tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49512073057615933172020-07-26T14:07:01.080+01:00angharadday to day ramblings and crafting of a bad housewifeangharad handmadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15177189673684579563noreply@blogger.comBlogger282125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4951207305761593317.post-80862366985909084132015-09-10T22:22:00.000+01:002015-09-10T22:23:16.404+01:00Long time no see<div style="text-align: center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/21116293108/in/dateposted/" title="The Needles"><img alt="The Needles" height="480" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5809/21116293108_2bd6311c96_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script></div>The last time I had a blog break this long, I had <a href="http://angharadhandmade.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/30-totes-and-bags-to-sew-my-new-book.html">a book</a> to show for it. The time before that, there was <a href="http://angharadhandmade.blogspot.co.uk/2009/11/plus-one.html">a baby</a>. This time, I don't have an awful lot to show for my absence, unless you count an ironing pile of epic proportions! I'm wondering whether there's any hope I'll ever be able to work through it all and am seriously considering offering it up as a home to overwintering hedgehogs where they can lie undisturbed till Spring.<br /><br />Last year, my youngest started school full-time, so I was waiting for all that elusive 'free time' I've heard about to begin. Fat chance! As most seasoned parents know, that gap between ten-past-nine and three-thirty disappears within the blink of an eye. My working hours have also expanded, almost without me noticing. Then there was eldest, who began her final year of primary, which seemed to precipitate a headlong dash through the academic year - last this, last that, leavers' assemblies and parties - making the terms fly by with a gathering momentum.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/21304175615/in/photostream/" title="Steephill Cove"><img alt="Steephill Cove" height="640" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5830/21304175615_2441fa7049_z.jpg" width="480" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/21116300058/in/photostream/" title="Compton Beach"><img alt="Compton Beach" height="640" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/763/21116300058_2d090a81eb_z.jpg" width="480" /> </a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script></div>The Summer has been lovely, even though I've worked a lot of it (I'll always find it hard to forgive my husband his teacher's holidays!). We've actually managed three stays away - a week camping on the Isle of Wight with a visit to family in Dorset and Exeter tagged on to the end, a long weekend with the tent on the edge of the Chilterns, catching up with friends from our old home in Slough, and a few days in London staying in my sister's house.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/20681606884/in/photostream/" title="Home Farm campsite"><img alt="Home Farm campsite" height="480" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/617/20681606884_3a65fe7b69_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/21117355659/in/photostream/" title="South Bank"><img alt="South Bank" height="360" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/659/21117355659_e966653033_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script></div>Back to school now and I've got that 'new year' feeling - I feel slightly cheated that I don't get a new school bag any more, but my metaphorical pencils are sharpened, a fresh page turned over in a brand new pukka pad, and I'm ready to go. This September, I'm resolved to stop frittering away time and try and keep on top of the house whilst also carving out a bit of sewing time here and there. I've got a list and everything, with hand-drawn check boxes to tick off as I go.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/21116014830/in/photostream/" title="the study-o"><img alt="the study-o" height="480" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/751/21116014830_fe2eb2acc8_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div> I've made ever such a good start - Friday saw me ruthlessly clearing and cleaning the <a href="http://angharadhandmade.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/project-study-o.html">study-o</a> to within and inch of its life, Monday was the day I emptied and cleaned the kitchen cupboards, tackled the oven, and steam-cleaned the floors, then Tuesday I set to work on a task of the greatest importance - making some bunting for the tent. Got to keep up with the Joneses after all. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />angharad handmadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15177189673684579563noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4951207305761593317.post-27738987984029984322015-05-31T15:57:00.001+01:002015-05-31T15:57:29.315+01:00I saw a mouse<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/18120786799" title="mouseling by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="mouseling" height="480" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7773/18120786799_c02f924b43_z.jpg" width="640" /></a> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">I saw a mouse</div><div style="text-align: center;">Where? There on the Stair</div><div style="text-align: center;">Where on the Stair?</div><div style="text-align: center;">Right there.</div><div style="text-align: center;">A linen mouse with Liberty togs on </div><div style="text-align: center;">Well I declare, you've got to start blogging again somewhere.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/18280568976" title="Mouse pattern by Jenny Dixon by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="Mouse pattern by Jenny Dixon" height="240" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8850/18280568976_754115e2e4_m.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />Pattern by Jenny Dixon<br />The Comic Relief Crafternoon<br />(special edition of Mollie Makes)</div>angharad handmadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15177189673684579563noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4951207305761593317.post-87807392511221632782015-04-12T21:35:00.002+01:002015-04-12T21:35:53.470+01:00I've got chicks, they're multiplying...<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/16503016104" title="chicks by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="chicks" height="640" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7683/16503016104_2382356c9c_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />When one of my children's teachers mentioned a fundraiser held at his old school, selling knitted chicks stuffed with <a href="https://www.cadbury.co.uk/products/CREME-EGG-5174?p=5174">cadbury's creme eggs</a>, I was full of enthusiasm. I'm a great jumper on bandwagons, especially if they are knitted bandwagons. One quick pattern search later (oh <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/">Ravelry</a>, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways), and I had found <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/easter-chick-6">Chloe Blunn's free pattern </a>.Quick to knit up in cheapo acrylic DK, with a 3.75mm needle giving the perfect egg-hugging fit, I had 100 of these made within the fortnight. Okay, so my hands were like gnarled claws by the time I'd finished, but that is a minor point, and I did eventually regain the use of my fingers.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/17123914962" title="which came first? by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="which came first?" height="640" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7686/17123914962_2e3a12e6ef_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />With a team of other knitters and beak 'n eye stitchers on board, we soon had several baskets brimming over with Easter chicks, which were a sellout by the end of the week and raised a nice chunk of money for school - the most garish chicks were the quickest sellers amongst the children, with stripey chicks knitted from random remnants a huge hit. And no, the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jan/12/shellshock-cadbury-comes-clean-on-creme-egg-chocolate-change">creme egg controversy</a> didn't seem to put anyone off! Best of all, I was able to come up with a raft of ridiculous egg- and bird-based puns about 'eggcellent Easter tweets going cheep' for the school newsletter, and I do so love a terrible pun.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/16505312053" title="chicken in a basket? by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="chicken in a basket?" height="640" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7705/16505312053_3c0ea8ffe3_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>anyone for chicken-in-a-basket?</i> </div><br />And next year, it looks as if I shall have another little knitter on board, in the shape of my four-year old - what she lacks in speed, she more than makes up for in cuteness with her little face set in concentration! <br /><br /><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/17125451305" title="knitting by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="knitting" height="640" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7697/17125451305_26224f2f2d_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br />Hope you had an eggcellent Easter! <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />angharad handmadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15177189673684579563noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4951207305761593317.post-859772144539631872015-02-05T20:05:00.000+00:002015-02-05T20:06:30.013+00:00Needled no longer<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/16264148248" title="embellished needle book by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="embellished needle book" height="640" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8622/16264148248_75fcb868cf_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Not being one to procrastinate and delay, when confronted by <a href="http://angharadhandmade.blogspot.co.uk/2008/08/top-of-my-to-do-list.html">the inadequacy of the pincushion as a needle-holder in August 2008</a>, I immediately decided to set to work on a needlebook to keep my needles safe. Having made that decision, a mere six-and-a-half years later I actually set to work on said needlebook.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/16450897982" title="needlebook by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="needlebook" height="640" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7318/16450897982_e1107bee1f_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />In a mission to tackle the overflowing scraps bin, I strip-pieced the outer cover, made a little pocket trimmed with Japanese sewing-themed ribbon gifted to me by <a href="http://joanneleonard.co.uk/">Joanne</a> many moons ago, and pinked some inner pages from brushed cotton. The little embroidered 'needles' label was made in my enthusiasm for the project back in 2008, and has since been languishing in my workbox; I pinked the edges and attached it to the cover with fusible web and running stitch. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/16265934287" title="needlebook embellished page by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="needlebook embellished page" height="640" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8651/16265934287_5b264d93a3_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/16451849305" title="needle book pocket by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="needle book pocket" height="640" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8583/16451849305_ff1f178816_z.jpg" width="640" /> </a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">There's a small pocket on the inside cover, and a felt patch on the back inside cover for tucking in needles mid-project. The idea for the embellished inner pages came from <a href="http://nanacompany.typepad.com/nanacompany/2011/10/needlebook-tutorial-by-nanacompany.html">this sweet needlebook tutorial</a> seen over on <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/helenangharad/">pinterest</a>. I so enjoyed prettifying the pages and can see this being an ongoing work in moments of boredom. </div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/16265938367" title="paper pieced mini quilt by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="paper pieced mini quilt" height="480" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7403/16265938367_1d25820e06_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />In other news the paper-pieced mini quilt is taking shape. The piecing is now finished, the paper pieces have been popped out (basting stitches removed with the aid of the marvellous pushy/pokey/stuffy/thready tool that is <a href="http://www.cottonpatch.co.uk/acatalog/That-Purple-Thang-8368.html">'that purple thang'</a>), and the whole thing has been pressed and slipstitched onto pale grey linen (it was also slipstitched on to the leg of my jeans in the process, and swiftly removed before dashing out of the house on the school run).<br /><br /><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/16450091161" title="paper pieced patchwork by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="paper pieced patchwork" height="480" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7285/16450091161_5e17459b9e_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br />For the quilting, I've picked out the hexagons with a running stitch in grey stranded cotton (and how easy it was to find an embroidery needle in my trusty new needlebook!). This evening I shall be hand finishing the binding in front of <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01pvmf6">Death in Paradise</a>, because that is how I roll (and also because it is much easier to combine handsewing with something sedate like Death in Paradise than with our other current viewing, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Killing_%28Danish_TV_series%29">The Killing</a>, where somewhat greater concentration is required!).<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />angharad handmadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15177189673684579563noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4951207305761593317.post-72591828843685879222015-01-19T21:32:00.001+00:002015-06-01T13:51:49.947+01:00First finish of 2015In the name of having a thrifty January after the excesses of the festive period, I'm trying to rein in my natural inclination to start on new projects and finish off some of the old abandoned works-in-progress instead. First up, a pair of mittens which <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/angharadknits">my Ravelry notebook</a> incontrovertibly states I cast on back in November 2012. Ella, of <span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/sources/bombella-designs">BomBella Designs,</a></span> kindly gifted me the pattern and I bought some gorgeous hand-dyed <a href="http://www.skeinqueenyarns.co.uk/">Skein Queen</a> yarn in Regency blue to knit them up.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7517/16134198289_b10ea8c9db_z.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img alt="Bunty mittens" border="0" height="640" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7517/16134198289_b10ea8c9db_z.jpg" width="639" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><br />Mitten one was finished quite swiftly, but its pair was not cast on until the end of 2014. Once I got going again I wondered why I'd left it so long - even with superskinny yarn, the mittens come together very quickly. These were knitted with one strand held in the right hand and the other held, continental style, in the left, so not too much dropping and picking up balls of yarn. The stranded colourwork has the added bonus of making the mittens extra warm and cosy on the inside, which is pretty handy with the sudden drop in temperature since Christmas!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/16319518832" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Bunty mitten by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="Bunty mitten" height="639" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7515/16319518832_f83c621dcd_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><div style="text-align: left;">The full details are over <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/angharadknits/bunty-mitts">on Ravelry</a> where you'll find the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/sources/bombella-designs/patterns">Bombella Designs</a> pattern store.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I wore the mittens for the first time to walk to collect the children from school this afternoon. Eldest immediately spotted them and complimented me, but followed this up with the slightly puzzling observation that they reminded her of quiches ... hmm, not quite sure what to make of that one ...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div>angharad handmadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15177189673684579563noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4951207305761593317.post-25540078227515064622015-01-12T12:00:00.001+00:002015-01-12T12:00:59.033+00:00Happy New Year!<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/16261023421" title="Brean Down by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="Brean Down" height="480" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7497/16261023421_17b0474d1f_z.jpg" width="640" /></a> </div><br />It really seems as if 2014 has gone by in a flash. It was a particularly busy time for us, with the <a href="http://www.angharadhandmade.co.uk/?product=30-totes-and-bags-to-sew">book-writing</a> process and busy work schedule taking over somewhat. We had a lovely Christmas with a houseful of family, doing nothing but chatting, cooking and eating . I don't run a particularly tight ship, it has to be said, so all the festive preparations took place in a slightly haphazard fashion. This is not a precision-timed-turkey kind of household - ours was left in the oven whilst we went on an impromptu walk on Christmas day and was served (none the worse for its abandonment) a couple of hours later than planned on our return, with the extended family crammed around our dining table on a variety of <i>ad-hoc</i> seating. <br /><br />As a last hurrah before the start of the new school term, we set off to <a href="http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/brean-down/">Brean Down</a> last week for a perfect walk full of sky and sea, on a gloriously sunny day. It proved an ideal walk for the smallest one too, muddy in places but not too demanding for little legs, though I imagine it would have been quite bracing had it not been such very still day.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/16075480130" title="Brean Down by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="Brean Down" height="480" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7480/16075480130_8a228cbcb1_z.jpg" width="640" /></a> <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/16262843675" title="Brean Down by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="Brean Down" height="480" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7489/16262843675_fb75faae6e_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />We saw in the new year in Dorset with my husband's family, and happened upon the annual spectacle of the <a href="http://www.lymeregis.org/events/the-formidable-lyme-lunge-2241/">Lyme lunge</a> on new year's day, which saw a couple of hundred hardy souls braving the freezing waters in fancy dress. Apparently I was the only one in our party of eight who was thinking 'I really wish I had my bathers and a towel,' as my suggestion that we should take part next year was met with ridicule. It's going on the new year's resolution list anyway, and I've a whole twelve months to <strike>bribe</strike> persuade the rest of the family to join me. <br /><br />With the husband and children back in school this week, I have grand plans to restore a bit of order to the house, but am also keen to start on some new stitching projects. January (what's left of it) is going to be a month of finishing off long-standing projects and clearing the decks in the study-o before I launch into anything new. Well, that's the plan, anyway, although I am not especially known for the strength of my resolve ... <br /><br /><br /><br /><br />angharad handmadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15177189673684579563noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4951207305761593317.post-2574052641316827092014-11-24T23:11:00.001+00:002015-01-15T13:16:12.211+00:0030 Totes and Bags to Sew - my new book! <div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.angharadhandmade.co.uk/?product=30-totes-and-bags-to-sew"><img alt="30 Totes and Bags to Sew" height="640" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7509/15251981133_2953070212_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Well finally, and undeniably, it seems I have written a book! Not being a great counter of chickens, I haven't particularly announced this to anyone beyond close friends and family - those who were close enough to spot the eye bags, and the trail of loose threads I left in my wake over those frantic months of stitching and writing. And having sent off those final drafts and stitched samples back in February of this year, all of a sudden I am a <em>bona fide</em> published author! It started to feel a bit more real when I took delivery of my author samples, then came the extra copies I had ordered to sell in <a href="http://www.angharadhandmade.co.uk/">my shop</a>. Today though, reality really hit home when I popped into Waterstone's in Cardiff and found my book on the shelves (I used to work for Waterstone's, so it's particularly nice to find my book there)!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/15869640571" title="my new book by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="my new book" height="640" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7504/15869640571_c4ef7e19c4_z.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>I didn't realise when my husband was taking this photo that I had positioned myself right next to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyles_Brandreth">Gyles Brandreth</a> in his novelty jumper. </em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>Obviously, this is entirely the kind of authorial image I aim to project.</em></div><br />The book focuses on the Tote bag, that's to say a bag with two handles, and I really wanted to include as broad a range of designs as possible, so inside you'll find projects ranging from a teddy bed tote for young children, to an oilcloth car caddy, to a velveteen evening bag. There are also lots of techniques covered such as reverse appliqué, kanzashi flowers, embroidery and freezer-paper stencilling. I'm so pleased with the final appearance of the book; the team at Quintet and my editor Julie Brooke have done an amazing job with beautiful photography and layouts - it has a spiral binding with hardback cover which has to be my favourite thing as a consumer of craft books as it means you can have the book open flat in front of you whilst working through a pattern. There are also plentiful colour photographs to illustrate the steps, as well as full-size pattern pieces in an envelope at the front of the book.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/15685905877" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="projects from my book, 30 Totes and Bags to Sew by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="projects from my book, 30 Totes and Bags to Sew" height="615" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7560/15685905877_809559685c_z.jpg" width="615" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em></em><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>a few snaps of the projects from the book</em></div><br />I am selling the book through my new online shop over at <a href="http://www.angharadhandmade.co.uk/">www.angharadhandmade.co.uk</a> (thanks to my talented web-designer brother, the brains behind <a href="http://www.rootsy.co.uk/">Rootsy</a>) and signed copies are available on request (I find it frankly hilarious to be saying that!). You can also buy from the usual places like Amazon: <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1782210962/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=1782210962&linkCode=as2&tag=angharadhandm-21&linkId=ERP22JPI5VHZOIOC">30 Totes & Bags to Sew: Quick & Easy Bags for All Occasions</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-uk.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=angharadhandm-21&l=as2&o=2&a=1782210962" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />(this is an affiliate link so I will be paid a 5% commission for any orders made by clicking here), and Waterstone's, as well as independent bookshops. <br /><br />There is also a US edition of the book for any readers who live across the pond - it's called Tote-ally Amazing Bags in its American incarnation, and is published by St Martin's Press, who have kindly featured me as their <a href="http://www.smpcraft.com/things-we-love/author-of-the-month-helen-angharad-henley-author-of-tote-ally-amazing-bags/">author of the month over on the SMP blog</a>. <br /><br />For a sneak preview of the book, I've posted a video thumb-through on youtube, and you can also see a few images of the inside in <a href="http://angharadhandmade.co.uk/">my online shop</a>. <br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/8lzCDiYIyBY" width="640"></iframe><br /><br />I would love to see any photos of anything anyone makes using the patterns from my book, so please do get in touch if you have any to share and I'll put together a blog feature in due course! <br /><br /><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>angharad handmadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15177189673684579563noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4951207305761593317.post-39602770702524275682014-11-05T13:28:00.001+00:002014-11-05T13:28:42.996+00:00Tiny paper piecesI was in need of a nice evening sewing project for all those blanket-on-knees evenings now that it's getting a bit more Autumnal, so this <a href="http://sewscatterbrained.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/epp-ferris-wheel-mini-quilt-tutorial.html">ferris wheel mini quilt tutorial from Sew Scatterbrained</a> was just the thing. It's an English paper piecing project, which is my favourite kind of hand-sewing, with truly tiny pieces, triangles, hexagons and squares with each face measuring only 1". I've been tempted to do a ferris wheel quilt before after seeing <a href="http://imagingermonkey.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/sewing-summit-my-class-deets.html">Katy's Spring Carnival quilt</a>, and love her take on this traditional block with the fractured pieces falling away at the bottom. It's a really versatile design with plenty of potential for changing the pattern the eye focuses on by bringing different pieces into the background and foreground with contrasting solids and prints. <br /><br />I've always fancied making a mini quilt, and goodness knows <a href="http://angharadhandmade.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/project-study-o.html">the study-o</a> could do with a bit of brightening up! The Sew Scatterbrained tutorial is made up of 'circles' in 7 different colours on a backdrop of neutral hexagons in low-volume prints. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/15692137916" title="patchwork pieces by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="patchwork pieces" height="640" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7473/15692137916_88530ddf69_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />The best thing about this project for me is that it has been an opportunity to rummage through my scraps bin and actually use some of the tiniest of offcuts I've been saving for a rainy day. There is something very pleasing about those multi-coloured stacks of squares and triangles. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/15531022580" title="English paper piecing by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="English paper piecing" height="640" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5609/15531022580_15321bb955_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />It's taking shape pretty quickly, even though I'm only spending half an hour stitching here and there. I do like to have a project that I can just pick up and put down when time allows without any setting up or clearing away needed. <br /><br /><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/15717412842" title="paper piecing by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="paper piecing" height="640" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3940/15717412842_b44b3930a1_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br />The cat is my constant companion; she loves it when I'm working on hand-stitching as it offers her an opportunity to cosy herself up in the lovely Welsh wool blanket my sister gave me. She hasn't made herself particularly useful as yet, other than keeping my feet warm and enabling me to stave off putting the heating on for that little bit longer. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/15095914134" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="black cat in a blanket by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="black cat in a blanket" height="640" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3939/15095914134_4d38c61b7d_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>angharad handmadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15177189673684579563noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4951207305761593317.post-43796975974447810012014-10-11T21:09:00.000+01:002016-12-11T21:23:16.250+00:00Back to school and then some<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/15507397732" title="Boat from Caldey Island by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="Boat from Caldey Island" height="480" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3939/15507397732_ae4952f2d1_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Well the Summer has been and gone, and everyone's back at school - including the resident small person, who now joins her brother and sister at the same primary school in Reception class. For one year only, I shall have all three in the same place between 9am and 3.30pm - daughters at each end of the school, with eldest off to comp next year, and boy-in-the-middle only a year behind her. It'll be a relief to despatch them all to the same place every day after a very busy year last year, which involved practically ejecting the elders from a moving car in order to get the youngest to her nursery school 5 1/2 miles away 15 minutes later. It also happened to be an exceptionally busy year for me (isn't it always the way when life is already frantic), taking on a new part-time job as well as a soon-to-be-revealed project which consumed several months of my life.<br /><br />I must admit it's been a bit of a shock to the system to be the one going out to work whilst the husband was at home with the children this Summer. With him being a teacher, I normally look forward to the long holidays as a time when we can all revert to a lovely chaotic existence with days out on the hop, and an extra person to share in the parenting and housekeeping. It feels a bit as if the Summer has slipped through my fingers, so I'm already looking forward to half term. Even the husband told me he knows exactly how many days teaching are left till the holiday - perils of being a mathematician, I think he sees all life in digits!<br /><br />I'm more the type who sees life in pictures, and if there's one good reason why I love to blog, it's for having a record of all those moments which would otherwise be forgotten. So with that said, here's a snapshot or two of Summer 2014.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/15504596901" title="George's Marellous Medicine by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="George's Marellous Medicine" height="480" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5600/15504596901_d29ba5056c_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/15507376492" title="Tower of London poppies by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="Tower of London poppies" height="480" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3947/15507376492_7565b95d21_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/15504582951" title="Beach Cricket in Tenby by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="Beach Cricket in Tenby" height="476" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5613/15504582951_1fd1c852aa_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/15321001530" title="Caldey Island by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="Caldey Island" height="480" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3930/15321001530_2b8975ee8e_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />angharad handmadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15177189673684579563noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4951207305761593317.post-11194458148583313142014-08-04T11:37:00.002+01:002014-08-04T11:37:30.036+01:00Winner of Lisa Lam's sewing pattern giveawayThanks for all the entries into the giveaway. The winner was commenter number 10, <a href="http://misscutnsew.blogspot.co.uk/">Miss Cut n Sew</a> - your patterns will be winging their way to you very soon! I hope you enjoy using the patterns. If you didn't win but would like to purchase a copy, head on over to <a href="http://craft.stitchcraftcreate.co.uk/search?view=grid&w=lisa+lam+sewing+pattern">Stitch Craft Create</a> where you'll find the patterns available in booklet form, as pdf files, or as a set of both patterns together. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o7Nv31kFkD0/U99gkSwWmsI/AAAAAAAACPQ/Y3rbOylMKGE/s1600/Screenshot+(3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o7Nv31kFkD0/U99gkSwWmsI/AAAAAAAACPQ/Y3rbOylMKGE/s1600/Screenshot+(3).jpg" /></a></div><br />Now I'm back to sorting out the study-o - it's been a busy six months or so, and my sewing room is in desperate need of a clear out, so expect to see some fabric destashing over in <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/angharad">my etsy shop</a> very soon as I clear the decks and try to restore a bit of order! angharad handmadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15177189673684579563noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4951207305761593317.post-38938725330140728492014-07-21T09:00:00.000+01:002016-12-11T21:46:15.765+00:00New dressmaking patterns by Lisa Lam - blog hop and giveawayI'm delighted to be taking part in a <a href="http://ideas.stitchcraftcreate.co.uk/kids-dressmaking-blog-hop/">blog hop</a> showcasing <a href="http://u-handbag.typepad.com/">Lisa Lam's</a> new dressmaking pattern booklets as not only is Lisa a talented designer/maker but she also happens to be a good blogging friend of mine. There was also an added incentive in having my own little miss to stitch for! <br /><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/14698845551" title="Lisa Lam new dressmaking patterns by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="Lisa Lam new dressmaking patterns" height="640" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2920/14698845551_7da6817880_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/14515355789" title="back cover dance with me dress by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="back cover dance with me dress" height="500" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3841/14515355789_ec7365447a.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><br />Lisa has designed two booklets featuring Summery designs for girls - the <a href="http://www.stitchcraftcreate.co.uk/happiness-halter-playsuit#401810">Happiness Halter Playsuit</a> and <a href="http://www.stitchcraftcreate.co.uk/dance-with-me-dress#401799">Dance with Me Dress</a>. Each booklet includes 3 simple variations to sew - a playsuit, dress and top in the Happiness Halter booklet, and dress, tunic top and bag in the Dance with Me Dress booklet.<br /><br />The format is very user-friendly - a magazine-sized booklet with a sturdy card cover and the instructions inside over several pages - no need to open out unwieldy sheets of paper. A pattern envelope on the back cover contains the pattern pieces on a sheet of dressmakers' tissue. Beautiful photography and details like the showcasing of designer fabrics on the pattern sleeve make the booklets a pleasure to leaf through. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/14515578767" title="pattern envelope by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="pattern envelope" height="500" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3877/14515578767_1e32bdc0c9.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">If you've ever tried your hand at sewing any of Lisa's bag designs, you'll be familiar with her clearly written style and fantastic step-by-step photography, and the patterns certainly don't disappoint on this front. </div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/14515361828" title="step-by-step photography by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="step-by-step photography" height="500" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5580/14515361828_9f269e7aa8.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">I'm a big fan of photography rather than diagrams for illustrating unfamiliar techniques as seeing the actual fabric and pattern placement makes more complex steps so much easier to follow! The patterns don't assume any prior dressmaking knowledge, and Lisa walks you through each step of the process with helpful tips along the way. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The patterns have clever little touches and attention to detail which makes the designs very wearable - I particularly like the wide elastic casing waistband on the happiness halter dress, comfortable and practical for little ones. Finishing techniques like the binding on the pocket opening edge also give the finished items a high-end look. </div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/14701729492" title="happiness halter dress variation by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="happiness halter dress variation" height="500" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3860/14701729492_cd3a022ea1.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><br />It just so happens that I have a ready made little mannequin of my own to stitch for, so I decided to stitch up the happiness halter top, as who can resist a nice ruffle? <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/14702024135" title="happiness halter top ruffle detail by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="happiness halter top ruffle detail" height="500" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2914/14702024135_3f769d9caf.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/14701727842" title="happiness halter top by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="happiness halter top" height="500" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3841/14701727842_f774ae4af5.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/14698840741" title="happiness halter top back detail by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="happiness halter top back detail" height="500" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2919/14698840741_fef8d66de7.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">The size 4 happiness halter top was a perfect fit for my diminutive little miss, with the elastic channel in the back making for a nice neat finish, with no gaping. The length is great for wearing with a pair of shorts, though I would probably cut the pieces a bit longer to make a tunic-length top for wearing with leggings. </div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><br />My littlest was thrilled with her new top, and eldest, who is just in to double-figures, has actually said she fancies one of her own, so how's that for versatility? Whilst the patterns are for ages 2-6, this style lends itself well to being sized up for older children, so my eldest might just get one stitched up for her. <br /><br />If you fancy trying your hand at any of the patterns, I have both pattern booklets up for grabs - just leave a comment on this post by the end of the month to let me know what Summer stitching projects you are planning for a chance to win! I'll draw a winner on Friday 1st August, so do check back to see if you have won as blogger doesn't always provide me with email addresses to contact winners directly. <br /><br />To follow the rest of the blog hop, click on the links below, or pop over to <a href="http://www.stitchcraftcreate.co.uk/dance-with-me-dress#401799">Stitch Craft Create for more details or to purchase Lisa's patterns</a>.<br /><br /><br /><div style="color: #f15779; text-align: center;"><b>JUNE:</b></div><div style="color: #555555; text-align: center;"><b>Fri 27th – <a href="http://aspoonfulofsugardesigns.com/2014/06/giveaway-kids-dressmaking-blog-hop-lisa-lam/" title="A Spoonful of Sugar">A Spoonful of Sugar</a></b></div><div style="color: #f15779; text-align: center;"><b>JULY:</b></div><div style="color: #555555; text-align: center;"><b>Tue 1st – <a href="http://pistonsandpolish.com/the-kids-dressmaking-blog-hop-with-lisa-lam/" title="Pistons and Polish">Pistons and Polish</a></b><b></b></div><div style="color: #555555; text-align: center;"><b>Mon 7th – <b><b><a href="http://kitchentablesewing.blogspot.de/2014/07/happiness-halter-playsuit-blog-hop.html" title="Kitchen Table Sewing">Kitchen Table Sewing</a></b></b></b></div><div style="color: #555555; text-align: center;"><b>Tue 8th – <a href="http://blog.followthewhitebunny.com/2014/07/happiness-halter-playsuit-pattern.html" title="Follow the White Bunny">Follow the White Bunny</a></b></div><div style="color: #555555; text-align: center;"><b>Wed 9th – <b><b><a href="http://kitchentablesewing.blogspot.de/2014/07/dance-with-me-dress-blog-hop.html" title="Kitchen Table Sewing">Kitchen Table Sewing</a></b></b></b></div><div style="color: #555555; text-align: center;"><b>Mon 14th – <a href="http://www.sewmaris.com/pattern-reviews/pattern-review-happiness-halter-playsuit-by-lisa-lam" title="Sew Maris">Sew Maris</a></b></div><div style="color: #555555; text-align: center;"><b>Tue 15th <b>– <a href="http://www.astitchingodyssey.com/2014/07/the-kids-dressmaking-blog-hop-with-lisa.html" title="A Stitching Odyssey">A Stitching Odyssey</a></b></b></div><div style="color: #555555; text-align: center;"><b>Fri 18th <b>– <a href="http://scruffybadgertime.co.uk/" title="Scruffy Badger Time">Scruffy Badger Time</a></b></b></div><div style="color: #555555; text-align: center;"><b>Sun 20th <b>– <a href="http://www.sewmamasew.com/" title="Sew Mama Sew"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Sew Mama Sew</span></a></b></b></div><div style="color: #555555; text-align: center;"><b>Monday 21st</b> <b>– <a href="http://angharadhandmade.blogspot.de/" title="Angharad Handmade">Angharad Handmade</a></b></div><div style="color: #555555; text-align: center;"><b>TBC</b> <b>–</b><b> <a href="http://houseofpinheiro.blogspot.co.uk/" title="House of Pinheiro">House of Pinheiro</a></b><br /><b></b><br /><b></b><br /></div>angharad handmadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15177189673684579563noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4951207305761593317.post-19907042620416741572014-06-07T17:56:00.002+01:002014-06-07T17:56:37.488+01:00Anyone for lemon tart?My children have developed an obsession with lemon tart. Even the boy, who considers most other desserts and cakes to be frankly inedible. I have been in search of a good recipe for lemon tart for a while, but was finally spurred into baking by a surfeit of lemons in the fruit bowl and a small unopened tub of crème fraiche in the fridge nearing its use by date. It's surprisingly hard to find a recipe for lemon tart that doesn't involve real cream (something which we never have in the fridge as none of us like it), but as ever, the BBC Good Food site came up trumps, with this recipe for <a href="http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/644635/the-ultimate-makeover-lemon-tart">The ultimate makeover: lemon tart</a>, which purports to be both low fat and delicious. <br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/14387548273" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Lemon tart by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="Lemon tart" height="480" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3854/14387548273_5e6260a090_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">short-lived lemon tart</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;">The only change I made to the recipe was to make the sweet shortcrust pastry by rubbing 60g of unsalted butter into 140g of flour, stirring through the 1tbsp of icing sugar, then binding together with the leftover egg yolk (from the filling) and a bit of cold water. Otherwise I followed the recipe as on the website. </div><br />Mine doesn't look as immaculate as the one on the website, but it was speedily demolished by the children, which is as good a vote of confidence as any; they're pretty particular when it comes to their lemon tarts. <br /><br />angharad handmadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15177189673684579563noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4951207305761593317.post-62308448042641055422014-05-07T13:04:00.000+01:002014-05-07T13:04:52.121+01:00The scrap quilt revealBrace yourselves ... I've only gone and finished something! <br /><br /><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/13942865760" title="scrap quilt by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="scrap quilt" height="640" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7392/13942865760_52c6c6f38d_z.jpg" width="638" /></a><br /><br />Project name: <a href="http://imagingermonkey.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/care-for-some-scrap-vomit-aka-quilt.html">Scrap Vomit</a> (or <a href="http://imagingermonkey.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=technicolour+yawn">Technicolour Yawn</a> if you're going for the sanitised version)<br />Size: 70" square (big enough for me to be completely hidden behind it when holding it up to be photographed!)<br />Started: <a href="http://angharadhandmade.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/good-things-come-in-2-ounce-packages.html">May 2011</a> <br />Finished: May 2014<br />Batting: <a href="http://www.cottonpatch.co.uk/cgi-bin/sh000001.pl?WD=natural%20warm&PN=Warm%2dand%2dNatural%2dWadding%2dCPWWD9%2ehtml#SID=644">Warm and Natural</a><br />Backing: <a href="http://www.misformake.co.uk/collections/fabric/Dottie-quilt-backing">Moda extra wide Dottie quilt backing in grey</a><br />Quilted: <a href="http://angharadhandmade.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/tools-for-hand-quilting.html">By hand with Gutermann hand-quilting thread in dark grey and Clover gold-eye quilting needles</a> <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/14126486572" title="hand-quilting by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="hand-quilting" height="375" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7341/14126486572_1695f81e57.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div>I signed up to a quilt-along for this scrappy quilt, led on by the enthusiasm of <a href="http://imagingermonkey.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/care-for-some-scrap-vomit-aka-quilt.html">Katy over at imagingermonkey</a>. That was almost 3 years ago - I think Katy has actually completed around 90 scrap vomit quilts during the time I've taken to make my single one, which shows me up somewhat, but then, she is a superhuman quilting machine. This quilt was begun in England and completed in Wales, so has dual heritage just like my 3 children. I was sneakily stitching blocks in between house viewings, which may not have been the best way to ensure the house was tidy, but it was a welcome distraction. <br /><br />The blocks themselves came together really quickly. I kept the A-blocks as 7 x 7 blocks of random scrappy 2.5" squares but <a href="http://angharadhandmade.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/knits-and-stitches-2011.html">adapted the B-block</a> for a single colour of contrast (dark grey) in a diamond pattern which would criss-cross over the whole quilt. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/14149558513" title="B blocks handquilting by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="B blocks handquilting" height="493" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5523/14149558513_a77c7bf39a.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">(oops, missed trimming some threads!)</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/14126171351" title="A blocks handquilting by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="A blocks handquilting" height="447" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7356/14126171351_e77c1c6fc9.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div>I started quilting it by hand in <a href="http://angharadhandmade.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/have-fabric-will-sew.html">May 2012 (aren't blogs terrible for providing incontrovertible proof</a> of how long you've been working on something!), <a href="http://angharadhandmade.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/gone-quilting.html">with diagonal lines following the diamonds on the B blocks and segmented circles on the A blocks</a>. I think it was the quilting really which did for the prompt completion of this quilt - all those overlapping seam allowances to stitch through! And so I let it sit, for around a year, only to pick it up again this Spring and realise there wasn't much left to do. So with only 6 circles left to quilt, I picked it up in the evenings and after work and found it came together really quickly. I was saved from procrastinating and deferring decisions over the binding by the fact that I had bought an extra metre of the dark grey solid fabric - I didn't really want anything that would compete with the scrappiness of the quilt, and it also helps to draw the eye to the diamond pattern and save it from getting lost in the multicolour madness. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/14129494805" title="backing and binding by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="backing and binding" height="375" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2920/14129494805_22a7a2ea5f.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div>I've gone as far as removing the erasable pen markings for the quilting, and trimming away (most of) the loose threads, but the quilt hasn't even managed to make it into the washing machine yet and is currently residing on the arm of the settee in the living room, ready to be appropriated by whoever comes along and wants to make a den or a bed for their teddies. <br /><br />I feel a bit bereft at the completion of such a long-term project - I definitely need to get stuck in to another quilt! <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />angharad handmadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15177189673684579563noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4951207305761593317.post-39052945876827991482014-05-04T20:39:00.000+01:002014-05-04T20:39:51.279+01:00Five go to the Legoland Hotel<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/14107270014" title="Legoland hotel by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="Legoland hotel" height="500" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7309/14107270014_543a8c4f08.jpg" width="375" /></a></div><br />If you asked me to name my favourite childhood toy, it would be Lego every time. Even though I had the usual 80s suspects like Tiny Tears and Sindy dolls, I definitely spent the most hours playing with my lego sets. So when I managed to book a super cheap deal to stay a night in the<a href="http://www.legoland.co.uk/hotel/"> LEGOLAND resort hotel in Windsor</a>, I was just as excited as the children. The trick is to book when the park is closed, when the rooms plummet in price - for us, the park being closed wasn't a problem at all, as we used to live just a few miles down the road, so the children have been several times over the years. In any case, had we been visiting the park too, I'm not sure we would have got nearly as much enjoyment out of the hotel itself. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/14103657201" title="legoland hotel frog prince safe by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="legoland hotel frog prince safe" height="500" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2925/14103657201_84ab0f0f63.jpg" width="381" /></a></div><br />We stayed in a <a href="http://www.legoland.co.uk/hotel/Rooms2/Kingdom-Room1/">standard Kingdom-themed room</a>, having thought about a pirate room until the 3-year old developed a sudden fear of the swashbucklers a few weeks ago. The theming in the room was so effective - from the shields 'carved' into the children's bunks to the lego crown by the bathroom mirror. Most exciting of all was the locked safe with a huge frog perched on top and a note directing the children to solve the clues within the room to find the combination to unlock it. This was definitely one of the highlights for my brood, especially when they found a little lego set each inside on opening the safe. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/13920247729" title="legoland hotel children's bedroom by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="legoland hotel children's bedroom" height="500" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7369/13920247729_7927908233.jpg" width="375" /></a></div><br /> The layout of the room itself was ideal - a separate bunk bed area for the children, with a pull-out trundle bed for the third child, along with a tv playing various lego-themed programs. Next came the bathroom with its lego toiletries, including a lego brick soap. Then there was the main bedroom with the usual tea and coffee making bits and pieces, as well as a second tv. There was so much attention to detail, with the theme even carried through into the carpeting. This continued outside the room too, with each floor having a separate theme. <br /> <br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/13920237027" title="legoland hotel kingdom room by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="legoland hotel kingdom room" height="375" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2906/13920237027_cb371ea9ec.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/14126954063" title="legoland hotel bathroom by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="legoland hotel bathroom" height="500" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7427/14126954063_66a9d06112.jpg" width="375" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/13920237499" title="legoland hotel bathroom by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="legoland hotel bathroom" height="500" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2920/13920237499_8764b0bf88.jpg" width="375" /></a></div><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/13920264450" title="legoland hotel indoor play area by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"></a><br />Elsewhere in the hotel, there were chatting lifts, bathroom mirrors which told you how nice you were looking today, and a whoopee cushion carpet. The children were likewise thrilled with the indoor and outdoor play areas, as well as the brilliant swimming pool and splash playing area with slides, see-saw and water jets to soak your family. There is so much to see in every area of the hotel, from a huge display of minifigures behind the reception desk to giant lego people and a model skyline in the bar. It's all been so well thought-out, we were completely won over! And apart from anything else, the room was pretty good value. With a buffet-style breakfast included, the children made the most of the opportunity to fill their tummies - Littlest came away with a babybel cheese, mango, pineapple, mini croissant and mini muffin, Middlest went for crunchy-nut cornflakes, followed by a full English breakfast including around 6 eggs-worth of scramble and a dessert of raisins and peaches, whilst Eldest went for a more continental style with a plate filled with pastries, and a token offering of fruit. I can't think of anywhere else in the area where we could get a family room to genuinely sleep five for under £100 (the usual 'chain' hotels tend to offer family rooms for 4 only); I would thoroughly recommend it. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/13920264450" title="legoland hotel indoor play area by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="legoland hotel indoor play area" height="500" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2912/13920264450_60ba906f02.jpg" width="375" /></a></div><br />This is not a sponsored post, just a genuinely enthusiastic one. We came away singing 'Everything is Awesome' in the car, and resolved to keep our eyes peeled for the next bargain deal! <br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/vx5n21zHPm8" width="560"></iframe><br /><br /><br />With apologies for the interruption to normal service - posts about unfinished sewing projects, things I might be thinking about sewing but haven't quite started yet, and aspirations to be a generally more productive maker will soon resume. <br /><br /><br />angharad handmadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15177189673684579563noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4951207305761593317.post-69940661938685293282014-04-21T20:40:00.003+01:002014-04-21T20:41:28.761+01:00UnFinished ObjectsMy <a href="http://angharadhandmade.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/project-study-o.html">study-o</a> has been in drastic need of a sort-out for a while now. There are more UFOs in there than in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Area_51">area 51</a>. Poor old <a href="http://angharadhandmade.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/gone-quilting.html">scrap vomit</a> has been sitting in there for almost 3 whole years (more chronic heartburn than projectile vomit). Then there's the quilt my sister commissioned for my nephew around 6 months ago. And <a href="http://angharadhandmade.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/patchwork-week.html">a baby quilt top</a>, finished but in need of backing and binding. Before starting anything new, I resolved to embark on a Spring quiltathon to get these three finished, buoyed on by the arrival on the weekend of a newborn niece, for whom the baby quilt top is destined, and the necessity of first finishing the big boy bed quilt for her big brother. <br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/13955464301" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="scrap vomit quilt by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="scrap vomit quilt" height="375" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5089/13955464301_c79e23b7bc.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">scrap vomit</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/13978721443" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="baby girl quilt top by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="baby girl quilt top" height="500" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5293/13978721443_e423001c47.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">baby quilt top</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">So first up, the big boy bed quilt. This one was all but finished, but I'd been procrastinating over binding choices. Polka dots, my go-to binding choice, had been ruled out, so what to do? Solids, stripes, checks or patterns? I'm not good when faced with too much choice. But then I stumbled upon this lovely <a href="http://www.thevillagehaberdashery.co.uk/sewing-patchwork/fabric/pinstripe-navy">denim-coloured narrow stripe fabric</a> by Makower over at the <a href="http://www.thevillagehaberdashery.co.uk/">Village Haberdashery</a>, and bought a metre with a view to cutting it on the bias for a candy-stripe effect.</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/13978732433" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="binding fabric by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="binding fabric" height="500" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5215/13978732433_a23724a4c2.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">pinstripe binding fabric<br /> </td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: left;">It really is an ideal fabric choice for binding a child's quilt as it's super soft - much more so than usual with quilting cottons. Annie has it in <a href="http://www.thevillagehaberdashery.co.uk/sewing-patchwork/fabric?fabric_collection=1245&limit=all">6 different colourways</a>, so I might just have to add a few more to my stash (especially coveting the lime green and red pinstripes).</div><br />I cut 2 1/4" binding strips as I find 2 1/2" just a bit too wide usually, cutting on the bias. Having machined the binding in place to the right side, I spent a few hours later that evening handstitching the binding to the reverse of the quilt whilst watching some recorded episodes of the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03myqj2">Great British Sewing Bee</a> with my eldest girl. Binding and mother-daughter sewing-bee viewing was a great bit of distraction while waiting for my husband to return from the hospital with my son, who needed his chin gluing back together after an argument involving a bike, a boy, and a subway wall.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/13955612622" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Sewing Bee binding evening by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="Sewing Bee binding evening" height="375" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7415/13955612622_a1b097f855.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Great British Sewing Bee bindathon<br /> </td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">By 4am, I had a fully repaired boy, a finished quilt binding, and an urgent appointment with my duvet. All finished just in time to drive up to visit my sister and her partner in London the next day and meet my lovely new niece! Luckily she's not quite old enough to realise her aunt has been too remiss to finish her new baby quilt yet. </div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/13978715263" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="finished quilt and robot by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"></a> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/13958664125" title="big boy bed quilt by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="big boy bed quilt" height="500" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7137/13958664125_4b579f7d2f.jpg" width="380" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/13978715263" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="finished quilt and robot by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="finished quilt and robot" height="375" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7322/13978715263_3a24b5d279.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://angharadhandmade.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/robot-softie-ready-to-go-out-into-world.html">Robot softie</a> stowed away in the package and elicited a very excited 'wow' from my nephew. </td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div align="left" style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div>angharad handmadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15177189673684579563noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4951207305761593317.post-17756768289047343182014-04-09T13:27:00.001+01:002014-04-09T13:27:11.725+01:00The Great British Sewing BeeOh <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03myqj2">Great British Sewing Bee</a>, you have a lot to answer for. In showing those contestants artfully draping fabric and stitching seams week after week, you have made me think I might be able to make an actual wearable item of clothing for myself. <br /><br />We have been down this path before. I've made plenty of clothes for the children, but never seem to pull-off adult sized garments. I think the problem lies in the fact that basically everything looks cute on a small child, whereas on a full-grown adult, handmade can easily translate into twee or homespun. <br /><br />Still, I'm throwing caution to the wind yet again, and armed with a few metres of this pretty green cotton floral from Ditto Fabrics, as well as Wendy Mullin's <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0307461335/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=0307461335&linkCode=as2&tag=angharadhandm-21">Built by Wendy Dresses</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-uk.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=angharadhandm-21&l=as2&o=2&a=0307461335" height="1" style="border: currentColor !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />, I'm all set to stitch up a Summer frock. Or a floral smock for the children's dressing up box, depending on how it all works out! <br /> <br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/13737183754" title="Dress fabric by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="Dress fabric" height="375" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3812/13737183754_576afe9314.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/13736785335" title="Built by Wendy Dresses by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="Built by Wendy Dresses" height="397" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2814/13736785335_b725779f55.jpg" width="500" /></a> </div><div style="text-align: center;"></div>If you have any dressmaking resources to share, please leave a comment - I need all the help I can get. I'm really enjoying <a href="http://www.thesewingdirectory.co.uk/sewing-bee/">The Sewing Directory's week by week guides to the Great British Sewing Bee</a>, which provide everything from links to fabrics used to sewing skills tutorials. <br /><br />Do you have a favourite online supplier of dressmaking fabrics in the UK? I'm not so keen on using quilters cottons for dressmaking as I don't find them drapey enough, but I really struggle to find a decent selection of lighter-weight cottons online. My current shortlist of online stores includes:<br /><br /><ul><li><a href="http://www.shaukat.co.uk/">Shaukat</a> - especially for Liberty Tana Lawn</li><li><a href="http://dittofabrics.co.uk/">Ditto Fabrics</a></li><li><a href="http://www.croftmill.co.uk/">Croft Mill Fabrics</a> </li><li><a href="http://www.trurofabrics.com/">Truro Fabrics</a></li><li><a href="http://www.fabricsgalore.co.uk/">Fabrics Galore</a> (I've only just realised they're now selling online!) </li></ul><br />The holy grail, of course, would be a bricks and mortar fabric emporium close to home in South East Wales, Gloucestershire or Bristol. Had we still been living in Slough, <a href="http://www.fabricsgalore.co.uk/">Fabrics Galore</a> would have been top of the list, but having moved back to the South Wales marches, I'm not really sure what's on my doorstep. <br /><br />I'm deeply saddened that the Sewing Bee is now over and done with for this year, just as I'm getting up my enthusiasm for dressmaking. On the whole, I think the challenges were a lot harder this year! What did you make of last night's verdict? <br /><br /><br /><br />angharad handmadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15177189673684579563noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4951207305761593317.post-2651511179617295962014-03-30T22:46:00.000+01:002014-03-30T22:47:48.108+01:00Spring forwardI like a bit of rain, me - after all, hailing from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Wales_Valleys">South Wales valleys</a>, I am semi-amphibian. I must admit, though, that this Winter has been a bit of a long (and wet) haul. But now, at the tail end of March, it feels like Spring has finally sprung, the clocks have gone forward, the sun has been shining, and we've blown away the cobwebs in the great outdoors. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/13521325403" title="Untitled by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="Untitled" height="375" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7302/13521325403_9da07c472b.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div align="center">The winks taking in the blossom on our way out to lunch today</div><br />It's mother's day today, and the google doodle seems especially apposite as we've been out cycling the past two weekends. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f-tLHH3QU1E/UziIO_7VobI/AAAAAAAACMY/BlcawN9LqAI/s1600/344034fc96803de5595d1ef57e2e4a6a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f-tLHH3QU1E/UziIO_7VobI/AAAAAAAACMY/BlcawN9LqAI/s1600/344034fc96803de5595d1ef57e2e4a6a.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><br />It's been so lovely to get out on two wheels again. Last weekend saw us cycling along the <a href="http://www.walescoastpath.gov.uk/default.aspx?lang=en">Wales coast path</a> through the <a href="http://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/n/newportwetlands/">Newport wetlands</a>. Next weekend, we hope to try the <a href="http://canalrivertrust.org.uk/canals-and-rivers/monmouthshire-and-brecon-canal">Monmouthshire and Brecon canal</a>. Hopefully sticking to the towpath rather than the waterway, obviously. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/13521351013" title="Untitled by Helen Angharad, on Flickr"><img alt="Untitled" height="375" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3777/13521351013_5501efd4db.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Lighthouse in the distance at the Newport wetlands</div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">Hope you have been enjoying a bit of Springtime sunshine too! </div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div>angharad handmadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15177189673684579563noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4951207305761593317.post-81672757405051652232014-01-11T22:50:00.000+00:002014-05-04T20:39:51.282+01:00Happy New Year!Ok, so it's already 11 January and I'm a bit tardy with the new year post. The truth is, things are incredibly busy around here. I'm even more covered in bits of stray thread than usual, my long-suffering parents have been drafted in to help with school runs and such, and the study-o is heaped with partially sewn projects and general haberdashery. I've produced more finished objects in a shorter time than ever before, none of which I'm able to show here as they're all relating to a top secret project for 2014. <br /><br />I am so much looking forward to getting everything done and dusted come mid-February, and becoming a normal functioning human being again. Well, as near to normal as I'll ever be anyway. <br /><br />Still, at least in the meantime the cat is on hand to help with the laundry. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/11894961465/" title="cat in a tumble drier by angharad handmade, on Flickr"><img alt="cat in a tumble drier" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5517/11894961465_f5856633f5_z.jpg" height="640" width="554" /></a><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/11894961465/" title="cat in a tumble drier by angharad handmade, on Flickr"> </a></div><br /><br />See you on the other side. <br /><br /> </div>angharad handmadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15177189673684579563noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4951207305761593317.post-81649496236442043842013-12-23T21:13:00.000+00:002013-12-23T21:13:34.383+00:00It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/11520196046/" title="Christmas mantelpiece by angharad handmade, on Flickr"><img alt="Christmas mantelpiece" height="480" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5549/11520196046_ccb9c5e70a_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/11520123405/" title="Christmas stairs by angharad handmade, on Flickr"><img alt="Christmas stairs" height="640" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5524/11520123405_eb45af4c01_z.jpg" width="473" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/11520189126/" title="nutcracker by angharad handmade, on Flickr"><img alt="nutcracker" height="480" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5531/11520189126_1e50dc0734_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/11520088335/" title="Spode Christmas tree china by angharad handmade, on Flickr"><img alt="Spode Christmas tree china" height="640" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7453/11520088335_9e59bcfa03_z.jpg" width="627" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/11520095885/" title="Christmas tree by angharad handmade, on Flickr"><img alt="Christmas tree" height="640" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7376/11520095885_a4d89f9189_z.jpg" width="549" /></a></div><br /><br /><br />angharad handmadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15177189673684579563noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4951207305761593317.post-80696441037214768862013-12-15T22:59:00.000+00:002013-12-15T22:59:44.008+00:00Tana lawn: Sunday stash<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/11392102264/" title="Liberty tana lawn stack by angharad handmade, on Flickr"><img alt="Liberty tana lawn stack" height="375" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3708/11392102264_c8d1b8c6a0.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><br />A tiny stack of Liberty tana lawn prints. How tiny, you ask?<br />This tiny.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/11392208503/" title="Liberty tana lawn stack by angharad handmade, on Flickr"><img alt="Liberty tana lawn stack" height="375" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7445/11392208503_f7d84ccce9.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">There is something peculiarly satisfying about their very tininess. </div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">Ali at <a href="http://veryberryhandmade.co.uk/">Very Berry Handmade</a> had a 20% off flash sale in her <a href="https://beta.folksy.com/shops/veryberryfabrics">Liberty fabric shop</a> the other day, so I had to buy these to keep<a href="http://angharadhandmade.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/sunday-stash-luscious-liberty.html"> my stash of Liberty tana lawn</a> from <a href="http://thecoffeelady.blogspot.co.uk/">the Coffee Lady</a> company. </div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/11392116524/" title="Liberty tana lawn by angharad handmade, on Flickr"><img alt="Liberty tana lawn" height="396" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7310/11392116524_422444e31b.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">I'm still considering English (Welsh, in this case) paper pieced hexagons, but part of me is wondering whether I have the patience to tackle <a href="http://annamariahorner.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/out-sewing-in-my-field.html">Anna Maria Horner's Feather's Quilt</a>. As I am stupidly busy at the moment, I won't be setting to work anytime soon, but it's nice to know I'll have the tana lawn sitting there waiting when I have time for a bit of self-indulgent sewing in the Spring. </div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div>angharad handmadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15177189673684579563noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4951207305761593317.post-84773089385417203092013-12-05T22:26:00.002+00:002013-12-05T22:27:43.415+00:00A handmade Christmas: the cake<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/11219595104/" title="shiny dried fruit in alcohol by angharad handmade, on Flickr"><img alt="shiny dried fruit in alcohol" height="375" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5545/11219595104_ba6c1be1d5.jpg" width="500" /></a> </div><br />There is nothing more evocative than the sweet scent of alcohol-steeped fruits mingled with spices, a heady combination indeed, and one which plunges me headlong into feeling festive. The making of the cake will always be a grand old Christmas tradition for me, and one which I associate with the unexpectedly prompt arrival of my first baby (<a href="http://angharadhandmade.blogspot.co.uk/2007/11/christmas-cake-method-of-inducing.html">a story I have already told)</a>. <br /><br />I am still rolling out the same tried and tested Christmas cake recipe from <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0701171081/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=0701171081&linkCode=as2&tag=angharadhandm-21">How To Be A Domestic Goddess</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-uk.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=angharadhandm-21&l=as2&o=2&a=0701171081" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> (if ever there was a book title which <i>didn't </i>have my name on it! One day I'll pen my own, probably called 'Slapdash Annie's Guide to Bungled Family Cooking'. Now that's <i>definitely </i>a book with my name on it). And still using marsala to soak the dried fruit. I stick with the <i>my-mother-told-me-to-do-this-so-it-must-be-right</i> technique for ensuring the sides of the cake don't cook too quickly, or, god forbid, burn - a wodge of newspaper sheets folded into a band to be tied around the exterior of the cake tin with string prior to baking.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/11219587295/" title="Christmas cake in progress by angharad handmade, on Flickr"><img alt="Christmas cake in progress" height="375" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2891/11219587295_2fd1b4a497.jpg" width="500" /></a> </div><br />That's good old King Cnut on the newspaper, looking important - he may not have been able to stop the tide coming in, but he definitely stopped the edges of my cake from burning.<br /><br />This cake is nut-free, so good for my nut-allergic daughter (I just omit the almond essence). Here's the recipe, quantities to fit a 23cm diameter springform tin:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Soak <b>700g of sultanas</b>, <b>225g of raisins</b>, <b>110g each of currants, mixed peel and glace cherries</b> in <b>120ml of marsala</b> overnight. Then cream <b>225g of butter</b> and <b>195g of soft dark brown sugar</b> with a <b>teaspoon each of orange and lemon zest</b>. Beat in <b>4 large eggs</b>, one at a time, adding a little of the flour if the mixture starts to curdle. Beat in <b>2 tbsp of marmalade</b>. Sift your dry ingredients (<b>350g of plain flour, 1 tsp of mixed spice, 1/4 tsp each of nutmeg and cinnamon and a pinch of salt</b>) into the dried fruit and stir to coat. Then gradually add the dried fruit and flour to the cake batter and mix until thoroughly combined. Bake for <b>3 hrs at 150 degrees C</b>, wrapping in foil after removing from the oven. After the cake has cooled, remove from the tin and wrap in foil again and store in a tin for several weeks to mature. </blockquote><br />I've evolved the method a little . This makes me feel like a proper baker, the kind that makes pencilled-in notes in the margins of her cookbooks to tweak the recipe (even though I'll never actually do this because <i>we do not write in books!</i>). Casually ignoring Nigella's instructions, I introduce my lemon and orange zest at the creaming stage and not afterwards so that all that pounding of the butter and sugar will release all the oils (see, it almost sounds as if I know what I'm doing). I also, in a great-British-bake-offerly way, coat the dried fruit in the flour before introducing both to the cake batter together rather than each in turn. I'm sure I have read somewhere that doing this stops the fruit sinking to the bottom, although fat chance of that happening with this cake recipe, which is basically a heap of dried fruit glued together with a light coating of batter - if the fruit sinks through the fruit, I can't see too much of a problem arising. <br /><br />The cake is now baked and waiting patiently in its tin, and I can relax, safe in the knowledge that prising off the lid to inhale that Christmassy aroma can cheer up the most dismal of days! <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/11219591804/" title="marsala by angharad handmade, on Flickr"><img alt="marsala" height="500" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3710/11219591804_7d30548477.jpg" width="340" /></a></div><br />And look, there's well over 3/4 of a bottle of Christmas spirit left, which is a good job as this is usually Father Christmas's chosen tipple when he stops at our house on Christmas eve! angharad handmadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15177189673684579563noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4951207305761593317.post-30545922526486397962013-11-20T20:54:00.000+00:002013-11-20T20:54:31.945+00:00The very crafty Christmas tutorial link-upIf you're looking for some pretty Christmas craft projects, you've come to the right place, as all the posts from <a href="http://bugsandfishes.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/the-crafty-christmas-tutorial-link-up.html">Crafty Christmas Tutorial link-up</a> are now live! That's 30 free Christmas craft tutorials just a click away! <br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-w6pDsxaFyPs/Uo0cd1mvDxI/AAAAAAAACKQ/NTAzo4O0D9Y/s1600/The+Crafty+Christmas+Link-Up+A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-w6pDsxaFyPs/Uo0cd1mvDxI/AAAAAAAACKQ/NTAzo4O0D9Y/s640/The+Crafty+Christmas+Link-Up+A.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://imanufatti.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/crafty-christmas-tutorial-link-up.html">Felt House Gift Tag Holder</a> – I ManuFatti</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://carinascraftblog.wardi.dk/2013/11/tutorial-christmas-trinket-hoop-mobile.html">Christmas Trinket Hoop Mobile</a> – Carina’s Craft Blog</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://lacreatureandyou.com/2013/11/18/polar-bear-ornament-diy-tutorial/#more-2659">Felt Polar Bear Ornament</a> – La Creature and You</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://clairesblog.paynedesign.co.uk/2013/11/18/tutorial-hoopy-christmas-to-you/">Christmas Hoop</a> – Claire Payne</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://button-button.co.uk/retro-mug-rug-tutorial/">Embroidered Christmas Mug Rug</a> – Button Button</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://saraccino.blogspot.com/2013/11/catch-star-crafty-christmas-tutorial.html">Polymer Clay Star Ornaments</a> - Saraccino </div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.knitmeacake.com/2013/11/18/a-knitted-christmas-stockings-garland/">Knitted Christmas Stockings Garland</a> – Knit Me a Cake</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://adventuresandteaparties.blogspot.com/2013/11/diy-christmas-gift-wrap-ribbon.html">DIY Christmas Ribbon</a> – Adventures & Tea Parties</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://bugsandfishes.blogspot.com/2013/11/how-to-embroidered-mistletoe-ornament.html">Embroidered Mistletoe Ornament</a> – Bugs and Fishes</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.retrodelicious.co.uk/2013/11/scented-salt-dough-reindeer.html">Scented Salt Dough Ornaments</a> – Retro Delicious</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://homemadeatmyplace.blogspot.com/2013/11/make-it-christmas-tree-decoration.html">Crochet Christmas Tree Decorations</a> – Homemade@MyPlace </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://hugsarefun.com/free-christmas-cross-stitch-pattern/">Christmas Cross Stitch Raccoon Ornament</a> – Hugs are Fun</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://thelittlecreatures.wordpress.com/2013/11/18/christmas-tree-tutorial-tutorial-de-arvore-de-natal/">Polymer Clay Christmas Tree</a> – Little Creatures</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://jumbleberries.blogspot.com/2013/11/christmas-wish-list-felt-envelope.html">Christmas Wish-List Felt Envelope</a> - Jumbleberries </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://pinwheelsandstories.com/2013/11/18/christmas-felt-christmas-tree-toy/">Felt Christmas Tree Toy</a> – Pinwheels and Stories </div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://pinwheelsandstories.com/2013/11/18/christmas-felt-christmas-tree-toy/" target="_blank"><br /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZIug0I605UI/Uo0cdb7BIDI/AAAAAAAACKI/8EOwmxkbzCM/s1600/The+Crafty+Christmas+Link-Up+B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZIug0I605UI/Uo0cdb7BIDI/AAAAAAAACKI/8EOwmxkbzCM/s640/The+Crafty+Christmas+Link-Up+B.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://alittlehappyplace.blogspot.com/2013/11/its-crafty-christmas-blog-link-up.html">Let it Snow Embroidery Pattern</a> – A Little Happy Place</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://unexpectedkitty.blogspot.com/2013/11/first-ever-unexpected-kitty-embroidery.html">Festive Wanderers Embroidery Pattern</a> – Unexpected Kitty</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://blog.betzwhite.com/2013/11/felt-and-fabric-coaster-tutorial.html">Festive Felt and Fabric Coasters</a> – Betz White</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://mrssaintnick.wordpress.com/2013/11/18/a-riot-of-ribbon/">Holiday Ribbon Pillow</a> – Mrs. Saint Nick</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://gracesfavours.blogspot.com/2013/11/diy-tutorial-how-to-make-christmas-felt.html">Felt Gingerbread Man Gift Tag</a> – Grace’s Favours</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://dinkidots.blogspot.com/2013/11/free-tutorial-christmas-star-jar-covers.html">Crochet Christmas Star Jar Covers</a> – Dinki Dots</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.hydrangeagirl.com/2013/11/diy-edible-ornaments.html">Edible Christmas Ornaments</a> – Hydrangea Girl</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kate-7ws.blogspot.com/2013/11/christmas-cross-stitch-tutorial.html">Cross Stitch Christmas Trees</a> – Made by Mrs M</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://sarastexturecrafts.blogspot.com/2013/11/free-tutorial-secret-love-letter.html">Secret Love Letter Christmas Gift Tag</a> – Crafts of Texture</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://halcyonthreads.blogspot.com/2013/11/tutorial-applique-love-christmas-card.html">Applique Love Christmas Card</a> – Halcyon Threads</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.thecrimsonrabbit.co.uk/2013/11/18/christmas-mini-mitts-tutorial/">Christmas Mini Mitts</a> – The Crimson Rabbit </div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://lifewithpickle-lily.blogspot.com/2013/11/easy-peasy-reindeer.html">Felt Reindeer Ornament </a>– Pickle-Lily</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://auraverdecrafts.blogspot.com/2013/11/christmas-carousel.html">Christmas Carousel</a> – Aura Verde Crafts</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cocojude.wordpress.com/2013/11/18/embroidered-christmas-stocking/">Embroidered Christmas Stocking Ornament</a> - Cocojude </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://angharadhandmade.blogspot.com/2013/11/christmas-tutorial-festive-embroidery.html">Stencilled Christmas Embroidery Hoop</a> - Angharad (that's me!)</div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://angharadhandmade.blogspot.com/2013/11/christmas-tutorial-festive-embroidery.html" target="_blank"><br /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>Happy Christmas crafting! </i></b></span></div></div>angharad handmadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15177189673684579563noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4951207305761593317.post-7015677035715642092013-11-18T09:59:00.000+00:002013-11-20T20:59:11.806+00:00Christmas tutorial: festive embroidery hoop decoration<div style="text-align: center;"><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/10903901273/" title="Christmas tutorial_stencilled embroidery hoop by angharad handmade, on Flickr"><img alt="Christmas tutorial_stencilled embroidery hoop" height="640" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7324/10903901273_ff93b31674_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><br />Today I'm joining in with <a href="http://bugsandfishes.blogspot.co.uk/">Laura's</a> festive blog hop of Christmas craft tutorials over at <a href="http://bugsandfishes.blogspot.co.uk/">Bugs and Fishes by Lupin</a>. This is a quick and easy project using freezer paper stencils which gives ample opportunity for raiding your stash of embellishments! This tutorial makes a great project for little stitchers, as no advanced sewing skills are needed, especially if you stick to decorating the Christmas trees and omit the embroidered text. You can get small children to draw their own simple tree shapes (the wonkier the better!) for you to transform into stencils, and they will really enjoy picking out shiny buttons and trims to personalise their designs. <br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PuEXNVRaZ4U/UoeXm1Gjm3I/AAAAAAAACEU/2IWjqanVJdQ/s1600/017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PuEXNVRaZ4U/UoeXm1Gjm3I/AAAAAAAACEU/2IWjqanVJdQ/s320/017.JPG" title="reynolds freezer paper" width="320" /></a>Freezer paper, a coated greaseproof paper, is a fantastic thing to have in your stash for making stencilled designs - once you've cut out your design, you should be able to use it several times over by simply adhering the shiny side to your fabric with a dry hot iron. You can buy freezer paper by the <a href="http://www.cottonpatch.co.uk/acatalog/Reynolds.html">50 foot roll over at Cotton Patch</a>, but if you just want a small amount to experiment, try <a href="http://www.thevillagehaberdashery.co.uk/sewing-patchwork/notions-tools/interfacing-and-adhesives/reynolds-freezer-paper">The Village Haberdashery for 1/2 metre lengths at 50p a pop</a>. The fabric paint I've used here is made by <a href="http://www.dylon.co.uk/product.php?alias=fabric-paints&products=product-info&alias-product=fabric-paints">Dylon</a> - they do a great range of strong colours and give a nice even finish. The paints were sent to me to try out <a href="http://angharadhandmade.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/dereliction-of-duties.html">several years ago</a> but are still going strong many projects later! The principal investment I made this time with my freezer paper stencils was a new cutting knife - the <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005KRSWM6/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=B005KRSWM6&linkCode=as2&tag=angharadhandm-21">X-ACTO knife</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-uk.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=angharadhandm-21&l=as2&o=2&a=B005KRSWM6" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> is far superior to the basic plastic craft knife with the snap off blades I used last time around, and essential for cutting nice crisp edges. <br /><br /><br /><b>Equipment list: </b><br /><ul><li>A 10" square of calico or other plain fabric </li><li>Freezer paper</li><li>Pencil or pen to mark your design </li><li>Craft knife</li><li>Cutting mat </li><li>Fabric paint and brush</li><li>An embroidery hoop large enough to accommodate your design.</li><li>Erasable fabric marking pen</li><li>Needle and stranded embroidery thread in festive colours</li><li>A selection of trims/ribbons/sequins or buttons - whatever takes your fancy! I used guipure lace daisies, silver sequins and red ribbon and ric-rac. </li></ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DipZcczm4y4/UoeXmtQAf7I/AAAAAAAACEQ/dHUcY4_GIAs/s1600/015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DipZcczm4y4/UoeXmtQAf7I/AAAAAAAACEQ/dHUcY4_GIAs/s640/015.JPG" title="freezer paper stencil Christmas trees" width="640" /></a></div><br />1) Start by drawing your design onto the non-shiny side of the freezer paper, or trace from a drawing, then carefully cut out the design using a sharp craft knife and cutting mat. My design is three simple child-like Christmas tree outlines, which is about my level when it comes to drawing skills. <br /><br />2) Place the stencil shiny side down on top of your fabric and use a hot dry iron to fix the stencil in place. Make sure your stencil is firmly stuck to the fabric to avoid the paint bleeding around the cut edges. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AammsNUUBWk/UoeYrQg_NdI/AAAAAAAACEw/DUDIxyRX3u4/s1600/005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AammsNUUBWk/UoeYrQg_NdI/AAAAAAAACEw/DUDIxyRX3u4/s640/005.JPG" title="Dylon fabric paint freezer paper stencil" width="640" /></a></div><br /> 3) Lay your fabric on newspaper to protect your worksurface, then using a fairly hard brushpaint the stencil with a stippling technique <br /><br />(hold the paintbrush vertically and, without loading the brush up too much with paint, dot the paint all over the cut out sections and overlapping the stencil edges, reloading your brush with paint as needed). If using multiple coats of paint, you should leave each coat to dry and 'fix' the paint with a hot iron before applying the next coat.<br /><br />4) When completely dry, peel off the stencil.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gSlekf_yIAg/UonmZYrwKeI/AAAAAAAACHs/XgDKquqviPo/s1600/045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gSlekf_yIAg/UonmZYrwKeI/AAAAAAAACHs/XgDKquqviPo/s640/045.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />5) Place the fabric piece inside your embroidery hoop and mark your text with an erasable fabric pen, if desired. Use a neat <a href="http://sublimestitching.com/pages/how-to-back-stitch">backstitch</a> and two or three strands of embroidery thread to stitch your lettering, with <a href="http://sublimestitching.com/pages/how-to-french-knot">French knots</a> to dot the 'i'.<br /><br />6) To complete your design, use buttons, sequins or other embellishments to decorate your trees. I have used individual flowers cut from a length of guipure daisy trim to represent snowflakes (try <a href="http://www.ribbonmoon.co.uk/showproducts.asp?ct01_id=38&level=1&catname=DAISY%20TRIM">Ribbon Moon</a> for a great choice), but you could just as easily embroider these.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> <u><b>couching sequins</b></u></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HPfPUA0-_XQ/UoeYqTUNghI/AAAAAAAACEk/O4Ao7KX-DzU/s1600/008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HPfPUA0-_XQ/UoeYqTUNghI/AAAAAAAACEk/O4Ao7KX-DzU/s400/008.JPG" title="couching sequins" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">i) Secure the thread at the back of the work, then bring to the front through the central hole of the sequin. Make a stitch vertically, inserting your needle close to the top edge of the sequin and pull through to the wrong side. </td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wjLKvEte2lY/UoeYrF5gRwI/AAAAAAAACEo/RogznBbrJgg/s1600/009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wjLKvEte2lY/UoeYrF5gRwI/AAAAAAAACEo/RogznBbrJgg/s400/009.JPG" title="couching sequins" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ii) Bring the thread back to the right side of the work again by drawing your needle through the central hole of the sequin, then take a second stitch a third of the way around the circle, inserting your needle near the right side of the sequin's edge. Pull through to the wrong side. </td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fHFLIjnbyNw/UoeYzDwYr2I/AAAAAAAACFE/7676HJ1Hdgc/s1600/010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fHFLIjnbyNw/UoeYzDwYr2I/AAAAAAAACFE/7676HJ1Hdgc/s400/010.JPG" title="couching sequins" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">iii) Bring the thread back through the central hole to the right side of the work, then take a final stitch a third of the way around the circle, inserting your needle at the left side of the sequin and pulling through to the wrong side. </td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WlfLU7wQ2eM/UoeYyZMfotI/AAAAAAAACE8/A1kCnTDQErI/s400/014.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="couching sequins" width="400" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">iv) Your couched sequin. You can continue zig-zagging the thread on the back of the work to attach the rest of the sequins to your tree, securing when complete. Use a new strand of thread for each tree to avoid the trailing lines of thread being visible on the front of the work. </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JubhmRAgCMI/UoeehPOwf9I/AAAAAAAACGM/HZ6UHL2PeX0/s1600/016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JubhmRAgCMI/UoeehPOwf9I/AAAAAAAACGM/HZ6UHL2PeX0/s640/016.JPG" width="640" /></a> </div><br />7) Take lengths of ribbon, trims or ric-rac and stitch in place to form your forest floor leaving an inch or so extending beyond the edges of the hoop at each end. I've used a herringbone stitch to couch the ribbon in place and a simple forward and back stitch over the ric-rac trim. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>couching ric-rac</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_aRiY9qOxkM/UoebrT1--6I/AAAAAAAACFU/5b1VVkk0ODc/s1600/019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_aRiY9qOxkM/UoebrT1--6I/AAAAAAAACFU/5b1VVkk0ODc/s400/019.JPG" title="couching ric-rac" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">i) Make a stitch to the right from the trough of the wave, inserting your needle underneath the crest of the next wave of the ric-rac. </td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oITuozfWnVs/Uoebt8_HUtI/AAAAAAAACFc/2Oesv44dTwo/s1600/020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oITuozfWnVs/Uoebt8_HUtI/AAAAAAAACFc/2Oesv44dTwo/s400/020.JPG" title="couching ric-rac with embroidery thread" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ii) Bring the thread back to the front of the work above the trough of the next wave along, inserting your needle into the fabric alongside your last stitch to make a backstitch. You will then bring the needle back to the front of the work alongside your last stitch in the trough of the wave. Continue in this way until the ric-rac has been stitched in place along its length. </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>couching ribbons with herringbone stitch</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4Rai1Rj2wOs/UoebvQ2rTwI/AAAAAAAACFk/jkCUpG5tzhs/s1600/022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4Rai1Rj2wOs/UoebvQ2rTwI/AAAAAAAACFk/jkCUpG5tzhs/s400/022.JPG" title="couching ribbon herringbone stitch" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">i) Make a long diagonal stitch to the right from the top of the ribbon to the bottom. When you insert your needle, push it through the fabric from right to left to make a small stitch. Pull the thread right through on the right side. </td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kJ0C1zUpEsI/Uoebz83_i0I/AAAAAAAACFs/R5dQXlADGTc/s1600/023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kJ0C1zUpEsI/Uoebz83_i0I/AAAAAAAACFs/R5dQXlADGTc/s400/023.JPG" title="couching ribbon herringbone stitch" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ii) Take the thread up and to the right now to make another long diagonal stitch, inserting the needle into the fabric from right to left to make another small stitch, pulling the thread right through to the front. Continue in this way to attach the ribbon with criss-crossing herringbone stitches. </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jpLqwYVwTIk/Uoeb4dIVkCI/AAAAAAAACF0/muOOj989iqA/s1600/026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jpLqwYVwTIk/Uoeb4dIVkCI/AAAAAAAACF0/muOOj989iqA/s640/026.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">When you have stitched the trims in place, remove the fabric from the hoop and replace it, ensuring that the loose ends of ribbons and trim are now trapped between the outer and inner hoop at the reverse of the piece. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JHCtvZxd6qA/UoefOpAlfjI/AAAAAAAACGY/YaLfMEMGh6c/s1600/027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JHCtvZxd6qA/UoefOpAlfjI/AAAAAAAACGY/YaLfMEMGh6c/s640/027.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ds5oJBDvLPI/UoefOsOF3BI/AAAAAAAACGc/1L6s0j-3bO4/s1600/029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ds5oJBDvLPI/UoefOsOF3BI/AAAAAAAACGc/1L6s0j-3bO4/s640/029.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />8) Having finished embellishing your piece, simply trim the excess fabric away from the reverse of the piece, preferably using pinking shears to prevent fraying, leaving around an inch of fabric outside the hoop. Then, sew long running stitches all the way around the edge of the fabric, and gather the stitches up and secure so that the raw fabric edges are concealed at the back of the work. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GMzjz4L2KdQ/UoefPylmdqI/AAAAAAAACGk/dXAPBgG7QN8/s1600/030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GMzjz4L2KdQ/UoefPylmdqI/AAAAAAAACGk/dXAPBgG7QN8/s640/030.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>I then finished my embroidery hoop with a small bow made of red satin ribbon and stitched in place at the top of the hoop (it's a good idea to stitch right through the middle of the knotted part to ensure the bow stays perky and doesn't come undone). <br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4pjixbKDG3k/UoegxzNsIRI/AAAAAAAACHM/VAdi_wn8U98/s1600/047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4pjixbKDG3k/UoegxzNsIRI/AAAAAAAACHM/VAdi_wn8U98/s640/047.JPG" title="Embroidery hoop Christmas decoration stencilled" width="640" /></a></div><br />Sit back and admire your handiwork! These embroidery hoops are a great activity for a Christmas crafternoon - a selection of festive designs would make a pretty decorative feature displayed in a group on the wall. <br /><br />And if you fancy a bit more festive stitching, try <a href="http://angharadhandmade.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/christmas-in-august.html">my felt decorations tutorial</a> with <a href="http://www.sewmamasew.com/2012/08/handmade-holidays-hand-stitched-ornaments/#.UCqkbhpdATA">free pdf templates over at Sew, Mama, Sew.</a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.sewmamasew.com/2012/08/handmade-holidays-hand-stitched-ornaments/#.UCqkbhpdATA"><img alt="Felt Christmas decoration tutorial" height="375" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8283/7783269724_5d0e154e9a.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><ul></ul><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Edited to add:<br />The crafty Christmas tutorials are all now live - have a look at <a href="http://angharadhandmade.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/the-very-crafty-christmas-tutorial-link.html">the very crafty Christmas tutorial post</a> for links to 30 free tutorials for festive makes - <a href="http://bugsandfishes.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/the-crafty-christmas-tutorial-link-up.html">thanks for hosting, Laura</a> - plenty there to keep me busy into next Christmas! </div><br />angharad handmadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15177189673684579563noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4951207305761593317.post-6693449893997213292013-11-17T13:08:00.001+00:002013-11-17T13:08:45.508+00:00China blue: Stash Sunday As much as I love red, I've been dreaming about making a quilt for my bedroom from pretty blues and whites for ages now (sorry, Red). I've got this idea in my head, something along the lines of <a href="http://chinasearch.co.uk/buy/wedgwood/jasperware---light-blue/">Wedgewood china</a> or <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=willow+pattern&client=firefox-a&hs=2d3&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=Vb-IUuaODtKUhQfpooGIBg&ved=0CDcQsAQ&biw=1067&bih=489">Willow pattern</a> plates.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="China blue fabrics" height="640" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7337/10902946765_1520d66e44_z.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="456" /></td></tr></tbody></table>I really want to do something as platey as possible (in case you're wondering, 'platey' is <i>definitely</i> a word). <a href="http://www.sewmamasew.com/2010/04/dresden-plate-block-sew-along/">Dresden plates</a> spring to mind, of course, though <a href="http://thimbleblossoms.bigcartel.com/product/swoon-pattern-142-pdf-pattern">Swoon</a> is also in the running due to its plateyness (also a word). <div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The fabrics are mostly from the <a href="http://www.thequiltedcastle.com/chambray-rose-rachel-ashwell-treasures-shabby-chic.html">Chambray Rose collection by Rachel Ashwell for Shabby Chic fabrics </a>(it's rare for me to buy so many prints from the same collection like this), with the exception of the top right <a href="http://www.liberty.co.uk/pws/client/pdf/LifestyleBloomsburycollection.pdf">Liberty Lifestyle</a> print and bottom right which is from the <a href="http://www.fabricfreedom.co.uk/temptingtonals.html">Tempting Tonals range by Fabric Freedom</a>, and which just so happens to be a willow pattern print. <br /><br />Any suggestions for expanding my selection of blues? I'm looking for dainty prints and small scale designs and not modern or stylised geometrics, and I'm always grateful for an excuse to expand my stash! </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>angharad handmadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15177189673684579563noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4951207305761593317.post-54429986367597801852013-10-31T20:24:00.000+00:002013-10-31T20:24:11.979+00:00The sewing machine with no name<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/10594699546/" title="doodling embroidery stitches by angharad handmade, on Flickr"><img alt="doodling embroidery stitches" height="137" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3782/10594699546_e6b7f760ed_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/10594698065/" title="Janome 5900QC by angharad handmade, on Flickr"><img alt="Janome 5900QC" height="480" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3714/10594698065_a42292e77f_z.jpg" width="640" /></a> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Oh <a href="http://janome.co.uk/?janome_products=memory-craft-5900qc">Janome 5900QC</a>, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I've been window shopping sewing machines for some time now due to having outgrown my old, more basic machine, as well as hankering after the bells and whistles of a computerised machine. I'm a great researcher of purchases - never knowingly bought anything without spending hours on the internet beforehand - so when I had the opportunity to purchase the <a href="http://www.jbsewing.com/domestic/janome/janome+5900/1708/item">Memory Craft 5900QC with the bundled quilting package</a> for a really competitive price, I knew this would be the machine of my dreams.</div><br />What the Janome 5900QC has going for it:<br /><ul><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/10594724944/" title="Stitches: standard, embroidery and fonts by angharad handmade, on Flickr"><img alt="Stitches: standard, embroidery and fonts" height="480" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5531/10594724944_8fa8491d46_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><li>A LOT of stitches (from 30 on my old machine to 500+ on the Janome). </li><li>A memory (which is more than can be said for its owner - see below on names). </li><li>Alphabets! Including a lovely italic font which I'm itching to try out properly. </li><li>A drop<span style="color: #0000ee;"><u>-</u></span>in bobbin. I can see how much thread is left - no more running out half way through a seam.</li><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/10594951643/" title="The best-ever 1/4" piecing foot by angharad handmade, on Flickr"><img alt="The best-ever 1/4" piecing foot" height="480" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5512/10594951643_5052a3211d_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><li>A 1/4" foot bundled in which has an actual fabric guide for the raw edges - revolutionary! No more wonky patchwork points.</li><li>Width as well as length adjustments for the patterns.</li><li>A hard cover. Not that I really cart my sewing machine around, but I've always considered a hard cover to be the hallmark of a 'proper' machine.</li><li>A speed limiter. Although I'm a self-confessed speed merchant, this one is really useful for tasks like topstitching the finished edge of a bag, or other fiddly tasks, as it gives a much more even speed than using the full range of the foot pedal. </li><li>Feet, feet and more feet. More feet than I know what to do with, to be honest, but I'm looking forward to testing them all out (bundled in I got the following: regular, satin stitch, zipper, cording, automatic buttonhole, button, darning/embroidery, even feed/walking foot, hemming, overcasting, overedge). </li><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/10594705865/" title="Cubby holes for machine feet and needles by angharad handmade, on Flickr"><img alt="Cubby holes for machine feet and needles" height="480" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5478/10594705865_b7e5967ba5_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><li>Well thought-out storage for the feet and other sewing paraphernalia - I like the dinky marked compartments. A place for everything and all that (this machine might be the making of me, the world's most chaotic worker).</li><li>Needle up and down button. The best thing of all, in my opinion - so much easier for those stop-start projects like tight curves and applique work where you need to stop and adjust the fabric as you sew. </li><li>A knee-lifter - going to be very useful for quilting, I think. </li><li>Stop/Start button - easy as pie, just press and sew. Look, no feet! </li><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/10594714386/" title="shiny red buttons by angharad handmade, on Flickr"><img alt="shiny red buttons" height="640" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3717/10594714386_1ff5472f89_z.jpg" width="480" /></a><li>Shiny red buttons for direct stitch selection </li></ul>I've been putting the 5900QC through its paces over the last couple of weeks, throwing multiple layers of quilting fabric, wadding and interfacing at it, and it hasn't baulked at all. No snarled up threads. No skipped stitches. In fact, the most perfect lovely even stitches that I've always longed for, and one of the main reasons I decided on a Janome. I'm absolutely delighted with my machine. The only negative point I've found? The fact that the sewing machine extension table is see-through so I can't hide all my clutter under it as I used to on my old machine! Then again, I've already found myself tidying up around my machine so that the clutter doesn't detract from its loveliness, so this is going to have a positive impact on <a href="http://angharadhandmade.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/project-study-o.html">the study-o</a>.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/angharadhandmade/10594711596/" title="display by angharad handmade, on Flickr"><img alt="display" height="480" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3802/10594711596_7355dd32b4_z.jpg" width="640" /></a> </div><br />And finally, a confession: <b>I do not name my sewing machines</b>. I know, this will probably go right against the grain (ahem) for a great many stitchy types, but I have my reasons. I mean, I struggle to remember and call my three children by the correct names at the best of times, so it would be a bit of a kick in the teeth for them if I was suddenly on first name terms with my sewing machine!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: right;"><img alt="Working together with Janome.jpg" class="hv" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=85cb4742d5&view=att&th=1415eaca9b08b4b7&attid=0.3&disp=thd&zw" /> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>angharad handmadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15177189673684579563noreply@blogger.com6