A smidgelet of a hiatus

Some conclusions I've drawn over the last few months:
1. I am quite crap at blogging.
2. I am quite crap at craftly things. Okay I'm not crap at the actual craftliness, just at any kind of consistency (except crochet, I really am crap at that). Seems I'm more of a feast or famine crafter.
3. My Bernina still rules, even if it's only gotten to hem trousers and darn a few holes of late.
4. The only things I've made since my last post have been of the edible variety and I've usually been too busy eating them to take photos or remember to write about it.
5. Under the Skin by Michel Faber is one of the greatest books ever written.

And now I'm going skiing for 3 months so will be having a real craft hiatus, although might take a cross stitch for something to do when I'm not on the mountain or in the pub (am much better at the apres than the actual skiing). I still harbour dreams of finishing the baby quilt though as well as making some inroads into my very extensive craft to do list, so here's hoping my next post will be of me actually making something instead of just planning to.

Adios until April!

Three blind owls

Owls in progress

I decided that my baby quilt just wasn't a baby quilt without owls. Those little suckers are just too cute - they very nearly almost make me get over my general hatred of birds. Their flappy wings give me the creeps, and don't even get me started on lethal attack swans shudder.

At the very least owls can join penguins and puffins in a cool birds break away group.

Anyway, since I have the artistic talent of a colourblind hamster, I used a pattern posted by the amazing Amazing Mae (aka Traci) who makes very cool stuff.

Now I just have to sew them on, which will probably take me about a month since I'm so slow (seriously - Slowest. Sewer. Ever. Call Guinness). And I need to find something for their eyes - I wanted to use little buttons but I'm worried that is some kind of safety hazard, plus buttons that small are really hard to find. I could just use a little material circle but not sure my sewing is up to scratch. Hey, circles are tricky...

Berninatastic

I am such a smitten kitten with my new machine at the moment. Not like I'm going to marry it (like these FREAK SHOWS) but more like if there was a world award for awesomeness I'd be arguing the case for my Bernina to make it to the top five (as much as I love it I'm not sure it could beat helper monkeys).

Anyway, here's how we've been getting on so far:

• Projects started: 4 - I'm nothing if not ambitious
• Needles broken: 3
• Needles broken as a result of user error: 3
• Injuries sustained: 2 (don't worry, the mighty B is unharmed)
• Times I've changed the speed control up and down when a bobbin is winding to make it sound like a baby chainsaw: 6
• Bobbins wound: 6
• Times I've had to stop sewing so I can gaze adoringly at it: too many to count
• Fits of despair: 0!

Now if only I could find someone to write my uni essays and go to work for me, I'd have more time for actually sewing...

Mmmm bread

Today was all about sewing and making bread, which then nicely segued into the best part - eating bread!

O for awesome

I made this fantastico cheese and potato bread recipe with a few amendments: feta works better than goats cheese, swap the spring onions for shallots, add a very healthy dose of dried chillies and double the cayenne pepper (don't forget to warn unsuspecting bread eaters). If you have broken into my flat to make this in my oven, remember also to turn the oven down to 150 after 30 minutes.

Homemade booze experiment FAIL

I love sloe gin so I thought I'd have a go at making some myself...

Ta da!

In theory it's very straightforward: gin + sloe berries + sugar + a few months of waiting = homemade sloe gin deliciousness. In reality: gin + sloe berries + not enough sugar + a few months of waiting = undrinkable homemade sloe gin evilness. Seriously, it tastes like rocket fuel. Teenage me would probably have loved it, adult me, not so much.

Might hang onto it in case I'm ever in need of some paint stripper or I have guests I don't like.

Cross stitch to do list

Although I'm in the grips of a sewing obsession at the moment, cross stitch is always my back up craft. I started when I was 11 or 12 when I had some problems with my back and needed something to do whilst holed up in bed and many years later I'm still doing it. I love that it makes me look artistic to people who don't realise you just follow a pattern, and that fancy stitches aside, it's really really easy.

Cross stitch gets a bad rap, usually fueled by people who like to do cross stitches of unicorns and wizards (not that there is anything wrong with unicorns or wizards - I bet unicorns are delicious) but I prefer ones that are a bit more modern.

Here are the two I'm working on at the moment:

A Christmassy one for, er, Christmas obviously

It's kind of hard to tell in the pic but it's all done in white and silver thread. Just a house, a fa and a la to go. Here's hoping I actually manage to finish it this year...

Super cute animals

This alphabet one is like my life's work - I've been doing it for YEARS - you can tell by the rather spacious amount of aida it's on that I still have a lot to do. On my deathbed I'll still be trying to figure out if I should be doing quarter or half stitches on the stupid penguins wing.

My precioussss

T-0 days! Look what I got!

 

Marvel at my shiny loveliness!

Quilt WIP

I've just started making a baby quilt. So far I've been doing a lot of cutting, not a lot of measuring and no sewing (boo, but waiting for my new machine - t-2 days).

I drew a very detailed and intricate pattern cough, okay I spent 10 seconds drawing on a post-it before I started chopping up material. Here's what I have so far:

Figuring out the pattern as I go with the aid of my trusty sewing couch

In my head it has three horizontal bands of these coloured stripes, with navy edging on a white background.

Here's hoping it will make it to the upper echelons of that famed list: FCP (Finished Craft Projects). Admittedly I have the world leading amazing list of SCP (Started Craft Projects) but FCP is looking a bit sparse.

Why are we here?

So, why are we here? I mean this in a blog sense, not a metaphysical meaning of life sense - we can tackle that one later.

I just wanted to have somewhere to write down what I've been making and doing since I have a tendency to forget the finer points, and if someone else wants to read it as well, that's just jim dandy. 

I love cooking and craft (particularly old lady stuff like cross stitch and crochet, although I am rubbish at both) and I have recently had a bit of a sewing renaissance (also rubbish at that too but it's really fun). For the record I'm a pretty good cook so I am not completely doomed when it comes to fifties housewifery skills.

Since this is my blog and I can do what I want, perhaps I'll write a proper introduction post tomorrow. Until then, surely it's time for a drink.

Is this thing on?

Ooh, check me out with my new blog! 

Back in a minute.