The Crafty Cactus Lover

The Saga of the Broken Back

noreply@blogger.com (Ribs) — Sun, 10 May 2009 09:12:00 +0000

Due to popular request - well, OK, just Lauren then - here is the saga of my broken back.

Shortly after I started my new job in central London, I rediscovered the "joys" of travelling on the underground. For some strange reason I just didn't enjoy being packed into heaving carriages like a giant sardine, nor did I relish being late for work every damn day when we were inexplicably held in the tunnels. So, I hatched a plan.

Having seen lots of people with very cunning folding bikes on the train into London (yep, we chose to live in the sticks), I thought that I should get me one of them. After a day's careful research I decided on a badged Dahon (or perhaps it's de-badged), which is basically a really good folder, but made for another company and sold cheaper. Just 100 Great British Pounds later and I was the proud owner of said bike.

I merrily cycled from London Waterloo station to work each day for nearly two weeks. It took me a while to learn the route, but I was starting to get confident and would bore anyone who took even a vague interest with tales of my travels. But alas, this biking mania was not to last.

On March 3 I was patiently waiting to cross the road to my office, when traffic came to a standstill and a nice lorry driver beckoned me across. Across I went, but sadly did not have the sense to check the bus lane first. Bam! I was hit by a moped and deposited rather unceremoniously onto the tarmac.

I knew something untoward had happened, because I could hear myself moaning very loudly, but was powerless to shut myself up. Lots of policemen turned up - rather an excessive amount actually - and I was eventually taken to hospital.

To cut a long story short, I have a compression fracture of the 11th thoracic vertebrae. I can walk, talk etc, but I'm not allowed back on the bike yet, nor am I supposed to pick up the baby. I have been doing that lately quite a bit though and everything still works.

Silver lining to this was that I had to stop breastfeeding at night and within 3 days of Dad being in charge, VV started sleeping through the night. Who knew it could be that easy! After nearly 11 months of next to no sleep I am now a new woman, albeit one with a sore back. Hoping to get back in the saddle soon - the bike fared much better than me and is sitting, folded next to my desk at work, begging to be let out again.

Baby Cardigan

noreply@blogger.com (Ribs) — Wed, 06 May 2009 13:52:00 +0000

It's been a long time, I know, but at last I am proud to present a finished project - a baby cardigan. "Baby" being the operative word, since it's tiny and much too small for its recipient. Damn and blast.

Still, I am rather pleased with how it turned out. I made it from Baby Crochet: 20 Hand Crochet Designs for Babies 0-24 Months by Lois Daykin. It's the first garment I've made and it was pleasingly easy to do. Lot of ends to weave in (why I leave them all to the end, I don't know), but no actual difficulties.

I blocked it - another first for me - but even that sneaky stretching didn't perform the much needed miracle. Ho hum, next time I'll check my gauge twice and then still use a larger hook to be sure.

If there are any readers left out there after my four-month hiatus, hello! My new job is going very well, as evidenced by a total dearth of posts. Had a horrible cycling accident shortly after I started and broke my back, but that's healing nicely now, so no long term harm done. Sounds worse than it is/was, honest!

Change is a-coming

noreply@blogger.com (Ribs) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 17:55:00 +0000

I've been thinking about the form this blog should take, because changes are afoot in the cactuslover household - I'm going back to work! Not only that, we're moving to the UK and Hubby is going to stay at home with VV.

I'm both excited and scared about going back to work after nearly a year of being at home with my lovely VV. I'll miss him like crazy, but I'm looking forward to having some brain exercise.

All this means that I will have way less time on my hands for crafting. Boo! Hiss! That's been true for a while now, since VV got mobile, but it'll be evenings-only come February. I can see crochet becoming even more attractive to me, since I can be sociable (and watch TV) while I do it.

So, either my blog goes all quiet for ages between projects (rather like it has since Christmas, while we've been packing and organising) or I go to plan b. Plan b is to continue blogging my creations, but also flag other cool craft stuff I come across. That should keep the tumbleweeds at bay.

I've been wondering (from the start, really) whether I should write more about the happenings in my life, but my internal jury is still out on that one. Whatever happens, things will change and change is always interesting. Stay tuned!

Someone might actually be reading this!

noreply@blogger.com (Ribs) — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 14:16:00 +0000

Perhaps because I am still stupidly chuffed about this and thus haven't quite got over it, it's taken me a whole 18 days to get round to reporting that Lauren mentioned my blog when she received the Uber Amazing Blog Award. This means that someone (ie Lauren) actually reads my blog and she isn't family or anything!

The rules of the Uber Amazing Blog award state:

Put the logo on your blog or post. (Check!)
Nominate at least 5 blogs (can be more) that for you are Uber Amazing. (Check!)
Let them know that they have received this Uber Amazing award by commenting on their blog. (Will do)
Share the love and link to this post and to the person you received your award from. (Likewise)

So, what are my fave reads? Before I name names, let me say that I am a Google Reader addict. I'm currently subscribed to a somewhat ridiculous 92 blogs (and I'm massively behind on my reading - 769 unread items to be precise!).

But of course I don't read them all religiously. Most of them get a quick scan before I'm on to the next post. But there are some that I always read and if time is tight, like it has been lately, I'll cherry-pick the following:

Lloyd and Lauren - the minutiae of their daily lives brighten up my breakfast every day.
The Hook and I - Amy is a crochet genius, blogging from the far reaches of Alaska and by all accounts, a mean cook too.
this mama makes stuff - tftcarrie refashions thrift-store finds with great style, often for her children who must be the coolest kids on the block.
laughing purple goldfish designs - more great crochet, with a thrifty-twist.
Today we are... - seamstress joleo hails from south-east England and her blog helps me feel less homesick.

So, there you have it. All of the blogs I love have one thing in common - personality. They are all written by people who tell you a little (or a lot) about their everyday lives and I like that. Craft and/or real people = happiness, at least for me.

Matryoshka Keyring and a Daft Badge

noreply@blogger.com (Ribs) — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 07:10:00 +0000

I made this quick keyring to go with the Matryoshka pouch that I made the other day, which is now lined:

The lining isn't exactly professional, but it's not too bad and doesn't catch on the zip, at least. To make it, I just followed the directions for the pouch, but omitted the zip. Then it was a ~~not quite so~~ simple mater of sewing it to the outside (I used dark thread in the bobbin and light up top so that the stitching didn't show too much).

Since this was a birthday present for my oldest friend (we've known each other since we were babies, she's not that old) and she's about to go on maternity leave, I wanted to make her something baby-related too. So, here's the daft badge that I whipped up:

I used scraps of fabric, some cardboard and a safety pin to make it, along with the lettering stitch on my machine that I've been dying to try out. The lettering is on some bias binding and I've zig-zagged the edge of the middle layer of fabric. It's all stuck together with iron-on hemming tape, although the base fabric (some orange needle cord left over from a dinosaur I made for my nephew) is attached to the cardboard with stitches, as is the safety pin (not shown).

As I was writing the card it suddenly occurred to me that "not long now..." could be misconstrued when sent as part of a birthday gift :)

PS Please excuse photos - had to use the camera phone at night (which is pretty much all the time here in Finland).

Patriotic Baby Booties

noreply@blogger.com (Ribs) — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 06:34:00 +0000

These have to be the fastest booties I've made so far. The Hubby announced that his friend had just become an auntie and since he also knows the friend's sister and husband, could I make something for them? The catch? Just two days before the friend came to collect the gift before making the trip to Amsterdam to visit them.

I took a chance and made a start on some booties I've not made before, knowing that this could very well end in boots fit only for the tiniest baby ever (I crochet very tightly). I don't know about you, but even if a pattern works out really well, I always want to try something new when I pick up my hook. I even get bored making the second bootie of a pair. I chose the "victorian aster baby's booties" from 201 Crochet Motifs, Blocks, Patterns and Ideas, but left out the aster flower adornment and the second row of embellishment around the top. These were for a boy, after all!

I used some white yarn form my stash (Red Heart Dallas) and worked my little (OK, freakishly long) fingers off. I didn't quite make the deadline, so Hubby's friend had to play with VV for 20 minutes while I finished them off (I don't think either of them minded). I added a bue ribbon to make them a bit more boyish. It was then that we noticed I had made very patriotic Finnish booties. And when I quickly wrapped them in some orange tissue I had (in yet another stash), we realised that was a very Dutch colour to choose. Almost as if I had carefully planned it all.

The booties looks a little Wellington-boot like to me, but I think the shape is good for fat baby legs and feet, so they might actually stay on. And they are probably too big right now, which is an achievement in itself.

Boxy Matryoshka Pouch

noreply@blogger.com (Ribs) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 07:27:00 +0000

Finally made a start on my Christmas presents, with this practice boxy pouch:

I used three bear's excellent tutorial and fabric from Japanese specialist nuno.plus. I found the ebay version of the nuno.plus shop quite by accident and only noticed that its the same shop mentioned in the tute later on. Yet another spooky coincidence.

I think I'm going to do lined versions for the actual presents, but in a non-properly way, just by using two pieces of fabric together. That will still put the seams on view on the inside, but it will make the pouches a bit stiffer and it will keep the make-up time short.

Right, better get on with them then! Now that my get-up-and-go has come back (it went away for a week or so, I know not where, hence the silence), I'll be in a veritable making frenzy. At least that's the plan...

Pass the Pigs - crocheted!

noreply@blogger.com (Ribs) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 08:05:00 +0000

Brigitte over at roman sock has made the most amazing crocheted version of Pass the Pigs, which she's named Pass the Piglets. Look at how detailed and cute it is:

Strangely, rather than spurring me on to make fab handmade Christmas gifts myself (as is my plan), it's thrown me into the doldrums. There's no way I could make anything that cute, dammit. And certainly not two things exactly the same - none of my booties have really been true matching pairs so far...

Hopefully Pass the Piglets has the opposite effect on you, so go and check it out for yourself now. I'd certainly love to receive something like this as a present: Brigitte's friends and family are lucky indeed.

Thread-Catcher Cube

noreply@blogger.com (Ribs) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 18:47:00 +0000

"What's this?" I hear you ask. "A slightly wonky fabric cube, in a cute colourway?" Well, yes, but that's not all...

See that stuff on top? That there be threads, caught neatly by this, the all-new, ingenious Thread-Catcher CubeTM!

I had a "eureka!" moment when I was clearing up after a sewing session the other day and noticed that my trousers had threads stuck to them. It was but one small leap from that to a custom thread-catcher, with fleece as the grippy fabric of choice. The dotty fabric is a tea-towel, the fleece from an old top.

Up until now I've been chucking the threads in origami boxes made from magazines, but now I'll use the cube ("Use the cube, Luke, use the cube...").

From Runner to Clutch

noreply@blogger.com (Ribs) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 20:05:00 +0000

This clutch bag started life as a table runner, which I bought back in July with a load of other fabric. As soon as I saw the runner I knew I wanted to make it into a bag, but it's taken me until now to get round to it.

I used a pattern from Making Handbags: Retro, Chic and Luxurious Designs, finally assuaging the craft book guilt I always have when I've bought a book and not made anything from it.

I'm quite pleased with the way it looks, but in reality it's a bit soft and squishy, so I'm not sure it will be all that great in use. And the question is - with or without the tassel?

Mohair Capelet

noreply@blogger.com (Ribs) — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 10:28:00 +0000

I finally got round to doing something with the excess Schachenmayr nomotta idena Mohair Lux I have, although there is still a lot left over (see here for why I have so much. And yes, I abandoned The Tapeworm). Since I couldn't really see myself wearing anything made from mohair, I let my husband choose from three shawl patterns. He chose Cold Shoulders from Stitch 'n Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker.

Using two strands together to get an approximation of the correct weight of yarn, the pattern worked up really quickly. I also got to make my first pom-poms (the first since childhood at least, and that was a looong time ago).

And here's the finished project:

I actually really like it (although I think the pom-poms are a little large), but I'm still stumped on what to wear it with - any suggestions greatly received! I know that all things wooly are currently in vogue, but I'm not sure if I have the guts to wear it with my normal casual clothes.

And still the question remains - what to do with the rest of the mohair?

The crochet crocs are finally on their way

noreply@blogger.com (Ribs) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 18:13:00 +0000

I finally got round to buying the extra buttons and finished off the crochet Crocs. I didn't have a suitable box to wrap them in, so I hacked up a box we already had and wrapped that. I also used some fluffy packing material that came with something we ordered recently (I forget what). So, while I didn't do that great a job with the wrapping, at least it was recycled.

Now if only I could find my other friend's address, I could post the bear booties as well...

Aalto Origami

noreply@blogger.com (Ribs) — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 19:54:00 +0000

Ok, not Alvar Aalto origami as such, but rather a beautiful Iittala Aalto vase filled with box origamis.

My husband received this vase as a present for 10 years' service to his company and we wanted to have it on display. However, a clear glass vase gets rather lost with nothing in it and since it's a long time before anything grows here in Finland, flowers are out of the question.

We both looked at the vase together, chorused "origami!" and so the idea was born. I've just spent a couple of hours maniacally folding the boxes. Note: very few of my attempts reached the vase when I threw them, so I shall not be giving up my day job to start a career in a basketball anytime soon. (My husband points out that the vase's shape means it is harder to slam dunk than a hoop, but he has to be nice, he's my husband...)

Celery and Cashew Soup

noreply@blogger.com (Ribs) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 18:57:00 +0000

Having a bit of an excess of celery in the fridge, I decided to make some soup. Celery and Cashew might sound a bit odd, but it is very tasty. Of course, if you don't like celery (like my husband), you won't like this, but you don't need to love the stuff to enjoy the soup. I now have three lovely portions in the freezer ready for future lunches. All in all, a nice creative couple of hours while VV was asleep.

Sorry there's no photo, but the soup wasn't very photogenic and I missed the ever decreasing window of daylight here in Finland.

I can't reproduce the recipe for the soup here, since it's from a book, but I can tell you the book - New Covent Garden Book of Soups: New, Old and Odd Recipes. I've made a few of the recipes in the past and they've all been very tasty (I highly recommend the Pistou).

EDIT: I read up on copyright law and I *think* I can publish the recipe, so here it is:

Celery and Cashew Nut Soup

Ingredients

75g (3oz) butter
2 heads of celery, roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
150g (5oz) unsalted cashew nuts
1.5 litres (2.5 pints) vegetable stock
To garnish: 50g (2oz) unsalted cashew nuts, chopped, and celery leaves

Directions

Melt the butter and cook the celery and garlic gently for 20 minutes in a covered saucepan, without colouring.
Grind the nuts finely in a food processor and add to the pan along with the stock.
Cover, bring to the boil and simmer for about 30 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
Cool a little, then puree in a liquidiser.
Pass the soup through a sieve into a clean saucepan.
For the garnish, put the cashew nuts into a frying pan over a high heat. Shake frequently until the nuts brown. Cool.
Reheat the soup gently and serve garnished with toasted chopped cashew nuts and chopped celery leaves.

My First Beanie

noreply@blogger.com (Ribs) — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 07:09:00 +0000

And it turns out that the title is more accurate that it first seems. How so? All will be revealed in good time!

I decided it was about time I tried my hand at a hat and thought I would make one for my brother, who has recently started up his own business doing flat roofs. Not quite sure what that involves, but I think hot black sticky stuff features somewhere along the line.

So, out came my trusty Stitch 'n Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker. Flicking to page 125, I started in earnest on the Boy Beanie by Laura Killoran (check out her own site here - I rather like the look of her Applejack Cap, as it happens).

Merrily I crocheted away, sitting on the sofa drinking tea, as is my custom. And I was pretty pleased with the result. That is until I tried it on. It's like wearing some kind of mediaeval torture device! Luckily there is one small-headed person in my family and it fits him just perfectly - six-month-old VV. And here it is - both mine and his first beanie:

I suspect it was my yarn choice - leftovers from the Rabbit Slippers from the same book, plus some random orange wool - that was the culprit, helped in part by my super-tight stitches. Oh well, it was about time I crocheted something for my son. The hat was a doddle though, so with the right yarn in hand, I'll try again sometime...

Book Review: Sew Everything Workshop

noreply@blogger.com (Ribs) — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:22:00 +0000

Although I am not a total novice when it comes to machine sewing, I am self-taught and have a tendancy to bodge things when I don't know how to do them properly. With this in mind, I decided it was about time I got myself a how-to book and S.E.W. Sew Everything Workshop by Diana Rupp, came to the rescue.

And it's great! It's fun to read - I read the whole thing in one sitting, it's so engaging - and very easy to understand. The book also comes with 25 projects to do (and these are ones you will want to make, from clothing, to accessories and gifts), along with 10 paper patterns in a folder at the front. The whole book is ring-bound, which should make it hard-wearing.

The only downside to this book is that it inspired me to upgrade to an electronic sewing machine, which was a bit of a shock to my purse moths. The machine is a Singer 9940, discontinued now so I got a good deal on it. And it does practically everything except make tea!

But back to the book - I have already recommended it to my non-sewing best friend, who rushed out and bought it and is now hoping for her first sewing machine at Christmas. I'm planning to make some projects from it too, which I'll post here.

I had hoped that the author, Diana Rupp, had a blog, but it has the dreaded "under construction" message at the moment...

EDIT: I did find the SEW Flickr group, so you can check out some of the projects people have made from the group:

www.flickr.com

Crochet Baby Crocs

noreply@blogger.com (Ribs) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 07:24:00 +0000

Not the animal, but the shoe. I spotted these, or rather the pattern, on Etsy and just had to get it and make some. This is my first attempt, which is why it's in boring old white - I've got a huge bargain ball of it. There's only one in the photos because I had a "doh!" moment in the shop and only bought two buttons, instead of four.

The pattern, available from The Hooker in Me, comes in two sizes, 0-3 months and 3-6 months. The largest size comes out at about 4 and a quarter inches long, when crocheted loosely with a big hook. You might be able to make them bigger than me though, since I crochet really tightly (I now have a really bad joke about skinflint hookers in my mind, but I won't share).

I had hoped to make these for VV, but sady he's got kipper feet like his mother and at six months is way too big for these. Not to worry though, I've got plenty of newborns to make for in the next few months. I think I'll make a pair for each one and add a couple of other gifts too. They only take about an hour each to make, so they're perfect for running up in front of the TV of a cold wintery evening.

RSS Reader Must Reads

noreply@blogger.com (Ribs) — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 08:40:00 +0000

Since I've neglected this blog for a couple of weeks, here are a few highlights from my RSS reader that I would have shared. Hope you enjoy them.

Crochet Eyeball Doorknob cover by bella_domanie on Craftster. She generously shares the pattern too, so you can make your own (via Cthulhu Crochet and Cousins):

Ann Wood's cardboard castle diorama caught my eye - it's cardboard box modelling for adults (via CRAFT Magazine):

I love the idea behind Fallen Fruit, a website that maps the location of fruit trees in public spaces so that people can pick and eat it. I'm all for a bit of foraging (this blog should probably be called the crafty and somewhat hippy cactus lover) ; it's a real shame that perfectly good food goes to waste. Fallen Fruit is a global site, but there's not much mapped yet - add your local trees and help kick-start it. I found out about it from 365 Days Of Trash.

I can envision these shadow decorations at an upmarket Halloween party. Create your own by following the tutorial over on Folding Trees:

The anatomist in me loves this wine carafe from Etienne Meneau (via sub-studio design blog):

I'm working on several projects of my own right now, so I'll post some WIP pics soon. I also made a major purchase yesterday which I must share...

I'm back!

noreply@blogger.com (Ribs) — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 08:31:00 +0000

I didn't actually go anywhere, just got in a bit of a "what is the point of this blog if no-one is reading it" frame of mind. But someone commented this morning and that was the cure (thanks kawaii crafter!).

However, just as I started to ramp up my enthusiasm, VV made a grab for my tea (lukewarm, so no danger) and threw it all over the laptop. I mopped up quick-sharp, but after a few minutes the laptop went into a coma. Whether it's forever or just a recuperative rest to dry out, I don't know. Luckily we're a nerd family with multiple computers, so I can still get my netfix.

And boy, am I glad I imported my Firefox bookmarks into iGoogle the other day. It was a random urge at the time, but perhaps it was fate...

How to tell someone you are batty about them

noreply@blogger.com (Ribs) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 06:21:00 +0000

How? With a knitted bat of course!

Get your pattern from Mochimochi. I love the way their wings wrap around. I just wish I could knit: perhaps it's time to learn.

Via CRAFT Magazine.

Halloween Bento

noreply@blogger.com (Ribs) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 06:14:00 +0000

In the same vein as my Food Craft post about kids' bento boxes, here's a fun Halloween one made by kawaii crafter over at Zakka Life:

Gotta love the poison soy sauce bottle! VV is at least now eating food at six months, though it's still a long time before I can make him a bento box of his own...

Via Crafty Crafty.

Spiderville Balloons

noreply@blogger.com (Ribs) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 07:52:00 +0000

"Spiderville" is what I once called the loft space in my old house and in our family, it's now used to denote any spider-inhabited domain. And here's a helium filled one, which gives me the shivers just looking at it:

If you must make such horrible items for your Halloween party (and even I'll admit they'd look extremely cool), you can find the tutorial over on Crafty Crafty.

Masking Tape vs Net Curtains

noreply@blogger.com (Ribs) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 07:43:00 +0000

I know what I'll be using in the future:

It might be a bit of a faff for something that may not last that long, but for a rented place it's perfect. And since we are planning to rent for a good while yet, I can see it coming soon to a window near me!

This idea and the image above is from a book called Patterns in Design, Art and Architecture and were created by textile artist Claudia Caviezel.

Via My Weblog, via Apartment Therapy.

Slimeless Snails

noreply@blogger.com (Ribs) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 07:20:00 +0000

My brother and I used to race snails in our garden when we were small - now we can recreate the fun indoors without bothering any actual snails with Ric Rac's Racing Snail Tutorial.

Made from felted jumpers, the snails seem pretty easy to make and the one in the tute has a really endearing expression:

If you want to go the whole hog, there's a racetrack to make as well (see below). I reckon the whole thing would make a great Chrimbo pressie (I'm mentally preparing a list of things to make already).

Via CRAFT Magazine.

Wonderful Woodland Fabric

noreply@blogger.com (Ribs) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 06:37:00 +0000

There's something about this fabric - by Danielle of Of Paper and Thread - I love the colour and the stylised trees. I have a fantasy of designing my own fabric and printing it through Spoonflower, but since I have never tried that sort of thing before it's very much a back-burner fantasy. One day, one day...

You can buy Woodland through Danielle's Etsy shop.

Via True Up.