More "stuff"...

So what to show you first? It would appear from the lack of post on my blog that I have been doing nothing. But let me assure you, nothing could be further from the truth! I have finally finished a tunic style jumper I was knitting for myself. In this picture it looks a rather dingy colour but it is in fact, a rather lovely meadow green. It fits well but I think if I did it again, I would make it a bit longer.

I rather like this moss stitch detail on the shoulder...

I have also finally finished the Pansy Quilt! It's not perfect; I would have liked a 2" border of green around the edge before the binding but hey-ho, it is what it is!

I finished joining it all together and then cut out the wadding and backing before I set to quilting it. I was the home contact for a Scout hike event last weekend, so I had to stay at home all weekend, providing the perfect opportunity to crack on!

I couldn't really decide the best way to quilt those wonky squares so after stitching in the ditch for the straights I just went around them.

I had ordered my backing over the internet; I was going to have purple but they didn't have that so I thought green. But then I panicked that it might not match enough so I went for a total contrast of pink! I love the pink and green together!

Finally I used the leftover bits of pansy fabric to make the binding; the first time I have done a scrappy binding and I quite like it! So two more finished projects. The other knitting one is still creeping along......

Some more crochet....

I said I would show you more...these are the next six squares that I chose.

I have more stuff to show later.......

Sharing some Happiness!

Ooo it's been a while since I blogged hasn't it? I have been busy creating but at the moment I am knitting two long term projects so there isn't a lot to show. I have some more bright crochet squares to show but I need to sort them out and I have had a ridiculously mad week at work this week. So excuses over I am still finding "Happy Things" which I shall now share with you! We (the Cabin Crocheters) all got together and shared the squares we had done so far! They looked great all together.

The next week we finally had some sunshine. Several consecutive days of it in fact, with warm temperatures and everything! This glorious sunrise met me one morning as I let the dogs out at silly o'clock and set off for a run! So much easier to run against this backdrop!

And just to finish it off I have already done Week 11 although it doesn't officially end until Tuesday evening! I just don't think I will see anything that makes me happier than these gorgeous magnolia flowers that I have to walk past to get into school every day! It's official...Spring has sprung!

Cabin Crochet

Remember that Burnice, Linda and I started a new crochet project? Yes...you do; I showed you my 6 squares.....those ones in red, orange, pink and yellow. Well here are the 6 that Linda chose that I have done in my colours....

And these are the 6 Burn chose...

Now we are on the next batch of 18. I'll show you them as I go.....done my 6 already!

Loveliness.....

You know I said I was creating something.......well I ran out of fabric but I will show you so far.....

First you have to admire in close, close detail the lovely pansy fabric! Stroke it, smell it, fold and unfold it and then spend ages thinking of the best way to show it off! Linda and I trawled through books and magazines before I decided upon the first one I had seen! It came from this book;

It was just a picture, no pattern, so I had to think about exactly how it was going to come together.

First of all I cut the pretty fabric into 6.5" squares.

Then I trimmed the edges to make them wonky....much to Eliza's horror!

Then I joined them to a 3" strip. This was my first calculation error. I had forgotten that my borders actually only needed to have a finished measurement of 1" and that my final squares wanted to be 8.5" (before joining) so I had drastically cut my strips too wide!

Then I trimmed them off their strip and repeated on the other side. This time I used a narrower strip as I had discovered my error!

All this shilly-shallying about meant I now didn't have enough green fabric to finish all the edges so I only managed to complete 9 squares AND despite careful trimming as I went, they have ended up 8" square before sewing together.

Well you get the idea. Now I need to buy more green to finish it off. Hmmmm need to plan more carefully next time as I ended up wasting quite a bit of trimmings. Or use a pattern!

52 Weeks of Happy

Just a quick one today as I am in the middle of creating something......

We went up to London as Eliza has been desperate to buy a pair of Doc Martens for ages.We always go to The British Boot Company in Camden as they stock the biggest range in the UK. Eliza bought a navy pair and I was completely and utterly smitten by a gold pair. I now have 4 pairs of DMs! Katy however couldn't see a pair she liked so we went to Covent Garden where there is another DM shop. They tend to sell much more exclusive (for that read expensive!) boots, as well as the very seasonal ones. Katy had seen a fab spotty pair online so she got them there. They gave her this amazing bag to carry them in. Eliza and I were very jealous so we managed to blag one each! At the end of half term, I had a day sewing at Linda's house. Just round the corner from her is a GORGEOUS fabric shop, The Eclectic Maker. Imagine my excitement when I saw this beautiful fabric; it has pansies on it! Now they are my absolute favourite flowers IN THE WORLD! I love their little screaming faces but as they are an old fashioned sort of a flower, most fabrics are a bit old fashioned too.

These were not! I had to buy 6 different fat quarters. So, so happy!