RosMadeMe

From Russia, via Leigh-on-sea with Love - the Matryoshka Skittle Tutorial

2013-05-20T18:38:00.001+01:00

OK, dear reader you know that above everything I am totally honest with you... and today I publish one of six skittles to go with the Pentagon ball for tots.

So what inspired this... was it the lovely cotton Matryoshka fabric, the dolls from a Moscow market or the tweezers... you've worked it out, haven't you?

Yep, it is the tweezers.. this morning I lightly swept my hand over my chin and OMG... there was a hair, well step forward tweezers (which my OLDER, yes BIG sister stuck in my Christmas stocking) and, yes, it was my tweezers, in concert with my hairy chin that inspired this week's tute!

You will need - to make six skittles:
3/4 Yard of cotton fabric - I used Moda
Scraps of fabric (I used left over pieces from the ball
Felt - brown, cream and pink
Buttons
Thread, pins, sewing needle, scissors (pinking shears would also be handy)
Ribbon - I am using Jane Means ribbon
Toy stuffing
Paper, ruler, compass and pencil
Liquer glass and champagne flute
Iron and ironing board... I use an ancient Morphy Richards and a huge John Lewis board!

We are going to start with creating the three pattern parts, draw a line 4" long at the bottom of your paper, then draw a perpendicular line 7.5" tall at the centre (at 2" in). At 4" up the perpendicular, mark and 1.25" on either side, 6" mark a point 7/8" on either side... now join the dots up. Place the champagne flute so that the rim sits on the top of the perpendicular line and draw around it to create the curved top. To create the shawl, draw an horizontal line 3.5" from the top of this pattern piece, trace around it and you have your shawl piece

Next comes the base, you are going to need a combi oval / circle or indeed a circal with a 4.5" diameter widthwise and 4" height wise - to achieve this set your compass 2.25". Now draw a line 4.5" long, find the centre point and put the compass .25" above it and connect the ends of the line with a semi-circle, repeat this for the other side and thus you have your circal.

Iron your main fabric and pin the skittle sides onto it and cut four.

Now if you are cunning you will use a fabric which does not have a repeat, so you can save on the amount of fabric that you use. Cut out one base.

Now, cut out four short tops... now this is where I made a mistake, but so you can see and also so I can demonstrate another thrifty technique I am going to share it with you. Iron over a very small hem and sew it... you will notice that my shawls are joined together in one continuous line of sewing, this is call chain piecing and saves on the amount of thread you throw away.

Pin the shawl to the body.

Sew around as close the edge as you can... and then sew over hem you have created... bang goes my saving! So in future just iron it rather than sewing an extra hem.

Pin two sides together and sew up to the top using a 1/4" seam allowance.

Around the curve, cut out small triangles to ease the fabric around the curves so that it will sit nicely.

Turn the body and shawl right sides out and press open the seam. Place a small wine glass over the shawl, to ensure that it fits, now draw around it on your cream felt. To make the hair, repeat this on the brown felt, chop it in half into two semi-circles and trim to give your doll the Anne Stallybrass hair style from the Onedin Line... Did I mention that like Helen Mirren, she also went to my school!

I satin stitched the brown felt fringe onto the face... don't sew the top of the head... I told you not to, now just do as you are told... sighs. If you prefer, use a small blanket stitch like we used in the embroidery tutorial last year.

I used small blue buttons for the eyes but if you are risk averse, then large french knots will do the job. For the cheeks, I tried a 5p but that was too big, so I found a smaller button to trace around for the cheeks

Sew the cheeks in place by sewing up through the centre, and down through 12 o'clock, back up through the middle and down to 6 o'clock, back up through 3 and then 9 o'clock, repeat this for the space between 12 and 3, 6 and 9, 3 and 6 and finally 9 and 12. Finishing touch a line of back stitching to create her cheery, peasant smile.

Pin the face over the seam of the front of the doll and use cream cotton to zig zag around the face and brown to go over the hair.

Pin the back and the front together, leave a 2" gap below the shawl and the sew down to the base, this will be our hole to turn it through and stuff it.

To cover the join between the shawl and the body use ribbon - I used about 18" and trimmed it to fit. Start by leaving a long end just below her mouth and use a small running stitch to hold it in place and sew back round to the front. Fasten off securely and tie a bow, trim the ends... this time I used pinking shears to trim off my Jane Means ribbons. You have to hand sew this as the aperture is too small to fit and sew with your machine.

Get the iron out, turn the skittle inside out and press the seams open, the take the base and fold it in half lenghtwise and width wise and press those creases into the base. Pin the crease against the seam on all four sides, the ease the fabric between the seams... you will find it easiest to have your pins horizontal than vertical as this will help with easing. Remember easing is a battle between you and the fabric to make it fit into a curve, and you will win!

Sew the base to the skittle and then trim the excess fabric with your pinking shears, otherwise cut little triangles but do not cut through the seam... it is not unknown for this to happen, even with experienced seamstresses!

You are now on the home strait, pull the skittle through the gap in the side seam and gently fill it with your stuffing... little and often rather than big and brutal as this will give you a much softer finish. Just like the ball last week, whip stitch the opening shut.

Now look at your amazing skittle... she is rather lovely don't you think?

If you want to just make it as an ornament, I would put some heavy interfacing on the base to stabilise it. I had another thought that you could reduce the pattern size on a photo-copier and create a proper family of stacking dolls, how cute would that be?

Well, by the skin of my teeth, I have just made Handmade Monday... so click on through and see what this talented group have been up to during the last week.

The Pentagon Balls Up? Or the Patchwork Ball Tutorial

2013-05-12T15:43:00.002+01:00

Right everyone, it has been a little while since we made anything so I thought a little bit of hand sewing would be a gentle re-introduction, as well as learning a new technique - English piecing - it will make a super gift for a tiny tot and should not break too much if it is used indoors, unless the tot is growing up to be a fast bowler!

You are going to need:

Paper, protractor, pencil and ruler
Selection of cotton fabrics
Scissors or rotary cutter, ruler and cutting mat
Matching cotton and contrast cotton, pins and needle
Toy stuffing
Iron or applique iron and ironing board

We are going to make the ball using 12 pentagons, but first we are going to create our template. Now there is an easy way to do this, which is just googling pentagon and printing it out but much more fun to put into practice all that geometry you learnt at school; grateful thanks to Miss O'Riordan my old Maths teacher, who would be marking this blog down already as I have failed to put today's date and underline, she was most definitely old school!

So draw a line 2" long, at the end of the line, mark it at 72' and draw another 2" and continue until you have the five points because I know that you have already worked out that 5 x 72 = 360 which is the number of degrees in a circle. Cut out 12 paper pentagons.

Now you could repeat the process above and create a template which has sides of 2.5" which will give us a seam allowance of 1/4" or you can pin the inner template in place and cut around 1/4" bigger. I have used six different fabrics and cut two of each to make my ball, so you all know what is coming next, you need to press the fabric before you reach for anything sharp... don't skimp the ironing, it will give you a much better result,

Place the inner paper template on top of the fabric, at this point you can either finger press or iron... and you know that I will have used my iron :) Using the contrast cotton, make a large knot in it and tack through two layers of fabric and paper to make a sandwich, when you get to the corner, fold the fabric in the same direction, I did this so that the left hand side always sat on the top. Make sure with this ball you start on the reverse side (usually with piecing the knot is on the top) this will make it easier when we have to remove them.

I tend to use a double thread when tacking, once you have sewn all the way around, don't neatly sew the end in, leave it trailing so that we can whip it out when it is sewn together.

Get the first six ready, then move them about until you are happy with the arrangement.

Put two sides together and sew them with small stitches with a whip stitch, which is a diagonal stitch used to join the pieces together. Go in straight across the two pieces from right to left and then come over on the diagonal, keep your stitches small and neat... the more you sew the neater and smaller they become.

I found it easiest to start with two side pieces and then sew these two to the base, then side followed by base.

Now you have half your ball ready to go, repeat this process for the other side.

Place one half on top of the other, I made the same pattern for each half and then rotated the top half by two segments. To make it easier to sew, I set one half as picture above and then inverted the other half to sit inside it, it was then really easy to see where points and seams should join. Sew all the way around but leave two sides unsewn... we need to turn this ball right sides out eventually.

OK, it's time for the fun bit, grab then knotted end of the tacking line and release the paper template... Don't throw it away, you can reuse it. Turn the ball inside out through the opening.

Take your stuffing and fill the ball, now don't make the mistake of grabbing a big wadge and shoving it in, go with little and often, it gives the ball a better finish.

Grab a safety and pin the centre point down. Work your magic with the whip stitch again, sewing the two sides together.

And there you have a lovely little piece of hand sewing and you have mastered a basic element of English piecing, how clever are you? I was just sitting here thinking, when the C word came into my mind, if I made the pentagons smaller, wouldn't it make a great decoration using up scraps for a handmade Christmas tree?

But guess what, if you have stuffed your ball properly, it will bounce, go on give it a go!

Right now it's over to Wendy Massey's Handmade Monday, been absolutely ages since we have been on there, can't wait to see what everyone has been up to.

Colours, Loose Ends and Kaffe Fassett

2013-05-11T12:27:00.001+01:00

A couple of weekends ago, I woke up and thought, I have nothing planned for the day... what can I do, and then it hit me - "A Life in Colour" , the Kaffe Fassett exhibition at the Fashion and Textile Museum. I had read about it and thought I really must go and see it as I had missed his previous exhibition at the V&A.

I should also mention that I had recently read his autobiography, A life in Colour which I highly recommend, it traces his past from an idyllic childhood in California, to his move to London, how he learnt to knit, murals that he created which were then... painted over and then there are the luscious images of his work and inspirations I got my copy from the library, but do read it, it really whets your appetite

Now the Fashion and Textile Museum was set up by Zandra Rhodes, and my claim to fame is that she once admired a hat I was wearing with a fantastic hat pin when I went to an exhibition in 90s! It was a great intimate venue for the Fassett knits, tapestries and quilts.

So in I trotted in, well I have to be honest, it was just a little bit gloomy until my eyes got used to it, but when I thought about it, it's just what you need with Kaffe's work as all that colour coming at you would probably have ended up with a bunch of women with bleeding eyeballs!

So where to start, I loved the way you could see what had inspired a design, from photos of an object, eg stones on a beach, through to the paintings - which I thought beautifully executed but a little 2d, however I then realised that is why they translate so well into fabric designs - and thence to the cushion, quilt, knitwear.

But OMG, the colours, his assuredness and use of bright shades is just amazing. His first cardigan really cheered me up, a stripey number in unlikely subtle shades of brown, but... yes there is a BIG BUT, I whooped and hollered inside, it was the ultimate realisation that the man is human. He left loose ends, yep, loose ends everywhere... now if you have ever knitted, you will remember the first multi-coloured piece you knitted and all you wanted to do was sew it up and wear it and to the devil with the sewing in the loose ends... see, he is just like us!

The quilts were delicious, the quilt police might have been narked about the lack of perfect corners but the colours were sublime. You could get up close and personal to actually break down how they were made. Oh, and there was a wonderful display of fabrics and wool swatches to touch and feel, which was great because no matter how many signs there are in an exhibition, don't you just long to reach out and stroke?

Upstairs was a room that was staged, with needlepoint cushions and rugs... I saw both worked not only in Tent stitch but also in staggered Long stitches, chairs covered in needlepoint. Knitted cushions and quilted cushions - it was like a fairground explosion, blousey but not slutty - glorious in its celebration of sewing, quilting and knitting.

There was also a row of 1980s knitwear which although it showed its age in style but not in its innovative use of colour and patterns.

This was 90 mins of my time well spent, I came away inspired to sew, resisting the temptation of buying some fabric Fassett and Brandon Mabley collection... I really recommend it as a lovely exhibition to set your fingers twitching. There are classes and lectures to take associated with the the exhibition, wouldn't it be great to work with Brandon and Kaffe, so when the lottery win comes through... However, as I left the exhibition, guess what I spotted in the road... hexagonal drain covers, how spooky is that?

Happy Easter!

2013-03-31T11:46:00.002+01:00

Hope that everyone is up to their bunny ears in chocolate eggs this weekend!

So far this weekend, I have finished a sock, have a half finished bunny sitting on the ironing board and am joined at the hip to my vacuum cleaner... well Spring has started!

Pip and Squeak... and a Farewell to a Consumate Seamstress

2013-03-17T18:37:00.003Z

Say hello to Pip and Squeak who were finished today. Yes, I know this is yet another set of Easter bunnies, but I have had this pattern lurking in my must do pile for a couple of years and just have not got around to it. However this year, I had the perfect excuse, on the UK Crafts Forum we have a SEB, or in layman's terms... The Secret Easter Bunny...

Well, Pip and Squeak are shortly to be wrapped up and sent off to their recipient, I do hope that whoever it may be will like them... but I think she might want to keep them apart as they seem to be doing what rabbits do!

Now I move on to some rather sad news, I learnt today that one of few remaining aunts has died. She was my Aunty Trassa, (a corruption of the name Teresa), one of 12 children she was 80 years old and had 10 children, and she was the go-to woman if you ever wanted anything made. I always hoped that one day she would make my wedding dress, but I guess she got tired of waiting!

Aunty Trassa could make a sewing machine sing, for her the needle and thread would dance and her eye could see the potential of any piece of fabric and her hands had the gift to make it so. My mother used to tell stories of her when she was courting, her husband to be, my mild mannered Uncle Christie would arrange to pick her up at 7:30pm but... at just gone 7:00pm she would decide she needed a new skirt, and out would come her dressmaking shears. The fabric folded in two and the scissor let rip (no paper pieces would be used, this was all done by eye), lining would be cut too... then the sewing machine would fly into action and by 7:30 the new skirt would be ready to go out... although if you knew my aunt you would know that she might not be quite ready.

My mother told of one trip to a family wedding, when they were all due to leave the house at 10:30, Auntie Trassa appeared with dripping hair at 10:20... and yes, it was one of her own children who was getting married!

She could sew absolutely anything, from soft furnishings to wedding dresses, no zip insertion ever held her in its thrall, with a needle and thread in hand she was a Zen master. She was also the one who understood why I could not bear to go to a wedding where I had made the dress... she knew that all I would see would be the elements that I thought I should have done better.

As she got older she was able to pick and choose which projects she undertook, dismissing fabric that she did not like with the classic phrase, "I can't sew with that - it offends my fingers!" And tell me that you have never come across that fabric... She also engaged in madcap schemes, like her collection of jam jars from which she was going to build a greenhouse, it never did happen but I reckon with her magic hands if she had succeeded, there would have been a bio-dome in Sallynoggin, long before they built one at the Eden Project.

She was also incredibly generous with her time, when my mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer, she jumped on a plane from Dublin and nursed her until she died... a wonderful selfless act for which I will be forever in her debt.

So in the coming week, when you sit in front of your sewing machine, thread up a needle up or pin two edges together, remember to pass your gifts forward, pass on a tip or a technique to the next generation.

Some of my Aunts at Powerscourt in Co Wicklow in the 1980s
Back Row: Aunty Phyll, Aunty Berna, My mum, Aunty Bridgie
Front Row: Aunty Kay, Aunty Trassa, Aunty Dolores

I reckon if Aunty Trassa had been of my generation her next move on a Sunday evening would be to go over to Handmade Harbour to see what people had been up to before posting up one of her own marvellous projects.

I am about to turn militant .. again!

2013-03-12T20:11:00.000Z

Do you have a mental list of favourite smells and feels... I do. When I win the lottery I will have fresh sheets every day and should I take an afternoon nap, then the staff will iron them before I step inside that evening...I might have won money but I am still eco-friendly. But there is another smell and feel which outstrips this... it's a new book.

Just close your eyes, feel the weight of the book in your hands, hear the crack of the spine and then the smell of the fresh unsullied pages. Yet even better than this appeal to your senses is the dance that the printed letters will lead your imagination through.

So can you guess what is exercising my rant zone... my local council are threatening to close some of our local libraries. You might remember how I told you all a couple of years ago about my love of libraries, how I have never lived more than 10 mins away from one.

Libraries are so important, they are the door in the back of the wardrobe that gave me access to my own personal Narnia... through books, I have travelled the world, I know the Venetian canals like the back of my hand through the Donna Leon and the investigations of Commisario Brunetti, I learnt my way through American Law courtesy of Harper Lee and John Grisham, never said I was discerning, did I? I am an expert on romance, thanks to Katie Fforde and Jojo Moyes... and RF Delderfield, Mazo de la Roche and Tolstoy.

The library was and is, alongside Radio 4, my university... it has taught me and made me what I am. Our librarians no longer check in our books, but ask them a question from internet access to who else writes like Roddy Doyle and they are there in an instant, stretching your imagination. Who else would listen to small children bursting to impart what had happened to Angelina Ballerina, or why dinosaurs had died out and why Roald Dahl is really the bestest writer in the whole wide world and that they will never read anyone else. Yet now, these experts are being de-skilled by stealth, softened up for redundancies... but we need them... we really do need them. But this is not about us, it is about future generations, libraries are an inheritance we must pass on... if you don't believe me, read about what the library means to my little friend Camille and her mum.

Just imagine how tough it must be for the people working in the libraries, nip in, if you can and tell them that you will be supporting them, sign petitions, make a fuss, people need to know that you want to keep them.

So if you live in Leigh-on-sea, Southend-on-sea, Westcliff-on-sea and so on, lobby your local councillors, tell your MP that this is not good enough... we need our libraries, and right now, your library needs you!

Rabbit, Rabbit, Bunny, Bunny

2013-03-03T17:23:00.000Z

Recently I have made a couple of rabbits for friends for Easter...

The one I finished this morning is a Tilda pattern, am not sure about the nose as I think it looks a little canine but I know that the young lady who I made it for will love it. On balance, I think it might be a hare because of its lovely long ears... although I have not seen it box yet, but I reckon that dress might be hiding a Lonsdale belt beneath it.

Now this is one I saw in a magazine and my fingers just itched to get it made, it's actually made from recycled jeans and a fleece picked up from a local charity shop. I would add just one caveat, when you are making it up, make sure that the legs have faded equally when you cut out your pattern pieces.

I have another pattern to make bunnies which I hope to finish during the week and will share with you soon.

Anyway, I am pleased with these little chaps as I had lost my my making mojo for a couple of weeks, so I will be editing pictures and patterns over the week and making up for lost time.

Now to get me back on track, I will be going over to Wendy's HandmadeMonday for even more inspiration.

And all week I will be silently saying the bunny rabbit knitting rhyme... perfect garter stitch every time!

Into the Bunny Hole

Run around the tree

Out of the Bunny Hole

Away runs he!

Here's to the Whistleblowers!

2013-02-07T10:35:00.000Z

I don’t often write really serious stuff on here, so no pictures in this post, but after listening to the news this morning and reading the papers, something struck me… whatever happened to personal responsibility? For those who don’t know I have been a school governor for over 20 years for inner City schools in London and I am currently working for the NHS, having started my working life there, over 35 years ago so whenever something about them comes up I read it thoroughly but I have to admit doing so with an increasingly heavy heart and then it struck me, nearly every public service is getting it in the neck.

In the last few weeks, I have read how more and more primary school children are being expelled… well, let’s take that one apart. Firstly, we don’t expel any more, we exclude; now that can be for a few hours internally sitting in another room, to a day or more off-site but to permanently exclude a child is a long slog. Actually thinking about it, the internal exclusions are akin to the afternoon or morning stood facing the wall outside the Head’s study, in fact I can still name the boys who were regulars outside Mr Webster’s room… that would be you: Nicholas, Graham, Kevin, Peter, Mark, Michael and John. And thinking about it, I reckon that more than one of them would be stood there every week - so times really don’t change - we just gather information in a different and more formal way. Then I hear how standards of literacy are plummeting, well not at my school; children come in so far below the national average and with English as an Additional Language that they have to start in Nursery and Reception with bi-lingual tutors but by the time they leave, they are above not only the Local Authority average but the National average… not a mean feat for an East End primary.

And do you know what makes the difference, parents taking responsibility to work in partnership with the school, these results do not happen in isolation, they happen because we work together. They happen due to good will from the staff at the school going that extra mile, they happen because both groups respect and listen to each other because they know that.

All over the papers at the moment is the Mid-Staffs Francis Report, a damning indictment of a culture of neglect and fear in a general hospital. Each of us will have a horror story that we know of, or that might have happened to friends and family but equally there will also be tales of carers who do go the extra mile, doctors who take the time to listen and nurses who still hold your hand when you are frightened. In every organisation you will find shining examples of good practice, a department that will always do the work to the highest standard and hospitals are no different as they too are staffed by human beings and we are all by nature a mixed bunch.

However, I think that what makes the difference is taking personal responsibility, ensuring that when you do a job, you do it to the best of your ability, if others are falling below standard then you call it, you help them to improve; if the facilities are not there to allow you to do the job then you tell management and keep telling them until it changes. This is your duty to not only yourself but to others… we all deserve the best but we will only get this if we give of our best.

Be prepared to fall on your sword if your ignorance of a situation or inability to listen to what is happening allows it to continue… to me the best politicians are those who have admitted their failure, Lord Carrington over the Falklands War and Estelle Morris when she realised that she did not have wherewithal to continue as Secretary of State for Education… those are the people I admire for recognising their own shortcomings.

In the words, so often attributed to Edmund Burke, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

So on a morning that is filled for many with self-reflection, I raise my coffee cup and, heartfelt thanks and admiration to the whistle blowers whose moral compass means that the world will be a better place, if we but listen and act, and take just a little self-responsibility.

What's in a name?

2013-01-30T21:07:00.000Z

We were talking about names today... it seems that everyone in my office is called Linda... different ages, so no rhyme or reason... although at school we had four Susans, how Bunty like is that?

My sister was born on Easter Sunday and my mother managed to fight off the suggestions of Esther and Joy, still it could have been worse but fortunately Bunny did not feature

My father, who would not go to the phone box to ring the hospital when I was born wanted to call me Molly! Still I have my brother to thank for revenge by proxy, he was sent on the phone box mission and returned to the house looking very perturbed, he broke it to my father that it was twins... he kept it up for half an hour before admitting that it was quality and not quantity!

Even my brother has a name tale... my mother was under Eamonn De Valera's son who was a gynaecologist in Dublin and like his father quite a Catholic. He asked my mother if she would call her first born after the Virgin Mary... she said she would consider it, if it was a girl but frankly not one for a boy... however, my mother was so acquiescent which is why my big brother is called... oh it's bad but not quite that bad, Michael James Mary... I kid you not!

And really there is only one song to listen to...

Tales of Woe with Happy endings - Afghan Begins

2013-01-20T18:55:00.001Z

The quilt has to be delayed as my special wadding has been delivered to the wrong place *stares hard at suspects near Barlow and Fields* I had arranged for it to be delivered to my local coffee shop and it has not arrived although it has been despatched. After a quick call to The Cotton Patch and talking to the lovely Jeff, a new bundle is now on its way to a very clearly written address!

So I thought that rather than waiting we will start the Afghan... and as I cannot sew, I thought I would make a quilting inspired reversible square of flying geese and another of reversible diamonds.

All squares should measure 12 x 12" and I am using Jarol Sweet Briar Chunky and 6mm needles. Now to do these square, all you need to do is knit and purl, and count... so yes, you can do this.

Abbreviations

K - Knit
P - Purl
St - Stitches
rep - repeat

Reversible Diamonds with Double Moss / Seed stitch

Cast on 42 stitches

Row 1 - K6, P6, K6, P6, K6, P6, K6,
Row 2 - P6, K6, P6, K6, P6,K6, P6,

Row 3 - P1, K5, P5, K1 - repeat twice more and for last 6 stitches, P1, K5
Row 4 - P5, K1, P1, K5 - repeat twice more and for last 6 stitches, P5, K1

Row 5 - K1, P1, K4, P4, K1, P1 - repeat twice more and for last 6 stitches, K1, P1, K4
Row 6 - P4, K1, P1, K1, P1, K4 - repeat twice more and for last 6 stitches, P4, K1, P1

Row 7 - P1, K1, P1, K3, P3, K1, P1, K1 - repeat twice more and for last 6 stitches, P1, K1, P1, K3
Row 8 - P3, K1, P1, K1, P1, K1, P1, K3 - repeat twice more and for last 6 stitches, P3, K1, P1, K1

Row 9 - K1, P1, K1, P1, K2, P2, K1, P1, K1, P1 - repeat twice more and for last 6 stitches, K1, P1, K1, P1, K2
Row 10 - P2, K1, P1, K1, P1, K1, P1, K1, P1K2 - repeat twice more and for last 6 stitches, P2, K1, P1, K1, P1

Row 11/ 12 - P1, K1- rep to the end

Row 13 / 14 - K1, P1 - rep to the end

Row 15 - P1, K1, P1, K1, P2, K2, P1, K1, P1, K1 - repeat twice more and for last 6 stitches, P1, K1, P1, K1, P2
Row 16 - K2, P1, K1, P1, K1, P1, K1, P1, K1, P2 - repeat twice more and for last 6 stitches, K2, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 17 - K1, P1, K1, P3, K3, P1, K1, P1 - repeat twice more and for last 6 stitches, K1, P1, K1, P3

Row 18 - K3, P1, K1, P1, K1, P1, K1, P3 - repeat twice more and for last 6 stitches, K3, P1, K1, P1

Row 19 - P1, K1, P4, K4, P1, K1, - repeat twice more and for last 6 stitches, P1, K1, P4

Row 20 - K4, P1, K1, P1, K1, P4 - repeat twice more and for last 6 stitches, K4, P1, K1

Row 21 - K1, P5, K5, P1 - repeat twice more and for last 6 stitches, K1, P5

Row 22 - K5, P1, K1, P5 - repeat twice more and for last 6 stitches, K5, P1,

Row 23 - P6, K6, P6, K6, P6, K6, P6
Row 24 - K6, P6, K6, P6,K6, P6, K6

Row 25 - P5, K1, P1 K5 - repeat twice more and for last 6 stitches,  P5, K1
Row 26 - P1, K5, P5, P1 - repeat twice more and for last 6 stitches,  P1, K5

Row 27 - P4, K1, P1, K1, P1, K4 - repeat twice more and for last 6 stitches,  P4, K1, P1

Row 26 - K1, P1, K4, P4, K1, P1 - repeat twice more and for last 6 stitches,  K1, P1, K4

Row 29 - P3, K1, P1, K1, P1, K1, P1, K3 - repeat twice more and for last 6 stitches,  P3, K1, P1, K1

Row 30 - P1, K1, P1, K3, P3, K1, P1, K1 - repeat twice more and for last 6 stitches,  P1K1, P1, K3

Row 31 - P2, K1, P1, K1, P1, K1, P1, K1, P1, K2 - repeat twice more and for last 6 stitches,  P2, K1, P1, K1, P1

Row 32 - K1, P1, K1, P1, K2, P2, K1, P1, K1, P1 - repeat twice more and for last 6 stitches,  K1, P1, K1, P1, K2

Row 33 / 34 - P1, K1- rep to the end

Row 35 /36 - K1, P1 - rep to the end

Row 37 - K2, P1, K1, P1, K1, P1, K1, P1, K1, P2 - repeat twice more and for last 6 stitches, K2, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 38 - P1, K1, P1, K1, P2, K2, P1, K1, P1, K1 - repeat twice more and for last 6 stitches, P1, K1, P1, K1, P2

Row 39 - K3, P1, K1, P1, K1, P1, K1, P3 - repeat twice more and for last 6 stitches, K3, P1, K1, P1

Row 40 - K1, P1, K1, P3, K3, P1, K1, P1 - repeat twice more and for last 6 stitches, K1, P1, K1, P3

Row 41 - K4, P1, K1, P1, K1, P4 - repeat twice more and for last 6 stitches, K4, P1, K1

Row 42 - P1, K1, P4, K4, P1, K1, - repeat twice more and for last 6 stitches, P1, K1, P4

Row 43 - K5, P1, K1, P5 - repeat twice more and for last 6 stitches, K5, P1

Row 44 - K1, P5, K5, P1 - repeat twice more and for last 6 stitches, K1, P5

Row 45 - K6, P6, K6, P6, K6, P6, K6
Row 46 - P6, K6, P6,K6, P6, K6, P6

Cast off. Sew the ends in now... you will just not want to spend an evening doing this when we come to put the blanket together.

Flying Geese Square

Cast on 41 stitches

Row 1 - P1, K9, repeat to the end of the row, P1
Row 2 - K1, P9, repeat to the end of the row, K1

Row 3 - P2, K7, P3, K7, P3, K7, P3, K7, P2
Row 4 - K2 P7, K3, P7, K3, P7, K3, P7, K2

Row 5 - P3, K5, P5, K5, P5, K5, P5, K5, P3
Row 6 - K3 P5, K5, P5, K5, P5, K5, P5, K3

Row 7 - P4, K3, P7, K3, P7, K3, P7, K3, P4
Row 8 - K4, P3, K7, P3, K7, P3, K7, P3, K4

Row 9 - P5, K1, P9, K1, P9,K1, P9, K1, P5
Row 10 - P5, K9, P1, K9, P1, K9, P1, K9, P5

Repeat these 10 rows three times more and cast off.

So there you have it, we have started our Afghan, next Winter we will be snuggling under it after a day out sledging in the snow...

Now let's pop over to Handmade Monday and see what has been happening there... and who knows by this time, next week I might have got my wadding and be ready to start :)

... And can you smell that from my kitchen, my slow cooker is on a roll with a beefsteak and kidney casserole just the thing for a snowy evening, yummy!

The Big Projects for 2013 - You can do it!

2013-01-06T18:21:00.000Z

Happy New Year everybody and welcome back!

This year I am challenging you and me for that matter to make something a little bit bigger than our usual Sunday project, we are going to make two items... well pretty big items, we are going to make (drum roll) a fabric quilt or a knitted Afghan over the year. I have every faith in you and your skills, so this post is all about prep.

Now I know what you are thinking... Ros this is going to sooo expensive, don't you know about the recession? Well tell me about it people, this is why the quilt is going to be quilt as you go, as well as being a scrap sampler quilt, which means we will do two blocks a month, a plain block and a patterned block and we will quilt them as we go along, so there will be no big backing to do. And did I mention, you will learn a new and mysterious language?

The Afghan will be a little bit different too, it will be reversible... yep, that is right, which ever way you look at it, it will look the same. It will be knitted on big needles, so it will not so much grow as race off your needles... I promise and remember I had my Firefighters and Braille badge when I was in the Girl Guides, so you can trust me!

What will I need to have and be able to do to make the quilt?

Right let's talk about the skillset... can you do Maths? Scared, OK, can you do sums and read a clock, yes? Well, then you can do this, it will be a cinch! Can you sew straight? Can you use an iron? Did you answer yes, then how come your house is not covered in quilts? You can definitely do this.

This is just a selection of my fat quarter... and one of the odds and ends bags...

Next, do you have a bag(s) of scraps that are too small to be a fat quarters (Ros, you are using language, what is a fat quarter? It is a piece of fabric 22"wide by 18" long, ie, a quarter of a yard) but just too big to throw away? Or do you have a stash of fat quarters (a stash is a hoard by any other name, it's what you have to have to make your life complete) that are just begging to be released.
Now, you have to make a choice about backing, is it going to be the same colour for each block (the square or section) but remember you will only be doing two squares a month, so you really only need to buy a metre of backing and front every couple of months.

So you will need cotton fabric, batting / wadding, rotary cutter, quilting ruler, cutting mat, thread, a water soluble pen or pencil, fish knife, washi tape, sewing machine and then you will be ready to make a start.

This was my very first quilt - a hand sewn Amish quilt

I am going to use black as my main fabric (yep, I know I swore I would never work with the dark side of the palette again) as it will make any fabric that I use sing and pop out. However, if you want to do this make sure that your wadding / batting is black. Why? Because if you use white wadding it will beard (great term) which means that little white flecks will spread through your cotton just like an old man's beard not a pretty look!

But don't worry, I know that not everyone will want to make a quilt but you can try out any of the techniques to make smaller projects like cushions / pillows, tote bags, place mats.

Hang on a minute, what will it look like, well do you know something, I just don't know, here is my work book, I can see it in my mind's eye and I will be making it alongside you... so don't just read this jump on it for the ride!

And this Afghan, what do I need for that?

Can you knit and purl? Can you count? Then you can definitely make an Afghan and this one is going to be special as it will look the same both ways.

I am making mine in three colours, grey, cream and red and we will be knitting up 12" x 12" squares... they will knit up really quickly and I aim to have squares that will knit up in an evening.

We will join them together with a crochet stitch and it will look fabulous, as well as being snuggly.

I am going to be working with 5 balls in each colour of Jarol's Sweet Briar Chunky, a pair of 6mm needles... and a cable needle, cos we know how to do reversible cables already, don't we team?

Just remember all we are doing is making a mess of knots with sticks and string... and even children, cats and kittens can do that!

Anyway this is how it will roll, the first Sunday of the month, will be our quilting date and two weeks later is our knitting date... except this month, cos we quilt next Sunday.

In case you are worried, we will still be doing other fun crafty projects on the other Sundays... I still owe you a tutorial for an Etui box, don't I?

Just a little plea before we finish, I know that many of you will immediately start looking on the internet but if you can, please remember that your local yarn and fabric shop need your support too, these are tough times people and we all need to support our local shops.

And the good news now, is that Handmade Monday has returned from its Christmas hols... and you just know that the team on there will have done something amazing in the break!

Cecelia's Scrap Pattern as made by Annette (The Big Sister)

2012-12-30T17:37:00.000Z

This is my sister Annette, she is modelling a scrap or maybe it is a wrarf (as it is a combo scarf / wrap) that she created for our friend Cecelia. Cecelia is one of the knit and natter ladies who is originally from Columbia and has the most amazing sense of style... together with her own craft room that her husband thinks is his office. Recently after a trip to Spain, she bought back a lovely scarf which tied up round her neck. Annette really liked it and decided to use it as a starting point for her design, the original had a ruffle which was knitted separately and sewn on and although pretty enough could stand a little improvement. Annette is really good at finding unusual wool to work with and King Cole Galaxy was just the ticket as it is interspersed with delicate little sequins which catch and dance in the light.

Will readers please note, my sister does not have any lines on her face, I spent hours painting them in on PhotoShop, so that you would all know she is my older sister!

The scarf has an integrated ruffle, and cables encasing a double moss / seed stitch which gives it a gorgeous texture. To top it all off is a rather lovely flower to use as a button and you have the option of knitting it or crocheting it. Now all you need to do is get your yarn and needles ready and you are ready for the off!

Cecilia’s Scarf

100 gr double knitting yarn - King Cole Galaxy Double Knit

Size 2.75 needles, 1 cable needle

Size 3.50 crochet hook

Knitting Abbreviations:

K = knit

P = purl

RS = right side

WS = wrong side

C4F = place next 2 stitches on cable needle, hold to the front of the work. Knit the next 2 stitches, then knit the 2 stitches from the cable needle.

C4B = place the next 2 stitches on a cable needle, hold to the back of the work. Knit the next 2 stitches, then knit 2 stitches from the cable needle.

Note:

An additional 5 rows are knitted on the first 6 stitches of each row. This results in the ruffle effect. After the first row the first 6 stitches on each row are knitted as follows: knit 6, turn x 5 times. In the pattern this will be shown as K6T.

Using size 2.75 needles, cast on 42 stitches.

Row 1 K6 P2 K4 P2 K1, P1 7 times P2 K4 P2 K6. In future the first row will be knitted as follows:

Row 1 KT6 P2 K4 P2 K1, P1 7 times P2 K4 P2 K6

Row 2 KT6 K2 P4 K2 K1 P1 7 times K2 P4 K2 K6

Row 3 KT6 P2 C4F P2 P1 K1 7 times P2 C4B P2 K6

Row 4 KT6 K2 P4 K2 P1 K1 7 times K2 P4 K2 K6

These 4 rows form the pattern, repeat until work measures 46 cm ending with Row 4

Next row: K6T P2 K4 P2 Cast off 16 stitches P1 K4 P2 K6

Next row K6T K2 P4 K2 Cast on 16 stitches K2 P4 K2 K6 (this forms the hole for the flower to poke through.

Continue in pattern for a further 10cm, ending with Row 4.

Cast off

Flower

Knitted Flower

Abbreviations

K knit; p purl; st stitch

Cast on 10 sts.

First row: K1, p5 k4

2^nd row: K8, k twice into the next stitch k1 – 11 stitches

3^rd row: K1, p6 k4

4^th row: Knit

5^th row: K1, p2 together, p4, k4

6^th row: Knit

7^th row: Cast off 6 sts , k to end 4 sts

8^throw: K4, turn and cast on 6 sts (10 sts)

Repeat last 8 rows 15 times more, then work 1^st to 7^th rows again.

Cast off

Roll straight edge to form flower allowing for petals to roll back and secure rolled edge in position.

Sew to scarf approximately 15cm from cast-on edge.

Crochet Flower

Crochet Abbreviations (NB These are English terms for the US, a DC becomes and SC, a Tr becomes a DC and so on)

Ch, chain; dc, double crochet, chsp, chain space; slst, slip stitch, tr, treble

Make 26 ch.

Row 1: 1dc in 2^nd ch from hook (counts as 1dc) [1dc in next ch] to end, turn – 25dc.

Row 2: 4ch, miss first 2dc, 1dc in next dc [3ch, miss 1dc, 1dc in next dc] to end, turn.

Row 3: 4ch, work 1dc, 3ch and 1dc in first chsp, [3ch work 1dc, 3ch and 1 dc in next chsp] to end , 3 ch 1dc in 1^st of 4ch, turn.

Row 4: 4ch, 1dc in first chsp, [3ch, 1dc in next chsp] to end, 3ch, 1dc in 1^st of 4ch, turn

Row 5: As Row 3

Row 6: 5ch, 1dc in first chsp, [4ch, 1dc in next chsp] to end, 4ch, 1tr in 1^st of 4ch, turn

Row 7: Slst into 1^st chsp, 4dc in first chsp¸slst in next dc, [4dc in next chsp, slst in next dc] to last chsp, slst in 1^st of 4ch.

Fasten off.

Roll chain edge to form flower, bringing outer ends to centre and secure in position.

Sew to scarf approximately 15cm from cast-on edge.

I think that she has done a great job with this pattern and I have been asking her for permission to publish for a few months... but I think you will agree with me, it has been well worth waiting for.

And finally, if you ever see my sister looking at you like this... run, run as fast as you can and don't look back!

Now, I know what this look means... and it isn't going to end happily...

And for no better reason than it is still Christmas, I just had to finish with this... enjoy!

Post Christmas Update

2012-12-28T21:11:00.000Z

Well I hope you are all basking in the afterglow of Christmas and wondering why you got so worried, and trying to work out where you will put those Christmas presents. So firstly, here is a little something I am rather proud of... it's wreath, a Christmas wreath currently hanging on my front door.

And do you know why I am so proud of it, it is made by one of the ladies who took a class with me last year. Isn't it great when you are able to pass your skills on?

Then there is my tree, you may remember that last year, I spent much of the time on suicide watch with my suicidal tree which spent about eight of the twelve days of Christmas trying to leap out of its bucket. So this year I managed to buy the reject tree from Trafalgar Square... I think that it only lost out by an inch or two... and I have no need for curtains as it fills the whole of the bay window! In fact, I had to take this pic standing on the coffee table and I still couldn't get it all in...

And what was even better is that most of the decs this year were made by me..

Now this is rather special and I wanted to share it with you before Christmas, it's a commission I had made for my sister by Sally. I wanted a picture that would capture her interests and Sally had a twinkle in her eye and knew precisely what would work for Annette.

She got it s right, even down to the pink wool :)

And talking of Annette, I have a real treat for you on Sunday... a pattern from my big sister, inspired by her friend Cecelia (of whom more later) and here is a little preview of what we will be making.

I do hope that you like it, cos I think that the model feature here made rather a good job of it!

Where have you been?

2012-12-16T22:43:00.002Z

Right, I owe you all an apology... I know I have not been here and this is part of the reason:

Can you spot me... I thought I blended in rather well!

With my mate, Sally, we ran a rather great Christmas stall, even if I say so myself! Cakes, Decs, Wreaths and gifts... we covered every Christmas base!

And tonight I was watching a super documentary with the Unthanks on BBC4, having walked back home from visiting my friend Deborah and her magical Christmas grotto... little does she know that her snow is actually quilting batting and I have my eye on it... if I can remove the glitter! Part of the walk back is past St Clement's church in Leigh-on-sea where they were holding a Carol service which so took me back... way back.

I went back to Mrs Pickering's class in 1963, where the auditions were held for the Nativity... where I played... second shepherd, yes I started with ambitions for the Virgin Mary... I mean I had the hair, albeit tied up in plaits but no, it was not to be. However I quickly realised the louder you said it, then you were in! Does anyone remember how the sound barrier was actually broken in 1963 by a five year old screeching at the Heavenly Host,"Where have they laid the baby wrapped in swaaaaaaaaadling clothes?" Concorde, pah!

And then there was the action carol... The Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School version of the Rocking Carol...close your eyes and join me... grab your elbows and sing, whilst violently rocking the poor child from side to side... and I swear this group have something approaching our chutzpah

Substitute the puddings for dressing gowns and the caps for towel... and it could be us...

Scroll on a couple of years, The Virginian was a big programme every Friday night, the John Wayne film was the highlight of the Christmas season and then Mr Cracknell found it... The Cowboy Carol. What you mean you did not know about the cowboys coming to the Nativity, harrumph... where were you? We had Mrs Read on the piano, who swore she had eyes in the back on her head, but I did not realise until many years later that the highly polished upright she played might just have given her an unfair advantage...

So for all of you, who walk past a Sally Army band and are taken back to your six year old self, still believing in Santa Claus (who you will remember went to school with my mother because they both had the same handwriting), sit back and sing your heart out to a carol you will have sung with gusto, with a tinsel halo or your mum's best tea towel secured with a dressing gown.

And finally, I just want to ask you all to spare a thought or a prayer for the residents of Newport, Connecticut... I remember so well my mother collecting me from school on the afternoon of the Aberfan disaster, the rain pouring down and she would not let go of my hand all the way home. Please remember not just the children but the bravery of their teachers, teacher shape each and every one of us....

Straighten Your Seams - The Christmas Stocking Tutorial

2012-11-11T21:42:00.000Z

I don't know about you but one of my most fave childhood Christmas memories was waking up in the early hours feeling the weight on your feet and knowing that Father Christmas had been, filled your stocking and waiting until daylight before I was allowed to open them. Although I was lucky that I was not my mum, as one Christmas two of her sisters, she was the eldest of 12, got up in the middle of the night and swapped the presents around so that they got what they wanted... at least, until my granny woke up! Back then I used my father's socks from his wellingtons, large creamy socks with utilitarian writ large, so we are going to make something a little more aesthetically pleasing for the end of our beds.

You will need the following:

Selection of Christmas fabric strips
1 yard / metre of wide ric rac braiding
Christmas fat quarter, choose one with a good pattern
1/2 yard / metre plain cotton lining fabric
Selection of Christmas ribbons
1/2 yard / metre of cotton batting
Cutting mat, rotary cutter, dressmaking shears
Pins
Iron and ironing board

Let's get cracking, iron your fabrics and set them aside. You will need a template to cut around, either use an old stocking and draw around it, or at this time of the year, there are lots around in magazines and Christmas make books (check out your local library, so use one and adapt to suit you... ie, with a longer, wider leg if you think Father Christmas is going to be generous this year!

Cut out two in cotton batting, two in the plain cotton lining and one in your fat Christmas quarter. Lay your Christmas fat quarter on top of one piece of batting, now this is important, really IMPORTANT, lay the other piece of batting down and ensure that the toe is pointing in the OPPOSITE direction.

Now we are going to layer up the stocking, cut strips of varying widths, now play with them, see which ones work best together. You could lay them in parallel lines down the stocking or fan them out around the heel.

Sew down the strip at the top of stocking using a 1/4" seam allowance, now sew the next strip to the first strip, iron the seam open, continue this until it covers the whole of the stocking. Trim the excess from around the stocking.

Now the fun starts... more is more at Christmas, pop some ribbon over the seams, for the other seams use an embroidery stitch in a contrasting colour... one of those that you have on your machine but never use. You could apply some applique, a snowman or a child's name... make sure you choose children with short names or we could be making Easter stockings!

Pin your ric rac braiding so that the centre is 5/8" away from the edge and sew it down.

Place the two linings together, now put the back of your stocking with the right side up on top of them and finally put the front of your stocking face down so that you can see the reverse. Pin them all together.

You will be able to see the line of sewing that you made to attach the braid. Sew along that line, do not deviate away from it, stay with it all the way around. When you have finished, trim and notch the curves... for a small project like this pinking shears will give you the easing you need.

Now turn it inside out and hey presto your lining is in place... yes, really it is. Pin more braiding around the top of the stocking 5/8" from the top and sew it in place. Measure around the top and add 1 1/4" to this. Now cut a strip of fabric 3" wide by the length you have just measured, sew the ends together using a 5/8" seam allowance. With right sides facing, pin the top strip and the stocking together and just like sewing the stocking up, sew along the seam line used to secure the braiding.

You will now have a raw edge, iron under 5/8" and pin it over the top of the stocking... now you can either slip stitch it into place or top stitch it into place.

Cut a strip of fabric 12" x 3", fold it in half lengthwise, sew across the end and down the length, trim the excess and turn it inside out. Press and fold it in half... so that you have a handle, pin it inside the stocking on the back on the heel side. Machine it into place and now it is ready to hang at the end of your bed or on your fireplace.

And now over to Handmade Monday to see what everyone has been up to over the past week.

Stuff The Bunting Christmas Tree Tutorial

2012-11-06T14:03:00.001Z

Our local fabric shop... the wonderful Belle Fabrics (who still do not have a website... grrr!) had a version of this tree in the window, so with their permission I used it as a starting point for my tree. I thought you might like this tree which means we can use lots of the techniques from the last couple of years, from how to make bunting, to the Christmas stars we are going to use on top of it.

You will need:

Two contrasting, yet complementary fabrics, two fat quarters will do it with fabric to spare
Cutting mat, ruler and rotary cutter or dressmaking shears/scissors
Needles, pins and cotton
Stuffing
Fish knife
Ribbons, buttons, bells for embellishment
Iron and ironing board
Paper, pencil, ruler and protractor or pre-made template

Firstly we are going to create the templates for the tree triangles, I used a template from my patchwork, but if you are making one then I suggest 5" sides and creating an equilateral triangle with angles of 60'. We will be using the classic 1/4" seam allowance.

Iron your fabrics and cut out 19 triangles in each fabric.

Take a triangle from each fabric pile and pin them together, with right sides facing, start two thirds of the way along the base of your triangle, sew around the other two sides and just one third of the base, which leaves a third open. Trim the across each of the three corners to reduce the bulk.

Take your fish knife and pop it into the top angle of the triangle and push it through so that the right sides are now out, make sure you poke the knife into all the corners to ensure that they are sharp and pointy.

Iron each of the triangles.

Fill with your choice of stuffing, you will find it easier to use small amounts rather than using a quart to fill a pint pot.

When it is full, over sew the opening.

Set out the triangles as shown, then tack the corners into place, use a knot in between the layers and use a cross stitch to hold them in place.

Now, play around with your buttons and ribbons, and sew them permanently in place.

Right, we need to hang it up so I thought I would use one of the patchwork stars we made a couple of weeks ago and attach that to the top so that you can hang it up, although you could also gussie up a wide ribbon, too.

I did have a thought... how about getting a group of pupils from a class to paint a Christmassy image onto calico triangles using fabric paints and then make it into a tree for a teacher or for a grandma... I can tell you now that it would mean so much more to a teacher than another mug or a candle but possibly not as much as chocolate or wine!

I know that Christmas Pie Crafts wanted to see if I had made any hearts, so this weekend I borrowed Deborah's twig tree and fireplace to see how they looked... so if you look closely you will see all of the quilted and patchwork decs we have have worked on over the last few weeks... hope you like them :)

Stripped Bare for Christmas Action - More Quilted Tree Decs

2012-10-29T19:49:00.000Z

Back in July we made a cushion to celebrate the Fourth of July, so using the same technique we are going to create some more great quilted decorations to fill your tree. Yet again we are going to raid the pastry cutter tin to find great shapes to use on the tree, you can use hearts, stockings, hearts, mittens, hearts, parcels and did I mention hearts? This is another great way of using up scrap strips to create effective tree decs, so let's hit your Christmas stash of fabrics and get started.

You will need:

A selection of Christmas fabric or fabrics in Christmas colours of red and green
Batting
Cutting mat, ruler and rotary cutter
Scissors, pins and thread, pinking shears are optional but really useful
Pastry cutters or artistic ability (which I am sadly lacking), pencil, greaseproof paper
Ribbon or hairy twine (if you are going rustic)
A walking foot
Iron and Ironing Board ... yes, they are back

Choose shapes and designs which are clean and not too complex, hence the heart, mittens, Christmas trees and stockings... but you could use snowmen and gingerbread men (but we are going to be using these shapes to create a garland in a couple of weeks). If you feel confident in your sketching skills, the draw them directly onto the greaseproof or dressmaker's tissue, otherwise trace around the pastry or cookie cutter shapes. Set them aside until we have constructed the strips.

You need to cut your strips to the same length but vary the width, don't go thinner than an inch as we are going to use the quilter's classic 1/4" seam allowance... frankly less than 1/2" showing will look like a line of dental floss or what was referred to by my old friend Clint as a greyhound skirt. If you are using fat quarters use the longest side, usually the 22" side.

Sew the strips together using the 1/4" seam allowance, then iron your work from the back, do not iron the seams open, iron them closed all in the same direction. Then turn your work so that the front is showing and press again, stretch the work slightly to draw out any excess fabric that may have become trapped.

Place the sewn strips on top of the batting, and pin into place using the longest pins you can find, but leave a good allowance of batting up to an inch around the sewn strips.

Fit your walking foot to your machine... don't worry if you do not have a walking foot, you can still do this but the walking foot will give you a better finish as it ensures that the different textures and thicknesses of fabric will feed through at the same pace.

Sew in the ditch... don't know where it is? Remember how we ironed the seams in one direction, you are going to be sewing about an 1/8" away from the seam line through just one layer of fabric and batting, not the three, that is your quilting ditch. Use a contrasting thread to emphasise your stitching, sew along the ditch of every strip. When you have completed this, trim away the excess batting.

Pin your pattern pieces onto the quilted fabric, it looks great if the strips match up (yep, sometimes I can get a bit anal about lining up, although you don't have to do this) so remember to reverse it when you cut our the second piece. Or if you want to be economical, use a plain piece of fabric instead of your quilting as it will not be seen.

Place the right sides together and sew around leaving an opening... for the mittens and stockings, leave the top part open. For the tree, fold over a loop of ribbon, as ever I have raided the ribbon stash for some gorgeous Jane Means ribbons, pin it to the point of your tree on the right side on one piece of your tree, make sure that both ends of the ribbon stick out beyond this point, then lay on the other side of the tree and pin it in to place. For the heart, pop the ribbon loop in the centre of the curves at the top of the heart and use the same method, leaving a gap along the side.

Trim any excess seams and ease the curves by either nipping little triangles around the curves or using pinking shears to achieve this. Turn the shapes right side out. Use a cool iron to press them into shape - do not use a hot or cotton temperature iron as this will melt/bond the batting.

With your stockings and mittens, turn under the raw edges and press them into place... for the mittens, join a pair together with one piece of ribbon, tucked into the open seam and pin it together so they look just like the mittens tied into your coat that you could never lose, no matter how hard you tried, they will sit happily over a branch. For the stockings a loop, pinned at the outside edge of your stockings. Now sew around your decoration, 1/8" from the edge.

You could make little present shaped decs in squares or rectangle, even I can draw a square or a rectangle (well nearly) by running sewing ribbon in a cross over the square and popping a ribbon in the centre.

And now, a little later than usual, we are actually hopping over to Handmade Monday on a Monday... go look at what is happening in the Craft World :)

The How to Write a Tutorial, Tutorial

2012-10-20T18:23:00.000+01:00

For the last 18 months or so, I have written a weekly tutorial and a number of people have said, “Wow, I could never do that, I just wouldn’t know where to start.” Well that is stuff and nonsense, all a tute is, is a little history of how you made something, so in the immortal words of Julie Andrews and Messr’s Rogers and Hammerstein, “Let’s start at the very beginning...”

Choose your topic, the thing that you can make sublimely, that you enjoy doing... it doesn’t matter that it is not original, let’s be honest very little in the craft world is, after all there are only so many things to make or do, like bunting, peg bags, cook a chicken, put a child on the naughty step. What matters is that you show how you do it and how great it is to be able to do it your way.

Next the title, I have decided we are going to make pom poms, so I could be very technical and say ”The Pom Pom Tutorial”, it says what it is but to be honest I think it is a little dull (actually it’s deathly boring) so I might go with “Pom Tiddly Pom – Pooh’s Pom Pom Tutorial” hoping that most of my audience had been brought up on a diet of AA Milne.

I love poms poms and they are really easy to make, you don't need any fancy kit but if you follow my instructions, you will get a great result each time... although perhaps not the mega pom pom that Carol Parkinson had in the infants which looked to me to be the size of a fooball (nb this is not an exaggeration).

Start with an intro, or if you are in education, a plenary telling us what to expect together with a picture of the finished item... I want to know that when I read this it is going to enable me to be the bestest pom pom maker in the whole wide world, or maybe just in my house.

You will need the following:

Wool - Don't bother with the good stuff, chemist shop acrylic will do, double knitting is great for this

Cardboard - Breakfast cereal boxes are ideal

Sharp scissors

A mug and a wine glass

Ribbon, I use Jane Means from my stash

Pencil

After that, I want to know what I will need, I don’t want to be blind-sided by you telling me in the middle of making this that I will need something that is not readily to hand... so you need to tell me what I need from the get go. If you use a particular brand of wool, let me know, otherwise I could be the muppet who buys a hand dyed silk and cashmere hank costing a fortune to chop into little bits. Even better if you use a particular stockist, provide a link to them. Think of this like a recipe, you see the picture of the stuffed boned chicken, then you look at the list of ingredients and gather them together and next you jump straight in and follow the recipe, well a tutorial is essentially the same.

Everybody has a different style of writing and I am going to let you into a little secret, technical writing is the most difficult to do well and to read, especially if you assess it with the Gunning Fog Index which tests readability... so keep it simple. Remember you want to keep them reading through till the end, not to be confused and turned off by long technical words and terms.

Let’s get going, you have told your reader what they will need, now let’s get to the method. It’s easiest if you write this as you go along and take pics... I am useless at snapping but here are the basics, take pics in natural light, keep the background clear so we can see the magnum opus in construction, try not to use a flash and if you can rest your camera on something so you do not get the blurry wobbles so much the better. Also pics break up a post, allowing the readers eye to rest and for them to get their breath back.

You will need to cut two circles out of your cereal boxes using the mug, then using the wine glass pop it in the centre and cut out the smaller circle. Place the circles together.

If something goes wrong, tell your reader and show them, if there is a point where it looks awful but it will come right, let them know. If you have ever boned a chicken, you will understand... there comes a point when you have a very sharp knife in your hands, your hands will be slippery from being stuffed into the chicken’s carcass, one leg will be detached and then you will stand there wondering why the heck you didn’t just roast it? You need to tell the reader that this will pass a few moments later, you will have released the breastbone and be ready to put in the stuffing and sew up the bird and everyone will think you are just sooooo clever!

Take your wool and start to wind it around the doughnut shape you have created, you will need to create small balls so it fits through the hole in the middle... you may find that the end will not stay put so tie a knot in it... when you have wound round once snip the knot out. Continue winding until you fill the hole in the middle. You could use one colour or to make it more fun, use lots of different colours, it is a great way to use up those scrappy ends that are not long enough to use for anything useful! Don't worry if you cannot fill it all the way to centre but just be aware it will not look as dense and as fluffy as mine.

I am serious about writing as you go along, as it is really easy to miss out a step or a stage because you know what you are doing, remember back in school when they asked you to write up making a cup of tea... our English teacher took our class to the kitchen and used several of the essays to literally follow instructions... it was carnage, empty teapots, cold tea... and no tea at all. I have a real bee in my bonnet about getting projects tested so, get another pair of eyes to look over it to see what you have missed.

Now comes the exciting bit, position the blades of your scissors between the two circles of cardboard and start snipping, take it slow and steady, the wool will not fall out but will remain trapped in the centre.

Cut a length of wool 18" long, slip it between the two layers of cardboard and wind it around the your cut wool, slip a 12" length of ribbon under the wool which you are using to capture all your cut ends now draw it really tight, tying it with a secure knot. Slip the cardboard off and fluff up your ball... doesn't that look great? You can hang it up using the ribbon... or if you are a small child it makes a marvellous weapon to hit your siblings without bruising them.

Use you final paragraph to suggest ways in which to use the item, cheaper alternatives and if it takes a long time tell them this too.

Making a pompom is a great mindless task to do in front of the TV on a cold evening and should take you about an hour. Get the kids to join in and you will have a set of new decs for your Christmas tree or make smaller ones to attach to the ends of laces on sweaters etc.

Paste in your pics onto the blog, tie them up with the relevant description – don’t be tempted to state the obvious under the pic – use them to move the story along. Next spell check and then look at it in preview... you will see where extra lines have crept in, tidy it up ready for your public. Once you have written it, don’t leave it there, share it around, tweet it, facebook it, tag it and send it out to other people... you have worked far too hard to let it be a Billy No Mates Make!

In short the principles are as follows:

Title
Opening
Ingredients
Method
Options
Check and Share

And that dear reader, is how I tackle a tutorial... if you have other ways of doing it, please share. And here is the ultimate musical tutorial, easy to follow, easy to understand, easily remembered and it comes out well each time.

And in case anyone is interested... no, I have not taken down my curtains to make play clothes for my friends!

So next it's off to Handmade Monday to see what other great crafty goodies have been made this week.

OMG... How much?

2012-10-11T12:34:00.000+01:00

Right, this year for the first time in ages, we are not going to the Knitting & Stitching Show at Ally Pally. There are a couple of reasons for this, am not sure if I mentioned it but recently both my brother-in law and my sister had mini strokes, TIAs or transient ischaemic attacks... in fact if it had not been for my bil having one first, my sister would not have realised what was happening when she had hers. Both of them had a bit of tingling in their hands and an inability to hold a mug, feeling a tad odd and bit headachey.

A previous matron of the hospital was in the stroke ward at the same time, nothing escaped her beady eye!

He had been on an aspirin regime which could well explain why there was little if no damage... however my sister was not so lucky, her carotid artery was totally bunged up (think mega amounts of sediment in your central heating!) which meant a whole different ball game. Firstly, she was not allowed out of the ward... had to stay on flat surfaces - no stairs, lest any clots be released if she bumped about, the anaesthetists who could undertake this were on hols so it was almost two weeks later that they operated. She had a carotid endarterectomy, yep, they removed that section of her carotid... you know the one that spurts everywhere in horror movies and put in a new piece. She recovered really well thanks to the magnificent work of the stroke unit at Southend... if she had not had this scare, then she would most definitely have had a major stroke within the year. So please, when you see those ads and articles about the signs and symptoms of strokes, just take the time to read them... it's just about thinking FAST. She is back driving now but K&S is a long day, so maybe next year...

The show opens today and yes, I do kind of regret not going but to be honest a flippant comment made on Twitter has made me think... do you know that I cannot tell you how much I have in my various stashes? I can tell you that I put 160+ fat quarters in a picnic hamper a few weeks ago. I have a separate hamper for Christmas... a humongous plastic container for half yards or more... and at the back of the dining room lurks an even bigger trunk in which I know there is at least 4 yards of cream and gold dog tooth check wool fabric from the early 90s and an early visit to Ally Pally. Tell me, what possessed me?

I aspire to sort my collection into this sort of order

Not sure that we should tackle wool as it is pervasive, you think you have it locked down... but no, it hides in small spaces (that would be behind and under the sofas), it can literally roll anywhere and it does. I have found it in every room in my house with the exception of the bathroom but frankly that is just a matter of time. I love going through it and remembering where I bought it... and yes there is an Ally Pally novelty yarn that I bought which, well honestly I must have been hypnotised by aliens... it is so mortifying that I could not even offer it up for a swap let alone take it surreptitiously to a charity shop, as even they have standards!

If only own stash was so well ordered and coherent

And do you know what, we haven't even addressed kit, like sewing boxes, cutting mats and rulers, buttons, ribbons, interfacing, tissue, hoops, threads, patterns, knitting needles, crochet hooks and no, don't go there with books, look I told you don't go there... need I go on? I am sure there is an answer, it's just that I am not sure I will like it. And do you know that I have just realised, I have not touched on embroidery, tapestry, felting, Hardanger...

I long to own something like this... memories of Brightwells in Southend, the Grace Bros of fabric shops!

So there it is the reasons I am not at Ally Pally this year, mostly because over the years I have accumulated the contents of the main hall and they are scattered about the house, in every nook, cranny and crevice... mind you what about under the stairs at the back, now there's a thought!

Countdown to Christmas - An Advent Chest of Drawers

2012-10-07T20:42:00.000+01:00

I am typing this with sticky fingers, so any typos you see are due to my fingers not leaving the keys... Right so I have found my Christmas making mojo (it was hidden behind last year's Christmas cards) and now I am ready to get on with the next project which is a little Advent chest of drawers calendar... Thomas Chippendale watch out!

I don't know about you but I am a sucker for crafting magazines, I love to browse through them, especially when someone I know is in there... better still if I did not expect to see them, take a bow Wendy Massey who is featuring in this month's Craftseller, as one of their "regular designers", well that is really thrilling as Wendy also runs Handmade Monday. Anyway, at the moment most of the magazines are giving away crafting papers... but I don't make cards or scrapbook and I can only pass on so much which means I have to find a use for it and the Advent chest of drawers is it.

You will need:

24 match boxes... be warned they are hard to find, I cleared out our local newsagent!
Decorative papers... there are tons given away with crafting mags at this time of year
Brass headed paper fasteners (optional) and a map pin
Glue
Ribbon
Ruler
Paper scissors... if you even think of using your fabric scissors, that knock that you hear on the door is me coming to place you on the naughty step, you have been warned.
Heavy card, cornflake boxes work well

In the almost words of Mrs Beaton, first empty your match boxes, yes I realise that Bonfire night is not for more than a month so now you have a challenge to think what we can use them for... a model of the Titanic is not an option, nor is burning down London Bridge.

Put the boxes in eight groups of three, stacked on each other, remove the drawers as we do not want to inadvertently leave them stuck in there. Glue the external packs together one on top of another, easiest way to do this is to dot glue on two of the box tops, you should now have eight groups... if you find that the frames lift then use anything to hand to weight them down.

Whilst they dry, we can move onto the next stage, choose two complementary papers, one will be used on the "drawers" and the other for the sides

Measure the height of the drawer and cut your paper to fit the front of the drawer and extending it just round the corners, dob a little glue on each end... don't over do it or the drawers will not fit back in. Now I found paper with little hearts and decided not to put handles on my drawers but you can... use the map pin as an awl to poke a hole in the front of your drawer, then use a little pair of scissors to extend the hole, insert your brass headed paper fasteners.

Now we are going to work on the frame, on each group of three boxes, cover one side with your other paper, start from the middle of the box, cover the side and take it underneath, then glue in place. When you have completed this, lay out your first layer as shown below. Then glue the next layer in place on top... you will be left with a hole in the middle... this is fine and you will be covering it up.

You now have a chance to decorate the sides... I found some wooden hearts and stars which I painted red and white to give it a Norwegian Christmas theme and stuck those on the sides... so check out those papers and stamps that you have and start decoupaging those blank spaces, think snowflakes, Christmas trees, mittens, boots, candy canes and gingerbread men.

Make sure that you place them towards the sides of your box. Insert the drawers and number them randomly, 1 to 24 ready for your little surprises.

Cut two squares from your card, a little larger than the frame you have created, cover these with paper...ensure you take the paper over the edges, this is particularly important for the top section.

Glue or stick the the frame in place in the centre of your pieces of card. When it has dried/set, tie up your little chest of drawers with ribbon... yes, you guessed it I raided the Jane Means ribbon hoard, nothing like red and white ribbons to say Christmas.

Finally fill the drawers... you might use chocolate coins or a really great idea is a set of promises for the recipients, if you have children, then how about "Today we will make Christmas cookies", or "Today you will go and see Fr Christmas", you get the idea.

So if you are looking for inspiration for Christmas, take a look at Handmade Monday, you can bet that Wendy and the other posters are already in the swing!

Scrapping about

2012-09-30T14:23:00.000+01:00

Made these elephants from scraps from the kid's dresses I made recently, popped a pic up on Facebook and a chum in Germany asked if I would make one for her... so I got up early this morning and made this one.

So it isn't only me, then...

2012-09-28T14:24:00.001+01:00

About a week ago, I read a really interesting blog post about errors in craft books and over the years I, too have come across these. However, recently I am discovering more and more of these but not just in books but magazines as well.

The first time I really came across this was about 25 years ago, I had bought a pattern book from a major wool retailer... I cast on my cardigan and started to knit the pattern but it just did not add up. I ripped back, I cursed, I walked away, I started again. Then I took to squared paper and still it did not work. I rang the retailer to be told in no uncertain terms, that it must be my knitting that was at fault... the wool and the pattern are still in my wool chest (actually I might get it out and give it another go... if I can sit down and re-write the pattern). Now, back then I did not have the confidence to say, "Actually I do know what I am doing and you know your pattern in wrong!" but you know what I do now, Be afraid be very afraid...

Last year I was making a dress from a pattern featured in a high end (err... you mean expensive) magazine, firstly, there was no indication of a seam allowance, so I assumed 5/8", there were patch pockets to be placed but no spots to show where tailors marking should be sewn to place the pockets.... and the interfacing did not fit. I can honestly say I do not think that anyone who actually sewed had sat down and read the pattern, it was so frustrating as more was left out than included. So I wrote a polite note to the editor explaining what was wrong and offering to test future patterns but like Diana Ross "I'm still waiting." (bet you are all oohing and aahing in harmony)

There is another popular knitting designer with her own line of yarns and whenever she brings out a new book my LYS will not sell it for a couple of weeks as they know that the errata slips will be sent out a couple of weeks later.

Currently I am making some children's clothes, and do you know what they have forgotten... how much allowance there is for the hem. Well you know that hems can vary from 3" to about an inch... so I have stared at the pattern pictures and I am going to just make it up, and do you know what, it is really difficult to sew it up with crossed fingers.

So why am I moaning, well these mistakes are expensive and it is us the consumer who pays... I have probably over £100 of wool and fabric from projects undertaken from books or patterns that contain mistakes. And that means it is now over to you, if it is wrong then tell the publisher and if they do nothing then the next thing to do is boycott them.

Finally, when I write my tutorials, I try to do it as I am writing but if you spot a mistake, then email me or make a comment and I will revise the post.

Right, now tell me, am I the only one?

Great Scot! She's wearing her Sunday Best...

2012-09-20T15:53:00.000+01:00

Can I ask, did you have a Sunday best dress? I had several throughout my childhood, they were split between Summer and Winter, back in the days when the return to school in September meant the Winter was imminent and the Whitsun half term break meant that Summer was coming. The awful woolly vest came out of hiding in September, it was crafted from Merino wool and was an off yellow, well a mucky cream shade and had already served two brothers and a sister... I want you to know that as the youngest child I really did suffer. I hated it, it was hot, itchy and it had belonged to others, but Sunday best dresses were mine and mine alone!

So my friend Pierina, she of the hot water bottle cover, told me about a fave dress of hers, a red needlecord pinafore with Scottie dogs... I had a red pinafore too, which was always worn with a white polo neck sweater but I think the Scotties would have been a step too far for my utilitarian mother...

Anyway the point of this story is that Pierina's cousin in Milan had a baby about five or six months ago, and she wanted to send her dress for the baby... I showed her the lovely cross over pinny but this would not do the job. "No Ros, this is Italy... no cotton after the 1st of September, it needs to be a pinafore and a red pinafore and Scottie dogs, it needs Scottie dogs." She was adamant, there was no changing her mind so that is why I made this pinny.

Now, you all know that I cannot draw, I can trace with help but I cannot draw for toffee, so I had to get Ash from the coffee shop Barlow and Fields... other coffee shops are available but frankly the coffee just won't be as good, to produce my template. I think it is rather good as the dogs look as though they could leap off the pocket to chase a rabbit. Also Ash is jolly useful as my covered button snapper in, I am sure he will add this skill to his CV, it is bound to stand him in good stead.

Anyway it may be too late for fashion week in Milan but just think in a couple of weeks some poor child in Milan will be wearing an English pinafore and continuing a tradition of wearing a red pinny for Sunday best.

Here's my marker...

2012-09-17T14:13:00.002+01:00

OK, team... this week's tutorial is not yet completed so it will be going up later this week. However, just to show that I have not been slacking I managed to put together Harrison, the reindeer.

You may recognise him from the September issue of Sew magazine, he was a quick, easy make, although next time I think I will use the little polystyrene balls rather than stuffing as the legs were a challenge. I think it would make a rather nice place setting as a table gift and I think you could happily run up a dozen in an afternoon and sit stuffing them in front of the TV. And hitting the ribbon stash for a spot of Jane Means just sets him off beautifully.

There is something else you need to know... one of you out there is creating a ginger felt shortage... I have had nightmares trying to get hold of ginger felt, now be honest with me, is someone about to flood the market with ginger bread men garlands? I can find brown felt, camel felt but the ginger stuff has gone on the missing list... own up or let me know where you are hiding it?

Now, time to look at what the others have been up to during the past week over at Handmade Monday.

And to show that I am a woman of my word... here is Marlon Brando playing with my marker...

Little things please...

2012-09-13T11:41:00.000+01:00

Over the last week I have been making some little outfits for friend's children, I really enjoy making for kids as they are made so quickly. Also it gives me an excuse to pop into the wonderful Belle Fabrics in Leigh to drool over their fabrics.

I started with a little cross over reversible pinny for Camille.

Apparently she wore it for two days straight, because it was "swingy" and made her feel like a princess.

Then I made a little reversible wrapover dress for Lola, Cecelia's threee year old grand-daughter, in a pale pink needlecord with a toning cotton fabric... and then I did what I always warn other people about, I forgot to take a picture, so I made another dress in the same pattern yesterday.

Then there was a winter pinafore for Georgia, completed with a matching hair grip and an alternative set of buttons to match the stripey lining... I hid them in the pocket for Georgia to find.

I was wondering if you thought that yummy mummies might buy them if I popped them into an online shop, what do you think?