Crafty Jemima

Ebenezer!

2011-12-08T17:05:00.008Z

Bah Humbug! I've been struck down by a chesty cough and I'm struggling to feel the least bit Christmassy. Christmas is normally my favourite time of year but this year it seems to be flying towards me so fast I can't enjoy it. Maybe a visit to Granny's for the season's first mince pie (because Granny does make the best mince pies!) will put a stop to all this moping. But I've got to get rid of this blasted virus before I can do that. So in the mean time, I've had a scout about the interweb for some festive makes to banish the scrooge in me! Fingers crossed!

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WIP

2011-11-07T10:24:00.005Z

I am delighted to report that a fair bit of crafting was taking place over at Jemima HQ last week. It's not often that I have the opportunity to spend some quality time with the sewing machine. The conditions need to be right - comfy warm clothes, no distractions to lure me out of the house, and a nice acoustic play list or a good audio book.

I bought some gorgeous Christmas fabrics a few weeks ago so this was the perfect opportunity to get making. Can you guess what they are yet?? I'll be gingerly cutting some different fabrics to make some more today as I was unfortunate enough to come into contact with some peanuts over the weekend. So it's a slow day getting over the allergic reaction for me today. Plenty of hot tea and vitamin C and maybe a little bit of knitting will set me right again. :)

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T13:34:00.004Z

Happy Halloween! We celebrated Halloween early this year and had our ghoulish fun at the weekend.

I got far too engrossed in carving my pumpkin and forgot to do important things like eat and entertain guests. I think it was worth it though:

Then I had lots of fun making myself even paler. Apparently the undead look becomes me!

I hope you have a spooky night whatever you get up to. :)

Brrrrr

2011-10-25T17:01:00.004+01:00

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I am a seasonal crafter. This past week, the weather has settled into it's usual autumn crispness, and out have come the woolly jumpers, leg warmers and bulky hats. I love this time of year. Cold and crisp, I've switched from warm milky coffee to hot tea and the knitting sticks have been clicking away. I am a day away from completing my very first jumper - and it's a jumper for me! Imagine that. Of course the camera situation lingers still, but I shall have the all revealing "ta-dah" post for you later this week, when I've sewn it together. I can't wait to wear it!

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Now I have been known on occasion to bring my knitting to the beach, but on the whole I get disinterested with it during the summer months. Maybe it's the association between woolen garments and the cold winter months that make me neglect my needles in the summer, discarding them to grasp on to that little glimmer of sunshiny hope, but it seems silly really only to start making warm, lovely, wrap-me-up-and-keep-me-toasty things when the cold weather is already at your door. I could do with a new hat and scarf already, and I seem to have misplaced the hand warmers I made early this year. I guess my hands will have to move a little faster to keep up with my ever growing make list!

I have managed a fair old bit of people watching over the past few weeks and I can say with delight that fair isle is still very popular this year, so I'll have to get the squared paper out and come up with a few designs for my new makes. Anyone else had success at creating their own fair isle patterns? x

Great Aunty Nel

2011-10-19T08:00:00.001+01:00

Yes it's true that I sit and knit in my rocking chair, that my sofa sports a purple granny square throw, and that my flat is kitted out with all manner of charity shop treasures. I have, on many an occasion, been called old before my time. But I'm not sure how I feel with the concept of becoming a great aunt. At the grand old age of 25. No that wasn't a typo. I did indeed say 25. Look I did it again!

For those of you baffled by this concept (believe me I am!) I should explain that my dad had his first batch of kids at 18, and was a graying 40yr old when I was born, so my oldest niece is subsequently only a couple of months younger than me. Keeping up? And it turns out that she has not one, but two buns in the oven! And would you believe that she has two identical buns in the oven?? Oh my! Two lovely, squidgy, can't tell them apart bundles of trouble expected to arrive early next year.

So, once all my Christmas makes are done, I'm in danger of going overboard making things to fit little teeny tiny people. Teeny tiny little boy people no less. I just can't decide what to make - there's so much adorable stuff out there!

Doodle Days

2011-10-18T10:37:00.000+01:00

It is extremely frustrating not to be able to do something you love to do. Especially when it's been so hard to explain why I've found it so difficult to craft over the past few months. A few weeks ago I had a bit of an "aha moment" when I realised that I associate crafting with illness, with not being very mobile, and maybe even as a way of fending off the insanity of insomnia. In essence, I used to craft when I was at my lowest, and I think somewhere in the back of my mind I still associate the two. My life is so different since having surgery and moving back to Wales last winter - I am well, I'm healthy, I'm physically active, I sing, I'm sociable, I'm rarely at home, I'm happy - everything that I wasn't last year. And I think my avoidance of crafting is because I don't want to revert back to the way I was.

I'm being silly. Crafting is not going to make me ill again. And the sooner I break that association the better, because quite frankly (beware of the forthcoming blowing your own trumpet moment!) it's something that I'm good at. I shouldn't let my strange brain hold me back.

So, get to the point Nel. You're quite right I am rambling somewhat. I have been missing crafting. A lot. I've been craving that feeling of accomplishment when you see ideas plucked from your brain materialise into something real, touchable, beautiful. So to give myself a creative quick fix (and a little to save on funds, but mostly to satisfy a making itch), I doodled a couple of friends some Birthday cards:

My sister's fella now has an excuse to be grumpy and cantankerous!

Again, apologies for the crappy photography.

I think I'm really developing a liking for doodling. It's taming my symmetrical brain, things don't need to be even, seams don't need to match up, anything you imagine is fine and nothing is wrong. Happy days! And more importantly it's easing me into my old creative ways. I think all in all, it's gearing up to be a handmade Christmas after all!

Inspiration

2011-10-17T17:52:00.008+01:00

It's October. October! Is it really October?? I decided that the best way to deal with my lack of sewing inspiration was to do nothing. Just let it come in it's own time. But that seems to have backfired somewhat because it's October. (Is it really October??)

But never fear my fellow craftsters, a recent addition to Jemima HQ has turned my uninspired-ness on it's head. Look!

I have been given, yes given, a 1947 fully functioning electric singer sewing machine. With detatchable hand crank no less. It is hands down the best present I've ever had.

Very annoyingly I've been having some camera trouble but I had to take this quick snap on my phone to show you the paintwork - it's pristine!!

Isn't it the most beatiful thing you've ever seen? I am officially in love. And I can't wait to give her a good workout. Watch this space for lots of crafty goings on! :)

In the Garden

2011-05-10T18:19:00.010+01:00

Folksy Friday

2011-04-15T14:45:00.005+01:00

Good morrow. How are we all on this fine day? Well fine day is pushing it a little but it's not raining so I'm happy. Unfortunately I'm no closer to finding my sewing mojo. I'd allocated today to sewing and crafty goodness, and so far I've done the washing up, tidied the flat, and baked a loaf of bread. I suppose it's no help that my rotary cutter seems to have grown a pair of legs and sneaked away. Grrrr where has it got to?!

Anyway, I've been looking at my stash and thought I'd try and make myself some cushion covers with some of the fabrics. As it happens my flat seems to have acquired a rainbow colour scheme so I've got free rain really. We'll see what I come up with.

But for your viewing pleasure, here's my Folksy Friday cushion selection:

The Language of Love by Betsy Jarvis.

Hand printed lampost cushion by Joanna Corney.

Screen printed flora cushion by Astrid Weigel.

Rue de Champs-Elysees screen printed cushion by Do Come Again!

Custard Cream screen printed cushion by Nikki Made.

So I seem to be back on top of the blogging malarkey - happy days! I'm hoping to get a few books reviewed for you over the weekend. For once I don't have many plans so I might hermit away in my garden (gray concreted yard more like!) with some yarn and enjoy the sunshine. Fun times! :)

Wishlist Wednesday

2011-04-13T19:32:00.006+01:00

Oh look, a second blog post in a week. Might I actually be keeping my promise? I think so!

Now today's Wishlist Wednesday is a bit different. This is something for my immediate wish list, rather than my grown up one. You see I seem to have lost my sewing mojo. Boo! So far this year I've been all about the knitting, I've crocheted myself a throw and more recently I've been bitten by the growing bug, but I look at my sewing machine and I don't get that thrill of excitement I usually do. Anyone else gone through uninspired spells like this?? I'd appreciate some tips if you've got any!

Anyways I'll leave you with these pretty pics - maybe if I stare at them long enough I'll leap forth light bulb moment style and fire up the machine. Fingers crossed! :)

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Bad Blogger

2011-04-11T21:29:00.005+01:00

I have officially become an atrocious blogger. Slap my wrists someone. I can but apologize. I do however think that I'm settling in to a bit of a routine so things should be getting back to normal in the blogosphere. I've got a few crafty goings on to share with you this week, but as I've spent the past couple of days pottering around the garden I'll leave you with some spring flowers to enjoy in the mean time.

WIP Wednesday

2011-03-16T18:48:00.004Z

Help! I have been lost under a pile of granny squares!

I decided that I'd make myself a housewarming prezzie so I thought I'd make me a throw for my sofa (yes I do now actually have a sofa - no more floor for me!). I've crocheted 81 of these purple and cream squares and I've joined two thirds of them but have sadly run out of yarn! So this project is being put on hold whilst I scour t'internet for a match.

Maybe I'll pick up the dreaded shawl and give that another go in the mean time!

Happy St. David's Day

2011-03-01T19:31:00.003Z

Dydd Gwyl Dewi Hapus i chi gyd! I spent our patron saint's day in our capitol city, marching through the streets of Cardiff in full Welsh costume. Pipes and drums and dancing - what better way is there to spend an afternoon??

Anyways I'm absolutely shattered now, so I'll love you and leave you in favor of a big bowl of cawl and a welshcake. Nos Da!

Folksy Friday

2011-02-25T09:34:00.008Z

Good morning! Well it's a wet and miserable one today but I'm having fun unpacking more pretty things to put in my flat. Most of my stuff has been boxed up for the past 4 months and I'm finding a ton of stuff I'd forgotten I owned!

Anyway, whilst I try to cram candles and trinkets into non-existent space I'll let you look at some pretty things too!

Sequin hair clips in pink by SeamSoEasy.

Poppy Hair Grip By Culture Closet.

Felt Hair Clip by Eva Millauer.

Hair Clip by Alex McQuade.

Hair Clip Set by Lollipop.

Well I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the weather to improve a little. All this rain puts a dampener on my walking plans this weekend. Although I'm missing my beach a lot I'm lucky to be minutes away from Cardigan Wildlife Park, with runs along the river Tivy. I'll put up a few pics for you next week!

Wishlist Wednesday

2011-02-24T00:11:00.008Z

Ok so on top of my to do list is to schedule blog posts! So it turns out that my blogging days have become my busiest days of the week. I'm gonna have to start writing in advance me thinks. Anyhoo, this week it's Wishlist Wednesday and this week I have my eye on some lovely prints to liven up my magnolia walls.

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So I'm nearly all unpacked now and have started doing a bit of me crafting. I'm currently crocheting my fingers off trying to make a throw for my currently non-existent sofa. It's fulfilling my granny square obsession no end! Pics to come! :)

WIP Wednesday

2011-02-16T21:07:00.004Z

Sorry for the blog silence last week. I moved! Again! They say that moving is one of the most stressful things you can do and I've moved 3 times in the past 4 months. But I'm settled now and here to stay. Phew! We ended up having to move from the last place so I went and got myself my own flat. Exciting! It is little more than a shoebox but it's my shoebox. :)

Somehow I have managed to blag myself every piece of furniture / appliance that's here. I haven't bought a single thing! And I plan on making most of the furnishings myself. Starting with these:

My light shade is dusty and bent so I thought I'd make myself a yarn chandelier! They're still drying 24 hours on but I'm itching to burst one of the balloons to see whether they keep their shape!

I actually really enjoyed cracking out the PVA and getting messy. Don't think I've done anything like that since I was a kid. Anyways you'll be seeing more crafty makes up here over the next few weeks. I have blinds, a throw, cushion covers and maybe even a rug on my list of things to make! Fun times!

Folksy Friday

2011-02-04T09:13:00.007Z

Oh my it's been blowing a gale all night and I have not slept one wink. I suppose that's one down side of sleeping up under the rafters. I've been waiting for the roof to come off since I got home last night! Anyway I'd best get this post finished so I can go back to bed!

Well yesterday was Chinese new year, and with it being the year of the Rabbit, I've found some lovely bunny themed items for this week's Folksy Friday:

Lavender bunnies by Pouch.

Little White Rabbit Sock Bunny by Widget and Friends.

Little Doozer Rabbits by Charley Dreams.

Harry the Rabbit by Crafty Lady.

And finally Sparkly Rabbit by The Glass Mountain.

Well to add insult to injury the cat has just gone and nabbed my breakfast whilst I went to answer the door. Who'd have thought Mr Mau likes boiled eggs! And it looks like the weather will be too wet and windy to shoot some arrows this weekend so it's shaping up to be a weekend of tea drinking and knitting for me. But not before I get some sleep. Nos da! :)

On my Knitting Sticks...

2011-02-03T16:52:00.006Z

Hello February! Can you believe I'm already on my second knitting project of the month?? I've just finished off my lace scarf (which is proving horribly problematic to photograph - maybe it's just camera shy!) and I've finished me a pair of fingerless gloves already!

I found this lovely pattern here and shortened them a little (due to lack of yardage), then decided I preferred the way they looked inside out! I'm loving the colour too - not my usual choice but I fancied starting a new project and I had this in my stash. I think it works! And currently on my knitting sticks is a thick row of lovely chunky wool:

This project is knitting up gratifyingly quickly. I'll have it finished now in a couple of hours!

And then I suppose I'd better turn my attention back to the shawl from hell. I have yet again gotten distracted and made a mistake. We'll see now whether I can knit back to it or whether I'll be frog frog frogging again for the umpteenth time! One things for sure - if I ever get it finished I'm gonna wear it to death! Happy knitting. :)

Bye Bye January

2011-01-31T18:06:00.005Z

I have to admit I'm a little sad to be waving goodbye to January. After wishing and wishing that 2011 would hurry up and come it feels like it's hurrying buy a little too fast now. Well they do say that time flies when you're having fun, and January has definitely been a fun month. I'm hoping that it's set the fun bar for the rest of the year! So far this year I've partaken in a lot of knitting, tea drinking, beach walking and started doing a fair bit of archery - love it!

But I'm hoping that moving away from winter might bring us some warmer weather. Yes I know, I know, I shouldn't really complain about the cold as I've been championing crisp, crunchy days all winter, but boy is it Baltic today! We've run out of oil so the cat and I are huddled around a little blow heater whilst the huge bonfire the boat yard next door has lit is taunting me through the window! I even took me a cup of tea to the beach to warm my hands whilst I walked. Brrr. The sand was once again covered in sheets of ice. I don't think I'll ever get used to seeing that. It's so bizarre!

I spent the last day of January volunteering at my local Eco shop. I had a lovely day, and managed to get a fair bit of knitting done in between serving customers. But you can't work in a place like that without being inspired to do more at home so I've brought the compost bin up from the bottom of the lane and am itching to get planting again. I had decided not to plant anything here because we're not sure how long we can stay, but if I plant herbs and flowers it'll be lovely for whoever moves in here after us. There are a lot of bulbs and plants in our potting shed - who knows some of them could be revived yet!

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But in the mean time I'm keeping my eyes out for the year's first snowdrop - they're late out this year! Anyone seen any yet?? There's always hope for spring and growth and life when those little pale blooms stretch out of the frozen ground. :)

WIP

2011-01-26T17:19:00.004Z

Well first of all I need to give you all an update on the shawl from hell. It is sitting on my bedroom floor about 70 rows in and there's another mistake. Several actually. They're all 2 rows back so I'm gonna try and get back to it. Or just throw it out the window! No I wouldn't, I couldn't waste the yarn for one thing. Gosh this is frustrating!

Anyway I decided that what I should do is leave it for a little while and start a completely different project. I wanted something repetitive and easy to pick up and put down so I found a lacy repeat pattern and decided to make a scarf.

And where better to go do some knitting than on the beach?? Well I'm there every day so it makes sense to take my knitting sticks with me. There is something so gratifying about sitting knitting listening to the waves breaking under a rare warm sun ray. Mmmm.

It's knitted up really quickly and I'm very nearly finished. Yay! Then it's back to the circular needles and dreaded shawl. I can't even manage to take a decent pic of my progress so far. Maybe it's a sign! :S

Aberteifi Cardigan

2011-01-24T20:15:00.011Z

Crikey I seem to have lost a week of blogging! Well my Internet connection has been driving me crazy and I had a lovely day of sitting about in one of those darling open backed hospital gowns on Friday – leave your modesty at the door! So by the time I was home from being poked and prodded I didn’t much feel like a Folksy Friday post. I shall be good this week though I promise.

Anyway I have exciting news to share with you lot. On Saturday I was lucky enough to be invited to meet with Lisa Hellier. Lisa is a graphic designer who had an amazing vision. Now at this point it’s probably worth mentioning that our local town is named Cardigan (Aberteifi in welsh), and 2010 marked it’s 900^th birthday. As part of the celebration Lisa designed and co-ordinated a community knitted gigantic cardigan of Cardigan. Here’s the finished article, the Aberteifi Cardigan, in all it’s glory:

It measures a staggering 5m by 2.5m and was knitted by over 200 volunteers, from school kids to grannies and everyone in between!

I am in awe. How gutted was I to have missed out on being a part of this?? It would have been absolutely perfect for me. But there we go. I’ve always imagined the West Wales countryside to be like a patchwork quilt, but the different knitting stitches side by side gives it such texture. It is utterly beautiful.

Depicting the town from 1110 to the present day, many of it's iconic buildings and stories are represented.

It is a triumph, I'm sure I'll spend a fair few hours gawking at it again. It's currently housed at the Corn Exchange, Cardigan Guild Hall and believe me it's well worth a look if you're in the area.

And I'm excited that although I wasn't able to contribute there are plans in the pipeline for lots more similar projects. Yay!

To learn more about the cardigan and Lisa's work just follow the links, and I'll be sure to keep you updated about further developments!

Folksy Friday

2011-01-14T10:53:00.002Z

Good morning! It's been a strange one over here at Jemima HQ today. I've had 3 hours sleep and they were filled with really random dreams. Then I woke early and couldn't get blogger to work so I thought to hell with it, I'm going to the beach!

Now let me tell you there's nothing like air guitaring along to your i-pod to clear your head! And the wind this morning is enough to well and truly blow away last night's cobwebs. Now the advantages of going walking that early I've discovered today is that there's no one there at that time in the morning so you can even risk a sing song too!

Anyhoo as I live between two boat yards and see the sea every day, I thought this weeks Folksy Friday could be nautical. Here are today's picks:

Kirsty Elson Designs makes these adorable little driftwood boats. I love the bunting!

This cute little Beach Hut Button Purse is made by BubbleBay.

This cheery little wall mounted driftwood boat was made by Driftwood Boat Builders.

Elli Moody makes these Custom Made Beach Huts.

And finally These Spotty Sail Boats are made by Handmade from the Heart.

So this weekend is shaping up to be music filled. I went along to my local open mic last night - that's become a regular occurrence these days, then tonight I have a recording session with the band and I'm going to a gig tomorrow night. Oh and maybe a folk night on Sunday! I may have to take my shawl with me some nights to get it done. More frogging has been done since my last post too. Boo! But I hope everyone has an enjoyable weekend, whatever it is you may be doing.

Wishlist Wednesday

2011-01-12T14:55:00.006Z

So at the weekend I thought I'd try my hand at something I'd never tried before. I bought myself some lovely yarn, found myself a beautiful pattern and went about knitting myself a lace shawl.

Well I'll tell you this shawl has become the bane of my life!! One little mistake and it's rip out and start again. If you lose a stitch you haven't a hope in hell of finding it again. I've spent the past 5 days frogging and after finally getting the hang of it and getting quite far I made yet another mistake last night and am having to begrudgingly rip the whole thing out again! ARGH!!!

I am definitely not giving up though. I have learned not to knit when there's a song on the radio that I love, when I'm around people or conversations, and definitely definitely do not answer the phone mid row!

Anyway whilst I get increasingly frustrated with my 5mms, here are some lovely lace shawls for your viewing pleasure. Aren't they soooo pretty??

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Anyway watch this space because I'm determined to have at least some progress with the shawl to show you next week!

New Man in my Life

2011-01-10T16:41:00.004Z

Well I thought it's about time to introduce you lot to the new man in my life...

Now I don't think I mentioned that I moved again last month, this time to a barn conversion beside the sea. And with the house came this handsome devil! Isn't he beautiful?!

We don't know how old he is, or what's happened to him because he is rather gammy looking. He has very little teeth, his two bottom ones stick out of his mouth at odd angles, his mouth is wonky, we don't think he can see 100% and he has about a quarter of a tail.

So we've decided to call him Mau, 'cause that's what he says all the time. He talks a lot and is very friendly. He is always hungry but he's very thin so he's allowed a few extra treats. His favorite things to do are sleeping as close to your head as he can and supervise my knitting. He's so clever sometimes he even manages to do both at the same time! :)

Folksy Friday

2011-01-07T12:31:00.008Z

Happy New Year! The first Friday of 2011 marks the return of Folksy Friday over here at Jemima HQ. We were struck down with new year lurgy this week but we're all lemsiped up and raring to go now.

It's been snowing again here this morning, though I don't think there's much chance of it sticking unfortunately. So because I love snowy weather so much, today I've chosen a winter theme for Folksy Friday.
This Woodland Feast A3 print is by SweetArt.

Beckipom Illustrations sells this beautiful Band in the Snow print.

This Packhorse Bridge print is sold by Aileen Barnard.

Christ Anderson Art painted this acrylic Castle in the Snow.

Everything you could need on a cold winter's day - a giant teacup and a woolly jumper stretching down to your toes. This Patterned Woolly Jumper Teacup Woman Winter print is by Ella Masters.

Well I've really enjoyed putting together my first Folksy Friday for a long while. I'm really enjoying getting back into blogging full stop and I've got a few great features coming up so watch this space!