I have created this blog to share my interest in all forms of stitching, quilting, sewing, knitting, medieval re-enactment and costume making – particularly my love of historical embroidery. I also love travelling,especially when it also involves any of my other interests.
It has been a very wet and windy weekend so I have spent most of it indoors creating ornaments and cooking. I did venture out yesterday as there was a vintage clothes and textiles fair on in town. Lots of lovely things – mainly 40s and 70s clothes but some lovely beadwork and embroidered bags.
I was looking for textiles I could use in my stitching and got a bargain with these two sets of old textile samples that I will use as backing on small ornaments/ pincushions etc.
Fabric samples
I don’t think they are very old probably only 1970s or 80s but very pretty.
I have been bauble and pine cone making all week and so far have these towards my fundraising efforts.
Christmas is coming ......
The pine cones are not in the aforementioned book – they are from Sue Schofield as before but I bought one of her kits to get the instructions for those. They are made from folded ribbon and lots and lots of pins ! I now have now have very sore thumbs as the one in the middle – the burgundy one – is made of very thick ribbon!
Have also been busy in the kitchen – have made pumpkin soup – as delicious as always! Have not done the lantern with Jake yet – he is very poorly at the moment with bad flu and cough poor lad.
My lunch - pumpkin soup served with olive ciabatta roll - how nice!
My children will probably be rolling their eyes in despair at me posting pictures of food but I am also going to post my breakfast as well. Have discovered a fab new blog (was a link off someone else’s – forget who – that I found last night) and is one on the theme of breakfasts. There were some really lovely ideas so thought I would try one of them today – this is a multigrain bagel and pesto topped with a fried egg with Lee and Perrins Tomato and Worcester sauce – lovely!
Sunday's leisurely breakfast
The blog is called Simply Breakfast and belongs to Jennifer Causey. I plan to try out some more of her lovely ideas – she has a total of 457 posts so that should provide some variety to my mornings (don’t worry kids will not be posting pics of them all!).
Please do go and leave a comment on the 100th post (scroll down the page) – I will be doing the draw in a week. Thanks to everyone who has left comments already.
I have had a very rare occurence these last two days as I have been here all by myself! Ellie is of course in Worcester and Jake has gone to London on a drama and media trip. He left very early yesterday morning and is due back very late tonight. He was going to see two shows, visit an art gallery, have a tour of the sights and go to Covent Garden – there was also Pizza Hut for tea which he was very pleased about!
So I have been on my own for the first time in a long time – I think the last time this happened was about three years ago when everyone else had been invited away for the weekend and I was ill so couldn’t go. The house has been very quiet and it has been strange not having to make any meals. This is good preparation for Jake leaving home in a few years – what will I do with all that extra time!
More textiles of course! I can now post pics of the item I have had from Wendy Jo in the US as part of the autumn exchange. As soon as she has posted pics of the ornament I have sent her on the ASOE blog I can post pics of that but in the meantime here is the lovely pumpkin cushion she sent me.
The cushion being modelled on a pumpkin!
It is a really gorgeous pattern from JBW Designs – I have admired their very detailed work for a long time but never stitched any myself. The back of the piece is equally lovely.
Cute oak leaf and acorn backing fabric
Thank you very much Wendy Jo. It is a very appropriate design as at this time of year I always buy a pumpkin for the kids to turn into a lantern and to make what has become a traditional recipe for this time of year – a soup that I really love. It is from Delia Smith’s Winter Collection recipe book and is called ‘Pumpkin soup with melting cheese’ – recipe is at Delia’s site via this link. It is heaven in a bowl and one of the things worth putting up with soggy Autumn days for.
I shall be making the soup this weekend once Jake has cut out his lantern. He doesn’t actually like the soup though – which just means more for me!
The Winter/Xmas exchange is up next for a new partner Marlene (no blog) . I have hundreds of Xmas designs to choose from but think I know which one to pick. That has to be finished and mailed by 5th Dec so I have a while to work on it.
I have made good progress with my knitting – the second Xmas piece is now finished and I am starting the third piece tonight. Will be posting soon about the lovely new knitting shop we have here that hosts Knit and Natter. In the meantime have banana bread (have added cinnamon to the recipe this time) which smells like it is ready to come out of the oven!
Well here it is at last my 100th post complete with giveaway. Please do leave a comment if you visit and I will put all comments into a draw to be picked on Monday 2nd Nov. Please let me know in your comment if you would like a stitchy gift or a non-stitchy gift.
I started this blog about two years ago and in that time have met (virtually)some lovely people through blogging and my recent foray into exchanging through blogs. I find fantastic inspiration from reading all the blogs I visit and am constantly finding new ones (note to self – must add more to Blog Roll) to enjoy. So thank you to the wonderful blogging community for all the happy hours I have spent reading your work. Special thanks to the people who have added me to their blog rolls as I know I get lots of visitors that way.
The first post I ever put contained my Xmas ornaments so I thought it was fitting that I start off with a pic of one of this season’s batch.I have still got a huge stash of lovely stuff from when I first started making these to fund raise to go to Nepal so am making them again to raise money for the project.
Addicted to buying Xmas fabric - who me ?
This was my dining room table yesterday – I just love getting out all the fabric and beads, braids and cute charms and just going for it.
The first bauble of the 2009 season
I particularly love the little brass charms which I pin to the sides of the baubles – I get mine from Stitch Direct by mail order. If you are interested in details of where to buy the book that shows you how to make them then this web site is where to go. Springwood House Designs is run by the very talented Sue Schofield and the book ‘Decorations to Dazzle’ contains patterns for far more complex and wonderful designs than I can manage at present!
Am doing very well with Xmas crafting for presents but sadly cannot post pics here – unless I create a page marked ‘family do not look’ ! However have been doing a few other bits in between gifts.
I also made a card for a friend’s birthday. This is a pattern from an old copy of New Stitches magazine (which is available from Stitch Direct site above).
Blackwork flower card
I have also been venturing into unknown territory with my Creative Textiles class and trying machine embroidery! I use the machine for costume making though was always a bit unsure what to do but was experimenting the other week with my transfer painted flower and is has turned out rather nicely.
The appliqued flower with machined detail
I now plan to sew the organza petals over the top and hand stitch and bead onto them.
The organza petals pinned in place
Also finished quilting the fish we did by transfer printing on the first week. I have been doing some wholecloth quilting for one of my WIP gifts and am really enjoying it.
Am also rediscovering my inner domestic goddess and baking. Partly inspired by watching Economy Gastronomy on BBC which reminded me how much I really love cooking.
I did an O and A level in it but many years of providing family meals (and trying to remember who wouldn’t eat which food!) kind of dampened my enthusiasm. However it was one of the things I was always determined to do again when I had a bit more time. So here are two of my recent bakes.
My very first banana bread!Good old gingerbread - everyone eats this!
Am off now to make more baubles – happy crafting everyone!
It was a year ago that I went to Nepal with Scouts to build a hostel for the school at Melamchigaun village. Full details of that can be found under the Project Nepal and My Time in Nepal links at the top of this page and there is a summary of the project on the CAN website (including a pic of me – about halfway down taking a break from building – pink t – shirt and baseball hat!). To celebrate the anniversary I just wanted to update you with some recent pics that we were sent from the headmaster.
Shortly after we left the building looked like this –
The hostel complete with green tin roof!
In the last year the villagers have completed the build and it is now fully occupied. There are 4 bedrooms for the children as well as a room for the matron.
The boys in their hostel room
Although I spent most of the build sorting stones into piles and then moving those piles to the stonemasons and back to the builders (fab workout for the stomach muscles!) I did get to do some actual building – Andrew my stone team partner and I built a toilet and shower room.
The shower and toilet - behind these tiles lay my carefully laid stones and mud mortar!The water butt and solar panels for heating the shower water
The village have commemorated our visit with a plaque on the wall of the hostel.
The project plaque
I am immensely proud that I was able to be involved in the project and thanks to all those people at work and home who supported me practically, financially and emotionally to be able to do it. It was Gandhi (I think!) who said ‘ we must be the change we want to see in the world’ and I really believe that it is up to all of us to try and make a tiny bit of difference by being nice and helping others and all of that little stuff that added together can bring about bigger stuff.
I have thought a lot about the project and the people I met – both here in the Uk and in Nepal over the last year. Sometimes I can’t believe I actually was there – it was so remote and so different but in a way I felt very much at home there. It truly was a fantastic experience.
Sadly I can’t be part of Project Nepal 2 which has just started with plans to go and build next October but hopefully I can still be involved with the charity in the future in some way. I am planning to make some more Xmas decs this year and sell them to raise funds.
I do have some very lovely reminders of my trip around the house – as I mentioned in my page about the trip the textiles there are amazing and I brought back a beautiful wall hanging made from recycled garments which hangs above my computer.
Most of the hanging is made of beaded necklines from old garments turned into the most wonderful crazy patchworkDetail of the wonderful goldwork in the centre of the hanging
I also bought a Buddhist thanka – a religious picture which hangs in my hallway. The detail of the painting is wonderful.
The thanka painting mounted in silk brocadeDetail of the painting
I would love to go back to Nepal one day – hopefully with the rest of the family – and take them to the village. I am so lucky to have had this amazing experience and I really hope that the Project Nepal 2 participants enjoy it as much as I did.
The next post will be the magic 100th one with the giveaway and will be all about textiles! I have been very busy just recently – have finished the Noro scarf and have started another scarf with some wonderful wool that I got from the lovely new knitting shop that I have been going to for Knit and Natter. Can’t show you pics of that as it is a pressie! Also been working on my pieces for the Creative Textiles class and have just posted my latest exchange piece to Wendy Jo in the USA. As soon as she has got the parcel I will post pics of that – it was a new finish for me and I was pleased with the way it turned out.
When I started this blog nearly two years ago it was because I was enjoying reading other people’s blogs and felt I should share some of my stuff as well. I wasn’t certain if anyone apart from my family and friends would read it.
I discovered Blog Stats early on and found them very useful in checking what people were looking at and that is why I have gradually put more info up about medieval costume and re-enactment as those have proved to be popular pages. I keep a check on overall visits as well as pages and have seen these steadily grow. There was a drop over winter last year during the off season but the visits have climbed up again as this shot of my Stats page below shows.
Look at that line graph go!
I am very pleased to report that last month (Sept) saw a record number of hits. Here is the total.
It says 1852 views that month!!!!
This is excellent news for me and I would like to thank everyone who visits here. I didn’t know when I first started if I would be able to find enough to post about on a regular basis or the time to keep it up but it has become something I really enjoy doing.
I used to keep a diary years ago and enjoyed reading that and I enjoy looking back at my posts and pictures. I also really enjoy the fact that I am (hopefully!) contributing to an exchange of knowledge about textiles. I really, really enjoy reading other’s blogs and would hope that people get the same satisfaction out of mine.
A very significant blogging event is about to happen as this is my 98th post! Therefore within the next week I will be putting up my 100th and in true Blogaversary tradition would like to offer a little gift to one of my readers. I don’t know exactly how many people visit regularly (I do have some regular posters) but would like to encourage you all to post a comment on my 100th post and I will randomly choose a winner from those comments.
Please leave your comments on that 100th post and let me know if you would like a stitchy gift or a non stitchy gift. I will leave this open for a while after the 100th post so will put a closing date it to give people who are not frequent visitors chance to enter.
I have had a very creative week so I thought I would share these projects with you. As I mentioned in my last post we were doing transfer printing on Monday in my Creative Textiles class. I want to do my City and Guilds Diploma in Embroidery sometime but I need to get better at the design process and build up a scrapbook of ideas and this is exactly what I have started to do with this course.
I took a lot of flower pics over the summer with a view to using them as inspiration so my homework last Sunday was to create a picture to use as inspiration for the transfer printing. Firstly I sketched this clematis from one of my pics and coloured it using pastels.
The drawing of the clematis with my ideas for layering with organza
Next I tried to create a clematis using tissue that I could then recreate in the transfer inks.
The two loose pieces are the flowers I created by painting transfer inks onto paper and cutting out petal shapes
I then ironed these onto my fabric – transfer inks work best with synthetic fabric so this is some shiny satin from my textile mountain stock!
Printed flowers and some other experiments with bags and paper cutters
You can print from the originals several times until they fade out as you can see they have done here. The colours when printed onto fabric are much brighter than the originals on paper. I am very pleased with these.
My next step is to cut out the petals in the purple and the pink colours, applique them onto matt satin backing fabric, applique organza over this and do some embellishment with machine embroidery and beading. As I have never done machine embroidery before my homework for this week will be to create a test piece that I can experiment on before I tackle the real thing. All very exciting stuff!
I have also been getting on very well with the scarf that I started at Knit and Natter last week. I went again this week and caught up with two friends who I hadn’t seen for a while which was very nice. I have changed the pattern for the scarf and am now doing this simple garter stitch one with a slit in it.
The pattern is called 'Tuck' and you create a slit in the knitting by dividing the stitches
I did realise after I had divided it and knitted the one side up for 4 inches that when using self striping wool as I am that means you have to start with the same colour when you go back to the other bit so that did involve a little bit of unravelling but it has not turned out too badly. It is all a learning curve!
The Noro scarf with slit - the self striping wool works very well
My scarf is a little wider than in the pattern so the scarf should bunch through the slit attractively I hope – will get Jake to model it when I am finished. The pattern comes from the book below – Funky Chunky Knitted Accessories by Jan Eaton.
The knitting book
This is a great book for an inexperienced knitter like me as it has lots of pics, clear instructions and lots of very simple patterns that have embellishments like pom poms and beads to make your very easy creations look fab.
I do like knitting over Autumn and Winter. The weather has been pretty nice here the last few days – quite sunny – but there is definitely a chill in the air and the leaves are starting to drop. I do like Autumn as a season – working in teaching it always means the start of things to me rather than the end – a new term, new students and lots of new projects. And I rather like snuggling with my candles and some mulled wine and my latest project of an evening.
I have also been doing some stitching but can’t post any pics of that as it is for my Autumn Exchange on the All Seasons Ornament Exchange blog. I have completed the stitching on the piece now just need to get some materials for the finish. I’m doing a finish that I have not tried before so that should be interesting. Then I can post it off to the USA! Am also signing up for the Xmas ornie exchange – can’t miss stitching my fave stuff ever!
Am planning a whole weekend of creativity as I have lots of Xmas gifts to make so will be stitching and quilting solidly. Really looking forward to a quiet weekend at home – the first in a while!
I have had a very busy and very enjoyable weekend – I have been teaching, gardening, socialising and doing what I could to help with our Embroiderer’s Guild exhibition.
I went on Friday after work to help set up (and deliver the muffins!) and took all the pics below then. Went back on Sat to collect everything. they had a very successful day with lots of visitors and everyone was very impressed by the standard of the work. You can see why.
The loveliest little mice at the bottom of a box
The lid of the box
A cushion with embroidery and beadingA corner of a silk shaded tableclothCrazy patchwork tea cosies made at one of the day schoolsA traditional sampler in cross stitch
As it is 30 years since the group was founded we created a special exhibit made up of 8 inch squares in all the colours of the rainbow. The brief was to stitch your square with any sort of technique in mainly that colour and the finished effect was excellent. This collection has now gone to be exhibited at our local museum.
Part of the rainbow exhibit
Below are two of my favourites squares – both from the violet section.
These fairy shoes are amazing!Cute little dresses and shoes!
As you can see we have some amazing talent in our group!
Dashed back from that to go and see Isabelle my next door neighbours’ granddaughter who was having her first birthday party. Here she is looking a bit sleepy after opening all her pressies with her Auntie Naomi.
Happy birthday Isabelle!
Ellie has had great first week at Uni – lots of going out making friends and has had a couple of lectures including one with skeletons!
I spent part of today doing my homework for Creative Textiles class tomorrow – I am working on a piece inspired by pics I took of some of the clematis growing in my garden this summer. We are doing transfer printing tomorrow so will post some pics of what we do later.
Yesterday I went to my first Knit and Natter session at the new wool and bead shop that has opened down the road. Have wanted to go to one of these for years having read Crazy Aunt Pearl’s tales about Stitch and Bitch which is the US version.
Had a very lovely time – there were about 12 people there which I was not expecting – the wool shop is also a tea shop which is very nice so had two cups of latte while I made a start on a simple Noro yarn scarf.
Scarf using Noro Silk Garden Number 84
I am planning on making most of my Xmas presents plus the usual ornaments as cards so have a very busy 3 months ahead!
It is our Embroiderer’s Guild exhibition this Sat so I am hot footing it from work tomorrow afternoon to take all my goodies to display. They are having a cake sale as well so we have all been asked to contribute for that and in the absence of my lovely baking daughter Ellie have had to make my own muffins!
Double choc and choc chip - yum yum!
They did not turn out too badly though only the back four and middle two on the left have got the classic cracked muffin top. The rest have all gone a bit sideways for some reason! Never mind I am sure they will taste nice.
Am going up to the exhibition on Sat after work so will take some pics then and hopefully post them on Sun.
Ellie is having a great time at Uni – she has settled in very well to her hall and has made lots of new friends. This week has been Freshers’ Week so mainly induction and partying – all the serious stuff starts next week!
We have just come back from dropping Ellie off at Uni – it was a lovely sunny weekend – very warm which Ellie was very pleased about as she was hoping that moving down South would mean less Yorkshire rain!
She has settled in very well – we moved her into her hall on the Sat so here are some pics of her new digs.
Chandler Hall where Ellie is now living
Ellie looking out of her window
Not a very good pic but this is Ellie's room in hall
We took her to Sainsburys so she could do her first shop on her own as she is now fully self catering in her little kitchen below.
The hall of residence kitchen
She is having a great time – has made lots of friends already and has been out the last two nights at the Students’ Union. She has hall accommodation on campus which is only 140 paces from the union building so she has not far to come home after a night out! (she told me off for counting how far it was!)
We spent Sat afternoon shopping in Worcester which is a very pretty city – it has a lovely cathedral right by the river. Sat night we went for a very nice meal with my sister Jacky and her kids Sam and Sarah. Ellie is looking forward to being able to spend more time with her cousins, as are me and Jake when we go and visit.
Sam, Jake and Sarah
I am sure Ellie is going to have a wonderful time – I clearly remember leaving home and moving to college 27 years ago and I loved every minute of it so I am sure she will have an excellent time. We will miss her of course but I so pleased that she has got where she wanted to be. She really deserves it after all her hard work over the last two years and has not let anything deter her from her goals.
I have had an exciting new start as well as I have begun a Creative Textiles class through my local Adult Education Service. The first meeting was today and I had an excellent time in the company of a group of women who like me wish to improve their creative and technical skills and a lovely tutor called Brownwyn.
Today we did some transfer printing – I have actually bought some transfer paper but was not certain what to do with it. Bronwyn had printed some fish pictures which we colored in with pens then ironed on to fabric , sewed onto to a felt backing then stuffed. I now need to quilt and add beads to my little fish but I am very pleased with him so far.
My little multicoloured fish!
In the coming weeks we are going to do transfer inks, batik, machine embroidery and quilting. I have homework for next week’s class which I am planning to do on Sunday looking at some inspiration for my printing.
I am also planning to join a Knit and Natter group that meets locally which one of the other women at the group goes to so will have lots of lovely textile related fun going on each week!
After a very long (nearly 9 hour) train journey yesterday due to engineering works we arrived back last night from Caldicot Castle from our last re-enactment event which was one of the hottest weekends we have had all summer.
Caldicot is a beautiful location as these pics show. It is set in a country park so we have lovely surroundings to camp in as well as the historical bits.
The castle walls in the evening sunInside the castle walls showing one of the later Elizabethan buildings
There was a living history display inside the castle which was where the tournament took place on Saturday.
The Noble Tales group inside the castle with their beautiful tent and costumes
The tournament is a ‘full contact’ one which means the guys hit each other very hard – usually with very big swords as you can see from this pic of Carl and Keith in their bout.
Keith (in the blue jacket) and Carl battling with hand and a half swords
There were 10 people who entered from different groups all pictured below. The tournament was eventually won – (after many gruelling and very hot rounds!) by Carl from Companions of the Crow.
My friend Eric was doing the announcing for the event so I took the opportunity to get a couple of pics of the lovely embroidered heraldry on his coat (apologies for him having his eyes closed in this pic – it was a very sunny day and we all got a bit burnt).
Eric and his coat!A close up of the embroidered badge
I bought a new chaperon for Ellie that she had been admiring from Jackie’s stall (Cloaked and Daggered) – here she is looking very pretty in it – it is a slightly different style from the others we have in that it buttons up the front rather than slipping over the head.
Ellie in her new hood
It has been a very busy season – especially as we have done it all on public transport which has taken extra time and meant that we have stayed over at some events till the Mon so it is easier to travel back. I am very proud of the kids for doing all this – hopefully by next season we may have a car but we have proved that we can do it all without one if needed.
Am looking forward to things being a bit quieter now but work wise we have just started a new term so I have a new group of trainees who I met today.
Also Ellie is off to University on Fri so will post pics of my little girl in her new home when we get back from dropping her off next weekend. I am sure she will have a great time – her first field trip is to an Iron Age roundhouse in Oct and she is really looking forward to that.
Stitches of Time 