Recent Finishes

I haven't been near my computer for a couple of weeks as it has been playing me up and running very slow so I just hope I can update my recent finishes without any problems, fingers crossed.

I finished the sweater I promised John for next winter. I put off starting this as it had 141 stitches on each row but using two circular needles and a simple stitch pattern it worked up very quickly. The picture below is from the pattern book which I purchased for just 20p in a charity shop. He is very pleased with it but it will be a while before he can wear it as the weather is still so hot here.

This vase of daisies is my only recent cross stitch. It was a cover kit from a back issue of Needlecraft magazine and I made it up into a card.

After buying a new card making book I was inspired to try some tea bag folding and this card was the outcome. Great for using up all those small bits of paper I hate to throw away.

Whilst tidying up my craft room recently I found a lot of art deco style Christmas papers and thought I would try some out. Well, in the end I made about 12 Chrstmas cards, here are a few of them. It seems funny to be making these whilst the weather is so hot but at least I will be ready well in advance this Christmas.

Had a lovely surprise in the post today, all these fab craft goodies from Crafts Beautiful magazine for being their member of the month. I can't wait to start some new projects with them.

A Monthly Make: Summer Dress

Decided to make something different this month with the warmer weather inspiring me to try this loose, floaty sundress. The pattern was free with the January 2011 issue of Prima magazine and the fabric I already had in my stash.

The holiday weekend gave me more time for crafting and I finished off this flower fairies kit which came with the current issue of The World of Cross Stitching magazine - I have made it into a card.

I have spent the last couple of weeks gradually sorting out and spring cleaning my craft room. It was starting to look like an episode of Hoarders! Now I have everything a lot more organised and can see what I have, I made these two oriental iris folded cards over the bank holiday. I still have some work to do in there but at least I am beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I can't remember an Easter where the weather has been so glorious for years and on Easter sunday we took "the boys" to the beach.

After a few hours in the sun and a lot of walking we all came home to enjoy our Easter eggs. Here are "the boys" enjoying theirs:-

Archie

Higgins

Wilberforce

Hope everyone had a lovely Easter holiday and is enjoying the glorious weather. I just hope it stays nice for the royal wedding on Friday, another 4 day holiday, yipee.

This and that

I seem to have a lot of projects on the go right now - knitting, sewing, cross stitch and crochet but nothing actually finished so here is one, as they say, that I prepared earlier. This Barn Owl is called Night Stalker and is by Karen Couchman stitched on twilight linen.

I have wanted to learn Hairpin crochet for a while so when I found this frame in a second hand shop I snapped it up. I paid 80p for it but when I peeled off the label it said 14 shilling underneath and as decimalisation was in the early 1970s it is pretty old and still in its original packaging. Below is my first attempt, I have made a few more pieces with different decorative spines and found it quite easy to do and very relaxing.

As part of my crochet course I have had to learn and produce samples of Tunisian crochet and broomstick crochet. I am not so keen on the broomstick but the Tunisian, worked on a long crochet hook, produces a knitted effect but at a much faster speed so I would probably use this more whereas the broomstick I could only envisage using for scarves or shawls but it is nice to have learnt them both.

I have mentioned before what a bad cook I am but in an attempt to improve my cooking skills I made Coronation Chicken after seeing an updated recipe in a magazine. It is one of those foods that has gone out of fashion but I love it and I only know one restaurant that serves it now. I made it exactly as the updated recipe but used sultanas instead of grapes, as per the original version. It turned out ok although I have to admit that John helped me by grated the lemon and chopping the spring onions or I probably wouldn't have bothered!

Whilst out shopping today I popped into a second hand shop where I bought these three bags of linens, some printed with embroidery and some plain. I especially like the art deco tea cosy cover in the second picture. Each bag was just 99p so I got the lot for 2.98 pounds, a real bargain.

Finally, as this blog is Crafting with Dogs, I just had to include this cute picture of Higgins sleeping under this furry throw the other day. For a working dog he sure likes his sleep.

Till next time,

Shirley

Everythings Coming Up Roses

Not just roses, everything else is coming into flower too. I love this time of year with the expectation of warmer days and longer evenings. Yesterday was so hot, we came back from shopping via the beach and there were lots of people laying on the sands and the ice cream van was doing a brisk trade. I don't know if it will last, you have to make the most of it when you can here and whisk those shorts and sandals out while the goings good, LOL.I've never considered myself a flowery person but I seem to have completed quite a lot of floral projects. The knitted roses were made with a vintage pattern from my collection and the daffodils below are my one and only attempt at glass painting. I have all the equipment but cannot seem to find the time to do more. It's simply a case of too many crafts, not enough time.

I have planted three types of tomatoes from seed this year and they are already shooting up. I just hope they grow as big as this crochet tomato pincushion I made with a pattern from Annies Attic.

I am not much of a gardener and don't have much success with flowers so I tend to stick to the papercrafting variety below. The last two cards were made with papers from Anna Griffin, one of my favourite designers. Enjoy the sunshine all.

A Monthly Make: Stanley Kidson

Just scraping in by the end of the month, here is my monthly make - Stanley with a pattern from Cath Kidston. This is the fourth Stanley I have made (I have given two away) and this time I decided to use non traditional colours after seeing some of the snazzy coloured ones other have made.

Below is Stanley resting on my current read, The Secret Lives of Dresses by Erin McKean. This is the lady who writes the dress-a-day blog and her book is set in a vintage clothes shop and the stories of the dresses they sell and who they once belonged to. A lovely read for anyone who loves gorgeous shops selling beautiful things very similar to A Vintage Affair by Isabel Wolff except the first is set in the US and the second in the UK.

Oriental Influences

I have recently been taking some photographs of my craft work and only just realised how many Oriental/Asian themed projects I have completed. These two designs are both from PINN, the first is called "Fish of Fortune". The second is a good luck symbol supposed to bring wealth. All I can say is it hasn't worked so far, LOL!

Here are some cross stitch cards I made from charts in Lets Get Crafting: Cross Stitch, Stitch and Craft and other cross stitch magazines.

The pink kimono card was made with papers from Paper Nation.

Finally, keeping to the same theme (sort of) are two scrap book pages made with photos from my holiday in Thailand some years back. The papers and embellishments are all from Anna Griffin whose papers and fabrics I love.

By the way, the bottom photo above of me with the show "girls" are actually lady men. We went to a cabaret and afterwards the "girls" posed for photos with the audience!