Makings

 Hello Folks.

How are you doing?  I'm pottering along as usual and trying not to think too much.   Baby Needles keeps me busy; last week we were colouring in triangles.  You might be able to see, she is wearing a cardigan that has little cows on it.  

I made this for Master Clicky twenty years ago and kept it safely until it could be worn agin.

When Baby Needles was out for a walk with her Dad the other day, she stopped walking and put her hands in her mouth because they were so cold, so I made a quick little pair of mittens.  I used a Tin Can Knits pattern, The World's Simplest Mittens.  I think I will attach a piece of elastic to thread them through her coat.

As the weather is getting cooler I have  ~ at last ~ sewn in the ends on my gloves I was knitting back in March during the Amtrak trip Mr Clicky and me took across North America when life was more simple.  It seems like such a long time ago.

I made a little crochet star Christmas Tree which was in Simply Crochet Issue 103.  This was made with Jamieson and Smith's 2ply jumper weight.  

I have also had my white Featherweight, Minty out.  I have used her to make some advent stockings.   

They came on a printed panel which I got in the January sales from John Lewis.  I am not a fan of cutting out and it took me yesterday afternoon to cut the panel and backing fabric.

I found some blue spot and beige spot fabric for the backing in my stash. 

Today I sewed them all up.

These are going to Miss Clicky's to be filled with treats for her, Baby Needles and Mr Son in Law.

The dog, Tipper has been to the vet after having a sore toe which he has been licking a lot.  The vet removed his toe which turned out to be cancerous, a chest x-ray confirmed it hadn't spread.   It was healing very well but he managed to remove the sock that was covering it and burst one of the stitches.  Ever since he has been in disgrace and wearing a cone of shame and I watch him like a hawk.

As you can see, he is not too impressed.

That's me for now, keep safe......Clicky Needles.

Pottering Along

 Hello Folks.

Hope you are bearing up in these uncertain times.

We've had a stormy few days here, I got drenched on my (pre-booked) trip to the tip Monday, but I got rid of loads of old paint, a mattress, two laptops and a car battery.

The back garden sadly, no longer looks like this, the orange leaves have turned nasty brown and when/if the weather dries up a bit I will give the lawn it's final cut for the winter.

Master Clicky and I took a Sunday drive to Kemble Airport, it's only 8 miles away from our house.  It opened just before WW2 and was used by  the RAF as an aircraft ferrying base.  The Red Arrows were based there from 1966 to 1983.  The last military flight left in 1993.  Fast forward to present day and it is being used to store, maintain and salvage aircraft that have come to end of their life or just need to be kept somewhere whilst they can't fly.

We drove around the perimeter and were greeted by a line of 747s. 

We parked up and walked to the fence to get a better view.

These 6 aircraft were all being broken up for parts.

It is a sad sight to see these majestic machines being broken up but the parts are being reused within the aviation industry. 

Over the other side of the airport planes in storage.

Interesting, for a Sunday afternoon in rural Gloucestershire.

Miss Clicky and her Hubby went out last Saturday night so Baby Needles and I went Trick or Treating around their neighbourhood.

I wrapped Baby Needles up well, (she was dressed as a witch) and we went to find pumpkins and treats which were left outside doorsteps.

I loved the snail.

There was a competition, and these came second.  I didn't see the winners.

Miss Clicky presented me with a pinboard which she was planning to put up in her kitchen the other day and asked me if I could make it a bit more interesting.  I had a rummage around my stash and found some nice foxy fabric.  Unfortunately, I didn't have enough of either to cover the whole thing so I found a contrasting zigzag, joined them together and stapled it onto the board frame.  Much more cheerful.

It's Day 1 of National Lockdown 2 for the UK.  People are working from home if they can, although schools and colleges are still operating.  Let's hope this helps get the infection rate down again.

That's me for now, hopefully I will have some makes to show you next time.

Keep safe..........Clicky Needles.

Learning New Things

 Hello there.

Thanks for your lovely comments on my last post, so nice to know that lots of people have Singer memories!

I have been busy finishing off a project that I had on the go and have had a go at a new sewing technique.

Firstly, I have finished the Cherry Blossom hoop from my Spring Craftpod.   

This little project has required quite a lot of concentration from me.  The plant pots are made by weaving with a single strand of thread through a single strand of warp.  The pot in this picture is 2cm and had 10 warp threads.  The fan is a similar size and is another new stitch to me, Cobweb.  

I am really happy with this and really pleased to learn some new stitches.

My new technique was free motion machine embroidery.  Now, I have tried this is in the past on my 'modern' machine ~ 25 year old Toyota with dropping feed dogs, but all I managed to do was break the needles and get really cross.  With a purchase of one (hehe!) of my vintage Singers there was a darning foot, which makes free motion embroidery easier.  I watched several YouTube videos and went for it.

I set up my Singer 201, which has droppable feed dogs ~ the feed dogs pull the fabric through, so they need dropping or covering to stop this, so you can take the fabric where you want it ~ and put on the darning foot.  The fabric you are going to use is put in an embroidery hoop to hold it taught and off you go.  You can feed your fabric however/wherever you want.

How did it go?  Well, I didn't break any needles, and although the fabric puckered in some places I was pretty pleased with the results.

My next attempt was a little more ambitious.  My lovely cousin sent me card a while ago and I used it for inspiration.

I found some suitable fabric for the background and main picture.

I really enjoyed doing this, and am particularly happy with the door and steps.  I am thinking what I make next.

It's turned Autumny and our beautiful cherry tree Prunus Sargentii has turned a vivid orange.  It turns early, another cherry we have is still green. 

 As the leaves fall the lawn turns orange too.  I will leave them as long as I can before sweeping them up, I love the flash of colour.

With the drop in temperature I felt the urge to knit something warm and cosy.  I decided on Harvest by Tin Can Knits.  If you've not seen Tin Can Knits before, pop over and have a look.  There are lots of lovely patterns (some free, like Harvest) and are mostly top down or bottom up knitting.  I have bought the e-book which gives you recipes and patterns for lots of different yarn weights.

Anyhoo I cast on last week, using Drops Nepal an aran weight wool alpaca mix in a lime green and I have nearly finished the main body.  It's a really easy pattern, perfect for nights in front of the TV and....

...... the woodburner, I'd forgotten how nice that is.

Well, that's me for now, I have Granny duties tomorrow so I'm off to stay over at Miss Clicky's tonight.  

See you soon.......Clicky Needles.

August? September? Where did you go?

Hello there!

 August and most of September has run away with me so here's a quick round up of what I've been up to.

I picked up some nice (free) Christmas decorations fairly locally. 

When I came to leave the lady's house my car broke down, I had to wait 2 hours for the RAC arrive and was towed on a fixed bar back to the garage up and down the Cotswold Hills which was terrifying.

Two weeks later and an eye watering bill, I had my car back.

I have used my 'new' Singer to make an overnight bag.

My lovely niece has been coming to visit and we have been making together, the Singer was on the table and she had a go.  With a few cranks of the handle she was smitten.  So much so that I've found her a machine of her own called Flo.  It was frozen solid but with copious amounts of oil is now running smoothly.

She has used Flo to make a mini quilt to go underneath when when using her and is now busy making cushions.

She's been making bits and pieces too.  A bottle top pin cushion in embroidered felt.

She hadn't tried hoop embroidery either so had a go at that.

I have finished the key ring from the spring Craftpod.

I made a plant hanger using Twool.

Nothing fancy, but it's doing the job.

My String of Hearts really needed a hanger, it's nearly touching the floor.

I finished my winter embroidery from Cloudcraft which was a free pattern with the newsletter, from last year.

I continue to look after my 15 month old granddaughter one day a week, which is massive fun but very tiring.

We found a book on our walk by the canal the other week, part of the Look for a Book scheme which runs all across the UK.  A book is left in a public place in a plastic bag with a log, and if you fancy you can take it home, read and re-hide it.  We have found books in the past which were way too old but this one is just perfect.

We've not been able to re-hide yet as she likes it too much!

Autumn is definitely upon us, although there are still warm days and I am still in flip flops and skirts for now and I haven't lit the fire yet. 

Hopefully I'll be back to weekly blogging, things seem to have run away with me lately.  I'm off now to catch up on everybody else.

See you soon.........Clicky Needles.