Liberty Squares

Today I cut some Klona cream 4″squares to pair with the Liberty charms I ordered from Ali’s shop. I had decided to make some half square triangles (aka HST) for my aunt’s cushion cover. Everything went really well and I even enjoyed all the trimming.

I quickly decided on the placement…

… and then realised that the size was all wrong. My aunt asked for a cushion cover that’s 36 x 36cm, my cushion cover finishes at 32 x 32cm. Math obviously isn’t my strong point and I made a mistake when I converted the centimetres into inches. Arrgh! What to do? Should I keep this version and make a new one for my aunt in different fabrics? If I do, keep it I mean, should I add another round of HSTs to increase the size? Should I go back to my original plan of making a Dresden plate for her? So many questions.

I think I’ll have to sleep on that one.

A Scarf

It was my sister-in-law’s birthday on Monday. She is one of these people who really appreciates hand made things so I decided to make her a scarf. I haven’t knitted in quite a while as I get problems with my hands when I do. I have carpal tunnel syndrome and knitting for too long makes my hands go numb. It isn’t a big deal, it simply means that I have to start projects early enough to give me ample time to finish them.

The wool I used for the scarf is 65% merino wool and 35% Tussah silk. It is lovely and soft and very nice to knit with. The pattern is the Bluebird Scarf by Breean Elyse Miller, a free pattern on Ravelry. I found it quite difficult to block the scarf once it was finished as I made it a bit longer than I realised. In the end I put two towels on the floor of Little Miss Bossy-Boots’ room. I din’t have enoough pins so the edge is a bit wavy. Furthermore I had to move it twice!  Here it is though in all it’s glory:

Well, almost all it’s glory… I even love the back of it.

Now, I just hope that Rachel likes it.

 

 

Key Fob

Hi there, I know I said I was going to show you more of the scarf today but have decided to wait until tomorrow. Psst! The scarf is a gift and I’m hoping to give it to the recipient tomorrow. I don’t think she reads my blog but just in case….

Instead I’m going to show you the key fob I made for the Mouthy Stitches swap.

The swap mamas said from the start that we were ‘only’ supposed to make the tote and a key fob for the swap. No additional gifts should be added as they wanted to make sure that there was no pressure to buy chocolates and sweets or fabrics.

Anyway, the key fob was a lot of fun to make. I decided on English paper pieced hexagons because my partner had a hexagon cushion in her mosaic and I enjoy making them. I kept with the rainbow theme because I thought it would look nice with the tote. For the back I used the purple polka dot fabric I used for the lining.

I’ve sent everything off this morning so my little parcel is on it’s way to…. Sorry, I can’t tell as I don’t want to spoil the surprise. I’ll tell you once my partner receives it.

Filler

This is a filler post because I don’t really have anything to share with you today.

Dealing with the leak and going to the physio were the only things I had time for today. So I’m leaving you with a curious cow. Why? Because I can!

 

 

Liberty

This morning I brought Little Miss Bossy-Boots to school, came home to take the dog out and quickly walked into the kitchen to find his ball (no idea how it got there!). I looked at my cooker and thought: “Wow, it’s really dirty”. As I started cleaning the cooker, the dog completely forgotten, a drip nearly ended on my nose and when I looked up I had the shock of my life. The ceiling was bulging and dirty water was dripping down on my cooker.

I called the plumber who came within about ten minutes (he’s a friend!). He took the plasterboard down and started looking for the leak. Nothing. I flushed the toilet, ran the bath and sink taps. Nothing. I now have a big hole in my ceiling that I have to check every now and then.

Not a good start to the day. However, it got better once the postie had been: An envelope full of Liberty squares and a mini bundle arrived from the lovely Ali from Very Berry Handmade. She has a little shop on Folksy and specialises in Liberty Tana Lawn fabrics. Just check out how cute those packages were:

I can’t wait to try that recipe for Ginger Scrunchies. They sound delicious.

Would you like to see what was in those cutesy parcels?

The mini bundle that was on offer on Monday and

these lovely 4″ squares.

Psst, don’t tell her but these fabrics were ordered for my aunt who told me that the cushion cover I had made for my grandmother about 20 years ago has ripped. The plan is to pair the Liberty with Essex linen and make some HSTs.

As soon as I’ve sorted my kitchen ceiling out.

 

Middle Ages

Oh no, I’m not talking about myself, I don’t quite fit in that category yet. That’s what I keep telling myself anyway.

 

I found this book in the charity shop for £1 and just had to buy it. I studied Medieval English language and literature and love everything about the Middle Ages. Furthermore, I enjoy a little embroidery from time to time and some of the projects are quick and very cute.

My main reason for buying it, though, was that I could see some lovely quilt blocks in the making; the spectacles case above, for example, or the heraldic roll below.

I have absolutely no time to even think about another project but I just couldn’t leave the book. I suppose it will be popped on my long list of future projects.

Ornament Swap

The Mouthy Stitches Swap hasn’t quite finished (I’m due to send my tote off on Saturday) and I’ve already signed up for another one. This time we’re swapping Christmas ornaments.

This swap is organised by the lovely Christina who made the beautiful cushion I received a while ago in the Cushion Swap.

Would you like to join in? Hop on over to Christina’s blog and sign up.

Mine

I’ve been working on my bath mat today but didn’t really have the time to take pictures while there was still enough light so I will show you my progress tomorrow.

For now I’ll just show you what awaits me most evenings when I try to go to bed.

Now if I’m really lucky the dog will have snuck in too. And then they wonder why I’m grumpy in the morning…

Japanese Charm Swap

A couple of months ago I signed up for a Japanese Charm swap. The aim of the game was to buy one metre of Japanese fabric, cut it into 56 charm squares and send it to Sarah. The lovely Sarah would then sort them all out and send us 56 charms, one of each, back. Checking the fabrics that were being posted in the flickr group’s pool made me very excited about receiving my charm pack.

Well, this morning the charms arrived and they are just as colourful, fun and original as I thought they would be. I’ve looked through them all a few times already and I keep finding a new “favourite” every time.

Be prepared to see quite a few projects using these charms. Little Miss Bossy-Boots has already picked a few that I will turn into something for her. A cushion cover maybe or a mini quilt for her wall. We’ll see. first I need to start and finish (!) my bath mat.