My Blog

I haven't sat down to write a decent blog post for weeks. I have been very busy with work stuff and also with crafting - unfortunately starting a lot of new projects instead of finishing any existing ones. But I have been learning new techniques - always a good thing!

I made an almost-end-of-year resolution a few weeks ago to spend my weekends on "household crafts" instead of sewing for myself, as I had been neglecting doing any home dec or gardening for a very long time. My plan was actually to start with painting our front gate, but weather conditions conspired to make this impossible - either too hot to work outside or too rainy. So instead I hemmed the cotton voile curtains I made four years (yes!) ago for our bedroom window. Very pleased that I finally did this! And learned how to do a nice blindstitch hem with my machine here. This method works really well. I always found the blind hem method described in all my Bernina booklets much too intimidating to try, but this description demystifies the whole process. I am now even considering using it in a skirt.





Next up I decided to work on another long-planned project - a big comforter for our bed. I bought the fabric maybe two years ago but it has been sitting in my cupboard since then. I think it was on a 50% off sale. Nice curtain/upholstery weight 100% cotton. I also bought muslin (what we call calico) for the backing. I have now got so far as cutting the length into three pieces and have started ironing them - no quick task.



(Now I remember that I also made a new ironing board in the curtain-hemming process, so this also took up some of my time!)




Then I got distracted by my burgeoning collection of knitting needles (growing because of  frequent visits to the Hospice Charity Shop, where dpns can be picked up for next to nothing). I felt I needed a quilted needle roll-up storage thing like my granny had, so started on that last week. This is also still a work-in-progress - I have cut out the various bits and have quilted the main part.




But the weekend meant that I had to work on a house project again, so I had the idea to recycle some frayed old towels into serviceable doormats for our muddy shoes and especially(!) our dogs' muddy feet. I found directions for doing this here. This has turned out to be a successful method and I have made two so far (so, at least something completed!). In the process I learned two new techniques - quilting with decorative thread in the bobbin (perle cotton), and mitering single-fold binding (like bias binding). I am also learning to master my generic sewing machine binding attachment and made the binding with one of those little metal gadgets.

In the meantime, I have also been knitting various socks and things and discovering the wonderful world of Ravelry.