February sewing

I've been busy using up the scraps and practicing new techniques. I've always wanted to have a go at lettuce edging and finally found the perfect project to have a go.

 

 I started by staring at this pile for inspiration. I liked the narrow bits of lace in the picture. It would have been a shame to cut up the long lengths into small pieces so I decided upon a scarf.

 I cut the man's t-shirt into strips and joined them...that gave me lots of length to practice the lettuce edging! I used up an entire reel of thread and had to swap colours. I am surprised it worked so well seeing as the fabric was not very stretchy...mind you I REALLY did pull it HARD! My hands ached lol.

 This is the under-side. I did a long running stitch down the centre and ruched it up...looks pretty without any extra embellishment really! I might make some plain scarfs like this at a later date :-)

  I squared up one of my late Father's ties and used this as the main panel then attached some lace down each side. I used silver thread and a decorative stitch...the thread shows up better in real life and looks quite attractive. 

I made the flowers by cutting up strips of fabric, twisting and folding them and stitching as I went along...A neighbour taught me how to make flowers out of ribbon like this when I was a child, so glad I can still do it lol.

This is the finished article. As you can probably tell it stands up around my neck almost like a collar. I have to say this is one of my favourite recycling projects to date. I have worn it quite a few times already and it feels special. You'd never think it was made from scraps!

Sorry the text is all a bit weird and heavy, I am not sure what I've done...hopefully the next post will be more normal lol.

valentine coaster

Continuing with the them of trying to teach myself how to quilt, use up the stash and make useful things for the home I decided to make a little coaster. Mr D always uses an old card to put his mug on so I thought a coaster for him would be a perfect start as he actual NEEDS one! Great to make something that is actually needed, it's so nice when a hobby becomes useful :)

I started with some rectangles... a lot of my sewing seems to be based on rectangles just lately for some odd reason. I sewed them together to make 2 squares.

At this point I couldn't find any batting/wadding so in the interests of being green I decided to use up some scraps from the last project...of course as things go I did find some wadding after I'd done this lol...but the 'scrap wadding' acted as a stabiliser anyway so that was good  :)

Then I thought seeing as it was for Mr D and the fabric was mostly red ( which makes me think of romance ) it needed a heart of some sort. Off to the kitchen to find a heart shaped cookie cutter as a template to draw around ;-) Here you can see I hadn't found the wadding yet but I did put a layer of real wadding under the red when I started to sew.

Then I sewed around it, left the actual heart plain to make it stand out...well it already had that pink print on it...and played around with quilting the outside...and "Hey Presto!" it worked!

Here is a pic of the back...You can see it was a sandwich! ...the scraps worked well as a stabiliser...I guessed it doesn't really matter what goes inside as long as you can wash it okay :)

A later view of the back... I attached the second 'red square' I'd made as a back to cover up the hideous mess lol...this is before the binding was added....but after it had been squared up etc...so this and the next pic are possibly out of sequence but I'm sure you can suss out the order I sewed in.

I squared it up with the rotary cutter and quilting ruler...it does look squarer ( is that a word? lol ) than the photo would have you believe :-)

I don't have a pic of it with the binding on but I did bind it with a thin white bias binding which was all I had in my impatience but worked well...Perhaps I'll remember to take a pic of the finished article soon...but you get the gist of it...I think it's cute, certainly doesn't look like it was made from scraps and could make a perfect Valentine's gift. Ah yes and just in case you are interested, the red fabric was from an old 'Next' brand ( I think )  ladies' top ( I bought it from a charity shop with the idea of altering it but never did...well I have now, but not into another top lol ) the pattern was from the outer top and the red was  the lining ...hence the perfect match, yay! :)

January's sewing

Well I've been crafting non-stop through January trying to cut my fabric stash down and at the same time trying to teach myself new things :)

I'm trying really hard to recycle and use up my fabric stash AKA old clothes and no longer used curtains, bedding and charity shop finds. I'm finding it's a great thing to do... it's not only 'green' but while you are teaching yourself if you use stuff from the recycle pile it doesn't matter if you make a mistake, so I'm finding I'm allowing myself to be more adventurous than if I had gone out and bought brand new fabric.

I took the above picture halfway through making a 'Seaside Dinner Mat'. All recyled fabric apart from the wadding. 

• Polo Shirt = sky
• Yellow Duvet Cover = sand
• Turquoise shirt sleeve = sea
• White skirt = left hand beach hut
• Childs Duvet Cover = green beach huts
• Cloud, doors and windows = Old bed sheet
• Pillow case = Dark blue beach hut

 I did my first real go at quilting with this. It was a lot of fun. As you can see I also did satin stitch waves, they were a test of patience, the thread broke about 10 times on every run, and that is no exageration. Ages ago I bought a box of assorted threads from Argos, they seem to be very poor quality as they continuously break through projects and shed fibres something awful! I know it is the thread and not the machine as no other thread breaks like this in any of my machines and this breaks in each of my machines without fail...so moral of the story, buy named brands you trust when it comes to thread. Mr D said throw them away, but I really don't like to waste things so I put up with the frustration. I wouldn't use them on any 'important' sewing, but as this is a bit of fun and I am just playing and learning it's acceptable....on a plus note, when the bad thead is all used up, they came in a lovely organiser box I can use for other threads so all is not lost lol.

This is after the quilting. Not bad for a first go and for someone who was just winging it and making it up as she went along ha ha. Oh by the way, the cloud I made separately, stuffed and then sewed it on...I thought this made it look extra puffy than if I'd just done flat applique. Can you see that I did little Seagulls? I sewed them in a skinny satin stitch :)

I sewed a strip of rectangles together and cut this up to make the binding. I have slight regrets about cutting it up as I think it would have worked well as a base for a runner for a table...but there will be other fabrics on other days....sigh...

Here is the completed mat with the binding. It looks quite cute and I don't think it looks too 'scrappy'. Over all I am pleased. I had never attempted anything like this before. I have since made another ( with birds on ) and we do use them for every meal time. I don't know why I never used dinner mats in the past...they certainly pretty-up the table and it's so much easier to wash and dry a mat than the whole tablecloth if something gets spilled off the plate!

I've been sewing lots of other things and will post more pics soon!

Happy 2013 and a new challenge for me...

Well this year is coming in with new challenges right at the beginning. From tomorrow Mr D will be away from Mon-Fri routinely. We don't relish the idea but a new job dictates it be this way. We've only been apart 4 times in our nearly 25 years together and each time was a fortnight.

 I won't be completely alone, my adult son is here and of course oodles of pets but it's not going to be easy. Mr Doxie always describes us as being "very married" and that really does paint a picture of who we are...so from tomorrow I start a "new normal" and it's going to be weird!

Mini lemon meringue tartlets

I'm back into the cooking and baking big time at the moment. I've had a bit of a craze on lemons just lately and thought I'd try using the usual lemon meringue recipe to make mini pies or tarts. I used a recipe from my Mum's old cook book and made sure I followed her little handwritten notes that she had scribbled next to the recipe.

They turned out okay, very tasty actually but not how I hoped they would look. I got the piping bag out and planned to pipe pretty swirls of meringue on top...sadly it didn't hold it's shape enough. I remember from food and nutrition lessons at the school that you must have an absolutely scrupulously clean bowl with no hint of grease at all for meringue and ensured this was the case....so I can only assume that I didn't beat it enough. Oh well, as my old Dad used to say " the proof of the pudding is in the eating" and we certainly enjoyed them even if they weren't that pretty! The usual recipe made 7 tartlets, not bad really, I think if it had been the normal sized pie we would have just had 3 very big servings instead of making them last 2 days lol.

Mini quilt from old clothes

Last weekend I started a little project I've been meaning to try for quite a while...a mini patchwork quilt made by recycling old items of clothing. I've got as far as the top.

In real life the pink does not overpower as much as it does in the photo

 The hardest part was trying to find fabric that would match.  It took me two evenings to cut out the pieces and arrange them, but the actual sewing I did in just an evening . The look has turned out quite old-fashioned but that delights me as I like the vintage look. I haven't bought the batting/wadding yet. I think I want to bind the edges in white....so it may look vintage but will look fresh at the same time.

At the top of this picture you can see the items of clothing I cut up to make it.

I cut up a dress, a top and a skirt.The skirt ( fabric on the top  right of picture ) was originally a child's dress which I had combined with the top of a pair of jeans, remember that idea was all the rage a few years back?...well I think I only wore it once lol...anyway that fabric is on it's 3rd life now so is quite used to being recycled lol.

It's a miserable day here, rainy and windy so I think I will spend the afternoon cutting up more rectangles from my fabric stash in preparation for making more of these. It's the kind of thing you can do bit by bit...I'll put the rectangles in a box and then one evening if I have enough and the mood takes me I can get stuck into the sewing.

Not long until the festive season now...my how time flies, I don't know where this year has gone. I should really get my butt in gear and start making some gifts. Not sure what I'm going to do this year, although one person has requested something with owls so that gives me a starting point :)

awesome paper weaving site

I'm enjoy paper crafts just lately and found this rather amazing site, I think I will play safe and start with a heart garland...just love the little lidded pots they've done, WOW!

The PaperMatrix site here

Mr D's new boxers

just a trial pair

 In my last post I talked about making our own underwear. Well one thing I have learned these last few years of sewing is the importance of prototypes...so the pair above are the prototype / trial pair. I made them out of old cotton sheeting so as not to waste expensive fabric. They were a success but when we discussed the sizing Mr D thought maybe they could do with being an inch or so bigger seeing as I wasn't going to be making them out of stretch fabric. He thought he might need some ease when he sat down.

My fabric choices below were all 100% cotton so they needed to be washed before I did any sewing to allow for shrinkage.With it being the Queen's Jubilee year I thought the London prints were very topical! I bought the bluebird print just because we like birds and it looked nice and fresh and cool!

love these fabrics :)

ta-da! I actually made some for real.

And here we have the first pair finished apart from the buttonhole. It is years since I've done a buttonhole and I have a new ( well second hand but new to me ) sewing machine, so I think I need to practice buttonholes this weekend before I do them on the finished boxers.

I have a small amount of fabric left which I could use to make a pair of knickers for myself but I will probably make a headband or something like that instead as I like the fabric so much I think it's a shame to have it hidden from view :-)

So there you go, men's boxers are certainly a do-able project...As long as my man thinks they are comfortable I don't think I will be buying underwear for him again, all homemade from now on...I hope he has a sense of pride in his unique undies when he gets undressed in the changing rooms at karate :-)

Trying new things in the sewing room...

At the moment I am trying something new....I'm dabbling in making our own underwear. It's something I never really thought I could do in the past, like there was some kind of mystery to it. I've found this is the complete opposite and it's really quite easy if you just go for it. Sorry I don't have time to put any pictures up at the moment but I will do very soon as this is my current project.

So far I have used the boxer shorts tutorial from the Weekend Designer blog to make a trial pair of underwear for Mr D...it worked very well I am pleased to report...and today I created my own pattern for a pair of ladies hipster knickers...I made a practice pair and again they have worked well, it's all very exciting. As well as being a less expensive alternative to shop bought underwear, it'll be nice to have 'original' undies that nobody else has :)

I hope all is okay you readers :)

Catch you again soon, hopefully with some photos!

Tea for Three...

'Tea for Three'

I've been doing lots of baking just lately, probably too much if you asked my waistline! Mr D has been in bed poorly for a week, he's not been eating a lot which always worries me, so today when he asked for comfort food I knew exactly what I'd be giving him. I've been meaning to try my Mum's old Cherry Cake recipe out for ages so this seemed like the perfect time!

 It takes a whole tub of glace cherries...you have to wash and dry them first which always seems such a waste of that lovely syrup... but 'hey ho' it stops them from sinking to the bottom of the cake so I do as the recipe tells me! This cake uses the 'rubbing-in' method, then you add your cherries and sugar...

 I just love the rich red of the cherries...when I was a little girl. I used to take a half cherry out of Mum's mixing bowl and set the flat side against my finger and pretend it was a big red ruby lol.

                         When the dry ingrdients are done you add egg, milk and vanilla esssence...

Fresh out of the tin!

                           
                         Look at those lovely cherries, happily they did not all sink to the bottom :)

 The cake is especially nice if you eat it fresh from the oven, when the cake has cooled just a little but the cherries are still hot ( careful they are not so hot you burn your mouth though! ) and you really must have it with a cup of tea for the experience to be just perfect!!!! :)

 It brought back memories eating this today... you know something, I don't think I have tasted this since I've been an adult...there was one slight difference between Mum's and mine...Mum ALWAYS used to burn the outside for some reason. I remember her cutting the sides off...I guess her oven always cooked on the hot side...well Mum, I dedicate this one to you and all the happy childhood memories that came to mind as I smelled it cooking and then sat and ate it afterward.

Happy girl

Well I think I owe this blog a happy post. Reading my post about Sharp End makes me cry but I am not going to remove it just because it is hard to read...he deserves the world to know how much he was loved and is missed. We have collected his ashes so he is back home with us where he would have wished to be.

I have happy news now :)

We now have a beautiful brown dobie in our life...meet Happy Girl !

Happy Girl visiting Granny!

We needed her as much as she needed us. The poor girl had been in rescue kennels nearly a year. Absolute torture for the Dobermann breed who are affectionately known as 'Velcro' dogs because of their need to be by your side every waking minute. She has a medical condition which means she has to be on tablets and have regular blood tests all her life. It seems people just couldn't see past that, but we know a sweet dog when we see one and it was love at first sight...it already feels as if she has been here forever. Her past is sad and I don't think I should discuss it on here, but I will say I am convinced she already knows all she will experience is love and care now she is with us. Don't you think she is an absolute beauty?

We've been to lots of places together already :)

Happy girl and Mr D in the woods

 

The first week or so she was terrified of getting in the car, but now she knows it means going to fun places and whistles with excitement as we are getting her coat on :)

She is my 'Happy Girl' and she has made me a very happy girl too :)

I hope you are all happy wherever you are.

Doxie x

My heart is broken

Sharp End left this world yesterday. I am absolutely heartbroken. He had been my loyal friend and protector for many years and I loved him to bits.He had his family around him when he died and the last words he heard were " I love you!"

I am beside myself with grief and at the moment don't feel I will ever get over it, but my head knows that I will in time. He was a true member of the family and I am finding it especially hard as he was by my side pretty much all day every day. All my daily chores seem so painful as he used to be involved in everything from sorting the laundry to peeling the vegetables.

RIP dear Sharp End, you will remain in my heart forever. xxx

Number 5

The other day we brought another budgie into our home...yes budgie number 5. Her elderly owner had passed away and she was up for rehoming. We have room and lots of love so here she is even though she wasn't planned!

This is Bonny in her old cage

She is called Bonny and a real sweetie. She's 3 years old. At present she is in a separate cage in different room to the others while she has 30 days quarantine just in case there are any health issues that come to light. Birds hide illness very well, but when they are under stress such as moving to a new home for example, that is when any problems will come to light. Hopefully all will be okay but it is not worth taking the chance and risking the health of my existing birds.


Bon has not had much to eat yet, but that is normal with new home jitters. She is quite fat under all her feathers so I am not too worried at this stage. She's very active. I have put her in a large cage and she is having great fun flying about, climbing and exploring.

On the same day we got her, by coincidence a friend phoned us about another budgie that needed a home so we have agreed to have that one as well. I don't know yet whether it is a girl or boy, all I know is that it will be yellow. Hopefully it will be here this week...so by next weekend I could be the owner of 6 budgies!

pizza potatoes

We just got a bigger halogen oven...I've had one for a while but I found it too small for family meals. I'm really enjoying using this new one. The other night I did pizza potatoes...it's a way I try to get DH to eat more cheese lol. I'm try to make him acquire the taste so he will eat more 'basic'food...he has very 'select' taste buds lol.

You just bake the potatoes in their jackets and then scoop the flesh out and mash it with some cheese ( and or onion ) and seasoning. Put the mixture back into the jacket shells, top with the kind of thing you like on pizza, top with more cheese and rebake for a while. It's real comfort food for these dark and dreary Winter days. If you were feeling wildly health conscious you could have a salad on the side I guess...I personally would like baked beans with them but I always forget until halfway through eating them and then it's too late lol.

New friends

...Not only for me but for Elliot too :)

This is Buzz ( yellow face, grey, greywing budgie )

Now he has a blue cere, but this was on the day we got him when he was only about 6 weeks old. He is a lovely gentle character and adores Elliot.

These two beauties are Suki ( albino budgie ) and Timmy  ( sky blue normal budgie ).

For a while it was just Buzz and Elliot, but Mr D fell in love with a couple of birdies when we went to a pet centre...quite a distance from home. I told him we had to walk away but he was so enthralled with them we made the journey again the next day to go and get them, thankfully they were still there! I was planning on getting more but maybe not for a while! I'm very glad we did though as they are lovely birds. Suki is more timid than Timmy but they do both come onto my hand for a feed :)

I gave them a quarantine period just in case! Yesterday however they were all officially out of quarantine and have been having fun together. We have 2 large cages now ( and a small starter cage ). I expect they will all end up in one cage eventually but they have the choice when they are out flying to go back to which one they feel happiest in. The sound of gentle chattering in the background is so soothing and makes the house feel so homely.

I am having to hoover 2ce a day as a lot of seed husks blow around from Elliot and Buzz's cage. Timmy and Suki are in a new design cage called a vision M02, there is practically no mess at all from their cage, I highly recommend it to anyone that was thinking of getting birds. I have the medium size as I only intended it for quarantine but if I got another I would get the L02 which would be larger.

Evolving some more :)

Since taking the plunge and learning to drive I have found that it really IS good to face your fears and push yourself into unfamiliar territory...in fact I am finding familiar territory somewhat boring these days...that is most unlike the old me lol...in my quest to leave my old mouse-like persona behind and be the kind of person I want to be, I have taken up a new challenge...

...A couple of weeks ago I started martial arts training...Shotokan karate to be precise. Yes it's true! I've been nagged by certain family members to give it a go for a long time and lately even the instructor started encouraging me to try...so I thought what do I have to lose? Perhaps my teeth and a straight nose? LOL hopefully that won't happen, but I do have much to gain...the martial artists I know all have a certain confidence about them, not cocky or arrogant, just a self confidence that I wouldn't mind myself. I have to say that even though I have only taken 4 lessons I am enjoying it immensely! I ache like anything after a session but I know that will improve once my muscles have got used to being used in a new way. There is a LOT to take in... new words, a new kind of body co-ordination...I've known my left from my right since I was a teeny child but you'd never know if you watched me just lately...My driving instructor discovered that I am not very good at translating mirror images or detecting small changes in a series of movements and that my auditory memory skills are non-existant, in short, I have the attention span of a Goldfish...by the time Sensei has got the end of the sentence I have forgotten the beginning of it. Something else that became apparant when I was learning to drive was that I am slow at processing things...this has again has come to light in my karate class, but I am a lady of a certain age and not a spritely teenager...one of the black belts said to me  " we have no failures here, only people who give up!"  When you think about it, that is a very good saying which you could apply to many areas of life. I do not plan to give up when it gets hard...well gee, it is hard now lol...but if everything was easy where would the challenges lie?...life could be very dull.

I have to wear a uniform, for those of you who don't know, it's a white canvas suit called a gi.They are a bit of a devil to dry but I guess it just means I will have to be very organised in my laundry rota. I have long hair, down to my waist and I have to tie it back for karate which is a bit like being in school lol...You are also not allowed to wear jewelry, just in case you cause yourself or someone else an injury. It's a whole new world to me and it's making me think. Most exercise I have enjoyed in the past has been the type of thing that I do alone, walking swimming, running etc, so this is another way I am being taken out of my comfort zone...I am not looking forward to doing the exam/gradings as you have to do that in front of a hall full of spectators, but it is part of it, so I will have to accept it just like everyone else does!

So there you go, another step forward :)

latest pic of Elliot

Here's the latest picture of my baby...isn't she a darling? She's now choosing to fly out of the cage and land on my hand...the last couple of weeks she has also started to allow me to tickle her on the top of her head, she really seems to enjoy it, awww!

I have news...besides Elliot we have another addition to the family...I will try and get pics this weekend and post soon :)

On other subjects...At the moment we are having a heatwave...it may not be as hot as some countries but it has come in with a blast and we have not had time to acclimatise, phew! The forecasters say it will turn nasty next week though so we are all trying to make the most of the lovely weather. It is so odd, it is hot enough to get sunburnt but the Christmas trees are already appearing in the shops...this is most unlike England lol.

Today my friend J passed his driving test, both he and DS used 'my' driving instructor and we all passed first time :) so everyone is happy including our instructor :)

Sharp End is still with us...I won't say he is going strong but he does have his lively moments...usually when he knows food is around!

Yesterday my eldest sister came to visit. She has just got her first car after being without for about 30 years...it was lovely to see her and have her stay until late in the evening. We had a good natter and did a few crafts together, a lovely day :)

Well I think that is all for now.
Best wishes to you all out there in blogland
Dox :)

Having a go at Brioche

I'm still exploring new ( to me ) doughs in the kitchen. I'd never tried making Brioche and yesterday took the plunge...have to say I am very pleased :) I chose to make Cinnamon rolls...very easy, looked good and tasted even better!

I sent a few next door whilst they were still warm but haven't had the verdict yet. Today some friends turned up unexpectedly and I still had a bag of dough in the fridge so it was just a matter of rolling it out, spreading the filling, leaving to rise and baking...a real treat to share :) I read that you can freeze the dough so I'm definitely making a few batches to put in the freezer nearer Christmas time...my friend James said today " Mmm, all that's missing is the snow, lol" ...so I think they'll go down a treat during the festive season :)

If you've not tried Cinnamon rolls made with Brioche, I urge you, have a go, you won't regret it, yum!

I'm certainly enjoying the new doughs, but the only thing is, my waistline is expanding, YIKES!

Doxie :)

Stash bash

My piles/boxes/bags/baskets of 'spare' fabric and things that I want to use for fabric is getting the better of me...it really is outgrowing it's space. Mr D had a sort out of clothes he no longer wears and this of course just added to my pile...I just love some of the prints...didn't love them on shirts but really like them for crafts :)

nice print but didn't like it as a shirt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've decided September will be a 'Stash bash month'...I've got lots of sewing projects that need to be done and I haven't had the machine out for ages...also I've seen some gorgeous fabrics in the shops but there is no way I can justify buying any new stuff until I have made a considerable dent in what I have! So...project number one was a bag to store Mr D's climbing shoes :)

I really pleased with it 

 

 

 

 I'm pretty chuffed that the fabric looked so good when it was used on a smaller project and Mr D still gets to enjoy his funky print :) I'm also chuffed that I actually remembered to leave an opening for the cord...so many times I have merrily stitched away on the sewing machine and then found I forgot to leave a gap and had to undo the stitches...it seems I am learning from my mistakes lol.

Nice and roomy

 There is plenty of room for the shoes and maybe even his chalk ball bag will fit too if he wants to store them together.

I had some cord lying around from another project and always have a supply of toggles and fastenings so it didn't take long to complete. I just have to find a use for the remainder of the shirt...perhaps patchwork...I shall add the buttons to my 'button jar' so as much of it can be recycled as possible :)

I hope you are all well and happy out there :)

Dox :)

Hey, you're not a bird!

When I was coming in from the garden a few days ago I thought I saw something slide down the tree trunk by the back door... I took another look but could see nothing and put it down to 'morning eyes' not yet focusing properly...imagine my surprise a few minutes later when I was doing the washing up and saw this sight from the kitchen window!

isn't he sweet?

I think he is either a Woodmouse or a Yellow Necked Mouse. We had YNM living in the attic a few years ago, but I couldn't see if this little fellow had a yellow necklace on or not. Whatever he is, I thought he was adorable. Every now and then he would stop and eye me suspiciously but he stayed quite a while with me watching him out of the window, so I guess he wasn't that scared...and he let me take some pics with the snappy camera, so he was a brave little chap!

It's so nice to know that even in the hustle and bustle of suburbia, wildlife still finds a way to survive :)

Dox