Bee Book SAL

Posted on September 1, 2024 by craftycreeky

It’s time for my three weekly update on my fabric book about bees. Last time I shared my progress I was doing nicely with the second half of my bee cross-stitch. This was a kit I bought at a destash sale and I’m using it to make two pages for my book about bees.

Well I’ve now finished this piece, there was meant to be the word ‘bumble-bee’ on the far right hand side but I decided to leave it off as the set of images is about hives and honey, bumble bees don’t live in a hive, they make a nest. I don’t think they make honey either as only the queen survives over winter so they don’t need the honey stocks to feed on. Anyway, here’s my finished piece…

I’m now stitching a set of three bumblebees, I kept seeing this pattern on instagram and having done a google image search I managed to track down the designer on Etsy. I had told myself that I had enough cross-stitch pieces for the book but I particularly like this one as it has three different types of bumble bee and gives their Latin names too. It’s designed by FloReen Studio.

I’ve almost finished the first one…

…as you can see I just need to finish back-stitching the wing. I need to do a bit of calculating before I start the second bee, the design is portrait shape, whereas I want it either square or landscape. I thought I’d move the second bee across a bit so I can move the top bee down a bit.

I only realised today that the big bumble bee I’ve just stitched is actually the same design as the one I made into cross-stitch smalls, one of which is going to be used in the book! I’ll mount it differently so it’s not too obvious.

After these bees I’ve a whitework bee, a blackwork bee and an embroidered bee to do, then I will start making the pages.

Please visit the other blogs that are also taking part in this SAL. There are so many different projects to enjoy. The participants live all over the world so you may need to allow for time differences. We’re posting today at local time. Click the links to their blogs below and see what they’re up to.


Avis, Claire, Gun, Christina, Kathy, Jackie,

Sunny, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, Cathie,

Linda, MaryMargaret, Cindy, Helen

Posted in cross-stitch, embroidery, Stitch-a-long, Textile Books | Tagged , , , , | 20 Comments

Festival of Light

Posted on August 29, 2024 by craftycreeky

It’s my birthday this week and as a surprise my OH and Helen organised a weekend in the Lakes to see the Festival of Light. I’ve wanted to see it for years, it’s usually held in the spring, but this year it was postponed due to bad weather. When Helen saw it had been moved to August she dropped a hint to my OH!

The Festival of Light was started a few years ago as a fund-raiser following a bad earthquake in Nepal when several sherpas were killed. As the mountains in the Lake District are used as practise for those wishing to attempt Everest, quite a few of the walking community in the Lakes knew them. The first Festival of Light raised money for their families. I think since then money raised goes to a relevant charity. This year the money raised went to the Michelle Jurd Trust who help both disadvantaged young people and veterans to have adventures in the Lakes.

Anyone who is reasonably fit can take part in the Festival of Light. Basically lots of walkers head up Catbells at dusk, about half an hour after sunset they turn their head torches on and face the lake, the result is beautiful when the outline of catbells is lit up.

Sunset was at 20.30, so by 19.30 we had our camping chairs positioned in a prime spot on Friars Crag. We were just watching, by the way, I’d love to climb Catbells for the event, but with my balance issues it’s a definite no no. I’d already worked out that Friars Crag would be a good spot, easy to get to and from and a perfect view.

We watched the twinkling torch lights making their way up the fell, I think they probably had someone checking for gaps along the path so it looked good photographically. There’s hundreds of walkers who take part, they walk from Keswick, meet at Portinscale, then walk up Catbells. There must be an amazing atmosphere on Catbells.

By the time it got to sunset, there was quite a crowd along the lakeside and Friars Crag. There were some children behind us with infectious giggles, they sounded about 7 or 8. We were well wrapped up with a flask of coffee to share.

At 21.00 the head torches were turned on, for me it was a bit of a Wow! moment…

I thought it was lovely, the kids behind us were not impressed however, in a loud voice one of them proclaimed ‘Is that it? Well that wasn’t worth waiting for!’ It caused a ripple of amusement from everyone 🙂

We were staying in a very nice barn conversion out in Lamplugh, near Loweswater. The following day we had a walk up the fells, not as far as Helen intended, as the route she had chosen involved a lot of what I call off piste walking, i.e.there wasn’t necessarily a pth, so it was hard going in places. We did however get high enough for some lovely views across Loweswater and over to Crummockwater.

All in all it was a lovely weekend, I think Helen fancies climbing Catbells in the Festival of Light another year, she’s definitely got the bug for the Lakes 🙂

Posted in Walking | Tagged , , | 17 Comments

Summer Skirt

Posted on August 19, 2024 by craftycreeky

Straight after making my hummingbird skirt I cracked straight on and made another summer skirt. This fabric was an impulse buy from Boyes in Ilkley, I really shouldn’t meander round there when I’ve time to spare! It’s not a place I would go if I was looking ofr a specific fabric, but they do have occasional gems in there, I’ve had Lady McElroy fabrics and other designers at greatly reduced prices.

This is a linen viscose mix, 20% linen, it has a lovely heavy drape to it. I loved the flowery design, it’s a sort of watercolour style. The pattern is McCalls 7906, I bought it when they last had their half price sale on. It has a raised waist line, deep pleats, button down front and side pockets. As usual I added a few inches to the length.

I cut out a size 14 as according to the finished sizes given, that should only have given me about 1/2″ ease round the waist. In reality it’s a little big so I’ll probably go down to a 12 for the next one.

It went together really easily. I made the belt carriers slightly longer so they would fit a 2″ belt. The buttonholes all went smoothly – a miracle in itself! I didn’t have ant suitable buttons in my stash so I decided to cover some instead and I actually tried to pattern match the buttons, some more successfully than others…

I love this skirt, it drapes beautifully, it’s got a lovely swing to it, I tried to get a photo of it swishing, the skirt looks great but I did have to smile as it looks like my foot faces the wrong way!!

I’ll definitely be making this pattern again, maybe in a 100% linen I have in my stash.

Posted in Dressmaking, Serendipity | Tagged , , | 11 Comments

Owl and Hare Hollow HQAL

Posted on August 18, 2024 by craftycreeky

I’m away in the Lake District this weekend but last week I finally managed to get myself organised and started quilting my owl and hare hollow quilt.

Three weeks ago I was still trying to decide whether or not to add borders, compounded by difficulty in finding a ‘perfect match’ fabric! After showing the quilt to my daughter we decided it was big enough and design wise it didn’t need them, so I was then free to get started on it.

For backing I’d already bought some ivory cotton. It was standard width cotton so it needed a seam down the middle. I quite like adding a strip of fabric down the seam, it adds a bit of interest to the back and makes a feature of having a seam, rather than trying to hide it. I decided to use some of the William Morris fabric I bought a while ago, I intended to use this as a border but it just looked too busy, but perfect for a 6″ strip down the back. I needed two strips to get the length, but if I say so myself, I’m pretty impressed with my pattern matching! I had to feel the fabric to find the seam for the photo!!

I sandwiched the quilt last weekend and started hand quilting it on an evening. I’m basically doing lots of circles in cream/ ivory quilting cotton. Each square will have a circle round the basic design which is about 7″ across. I’m then stitching further circles inside depending on the design of the block. I’m also planning to do a larger circle round each block which will include the width of the sashing, so these will overlap down the sashing. I’m also thinking of a circle round each meeting point of four squares which will touch each of the 7″ circles.

At the moment I’m using embroidery hoops as circle templates, though I think I might cut out a 7″ circle in an 8″ square to make the regular circle easier to centralise. I’m working on the fifth square just 42 to go and that’s just the initial circles in the blocks!

Hand Quilt Along Links

This Hand Quilt Along is an opportunity for hand quilters and piecers to share and motivate one another. We post every three weeks, to show our progress and encourage one another.  If you have a hand quilting project and would like to join our group contact Kathy at the link below.

Kathy, Margaret, Deb, Nanette, Sharon, Karrin, Daisy, and Connie

Posted in Owl and Hare Hollow BOM, Quilt-a-long, Quilting, Serendipity | Tagged , , | 12 Comments

Hummingbird Skirt

Posted on August 16, 2024 by craftycreeky

Earlier in the month I made myself a new skirt for the summer. I bought the batik on a facebook destash site earlier in the year. When it arrived I liked it but I didn’t love it, in fact when I was planning for the destash sale a couple of weeks ago, it was in the pile to go. When the sale was cancelled at the last minute, I decided to use some of the fabric as what these days is often referred to as a wearable toile. When I’m trying out a pattern for the first time I don’t want to use my favourite or special fabrics, then if I’m not careful then the patterns never get made. Using a fabric that’s OK if the garment doesn’t work out is a good compromise.

I decided to make the Estuary Skirt by Sew Different, it’s a pattern I think I got in a sale, a gathered skirt, buttons down the front and an elasticated back, a good everyday going to work sort of skirt.

I made so many mistakes making this skirt it’s amazing it’s come out OK! It’s a very fabric hungry pattern, the envelope says it needs 3m for the longer length which is what I had, but I wanted to add about 7″ to the length! As the humming birds weren’t in one direction I decided to cut it out sideways, that way I could just about get it out of the piece…

Somehow I managed to put the centre front on the bias and the side seam on the straight grain! I also thought when I started sewing it that the two sides were identical – they’re not, so the hummingbirds on the front are not quite as distinct as the ones on the back!

Anyway, I’ve ended up with a very wearable skirt, so wearable that I’ve worn it several times already! I’m happy with the length, it’s got lovely deep pockets in the side seam and the elastic in the back makes it super comfortable!

Posted in Dressmaking, Serendipity | Tagged , , | 12 Comments

Bee Book SAL

Posted on August 11, 2024 by craftycreeky

I’ve made pretty good progress over the last three weeks with my bee cross-stitch, this piece is for a fabric book on bees. I’ve quite a few bee cross-stitches so I thought I’d put them all in a book, I do like my fabric books!

This is where I was three weeks ago…

Not only have I finished the cross-stitched areas, I’ve done all the back-stitching too! Yes I have my happy dancing shoes on for another finished piece!

The back-stitching proved quite a challenge as I found the chart difficult to read. It’s an old Fleur de Lis kit and they had thoughtfully provided two charts, one with just the cross-stitches on and one with the back-stitches on too. Unfortunately the lines they used were so wide I actually found them difficult to read, it wasn’t easy working out exactly where on the cross-stitch I was meant to be. I have to confess to making some of it up in the end! I’m happy with the end result anyway, the back-stitching makes a huge difference to the finished piece…

You may recall that the bumble bee was the bottom half of the original design, I’ve now started the top half of the picture. My original plan was to break this design into four separate pieces. However I’m now thinking I might stitch the top half as one, with the beehive, honey and honeycomb together, I’ve quite a few cross-stitch bees already and I don’t want the book to just be cross-stitch.

I’ve almost finished the honeycomb. just a few more half cross-stitches and more back-stitching to do…

Hopefully next time I share it I’ll be well on the way to another happy dance. I’ve already got two more patterns lined up, a whitework bee and a blackwork bee and I’ve spotted a lovely embroidery kit of a bumblebee on Etsy. I think with those stitched I’ll have enough bees for my book.

Please visit the other blogs that are also taking part in this SAL. There are so many different projects to enjoy. The participants live all over the world so you may need to allow for time differences. We’re posting today at local time. Click the links to their blogs below and see what they’re up to.


Avis, Claire, Gun, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Jackie,

Sunny, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, Cathie,

Linda, MaryMargaret, Cindy, Helen

Posted in embroidery, Stitch-a-long, Textile Books | Tagged , , , , | 22 Comments

Seascape

Posted on August 10, 2024 by craftycreeky

Earlier in the year I attended a great workshop organised by Skipton Stitchers, the tutor was Laura Edgar who does the most stunning pieces of textile art inspired in particular by the seascapes of the Northumberland coast near where she lives. Here’s a link to here website where she has some amazing examples. We were asked to bring a picture of a scene we wanted to stitch, I chose a moody photo of Scarborough beach I took at the end of our Cleveland Way walk a few years back…

Laura’s technique is to use lots of different textiles, often worn and distressed, ripped or frayed, layered over each other with lots of free stitching over the top….completely out of my comfort zone, but sometimes I surprise myself!! Laura was a great tutor, very inspiring and encouraging.

Here’s my piece by the end of the workshop, still a lot of work to do, it’s like the bare bones of the picture, I liked it enough to want to finish it…

As you can see there were still lots of pins holding various scraps of fabric in place. The shiny areas of the photo are organza, it’s not actually as shiny in reality, just a little! It does vary hugely though depending on the light when I photograph it, the sea is identical in the photo below but looks very different. I had done a little stitching round the sun just to give myself the idea of how it would work.

I felt the headland was just too black, OK it’s very black in the photo but against my sky and sea, it looked a bit too much. I removed the black lace and used a strip of dark grey lace instead, it just softens it a bit.

Over the last couple of evenings I’ve been adding stitching. So far I’ve stitched over the headland with running stitch and feather stitch, I’ve also done a fair amount of the darker sky area with feather stitch.

It’s amazing how these photos differ so much, I think the last one is probably nearest the actual piece.

So I’ve still a lot to do, and it’s probably one of those where it’s difficult to know when to stop, but I’m happy with it so far.

Posted in embroidery, Skipton Stitchers, Workshops, Yorkshire | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Tuesday’s Totter Round the Garden

Posted on August 6, 2024 by craftycreeky

The garden has been somewhat neglected this summer, at first it was so wet, I’m a fair weather gardener and this year has been particularly wet…until about two weeks ago, now it’s too hot for me to garden…see, I’m typical British, never happy with the weather!

One plant that loves the wet is the hydrangea and they have been wonderful this year…

The lower creamy one is in a pot, I think I got that one a couple of years ago. The pink one behind was planted a long time ago behind the choisya, the choisya was only little at the time and once it overtook it I must admit I pretty much forgot about the hydrangea behind it! Over the last couple of years it’s nudged it’s way to the side and this year it brings colour to quite a dark spot.

These cream ones are beautiful, I love them. I planted these a couple of years ago near the bird feeders. They’ve been in flower for over three weeks already and they still look stunning.

Many years ago (at least ten!!) I bought a beautiful soft blue hydrangea at the Harrogate Flower Show. It was one of those plants that when you’re walking round the show with it people say ‘Oooh, where did you get that from!’ It was gorgeous…and it never flowered again!! I tried it in different spots in the garden, a planter, I bought some special food, I spoke to the guy I’d bought it from a couple of years later – he said I must have pruned it wrong, even though it had never grown enough to prune it!! Eventually last year I moved it up to the far corner of the garden, where the chickens used to be, where it could act as a green shrub if nothing else…well this year it’s flowered!!

They’re not huge blooms, they’re pink rather than blue (the colour of the blooms is dependent on the pH of your soil, so that’s OK) but it’s flowered! They’re very pretty and delicate.

For an unplanned planting, it actually works really well with the plants around it, there’s a darker pink geranium pstilemon, a purple leaved bush as well as the very slightly pink tinged astrantia.

I’m hoping that now it’s got the idea it might flower a bit more prolifically next year, make up for lost time!

Posted in Garden | Tagged , | 6 Comments

A Chunky Curlew

Posted on August 5, 2024 by craftycreeky

I spent Saturday over in Fridaythorpe in East Yorkshire making another chicken wire sculpture. The courses are run by Susan Nichols, she’s great, very patient and everyone leaves with a chicken wire bird that looks like it’s supposed to look!

I’ve been on several of Susan’s course, round the garden I have a chicken, a duck, a goose, a heron and an owl, they last for years, the hen was the first one I made and that’s at least ten years ago, I move them round the garden depending where there happens to be a space ;

There was eight of us doing the course, others were making mainly pheasants and owls. This time my friend and I both wanted to make a curlew. We’ve seen them many times on our walks but they are sadly on the decline. They have quite a recognisable shape and a long beak curving down at the end. I did a little embroidery of one a few years ago…

It’s physically hard work making a chicken wire sculpture, especially on the wrists and shoulders. We started off with a basic wire frame which Susan had made, then we had to cover it with chicken wire and make ‘yum yums and sausage rolls’ out of chicken wire to pad it out, securing each layer down with more layers of chicken wire. Each layer has to be shaped and the ends twisted in to secure it to the bird. I do like a chunky solid bird, so mine is quite heavy.

I didn’t take any halfway photos but in this close up you can see the mass of chicken wire inside and the ‘magic knickers on the outside!

Susan makes the legs from heavy thick wire, we then had to wrap them in thin wire. The whole bird is finished off with some ‘magic knickers!!’ otherwise known as heavy duty chicken wire, this neatens the finish of the whole bird.

After a whole day’s workshop, here’s my curlew…

I’m well chuffed with him, he looks quite at home on our lawn. He hasn’t got a name yet but I’m sure something will come to me! Colin, Charlie, Cuthbert!!!

I still want to make a pheasant, and the guinea fowl looks good too…and the hares!

Posted in Crafts, Garden, Workshops | Tagged , , , | 17 Comments

Spreading the Joy!

Posted on July 30, 2024 by craftycreeky

One of my granddaughters is particularly keen to learn to sew, she’s only nine but is very enthused by the clothes I make for her. Of course I was delighted to be able to teach her. I suggested we started with a simple elasticated skirt. I found some very pretty cotton in B&M fabrics and also added a couple of lengths from my stash. We had planned that over the summer I would go over with my spare sewing machine and spend a day or a few hours sewing with her.

At short notice, we decided Sunday would be good, so I packed everything I could think of into my sewing machine trolley and trundled off to their house.

Harriet had never used a sewing machine before, so we did the safety bit first…I didn’t want mum to have a visit to A&E with a needle through a finger! I put some washi tape on the footplate to make the 1,5cm line clearer, I taught her how to thread the machine and let her practise on a spare piece of fabric, trying to get a fairly straight seam.

We soon progress onto the actual fabric. We made them from a width of fabric, so there was just one side seam, then a turn over on the top for the elastic casing. She learnt how to pull elastic through a casing with safety pins, not as easy to teach as it looks! She then just had to stitch the hem and it was finished!

It took her a little while to get used to the fact that you only have to guide the fabric through, not push or pull it, I helped her guide the seams for some of it but she gradually got the hang of it. She was a dab hand at threading the machine by the end as the machine decided to be a bit of a twat and kept breaking threads. Little fingers and young eyes are definitely an advantage at threading machine needles! Here she is on the practise strips…

After making her skirt we still had plenty of time so she made a second one! Here she is with her two skirts, looking rightly pleased with herself! She tried them om over her trousers but I’m sure you get the idea.

She wants to make a top now, so I’m thinking of an elasticated top with shoulder straps, basically like the skirt but with straps on. I think I need to start looking for simple patterns next…she wants her own sewing machine already! I’ve already primed her mum not to get a children’s sewing machine, just go to a sewing machine stop and choose a simple one. If anyone has any suggestions of simple sewing projects please share!

Posted in grandchildren | Tagged , | 11 Comments