Wishful Wednesday

Welcome to my first Wishful Wednesday!

What is this all about I hear you asking?

Well, describing the start of a normal day for me might be the best way of explaining it.

I wake up at ridiculous-o'-clock, I reach for my iPhone and I read my emails, check my pattern sales on Etsy and Craftsy and stalk a few folks in blogland. I see what they are making, and I love it!

I go and make a cup of tea, take it back to bed, pick up the phone again and I probably go next to Pinterest to see what new crafty things have been pinned. I'm bombarded by a thousand and one good ideas - all of which spark an idea (or two or five!!) in my head. By the time I get into the shower my head is buzzing with so many things I want to knit, sew, quilt, crochet, design that I'm mentally exhausted by breakfast!! (Ha! who would have thought surfing the net could be so tiring!)
 

I couldn't possibly make all the  things going round in my head. Sometimes I want to make it just as I see it, sometimes it sparks an idea for something else, sometimes I see a fabric and I know just what I would make with it. So Wishful Wednesday is going to be a weekly post about the things I would like to make each week if I lived in an, oh! so blissful, magical land where time was infinite.

Hopefully, if you follow each Wednesday you will get to know what I love and maybe it will spark some ideas for your own crafting. There will be a good mix of all the "stitchy" crafts, so there should be something for everyone.

If you too are a Pinterest fanatic, then  this is me
 

Right then, first up, I would love to be able to make the little crochet hat and cardie above. I would make the short sleeve version. I'm not sure what weight yarn it uses, so I can't actually pick one out, but I would probably use a lighter grey than the one shown, with a deeper pink flower, in organic cotton if I could. This one really is wishful thinking because my crochet skills are still pretty basic, to say the least, but I live in hope that with practise I'll improve. The pattern can be bought from Yarn Blossom Boutique on Etsy

Secondly, I would make a quilt like this:

I couldn't find the original source to give credit to its maker, but it's on my Pinterest page, if you can do a better job of tracking it than me. It is just simple half square triangles, but it's the colours that make it so wonderful- they're fresh and not too feminine, so it would fit with a wide range of decor. Sometimes less is more.

For my knitting project this week I would love to make these gloves

 

Aren't they cute! These are sold on Etsy as a finished item from this seller. Foxes can be found everywhere at the moment (and I don't mean the real ones!) They are on fabric, scrapbook paper, knitted hats - so why not gloves, too. I think it would be quite easy to adapt a plain mitten knitting pattern to make a pair similar to these. I'll let you know if I do it!!

Finally, I think I've room for one more project in my imaginary world this week, and it would be this gorgeous children's dress

I don't have any young  children or grandchildren to make it for, and it's probably a little over the top for a charity make, but I just fell in love with those bird pockets, and so, surely, must any little girl!

The pattern is available here. It's a PDF for you to download and print at home and comes in a size range from 12 months to 9/10 years. I've made items from quite a few "print at home" PDFs clothing patterns and I think they're wonderful. They are a great excuse to hoard a large and varied stash of fabric so that when you find THE must-have pattern for you, you can buy it, print it and start making it all in the same evening!

I love the blues this dress is made in, but I can see this in a whole range of soft prints from high quality Liberty lawns to cheap and cheerful poly cottons. Maybe it will end up as one of my charity makes after all!!

I hope you enjoyed my first Wishful Wednesday. Come back next week if you did! ..........Julie

 

 

 

Granny Square Blanket

I have so, so enjoyed making this Granny Square blanket as part of my 2013 Stash Buster project for Greenfields Africa It is made entirely of organic cotton, so not only is it going to a good cause, it's good for the environment too.! I often talk about the rhythm of the stitch being just like yoga, and this was so true in this case.
I keep really tiny pieces of cotton yarn - and I mean really tiny!

I'm not totally crackers - being cotton, they are good for little bits of bold embroidery on children's clothes, pencil cases etc where you don't want anything too fine, just some eye catching stitches.

But as this is stash busting time, they were the start of the grannies.

Next came the slighlty bigger oddments, the sort of size that most people hold on to.







and finally the larger balls.

And then of course the large balls become small balls, and the small balls become tiny balls and so the blissful rhythm carries on, and we have have one calm, collected, wonderfully relaxed Julie!

I had great fun experimenting with colours - putting together shades that I wouldn't normally risk putting together, without asking a few people's opinion - red and pink, for instance.....

I played around with the finished squares, seeing which combinations made me happiest (no stressing,... just play!)

The off white that I had for the outer two rows of each granny, wasn't all of the same shade, which is probably a good job as far as Greenfields is concerned, or I would have wanted to keep this blanket for myself.

I struggled to find enough of the same weight cotton for the border, but I'm happy enough with it.

It's one useful, eco friendly blanket that I wouldn't have made if it wasn't for this challenge, and I really want to make another one before the year is up.

 

Onto other things - it was Mother's Day here in the UK, yesterday and we had a lovely family walk in the Lickey Hills

It was cold and snowing slightly, but it was really good to spend some time out of doors.

 

Finally, I want to tell you about a new feature I'm starting here on my blog, this week. I'm calling it Wishful Wednesday and basically it's a round up of what I wish I had time to make in the week, if I had all the time in the world! There will be a bit of knitting, sewing, quilting... anything that I really would like to make. There will be lots of pictures, info on where to get the patterns and what my fabric or colour choices would be. Hopefully a lot of inspiration to get everyone's creativity jump started.

 



 





Stash Buster Baby Socks Knitting Pattern

 

I am really pleased that I found a good use for the 4ply mercerised cotton yarn that needed using up. I pared a bootie pattern down to the very basics to make this a quick to knit baby sock. There is nothing fancy about this - no little cuff, no cute patterning - just a basic sock that, hopefully, will stay on as well as any sock stays on a wriggling, kicking baby!

Once I had the pattern sorted, they took no time at all to knit. I would knit during a coffee break mid morning, one with a cup of tea in the afternnoon and then sew them up in the evening.

They are knit flat. I experimented with finishes. I tried a three needle bind off, kitchener stitch and a regular cast off and seaming.

I went for the regular cast off in the end. It was the quickest to work, and being 4 ply I could get the seam nice and flat. If I was making them for my own grandkids I would probably uses Kitchener stitch (there are plenty of Youtube tutorials out there for this if you've never done it before- it's also called grafting. You can hardly notice the join when it's done, but it does take time and effort)

 

I was really pleased that I mangaed to get 5 little pairs of socks out of the nearly  full ball of 4 ply yarn that I had.

I've written up my pattern for these and you can download the PDF here

 

 

I've also added it to the Knitting Patterns bar at the top of the blog, so you can access it even when this post is well and truly buried under a pile of others.

Happy knitting!



 

Stash Challenge Nos 3, 4 & 5

This crocheted blanket is my third item in my stash buster challenge. It has been a mammoth undertaking. It is made almost entireley from oddments of sock yarn

Now why would I do that, I hear you ask. I seriously asked myself the same question many times during it's creation, especially once at the end of a whole day (yes, a whole day - when I should have been doing a mountain of other things!!) of crocheting squares together and sewing in ends. I got to the end of that day only to find that it still only measured 36" and Greenfields Africa really like thier blankets to be 39". Hence the gold border.

The only reason I made this blanket was because during the stash sort I found about 6 squares already completed from a previous mad moment when I had decided to make something (I have no idea what!) made of sock yarn granny squares.What was I thinking! And so, as someone who hates to throw anything away, I decided it was time those squares grew up and left home as a completed blanket. It is not an experience I shall repeat in a hurry.

I do have a similar few orphan squares that I found , but at least they are double knit yarn so their progression to a completed blanket should be a whole lot quicker!

Lets move onto projects 4 and 5....... These are both baby hats. Both made from some really luxurious 4 ply merino, and both a boring dark colour that needed brightening up with a few stripes.

But that after all is the purpose of my challenge - use what I have, to the best of my ability, so make useful items for Greenfields Africa, so to that end they fit the bill perfectly!

So, it's almost the end of week 5 of 2013 and I have successfully managed to complete 5 stash buster projects (and number 6 only needs sewing up and photographing!) so I'm well on schedule!

 

I must confess to being a little "knitted out" so I think there will be some sewn challenge items appearing in February, especially as I keep thinking about the little children from a photo in my previous post and their worn through jeans!

Stash Challenge No 2

My stash busting challenge that I've set myself is going very well -not especially fast as I'm using up the 4 ply yarn first, so projects are fine, delicate and well, a tad slow to finish! But on the plus side those oddments are no longer sitting unused at the back of a cupboard!

This little cardie was made using half a ball of sock yarn. It should fit a 6 month old, and like all my stash busterr items, is going to Greenfields Africa charity.

For some unknown reason I really enjoy knitting little cardigans. Maybe its because there is a little more to them than baby hats, but they still come together quite quickly or maybe its because I'm a big fan of simple stitches - little sections of garter stitch or rib next to stocking stitch, and this is exactly what you usually see on a fairly plain cardigan.

The Greenfields Africa charity has posted a few photos of people receiving their donated items and they have certainly inspired me to keep on going with my challenge.

 

It is so lovely to see what other people have knit and to see them being received. Some of the families in Africa have such a hard time providing basic neccessities for their children. As well as my stash busting knitting, I'm definitely going to sew some pairs of shorts for little boys such as these and some colourful dresses for some little girls

I'm pleased to say I've already finished my January quota of stash busting knitting and I'll show you more photos in the next few days.

 

 

Cushions for Kids Company

For the last couple of weeks or so I have been busily sat at my sewing machine every spare moment I could manage, making cushion covers for a charity called Kids Company. I have posted about this charity before, and this excerpt from their website says it better than I could ever do:

"Kids Company was founded by Camila Batmanghelidjh in 1996. We provide practical, emotional and educational support to vulnerable inner-city children.
Our services reach 17,000 children across London, including the most deprived and at risk whose parents are unable to care for them due to their own practical and emotional challenges. For many, the roles of adult and child are reversed and, despite profound love, both struggle to survive.
These exceptionally vulnerable children not only negotiate significant challenges in their family homes, they also face immense threat within their neighbourhoods. Often they are exposed to relentless violence, some are forced into working as drug couriers or prostitutes, and many experience chronic abuse.
We provide a safe, caring, family environment where support is tailored to the needs of each individual. Our services and support empower children who have experienced enormous challenges to lead positive and fulfilling lives. Despite great difficulties, the children we work with are hugely courageous and embrace the support we offer"

I am part of a team of volunteers organised by the lovely and generous Nicki who is regularly given the names of children especially in need of some love and comfort and she then distributes the job of cushion making amongst her volunteers. The children then have something colourful and comforting to hug, that they know has been made just for them. She has a website here.
All the cushion covers have a pocket on the front and the child's name on the back.
I get sent the pictures and the name of the child along with their age and what their colour choice is and I construct the cushion cover from there.
I try to pick up fabric at reduced prices either in the sales or at shows like the upcoming Sewing For Pleasure show at the NEC Birmingham from 21-24th March 2013 so that I have a ready stash of colours when the cushion orders come in.
Over the last couple of weeks I have made 9 cushion covers. I don't know who designed the bat picture on the left hand side of the middle row, but isn't it just wonderful!
When my list arrived, one little girl had no design or colur choice attached to her name, so I was able to make one up for her.

This is what I came up with. The birds are appliqued and the legs and feet and flowers are embroidered. I had such fun designing and making this.
Now all these cushions have been posted to and received by the children, so it's back to my stash buster challenge.
You make think I've a lot of work to do to catch up, having only posted Stash Buster Challenge No 1 so far and it is , by my reckoning, now the end of week 4, but fear not, I have been quietly getting on with them, and I'll be sharing the photos over the next week or so.

Looking Back, Looking Forward 2012-2013

 

We might be a whole week into the New Year, but I'm still very much in a reviewing and sorting mode. My son and his wife returned to Canada on Friday after having spent a wonderful 10 days with me over Christmas and as I've been taking down the decorations and putting the house straight I've been thinking about the highlights of 2012 and making plans in my head for 2013.
So, the highlights of last year:
1. Top of the list has to be our family get togethers - both the Christmas just gone and our summer break in Devon, pictured above.
2. The quilts I managed to finish (I'm not even thinking about the ones I've started but haven't finished!):

 

 

 





 

 3. The gifts I made for family and friends (these were fun to make):

 

 

 

 

4. Then there was the UR Priceless blog challenge I took part in, Again great fun, but it started a problem with spam comments on my blog, which i just don't seem to be able to get rid of, so I'm not sure if I'll partake in any more :(

 

5. And finally, I have to include reaching 2000 sales in my LoveFibres Etsy shop. Thank you so much to everyone who bought a pattern!

 

 

So, on to 2013 and my challenges for myself are as follows:

 

1. Grow more of my own food, and incorporate more wholefood into my diet. I have already been out working on my veg plot as we've had an incredibly mild week and I have planted some (actually, rather a lot!!) of garlic and planted out some kale plants that were growing in pots in the greenhouse.

 

2. Get used to living on my own, as the one son who still lives at home with me is aiming to buy his own place some time this year. I can't be really be sad about this, as I only wish the best for him, for I really do love having a house full of young people!

 

3. Bust my stash - both yarn and fabric!! I may have placed this third, but I think it should have been at the top of the list, as I'm sure it's going to take the most time. Whilst I firmly believe that a critical amount of yarn or fabric is necessary to bring out the best creativity in someone (well, that is what I tell myself every time I get the urge to buy something!!) I find that as I get older I feel the need to free myself of un-needed possessions. Does anyone else feel this way? I remember that my Mum did. Whenever I asked what she wanted for birthday or Christmas, she used to say "anything as long as I can eat it, drink it or throw it away"-  meaning that she didn't need or want any more possessions - that happiness came from time well spent, not from materialism. So this is my year of de-cluttering. I have a lot of yarn and fabric - all oddments left over from past projects, and I have set myself a rather daunting challenge of using up as much of it as I can in the next year.

 

I will tell you more about this challenge in my next post.

I hope everyone is having a happy start to their New Year!