Zeens and Roger

A Crafty Trip Down Memory Lane

August 1, 2016March 2, 2026crochet22 Comments

Crafting and Memories

The first week of the summer holidays was a trip to Southampton. In between the obligatory trips to Toys R Us and Ikea, there are the family visits. I always go and see Nanna and Grandad. They both turned 90 in January and are still very independent (to be honest, I’m always expecting them to pop their clogs). On this visit, we went through some of Nanna’s crafty gubbins, and it triggered a nostalgic twinge.

Nineteen Forties Embroidery

Look at this! Nanna embroidered this tablecloth in 1945, and she said that she’d like to pass it on to me. I’m quite chuffed about that. It’s really very pretty. It needs a bit of cleaning (anyone got any advice on how to do that?).

She stitched it whilst her brother-in-law was in hospital. He’d had his face torn apart by shrapnel in World War 2.

Vintage Embroidery With Provenance

Who doesn’t love a bit of vintage embroidery?! Whilst it’s lovely as a tablecloth, I wonder if it wouldn’t be too insensitive to repurpose it. I would rather it be regularly used and loved than folded neatly in a drawer.

Now that it’s the holidays, I won’t have much time, but I would love to try some embroidery of my own. I do tinker with pretty stitching, but don’t do masses of it. It’s another thing to add to the list.

Nanna’s Knitting Needles

Nanna also decided she didn’t want her spare knitting needles anymore. This is daft because I’m sure she’ll want some of them back. Also, I am terrible at knitting.

She hasn’t given me the ones she regularly uses. I think these are all surplus. Amongst them is a Tunisian crochet hook. I got quite excited about this as it coincides with the growing fancy that I want to learn a bit of that.

Vintage Madeira Bag

Then there’s this awesome bag from Madeira. It needs repairing, but I think it’s pretty cool. I think she said a friend gave it to her, but I’m not sure. My guess is the 1970s, but it could be much earlier.

I’ve got no clue how to fix the broken bits on this very old bag. To be honest, I haven’t checked out how broken it really is. I can just see that the fabric is coming away from the baskety bit. And the baskety bit is a bit fragile in itself.

A Handmade Patchwork Blanket

Upon returning home to Devon, I went and rummaged in my own cupboards and dug out a few things.

Nanna made this patchwork blanket for my 18th birthday. For a good couple of years leading up to that birthday, I’d see EPP hexagons here and there and ask what they were for. She was always evasive, and I wouldn’t get a straight answer, hah!

I have to be careful with this blanket; I think there might still be a pin lodged in the quilted layers somewhere. I found about three when I got it and managed to get a couple out. I use it regardless, pins be damned. It is not quite twenty years of age.

Having made a patchwork bag using English paper piecing, I know how this sort of thing is a proper labour of love. And her hexies are smaller than the patchwork bag I made!

A Classic Crochet Granny Blanket

This is the crochet granny blanket she made for my eldest boy just over seven years ago, when he was born. It’s a classic granny, and it is this hotchpotch blanket that made me go to my local wool shop and buy my first crochet hook!

A Simple Crochet Chain

Rewind to some point in the 1980’s… This tatty-looking thing in the above pic is the first piece of crochet I ever attempted. I made this foundation chain and decided that crochet was rubbish.

I don’t think it helped that I was told that I must hold the hook a certain way (Nanna and I don’t agree on hook hold). Knitting was easier for me back then; I could make squares and scarves and things. This crochet failure was tied to the middle of a Nanna-made crochet blanket that I had as a little girl. I threw it away last year. It was stinky and holey. The foundation chain is the only bit that remains.

Traditional Knitted Baby Blanket

She knitted this white baby blanket for Eldest boy also. It’s quite traditional to gift a white knitted baby blanket. I was given more than one at the births of both my boys.

And as usual, the cat wanted in on it so she clambered on Nanna’s blankets and went to sleep.

I’m still feeling funny about old things (not Nanna and Grandad, the other stuff). I’ve been sorting through my old work from when I first started school. I blame going back to Southampton.

Old School Work!

This was when I went to the Hall of Aviation in Southampton (now called Solent Sky). I took my boys last week. It’s still awesome.

Sindy’s Wedding Outfit

I don’t know if I blame Southampton that much. It might also have been before that because I asked my sister to dig stuff out a few weeks ago. I was watching the Sewing Bee and had begun to wonder when I first started sewing.

I used to sit for hours, hand-sewing outfits and accessories for my Sindy doll. After a while, I graduated to the sewing machine. I was around ten when I made this wedding outfit from the leftovers of my other sister’s christening gown. It has set in sleeves!

My step mum helped me do this, as I don’t think I could have managed those sleeves alone. I think I need to ask Sister to go back in the loft to see if she has the red corduroy dress I made her for Christmas when I was twelve, and she was two… I was dead proud of myself!

Nanna Knitted Doll Clothes

What Sindy/Barbie wouldn’t want knitted clothes?! Some Nanna specials.

I particularly love this woollen coat. I actually think my mum knitted this. It wasn’t passed on to my sisters; it was the only one I kept.

Speaking of my Mum. I’m fairly certain she knitted baby blankets, too (pictured above and below). One knitted, one crocheted. Both in the seventies, for my brother. I’m sure she’ll correct me if I’m wrong.

She said this crochet blanket wasn’t suitable in the end. Too many holes for baby fingers to twist up in.

Anyway, I’m gonna go. I didn’t realise there was so much from the past that still exists. What the blazes am I gonna do with it all?! Hope no ghostly cooties are clinging to all the dust.

How to Sew a Felt Cat Brooch

July 23, 2016March 2, 2026free pattern14 Comments

Summer Holiday Crafting – Sewing Felt Brooches

Whilst I was sewing lots of felt bits recently, I had a thought that it would be nice to share how I do it. It doesn’t happen often. Some sewn felt kitty cats I made were quite popular, so I decided to use my design to show you how to make a brooch. Sewing felt is great, no fraying edges to worry about, it’s versatile and quite sturdy.

I’m making a felt cat brooch here, but you can create any design. Even if your drawing is shocking, something interesting will come out of it. I do not care for the excuse that a person is not creative; it’s complete nonsense. If you want to have a go, just do it. And, since we’ve just begun the summer holidays, I can tell you that this is a fabulous project to do with the kids. My boys love doing this kind of thing. Summer holiday crafts are a must.

As well as making felt brooches, keyrings work well too. Or if you can’t be bothered to source brooch backs and keyrings (get them from Etsy or eBay), then a few inches of ribbon attached means that it can become a hanging decoration.

This is a good craft project for those who don’t have loads of supplies. A square of felt and a couple of buttons cost less than a quid. You can reuse old buttons. You can even repurpose old scraps of fabric instead of using felt. Change the thread for yarn, if that’s all you’ve got. Whatever.

Materials To Sew a Felt Cat Brooch

Here are the things you need to make your own hand-sewn felt cat brooch.

Paper and pen/pencil.
Scissors.
Felt fabric (or other thickish fabric).
Buttons for kitty’s eyes.
Embroidery thread (or normal sewing thread doubled up).
A sewing needle and a couple of pins.
A small amount of polyfibre fill.
Brooch back, keyring or 15cm length of ribbon.

Draw Out a Design – The Template

Draw out the design of your choice: cat, dog, fish, fruit, flower, blah blah. Cut it out. A tip here is to go slightly bigger than you want the finished item to be. The finished thing will work up slightly smaller than you expect.

Keep shaping to a minimum too, you don’t want to give yourself the headache of awkward corners, or thin poky-out bits. Keep crafting simple; that’s the key.

Cutting Out Felt Pieces

Pin your template to two layers of felt and cut out. As above, keep to simple shapes as it’s so much easier. I do two layers together so that they’re both the same shape. These will be the front and back pieces.

Separate Embroidery Threads For Sewing

Cut your thread to about 40cm. If your threads are too long, you run the risk of tangles. From experience, it just isn’t worth it. My Nanna used to say that the length of the thread should be from your fingers to your elbow.

If you’re using embroidery thread, then it usually comes in six strands plied together. You need to separate out two strands, as in the picture above. This might seem daft, but a whole thickness of embroidery floss is too bulky and looks naff. Alternatively, use sewing thread doubled up so you’re sewing with two strands. This doesn’t produce as nice a finish, but it’s good enough.

Tie a knot in the end. If it’s the kids who are sewing a felt cat brooch, I tie the ends of the thread together to keep it on the needle. My boys always yank the thread off the needle. Always.

Attach Button Eyes To The Felt Cat

I start with the big, wide, button eyes. You can place them anywhere you like. I like to go wider (leaving room for edge stitching). Poke your needle right through his eyes! Ouch! Keep knots on the back. Stitch the needle in and out of the button holes at least three times.

Where Do You Want Kitty’s Nose and Whiskers?

I recently bought a fancy pen for drawing embroidery designs. It cost about £3 from a fabric shop. The ink disappears after a few hours, so you can draw your face and not worry about scruffy pen marks. If you’re not that fussed, you can free-style it or see if a soft pencil works.

Being able to see where to place the embroidery stitches is very useful.

With the embroidery thread, you’re essentially colouring in. For the nose, use a satin stitch, which is just stitches placed really close to one another. For the bit under his nose, I change to a running stitch and follow the line I drew.

YouTube is your friend when learning stitches. It’s a good place to learn a bit more about embroidery and how to do the stitches. They all have different names!

I ran out of my first lot of thread at this stage. It’s best to leave maybe 8-10cm of thread at the end to give yourself a sufficient amount to tie off and weave in. Then just grab a new length to continue stitching.

It doesn’t matter about the thready mess you create on the wrong side, as you won’t see any of it. Just as long as it is kept to the wrong side.

A Hand Stitched Kitty Face – A Felt Cat Brooch

A little kitty face sewn! If you still have a decent amount of thread left, don’t tie it off yet, as you can use it to sew the two sides together.

Put this kitty face to one side while you complete the next stage.

Sewing On the Brooch Back

Sewing on a brooch back is similar to sewing on the eyes. I go in and out of each hole three times at the top and three times each for the bottom holes (bottom holes! Haha!). Make sure the brooch back is the right way up and that it’s placed towards the top middle.

Make sure you sew it to the correct side of your felt/fabric, too. Essentially, match the front and back pieces so that you haven’t accidentally got one of them the wrong way round. Not all designs will be symmetrical. Always check!

Almost there. Just need to sew the front and back together.

Sewing Felt Pieces Together

Rethread the needle, and it’s time to sew the front to the back. I use a whip stitch. I used to use a blanket stitch, but it uses a ton of thread. A whip stitch looks similar when looking straight on. Make sure the stitches are neatly done; they will be visible. They’re a design feature!

(If I was using ribbon, it’d be at this stage, near the top that I’d get it ready to stitch between the two layers).

Again, if the thread needs changing, tie off the old stuff and knot in the new all inside your felt kitty. No one will ever know about the mess!

Add Stuffing Inside The Felt Cat Brooch

When there’s only a couple of inches left to sew, kitty needs to acquire some chub. I’ve got a bag of toy stuffing (bought from Amazon), but if desperate, go and destroy a cushion (or but perhaps you shouldn’t :/). Another alternative could be yarn ends if you’re a knitter or crocheter. Anyway, stuff lightly with your chosen filling, match up the open pieces and carry on with the stitching.

To finish off, the last stitch to the back needs to be poked upwards and out again, next to another stitch, as in the left photo above. Check the front to make sure you didn’t go through to the face too.

Go around the stitch you popped out next to and then repeat the process two or three times more. Or just keep going until the thread comes to an end. Lose the thread inside the newly hand-sewn felt kitty cat, or carefully snip off any threads still showing.

Voila! A hand-stitched cat face made from felt!

It is done. Miaow.

As well as sewing a cat felt brooch, you can sew any kind of felt critters. Here are some other handmade felt decorations, keychains and brooches that I’ve made before…

Have a good summer!

I have linked up here…

Block Colour Crochet Ripple blanket.

July 12, 2016March 2, 2026crochet19 Comments

block colour crochet blanket. drapey drapey.

Colour Block Ripple Blanket

Excuse me whilst I saturate one single blog post with several pictures of the same thing: a crochet ripple blanket! I took many photographs and enjoyed doing so. I’m spreading my joy. There also might be a “reward” at the end of this post, in the shape of different things.

This ripple stitch baby blanket will be on Etsy by the end of the week (I tell myself), along with many others. I need to stop hoarding crochet blankets!

This was such a quick and easy blanket to crochet. It was one of those where you don’t have to think, just crochet. Love those mindful crochet projects. The only fretful moment was when I ran half a row short of the shrimp. Luckily, I had a small walnut sized ball left from previous adventures, so I didn’t have to buy a new ball of yarn just for the sake of a few metres.

I’m now wondering what other colour combinations will work well. For many years, I would make all sorts of blankets, in all sorts of colour combinations but I’ve recently begun to notice a pattern emerging. I think I might be developing some sort of crochet style. It might not be a good style, but I suspect there’s one there nevertheless.

Taking repeated pictures of the same thing is confusing; I hope I’m not posting the same pictures twice.

Stash Busting Crochet Blanket

This is still me using up the significant yarn stash I have. I’ve been really good recently. I don’t think I’ve bought any yarn since May. (I’m not including the stuff I bought at the Bovey Craft Festival. Special circumstances!

Here are the details: It’s Stylecraft Special dk in Denim, Shrimp, Navy, Mustard and Sage. I used Attic 24’s Neat Ripple and I think I chained 115 to begin, just right for a baby blanket. The border is Parchment and I used it to fill in the ripples and make a sort of picot edging.

These are some other blankets that I’m planning on Etsyifying this week. I’ve bagged them up and weighed them. Looking at Royal Mail yesterday was exhausting. The pricing schemes are baffling. In the past, I’ve made the mistake of not charging enough for p&p, and I want to avoid doing that again. It’s blinkin’ expensive no matter which way you do it, and I worry it’ll put people off. But! I shall stop looking for excuses and just give it a go.

And on a different note, I’ve put up a picture on my Facebook page to show my summer fete stall. Feel free to go and have a look. It was a very hot and sunny day, which was great (I feared rain). I had no idea what to expect, hmm, it was OK. Having shared the fete blog post locally, I had a few visitors who came over especially to see me, which was lovely. But overall, I don’t think I had stuff that made people spontaneously decide to splurge. Eeh, I don’t know! It was a learning experience, and I’ve even had interest off the back of it, so that’s good. Exposure innit!? I hadn’t considered that that could happen.

Ottery Pixies

And in the interests of sharing all that I do (not just the stuff that makes me feel pleased with myself), here are some cheeky pixies!

Er, yep, I made these cheeky, embroidered pixies!

I have no idea what was going on in my brain. A bit cutesy, aren’t they?! At least they make me laugh, and that can only be a good thing! What you must do is go and look up Pixie Day in Ottery (try wikipedia too). It’s another tradition here, in town, alongside the more famous Tar Barrels. The local kids from scouts, guides, beavers, etc., run around the town dressed up as pixies for Midsummer. It’s a long story, but a fun one.

Anyway, I’m off to do some stitching now. The sewing machine is calling me this week. This morning I drove to Exmouth to go to a closing-down sale at a fabric shop. I spent so long choosing that I didn’t have time to go to the other fabric shop (probably a good thing; I’ve spent all my pocket money).

I’ve linked up to…

Summer Fete Fun!

July 7, 2016March 2, 2026crochet22 Comments

Crafted Items To Sell

For four weeks, I’ve been making, sewing and crocheting. OK, I know I always make things, but this time I’ve been making things with a specific purpose. A month ago I was asked if I fancied having a craft stall at the school’s summer fete. I thought “why not?” Hopefully I’ll get to sell a few things and help towards raising money for the school. Sounds alright. I enjoyed doing a similar thing last Christmas. That was my first time doing such a thing and I found out that I really enjoyed myself!

My main concern this time is that I have no idea about the kind of things people might like at this time of year. Christmas is easy, as everyone is always up for buying a new festive decoration (or two) for the tree. Summer? Not got a clue. I might have misjudged this but I’ve gone for a little bit of everything. It’s a learning experience and I’ll find out a lot, I’m sure.

I’ve said previously that I don’t think this is the sort of event for selling baby blankets but I’m taking some anyway. You never know. By the way, these blankets have been made over a period of a few months, not just churned out in the last four weeks!

Decorative Felt Brooches and Keyrings

There will be loads of felt designs. They’re all my own designs. I’ve got either brooches or keyrings. I think the owls are my favourite.. or the bedazzled fish. And the cats! The cherries look fabulously kitsch! I think I love them all.

I’ve got some random makes too. Leftovers from playing/experimenting. I really like the crochet rose brooches with felt leaves. The rose is Attic 24’s May Rose.

Heart Hangers

Speaking of Attic 24, these are the May roses used on a sweet crochet heart. Have a look at the original Heart Hangers for inspiration.

Someone has already asked that I put one of these aside for them so I do hope that that’s a good omen for the rest of them.

Crochet Hairclips

It would appear that I’ve got a thing about these May roses, I’ve used them for hair slides too (not many though, as I know that there is another stall that’ll be there, selling hairclips and I don’t want to tread on any toes ;p ).

For the crochet bows, I started with a pattern from Nicki Trench’s Geek Chic Crochet, but it was too big and took far too long to make a single bow. Iused fewer stitches and used quicker stitches too. For some reason, I find trebles much easier and less fiddly than half trebles. Most of these are made using yarn scraps that were left over from blanket making. There’s a lot of merino stuff, and the pastel coloured ones are a merino yarn mixed with cashmere. It’s lovely stuff to work with.

Crochet Heart Keyrings

Puff hearts are from Planet June. Very cute.

There’s something about a pile of blankets that I love. It’s a good job too. I have a mountain of crochet blankets in my house. And that’s the ones that are here to stay. I’m not going to mention the ones I was supposed to put on Etsy six months ago.

This little crochet ripple blanket will be finished by the weekend. Just in time for the summer fete. There are so many more things I wish I had time to make. It seems that I have just about run out of time. However, I would like to point out that this really isn’t everything that I’ve made over the last month. I might share some other things on Instagram, too. There will be loads more…

You’ll just have to come and see me to find out what else there is. I might look like a misery guts, but I’m honestly not (I do suffer from Bitchy Resting Face though), so if you’re at the school fete in Ottery St Mary this Saturday, come over and say hello! I think it’s 12-3pm. Thanks very much. X

How to Successfully Create a Blog Post Full of Random Things.

July 1, 2016April 17, 2018crochet9 Comments

The title is a lie. I have no idea. I’m just going to share photographs that have no business being in a blog post of their own.

I don’t know where I’d been but I arrived in the hallway a few days ago to find a load of plastic animals everywhere. They looked kind of good, so I took pictures.

I bought them from a charity shop last Saturday, all bundled up in a plastic bag . They were placed all the way to the top of the stairs.

Every now and then, one would clatter down to the bottom, having been batted about by a predatory feline.

In a break from making lots of small things for next weekend’s school summer fete, I’ve been making yet another crochet blanket. A crochet ripple blanket, to be precise. I wasn’t sure I was going to like it as I’ve not experimented with block colours before. I can’t remember why I chose the colours I did. I think it’s a mix of trying to be cheerfully bright and trying to use what stash is still hiding in the cupboard under the stairs.

Speaking of school fete stuff… I’ve been making butterflies. I’m not sure how these will turn out once they’ve been stitched together. I don’t think they’ll be terrible but again, I’m veering away from my comfort zone.

I got a positive response over on Instagram from one kitty I made, so I decided to make a few more.

I’ve had help too. He needs more training.

And I think I’ve mentioned a couple of times before about a “spider” who became trapped inside my little camera. This is the sort of thing that Husband seems to think is unacceptable. Whilst it was annoying that a smudgy, leggy looking blob kept interfering with my snap shots, I had sort of become accustomed to the idea of an eight legged friend living on the lens.

One YouTube video later and the screw drivers were out. I don’t think I know anyone else who would take the time to attempt such operations.

And yeah, it wasn’t a spider at all. I am gutted. A friend had even advised I name him. He became known as Roger. I shall mourn him. Roger the miniscule speck of dust. 🙁

A Quick Crochet Catch Up.

June 20, 2016March 2, 2026crochet25 Comments

Crochet Catch Up

I’ve been doing a load of crochet over the past couple of weeks. It’s time to put up a few pictures, I reckon.

green diamonds crochet blanket with pink picot edging.

A Diamond Baby Blanket

The latest blankets are a quick crochet diamond blanket and an equally speedy granny square. Both are baby-sized. Both use Stylecraft Special DK. I like making baby blankets; they can be finished in a few days.

I have so many colour combinations and/or new crochet stitches I want to try. The waiting would take forever if I were to make them all massive. These are a lovely size. My youngest boy still uses his. He can’t sleep without Blankey.

Crochet Baby Blankets

I’ve got quite a few stashed away now. I have to wait until next month before they go on Etsy, though. I’m going to have a craft stall at the school summer fete. I feel that I ought to have some blankets there, even though I don’t think they’ll sell. People like to buy small things for a couple of quid rather than bigger, pricier items.

If these blankets don’t sell, I still have others that I really should get on Etsy now. I don’t know why I’m not doing it. Meh.

Easy Crochet Coasters

I’ve made these coasters using Rico Creative cotton in aran. I want to get some cotton DK next, but I have to use up the existing stash first.

I only have scraps left, I don’t know if I’ll be able to make more than one of each colour.

These crocheted flowers are made using scraps of all different yarns. Some are merino, some have cashmere in them, and others are less smart. Not sure what these will turn into yet. We shall see. The rose pattern is Attic 24’s May Rose, and the other is by Crochet with Raymond. I really like seeing the 4ply ones next to the aran jobs. Same pattern, completely different effect.

Crochet Bows

I started making bows using a pattern from the book Geek Chic Crochet by Nicki Trench. I soon got bored with those. They were taking too long, so I started using fewer stitches to get them smaller, and I used trebles so I didn’t need as many rows. I’m thinking brooches?

I made lots of hearts yesterday. The crochet pattern is Rose Heart Hangers by Attic 24, and then her May rose is used too.

And that’s the sort of thing I’ve been up to. It’s not all my cup of tea, but I hope it’ll appeal to others. What I’m really hankering after is a good shawl. And some embroidery. And I wouldn’t mind a snooze. :p

I’ve linked up here…

A Day at The Contemporary Craft Festival.

June 13, 2016March 2, 2026crochet16 Comments

Contemporary Craft Festival – Bovey Tracey

I spent pretty much most of Friday in awe. I was fairly gobsmacked by some of the things I saw at Bovey Tracey’s Contemporary Craft Festival. It was my first time, and I’m definitely heading back next year. I didn’t shy away, I stood and chatted to loads of the stall holders (I don’t know if I should call them that, maybe artists?). There were several moments where I became overexcited and mostly made a prat of myself. I loved every minute of it. I expected high levels of snootiness coming from arty folks, but I saw very little of that. In fact, I saw some major loveliness.

There were so many stalls, over 200 for sure. I’m ashamed to say I skipped some; my friends and I only had a few hours before we had to go and collect kiddliwinks from pre-school. My main interest lay in the mixed media crafts, paper, and textile gubbins. I don’t do jewellery (don’t wear it), and I’m not that bothered by glass and ceramics (not that it wasn’t good, it totally was).

There was so much awesome, seriously, I didn’t know whether to squee or cry. The intimidation levels were high that day. Do I run and hide? Or do I celebrate how craft really is now a level playing field with what we consider fine art? I’m not going to get into that debate, but I do not enjoy the elitism that goes on in this world. I find it funny how much guff people spew when they talk about art. I spent three years studying the history of it and know that there are art people who are right numpties. Crikey, some do tend to take themselves very seriously, don’t they!?

Anyway, before I go off on one, here are some of the pictures I took that day. I didn’t take the posho camera, it rained a lot, and I’m not quick enough with it to casually snap away, like the fella I saw in plus fours and a flat cap. I took my Lumix point & shoot with a dead spider trapped in the lens.

The Artists

This was the first stall that made me realise I was in the right place. I was very keen on staring at it all. So much envy.

(I tried where I could to ensure the artists’ names were in the photos, look them up, or if I’ve typed it somewhere like this: Anya Keeley. Highlight, right click and Google search. I’m too lazy to link; there will be many names.)

If you haven’t come across Little Burrow Designs, look it up. I think Claire’s inventions are wonderful. I noticed that her stall was very popular. My friends and I hung around chatting for ages (and we would have done so even if we didn’t know her from chatting in the playground at school!).

The attention to detail is marvellous, everything is made from old finds, even the quill that she writes with is proper ancient! Want to get her newsletter? Then you’d better tippytap your name and email address using the vintage type writer. Love it.

This is a close-up of one of my favourites; the waves are what drew me to it. There is a tactile quality that makes me want to do lots of stroking and poking.

I think this is Sue Brown.
The dead spider is making its appearance for the first time. Can you see the blur at the top of the pictures? Yeah, that’s him. Sorry.

I think the shelves are just as cool as the works themselves. All the displays had so much thought behind them.

Handcrafted Birds

We all stared at these birdies for ages. When I first saw them, I thought they were taxidermy. Apparently, others do too. It’s all stitch work!

It is the work of Sarah J Perry Designs. This long-tailed tit was my favourite, but they were all beautifully made.

Unique Textiles and Fabrics

This is Craig Fellows. I thought his “casual doodles” were awesome. I don’t think he liked me calling them doodles, but I was only teasing. They’re immaculately drawn. And I love the fact that he then puts them on delicate fabrics or turns them into a purse or cushion.

Craig Fellows.

Hen’s Teeth is pretty well known. So beautiful. I wanted a little purse, but didn’t have enough pocket money.

Hen’s Teeth.

Paper Cutting

I’m trying very hard to do this in the order in which we went round. Next up is Sarah Morpeth. There were a few paper cutters there. All impressive. I liked the colours that Sarah incorporated into hers.

Louise McLaren. More paper cutting loveliness. How does that paper not rip under fingers?

I think this may have been the only jewellery stand I gawped at. The brooches were gorgeous.

Louise Lovell.

Repurposing Driftwood

Kirsty Elson’s stuff was amazing. I could in no way ever make driftwood look this good. By this point, I was starting to get overwhelmed by how everyone was just so blinking good at what they do. It is not fair.

Whilst I was there, a guy came up to Kirsty and gave her a curved lump of metal he’d found washed up on the shore somewhere. Provenance is the word that springs to mind. It might not fit perfectly, but I don’t know a better word right now. Maybe it’s an antonym I’m after, afterall you don’t really know where your ingredients came from.

Crochet in Art!

Can you tell what that is? It’s only blinkin’ crochet! Incy wincy crochet. It reminded me of microscopic things sitting on a petri dish. I totally loved this. I stared at Liz Cooksey’s work for the longest time and probably gushed a lot. Puts me and my granny squares to shame.

This is Teresa Green. She’s a local screen printer and has a shop in Exeter.

I was most intrigued by what Michelle Griffiths (for Resist Gallery) was up to. This was another lot of textiles I wanted to scrunch, but was too afraid to touch. How does she do this?!

Michelle Griffiths at The Contemporary Craft Festival.

I was reminded of sea creatures and seaweed. I think this is what mermaids would wear.

Stitching in Colour

And more beachy seaside inspiration, this time with colourful threads.

Ella Robinson is embroidering driftwood!! Flippin’ driftwood. And she made it look so good! I’m not even going to try. We had a driftwood BBQ a few summers ago. I thought I was being inventive.

If you look up Linladan, a Swedish Flax, you’ll find a really interesting story about how this collection of colourful threads was discovered.

I wish I’d bought some but I’d already spent my money on food and wool.

I Bought Yarn!

This wool! This is completely gorgeous yarn. I have never felt wool so delicately soft. This is probably because I can only ever afford the cheap stuff, which is never going to get anywhere near the quality of this. I think this one hank (I don’t like saying the word hank at all, but I think that is what this is) will make a fine crochet shawl. It’s lace weight, so it’ll go far. It took an age to wind into a ball. I used two bottles of wine to hold the yarn in place.

The Yarn Stall at the Contemporary Craft Festival

This was the stall where I bought the wool. And I know I wasn’t the only one who enjoyed a thorough fondle.

Belinda Harris-Reid. I took quite a while deciding which one would come home with me.

Marna Lunt’s stall was actually the first one we came to, but there was a permanent crowd of people. She’d been on the telly the night before, actually, did you watch Make! Craft Britain on BBC4? It was very interesting, can we have more, please?

When we arrived back at her stall a while later, there were still people there, but we muscled our way in and drove them away. Ha.

I wanted everything. Marna’s handcrafted lampshades and brooches are just lovely. Really, truly beautiful. But I also wanted to rummage in her fabric basket and steal the beads so I could make my own! I mostly crochet and don’t do nearly enough embroidery. I’m going to now, though. I think that’s one of the great things about coming to a place like this. It really is hugely inspiring. I may not be anywhere near the same standard as the people displaying their works here, but it makes you want to do it anyway.

Whilst at Bovey, I was talking to Helen Bottrill, who fronts Kindred Rose and organises Creative Women Together. Last month I plucked up the courage to attend one of her get-togethers for the first time – a total fish out of water experience! I really enjoyed it, and it was so interesting to hear how even professionals feel like impostors who are gonna get chucked out of the club.

Helen made some interesting points about passion and creativity. Do you love crafting? If yes, then do it! It really is that simple. And don’t compare yourself to others around you. Some of these people have been making stuff for years, they are working hours and hours a day, every day. It is so hard not to feel envious and even harder not to feel like a massive dunce, fangirl, wannabe. Mostly, however, I found that there is a massive network of support here. I may be small fry, but at least I know that I won’t get laughed at for trying.

By the way, there were loads more artists and crafters who I haven’t shown here but loved equally as much. Check out Suzanne Breakwell. I didn’t manage to get a picture of her stall, but her work is breathtaking.

I hope that no one minds that I’ve written about their stuff. I asked to take photographs of everyone’s work, but didn’t mention to all that I would be writing a blog post. I wasn’t sure at the time that I would be! Thank you.

And then May was over…

June 1, 2016June 2, 2016crochet12 Comments

May has been a month of birthdays and flowers. It begins with one (mine!) and ends with one and there are some in the middle. I’ve made a lot of cake. Yesterday I made a flippin’ gorgeous cake for Grandma (my mother-in-law!).

I don’t often wander outside of my cakey bakey comfort zone. I stick to what I know because I will at least get something that works. However, I went rogue and found a new one on a blog!! Sometimes I get lost in all the recipes but I was very firm and decisive. I chose this moist and fluffy Vanilla cake.

I chose a stunner. Honestly, it was really good. I’m so glad I went with it because, well, I almost didn’t. I got all my ingredients ready (nothing daft, just ordinary cake ingredients) but hadn’t actually read the recipe properly. When everything was out and I was about to begin, I got all confused. This recipe is just egg whites, no yolk. Wha? Never seen that before. Thought it was just gonna be an ordinary sponge. Anyway, I went with it and out came a goodun.

I can’t leave anything alone though. I am not a strict follower of recipes. I grated in the zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange. I also only needed two cakes not three so did a bit of maths to sort that too. My insides were 300ml of double cream, a couple of spoons of icing sugar sieved in, and a teaspoon of vanilla extract. Whipped together and splodged inside, it made a very summery and delicious sponge cake. And I chopped strawberries and left them for a couple of hours in a weeny bit of sugar before spooning those on top of the cream. If you want a birthday cake for the summer, this is it. I ate it for my breakfast this morning too. Still yummy.

Anyway, moving on from talking about cake. I began this green crochet blanket a few weeks ago. It got sidelined by a couple of other wips but I got it out again yesterday and I’m enjoying it again. The pattern is easy to follow and I just know it’s going to look awesome. It’s called the Diamond Stitch baby blanket.

This was one of the things that distracted me. Just a granny square blanket. But I needed to see what the colours would look like when I put them all together. Needed to.

The weather was glorious at the weekend so everyone sat outside to enjoy it. I finished off the granny square (it was never meant to be a giant).

It was so lovely we decided to have a BBQ in the garden. Another Yum moment. Love a BBQ but often too lazy to bother…

It always takes a while to get going because I don’t use firelighters. Instead I cross my fingers that I’ll find enough twigs in the garden to start it off.

I’m still doing this. I started in the middle of March and haven’t got very far. It will look nothing like this once finished. I was just going to keep building up the layers to see what happened. I have a bouquet of wild spring flowers in mind. I was moving on from some mini spring flower applique/embroidery type thingies I made a a couple of months ago. A bigger project seems to have scuppered me somewhat.

And then there was the shawl I made. I really do love this, It’s a delight!

I love that edging. I have never been able to come up with something like that from my own brain (not yet anyway). I went and treated myself to Cherry Hearts’ Victoria shawl. I mentioned this a little bit on the last post but I just want to show some more pictures of it because I like it so much.

In real life my walls are a soft mossy green. Not the vommy putrescence they appear to be here.

Last shawl pic. Until I make another one that is.

And that’s it for now. Just felt like I needed a catch up. Oh! But whilst I’m here I’m going to say thank you to Hannah at a Box of Buttons for nominating me for a Liebster Award and Eleanor from Harebells Crochet for nominating me for The Creative Blogger Award. Dead chuffed to get these, thank you so much. I’m not going to have time to do it properly. Basically, the bloggers I would end up nominating are in my blog roll on the side bar, so go and check those out! In my usual half arsed way I will share 5 facts about myself (and only because I did a fact thing on Instagram a few weeks ago and I’m just going to copy those!).

1. I have a degree in Art History. I have forgotten most of what I learned.

2. The longest job I ever had was working at the Odeon in Exeter (a long time ago during uni and after, when I couldn’t get a “real” job). I still have dreams where I’m cleaning up popcorn.

3. I’m from Southampton but I’ve lived in Devon for about 16/17 years.

4. I love books, TV and movies. I used to do a lot of of watching/reading before children and crochet. Children get put to bed and crochet gets put aside for The Walking Dead and A Game of Thrones (no spoilers please, I can’t get season 6 of GoT yet!).

5. Actually these facts aren’t that interesting so I think I’ll stop. Ooh, number 5… I’m really boring!

Me Made May

May 27, 2016March 2, 2026crochet, sewing23 Comments

Having a go at Cherry Heart's Victoria Shawl.

Making Things For May

At the beginning of the month, I made a last-minute pledge to join in with Me Made May.

I love the idea; encouraging sewers, knitters, crocheters to make or refashion clothes to wear during the month of May. I pledged to bring out all the handmade items hidden in my wardrobe and wear them. I also pledged to make a dress. The only problem is that the weather has been a bit iffy, and even on nice days, none of my makes have been suitable.

Handmade Summer Skirts

All summery skirts, see? I wore the grey Lycra maxi skirt; that was all. They’re all different: a dirndl, wrap skirt, plain old elasticated waist skirts (with or without pockets!!). I guess I will wait until the sun really shines to prance about in them all.

Altering Handmade Clothes

Talking of that maxi skirt, the hem really needs sorting out. I’m glad I’ve been taking part in this challenge because it has brought to my attention that the hem needs to be taken up an inch. It’s a bit close to the edge. I think wide hems look better. It’s a long enough skirt that I can adjust it. I know this because I keep tripping up in it.

The other project that was brought to light was a very pretty, floral skirt. I remember getting ridiculously frustrated with the sewing machine tension. I didn’t know how to get it right. Then, at the end of last summer, whilst “teaching” my friend how to sew, it twigged that I needed to adjust the bobbin tension under the plate.

Honestly, I felt so dim-witted. I first started using this machine when I was 12, and I’m now in my thirties. The shame! Anyway, now that I know this, I want to unpick the skirt and sort out all the dodgy seams. This was supposed to have been done over the last few weeks… erm, maybe this weekend?!

Crochet Victoria Shawl

This brown crochet shawl, I am pleased with. I love it! I wore it to a wedding last weekend. I made it out of Drops Baby Merino yarn. I think I’ll write more about it next week. I took tonnes of pictures, so I definitely have more to share. It’s a pattern by Cherry Heart called the Victoria shawl.

My Handmade Summer Dress!

And finally, this is the summery dress I made! I reckon the only reason I actually sat down and made it was because it was going to be my party frock for the wedding I went to. At the last minute, I chickened out of wearing it; it didn’t feel smart enough. And it wasn’t warm enough even if I wore a shawl with it!

The pattern is from Simply Sewing magazine and it’s By Hand London‘s Charlie dress. I’m happy with how it turned out. I had to make adjustments for my weird body (I have a long body with a narrow back). I extended the bodice length and widened the front side panels to accommodate the gargantuan bosom. Thank you to 7 year old for taking pictures of me. I felt a bit daft doing this, I have to say.

Untidy Sewing

Right at the end, I spotted that the bands on the bodice don’t meet. I’m putting that down to the inaccurate the extensions I made. I’m not going to complain about the zip; I’m satisfied with that, although it has issues. I’m keen to have another go with a different fabric and maybe with a half-circle skirt instead of the quarter one here. Stitchy stitch.

Right, that is my Me Made May experience. I can’t say that I’ve thrown myself into it with complete gusto but I did make a dress and that makes me feel alright!

A New Crochet Blanket. Circles in Squares.

May 24, 2016March 2, 2026blanket, crochet17 Comments

colourful crochet circles with scheepjes merino soft

Circles In Squares Baby Blanket

I finished this little crochet blanket about a month ago. It’s bold and colourful crochet circles in squares. It now belongs to a baby. It is not my baby, but a new cousin for my boys. I’m pleased that she has already had snuggles in her lovely new crochet blanket.

I haven’t written up a pattern for this one, but I will share some pics of playing with the squares, and attempts to block them!

Another baby blanket done. Love this one. Simple crochet circles in squares.

I chose to make the blanket with Scheepjes yarn. I really wanted to get my mitts on this brand. A couple of months ago, it seemed like loads of people were using it, and I wanted to join the fun. I liked all the colours, and I wanted something super soft, so I went with the Merino Soft (which also has microfibre in it).

It is the softest, squishiest yarn. It is also quite splitty, which surprised me. I find that once I get into a crochet rhythm, I can avoid most of the splittiness, whichever kind of yarn it is. However, it’s still disappointing when it happens.

Crochet Circles in Squares

When I heard that there was to be a new human on the horizon, I asked my sister-in-law what sort of thing she fancied. I knew I wanted to crochet a blanket, but I didn’t want to make one that wouldn’t fit in with her tastes. All that effort, and they don’t like it? No thanks.

She gave me a photo of a cushion that fitted with the nursery colour scheme. The cushion had a bunch of bright circles on it. That was enough inspiration for me; off I went, designing a new crochet baby blanket.

I blocked it (badly). It didn’t work. They all pinged back after 5 minutes. I thought they’d be good because of the merino, but I’m guessing microfibre does funny things.

These crochet squares were about as flat as they got, and they quickly started to curl at the edges again. Oh well.

Laying Out Crochet Squares

Each time I make a crochet blanket that’s lots of squares, I have great fun laying them all out. Once I have more than a few squares, I do it over and over, each time adding a handful more of newly stitched squares. I think I had another row to go at this point, but I couldn’t wait to see what was going on.

Crochet baby blanket. Circles in squares.

Sewing Crochet Squares & Running Out of Yarn

I had to be quite boring with the construction. I had next to no grey wool left. I sewed the crocheted squares together with a whip stitch as I reckoned this wouldn’t use as much of the remaining yarn as crocheting them. I also stuck to a very plain border.

I jumped online to try and order another ball or two, but I couldn’t find it anywhere. Sold out! So the border had to remain plain. In an attempt to add some interest, a couple of rows were Back Loop Only. Thinking about it now, I could’ve done some post stitches or something. Not that that would have been much better. I wanted to have a proper, fancypants border. 🙁

I got one ball of each colour for the inner circles and thought six balls would be enough for the main colour. Note to self: get eight balls. Eight balls next time!

I’m finding it increasingly difficult to take new and interesting pictures of blankets. They all end up draped on the same two chairs in the same locations!

Circle in square crochet blanket. Free pattern.

I can tell you that I never spot wires, plug sockets and other such things in Pinterest pictures. They jump out a mile in all my photo’s no matter how hard I try to avoid them.

Photoshop! We used to have a very early version of Photoshop (not that I knew how to use it) on the old Mac but the Mac choked to death on carpet fluff. Be mindful of computers when getting new carpet!

Bright crochet baby blanket. Crochet circles in squares.

A Made Up Crochet Pattern

I made up the pattern, although I know many similar ones exist. I’m afraid to say I have not written it down yet. Sooo at some point in the near future, I will come back with a post about how I made the squares. I did some experimenting with starting the rows, as I wasn’t happy with a messy 3-chain start. I think it’d be interesting to do some comparisons, etc., but it’ll have to wait until another day.

Anyway, I must go and wake up the little one, he fell asleep in the car on the way home from food shopping. He didn’t even wake up when I moved him to the sofa. Silly boy has been up since 5.40am.

I’ve linked up with Crafting is my Therapy. A place for sharing crafting blog posts!