Tisket a-Tasket and A Pink Craft Basket

As a member of our local South Street WI, I volunteered to make a basket to sell at the Annual Conference Meeting this week. All the WIs in East Kent will descend upon Margate for a day of WI business, a little entertainment, and a keynote talk by Michael Portillo, the journalist. I'm really looking forward to it.

The baskets can be for any theme, so of course I chose crafts. Last time I bought a beautiful little basket of sewing goodies, which I then gave to the woman who looks after our dog when we're away. At that time I wasn't into sewing so much. Now I'm not into papercrafts so much, so I just pulled from my own stash to fill this basket:

 

I loaded it with stamps, stamp pads, embossing powder, punches, packs of card blanks, and lots more. Sadly it didn't even make a dent in my stash collection! Even so, at £10 it will be a bargain to someone who does cardmaking or scrapbooking. Even the basket itself cost £4 and there is easily £50 worth of supplies. 

To finish it, I tied a pink ribbon around the basket, wrapped in cellophane, then tied a pink netting ribbon on top. I think it turned out pretty festive looking:

I just hope that someone else will find it attractive as it's a fund-raising effort for the East Kent Federation of the WI. Who knows, I might find another sewing basket for myself, only this time I'd probably be selfish and keep it!

Organizing for Sewing

I'm slowly (well, maybe not so slowly) getting organized now for my sewing projects. I've got my fabric all lined up and ready. I've organized all my patterns by manufacturer, then by pattern number, and my sewing space is taking over my papercraft space. Of course, I still have a lot of "weeding out" to do of the old crafts, but it's progressing.

My latest acquisition is a sewing box. I spent HOURS looking online for a good sewing box that I could store most of my supplies in, but yet still take along to our sewing meetings.  Everything I found was either too small, too big, or too expensive (DH is beginning to get nervous now about all my purchases!), but then I found this:

 It's called a Prym Jumbo Click Box and it surely IS "jumbo", but very lightweight and I think it's going to be just right. It came with the two boxes (7 liters each) and a lid. I've also ordered an extra box, which will be here next week. 

The plan is to use the top box for small supplies. I ordered a divider insert for that top box and have now put all my small supplies in there: needles, thimble, tracing wheel, seam rippers, tape measures, etc. In the second box, I've got my pinking shears, dressmaking shears, bobbin box, bobbin winder, and other things that wouldn't fit in the divider.

This is the divider insert. Several people online have said they use this system for their sewing supplies, also, and have found it ideal.

I'll use the bottom box, when it comes, for storing things like fat quarters, interfacing, batting, quilt rulers, etc. as the need arises.

My only complaint would be that the little "click" bit to open the box is pretty stiff and I can see a broken fingernail in my future. I'll just have to remember to go slowly and maybe use a key or something to pop it open until it's been opened a few times.

I've also spent much too much time online looking at sewing rooms. Just try a google search for "sewing room images" -- or Pinterest search for similar.... you'll lose a couple of hours! And then there are the sewing forums, the sewing online shops, and... take a deep breath... the YouTube videos for every kind of sewing technique, sewing project, sewing room decoration, or anything else related to "sewing".

I found a project on YouTube for making a cell phone ("mobile" phone in the UK) case that is just what I've been looking for. That will probably be my next blog post!

And thanks to the people who have left comments. I get very excited when I think someone has bothered reading this!

Owl's Things with You?

Our craft group met on Saturday. We can't really say "crop" anymore, because we're all into sewing now! Blame it on the Great British Sewing Bee, I guess! Whatever the reason, we're all thoroughly enjoying this new twist. On Saturday, each of us brought a sewing machine, so there were six of us going! What fun!

It did get a bit noisy but we didn't mind. We've gone from scrapbooking to cardmaking to Project Life to beading to knitting and now sewing.
Sometimes change is good.

That's my machine in the foreground, or rather its case. I'd already finished at this point and Barbara had moved her machine temporarily. Andrea's and Hazel's machines aren't in this picture.






Everyone said they're having lots of fun rediscovering the joy of sewing. I highly recommend it!  Our group has been meeting for the last eight years (!!) and we really look forward to getting together once each month to catch up on news, encourage each other's craft efforts, share patterns and tools and expertise, and of course share the all important cups of tea/coffee and pieces of cake or something similar. 
 

Barbara was making a round cushion. Diane was working on a pincushion which would be similar in style to Barbara's cushion, but on a smaller scale of course. Andrea was making a patchwork jewelry (yes, that's the American spelling of "jewelry") case and Hazel was working on a small quilt. Hazel had some stunning hexagons that she'd embellished with scraps of lace, ribbon, and doo-dads.

Hazel's Hexagons

How beautiful are these?! I'm afraid I don't have the time or patience for these, although Hazel says they're really quite quick to do. She used some beautiful dark blue silk.

She really did a beautiful job on these and used all sorts of odds and ends from her left overs.

And what did I make? A precious little owl pincushion from the book, Simple Patchwork Gifts by Christa Rolf. I have a couple of her other books, too, and love them. She provides the patterns and easy-to-follow instructions for each project.

The lighting on this owl makes it look very yellow in the photo. It's actually got no yellow at all, however. The felt piece on the eye area is actually off-white.


 





We just returned from a short break to Bournemouth and I found a shop called Fabricland. Oh my.... I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. Hundreds of rolls of fabric - all sorts - and inexpensive. I bought several pieces for clothes and for more "projects" like bags, aprons, etc. So now I'm off and running!

So much fabric, so little time!

Yes, I am!!! I'm doing it!

I finally have started sewing again. I suppose I'm weird because it takes me forever to actually DO anything. When I start thinking about a project, I'll buy a few books, collect a few websites in my Bookmarks/Favorites, spend lots of time dreaming about it, then... if I haven't lost interest by then ... I'll actually start working on it. So first, I had to drag out my sewing machine:

My Brother Innovis 600 - sadly neglected for about 4 years!

Of course, then I had to play awhile on scraps to make sure it still worked. It took about 30 minutes just to figure out how to get the self-threading needle to work! But it didn't let me down. It still sewed a near-perfect stitch. So I proceeded to cut out my project.








I decided to start small just to get back into the swing of things. I chose a little owl pincushion from the book by Christa Rolf titled Simple Patchwork Gifts. It's got all kinds of cute little sewing projects.

Christa Rolf's book

After I cut it out I realized I needed some rick-rack for the trim on the apron, so from my boxes of ribbons, I chose one that was perfect with the fabric. But although I have boxes and boxes of thread, I didn't have any that were THAT color, so off I went into town to get one little spool of lime green thread. Well, that took about 45 minutes as traffic on the (only) main street was snarled up with two buses, a big cement lorry ("truck" for those in the USA), and a fire engine (apparently just passing through). This main street is only wide enough for one car at a time in most places, so you either have to back up, to wait until the oncoming car can pass, or whatever. In this case, a black BMW got tired of waiting and drove on the sidewalk! It reminded me of traffic in Iran when I lived there.




But back to my story:  Once I got the thread, I was off and running. I now have it all cut out, the apron is done (thanks to the lime green thread!) and I just need to hand-stitch the apron on the front and the felt face to the front body. Here's the work in progress:

The various pieces in their raw state.

It's beginning to take shape!

It's going to be so cute! Of course, hand-stitching isn't my thing so it will take a little while to do that among all the other things (non-sewing) I'm doing. Once these are hand-stitched, I have to sew the front and back body pieces, then the wings, and of course stuff it all.  I'll post the final picture once that's done.

Whew….where has the time gone?!

It’s been such a long time since I did any blogging, but today on UKScrappers I noticed that the BlogBits is back on the homepage and the Blog-a-thon is still moving along. BlogBits is info and updates on various scrappers blogs. It’s a really good way to keep up with some great blogs. And the Blog-a-thon allows all UKS members to post that they’ve updated their blogs and to give a little quick summary of what they’ve updated. So here am I….

Also, I haven’t really done much crafting for about a year. I don’t know why, really, except that I have so many other things occupying my time now: book club, Women’s Institute (I do our WI blog plus contribute to our WI website), church (we have a weekly study group), the bowls club, and more. Just in the past week or so, however, I’ve felt “the stirrings” again. I’m in the mood to do some card making, some sewing (especially patchwork items), and to bring my Project Life album up to date.

Part of the problem is my craft “room” (actually craft cabin) at the end of the garden. It’s just such an effort to make the trip to the end of the garden when it’s cold and/or dark, plus I’m like a grumpy bear in the winter…I just want to hibernate until it’s over. In the Spring and Summer, however, it’s just delightful to work out there. In fact, on hot days it’s downright wonderful because it’s air conditioned. It’s also heated in the winter and autumn, but still a bit drafty (that’s the way we spell it in the US) and cold when we’ve had the bitter cold winds we’ve had this winter. Yesterday, however, I bought a rug so I hope it will help.

This is the pattern… a nice neutral colour but modern-looking pattern. It’s got a nice flat weave, perfect for someplace like a craft room where I’ll be cutting paper, etc. You can click on the photo to enlarge it.

I also wanted something on the laminate floor because I have two exercise DVDs, just bought a gym mat, and also pulled my yoga mat and dumbells out of the loft. Ahem… we shall see how that little inspiration progresses, however. I wouldn’t hold my breath, if I were you.

Once we laid the rug (bought locally and not expensive), I felt like a reorganization (another US spelling…just seems better to me!) was necessary, so I started moving things around and trying to make it look more spacious, plus leaving room for me to flop around on the floor doing exercises, assuming that will EVER happen, of course. Anyway, I think I’ve just about finished and am pleased with the results. The pictures below show the arrangement with the new rug on the floor.

My cabin is 5m by 4m, so it’s quite large. It seems a real shame that I haven’t used it more than I have. For this reason, I’ve added a little sewing area and an office area (for my WI work, various paperwork, and study).

Maybe now I’ll be more willing to make the trek out to the end of the garden. At least now we’ve got daylight hours increasing, which also helps. And on the rare occasions when the sun does come out, I love to sit near the window and look out onto our garden.

Meanwhile, BRING ON THE SPRING!!

Changes Afoot

Well, what do you know... the most popular scrapbooker website has shut down! Yes, Two Peas in a Bucket is no longer, but it left a lot of people in the lurch. Quite a few designers who were in a working relationship with them (known as "Garden Girls") were apparently taken by surprise, although I don't think anyone was really shocked. Rumours had been circulating for some time, but most of us just didn't think it would really happen.

So where is everyone going now for their scrap gossip, information, tips, advice, and friendly chatter? Well, so far, I've found a few: "2Ps Refugees" is an interesting title and they seem to have a good bit of traffic, but I haven't found out who is behind it. Quite a few people have gone over to another long-time forum, Scrapbook.com. Then there's always SplitCoast Stampers, a huge board mainly for stampers and cardmakers, but they do have a healthy scrapbooker presence also. Luckily we have one of the best in the world forums here in the UK: UK Scrappers, with members from all over the world.

Frankly, however, I haven't had time to follow any of these boards for a few months. Since starting my Project Life album and renewing my interest in photography, those have more or less consumed me. That's in addition to all the Women's Institute things I do, like the blog and the newsletter and the website and on and on. It all takes time and energy. I could make more time, I'm sure, if I just had more energy!

At the WI Craft Fair in June, I displayed a lot of my scrapbooks, mini-albums, circle journals, and Project Life album. It all generated quite a lot of interest and comments.

 I made some little cards to explain each of the types of scrapbooks, etc. I also showed some ATCs and some general cards I'd made. I've been feeling more than a little guilty for the past six months or so, because I have that gorgeous craft cabin that many crafters would love to have --- but I seldom have time to even go out there! So sad. I do think that having a cabin versus another room inside the house has stifled my crafting slightly. It just seems awkward to have to go to the end of the garden to do any crafting, although once I'm there I can really concentrate and get some serious work done. It's all about trade-offs/compormises, I suppose. It's just easier to pop into another room.

My next project is to use my PL pages to display all my very, very old photos that I've inherited from my grandmothers and mother as a sort of family history scrapbook. Project Life makes it so easy as you can move the photos around as it develops. I want to try to identify and do some journaling about them while I can still remember.... and my children won't have a clue who they are. Of course, right now, mine are not the least bit interested but some day they will be. I wasn't at their ages either. If they do or perhaps my grandchildren do, and if I'm not around to explain who these people are, it will at least be ready for them!

No Excuses

Yes, I know it’s been a long time between posts and yes, I’m sorry. A lot has happened (illness, injury, holiday, dead computer so a new computer, getting used to Windows 8.1, life….) but I’m not making any excuses this time. I can only do what I can do.

Yes, I’m rocking on with this Project Life and loving it more all the time. I’ve found great resources on Pinterest, Facebook, and the Internet in general. It seems that Project Life is becoming more and more popular all the time. I often go to look at UK Scrappers, Two Peas in a Bucket, and SplitCoast Stampers. All of them have lots of threads, or even a separate section, for those of us into Project Life. We’re sometimes knows as “PLers” for short.

I haven’t tried making my own cards yet, partly because I haven’t had time, but also because I went a bit mad and bought so many that I will be years using all the ones I have. The biggest problem right now is organizing them in any kind of meaningful system.

I took this picture at our crop yesterday. As you can see, my 3x4” cards are in one small plastic box on the upper left corner. The 4x6” cards are in another plastic box (in the middle of the picture). I got these handy little R.U.B.-brand boxes at Staples, 2 for £5. Not perfect for permanent storage but great for taking to a crop.

I’ve converted at least one of my crop buddies into a PLer. She’s doing a Baby Girl album for her new grand-daughter and having a great time with it.

One of the great  things about our “crop” is that everyone feels free to do her own thing. We’ve been meeting monthly for at least 7 years now and over the years have had our scrapbooking enthusiasm kind of wax and wane and even morph into other areas. Hazel, on the extreme left, is sewing a Christmas wall hanging (yes, in April!). Barbara, second from left, is primarily a cardmaker. She’s in much demand at shows as a demonstrator and has done the card below. Next is Andrea, who is mostly a scrapbooker but has now embraced the Project Life system for her new grand-daughter’s album. On the right is Diane, who is mostly a traditional scrapbooker. Here she’s working on a holiday scrapbook. The empty spot is where I was sitting. We have one other member who wasn’t able to come this week.

This is Barbara’s pull-out card. She likes making very intricate and creative cards. If you’d like to see more of them, her blog is Art in My Soul. She’s done some really stunning cards. It takes a special, very patient person to do this level of intricacy, which is why I don’t try. In fact, going from traditional scrapbooking and cardmaking to the more streamlined Project Life gives testament to how much “fuss” I’m willing to do!

Next time I’ll share some of my PL layouts. Meanwhile I have two more blogs to update: our WI blog and a new one I started for photography: Life Through a Cracked Lens (for lack of a more creative title). My problem is that I have TOO MANY interests and not enough time to pursue any of them well. I have a feeling I’m not the only one, however, who feels this way. Am I right?