I still have lots of good intentions for 2010, to keep learning techniques and finding out about textiles, colours and tools of the trade. Despite my hectic life this blog has been quiet recently, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t found time for some creativity.

Harrogate Knitting and Stitching Show

Back in November the Textile Workshop organised a trip to the Harrogate Knitting and Stitching Show. Of course the Stitched Up ladies were there and we had a great time admiring the stunning artwork.

I bought a few lovely things too, including some 1970s braid, vintage embroidery transfers, a few pieces of beautiful fabric (hopefully) destined to become skirts and not forgetting the amazing giant ric rac!

I’d never been to the Harrogate International Centre before so it was a surprise to stumble across its Royal Hall. A beautiful theatre built in 1903, still shining and glittering from floor to ceiling.

Discovering BurdaStyle

This was quite a biggie! The first thing I thought when I visited the BurdaStyle website was “why on earth haven’t I been here before?”. If like me you’re a bit slow off the mark and haven’t enjoyed BurdaStyle yet then go (www.burdastyle.com).

As they say, its ‘for people who sew‘. This site is for dressmakers and crafters of all abilities, where patterns are labelled from ‘novice’ to ‘amateur’. There’s way too much to say about BurdaStyle here so all I am going to say is that if you want to be inspired and whipped up into a sewing frenzy then that’s the place to go!

The Great Craft Room Clear Out

OK, so a clear out might not be strictly creative but it is absolutely necessary for me to have a clear brain. The craft room clear out was part of a bigger wave which started with us emptying the loft for new insulation and has carried on with a major tidy up of every room in the house. For me it’s better than therapy and along the way I found some things I’ll treasure for many more years to come.

My first (and very tiny) ballet slippers.

Birthday cards from when I was little and my very first ‘aunty’ card from my baby nephew.

Christmas Crafts

I have to admit I’m usually a bit grumpy at Christmas, this tends to be because I just don’t have the extra time it requires to fit everything in – but then who does?! This year though I decided I was going to make the effort to enjoy the build up, rather than treat it as a chore, by incorporating a little craft along the way.

For my close family I made little felt tree decoration Christmas cards. I was too rushed to take photos before I sent them but they were snowmen, gingerbread men and baby deer, a bit like this one.

A few prezzies were hand made too, including a cotton apron for my great aunty, a crochet scarf for the lovely Hannah and a zip up purse for a welcomed home friend. I even did a bit of baking, which is unheard of, for my Dad and Norman (a very special fella). Plus this giant granny square blanket for my husband’s Nana. I never knew I could crochet so fast!

I have to say that making these things didn’t ease the pressure of Christmas preparations at all but it did make it much mure fun.

Having lovely, thoughtful friends and family I was lucky enough to receive some truly beautiful handmade and crafty gifts:

This absolutely gorgeous patchwork quilt made from vintage 1970s fabric by the very talented Claire was such a fantastic surprise! Claire is one very busy lady and so I’m even more grateful that she found the time to make this for me.

Hannah knows me very well, spoiling me with more wonderful vintage goodies, including crafty books, the cutest bunny jelly mould and this adorable hand mirror which I love (I’ve been drooling over vintage hand mirrors for ages). It’s a bit like she read my mind too with the vintage Christmas card holders!

My youngest neice gave me the sweetest sewing box which will be ideal for taking to sewing class and craft group and my in-laws treated me to books on dress making techniques and patterns, exactly what I need.

I know I’m a very fortunate girl indeed and I don’t take that lightly! Thank you everyone!!!!

How about you? What have you been doing these past couple of snowy months?

I just wanted to share with you some lovely, crafty things I’ve had for my birthday. Even at my age (I’m not telling what that is) I’m spoiled rotten with thoughtful gifts.

Mum and Dad bought me this linen yarn, which is a gorgeous pale blue with gold running through it. Growing flax, which is where linen comes from, is kinder to the environment because its much more resilient than cotton and needs less fertiliser. I think I’m going to use it to make a shawl for my brother-in-law’s wedding in September.

They also got me this pretty pink album which is made from 100% recycled cotton pulp. Its perfect because I’ve been looking for somewhere to put the flowers after I’ve pressed them in the fab flower press I got at Colwick car boot a few weeks ago.

From my middle sis and her clan I got some gardening and cook books as well as a fab book called ‘Waste Not Want Not’ which is full of  ideas on how to re-use things in the home. There’s a whole section on what to do with old clothes so I’ll definitely be reading that part closely. They also gave me a box of yummy Green & Blacks organic choccies which apparently Murphy decided to ‘help’ me with whilst I was out at work this morning. Here’s the evidence…

From my big sis and everyone at ‘number 75 & 21′ I had three tubs of lovely crafty items she had been collecting for ages – ribbons, buttons, colourful yarns and gorgeous fat quarters with bunny prints.

A really special gift from them came in this pretty old tin…

… full of buttons which my brother-in-law’s dad, Norman, had been keeping safe in the loft. They belonged to his wife Mary. Mary isn’t with us any more and when we lost her it was devastating to the whole family as we’re all so close.

So, as you can imagine this is extra special to me and I already have ideas about using these buttons when I’ve gotten much better at dressmaking and made some lovely clothes.

I’m a very lucky girl not just to get prezzies but to have loved ones who are so thoughtful. Thank you x

I guess I could have picked up just about any beginners’ crochet book and had a go at teaching myself but convinced that I don’t learn properly that way I wanted a master to show me. I gave Claire a few headaches at first I’m sure because I just wasn’t ‘getting it’ but after lots of false starts it finally sunk in. The stitch I wanted her to show me was the ripple stitch (or the wibbly wobbly stitch which I named it in my ignorance) because its just so beautiful to see when a gorgeous combination of colours are put together.

I was so impressed with myself at learning the ripple stitch (and treble stitch which it uses) that until a week ago I didn’t bother to learn anything else. Plus I just love that stitch, I was literally hooked (ooh sorry, bad pun)! The undulating pattern, just like gentle water, is so relaxing and rewarding as you add more and more waves to the fabric you’ve created.

Here’s a little clutch bag that I made in gold, orange, teal and green.

So on Boxing Day, my first day of isolation with this evil flu, I took my Happy Hookers crochet book (given to me by the lovely Anna-Lisa), a great big ball of orange yarn which I found on a car boot sale at the seaside, my crochet hooks and chocolate rice crispy treats (cheers David!) and settled on my bed. Since I’d not ventured any further from making straightforward rectangles with treble stitch I thought I’d better go back to basics and start from the very beginning.

As I’ve said before, I’m awful at following instructions because I’m just too impatient but that had to stop. Going through each step of the book’s guide was like opening new door after new door, learning which types of yarn suit different items to make, why gauge is important and how to do that first difficult row without having a messy loopy finish – by going through the ‘bum’ of the ‘V’ of course! Then there were the stitches, ‘Single Crochet’, ‘Double Crochet’, ‘Half Treble’, ‘Treble’, ‘Double Treble’ and ‘Treble Treble’ and their confusingly similar yet different American comparatives. At the end of the first two sections of the book it said “… you’ve learned all the basic stitches you’ll ever need to know in crochet” – Wow! the world is my oyster!

The next revelation was pattern reading. The way crochet patterns are written is brilliant, so efficient and concise. Does this mean I can actually follow a pattern and make something other than a rectangle? Well I have actually started making something from a pattern in the Happy Hookers book but its a work in progress that I’ll show when it’s finished.

Resources for learning crochet

If you’re a beginner like me and wondering what on earth I’m talking about then scoot over to the ‘Resources‘ page where I’ve given details of the Happy Hookers book and links to a couple of crochet tutorial videos.

Does crochet have style?

This is something you might be wondering. What on earth can you make from crochet that you would actually want to wear? My (misinformed) idea of crochet and crocheted items used to be that all you could make were shapeless cardigans, doilies and granny square tank tops but I was so wrong. Crochet makes great accessories such as hats, purses and bags and since I’m a bagaholic having too many won’t be a problem. If you’re very clever you can make beautiful tops, jackets and shawls in crochet too but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.

If you don’t believe me that crochet has style then listen to Vogue’s experts talking about crochet collections for 2009!