Seeds of inspiration finally bear fruit

Although I left a bit of a teaser about my latest project in my post last week, it has actually been many months in gestation. The first seed of inspiration came when a friend and I took some time out at the end of November 2013 to explore the work on show at a few venues on the North Bristol Art Trail. There was much to admire but I could have stayed all day in one house which included the work of Clare Cutts. Her work led to my obsession with silhouettes, especially birds, that has dominated much of my year so far.

The next seed sown was a set of vinyl graphics placed on some shop windows in Bristol city centre that were awaiting redevelopment. Someone had gone to the trouble of having beautiful abstract images that included animals, birds, fish and flowers designed, with a slightly different theme for each window (it was a large redevelopment project involving at least 7 shops so it was quite display and I now wish I'd taken photos). This must have been in December whilst I was dashing around getting set for Christmas.

The third element was linked to Christmas when I was wracking my brains for a gift idea for my godson (then aged 3 1/2) and his baby brother. I'd set myself the task of trying to make the majority of the presents I was to give and, by this time, I was running out of time. Having looked after my godson for a weekend earlier in the year whilst his parents were becoming acquainted with his brother, I got quite familiar with his travel cot. This had obviously been at the back of my mind because I suddenly came up with the idea of making fleece travel blankets for them both. I set off for Fabric Land, probably past the aforementioned decorated shop windows, and chose two different patterned fleeces:

For an aeroplane-obsessed 3-year-old

For his cheeky brother

The rolls of fabric were 1.5m wide and I bought 1.5m of each - mainly because I wasn't confident that the cut line would be straight enough for me to just ask for 1m. Once home, I squared off the fabric and cut each blanket so that it measured 1m by 1.5m and set to blanket stitching a hem using lovely bright yarn that I had in my yarn stash (red for one, yellow for the other).  This took a while but I did it whilst curled up on the sofa watching TV so it was no hardship.  Not wanting to waste the off-cuts of fabric I decided to use it to make a case for each blanket.  This I thought could mean that the blanket could double up as a travel pillow if it was in the case or the empty case could be stuffed with clothes and turned into a pillow for when the blanket was in use.  It was a simple construction like a pillowcase but with the flap that keeps the pillow in the case folding over the outside rather than being on the inside.  I did the side seams using the sewing machine but blanket stitched the edge of the overlapping flap to match each blanket.

In my Christmas haste I forgot to take any photos of the finished articles but I shall be visiting the boys in a couple of weeks and will try to take some then.  Anyway, I was really pleased with the results and it seems that the boys were too. I was told that for weeks after Christmas my godson took his blanket with him everywhere - a well-travelled travel blanket indeed!

Anyway, in the weeks that followed I began to put all these ideas together and started dreaming of fleecy blankets with appliquéd birds and animals.  So, back in Fabric Land last Saturday seeking out thread to finish my trouser project, I was finally inspired by a group of fabrics that I thought could work.  Now complete, I have to say I'm delighted with the results - everything that I imagined!

The size of this one is around 65cm by 120cm - roughly cot-sized.  It was a great size to work on as a first attempt and hopefully will find a good home in September when someone I know will be having their first baby.  They have chosen not to know the sex so I'm hoping that this combination of colours and prints will mean that it will suit either.

Here are a few close-ups for you.

I know it has been about 35 weeks in the making, and 34 of those in 'germination' but isn't that what the creative and hand made process is all about?

Best Laid Plans

So, the plan was to finish my trousers last weekend.  The sewing machine had been fixed and was running like a dream, and Saturday was to be Craft Club - perfect!

Craft club has been going for about 5 years now and sees up to 6 friends getting together one Saturday a month to get creative and have a natter. We tend to meet at about 2pm at someones house and then craft until 6pm, when we sit down to eat.  Obviously there is a mid-afternoon break for tea and cake and we all contribute, taking it in turns to either host, bring cake or provide a main course or side dishes.

July's crafty gathering was fairly select, with just three of us (the others being on holiday or otherwise engaged).  We often start with a bit of a 'show and tell', in this case it took a while as there were changes to be studied in the garden, furniture in the middle of a make-over and a beautiful new bathroom to admire.  There also seemed to be a lot of catching up to do - in fact, I'm sure that the traditional American Quilting Circles, where women within the community would get together to make quilts, was primarily a women's support group - the fact that quilts were made was a useful by-product or an excuse to fool the men!

Anyway, I spent an entirely enjoyable Saturday with friends but can't say much progress was made on the trousers, which were already 70% complete.  I therefore sat down on Sunday morning to finish them off.  With just a tiny bit of top stitching, the hems and fastenings to attach, this happened...

Threadbare!

My local stockist of this particular make of thread is closed on Sundays so I was once again halted in my tracks and the best laid plans to get these ill-fated trousers finished (and ready to wear to work) came to an abrupt halt.

Anyway, I finally got some more thread yesterday so I am pleased to report that the trousers are now finished!  I was going to say 'a week late' but with the sewing machine breaking I guess it's more like a month late.  At least the weather is still warm enough to warrant linen trousers in the office and I can finally wear all those brightly coloured and pattered tops, which I think these charcoal grey trousers will set off nicely!  Happy days...

Worth the wait?

Not the best photo but will try to get a photo of me wearing them to prove that they fit.

As for the next project, I have to admit to getting a bit side-tracked yesterday when picking up the reel of grey thread.  I couldn't resist these beauties and bought 25cm of each.

I've already started but will leave you wondering what I'm up to until my next post!

Old Faithful

I suppose we all have an 'old faithful' - something we know we can return to that will always deliver. It could be a recipe that you know won't fail when time is short and guests are due; an article of clothing that suits both you as well as most occasions; a local site that never fails to impress out-of-town visitors; or, in this particular context, a creative project that can be achieved when you are between projects, wanting to use up odds and ends, or just want to create without having to think too hard about it.

My old faithful is knitting hot water bottle covers. I began about 8 years ago by following a free knitting pattern from Rowan, making it as a gift for a friend who was to be spending 6 months travelling around Scotland in a camper van.  She is a fan of hearts and so it seemed perfect for her. It takes about 2 balls of wool and over the years I have adapted the pattern for different yarn, with different edging and with various patterns and embellishments. It is great for using up left-over yarn (stripes), or if you find a couple of balls of yarn that take your fancy in your local yarn store's sale basket.

The last one I knitted was way back in October. I was handing over child-minding responsibility for my godson to his aunt (coincidently the sister of my friend who received the first knitted hot water bottle cover). She lives on the other side of the country and don't see each other very often so I was very surprised when she presented me with a gift - four balls of super-chunky wool, two each of pink and purple, complete with two 10mm needles with two rows of knitting on them.  She had fallen in love with the yarn and set out on knitting herself something. I have no idea what her project was but she had admitted defeat and decided that I would be sure to be able to do something with it.

Fortunately three of the balls of wool still had their labels on so I could see the tension guide.  I therefore off I set with a calculator and sheet of graph paper to rework the Rowan pattern for a yarn that was much, much thicker.

The raw materials

I'd already decided that I was making it for my godson's aunt and the reason I'm only sharing it now is two-fold; I had to wait until my godson's 4th birthday party for an opportunity to see his aunt and surprise her with the gift returned; and I forgot to take a photo of it so had to ask her to photograph it when she got home and email me the results. (I'm learning fast that if I am to be a blogger, I need to be an avid photographer too.) Anyway, I hope you like the results as much as the recipient (she was so surprised and touched by the gesture that she cried - just the perfect response for a handmade gift!)

The finished article

Back view (with needle felted buttons)

In case you are wondering, the holiday project is about a third done but is being put aside because the BIG NEWS is that I have just been reunited with my sewing machine!  It is apparently all fixed so I'm sure you can guess what I'll be doing this weekend....and I can't wait!

Holiday Project

Last summer I was taken very much by surprise when a crafty friend became incredulous when I said I hadn't taken any craft projects on holiday with me. I was then totally bowled over when D agreed with her! To be honest, my idea of a holiday had always been to explore as much as possible with not much sitting still. Well, with a whole unexplored world out there, it would be rude not to see it!  Wouldn't it? However, as the years pass and the day job gets more and more challenging, I've realised that my ideas are changing, and the concept of the 'perfect holiday' is becoming more and more about recharging the batteries than taking in yet more mental stimulation. So, when the promise of a week away in the country seemed finally within my grasp I began to think about possible holiday projects.

This was to be a week of total relaxation.  No pressure to explore the local countryside, not least because D had just recently come a cropper on the sports field and was limited to hobbling short distances; and a beautifully appointed self-catering property with private garden and all mod-cons, including Wi-Fi and satellite television.  You could say a bit of a home from home except for the fact we were miles from the nearest village let alone a town or city.  Oh, and it also happens to be the second week of Wimbledon and the FIFA World Cup has reached the knock-out stage - so plenty of quality sport to entertain, whatever the weather outside!

I decided this called for a simple and extremely portable creative project.  For portable, I feel this narrows the field to knitting or crochet; for simple, this narrows it further to knitting - if the stitch is simple, I can even do it with my eyes closed, or in this case, with my eyes glued to the progress of Andy Murray (I personally find that crochet requires full concentration or at least the need to keep constant count.)

A few weeks ago I was out shopping and spotted a beautifully simple yet stylish poncho in Jigsaw. Obviously my first thought was not "how much is that?" but "how is that made?"  A quick study revealed it was made from a long strip of stocking stitch which was topped and tailed with 2-3 rows of single rib and that each row began and ended with two stitches of reverse stocking stitch.   This seemed to give it unrolled ends but with neatly rolled sides.  This was then folded in half and sewn up one side from the ribbed ends to a point that left a suitable size hole in the 'middle' for your head.  How much more simple could you get than that?

So, with the project idea germinating, the next thing to do was to find some suitable yarn.  The Jigsaw version is in a beautiful cashmere and angora blend, which has a luxuriously soft, brushed effect.  I imagined it to be 4ply.  Meanwhile, I had a black cardigan that I'd knitted from Rowan Wool Cotton 4ply over a year ago but had only worn once.  Yes, as is the case for most of the things I knit for myself of the jumper/cardigan variety, I invariably don't like the final result.  I therefore set about unpicking and unravelling it.  The thought process being, if it's enough yarn to make a cardigan, surely it's enough yarn to make a poncho?!

Fast forward one week and here I am in deepest cider country and both Andy Murray and the poncho are making good progress (although some serious blocking may be required when the knitting is finished if I'm to get the unrolled edges displayed by Jigsaw!)

I cast on 59 stitches using 3mm needles and completed 2 rows of single rib before switching to 3.25mm needles.  The idea being that this will give me around 56cm width (left to right in the photo) which will be the measurement from the neck opening to the side hem. On long-limbed me, this should finish mid-forearm, which feels about right. As for the length, I guess I'll keep knitting until I either run out of yarn or have something long enough to recreate the poncho...

Mind you, I think Wimbledon will be well and truly finished before the poncho is but I guess that's why it's such a great holiday project.  Something that can be picked up and progressed as easily as it can be set aside for tea and cake, to watch some RAF jets fly by, or to be mesmerised by ten paragliders floating effortlessly across the horizon...

For when the sun is out....

For when the tennis is on...