recommended threads for this project, I’ve bought some shaded threads at Delicate Stitches in Kentish Town, otherwise it’s DMC substitutes. I stitched the snail shell with one thread of a beige/brown thread and one threadof a beige/pink thread. I think it’s worked pretty well. The shell is stitched with a added satin stitch, which is where you stitch round the edge with stem stitch and then satin stitch over the edge to make a rounded effect. The centre is just chain stitch round in a circle.

Lattice embroidery

The body is created with stem stitch, probably my least favourite stitch as my effort is never as smooth as I feel it should be. This time it worked fairly well with the main area stitched in a sandy colour, a few straight stitches added in the brownl thread and then a little green added to ‘ground it’.

Although I’ve only managed one evening this time, I’m pleased with the result, hopefully I’ll manage more next time, especially as I’ve a day sewing at my Embroiderers Guild |meeting.

Lattice Embroidery

This stitch -a-long is organised by Avis from Sewing Beside the Sea, why not have a look at what every one else is stitching. We all post our progress on a specific project  every three weeks but we’re all at different time scales at opposite ends of the globe, so if there’as nothing there at first, do check later! If you fancy joining in just send a message to Avis.

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What’s in a Name

Posted on January 3, 2017 by craftycreeky

A couple of months ago (ok, I admit it was probably a bit more than a couple!) we were all given a name badge to create at Skipton Embroiderers Guild, it’s a great idea, as particularly for a newbie like me it can be a bit daunting trying to remember names.

The following month there were some beautiful name badges in use, all embroidered or beaded, whatever the owner fancied creating. Whilst it was all very inspiring it also left me wondering what I could do that could be anywhere near as nice. I kept pondering but never quite managed to come up with a plan…

One of my New Year resolutions this year was not to play any solitaire on the computer, so far (I know it’s only day 3!!) I’ve stuck to it, the downside is that I’ve rediscovered pinterest…gosh there’s some seriously beautiful things on there! I was looking at embroideries and these two photos caught my eye.

I decided I could adapt the idea to make a name badge. First of all I embroidered my name using my favourite DMC variegated threads. I stitched some double cross-stitches and some running stitches underneath and added SEG at the top for Skipton Embroiderers Guild. My OH spotted me at this point and when I told him I was embroidering a name badge he said I really needed to get out more…then very quickly reflected and decided I go out quite a lot anyway 🙂

Embroidered name badge

I then started playing around with fabric, laces, ribbons and buttons. I rather liked the idea of a chatelaine style badge with dangly bits! I applied some iron on interfacing to the embroidery and the fabric before stitching it all together. I added some sewing themed buttons and charms as well as some tiny mother of pearl buttons.

I decided to make it into a necklace rather than a brooch as I feel you don’t always want to stick a pin in your blouse. I just had enough of my ‘life is beautiful’ tape left to make the necklace.

I’m really pleased with my name badge, I will wear it with pride! I’ve just got to remember to pack it in my bag!

Embroidered name badge

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The Little School Sampler

Posted on January 1, 2017 by craftycreeky

school-2016-09-27-jane-greenoff110121_650_90_3337-1One of my Christmas presents this year was a gorgeous cross-stitch kit from my in-laws. It’s called The Little School Sampler and it’s designed by Jane Greenoff. I just love the subtle colours and also the way she uses lots of different stitches, it’s not just cross-stitch. It’s also a perfect size for popping in my handbag when we go away! We went to visit my in-laws last week so it seemed a perfect time to start my new cross-stitch. I was quite surprised how quickly it grew…or maybe that’s just an indication of how I get somewhat addicted to a project!

This is my progress so far, there’s a square of hardanger embroidery at the bottom, I still haven’t decided whether to do that or to stitch my initials and the date.

The Little School Sampler

I’m linking up with Kathy’s Quilts for Slow-Stitching Sunday, a celebration of all things hand-stitched. Why not have a look what everyone else has been stitching over the festive period.

 

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My Splendid Sampler

Posted on December 31, 2016 by craftycreeky

Well, as we reach the end of the year I am pleased to say I am up to date with my Splendid Sampler blocks! I’ve made 88 blocks so far, so there’s just twelve left to make with the next one due on Thursday.

One of my favourites of this bunch is called Love is the Answer, isn’t it gorgeous? It was designed by Pat Wys. She writes a lovely message with her block;

‘Love brings peace and peace brings joy! Isn’t that the truth? The block, like it’s sister blocks in the Splendid Sampler has been stitched in joyful celebration of the art of quilting. Celebrate with me the journey and fellowship that this amazing community of quilters has enjoyed as we travelled together splendidly sewing our blocks.’

I stitched it with a DMC variegated thread in pale blues, purples and beige, I wanted to keep the lightness of the doves. I love this one.

My Splendid Sampler

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Down the Rabbit Hole

Posted on December 29, 2016 by craftycreeky

Confession time…I’ve signed up for another Block of the Month…in my defense My Splendid Sampler will hopefully be finished by the end of February and thisis the only BOM I am stitching next year! I have to admit that keeping up with three this year has been a challenge and I did think long and hard before signing up for this one…well at least five minutes!

Down the Rabbit Hole BOM

I’ve signed up for Sarah Fielke’s Down the Rabbit Hole quilt. I saw a sketch on facebook of the basic design and I couldn’t resist! It’s a beautiful design, it’s also a medallion quilt which I have been wanting to do for a while. A lot of it is applique, having got the Apliquik rods for Christmas and a gorgeous pair of Ernest Wright 5″ scissors, I’m hoping to master needle turn applique. One factor that persuaded me to do this quilt is the on-line support we are clearly going to get, there’s videos on techniques and a facebook page that is already very active with Sarah answering lots of questions and giving us advice on fabric choices etc. It’s the one thing I missed with my Anderson Farm quilt, I felt very much on my own stitching that BOM. With this one I already know there is someone up the road in Harrogate who is also signed up and lots more on facebook.

Our first decision is fabric, we have a comprehensive list of fabric requirements and the option to have a printable copy of the basic design for us to colour in and work out our fabric choices. Sarah advised A3 size so I e-mailed it to our local copy shop and then popped in and asked for four copies, it cost me the grand total of 80p!! It was really helpful being able to see how the colours worked out. I tried pencil crayons to start with, then tried felt-tips but that felt too hard for the colours I was using so I went back to the pencil crayons. One thing it has reassured me about is that I am very unlikely to get addicted to the colouring book craze, I was quite relieved as I could really do without a new hobby!

Down the Rabbit Hole BOM

I want this quilt to go in our bedroom which is purple and duck-egg blue. My first thought was to use a layer cake and charm pack I bought a while ago, it’s Moda’s Potting Shed, it’s really pretty. I’ve even got a couple of metres of a border print. I realised fairly quickly that it would need supplementing with other fabrics. I happened to spot a fabric set I bought to make the Harebell quilt by Monkey Buttons, the colours are gorgeous. I think they go pretty well together, it is also reassuring that I know I can buy the fabric pack again if I need more whereas Potting Shed is not readily available now.

Down the Rabbit Hole BOM

I just need to sort out my background fabrics now, I’m tempted to use two or three different muted prints if I can find the right fabrics, in maybe duck-egg, soft grey and very pale purple or cream. I’m planning a trip to a quilt shop tomorrow if they are open.

Our first installment is published on 31st January…exciting times 🙂

 

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Circles and Triangles

Posted on December 28, 2016 by craftycreeky

Now we’re on the run up to the New Year I can share a couple more presents I made. These were for my daughter Helen and as she reads my blog I couldn’t share them before.

Triangles first…

Helen is just about to start at university and she put in a request for some bunting to cheer up her room. I made some a couple of years ago for our village hall, a 30m length, I used May Martin’s book as she has some good instructions in it for a quick way of making proper bunting. By proper bunting I mean double sided, not just pinked or zig-zagged.

I found the book and reminded myself how to do it, you basically just draw a lattice on the back of one piece, put right sides together and stitch a seam either side and then cut out the triangles and turn. Bingo! I stitched about a 5m length, it looks really pretty.

Bunting

The second present I made for Helen was a surprise, she’s into elephants at the moment, I’m just about to make her an elephant quilt but I knew I had no chance of making it by Christmas, so I decided to make a little something else. My inspiration was this picture on Folksy and the Paisley Elephant quilt.

I stitched my elephant first, I adapted the pattern from the Paisley Elephant as he looks a very cheerful elephant! I attached it with bondaweb and blanket stitched round. Next to do was the hearts. I used a pretty scrap of  colourful flowery fabric, attached a square of bondaweb and cut several hearts out freehand.

I spent ages arranging them, working out how many I needed, before I ironed them on and then stitched a sort of star into the middle of each one to secure it properly. My original plan was to then add beads and buttons but I could find ones that were just right.

I decided to embroider a back-stitch around each heart to sort of elongate it, rather like the paisley shapes on the quilt. I used a DMC variegated thread, it’s one of those that looks really weird at first, it’s a funny mixture of pink/peach, blue, green and purple, but it worked perfectly.

Elephant Embroidery

I was so pleased with the effect I got a bit carried away…I embroidered ‘splash lines’ with french knots at the end to extend the line of the hearts a little.

The ear was lined with the same floral print with bondaweb behind. I also interfaced the grey to make sure it would hold it’s shape then blanket-stitched round the edge and also used the blanket stitch to secure the ear on at the base. A small shiny black bead was used for his eye

Elephant Embroidery

Once I was happy with the embroidery I just had to mount it in a frame. Whilst I was at the Knitting & Stitching show I saw some really pretty embroidery hoops on a stall, some were painted, others were covered with liberty prints, I fell for a floral liberty print and it works brilliantly with my elephant. Having secured the embroidery in the hoop, I trimmed the edges down to about 1″, glued it to the inside of the hoop, cut a piece of batting to line the back and then happened to spot some pretty blue shiny cardboard packing, I cut a circle and it fit so snug it didn’t even need gluing!

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A little ribbon to hang it from was the finishing touch…

She loves it 🙂

Elephant Embroidery

I will be sharing this on Sunday on Kathy’s Quilts for Slow Stitching Sunday, why not have a look what everyone else has been stitching.

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Stitching Santa

Posted on December 25, 2016 by craftycreeky

buttonThis year I decided to take part in Stitching Santa, a secret Santa for sewing bloggers organised by Sewchet. It was great fun having a nosy round someone else’s blog, working out what they would like for Christmas. It was equally a funny feeling to know someone else was having a nosy round my blog for the same reason…

My parcel arrived a couple of weeks ago and has been sat under our Christmas tree tempting me, I have to confess to the occasional squidge 🙂

stitching Santa

Well today I could finally open it! My Stitching Santa has chosen to stay anonymous but I want to say a huge thank you to my secret Santa, my present is gorgeous!

In my parcel was a lovely length of fabric, it’s furnishing weight and I am very tempted to make an overnight bag from it. It’s a wonderful design with colourful birds, flowers and leaves, I think it will look great, maybe with some leather handles in one of the flower colours and a contrasting zip, I can picture it now…

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There was a co-ordinating length of green spotty bias binding which I can use as a trim on my bag!

In my parcel was also two pretty pencils from the Tate Modern art gallery, which makes me think my secret Santa has a secret camera in my sewing room, never mind my blog, as I’m always searching for pencils!! Hopefully these will stay in my sewing room pencil pot ready for any tracing 🙂

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So to my Secret Santa…

Thank you for a wonderful present 🙂14479811_1113167015418572_3959619735967417734_n

Posted in Serendipity | 6 Comments

Twelve Days of a Crafty Creek Christmas!

Posted on December 24, 2016 by craftycreeky

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me

Twelve Christmas Crackers

Making Christmas Crackers

Eleven Decorations

Ten Sparkling Stars

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Nine orange roses

Christmas Flowers

Eight Christmas Napkins

Christmas napkins

Seven Santa Clauses

Six Christmas Quilts

Five Gold Threads

Mistletoe Humbug

Four Candles burning

(Couldn’t resist that one, watch here for classic Two Ronnies clip)

Advent Wreath

Three Bell Pulls

Two Ginger Houses

And a mince pie and a damson gin!

Making Mince Pies

Merry Christmas everyone 🙂

Posted in Christmas, Crafts, Quilting, Serendipity | Tagged | 11 Comments

Catching up

Posted on December 21, 2016 by craftycreeky

I’ve got a bit behind with my Splendid Sampler blocks, what with finishing the Anderson Farm Quilt and then Christmas! However I put a bit of a spurt on and managed to do four blocks in one evening, well if I’m honest I started about 4pm, but it’s still pretty good going!

Three of them were foundation paper pieced, which fortunately no longer fills me with fear and trepidation like the first few did on this journey! I think my favourite one is called Spool of Inspirational Threads, it’s designed by Melanie Barret, her story behind the block is as follows;

‘My earliest memories of sewing are ones of my great-grandmother. She was a very skilled seamstress and altered a lot of dresses for me when I was younger! My grandmother (like her mother) was also a very skilled seamstress and she sewed all the clothes that she wore! She even made her own hats! I learned to sew from her using her treadle machine. I made lots of clothes for my Barbie doll on that machine. When I was 11 years old I had a paper route and the very first thing that I bought with my tips and wages was a used Singer sewing machine. My mother took me to the local Singer dealer and helped me pick it out. It weighed about 100 lbs, but it was a great machine. My mother was quite an accomplished seamstress also, but not a quilter. It wasn’t until I was in my 30’s that I began quilting. I took classes at my local quilt shop, at quilt shows, or through the local guild. Many people have and still continue to influence me in the love of sewing/ quilting. Those people are represented in the threads of the spool. This block is my spool of “Inspirational Threads”’

dsc_0332I enjoyed making this one, I do like the blocks where you can put pretty much every fabric you’re using in your quilt in that one block, it’s like a mini record!

The secondblock I tackled was Heart String Star by Elizabeth Dackson. It was paper pieced again for the four star point blocks and went together fairly easily. I had to smile on facebook as someone posted a photo of their block and as soon as they had posted it they realised one of the points was pointing the wrong way. She was about to undo it when some one posted ‘Don’t worry, we all have a friend like that’. That’s what I like about quilters, mistakes can become creativity!!

I love the flamingo print I used in the centre of this one, it just makes me smile! I picked out the pink and green for the stars, I’m please with it.

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The third block I made was called Jersey, it’s designed by Carrie Nelson. I love this block, I’m really pleased with how the colours worked out, my points aren’t perfect but they’re not bad, I even managed to get all the little hearts running in the same direction!

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Having made three blocks it was about 9.30pm, I was just about to pack up when I decided if I picked a simple block, I could do one more!!!

‘Flow’ is Block 85, it’s by Latifah Saafir. It’s paper pieced but it was a very simple one, it’s nice to have a quick and easy one every so often, though somehow I seem to have ended up with every seagull either dive-bombing or flying upside-down!!. As you can hopefully tell it’s an aeroplane, or to be more precise, it’s the logo of a cessna, this is the story behind Latifah’s block;

‘Every now and then life blesses us with experiences where flow happens. Where we are on purpose and though it may be challenging the work seems to happen effortlessly. Where we are inspired and focused. Quilting is like that for me. I feel as if I’m sitting at the feet of the gods when I am designing and bringing those designs to life. I often think about the first time I had an experience with flow and that was learning how to fly when I was 16. In just two weeks and with just 10 hours of flight time I soloed in a Cessna 150. I couldn’t have done it without flow. This block is directly inspired from the Cessna logo – the plane that I learned how to fly in.’

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So, after my little burst of quilting, I had made over eighty blocks towards my Splendid Sampler quilt. I’ve made a couple more since then and a couple of hand-stitching ones on the go, so I’ve just three more blocks and I’ve caught up. Pat Sloan is giving us a bit of a break over Christmas and the New Year, which I’m pleased about, a bit of breathing time before the final few blocks. I’m hoping to get a few more blocks sashed, sandwiched and quilted in that time.

Apologies for the photos, today is the shortest day and my photos are suffering from lack of natural light, this was my third attempt…

 

 

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