On the go at the mo!

I haven't finished anything much recently as I seem to be working on some bigger projects at the moment so I thought I'd show you some glimpses of those so you can see what I've got on the go!

Firstly I'm still working on my quilt. I'm hand quilting this so its pretty time consuming but when I actually get down to doing it I am really enjoying it. I am bit worried about getting to the binding stage though!


I also always like to have some cross stitch or a tapestry on the go for those evenings when I want to do some craft but my brain doesn't feel up to concentrating too hard! At the moment I am working on "Think Happy Thoughts" by Emily Peacock. I've pretty much done it all apart from the border - I've left it because it is supposed to be brown but I'm thinking of doing it another colour and I can't decide! I'm thinking maybe grey...


I also always seem to have a crochet project on the go! I've been planning to make this doily rug for ages but only started this week - its taken me a while to get round to ordering the chunky yarn! I got the pattern from here but it is also available on ravelry. It is done using three strands of yarn at once and a big hook (the pattern recommends 15.75mm but I am using 17mm) so it comes together really quickly - very satisfying! I suspect this will be the next project I finish:


Just before Christmas I learned to knit so I also have a knitting project on the go. I am working my way through the Knitty Gritty book and this is the first project in there. It is a very simple scarf and probably doesn't look very impressive to all of you knitters out there but I am actually extremely proud of it - I never thought I was going to crack knitting so this is quite exciting for me! I'm looking forward to finishing this and moving on to some more complicated projects!


Hopefully I'll actually have something finished to blog about soon! What bigger projects are you working on at the moment?

Crafty Intentions 2012

I'm not really one for making New Year's resolutions but I thought it might focus my mind to think about some of things I would like to achieve this year creatively and for this blog. I have also posted photos of some of my favourite things I have made over 2011 in the hope that it might make you read this selfish post right to the end!!

My creative intentions* for 2012 are:

1. Try at least 4 new crafts - either in classes or self taught.


2. Get involved in craftivism/crafting for charity


3. Teach a crafty skill to someone else.


4. Finish my granny blanket - this will involve attaching together the 100 squares I already have and possibly adding many more!


5. Finish at least one knitting project. I've only just learned to knit and I'm not sure whether it will be my thing or not but I would like to try and make at least one thing to give it a go.


6. Hand make the majority of the cards I send.


7. Turn my Emily Peacock tapestries into cushions - this is something that I have been meaning to do for ages and I just need to get on with it!


8. Have another go at silver clay jewellery - I bought all the kit at the end of my course and its just sat in my spare room ever since. Whoops!


9. Look into getting a stall at a craft fair, probably selling mainly glass goodies, maybe with someone else.


10. Use up some of my fabric stash BEFORE I buy any more. I should probably try to do this for yarn too!


11. Write a tutorial for this blog.


12. Have 2 blog giveaways and participate in some swaps.


13. Aim to blog at least once a week.


14. Start using ravelry and documenting my projects on there.


15. And to finish on a more general intention, I always like to have several projects on the go but I would really like to get better at finishing things before starting new projects!

Phew - looks like I've got a busy year ahead! I've actually already managed to put the wheels in motion for some of these intentions already and it looks like I should probably get started on the others! If anyone is thinking of putting a list together like this then I would definitely recommend it - just typing this all out has got my brain whirring with things I want to get started on. Hmmm....maybe I should take note of number 15 in particular!!

Hope you are all having a lovely (crafty) weekend xx

*I was inspired to use the word intentions rather than resolutions by Heather - I think it sounds much more positive and less pressurising!!

Woohoo! Tapestry finally finished!!

This week something very exciting happened - I finally finished my Emily Peacock / Rob Ryan tapestry! I don't know how long I have spent on this (it must be well over 100 hours) but it was very exciting to see it all coming together at the end. Ta-dah:

I think I started this in about February and have gradually been working away on it between other projects. I must have sped up lately though as I seem to have completed about half of it in the couple of months (comparing it to how far I'd got when I wrote my WIP post).

I am really pleased with how this turned out. Although I have to admit that these don't take that much skill other than following the pattern! The finished result is all really down to the fantastic design.

This is the fourth tapestry I have completed now. I've done two other Emily Peacock designs:

And one design by granny knits:

The camper van is the only one I have made into a cushion though. I am hoping that finishing the round design will spur me on to make the others into cushions! The Hug and Kiss designs have been finished for well over a year so I have no excuse really!

I am a bit worried about turning the latest one into a cushion as I'm not sure my sewing skills are up to it!! The one in the Rob Ryan shop is made into a round cushion with piping which I would really like to try and do but I've never done piping before. Plus, I know from the camper van one that the tapestry is pretty hard to manipulate through the sewing machine. I have no idea what I am going to do with all these cushions!!

I am already really missing having a tapestry on the go. I really like to have a project that I can pick up and work on which keeps me occupied without having to do much thinking! Its brilliant for the days when I am not feeling well or am sleepy but still want something to do in front of the TV.

I have already started researching what I want to do next. I'm thinking maybe this to be framed above my bed:

(Picture taken from Emily Peacock website)

Or maybe a handbag kit from Felicity Hall or a kit from Jan Constantine. Ooooh so many options...... The big question is whether I can wait til Christmas to get my hands on one!!

I suppose the next step would be to design my own....!

Hope you are all having a lovely craft weekend xxxx

Work In Progress (WIP)

The problem with doing so many different crafty things is I often get involved in a new project without properly finishing the previous one. I always have several projects on the go at any one time which is great because if I get bored with one I can always pick up another but it does mean I have lots of unfinished work hanging around my flat!

With this in mind I've decided to start doing a regular (maybe monthly?) Work in Progress (WIP) post - partly to show you what I've been up to, partly to try and shame myself into finishing them! Hopefully by the time I do my next WIP post some of these will be finished:

1. Emily Peacock Hug and Kiss cushions


I finished my Hug tapestry over a year and a half ago and the Kiss one sometime last summer. These have now been sitting around for over a year waiting to be turned into cushions. I've bought the backing fabric, the bobble trim and the cushion inserts and yet somehow I still haven't managed to spend a few hours making these into lovely cushions for my bed. I have no excuses!

2. Granny Square Cushion

These granny squares have been sitting around the house since the early summer waiting to become a cushion! They were originally going to be a blanket but the cotton I was using was really splitty and I decided it would drive me mad making a whole blanket so a cushion it is! I need to block these first (I've not done that before) and then decide how I am going to attach them together and how I am going to back the cushion - either fabric or more crochet. All this indecision has left me doing nothing!!

3. Fused glass jewellery

I've got loads of these pretty glass cabochons waiting to be turned into jewellery. Most of them are made of dichroic glass which really sparkles - they should be lovely when I get round to doing something with them!

I've also got these ones which have been attached to jewellery findings already. I want to take some decent pictures of these to put in my folksy shop. I've had a go a few times now but haven't managed to get any good enough photos yet - it is difficult to photograph glass!

4. Emily Peacock and Rob Ryan tapestry

I was given this kit for Christmas and it is a perfect present for me - I am a big fan of both Emily Peacock's and Rob Ryan's work. This is actually going quite well at the moment. I started this in the Spring and am about halfway through it now. I have finished most of the tricky picture part of the tapestry and now I am just working on the background. This means it is perfect for evenings in front of the TV when I want to do some sewing but need something that doesn't take too much concentration.

5. Granny Square blanket


Even though I have decided to make my other granny squares into a cushion I still wanted to make a granny square blanket with a white background. I am using a granny square pattern by Jane Brocket that I found in Mollie Makes magazine. I love this pattern - it makes quite a large square with a really nice squishy feel to it. The pattern is based on a blanket of 54 squares but I would really like to make mine bigger than that so I think it might be crocheting this one for a long time yet. I've done 20 squares so far so we'll see if I change my mind when I've got a bit further! I've realised that I probably shouldn't have chosen such expensive yarn - this is going to be one expensive blanket!

6. Fused glass photographs

I am currently trying to take photos of my fused glass pieces. Mainly to keep a record of what I have made and also to show you on this blog. Also I am thinking of trying to sell some pieces in future - there is only so much glass I can fit in my flat but I would like to keep making so I think I will have to sell some to stop myself getting buried in it (this is only a small fraction of what I have made) and also to help fund future making!

7. Stained glass pieces

I have two small stained glass pieces which I need to solder some chain onto for hanging and then polish up so they are finished. I won't put any pictures here as I am hoping to do that in the next couple of days (ha! a likely story...!) and then I will put up some pictures then.

8. Plushies

I have various monsters and fish in various states of completions that I am making for gifts and my folksy shop. These look a bit sad without their stuffing so I'll put some pictures up when I'm finished!

Phew! That was a long post! I feel a bit exhausted thinking about all the things I need to get on with, let alone actually doing them! Hopefully next time I do a WIP post some of these items will be finished.....

Dotty xx

PS. Sorry if the pics are a bit dark - its a horrible day here. Not good for taking photos but perfect for staying in and making!

I’m back!

Hellllooooooo! Anyone out there?

I’m back! Finally! It’s been a while….and I’m sorry I left you for so long. Things got pretty complicated in my life for a while and I wasn’t very well. And then by the time things started to improve I’d got out of the habit of blogging.

Anyway, you don’t want to hear about that – you want to know all about the crafting! You’ll be pleased to hear that the lull in blogging wasn’t combined with a lull in crafting. In fact I think I’ve been doing more and more. I find making things very therapeutic and it has been very helpful in improving my health. I’ve carried on with sewing and monster making but I’ve also learned some new skills which I am looking forward to telling you about.

But, before all that, I wanted to talk about this post. I signed up for pay it forward AGES ago and started working away on my gifts for the people who had signed up. I had most of my gifts complete months (years!) ago and then things went a little bit downhill and the PIF project fell by the wayside. I feel really bad about it, especially as Beaky sent me such a lovely gift. So, before I started blogging again I wanted to make up for it and send my PIF gifts on and start with a clean slate. I managed to get hold of Sue from BeeDesigns and her gift is on its way as I write. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to get in touch with Sandra or Wilkie and both of their blogs seem to be defunct now :o( Guys, if you are out there then please get in touch…….

Right, that’s the business out of the way. Now for some sneaky previews of what I have been up to in my time away……

There’s crochet:

And fused glass:

Screenprinting:

And stained glass:

Patchwork:

And Tapestry:

And finally a spot of mosaic:

More detail in later posts…..

I’m looking forward to it.

Dotty xx