WOYWW 769

 WE'LL MEET AGAIN....

I'm going to take a break from blogging for a while - please don't worry, all is ok! - think I just need a change . I will be back (said in a Terminator Voice) and most of you know me on FaceBook so can keep up with the goings on in Wales. I've hardly missed a week since joining all those years ago but feel now's the time for a little vacation xx

The desk has seen some action this week when it's been grey and dismal outside:


After all the bright in-your-face colours of recent weeks, I've been working with a softer palette and really love this pretty fresh combo:


The silvery grey spot is the perfect match - Spring is hopefully just around the corner!

This is a sweet pairing too:


Such a pretty fabric from PoundFabrics online, it was only £4 a metre, I have really enjoyed working with it. I've got my first craft fair lined up for April so these should go well, fingers crossed!

I only had navy yarn to outline this last lot of squares so that's what got used, a different effect from the usual white.


And this is my latest yarn purchase (they just fell into my basket, honest guv!)


I might do a wavy striped baby blanket with white in between the colours...or a v stitch....or a granny...something will present itself no doubt, lol!

Thanks for all the friendship, love, support and many many comments, I do value it all and will be back sometime in the future.

Have a good week and keep crafting! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

WOYWW 768

 GONNA USE IT UP...

We've had a couple of days of Not Rain this past week, though it's struck again with a vengeance this morning. So whilst there has been quite a lot of sewing in the JanCave on the off days, we have actually got out and got some fresh sea air on the others...marvellous!

I have been making odds and sods from the fabric that Annie donated to me - there's not enough for sets of things but I can make a few single items so that's ok.


I got a couple of bags and glasses cases out of this beauty though, it reminds me of Klimt, absolutely gorgeous. The spot lining is an olivey-browny-sludgy colour which looks better in reality than in this pic.  

I used up some of my bits and pieces too:


Enough for three cases and purses!


And I've finally run out of this funky Welsh Flag fabric too.


I found this fab retro floral at the bottom of a box, it's extra wide so I managed to get lots cut out of this one. I wasn't sure about the linings so put them all out to help me decide - I ended up doing two sets with the green (as that's all I had) and three with the orange which is my favourite.


I love putting the snap fastenings in, choosing the right colour makes me happy.

And a shot of the desk! I've been having a strip cutting blitz just to get things sorted and out of the way:


All ready to appear in a string quilt coming sometime in the future!

But we have had time to walk on our beautiful beach, listen to the waves and oyster catchers:


And relax..........

Hope you have a great week and may your crafting go smoothly xx

WOYWW 767

 A LITTLE BIT OF THIS, A LITTLE BIT OF THAT...

Sending all you wonderful Deskers a little bit of love on Valentine's Day!

Another week has shot by, full of variety and lots of goings on.


I'm starting with this shot, not so much to point out what fabric I've been using up but instead, look...shadows on the wall!!! We actually had some sunshine for a couple of days, woohoo. I've been steadily working my way through the stash pile and that's why the scraps box is somewhat overflowing at the back there! I think an ironing/strip cutting session is long over due.


I really love this combination!

Some black cotton fabric came in handy for a different project the other day - our bedroom chairs had a sort of compressed paper fabric underneath and it was disintegrating. So I stripped it off:


The chair was upended (looks a bit ungainly!) and I set to with that black cotton and a heavy duty staple gun.


Ta-da! I wouldn't look too closely, don't think I'd be appearing on The Repair Shop anytime soon but it did the trick and cost nothing *grin*

Another happy afternoon was spent making cards from an old calendar:


Nowt fancy but they'll be useful for notecards - I liked the illustrations and thought it seemed a shame for the calendar just to go into recycling.

And more sunshine, yay! Which made these beauties seem all the better:


I love daffs, they make me happy!

Have a good week and enjoy your crafting xxxxx

WOYWW 766

SEIZE THE DAY.... 

Like many other long term Deskers, I was shocked and saddened to hear about the accidental death of Keagan Kirby, the only child of our friend and blogger GasHeadZoe, he was taken far too young in a horse racing accident at the weekend. Though Zoe hasn't blogged for a while, we were still in contact through Facebook and I have enjoyed seeing her regular updates on the exciting moments as Keagan fulfilled his dream of becoming a jump jockey. It seems so cruel that a 25 year old was taken too soon.

So we have to grab life each day don't we? I gave my loved ones an extra big hug that day, I can tell you. Crafting has helped too, keeping hands busy helps calm the mind.


The weather has been so rubbish I've done a lot of sewing to get ahead - these fabrics have made me smile, you can't go wrong with ducks and cupcakes!


Or strawberries! They're all finished now and added to the stocks. The collecting tin was picked up from the cafe last week and contained a very satisfying £692, I'm very pleased about that amount!

I also sewed up all those knitted squares:


They came together nicely, even though the old adage is that 'Blue and Green should never been seen'. I disagree!

Monday saw another monthly craft meet up with Kim and Sue:


I'm really useless at taking selfies but you get the gist, we drank tea, chatted a lot and managed to fit in some crafting too, lol!


Kim guided us through making a parchment piece and then using that for a card. I enjoyed this very much though I wasn't much cop, Kim and Sue made lovely pieces. Here is Kim's:


Pretty isn't it? I love the sparkly border, the perfect finishing touch. It was a fun afternoon Kim, thank you and Sue for a fab couple of hours xx

I hope you have a good week and enjoy your crafting too xx

WOYWW 765 (there's a satisfying number!)

 IF I COULD WALK WITH THE ANIMALS, 

TALK TO THE ANIMALS...

Well, that week whizzed by! As the weather was a bit indifferent, I've had a lot of crafting time in the JanCave, getting ahead for the Spring season of fairs and fundraising. 

I was lucky enough to get a sizeable Christmas voucher for PoundFabrics online and tried to get a different selection this time, I thought some animal prints might be popular - not leopardskin as such:


People always love a chicken print so I got the same design in two different colourways:


And found a good lining to go with both!

Not only do we have chickens but also parrots, penguins and sea creatures:



I love the parrot print especially with the hot orange lining, it's one of my recent favourites!

I alternate between crochet and knitting (it helps my hands not be so sore) and I've been knitting squares over the past few weeks - I was just having a count up to see how many more needed making.


They'll make a good blanket I think, a nice fresh combination of colours!

And that's it, short and sweet today!

Have a great week and enjoy your crafting xxxxxxxxxxxxx





WOYWW 764

 ARE YOU SITTING COMFORTABLY?

THEN I'LL BEGIN....

I'd like to tell you a story today, a tale all about scraps of fabric and yarn.

In common with many deskers I can't abide waste and, though generous in life, I'm as mean and Scroogey as you like when it comes to using up 100% of stash.

It started with the pile of fabric strips I shared last week and had roughly laid out in the zigzag pattern. My mate Kim loved the colours so I thought I'd make the quilt for her but in the diamond formation.

So I laid out the squares again - the landing is a perfect size for this then got to work in the JanCave:


The best bit of quilting advice I've ever seen is to number your rows so you don't (a) get your rows mixed up and (b) don't turn the rows upside down (easy to do when everything is on the diagonal!)  Sew six squares into a row then sew the eight rows together and you end up with:


I'd already checked if there were any errors that leapt out colourwise.

Then came the making of the border - I cut out lots of 3" strips of a black with white spot as I thought that would frame it well.


And made about 14 metres of it ( I always err on the side of caution as you definitely don't want to run short). You iron it in half all the way along then attach it to the back of the quilt following an awesome YouTube tutorial by Stacey Lee Creative!


Then fold it over to the front and stitch it down, complete with mitred corners (ooh, get me!) I turned my machine around so the table could take the weight of the quilt, it's single bed sized and was quite heavy. The walking foot helped keep everything tickety boo - I was very pleased with the result and, most importantly, Kim loved it too!


In the evenings, I joined together all those granny squares whilst watching tv:


It looks all wonky in the pic but was actually quite straight!! This will be going to the Family Centre in town.


This pleases me a lot, something beautiful made from the tag ends of fabric and yarn - very satisfying!!

And there you have it, The Tale of Two Blankets. I'm going to move on something smaller now, lol!

Sending big hugs and love to Neet, who took a bit of a tumble at home and is very sore indeed. Rest up lovely gal, we all send our best wishes to you, get better soon xx

Have a lovely week everyone, hope your crafting is stress free xx




WOYWW 763

 WEAR A COAT OF MANY COLOURS...

Doesn't the sunny weather make you feel better? It has been much drier this week which was good as it's been a busy one!


I made a start on the string quilt production line...


Trimming the blocks is still like magic for me!


I just love the randomness of the colours, there's no thought or precision at all!


I tried the blocks in a zigzag for a change which I quite like!

My brother and sister in law were staying for a few days and Jill wanted to have a go at free machining - she's a very accomplished quilter so was soon whizzing around with the free motion foot on the machine:


She has a project in mind so was just having a play but I snaffled that daisy she made as the first contribution to the Spring Wreath I've been challenged to make!!


Fun huh?

I've been using up yarn scraps too making granny squares and I laid them all out on the dining table:


These have been made over a couple of months, they're for a blanket that will go to the Family Centre in town.

And a couple of days ago was Blue Monday, supposedly the worst day of the year. G and I went for a lovely walk so I'll leave you with this, definitely blue but quite cheerful!


We moved back to Wales 7 years ago today and haven't regretted it at all xx

Have a marvellous week, may your crafting be stress free!!

WOYWW 769

 WE'LL MEET AGAIN.... I'm going to take a break from blogging for a while - please don't worry, all is ok! - think I just need a...