OK, folks, we are now nearing the end of January 2012 and I feel I should write a bit more often. At least once a month....but don't hold your breath.
Anyway, every January I spend a day at the craft show at Sandown, and although this was planned for today I went yesterday. As usual I spend most of the time doing workshops. In fact I sat in the same spot from 12 - 4, just changing instructors. I had Fabric Flower Centrepiece, Power and Passion, Knit a beaded bracelet and beadwork on canvas. And because I have it finished and photographed I'll talk a bit about the knitted bracelet. I have always been interested in knitting with beads and although I have seen a number of written instructions I have never tried it. So here was an opportunity to see it demonstrated and do it myself. And it is sooo easy. It takes time to string the beads onto the yarn, but if you know how it's not difficult. I ended up unravelling mine once, because I could have done with smaller needles, but making a special effort to knit tighter  the finished product is very nice. If you knit too loosly, the beads will slip through the loops and not sit on the back of the work as they are supposed to. That I learned very soon and I am pleased to say was the only thing that caused me any problems.
So here is the photo, though I may try to take one without the arm at a later date

Take an old pair of jeans....

..... and this is what can happen to them

The jeans were part of a pile of clothes discarded and not very worn. I liked the pockets and decided to try my hand at making yet another bag by cutting the legs off just above the crutch, seaming the opening, making handles out of the remains and giving it a lining from a piece of cotton that should have been the rabbit's (see earlier) nightdress. The flower decoration comes from a workshop I attended in September. The hole thing took probably less than 2 hours to make. I just wish all my projects were that easy..

Finished at last

Well, the little rabbit has been mentioned once or twice, but now it is not only finished, but should arrive at it's new home shortly after raising a phantastic £30 for the RNLI in the October YDC (your donation counts) charity auctions on ebid. net. I think I have mentioned before that I like to do the cutting out bit for any sewing in bulk because it gets so messy. So when we moved a year ago (is it really that long?) I had several carrier bags with different projects ready to sew. The rabbit was one of them. The last mishap with this creature was that I lost  the front bodice piece for the nightgown. I always hoped I'd come across it eventually (and I might still do), but in the end I decided to cut a whole new nightdress and as the listing deadline for this YDC was fast approaching I spent a day doing little else apart from sewing. I am pleased with the result and hope the winner of the little grey rabbit will be too

YDC knitting project

well, I have been home for a couple of weeks now. The poor rabbit is still as unfinished as ever. BUT I have completed a piece of knitting that was auctioned off for charity a few months ago. The auction was for me to knit something the winner chose. Of course I had in mind something like a jumper - nice and easy to follow a pattern. Well, I was given a challenge: to knit a blanket. Size anything from a lap blanket upwards in autumn colours, but not really with pictures. A lap blanket it turned out to be. I had a stylised landscape in mind and even if I say so myself I think it has turned out well. Let's hope the winner thinks so too. I did have to leave it from time to time when the weather got too hot. It is not much fun knitting with sweaty hands.

Anyway, here is a picture of the finished item, so you can judge for yourself. And don't be shy in commenting: I can take it

teaching lace making

Well, I am currently on holiday and my sister has requested that I show here how to use some lace bobbins she was given. Here I have to say that 1st: I am a lousy teacher, and 2nd: I haven't touched my lacemaking stuff for ages. It didn't start very well, because I had forgotten how to start. We wound the bobbins (that was the easy bit) and then I had to think. In the end I tried a couple of ways and my sister grasped the basic technique very quickly. But looking at the work after a bit I could see that I had forgotten something. So everything was ripped apart and I slept on it. And just before dropping off, I remembered what I was doing wrong. (Does anyone else have such illuminating thoughts before going to sleep?) So I could show her the next day what we had been missing and things progressed nicely. I can now say that I am very pleased she has bought herself a beginners book, which will be of far greater benefit than my so called tuition.
Next week I am going home and I will do my best to complete the rabbit. I might try and offer it in the September YDC auctions. And of course there is my heirloom lace waiting to be completed. It's been waiting a few years....

Still no rabbit

I can't believe that I haven't been near the sewing machine, so the poor rabbit is still armless, unstuffed and undressed. Maybe this month will prove to be a more successful one in that area. The card making really is adictive and I keep going back to it. I decided to experiment with gold and silver card, using that cardstock as the base for the card, rather than just on a small area. Well, I will not rpeat it, although the end product looks ok after covering a large part of the shiny surface with paper etc. So that was a waste of the fairly expensive card.

Above are the results. The silver, black and white ones are actually quite striking, but it is really quite difficult to get the balance between shiny card and decoration right

Bits of card and what to do with it

Well, I had good intentions to get back to my sewing. alas the rabbit is still only half done. There is a German saying: Der Weg zur Hölle ist mit guten Vorsätzen gepflastert. (The path to hell is paved with good intensions) But I am digressing...
Having made all these lovely cards (you can see them all here ) I found that I had bits of card left, too good to just throw away. So what to do? I pondered and played a bit and then I realised they were just the right size for BOOKMARKS. So that is what I did the last few days. Today I laminated them and added a few to my charity auctions on ebid.net. The rest will make a nice present for when I sell a book. So problem solved.
Just must share this funny incident with the world. I decided to add a little glitter to one of the cards I finished today. I got the glitter pot out, put the glue on the appropriate areas and then dipped the card into the glitter. I shook of all the excess back into the pot and then I took a deep breath and blew to remove a few stray bits of glitter................totally forgetting that the lid was still off the glitter pot. My t-shirt still sparkles and I expect so does my hair.
Here is THE card and a bookmark ore two