Goblinf's Blog

How To: Meringues

2011-03-03T10:15:00.000Z

Someone asked a general question on a forum about meringues: me, I know nothing about how to make them, but my mum does - and hers are always light and crisp. So I asked her for tips:

The recipe itself doesn't much matter (in that you can expect it to work if you do the following)
That said, here's a recipe - 2 egg whites (with NO trace of yolk, if you break the yolk, use it for an omlette! it's best to break each egg into a separate container to make sure you don't mess up the batch) and 2 oz granulated or caster or soft brown sugar (they'll be a bit beige). Beat egg white until it peaks, and then beat in ONE QUARTER of the sugar only until it's stiff again. Then CUT & FOLD in the rest of the sugar - if you beat the rest of the sugar in, the texture will be wrong.
Once the sugar is in, work quickly as the ingredients will separate.
Bowl and whisk must be totally free of any fat else the egg whites won't whisk up
Use baking paper, greasproof paper or foil to line the baking tray. If the liner won't stay down, put a dab of oil on the tray itself at the corners to hold the liner to it.
Don't put the meringues in a cold oven, they'll run & weep.
Preheat your oven to about 300F or 150C, then when the meringues are ready, open the oven door wide, switch the oven down to its lowest setting and put in the meringues.
Leave the door ajar a little bit if the oven doesn't lose heat very fast and watch the meringues carefully for the first 15mins, moving trays down to a lower shelf if they begin to brown.
Then, shut the door and leave them alone (other than swopping trays between top & bottom to cook them evenly) for 2 hours.
When the meringues are cooked and firm, peel them off the liner and put them back on the liner upside down in the oven for another 20 mins. You can switch the oven off at this point - it's just using the residual heat to dry them out.

Bon Appetite!

Valentine Card

2011-01-21T19:05:00.000Z

I'm in the middle of developing a Valentine's card to sell in my Etsy shop http://www.toothillmedley.etsy.com/. But I'm also keeping my eye on what the design team at 365 Cards are up to these days. And to my delight, the card I've made today fits their Challenge - to make a card that reflects 'Love'

It's a trifold card that fits into a 5" x 7" card's envelope - made of thick white card (that Dutch stuff I bought from the now closed Puffin Crafts that I can't replace) decorated with 9 hearts. The hearts are made from self-decorated paper - 140lb Bockingford Watercolour, drenched on both sides with acrylic paint, then stamped with Versacolour peony, magenta and orange inks with a Tim Holtz heart stamp. No idea which one, I bought it in a sale as a 'standalone' stamp with no packaging.

Here's what the inside looks like:

and the back:

The light's been appalling all day, so it's not the best picture, and the colour values are a bit off, in reality the dark red is pillar box scarlet. The layout is based on a card I did for a 365 Cards challenge way back in April 2009, so it's great to develop it into a second design. It was a bit trickier than the original as the shape isn't symetrical so the paper had to be coloured both sides, and the overlaps show with the hearts. This is the original design with flowers:

I really enjoyed putting it together as I've not made a new design for ages, and the best thing is that I can use it to join in with 365 Cards again, which I've not done for far too long. Go and see what they're up to at http://365cards.blogspot.com/

Decluttering - it takes a long time to get stuff shifted!

2011-01-21T08:17:00.002Z

When I was packing up my stuff to move house in the summer, I atually got out and touched everything I owned, and had to decide whether it should go in the bin or for recycling or to the charity shop, or be kept for sale on eBay or actually packed to go into storage. It took 8 weeks, partly because I'm a bit slow, but mostly because I've got a lot of stuff. An embarrassingly large amount of stuff - considering there's just me & the cat and it was quite a small 2 bed flat. Most of it is crafting supplies, but that's no excuse as really if I'd been as productive as I'd intended when I bought the supplies, they should have already been turned into things of beauty to be a joy forever and all that. Or at least things of beauty I could have sold...

About half way through a friend worked out how many boxes I was likely to have, against the storage cost, to give an average price per box. Strangely enough less stuff made it into the later boxes! Tho I resisted the temptation to unpack and review what I'd already packed.

After everything went into storage and started costing me an arm & a leg - in truth that stuff was costing me all the time by filling up my flat - rather like a form of insulation making the floor space 2 feet smaller on every wall, I was ambling around the net and found a blog post (I don't remember where, it has a buddhist type theme to the blog, and I would credit them if I knew where I'd found it) that looked at decluttering in a different way. When I finally get my stuff out of storage and unpack, I'll be doing another 'do I want this in my house', but in the light of that blog posts' thoughts which were:

Does it work?
Would I replace it if it didn't work?
Is is 'potentially' useful, but doesn't actually get used?
Was I 'saving' it and not using it?
Do I have a 'better' model of this?
Does it serve it's purpose well?
Is it tidily put away but not used?
Does the momento actually prompt any memories?
Have I ever used it?

Then, when I've finished I'll be in the lovely position that Boo's in now - she's just done her decluttering - read about it here

It would be nice to know what questions you ask yourself when you're clearing out - I need all the help I can get!

Pics are of my prototype valentines & spring flower cards I'm developing for sale, the original card was done for the original 365 Cards challenge - Day 49 Accordian Challenge in April 2009. Even though most of my stuff is in storage, I kept out some of my stash so I could crack on with using it up. I've not done much recently but I'm posting about my progress - hopefully the lack of progress being made public will spur me on to get moving!

On my other blog, there's quite a lot going on...

2011-01-07T12:26:00.000Z

mostly a new series I've started about UK tax for Small Crafting Businesses and a couple of posts on promotions that craftspeople are doing on their work - find it here
http://loisdesigns.blogspot.com/

New Year Resolutions

2011-01-02T10:33:00.002Z

aren't something I do. After all there's no point in setting yourself up to fail.

But then I read this blogpost by Maisy and thought well maybe I could have a target of doing something creative every day. It doesn't have to be anything big - it could be just noting down an idea, or maybe planning something to make, or even making part of something.

Then I decided to settle down to my To Do List and started working through last year's diary to see what (if anything) I needed from it for the coming year or to follow up. I have a very nasty habit of writing notes throughout the year then wondering where I wrote them, so it's always a useful exercise.

My 2010 Diary was a very sturdy 3.5" by 5" ringbound book with thick perspex covers from the Van Gogh Museum, purchased in March at the bargain price of a pound. After I'd torn out the pages I wanted to think about (and the pictures to put in my images box for using later), I started to dismantle it for recycling and stopped.

I stopped because I remembered Jan Beaney & Jean Littlejohn doing a book on sketchbooks made from old books - just do a colour wash and your art on top: and this is actually a really nice size for an ideas/ sketchbook/ art journal. So, I have stopped tearing pages out, and will, when the mood strikes me, create a page every so often as part of my plan to do something small every day.

If Pam'll let me, I might do some pages based on her 365 Cards daily challenge blog.

I'm not sure how much blogging I'll do to show my daily creative task, but then again, it might be good discipline!

Stockman mannequin on ebay

2010-12-05T15:29:00.000Z

Gorgeous huh! 16" high, perfect for displaying jewellery or scarves for shabby chic look: you can find it on ebay at Withyditch61 (parents) here

So we have snow hats everywhere...

2010-11-29T15:20:00.001Z

The professionals take is here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-11860964

Mine is here - I was going to go outside but we had another one of those 'rain showers' the BBC have been forecasting for us - except it was hail and hurts!

This is the bird feeding station/cage's snow hat about two feet.

This is the recycling bin's snow hat, about three feet.

And this is the pile of snow outside the front door (see the path? no? that's cos we've not cleared it for an hour...) with next door's caravan snow hat cunningly linking itself to the roof's snow hat.

And to think on Wednesday I was looking forward to some fun in the snow!

Getting my act together with daily new listings...

2010-11-28T12:16:00.000Z

I did a marathon photo session yesterday (still procrastinating about the 365 Cards Saturday challenge of a Vintage card using 10 elements) which has set me up nicely for the next few days for new listings for my Etsy shop http://www.toothillmedley.etsy.com/. And here's today's offering:

This is my new listing - three different cards hand flocked with wood chip.

Wood chip? Yep, I'm not one for staying in the papercrafts aisle in art, craft & model shops. It's not easy to work with and needs several layers, but gives a really great effect in real life. One of these days I'm going to have a chat with a model man and find out what they use to get the stuff to stick on with, using PVA on a rubber stamp takes ages!

Sadly I'm not convinced my photographic skills are doing these cards justice - but at least they're online now! More details at my LoisDesigns blog which is my official 'Toot Hill Medley' venture support blog. This blog is going to continue as my 'challenges completed and random thoughts' blog, and where I show my projects that may or may not eventually emerge as products for sale. Eventually being the key word in that sentence!

Talking of eventually, there will eventually be a post about the weather up here in the semi-frozen north - lots of snow and gloriously long icicles, but for that I'd have to get dressed in my snow gear - we've had a good 6" every 24 hours for the last few days - it might not sound much to you, but it's a lot to me! And it stopped me going to the annual Knit & Stitch Show at Harrogate... I'm gutted! Next year I'll be travelling down to Ally Pally in London in October to avoid any such nightmares!!!!

Toot Hill Medley online shop selling my cards

2010-11-27T13:27:00.000Z

is now open at http://www.toothillmedley.etsy.com/! So far listings include the following cards, have a look at my LoisDesigns blog to see what's coming up next.

Vintage cards

2010-11-27T08:09:00.001Z

It's been bothering me for a while that in all the life stuff that's been going on for the majority of this year, I've not been doing much creative at all. So I woke up this morning and thought, hmm today, regardless of the challenge, I will do today's 365 Cards Challenge.

Which frankly just shows how little I've looked at the site this week, as it's Vintage week.
I've never done a vintage card in my life! If only I'd woken up and determined to do ANY 365 Cards Challenge from the last year, as I've only done about 2 so there's lots to choose from! But being me, I didn't, and also being me, I'm sticking to my resolution.

There's a fun blog hop to collect the 10 elements - which I'm noting here so I can tick them off my list - Paper Piercing, Stitching, Button, DieCuts, 5x5" card, Stickpin, Stamping, Distressing, Dimensional Sticker, and Lace. That's an awful lot of elements for one card, and most of my stash is in storage! I anticipate a poor quality result... involving a lot of cheating!

But what I do have is lots of genuine vintage greetings postcards. Which I've got in a pile ready to be cleaned up for selling on eBay or Etsy or wherever I think will get the most money. And they're in a pile as I've got to clean them up a bit first - with white bread. Yes, cheap white bread from the supermarket gently rolled over the surface will clean them up without the abrasion of an eraser. As long as bits aren't coming off obviously, as it'll strip any loose bits.

So, I'm off to look at my collection of vintage postcards for inspiration - so expect two more posts today, one of my Challenge card, and one of my vintage postcards - I'm a great believer in sharing the agony!

365 Cards - Day 257 - Warm & Cozy

2010-11-14T12:47:00.000Z

Finally, I make a card! Not sure how long it is since I did that, maybe nearly 11 months? Anyway here it is. it wasn't for the challenge, it was to make up more cards for sets that I'm planning to sell on Etsy; but when I saw the day's challenge, it fitted perfectly. Even though I'd made it the previous day, and am posting it days late!!!

Not the best photo ever, but the colours are pretty good.

Progress is being made...

2010-11-02T11:26:00.003Z

In my defense, I've moved house and had an operation since my end of August shame at not pushing forwards my plans to sell my handmade textiles, paper and plastic products online.

However, progress is being made.

Designs have been developed into prototypes,
prototypes have been tested,
gorgeous working materials have been ferreted out of my stash and
some products have been made.

Ideally that list should have ended 'lots' of products have been made. Oh well, you have to start somewhere!

And today, an Etsy shop has been set up called Toot Hill Medley here. I've drawn on my experience of selling unwanted clutter on eBay to develop my profile and policies (as in, there's no way I'm getting drawn into that sort of hassle ever again...)

The excitement!

So what's missing?

Well, I can't join the products to the shop or my Lois Designs blog until I've taken some decent photos, and I need to buy a tripod and make a light booth for that.... Apparently you can make a light booth from a cardboard box, white paper or cloth and table lamps - having just moved house with a judicious volume of stash (oh ok, lots of it), that I can do!

And I need to make a few more of each design to give my shop a bit of, well, interest and weight.

This also has to be balanced against my recovery from the operation and jobhunting for a lucrative day job as the textiles/ paper venture is a sideline to reduce my stash....

I'm still playing catchup with my friend Wendy - she's not just got her Etsy shop Jacksons Designs with a single bag, but also a new standalone website Beechnut Designs with three! Way ahead of me then, but it's worth a look.

Beaten again...

2010-08-27T09:04:00.000+01:00

A while ago I posted about my new venture making and selling textile products. Yes back in April. And have I actually made any more progress. No. Not yet. I'm hoping to for Christmas though and when I finally get my act together, anyone who's signed up to my Products Blog Lois Designs, will be put into a draw to win something. Can't say what yet will be won, as I haven't quite decided which prototypes to take forwards, which is why there's not been any sneakpeeks.

Whilst I've been faffing around, a very talented friend I've known for decades who used to run her own designer children's wear business, has been developing a range of handbags, and the first of them is now up on Etsy here. Her Etsy shop is called JacksonsDesigns, but her trading name is Beechnut Designs. If I wasn't poor, I'd buy it...

Moving house - leaving the moth infestation behind....

2010-08-26T16:17:00.001+01:00

After 10 years of being in this flat, the cat & I have to leave it. The landlord's given me 8 weeks notice and as I'm not working at present and am looking to leave London anyway, I'm putting the household goods into storage and myself & the cat are going up to Northumberland to live with the family (I think we're all a bit old for this but we'll see how it goes!) rather than sign up for a new 6 or 12 month tenancy and find myself living too far away from wherever I'm working.

So, as soon as I realised I only had 8 weeks to get my act together, I started packing as I have an huge number of books and an even huge stash of fabric & paper supplies... But high on my agenda was how to make sure that my stuff stays safe and secure and undamaged in storage (which could be for up to a year) and that I don't take any southern beasties (other than Ivor cat) north. So, the biggest challenge is - how to get rid of the clothes moths!

The flat's had a moth infestation for quite a few years now - I think a succession of mild winters plus my penchant for using the heating a lot plus my inability to tidy up after myself and my habit of living in slum-like ancient housing (well around 1900 but it's damp and falling to bits), together with my hoarding of animal and vegetable fibred fabrics is what did for me M'Lud.

However, I've managed to keep the infestation to within bearable limits by (well, I say I, actually it's my much adored cleaning lady who does most of it):

1. Proper weekly hoovering & dusting of all accessible areas including skirting and carpet edges AND soft furnishings. I swopped the Dyson for a Miele Cat & Dog - have you ever noticed that people who have a Dyson have a 1cm line of unhoovered area beside the skirting? Not good in an old house... with a moth problem.... Other than that, don't get me wrong, Dysons are great, but that grey line worries me!

2. Keeping all fabrics (clothes and patchwork/embroidery stash) in plastic boxes when they're not in use. And making sure that only CLEAN fabrics go into the box so there's no cross contamination. Yes this means tidying up clothes every night before I go to bed, which is why I still have occasional losses as I'm not that disciplined... NEVER EVER put something that's been lying around for more than a few hours into a box with otherwise clean fabrics - the whole lot could end up munched! If you shake the clothes you'll soon know if a moth's been lurking, it'll fly out - then you definately need to clean it before it gets put away.

3. Have Sandalwood /herb sachets (commercial purchases) and cedar wood blocks, rings & balls in the Wardrobe, and down the side of chairs and in sheepskin cushion covers etc. Change the sachets at the recommended frequency (or rather just add to them with new ones). Rub Cedar Oil (from Health Food Shop) on the balls/ blocks every 8 -10 weeks or so, waiting until the oil's dried before putting them back in coat pockets, over coathangers and between layers etc.

4. Every quarter (it was every month at first) pull out ALL the furniture and hoover behind it and under it and over it and around it. If you have a steam machine and the furniture can take it, steam it too (I only do this for a major infestation). Moths hate being disturbed, they hate light and they hate being hoovered up, but they like warm & moist, so be careful not to make everything damp with the steamer. Use a dehumidifier if you have one at the same time. If you've got bags in the Hoover, change the bag frequently if you've got a major infestation. Mostly though if your house is as dusty as mine and the hoover gets used frequently, then, I think minor infestations that are hoovered up get asphixiated! That said, if you're hoovering up eggs, then you've just provided them with an amazing nursery to grow up in - a bag full of animal hair/ keratin etc, so change it more often!

5. Every month, take wallhangings, tablecloths etc down and shake outside, then wash or hoover them (if they're delicate, tie a duster around the nozzle and use lowest power available) and if possible - hang them outside in the sunshine/ strong daylight for a while. Moth larvae will drop off to protect themselves.

6. Every couple of months (for maintenance, every week if you've got a major infestation or whatever interval is best for you) empty the contents of your wardrobe item by item onto a clean sheet on the bed. Check each item to see whether it has signs of holes or larvae - if it does, deal with it! Pick off any larvae you can see. Shake, wash, iron, steam, hoover, dryclean, freeze - whatever the article can take without causing damage - oh, and mend any holes BEFORE you do any washing etc, they'll only get bigger if you don't! Do the same with any other clothes/ fabrics etc hanging on pegs etc. Every so often, if you can, hang them outside in the sunshine/ strong sunlight. Yes that's one saturday morning wasted every month....

7. Never ever ever leave clothes in one place undisturbed for more than a single night ie tidy up before you go to bed. If they're dirty, put them in your dirty clothes basket (I use a plastic box). If they're clean - put them back into their plastic box. Yes now, it'll save heartache later!

8. This one was KEY for me. Buy a Mottlock or similar clothes moth glue trap for each room PLUS one for the wardrobe. These are cardboard boxes with a strip of glue tape and a little plastic cone that is impregnated with irresistible clothes moth pheromones. The boy moths are attracted, get their feet glued to the board, and therefore don't get around to fertilising the girls. The girls lay unfertilized eggs and eventually you have your moth problem under control (taken together with a decent cleaning routine) because the eggs don't hatch out. I'm not sure how long it takes for viable eggs to hatch out but I've never had nests of eggs etc just individual moths laying where they feel like. Boy moths are smaller than girls, girls only fly after laying eggs, so yes, kill all the clothes moths you see, but that by itself isn't enough. Don't be tempted to leave the trap for longer than it says - change them according to the recommendations. Have more than one trap in a big room or where you have lots of patches of infestation. It helps you see the scale of infestation and therefore how much to scale up your cleaning routine. Over time you will end up with fewer larvae hatching out, but only if you're disciplined about replacing them at the right time.

9. Don't panic or get depressed by occasional munchings - it's part of life!

10. Have too much stuff to do this sort of disciplined cleaning? Get it organised so you don't have to (ie into plastic boxes/bags etc) or give it to charity/ recycling etc. I make sure cloth is infestation free by sellotaping the newly cleaned item into a clear bag and leaving it for a month - if it's got no damage etc it's not infested (the lifecycled seems to be around that length).

So, does this work? Yes it does. I still have the occasional small minor loss due to inattention but the discipline is worth it. The Mottlock boxes are expensive, but not as expensive as new cashmere jumpers!

Which means I'm now at the stage that everything in my house that's clean & encased in plastic boxes (yes I know not good for the environment or me generally) can be packed. But what about the rest? What about the woollen wall tapestry? The feather cushions? The sheepskins? My plan is this:

A. Shake, Air, Wash, Hoover, Freeze or DryClean anything and everything to make sure it's dry, vermin free & spotless before packing (including using my compressed air aerosol that I ought to only use for my sewing machine lint removal where necessary).

B. Only pack clean items together and avoid cross-contamination of 'not sure' with 'should be ok' items.

C. Pack anything that has animal fibres (keratin) in it into those vaccuum plastic bags after cleaning - I seriously doubt moths or larvae can exist without oxygen for long! So that's wool, silk, cashmere, sheepskins etc.

D. Tape up boxes very carefully to ensure as few points for exit/ entry as possible.

E. Choose a reputable decent long term storage place that will be clean & dry!

F. For items I'm taking to Northumberland, I'll be putting them into a freezer on arrival after cleaning (yes it'll take ages) and also using cedar balls etc & NEW Mottlock glue traps to keep tabs. My parents have never had moths and have some lovely clothes, I can't face being responsible for introducing them!

And what prompted this post? I went looking on the net to see if anyone had any other ideas - I never realised quite how hideous this problem is for some poor souls! I found this blog with some heartrending tales of people at their wits end (and some strange ones - no, a 2" wide wingspan moth won't be one that eats your clothes, in the UK at least, maybe in tropical countries though....) and some useful information about what people have tried and what worked & what didn't.

I've never used pesticides, and I don't think I need to (but I have synthetic carpets). I guess the test will be whether or not I manage to leave the infestation behind!! I'll do a post in due course to let you know - and will be fully prepared (if somewhat distraught) to eat humble pie if all this prep. didn't work!!!

Quarter Inch foot? Pah, who needs them...

2010-07-26T14:56:00.000+01:00

Honestly? Well I do for a start!

I was a bit concerned at the rather wobbly appearance of my Block Lotto quilt corners and fell to musing that if I was really really careful with cutting and really really careful with pressing and really really careful with using the sewing guide line on my machine, then quite frankly I should be able to get corners to match.

The bottom and the right side stripy sections match perfectly with the central panel and corner blocks. But the top and left stripy sections are way out all over the place. Question is, can I be bothered to redo it, or merely to use it as one of my prototypes for my 'using up my stash and selling the results online' products (this making and selling project is going so slowly)? Cos summer is getting on, and this particular product will need testing whilst there's sunshine around...

Whilst thinking about that I started sourcing other fabrics I need (water resistant etc) to complete various product ideas, which has gone quite well.

And as a result of the mixed results posted above, my absolute star of a mum sent me a Quarter Inch Foot, but didn't know about the 0.5cm depth rule that Royal Mail now has on pricing normal sized letters, so she underpaid the postage by 10 pence sterling. The Royal Mail stuck a card through the door asking for £1.10 (yes a £1 penalty, ridiculous!) and a visit to the Sorting Office to hand over the cash in return, or you could stick stamps worth £1.10, pop the card in the postbox and wait for your newly franked post to arrive.

Except that it's not a great idea in our area right now to actually expect post to arrive through the door - our current postman keeps putting our post in next door down the hill's door, and next door up the hill's post in our door, and so on all up the road. Whilst it's turned into something of a friendly ritual to go and retrieve your post from next door down, and give their post to next door up (and vice versa depending on which way he travelled up/down the street on any given day) - I don't want to strain the system too far by adding to Mr Postie's workload in case he just gives up entirely!

And anyway a trip to the Sorting Office isn't too hard, it's only down the road a mile or so, there's lots of buses every few minutes and lots of available free parking. But the big question is, do I take the bus or the car?

As choices go, the criterion I use is going to seem rather odd to anyone that doesn't live in a street that's got free parking and is very close to the city which means all the parking gets nabbed by city commuters and leaves every local visitor fighting for spots previously occupied by residents. I had a good parking space just over a hundred metres or so up the road - so the criterion was, what am I doing in the next week that means I'll need to load the car up (ie a trip to the rubbish tip/ recycling centre) so I need to be close to the house to minimise the number of wheelbarrow trips and possible parking fines which are the usual alternatives. So with that in mind, I took the bus, but really I needn't have bothered as yesterday after driving to church I got a much better parking place closer to the house so I won't need the barrow at all. Success! Now all I need is for the rain to stop and the bagged up garden waste to dry out a bit to go in the car....

Back to the fabric though - it's some I double dyed myself. I am thinking of maybe doing some more and selling that too, as I've got lots of raw materials, and it doesn't take as much thought as actually making something saleable out of it!

There are lots of people on Judy's Blog who are very successful at quarter inch seams - go see how the real enthusiasts do it - she's also got some really good posts about bees, her pantry and kitchen creation plans, well worth a look!

Test post

2010-07-16T10:33:00.004+01:00

My posts can be long. Even I get bored scrolling through one I've read down to one I want to!

So I've learnt to use the Jump Break icon, put in what you want at the top, click the Jump Break icon, and carry on below the grey line.

Now all I need to work on is being more concise!

TicTacToe Block Lotto Quilt Progress

2010-07-11T12:21:00.003+01:00

Well this is it! 7 blocks by 9 blocks (re)arranged in rainbow colours (violet, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo) with sashing in white and cornerstones in two toned complementary colours (yellow, green, blue, purple, red, orange, yellow).

I learnt a lot - mostly that it's a good idea to make all your pieces of cloth the same size if you want them to match up! So, the cornerstones corners don't match with the block corners, but I don't mind so much, and the cat won't care at all!

My difficulty is now that it fits lengthwise nicely, but not quite widthwise as it is, and if I turn it on it's side, it fits well widthwise but is a row out lengthwise. So, do I add two more rows to make it 9 by 9 blocks so it'll fit the bed fully? And if so, what with? Blocks that have coloured backgrounds and white crosses? In the same colourways as the rows? Or do I do a coins border as originally intended?

But if I make it bigger, I don't think I've actually got floorspace big enough to lay it out to back it - it only just fits the lawn now (because of my veg patch and the rotary washing line). But I could solve that by going to the park and laying it out there to pin and tack it, loads of space in Greenwich Park! I just need the heatwave to carry on....

Check out what everyone else has on their design walls (or lawns) at Judy's blog here.

Strawberry glut? what strawberry glut? where are my strawberries!

2010-07-02T11:33:00.002+01:00

Following on from the jam making session of Wednesday, I thought hmmm lots of strawberries getting beautifully ripe, I'll pick them on Thursday and make jam with them on Friday before I head off to Lincolnshire for the weekend (yes again, but this time no house refurbishments on the agenda) and the RAF Waddington Air Show.

Whilst you'll know I've got foxcubs and that they've nearly destroyed my garden this year, you don't know that I turned the main strawberry patch into Fort Knox months ago (mainly to stop Ivor cat doing his business near food). I used some window grilles a neighbour decided they didn't need on their house any more - not sure why as his next door neighbour has been burgled a couple of times this year. Still, I'm not complaining, they aren't pretty but they are effective. They're heavy enough to lean against the brick border & wall and for Ivor cat and the foxes to be baffled by them, but open enough to allow the fruit to grow & ripen. That tall thing on the left is a poppy that just grew and it's pretty and on the end, so I let it. A bit Heath Robinson, but very effective.

Just before I went away to Northumberland in early June, I decided to add some salads to the lone occupants of my veg patch (celery and spinach). And I carefully laid out the 6 canes and tied them to make 1 foot square patches (do you know about Square Foot Gardening - it's great for the single girl who wants a bit of variety in her veg patch), and picked peasticks and dead branches to lay over the top and did a criss-cross of canes around the edge to discourage Ivor cat's business, and also deter the foxcubs.

Yeah right! I got back to find all the ground mashed up, the branches broken, the seedlings tossed all over the place. So I built another Fort Knox with some canes, trellis and plastic netting. Slight technical hitch though, I can't get in to weed it or eat the salads.

As you can see, it's looking a bit sad, and the lawn has really suffered from the bad winter and the recent lack of rain, oh yeah and the pesky foxcubs wearing it out! I need to change the barriers so I can get access...

I also have alpine strawberries (those tiny really fragrant ones) in a big half barrel on the patio mulched in straw. All I've done to protect these is put those foot long green peasticks at all angles so no sane animal will try and jump up. Or so I thought, I was in the kitchen on Thursday morning and what did I see? This...

Yes, it's blurry but can you see the cheeky foxcub bottom sticking out from the plants, silhouetted against the green compost bin? Honestly! and it didn't look at all repentant when I knocked on the window.

Well really! They've got lots of windfall cherries to eat, what are they doing raiding my strawberries! So I got some garden canes and some protective white garden fleece and made a temporary open topped 'hide' around the barrel. Didn't take a pic and should have done as I woke up this morning thinking, what's that cracking sound? Yes, the pesky vixen was busy trampling the fleece fence, in the barrel, trying to get at the strawberries. She didn't get many, she mostly trampled them into the straw - but ewww I'm not making anything with fox trampled strawberries - not a fox that's been rampaging around our little urban slum area anyway. However, there's still lots of flowers and unripe berries so I have made a new Fort Knox for the barrel.

I'm not sure it's going to work, but it's all I've got time to do at present with what's available at home. It's not pretty - none of my Fort Knox's are pretty, but I'm hoping they're effective!

And after all that, I only managed to get about 10 ripe Alpine Strawberries instead of the half pound I was hoping for. I am somewhat out of love with the rawness of mother nature right now!

Cherry Glut: jam making

2010-07-02T11:07:00.002+01:00

This year the cherry tree has outperformed itself: this is the second picking. There is no third picking as the ladders are too short and the birds got to the rest that I left to ripen up, taking a peck so the fruit dropped, which was hoovered up by the foxes.

So, I've already given away a couple of pounds, not even I can eat that many cherries at once.... So I decided to make jam. For the first time ever. I don't have a cherry pitter, just my knife and a thumbnail, so it too a while to destone them.

I used two pounds of cherries, and put the stones in a piece of muslin tied with string. But not much juice came out.

then I added the juice of a lemon and jam sugar. Bad move. Apparently it's jam sugar OR lemon juice with normal sugar. Not both. So, yes, it's set, oh how is it set! But it tastes well sweet and very very sour all at the same time. Ok, so 2lbs of cherries down, lots more left in the bowl...

So I took another 2.5lbs of cherries and a bottle of wine and 10oz sugar and nutmeg and made a syrup with the wine/ sugar then added the washed whole cherries and well a friend rang, so it was considerably longer than the 10 mins cooking time, but eventually I ended up with very palatable cherries in wine. So that's 2 jars of nasty cherry jam (I hope it'll be bearable if I cook with it), and 2 jars of cherries poached in wine.

And I've still got some cherries left - probably enough to retry the recipie without the lemon juice. If it works, I'll post the recipie, if not I'll merely share the disappointment with you!

English weather

2010-06-29T07:40:00.001+01:00

What with the depredations of the foxcubs wearing out the lawn and rolling and trampling all over my flower beds - pretty much destroying any chance of flowers from my evening primrose, red hot pokers, seedums, jasmine, crocosmia, monbretia, agapanthus et al.

And the mini-heatwave coming on top of very little rain, and as it was so hot in the bedroom at 4am I decided to get up and water the whole garden. All of it. Even putting more water in the pond.

So, 2 hours later, vowing to buy one of those lawn sprinkler things, get rid of some nettles and buy some loppers to prune some rather large branches I brained myself on - I come inside to post yesterday's pics of the foxcubs and what happens?

It starts raining!

I'm just very thankful I did all my washing yesterday and it was so hot it dried in half hour.

Three FoxCubs at Dusk

2010-06-29T07:35:00.000+01:00

Block Lotto: January winnings - progress at last!

2010-06-28T14:04:00.000+01:00

Well, I've finally found some time actually at home to start putting together my Block Lotto winnings. All I can say is that it's fortunate that this is liberated patchwork, as it didn't occur to me to check that the blocks were all the same size before I started adding the sashing, and to be honest, some of the sashing probably isn't quite right, and also, my seam allowances aren't always spot on. So, the cornerstones, well the best that can be said is they're in the corners!

Still, it's my first attempt at a quilt, and will be used to protect my bed from cat hair, so doesn't need to be perfect. And I don't believe in the existence of the quilt police, or at least, I care not what they think. That said, I think I'll pay a bit more attention next time!

The quilt is arranged 7 blocks across, 9 down in the spectrum, with cornerstones in the appropriate complementary colours with white sashing all around, or thereabouts as with it being a Block Lotto winnings, I've got more of one colour than others and some prints don't really fit anywhere particular, and I don't necessarily have quite the right shades of complementary colours. The pic below shows I've actually got quite a few more to sash before I can even get excited about sewing blocks of blocks together....

I also have no idea whether it will be too big or too small for my kingsize bed, so haven't considered borders yet. Other than maybe pianokeys or scrappy or depending on how many borders are needed and where, maybe some liberated lettering like Lazy Gal Tonya's (or rather a poor attempt at it to be more accurate) maybe saying 'Block Lotto January 2010' or similar might be good fun.

I made some dog beds for my sister's dogs (up in Northumberland) out of an old loose cover for my Ikea Beddinge sofa - those dogs will just chew it to bits so the fact it was worn out is irrelevant! This is my dining room come workroom, with an huge pile of stuff to be stuck on eBay under the window.

Where have I been the last month? Up in Northumberland helping my parents move house and then recovering down here by trying to declutter a bit and jobhunt and get the jungle under control. My computer got a virus and died, it's sort of resurrected, but there's lots missing and new stuff I don't know how to use. Grumble grumble. I've also been harvesting strawberries and cherries. The picture below is the view from their garden room out across the National Trust Estate Cragside - we went on the rhodedendron filled estate drive when I was there - stunning colours as the azeleas/ rhodedendrons were out, but didn't take my camera. Doh! Bizarrely it was at Christmas whilst we were staying in a National Trust holiday cottage on the other side of the valley that they decided to move to Northumberland - it feels strange that we were sitting talking about the move back then whilst looking across at the house they're now living in! Who would have thought it?

I'm hoping to be a bit more active online in July - but the good weather's arrived (I believe it's going to hit the mid 80s today which will be nice) and I want to be out there lolling in the shade of my cherry tree. The night's are a bit sultry so I've had my window open, and have to be slathered with mozzie repellent to survive. The cat's struggling a bit again, he's not a very well boy, so off to the vet we go tomorrow. Typically this is in the week my car insurance falls due, and now my washing machine appears to be breaking. Sigh. Still, I'll soon be poor enough to claim social security benefits - always a silver lining!

Talking of surviving, the foxcubs - I think there are now only 3. And I think they're struggling for food as they make the most awful racket every night - I keep thinking they're killing something slowly but only appear to be arguing... The biggest one's legs are beginning to go black and all have white tips to their tails. I've been throwing water towards them as they were getting a bit bold and coming into the house, so they run if they see me, so no more pics sadly. Can't have it both ways, they need to be wary of humans and if piccies is the price, then that's fine.

I am thrilled to finally have something to show on my Design Wall - other people are far more consistent than me, check them out at Judy's blog here. Judy's blog is worth looking at every day - she and her husband have quite an eventful domestic life and I love hearing about it. She also has great links to other quilters and is generally something of an inspiration all round!

And finally, here's my cherry crop from my garden - this is the second picking (and last as the birds have stripped the top third, I've stripped the bottom third and the middle third still has cherries, but I don't have ladders long enough and even if I did, the dizziness would cause some difficulties: they can be for the birds and windfalls for the foxcubs. I've given most of the first picking away, but I want to keep most of these for me. The bowl is about 25cm across - that's a LOT of cherries for one person with virtually no freezer space. I need to do a recipie search for how to preserve them without using sugar (I'm cutting down). Any suggestions?

Block Lotto - Reeds

2010-05-29T17:34:00.000+01:00

I've done four blocks, but don't have any more black (not that this is black as such, is black overdyed on a dark green but it'll have to do), and I laid out strips on plain white and it didn't look good at all! So, as I've got lots & lots to do and not much time to do it in over the next fortnight, that is that for this month!

And yet again, despite entering Block Lotto in an attempt to empty my house rather than fill it up, I'd like to win...

Block Lotto - Reeds

2010-05-29T10:14:00.000+01:00

For May the Block Lotto is a bias strip insert block we're calling Reeds.

For which you need lime green inserts and either black or black & white or white on white background.

Of course, I have no lime. And it turns out I don't have much black either. In fact now I come to look at my fabric stash, very little of it is medium weight quilting quality cottons - it's linen or silk or viscose or all sorts of weird & wonderful stuff, but not good for Block Lotto. So that means I'm going to have to be inventive to use it up. Shame huh!

Anyway, I'm still unemployed (mostly because I've been a bit lazy about looking and also hard at work helping my sister with her house refurb and studying) so I don't have much spare money, but what I do have is lots of hand dyeing equipment and quilting quality white cotton sateen. So, rather than go out & buy any lime, I've dyed some. With effective but interesting results....

I used Acid Lemon & Turquoise (both cold colours) - did two plastic bags of 2x 1m pieces - one with equal 2tsps of both dyes, the other with 3tsps of lemon and 1 tsps of turquoise. I chose to add the soda to the dyebath rather than soda soak the cloth itself. It was a very hot day and I did it outside with almost boiling water and used Urea to make sure the dye powder mix didn't split. I added one piece of cloth to the bag immediately then 5 mins later added the other (technically the recipie I was using was for 1m of cloth then wait 15mins to add the next piece to get a less vibrant strike on the second, but I forgot to wait that long)

All 4 pieces came out beautifully, one strong lime, two mid limes and a minty blue. Not that I can remember which came from which bag! BUT it took a 90 degree wash to get rid of the excess dye plus a couple of rinses with Synthrapol to be sure that they won't run - which I've not had to do with soda soaked fabric in the past, but then this is the first time I've used the cool range so I'm not sure quite where it went wrong. The strike was very good, but it's also not quite the depth of strike I was after, but then the other pieces I've done I've double dyed, and I didn't have time to do that this time, and anyway I've run out of salt.

So, here they are, limes for Block Lotto. Now all I need to do is turn them into Reeds blocks. What I can't decide is whether or not to print up some WOW, or just use plain white, or use some doubledyed black that's a bit blue or a bit green.... Maybe I'll see how it goes!

Foxcubs - over a couple of weeks

2010-05-29T10:02:00.000+01:00

These pics cover a couple of weeks, as I've been busy studying and then some sort of Vista problems stopped me accessing the blog (no idea why but it seems ok now, so am hoping it won't all just seize up!)

The first pic shows 5 cubs together, I've not seen 6 for a while, in fact I've only seen 2 or 3 at a time, I'm hoping they're just shy rather than dead, or coming out at different times. The cat bowl is for water only, I'm not feeding them. The third pic shows just one cub as that's all I see more or less these days - there seems to be one very brave or hungry one that is always out & about, but it could be successive cubs.

Last night I could distinguish (with difficulty due to the party noises coming from somewhere local, can't believe I had the window shut and could hear the drunken birthday speeches!) a lot of sounds of fighting for food of the cubs, so maybe the vixen's having trouble feeding them all - I find that hard to believe though bearing in mind the number of takeaway/fast food joints within 1/2mile and the personal habits of the average inhabitant (which appears to be - if you don't like it throw it on the floor and someone else will deal with it, even though you're standing right by a public dustbin. Sigh. Sometimes I hate living in a vibrant ethnic community).

Sadly, I missed a shot of all the cubs with the vixen sunning themselves on the lawn one day, I'll keep trying as it was a lovely scene...

Design Wall Monday

2010-05-10T11:46:00.002+01:00

Not much progress yet on the Block Lotto TicTacToe blocks January win. I've cut out the bottom white sashing to size and also cut out some doubledyed/batik solids for the four missing blocks (which will have white cut into them, so opposite of the other blocks), and I'm playing with cornerstones.

Apologies for the appalling light quality, the table is in the way and I don't want to move it by myself as it's a bit wobbly. Antiques huh, who'd have them!

Anyway, the blocks are laid out vertically as red, orange, yellow, greeny-yellow, green, greeny-blue, blue, bluey-purple and purple (9 down) and 7 across.

The cornerstones have been tried out in various permutations of solids/patterns in the same colours as the main blocks are ordered, ordered backtofront ie the other way round, but I've sort of settled on complementary to the main blocks.

So green, blue, purple, reddy-purple, red, reddy-orange, orange, orangey-yellow, and yellow. BUT I've not got the right solids cut with the right tonal values/colours yet, so the cornerstones that are up there are indicative and not going to be used in the main.

I'm also thinking I'll use my double-dyed/ self dyed batik type fabrics, but don't have the right colours/tonal values for some, so will need to dye some more.

I'm also really keen on doing this month's block lotto which is curved free-piecing like reeds - in lime green and black/white or white/white or black or white. Except I don't have any lime green other than some with pink on it which is the leftover bottom bit of my living room curtains and I'm kindof thinking I might need it someday.... So being unemployed and a bit poor, I don't want to go out & buy any more fabric, cos I've got lots (albeit not in the required colours). The only solution I can see is to dye some - as I have white fabric and procion dyes. So that'll have to wait too.

Which means the whole crafting thing is shelved until after my exam on the 19th, as I really need to get learning those cases - I'm now on my fourth pack of index cards - there's about 40 used for topic notes, and erm 200 for court cases. I am so hopeless at remembering case names!! No hope!

The foxcubs are out & about and more wary so no new pics. Ivor cat got a bit excited last night as one was nosing around the back door/cat flap. I got a bit excited this morning as I retrieved various items from around the garden that normally live at the back door that the cubs had been investigating. Sigh. How one forgets the inconvenience of baby animals in one's life!

Check out what everyone else is doing at Judy's Design Wall Monday here

The vixen visits...

2010-05-02T09:34:00.001+01:00

I have bacon, I have ketchup, I have flour, yeast, salt, butter, sugar, black sesame seeds, eggs etc. To cut it short I have all the ingredients to make a Sunday breakfast butty, but no actual bread. So, now I've bought a hand mixer with dough hooks as well as whisk attachments (from Sainsburys only £13. I dread to think how little someone got paid to make it and in what conditions, but it was the only one they had with both attachments). So I made some.

Using a Delia Smith recipie that uses 4oz of butter (how much!) but she's right, they are tasty... Although I only have wholemeal strong plain flour so they're a bit erm filling!.

Then as the oven was hot, and I don't like wasting energy, I made some rock buns filled with ginger preserve gifted to me for Christmas by my beloved cleaning lady - she was AWOL for months but now she's back (huge relief and excitement on my part, she's just bemused I didn't phone and ask her to come back, I was being polite and waiting) and is going to clean the cupboards next week, so I need to show I'm at least making an effort to eat her present! They are also entirely wholemeal flour and are filling, but tasty.

They are also a bit more charred than they should be as I was busy eating the whole point of this Sunday morning cooking fest, the bacon butty... which resulted in Ivor following my movements closely in case of titbits (sorry mate, bacon's salty, you're not allowed any)

Back in the kitchen after eating the butty and rescuing the welldone rock buns, Ivor heard a noise outside, and abandoned the 'slinking around for leftovers' for 'battle mode' investigations...

You wouldn't think I'd only decorated that wall before Christmas would you? The landlord took the radiator off the wall and left a real mess that I'm going to have to paint over. Anyway, after tutting over the mess (again, but I'm waiting until after my exam on 19th to talk to him about it, I need quiet and can live with a long list of stuff he needs to do for now.) I turned to the kitchen window and found the vixen mooching around the patio. By the time I'd picked up the camera, she was up the steps investigating the cat flap,and hearing me, looked right into the window.

See? In the right hand window pane (yes I've not painted that bit of woodwork, my landlord took the gloss away for other purposes and I've not got it back yet). Then she shot off round the corner to dig up my veggie patch.

Amazing! And it's nice to see her close up - she's thin but healthy looking, a bit bedraggled by rain but not obviously mangy. In fact it's been raining all night - so there won't have been much takeaway food discarded in the local main streets, and she's probably a bit hungry as she needs to feed those growing cubs.

It's made my day! Not Ivor's though, he's now crouched by the cat flap snuffling anxiously. And not without reason, as she chased him onto that fence the other day.

Cherry Blossom

2010-04-27T16:47:00.000+01:00

April Block Lotto - Wonky Shoo Fly

2010-04-27T16:43:00.000+01:00

Somewhat at the eleventh hour, I've made 9 + 1 blocks for the April wonky shoe fly, and because I can't count (yep no surprise there) I made an extra two blocks from some 1980s Laura Ashley fabric.

And then because I didn't feel like doing studying, I made another 5 sets of the Laura Ashley which means I've probably not got enough left to make any borders/ binding etc (could do cornerstones) but will eventually turn it into a baby quilt. But would anyone welcome a baby quilt in 1980s Laura Ashley fabric? I'll worry about that once I've made it...

I'm thinking it'll be good practice for putting together the TicTacToe quilt. When I eventually get round to it that is!

Foxcubs update

2010-04-27T16:34:00.001+01:00

After playing 'kill the bamboo cane' Ivor heard the fox cubs

And refused to go anywhere nearer to them than the edge of the 'lawn' (it's a lawn cos it's got grass). You can tell it's the edge of the 'lawn' as the weeds and bricks take over (don't ask)!

And here are the foxcubs. They've stopped being charcoal and begun to get their adult colouring. This week I've only seen three together. BUT, there were 3 in my garden then 2 in the other garden, so I suspect that's five. Maybe all six are still alive...

It was interesting watching two disappear into the foxhole in my garden, and pop up from the hole next door, and then play through the fence with the one that stayed in my garden. None fell in the pond this time!

It's perhaps for the best that Ivor's a bit wary; there was a dreadful noise the other day and the vixen had chased him out of next door's garden up a 10 foot high wooden fence that's hardened and weathered to narrow points at the top. Ivor looked very uncomfortable making his way back down off the top of the fence to terra firma: probably because I was laughing so much...

Ivor's fast fast fast

2010-04-27T16:20:00.000+01:00

Ivor wants to play...

He's faster pouncing than I am taking pics...

And here he is playing the well known cat game 'kill the bamboo cane'.

Design Floor Monday - Block Lotto TicTacToe progress

2010-04-19T15:35:00.001+01:00

Well, well, well, it's amazing how much time you can spend with so little to show for it!

I've made another 9 blocks to even up the colourways and reordered the blocks I won into an arrangement I like - although I need 4 more - and sewn white sashing on the right of each block. I've also cut a pile of sashing for the bottom of half the blocks.

The pic is me standing on a chair with natural daylight with the blocks spread out on a duvet cover on the floor - not a great pic as a result, as the colours look a bit washed out. Still, I managed to do it and get them back on the design wall in their correct placesyesterday BEFORE the cat wandered in for a whinge about being bullied by the fox cubs (at least I assume that's what he was bitching about, it was a bit early to be bitching for his dinner).

Talking of foxcubs - I saw six last week, the guy in the flat upstairs next door nearly fell out of the window telling me he'd seen 4 at the weekend, and I saw two today - they've gone from charcoal black to a soft sandy red, they're bright eyed, bushy tailed and, finally, have stopped falling into the pond. Phew! They have also developed awareness - so whilst last week I had to move otherwise they'd walk into me; this week, they're running away into their den if I come too close. Quite right too, don't want them too habituated, although I'd like to get close enough for a pic.... to do that I'd have to do some gardening, and I don't quite have time. Sigh. If only my garden was as tidy and organised as Judy's - check out her garden and the other design walls here.

This is what they looked like last week:

Lois Designs - no products but the social responsibility's up & running...

2010-04-09T21:38:00.003+01:00

No products on the new Lois Designs blog yet as I'm still testing and developing prototypes to make sure they're fit for purpose. Hopefully there'll be a few taster photos up in a few weeks.

However I have just posted information about where the charitable donation of 10% of my net profits are going to go - to two centres working in the slums in Nairobi Kenya. I visited them as part of a team with church back in 2006, and spent a very happy 3 weeks working with the sewing school teachers on sewing machine maintenance, hand embroidery and hand sewn patchwork.

I promised to support them for five years, and any cash from this new venture is additional to that commitment. I would love to go back and visit, but first I think I need to gather the funds to fulfill the pressing needs they've told me about. Also, the flights etc costs so much, I can't help thinking the cash itself could be better spent by them on new equipment rather than a trip for me... unless of course they decide they need my skills, which will be fine, but just going because I feel like it isn't the way forwards!

Part of the reason I'm doing the Block Lotto this year is to find ways of using scraps and leftover fabric - when I was there, they just sold the scraps for pence per bag as cushion filling etc. Hand patchwork skills will enable them to use some of the bigger pieces, and now I'm getting great ideas about how to use the smaller ones...

Making a box for safe sending of Ebay items: tutorial

2010-04-09T17:44:00.000+01:00

Forgive the poor quality of some of these pictures.

I've been decluttering and selling items on eBay and have found that really a custom made box is the way forwards with the majority of my small ornamental items. This tutorial shows you how to custom make a box out of card and brown parcel sticky tape.

You need:

Item to package
Tissue paper and bubble wrap for item
Cardboard - I use the cardboard you get on the back of A4/ letter sized writing pads. It's thicker than cereal packet but thinner than greyboard.
Brown parcel sticky tape
Ruler/ cutting rule
Scalpel or other sort of cutting knife
Scissors
Cutting board.

Steps:

Wrap your item in tissue paper then in bubblewrap. I tend to put the item in the middle of one edge, fold each side towards the middle of the item leaving a bit of space on each side, then roll the item up into a sausage shape, making sure the wrap is long enough to go around the item twice. This method leaves a 'collar' of wrap on the two sides which acts as extra padding for the ends of the item.
Stand the bubblewrapped item on its longest side and measure it, then its width, then its depth. Let's say this item is 12cm long, 10cm wide and 8cm deep.
Take your cardboard and measure out 4 rectangles which are by length & width ie 12cm x 10cm to form the body of the box. Then measure out a further two rectangles which will be width and depth 10cm x 8cm to form the ends of the box. The box is stronger if you use the LONGEST measurement for the body and the SHORTEST measurement for the ends. The middle measurement appears in both! Then cut out all 6 pieces using the knife/board.
Lay out the 4 rectangles in front of you with the longest edges touching (12cm) and squared up/ butting up against each other. Take a piece of tape that's about 2cm longer on EACH end than the longest edge (ie 16cm) and lay it across one of the 'joins' between two rectangles. In the picture below I've already laid tape over the first two joins and haven't squared up the bottom rectangle yet.

Then BEFORE lifting the joined rectangles, carefully make a slit in the middle of the excess tape from the outer edge to the join and fold each separate 'tag' over to the back of the card. You do this so that the join flexes, if you just folded the excess tape to the back the join won't flex and will be hard to work with. The pics below show the slit in the excess tape and then how it's folded to the back 'tag' by 'tag'.

6. Do this for all 3 middle joins between the 4 rectangles. The pic below shows what it the underneath looks like when you've done it.

7. The tape you've stuck down so far will form the INSIDE of the box. Now we need to tape the OUTSIDE of the box, and this needs a bit more give to allow the box to form. So, you need to turn the card back over so that the ends are underneath and you have three strips of tape and three strips of card showing on the top. Then leaving the card that way up, you flip the bottom segment over back on itself, as in the picture below. You then apply another piece of tape halfway onto the flipped hinged side which will cover up those unsightly 'tags' from the last step, sticky side DOWN. You will end up with half the tape sticking to the cutting board per the next pic.

8. You then need to slit the excess tape at the end of the card in the same way that you did before. Then carefully turn the card over so the taped side is underneath and the sticky half of the tape is visible, and then VERY CAREFULLY roll the hinge edge of the card back against the tape so that it covers the STILL FOLDED hinge and all the way across to the other side of the card sandwich. The reason you do this is to give the right amount of leeway for the tape to allow the box to form properly. If you don't make sure there's room at the hinges, all you'll have is a piece of card taped together that won't bend where you've cut it.

Make sure you fold the 'tag' onto the other side each time. What you should now have is a box corner that only folds one way (after the first set of taping the box corners fold both ways), and the bit you've just taped is the outside. You'll end up with a 'ridge' in the tape you've just put on, this proves you've got it right!

10. Do the same for the other 2 hinges. You end up with 3 box corners taped on both sides, and the two ends that form the fourth corner totally untaped.

11. Time now to do the fourth corner. Put the card on the cutting board so that the 'ridge' hinges are underneath and the 'clean' hinges are visible. Take a piece of tape and sticky side down, apply it to one untaped end so half the tape sticks to the cutting board. Then keeping the card exactly as it is, flip up this box side to the middle join, so that you end up with the tape sticky side up per the pic below.

12. Then carefully bring the other end towards the middle so that it meets squarely on the exposed sticky tape. Slit the excess tape at both sides and carefully stick each 'tag' onto the back. This step creates the fourth inside box corner, and you should now have a box shape that stands up by itself.

13. Now we need to create the outside fourth box corner by folding the box back down flat so that the edge closest to you is the only corner not yet taped on the outside.

14. Then take a piece of tape and sticky side down apply it to the cardboard edge with half the tape sticking to the cutting board. As with the other outside corners done earlier, slit the excess and then carefully fold the tape around the hinge end onto the other side of the card, fold in each 'tag' to the back and you should end up with a final corner with a 'ridge' and a box that's open at the top and the bottom but with tape on the inside and outside of each corner.

15. Open out the box so you have the open ends at the top and bottom. Take your bubblewrapped item and put it into the open ended box. Take one of the two ends and balance it on top of your bubblewrapped item. If you've measured correctly, the end should just nestle inside the open ended box. Take your roll of tape and tape around the top of the box so that half the tape sticks up, sticky side facing inwards. Go all around the box until you get back to where you started. Be careful not to put too much pressure on the box when you apply the tape, otherwise the top will spring off and stick to the exposed tape, and you'll have to fiddle it back into place.

16. Then very carefully push one side of the sticky tape down onto the lid, then moving round push the next and the next and the final one. Don't worry that the lid sinks down into the box at this stage, but also don't push too hard. My folding here is truly shocking! Normally it's much neater, but as long as it sticks the end down and doesn't move around much, it's fine.

17. Lift the box off the bubblewrapped item, turn the box upside down and push the corners of the end you've just taped downwards against the table to give a good firm grip and box formation.

18. Put the bubblewrapped item back into the box with the open end upwards, add packing note/ invoice etc, then balance the final end on the top of the box. Repeat the same process of taping around the outside of the box, leaving half the tape exposed sticky side facing inwards. Carefully fold down the tape one side after another. This end's much neater than the first end!

19. Et Voila! You have a very sturdy, completely enclosed box that you just wrap with Kraft paper, address and post off safe in the knowledge that it'll take some pretty harsh handling by Royal Mail before the contents are damaged.

20. Once you've got the hang of it, making a custom box like this takes as little as 10mins from start to finish. If I'm sending several items and they're a bit fragile it doesn't take much to make a box for the weaker ones then a bigger box to encase everything else.

21. You can use this technique with a bit more care and attention to make a box that's quite pretty. It's also not much harder to make a box with a lid that comes off, you just need to adjust your measurements, but it's done the same way - as effectively you're making two half boxes with one open end, with one slightly bigger than the other.

22. You can also use tissue paper and PVA glue to make a box in this way but it takes ages to dry and needs supporting. But it does make a lovely box that you can then decorate or decoupage.

And now my garden's overrun by fox cubs!

2010-04-09T16:20:00.002+01:00

There's been a lot of noise in the garden when I've been hanging out the washing in the last couple of days, and Ivor cat has been behaving a bit strangely (even more than usual!).

Yesterday there was a lot of crashing in the undergrowth and a very thin dishevelled looking fox ran away along the back wall.
Today, there was a lot of yipping and yapping. On investigation it turned out to be 4 or 5 very tiny fox cubs, so young that they're still black with little white tips to their tails, looking bright eyed but not very bushy tailed, with very round bellies that could be the sign of well fed youngsters, but could equally be a terrible case of underfeeding and worms.

Unfortunately on even closer inspection (although fortunately you can't see in the pictures) towards the back of the foliage where the cubs were congregating was a dead cub! Unsure what to do, I phoned the RSPCA then the Fox Project to find out. Apparently older cubs could and would use it as a food source (and I would have been happy to leave it for that purpose), but cubs that young would not, so the best advice was to double bag it and put it in the dustbin. Which is what I've done.

But I am a bit worried about the cubs, as the dead one had pond weed on its belly (so had been a further 3-4 feet back in the undergrowth), and in the couple of hours from me initially finding the dead cub and then finding out what to do, the cubs had (I assume) dragged the dead cub into the den opening which is just under the bush trunk to the right in the bottom picture - another 2-3 feet. So I am concerned they are hungry and the vixen has met a nasty end somewhere.

The Fox Project lady told me to keep an eye on them and see if they come out crying much in the next 24 hours. I'm mulling over whether to tell her about the dead cub being half pulled into the den (it got stuck on the branches that have been in there for a few years, it can't be the main entrance which is probably somewhere else in the garden or next door) so she can come and collect them and look after them if necessary.

No doubt there have been litters living and dying for years at that end of the garden, but as I'm usually at work I wouldn't know. But now I do know, so morally speaking I should pay attention. But I'd be happier if I knew what to look out for.

UPDATE: I phoned The Fox Project again to ask how I can tell if they've been abandoned, and she said I should sprinkle flour around the outside of the den then look to see what size footprints there are in the morning (big and little) so I got some flour, went down the garden, got caught up in the brambles and roses and nettles and sprinkled flour on two entrances thinking it's a bit odd there's not much sign of coming and going - only to look up into next door's garden and find an huge mound of earth and the obvious opening to a den - way beyond where I could reach to put flour down or even look for tracks. Foiled again Mutley! I may well wait for my neighbours to come back and ask their permission to be scratched to death by their bramble patch garden to check it out. Or is that a bit excessive?!!

UPDATE 2: I went out to get the washing in this evening, and the cubs were out & about again - there are six (excluding the dead one), two of whom fell into the pond whilst I was watching. Thankfully they got out again ok, but looked a bit cold and damp! I've now put a metal grille in the pond so they can climb out a bit easier if they don't learn fast that the nice flat green layer isn't mown lawn, it's pond. Small fox cubs, small children, they're all the same!! I've also put down some food to help them warm up a bit.

No rainbow this visit

2010-04-09T16:05:00.001+01:00

But lots of lovely spring flowers in my friends' flowerbeds

and the local 'manor house' have dredged the mediaeval fish ponds also known as 'stews' and planted daffodils all over the banks and left a lot of trees in the last year or so, which are now fully out. Very atmospheric, if not very good photos.

And when I was driving home along the lane from their house, there was a barnowl on the fence. I tried taking a picture but it was hopeless, so you'll just have to imagine this glorious ghostly bird floating silently over the road into the daffodil strewn fish ponds tree canopy... I'll be back there again next week, so no doubt there'll be another chance to actually get a decent photo of the barn owl then!

V&A Museum London - Quilts 1700 to 2010 exhibition

2010-03-31T19:38:00.000+01:00

Not sure if you are aware of this exhibition at the V&A in London, running until 4th July. Sixty Five British Quilts mostly from V&A's collection, some loans. All gorgeous!

The website is great, and there's also an opportunity to submit a picture of one's own quilt (not that I've made any myself) and have it shown on the companion site Quilt of Quilts. It's moderated and you get a certificate to say your quilt has been included, and I have to say of the 171 quilts that have made it through moderation so far, I rather liked some of them. Not much liberated stuff there yet....

They've even got a curator's blog! Amazing.

It's all part of the current mania by the powers that be in the UK to include the community in absolutely everything, all very well and good and I suppose I shouldn't be moaning because it's a good thing for museums to have lots of people visiting and being interested, but it's getting hard to swing a cat in any London museum these days, they're heaving with people and I miss the good old days of virtually having a room to myself all weekend! Lucky I'm unemployed and can go when everyone's at work and it's just the tourists. Silver linings abound in all clouds!

Rainbows in Lincs last week

2010-03-29T12:31:00.000+01:00

I love the way the land is so flat you can see both ends hit the ground!

It followed me into the village,

but I couldn't get it to span the church

or my friends' house whose driveway is scattered with little blue flowers

Bias binding difficulties - Design Wall Monday

2010-03-29T12:03:00.001+01:00

Sheesh! The trouble I've had.... It's all looking good now, but it took a month! How hard can it be to bind 3 pieces of cloth? This week it's the design ironing board as the handsewn paper pieced stars from last week are still up on the wall being looked at, and everything else is still in the In Progress Box, still at least I've got somewhere on this one!

It all started in early March when I went to see friends living in a converted barn and a gorgeous Jack Russell in deepest darkest rural Kent. They've spent a lot of money on furniture & refurbishment, including recovering a chesterfield sofa in cream fabric woven with poppies that cost £40 per metre (how much!!!). They'd been using the 3 leftover pieces to protect the sofa from the dog who likes running along the back, but these had got very grubby as boys being boys, they don't sew, the fabric frays horribly and so they'd not been able to wash them. Being a firm believer in my ability to do anything I set my mind to (eventually) I offered to do some sort of hem. I thought it would be good practice ahead of putting together my Block Lotto winnings and scary liberated log cabin (see previous posts) into quilts and my prototype textile products into production and selling them online/ at craft fairs.

A stright turned over hem, of course, would look really nasty on fabric that thick, so I decided to bind it. I've got lots of bias binding at home, but went to look in a few shops and finally settled on the 1/2" wide chocolate brown commercial bias binding I already possessed as I couldn't find a cream one that matched the background. The boys approved the colour choice.

So I did the binding using the usual method of ironing out one edge, sewing it to the front right sides together, then turning over and carefully pinning the back, then sewing on the front not in the ditch as the fabric's quite thick and there wasn't space, but on the front of the binding itself to ensure it all caught. Checked it, washed it, and howled in frustration as there were about 10 areas that had come adrift because the fabric really really frays ridiculously easy.

Sigh. I cut it all off, stay stitched the edges this time and rebound it again using same method as before, checked it had all caught and washed it. And howled louder and longer, as each of the three pieces had come adrift in at least one area.

Double sigh. I had a look on the net, and decided to go foraging for a binding foot. Bernina sell two sorts, one an industrial quality one that they make to order for around £200 (huh!) and another domestic funnel type one they sell with an adapter shank for around £30. So I walked down the High Street to my local sewing machine shop. Who confirmed that it's not a good idea to buy an industrial foot off the net that claims to work with my machine, but sold me a domestic funnely type one with adapter shank for £19. Marvellous.

I had a little play on scrap fabric to make sure I understood how to use it, and failed, so went on the net to find out because it wasn't as easy as I hoped (I found this site by a guy who makes kites with all sorts of useful info on Seams of different sorts), and eventually worked out that you

don't need to iron your commercially ready folded binding out flat, in fact if you do, for some reason it won't always fold it down nicely and you'll have missed bits. So first question - how do I get the funnel foot to operate well with unfolded tape? Does it have to never have been folded in the first place?
need to hold the top edge of the tape right up at the highest point of the funnel, but even then with the foot/funnel angle adjusted as far as it can go one way or the other or in the middle, I didn't seem to be able to get the sewing line as close to the inner edge of the binding as I'd hoped. Second question - do I need to hold the tape a bit lower down the funnel?
can't do a neat folded over finish using the binding foot, you have to finish using a normal foot. Third question - how on earth does one get a neat finish? Pics of my finishes below - not neat but best I could do....

This one is a bit parlous, the staystitching is showing underneath, but seems to be holding... If it doesn't last, I'll handstitch an extra bit of binding over it later for them.

This one's better, but a bit lumpy.

And my binding foot looks like this...

All help and tips gratefully received!

I've bought two job lots of 1" bias binding, one ready folded, one not, and whilst I anticipate being able to successfully bind those sizes without using the foot, I'll need to use the foot for thinner binding, and I really need to know how as I'm not getting very far with just practising!

Check out what everyone else is doing (hopefully with fewer difficulties than me) at Judy's Patchwork Times

New ideas, new blog...

2010-03-24T09:52:00.000Z

I sold my first item on eBay (excellent) but then the buyer went googling to see if they could find me under my eBay id, Lois_Designs. And found someone completely different, because generally on the web I use the Goblinf id for personal stuff (textiles, cycling forums etc).

Which got me thinking, I'm in the middle of developing some prototypes of textile products I want to sell online or at craft fairs etc locally to me, which is one of the reasons I set up my eBay id as it is. Selling in a small way that is, as when I'm employed I have a day job; so I don't want it to take over my life, but as I'm currently unemployed, it seems a good idea to seize the day and do it now.

That said, I will need lots of traffic from lots of different places to get my products out there. But, I want the Goblinf blog to be for fun stuff like 365 cards and block lotto and generally boring the few misguided souls who make it here to have a look on any random subject that takes my fancy, which doesn't necessarily really fit with the general idea of a competent and trustworthy embryo craft business.

So, I've set up another blog, again in Blogspot rather than a real website because I don't want to sell out of it, I want it to be a marketing tool pointing to where I'm selling - called Lois Designs here. Don't get too excited, all I've done is set up the framework as yet...

Which leads me to two major issues:

Firstly, there are other blogs/ websites called Lois Designs in USA & UK. I'm wondering how to differentiate mine from the existing ones in a way that's easy to determine on Google & other search engines. Once they click the link they'll know it's not mine, but really I need a name that's easy to remember so if someone's just heard it in conversation etc, they'll be able to google a rough approximation and my blog will show up on the page somewhere. Lois Designs UK was my first thought, but in the URL it comes out as loisdesignsuk - my designs do not 'suck' so that's a non-starter! maybe loisdesignslondon - but that sounds a bit arrogant, London is where I am, not my creation! and anyway I don't do patriotic style stuff either. I think I need to get the unique but easy to remember name sorted out before I start posting on the new blog, so that's one for breakfast mulling over...

Secondly, how do I get google & other search engines to register my existence. If I type goblinfblog into google, it arrives as a result. But then this blog's been going for nearly a year, and I think the fact that I'm doing challenges is what's got it up there, because I've certainly not done anything to get it there. But from the helpfiles it appears you ought to submit your url to search engines to get it known. At present I'm inclined to do nothing and see what happens....

Design Wall Monday - Another unfinished project...

2010-03-22T17:16:00.002Z

I've temporarily taken down the scarily liberated log cabin stuff, as I want to think a bit more about the various suggestions. Also, the table has been full of non-sewing equipment and I had to put the machine away, so I picked up a handsewing unfinished project for this week...

I started this one in the 1990s! It's paper pieced and handsewn diamonds using sample book fabrics kindly donated to me by my then secretary (a lovely lady called Anne) whose husband was involved with the Swiss firm Joseph Offeln - the patterns are flowers, vegetables and stripes (you might need to click to enlarge to see this). Unfortunately, I don't have much more of it in my stash, just oddments diamonds ready papered, and a 3/4" pile of the dark green ready cut out. So, what now I ask myself?

I remember I was pieceing them to see how many variations you could get with one patterned one plain, and that's by no means exhausted. I've just spent the last few evenings sewing the various components I'd already done together and finishing others.

Should I keep them all together, find some more similar vintage fabrics from my stash (or mum's I must remember to ask her if she has any of this stuff left...) and make a king size quilt and use them as medallions? Split them into 3 flower medallions, two vegetable and one stripes and make 3 separate items? Or separate them all and make something a lot smaller in multiples?

All suggestions welcome. Again I'll probably end up taking it down and thinking about it for a while.

I've got lots of other stuff I should be doing - maybe working on the liberated log cabin instead, or maybe the sewing 'favours' I said I'd do for friends (I've just been & bought a binding attachment for my Bernina as the fabric pieces/ sofa protectors I've been binding for a friend frayed so much and I'm fed up of washing it and finding it's not caught and it doesn't look good if you oversew it), or maybe the trust law studying I should be doing, or maybe more clearing out and decluttering of my house. Or even the prototype products I'm thinking of making and selling (more of that in future weeks blogging).

Adding to the list of things I'm getting bored of, is listing stuff on ebay. Have done some of mine, and most of my parents (they're moving soon). One joyous moment was finding these chairs in the cellar again. Having thought I didn't want them, I'm now wondering if I really want to sell them after all.... so they've not been listed yet.

They're 1960s originals, I've got 4, but only 2 original covers. They're huge but gorgeous, called Krokus Easy Chairs by some long gone Swedish firm called Ulferts Fabriker in Tibro. One weird thing is you can usually find a picture of anything and everything on the net - but not of these! It appears they are unique, but if anyone has ever seen anything like them before, I'd love to hear! The same with a 1960s egg shaped table lamp I have listed - I could only find one pic on the net. Just one! Bizarre!!

If I keep them, I'll be making new covers which is going to involve some pattern-making and brain-strain! and those will be up on the wall for a while...

Check out what others are doing on Judy's Patchwork Times blog.

PS Yikes, I've just read Judy's Design Wall post - she wants us to post something that's been up since last week and had progress on! I don't work that fast, it can take me weeks of looking at it and thinking to move on and have 3 or 4 that I take turns to pin up... Oh well, I suppose as long as I stick to those 3 or 4 I'll be ok...

Linking to Ebay from my website - How hard can it be?

2010-03-19T16:03:00.001Z

You just need to find the right help page (via Google instead of Ebay's own as it's more effective), tick a few boxes, paste a bit of code... And find you've actually linked yourself to the US Ebay site not the UK one. Sigh. Then when you eventually find the same facility in Ebay UK, it turns out the code generated doesn't work and you have to mess with it before it works.

Still for those who would like this facility, here are the links to the right pages in US Ebay - no fiddling required, it works straight away.

Linking to US EBAY from my website:
First Page - Use of Ebay Intellectual Property Then in that page scroll down to the paragraph that says this

"Linking to eBay From Your Website - Drive internet users to your eBay store or listings using a special button we’ve created for you. If you’d like to create a link to eBay from your website, we can make it easier for you. Visit the Link Your Site to eBay page to learn more."

and use the link which should take you to this page called Link Your Site to Ebay: hyperlink takes you straight to it, but it's worth reading that first page to see what's possible & what isn't. Tick both or one option(s) (one gives a button that takes you to Ebay homepage, the other gives a button that takes you to your own Ebay listings), paste in your website/ blog address, then all you need to do is follow the instructions and agree the license terms, and a new page comes up with the HTML code for both buttons to use in your blog/website the same way you'd use any of them.

Linking to UK EBAY from my website: Dealing with rubbish code:
However is not so easy to achieve this with UK Ebay, because you follow the same steps, but the HTML code provided is rubbish. I fixed this by getting the UK code AND the US code and comparing it, and taking out the extra bits in the UK code that stopped it working.

For the HTML to have a button that links directly to my Ebay listings I made the following alterations to the UK HTML rubbish code:
Rubbish code 1 in line 2: after " dll? " remove " cgi1.ebay.co.uk/aw-cgi/ebayISAPI.dll?RedirectEnter&partner=25047&loc=http:// "
Rubbish code 2 in line 3: replace " %26 " with ampersand " & " just before it says " username " etc.

Linking to UK Ebay from my website: Ebay page that gives wrong code:
So, if you fancy having this facility on your blog and don't mind messing with a bit of code (nothing to be frightened of, you can't break anything permanently, just keep a copy of the original so you can start again if you need to), pull up this Ebay UK page: Link your site to Ebay (again found via Google NOT Ebay help as it's really hard to navigate, but it's a genuine Ebay page).

As with the US Ebay, pick which/both buttons you want, add your website/ blog address and Agree their Terms & Conditions.

Geting the UK Ebay code to work:
As with the US site, agreeing the T&C takes you to a new page with HTML code for the buttons that unfortunately for me didn't work. Try using it, and if it works great, if it doesn't work, then
1. Get both US and UK code on the same screen. Test them to see if they work
2. Compare them bit by bit and strip out the bits in the UK code that aren't in the US code, I suggest you paste the bits you strip out into the same screen a bit lower down so you don't lose them, AND work on a copy of the code so you have the originals if you get confused. I didn't first time round and I think Agreed the T&C on both sites 3 times each! I did all the fiddling around in the little HTML/Java Script box in BlogSpot and it worked fine, I just got it all working before I went back and deleted what I didn't want. (see above for the bits I stripped out).
3. See if it works, if not fiddle some more, or start again.
4. Make sure you send an email to Ebay UK help telling them this very useful facility isn't working properly so that they fix it for future users.

Finally, I have not actually posted the code here in this post, not because I want everyone to have difficulties and struggle, but because I am a fervent believer in Ebay's (or any other entity's) right to have license agreements with users. So, please make sure you sign up to the Ebay user agreement as well as fiddling with the code to make it work.

Design Wall Monday - March Block Lotto's leftovers

2010-03-15T07:21:00.001Z

Judy at Patchwork Times hosts a Design Wall Monday, I've been lurking for a month or so looking at the many and varied Design Walls posted, and have been inspired to make myself a Design Wall (by covering the shelving I use for craftstorage with some polycotton sheeting), and for the first time actually have something in progress that isn't a Block Lotto entry. Just inspired by it. So I thought it might be fun to join in.

Sophie of Block Lotto set us Liberated Log Cabin with Attitude this month in cool, bold & scrappy. Being inexperienced I had a lot of bits left over, including the trimming triangles, so I made 9 blocks of bits and then a really big log cabin block for the middle, which isn't finished. I need more blocks for the edges, at least 3 maybe 7, I have enough bits, the difficulty will be getting them scrappy as I won't have the trimmed triangles to start me off (unless I make some).

I am wondering whether I should make 3 scrappy for the bottom and 4 liberated log cabin for the corners (which will tie into the middle). And for sashing maybe the bright turquoise batik rather than black or white - but first I'll need my calculator back, I left it at a friend's by accident at UK tax return time and haven't seen her since...

Leftovers from Block Lotto Liberated Log Cabin with Attitude

2010-03-14T08:08:00.001Z

Sigh. This whole project is supposed to be using up my stash, which has happened this month very successfully, but because I lack experience and didn't think ahead, I ended up with

large number of strips I cut from the stash unecessarily thinking I might use them but didn't
large number of part strips that were too small for the final layers, because I did all the blocks at the same time, so couldn't recycle part strips (next time I'll do two lots of chain piecing, I suspect it's less wasteful if you're doing lots & lots of blocks, or plan ahead).
40 trimmed triangles made up of varying amounts of pieced fabric from trimming the blocks with Attitude (I played safe and made the blocks around 13" square to cut down to 9.5" square so these triangles were big!)
not actually using up many 'whole' pieces of stash fabric and quite a few pieces that I'd mostly used

A month or so ago, Sophie who runs Block Lotto posted this about 'strip fabric' she'd made then cut into blocks - so I decided to sew together the trimmed triangles into rough brick shapes, then intersperse them with leftover part strips sewn together if they weren't wide enough and full leftover strips to make up a load of extra blocks 'scrappy' style. I ended up with 9 x 9.5" scrappy blocks from these leftovers:

Then I still had some really small bits leftover, and was wondering what size quilt I could do with 9 blocks (not very big) and decided to start another scrappy liberated log cabin, but this one for me, to build into a large 18"x18" + central panel that I could put the 9 blocks around (with sashing to make it comfortable) as what I really need is two light bedcovers that I can use to keep Ivor and my duvet covers apart on the bed. The TicTacToe will be one, and I need another, and can practise/ learn on this one..... Here is the centre panel (not quite finished):

Of course, 9 blocks are not enough, I'll need at least 12 if I want 3 on each side, or 16 if I want one in each corner too. However, I have enough fabric for that. Then I'll need to decide whether I do sashing in black or white. I need sashing to get it to bedsize. Initially I immediately think white as I like a nice bright & pale bedroom, but we shall see.

I still have some leftovers, but they are sufficiently few that they will fit into my scraps box (which is bulging, but not necessarily with fabric suitable for Block Lotto) or sufficiently large that they can go back into the stash. Success! Of a sort, as I have now merely taken fabric out of the stash, and turned it from something not started into something halfway through. Oh dear!

March Block Lotto - Liberated Log Cabin With Attitude - Finished and Entered!

2010-03-14T07:31:00.001Z

Ooo the excitement, I've done 5 pairs of blocks for this month's Block Lotto. Having failed to enter any last month as life just got in the way and also having won the first month of entering, I think I ought to be polite and donate my chances this month. Although I do like the blocks she thinks wistfully. Nope, I have enough Unfinished Projects, it's good for stuff to leave my house and clutter up someone elses!

So here's the pic of the finished blocks (see the last post for their unfinished state)

and here's the link to my post on Block Lotto entering them into this month's draw (or use the Block Lotto icon on the right hand side to see what else is going on there).

Block Lotto March - Liberated Log Cabin With Attitude

2010-03-11T08:30:00.000Z

I was quite excited about the February Block Lotto, and got as far as a test alphabet but no further so I couldn't join in last month. But this month I'm determined to do so: and it's Liberated Log Cabin With Attitude. Rules are:
Bold - have at least one black & white or one black & one white piece in there.
Cool - use colours from the cool side of the wheel - blues, greens, purples
Scrappy - use leftovers if you can, solids, prints or multis, but predominantly cool coloured.

So, I raided my stash, and found that I'd forgotten completely about some quilting cottons that a friend of mum's gave me a while ago, plus some lightweight furnishing fabrics in the blues/greens/purples/greys requested. Plus I've got a lot of oddments of a gorgeous wax batik fabric I made a dress from for a friend's informal wedding a year or so ago, and some ready cut square patches in the right colour I'd raided from Wendy's remnants bin (Wendy used to have a designer kids wear business, then moved into soft furnishings and is now making prototype leather handbags preparatory to selling them on the web. They are to die for, when she gets it set up, I'll post a link).

Four hours later, I had acheived this - three Log Cabins more or less 12x12" (you cut them down to 9.5" at an angle when they're done) and seven Log Cabins that are about half way there. I cannot decide whether I like them or not - I like all the fabrics I've used, just perhaps not together. Maybe when they're all the same finished size....

Spring Cleaning Progress II....

2010-03-09T10:49:00.001Z

Sigh. I've been trying to make space for that hall desk downstairs in the dining room, which also happens to be my workroom, and I've a lot of hobbies that take up a lot of storage space.

The whole of the last 2 days have been a total farce: I have an old wooden filing cabinet, that needs space to open the drawers. So, I moved the metal shelving (now empty as it's contents are upstairs in the living room) to the left alcove between the window and the chimney piece, which involved moving the contents of the wooden cabinet, and also a load of homeless stuff on the floor. It didn't look good, so I decided to put it in the right alcove, and that would mean moving canvas covered shelving (and contents) but it wouldn't come out because of the other shelving on the back wall, so I had to move that (and contents) only to find that whilst the alcove was 95cm at the front and the back, it was only 92cm in the middle arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh it didn't fit!

So the metal shelving went back to where it belonged initially, the canvas covered shelving went into the left alcove (which is a bit big for it so it sways sideways), one of the units from the back wall went in the right alcove, which meant I was now lacking a sidepiece for the back wall remaining units and had to make another trip to Ikea (the only bright side to this is I've got a family card and am racking up benefits on a per visit basis...) for the sidepiece and an extra shelf - rebuilt the two back wall units, shuffling them along towards the alcove, leaving space at the end for, yes the blue cabinet.

So it now all fits in, there's space on the chimney breast for the hall table from upstairs and all of the original contents plus some homeless stuff has now made it into the storage - leaving a small pile of homeless stuff plus some paperwork to be sorted, plus a whole load of stuff to go onto ebay or to a charity shop where the hall table will be going - so it can't come downstairs until that's done.

I'm shattered! I wouldn't mind but I did measure it all, and still ended up taking everything out and putting it back... I would say never again, but if only!!!!

One downside is that my 'designwall' is now split into 2 uneven parts. But if it means less stuff on the floor to fall over, I can live with that!

Quick & Easy Almond & Cherry Biscuit Recipe

2010-03-06T14:51:00.000Z

I know, not the best piccy and not the best presentation, but I'm feeling tired and grumpy and eating them feels more important....

Anyway the original recipe expects you to use caster sugar and beat the butter & sugar together but that takes too long. This version takes 10 mins to prepare and 8 mins to cook... (or slightly less if you don't want the browner edges that I like having.... You can also take more care over their shape, but I can't be bothered personally).

So, how to do it:

50g Butter (put butter in a small ovenproof dish into the oven as you preheat it to 375 or 200 ish degrees, when it's melted, get it out, give it a stir and pour it into the sugar in a bowl)

50g Sugar (I generally use granulated demarara, but normal white would be fine)

Mix the butter & sugar together

Then stir in 40g of plain flour (any sort, I had wholemeal so that's what I used today)

If you like the biscuits dry and barely holding together, just add 50g of chopped dried or glace cherries (or cranberries are nice too).

If you like them more moist (like American style cookies) put your chopped cherries into a little bowl with hot water to cover at the same time as you put the butter in the oven.

Add the cherries to the butter/sugar/flour mix (reserve the hot water infused with cherry goodness)

Add 50g chopped or flaked almonds (or ground if that's all you've got). Today I used crushed flaked almonds, which I crushed with a pestle & mortar, bashing a plastic bag with a rolling pin has the same effect...

Then mix it all together. If it's falling apart, add some of the hot water reserved before (or just new hot water) until it's quite moist and holding together well.

Grease a baking tray, dollop teaspoon-full of mixture with a reasonable distance apart (sometimes they spread), cook for 8 mins (but keep an eye on them, they burn easily). Then eat.

Yum yum. I've eaten half of mine in the time it's taken to do this & the last post. Oops!

My spring cleaning progress...

2010-03-06T14:38:00.000Z

I helped some friends move out a few weeks ago, and the horror of the experience (they had a lot of stuff, hadn't sorted it and didn't really start packing seriously until a couple of days before the move) has galvanised me into sorting out my stuff - there's no way I actually want everything I've got tucked away I thought to myself, and if I get rid of some of it, I might be able to get some of the stuff that I want to keep but which is lurking under furniture or just tripping me up in the wide open (hah!) spaces in my house.... How hard can it be?

Yeah right!

Probably a lot easier if I'd actually kept the house tidier in the first place. And cleaner (my lovely cleaning lady remains awol as her husband has been ill for months - she's too good to lose so I'm waiting for her to come back and failing to keep on top of it myself).

Nevertheless, the living room is now sorted out because I've bought a stand for my bike, some boxes and shelving from Ikea and there's only stuff in there that I actually want to keep and will use. But isn't quite finished because there's a hall table and an oak chest to go downstairs currently clogging up the window area, but there's not room downstairs yet. (My house is the bottom half of a converted Edwardian London terrace, I have 2 rooms upstairs and a room downstairs (which is also where the kitchen & bathroom is) - my bedroom is always upstairs, the other two rooms alternate between living room & work/dining room depending on how I'm feeling. Right now, the living room is upstairs). I also need my neighbour to be around and in a helping frame of mind to move that furniture downstairs....

Until recently all this alcove below had in it was my sewing machine suitcase (it has wheels, I used to go on weekend courses, but then I stopped but am keeping it as it'll be very useful if I ever start that sort of thing again) with the cat carrier on top, and an occasional table with a lamp on.

Now, it has all my large sewing/embroidery/coffee table books plus my magazines, plus my tax technical files from downstairs, as well as my writing slope box and an horrendously expensive lamp that I get nervous about people breaking.... Of course, I now have to find somewhere else for the occasional table and lamp to go, but it's progress of a sort!

No you're not seeing things, there are two rather battered lifesize cardboard pike from the 1930s nailed to my chimney breast (lifesize as in as tall as I am), I've got the nose for the bottom one and one day I'm going to have saved up enough cash to get them conserved and the nose put back on....

All well & good, great progress has been made, one room is sorted, I hoovered it and did final tidying today, all I need to do now is clear the others! On realising the boilerman was due today, I decided to tackle the kitchen and cleaned the surfaces and the floor and sorted out the cleaning cupboard. This was a bit of a task, because there wasn't quite enough floorspace for the original contents... Anyway some ruthless sorting later, I managed to shoehorn my fabric dyeing implements and flower vases into the cupboard (previously these had been made homeless now Ivor needs a cat litter tray) together with the useful cleaning products and half filled the wheelie bins with what was left and created a bag of stuff to go to the charity shop. Marvellous progress! And the boilerman came early and gave the boiler the all clear (huge relief). So a good morning all round!!

But then I cooked Colcannon (with leftover potatoes from a few weeks ago, and curly kale that didn't arrive in the best of condition from the Organic Veg box) and because I feel a bit tired and fed up now, I also cooked some biscuits (recipe in next post) - this annoyingly has effectively cluttered up the kitchen with washing up and I was a bit clumsy so more cleaning is required. Sigh, not progress after all then!

I'm really not sure I can be bothered to tidy up again now! But I suppose I'd better....

Block Lotto - January TicTacToe Blocks

2010-02-28T16:44:00.000Z

They've all arrived safely (more or less) - the UK Post Office chewed one up and spat glue that's gone hardish on one or two of the blocks in an envelope that probably had the fewest miles to travel! Still I'm pretty sure I can clean it up (it's the pansy one in the very bottom left of the pic, you can just see the grey marks in reality but probably not in the pic....). It's so exciting to have them, but rather scary too. I won't be making it up for a while as I've done a To Do list today and I've got quite a lot of time-critical financial/freelance stuff etc to sort out first, but that just gives me more time to plan.

Please forgive the boxes at the bottom, mum & dad are moving so I took a load of stuff from theirs that I should have dealt with years ago. Also I helped friends move house this month and it was a very traumatic experience for them as they'd not cleared out during the couple of years the house had been on the market, and left it very late to pack - so, I'm now in the process of checking everything I own, shelf by shelf, box by box, littered floor by littered floor (lol) and if it's not beautiful or useful (per William Morris) it's off to charity or Ebay with it.... I seem to be constantly in a state of getting stuff out, deciding then not quite getting it out of the house and I feel like I'm drowning in boxes at the moment. I need to clear some space!

365 Cards - Day 121 - 4 Seasons

2010-02-28T16:33:00.000Z

I made this exploding box for mum's birthday some months ago (and it took months to put together), but didn't take pics before I sent it to her. I've just spent a fortnight with the parentals, and as a result, now have a pic. Better late than never, but I think it's nearly the end of the 365 Cards year, and I've done barely a third of the challenges, and this challenge was from back in June .... oh well!

The basic card stock is that Dutch stuff I bought from Puffin Crafts (which is or has already closed down - boo hoo), then I've hand decorated each paper which has been matted onto each side of the card, as follows:

Centre - Summer - a papier mache ball covered in loose flame-like shapes in yellow/orange/red tissue paper with background paper of pieces of the same tissue paper pasted onto cartridge paper with diluted PVA (gives it a bit of shine).

Middle layer - Spring (greens) - wallpaper lining paper initially drawn lines with coloured wax crayons then washes of darker and darker green interspersed with lines drawn in candle wax (just the end of an household candle). The same paper was punched out and the punches put on little foam pads.

Outer layer - Autumn (browns) - same technique and papers as Spring, but the acorn is from a Fiskars template.

Outside of box - Winter (blues) - same technique and papers as Spring & Autumn with some of the paper used to make little Origami fish (3 of them) which have been stuck around the lid.

Here's a closeup of the interior of the box, and then of what the outside looks like:

I'm really pleased with it, it's about 5-6" square base. Mum suggested that if I do another one I could put the interior boxes on point, then the decoration could be seen better, because I also used the papers on the other side of the card as well as the sides you can see. I am not however going to do another one for a while, as I don't have any suitable papers, but if I do, I'll see how that works.

Block Lotto - February Love Letters - Practice Alphabet

2010-02-06T11:51:00.000Z

I like the idea of the patchwork letters, but thought I'd better practice first. How right I was! It was only when I'd done the whole alphabet (from Tonya's instructions) that I worked out my major difficulty had been remembering/ envisaging the results of having a 1/4" seam allowance.... Still, most of the letters are ok, and the rest, well they're just very liberated!

It's in the polycotton from the stool (see earlier posts) that I used for a door curtain. Plus some recycled bed sheeting. I also did my first attempt at a crumb block with leftover bits. Which taught me a lot more about 1/4" seam allowances!

So, now I just need to work out which red/ cream/ pink/ white fabrics to use, then I can have a go at the real thing. I was thinking the word 'gorgeousness' would be good, and doesn't include any of the really tricky letters! Then we'll see if I end up doing more than one word....

The alphabet itself I think would make a good cot-sized quilt. But then again, it's my practice sampler, so I'm not sure if I'm going to sew it all together, or at least maybe sew it all together but then keep it for future reference.... I used the letter blocks to have a go at sashing, and that was a good idea too!

365 Cards - Day 254 - Card as Ornament

2010-02-06T11:40:00.001Z

This one's a bit tricky to photograph - it's pretty basic - white card, two identical pieces slotted together and stands up by itself. Or indeed you could pierce the top and hang it up, and thereby actually fulfill the challenge (oops!)

365 Cards - Day 20 - Embellished inside

2010-02-06T11:38:00.000Z

Now I've just been and looked at this day, and you're supposed to have a hint outside, and the embellishment (with sentiment) inside. For once, I've got it right!

I've been interested in Kirigami for a while. Ever since mum bought me a book called Origami Architecture. So I googled Kirigami and found this free pattern here. And made this with it.

In retrospect it's probably easier with a rounded scalpel blade than the straight one I used, but it's fine as a practise/ learning card.

365 Cards - Day 19 - Birthday

2010-02-06T11:31:00.000Z

Yet more catchup. This challenge was to make a card that's clearly birthday without a sentiment telling you this. A couple of months ago I was given an old magazine from 2005 called The Joy of Cardmaking. I think it was a special from Papercrafts Magazine. Anyway it has loads of recipes/ sketches and lots of variations on each sketch.

In it there's a sketch of three candles held in an acrylic pocket by Dee Gallimore-Perry. I 'lifted' the idea of the candles and ignored the rest...

365 Cards - Day 17 - Three buttons, three bows

2010-02-06T11:25:00.000Z

It's amazing how tough this one was to do.... I left it at the time, and looked at the ten's of entries and left it again. Then I had a look at the last button & bow card I did, and decided to scale it down and use 3 'blossoms' And am thrilled how it turned out!

Card is that Dutch manufacturer again, various ribbons and sewing threads.

365 Cards - Day 329 - Postcard

2010-02-06T11:15:00.001Z

I think Pam was a little surprised how few people went for this challenge. Still better late than never!

This is exactly postcard sized, it is made from a purple Liberty and a yellow Selfridges plastic shopping bag, with pieces cut to more or less the right size then ironed/ fused together using an iron between two layers of baking parchment and then I've free-machined (feed dogs down and darning foot on) the stitching, with a layer of Stitch'n'tear on the back (just to make sure it's stable). Here's a pic of the back:

And despite my best intentions, it's still not been stuck onto a postcard... But will be eventually.

If you want to know more about this sort of sewing technique - Gwen Hedley's book Surfaces for Stitch: Plastics, Films & Fabric is a really good book with some projects but mostly techniques so you can find out how to do it, then apply it to what you've got. Gwen teaches textiles in the UK, and probably overseas too.

I did a course with her at Missenden Abbey to learn the skills to do this for one of my City & Guilds Embroidery finished pieces. It's based on skeletons, and I'm still not convinced by it... Still mum likes it and has it up in her house, I think it probably needs framing (and the top droops which needs sorting out). Anyway, I love the surfaces you get with sewing on fused plastic.

I won a set of TicTacToe January Block Lotto Blocks!

2010-02-03T10:33:00.001Z

Which is very exciting, once I'd got over the initial shock.... I was relying on my total lack of luck in these things to practise making blocks and send them out of my house for quite a few months, rather than actually being a winner first time round! Not surprisingly my friends found my naivety hilarious from the start and did warn me I was crazy to join in anything that had a risk of more unfinished projects arriving (bearing in mind my current mania for getting on with finishing them and not starting anything new or buying more equipment/stash etc until I have). Anyway, as I say, now I've got over the shock, I'm excited. And slightly terrified. So -

I've done a plan of what I'm going to do with them. Maybe. Because I don't actually know how to do what I want to do - and usually when that happens it languishes for years & years in my unfinished projects pile, in fact everything in my unfinished projects pile is a result of big ideas and lack of HowTo knowledge.... But these blocks have been made by other people and it would be rude not to make an effort and learn how! So, I'll be off to a couple of local libraries this week to see if I can find any books on patchwork/quilting, and I've asked the lovely Block Lotto ladies if they can recommend any as well.

I've also worked out the dimensions here and again asked the lovely ladies if I'm more or less in the right place with them.

I've also bought sturdy card backed envelopes for sending my blocks off to the other winners, as having been the tardy one replying to the winners email from Sophie, I am determined not to be tardy on actually sending the blocks out... otherwise I might be banned from the group and I'd be devastated!

The Block Lotto February blocks are words on the theme of endearments - pieced or applique. And there's some gorgeous examples of what one might do with them here and here and here (not to mention the Block Lotto blog banner heading Sophie did), and I really really want them! After all I do need two quilts for my bed, one to use and one to wash.... So having initially thought I'd donate all chances after the first month (to negate the danger of incoming UFPs, perhaps I should have donated my chances from the beginning? chortle), my determination has crumbled after all...

I've found a tutorial for letters here, I'm going to do a sample alphabet (for my burgeoning patchwork/quilting sample file), then some words by the end of the month, then hopefully win again - quite a few people are donating chances, so I might be in with a chance! If not, I'll merely have to create my own UFP with word blocks instead of having one arrive all ready created for me (chortle).

The February blocks together with an Italian quilting sample that's finished but not mounted that I (re-)discovered during my clearout has rejuvenated my enthusiasm for the cushion I promised my dad years ago - it's word based and is his favourite Bible verse "For the Lord stood by my side and gave me strength" (II Timothy 4:17). I've got the fabric ready dyed, I've got the verse, I've got the thread, the zip, the cushion pad, all I've got to do is to sort out a plan.... oh and actually do it!

So, those are my three aims for February, do a sample alphabet, do some February Block Lotto word blocks and work out a design for the cushion for dad. That's in addition to the 365 Cards mammoth catch up (over 200 to go and under a month to do it - no way it's going to happen but will have a good go at doing as many as I can), jobhunting and studying for my Trust Law paper. I wonder what will give first?

I've also been spending quite a lot of time at the Patchwork Times blog looking at the regular Design Wall Monday posters' blogs. I never realised the sheer variety of patchwork & quilting patterns (nor how fast some people work!) It's fascinating reading week on week seeing progress (or lack of it) and it's led me onto some very interesting websites on cloth/ quilting & crafts generally. And generally enthused me to start sewing again which is a great thing.

Sorting Out My Scraps Stash & Uses for really tiny bits of cloth...

2010-01-25T11:59:00.000Z

I spent quite a lot of time yesterday looking through patchwork & quilting blogs. And found blocks called Crumb, Nine Patch and Strip - which use up 'bits' of fabric. Of which, being someone who can't throw away even little bits of leftover fabric (and cutoff threads) in case it's useful, I have quite a lot. But have no idea what colours/ fabrics/ sizes as they're all crammed into an under bed storage box.

But then I found a blog that has a Challenge to post your Design Wall on a Monday and on one entry there was a link to this article, which amongst other things, suggests how you can organise your scraps stash.

It splits into 6 categories, but I changed them a bit to suit my embroidery habits... Being a patchworker the article suggests you actually cut the fabrics down into suitable square/strip shapes, but I've not bothered with that, I've just looked at the bulk of the piece and not cut off trailing bits in case I need them for embroidery as I tend not to work in geometric shapes for that, so whilst patchworkers will have actual squares etc mine's a bit more erm loosely interpreted.

1. Chunks - at least 8" square

2. Charms - between 4" and 8" square

3. Chips - anything less than 4" square

3a. (my extra category) Mincing - anything that's too small/random to be used in a Crumb block, so less than 1" square, including tiny bits you'd have trouble picking up with tweezers. See below for a pic of what I do with this stuff

3b (my 2# extra category) Threads - any threads that have been cutoff from sewing, or frayed off. Sorted by colour. Used for same purpose as Mincing fabric.

3c (my 3# extra category) Bondaweb fabric/films - offcuts from something that has been bonded. No idea what I'm going to use these for, Crumb applique? But worth keeping for experiments...

4. Strip - length of fabric that is evenly cut all the way along, I decided at least 4" long & 1" wide.

5. String - uneven length of fabric at least 4" long & 1" wide.

6. Stray - 'orphan' blocks you've already made up that didn't make it into a finished project. (As in not blocks that are just Unfinished Projects). Needless to say, I've only actually got 2 stray blocks - the Tic-Tac-Toe ones I burnt by ironing accident...

And this is what my scrap stash looks like having sorted the Charms & Chips into 2 shoeboxes, the Strips & Strings into rolls, the Mincing and Threads into Ziplock bags, and the Chunks just a pile to be spread over the top:

Result! It's much better having it sorted out so that I can just start using it rather than spending ages sorting through first... It'll cut the boredom down no end!!!

Ok, so Minced Fabric using 3a & 3b above - it's a free machining technique, you take all the little bits of fabric/waste threads and cut them into smaller bits around the size of a split pea, then you take a piece of backing fabric (and an embroidery frame if you're nervous about your fingers....) and with the feed dogs down and a darning foot (or no foot at all, in which case, DEFINATELY, use an embroidery frame) meander all over the backing fabric pushing the minced threads & cloth under the foot with tweezers or a chopstick/ skewer until they're caught down. And bingo, a new totally unique fabric that's great for 3D items like bags or buckets etc.

An alternative method is to mince bondaweb, mix it well with the bits and make a sandwich of backing cloth then bits spread thinly then a chiffon scarf, then iron it all together. It makes a flexible & smooth (and thinner) new totally unique fabric.

The red one is the basic minced fabric using curved zigzag stitch (red felt backing, red/gold/orange bits) then a pic of the basic fabric cut up into blocks & zigzagged to a red felt panel.

The blue one is the basic minced fabric using straight stitch free machining meandering around (blue acrylic paint on calico, blue/cream/gold bits) then a pic of part of the basic fabric which has had blue dyed muslin sewn into a spiral then cut away to leave a frayed 'ribbon' spiral, then basic minced fabric with cross hatched plaid stitching in pink over the top with squares of the minced fabric appliqued on the intersections of the cross hatching.

Then finally, a couple of strips (I must have used this for something, but can't find the sample in my books at the moment) using the chopped up bondaweb and bits sandwiched between cloth and chiffon scarf alternative technique.

Now I've got it all sorted out, I will eventually be making some minced fabric to use in bags etc, so when I do I'll take pics for a tutorial. But it'll be in a month or so.

Block Lotto - TicTacToe - January 2010

2010-01-23T23:11:00.000Z

Well in the end it was a no-brainer, I managed to 'burn' the WOW on two blocks, and the tenth block was brown, which didn't feel so 'bright' in comparison to the others. So, nine blocks it is for entry in Block Lotto for January.

I'm keeping the 'burnt' blocks and I'll try and work out a way of getting the 'burnt' bit off, then they'll be useable. Otherwise I'll have to unpick them and just make them smaller all round.

Block Lotto - Fabric printing finishing - Tutorial part 2

2010-01-23T14:39:00.002Z

Right so, I've printed that WOW fabric and left it to dry overnight.

Then today I heat set it by ironing it with a flat (not steam) iron on cotton setting (as that's what my base fabric is) between two layers of baking parchment, on both sides. Smooth movements to take around 10-15mins per metre of cloth (per Committed to Cloth instructions). Not a steam iron because if you have it set on 'no steam' and don't move fast enough you can end up with a steam holes pattern on your cloth... And as I'm using the ironing board my beloved cleaning lady Pat uses for the household linen, and I wasn't sure how the screen ink would react to the heat I used baking parchment - I wasn't going to get in trouble for messing up the board! Also, I didn't want to have to clean off the iron if it melted a bit....

Then I waited for the cloth to cool down, tore off a bit of excess and stuck the rest in the washing machine on a 40 degree quick wash cycle with washing powder (no fabric conditioner). Whilst I was waiting for it to finish, I took some of the strip and tried ironing it directly with the flat iron. And found that after a couple of minutes at cotton setting the screen ink blackened up on the fabric, however if I just passed the iron over quite quickly at a lower setting, it was fine. However, I need to remember that whoever gets these blocks needs to know that ironing care is required!

And I was very pleased to find it survived the washing cycle without any ill-effects at all, and it improved the handle no end!

This above is the fabric wet out of the machine, and this below is the strip (top) I tore off before washing and the washed fabric (bottom) - you can't see but the only effect the wash had was to remove 'crispy bits' of excess ink that were sticking up from the fabric.

So then I decided to make up a sample of the TicTacToe blocks I'm planning to make with the already selfdyed cotton sateen.

These are the colours I've chosen - I've got twelve 9" blocks, and can submit nine for the Block Lotto. I'll make all twelve and pick the nine best for the Lotto, keeping back the others for making something else or even blog candy in due course maybe (if they're up to scratch).

Then I thought I'd better make up one block first and wash it at 60 degrees to make sure the selfdyed stuff is colourfast, and that my stitching can stand it! As you can see below, the stitching coped well (although I don't overlock my raw edges so there's a bit of stray threading).

And best of all, it's colourfast, no runs onto the white and no obvious fading! Also there was no shrinkage either. Although I've messed this block up by ironing it on too high a heat and some of the corners in the inside WOW bit have got blackened ink as a result. Curses! So that's only 11 blocks available now... Lucky I didn't just go with nine base pieces! Anyway this last pic shows the basic fabric (washed at 40 degrees already) and the ironed block which has been washed at 60 degrees - you can see where I 'burnt' the ink on the inside of the crosses on the left - smudgy black bits. It didn't happen when I was making the block so just normal pressing for a short time doesn't cause it, it was caused when I was pressing really hard to dry out the block to save time. So more care next time!

I am absolutely thrilled! and am now assuming that the whole batch of selfdyed cloth is colourfast to 60 degrees as I treated them all the same when I made them - although I'd recommend 40 degree wash to whoever wins them.

So, now all I need to do is make the other 11 blocks, pick the best 9 and post them on the Block Lotto. Excellent!

Block Lotto - January - Tic Tac Toe Sample & Fabric Dyeing thoughts

2010-01-23T10:16:00.002Z

I've joined Block Lotto (more or less) and am really looking forward to the monthly challenge of a new block to do (in multiples of 9 or fewer) & send off out of my house to somebody else's (all part of my drive to reduce my stash); with the added bonus of winning a load of cool blocks from someone else, hmm that means yet another unfinished project though... Still it's unlikely to happen anytime soon there's lots of people doing it and only 12 months in a year!

Because I've not ever really done much patchwork, I decided to follow the instructions for the January TicTacToe Block on the same selfdyed fabric as that of my curtain, with the aim that if I use that for a sample block for every one I do, I'll be able to make something with them that I've then got as a reference library for the future as it were.

So this is 100% calico and 50/50% PolyCotton procion dyed for my City & Guilds Panel project at just under 8" square (starting with a 9" square and 1" strips). The colour values are a bit more orange than pink in reality. Admittedly dyeing the PolyCotton was a slight accident in that I got my fabrics muddled and you're not supposed to mix fabric content together when you do patchwork, but it seems to be holding up fine as a combination in the curtain. Being PolyCotton gets a bit crispy with a hot iron, but as I put a couple of PolyCotton squares in with the various weights of cotton squares in each dyebath it does give a pastel shade that works really well with the cotton. The original project was to selfdye a load of cloth, tear it into strips and then use the strips as 'thread' to do tapestry stitch on canvas to make a stool topping, so the fibre content was irrelevant. Now of course, it's an issue as I've got lots left over.... This is the stool I made with it, which as I wear really dark jeans that shed colour (damn you Gap) is now a bit grubby on the pale areas:

I did this set of dyeing following Helen Deighan's 'How to dye in a cat litter tray' (a clean one obviously!) set of booklets, which she's published as a book since then. The great thing about her dye recipe is that is uses just 3 shades of bog standard Procion MX Dyes (Turquoise, Cerise and Lemon - by colour mixing you can get a lot of different shades without shelling out too much cash), common salt, washing soda and plastic sandwich or freezer bags! That said, I used about 10 different Procion MX colours for the stool, as it's only once I did the C2C course that I learnt more about colour mixing. I reckon I could have done it with fewer quite easily these days, still the dyes are still in my stash and there to be used so nothing's wasted!

The key to successful home dyeing is to prewash your fabric in the machine with washing soda and washing powder AND NOT to use fabric conditioner. If you use undiluted fabric conditioner in your machine, then run it empty (or with dusters etc in it) with washing soda once first to remove all traces. If you don't prepare the fabric properly, the dyes won't find the molecule ends of the fibres to chemically connect with. The other tip is to rinse out the fabrics you've dyed really well (if you're on metered water it can be expensive if you're doing a lot!) then wash them twice in the washing machine at 40 degrees with normal washing powder but not soda. If you've got Synthrapol it helps clear out any excess dye, but it's not a major issue if you don't, as if you've done the salt/soda/dye recipe properly then the dye should be exhausted and won't transfer to your household washing, but again just to be safe, once you've done all your dyeing run the machine empty/ with dusters etc in it with washing soda as your final act to remove all traces. I've got an eco style condensing machine that I think uses the last rinse of the previous wash as water for the first wash of the next - and I've never had any dye transfers (and usually I'm an idiot and do a white wash straight after dyeing). The great thing about the Soda Ash is that it's dead cheap and stops the limescale building up in your machine and your clothes (it can be bought at great expense in tablets as Calgon, why bother? Just use Washing Soda powder every so often).

Others I know didn't get good results using her instructions and it all came out a bit pale, but mine were quite deep. I didn't overdye them (as I'd not heard of the concept then), but it's always a possibility if it doesn't work first time round!

The other set of selfdyed fabric I've got is following the dye recipes of Committed to Cloth which I did on one of their courses - it was supposed to be a fabric dyeing course for people who were then going to do a Strip Piecing Week with Nancy Crow (luminous in the USA? I'd not heard of her, but then I'm an embroiderer, but they very sweetly let me do the first week of fabric dyeing only, and at that, weeks & weeks after it ran because I came back from a trip to Africa really ill and missed it. I love those C2C ladies!)

Anyway, C2C use a different recipe, which is to scour the fabric (wash it in the machine with washing powder and soda - you only need to do this once), then soak it in soda and let it dry (cure) using heat (they roll it up in plastic sheeting & wrap an electric blanket around it), then dye it using Procion MX dyes in a salt solution.

The key differences between the two approaches are that C2C use Soda Ash (which you should have available to you if you have a swimming pool, as apparently it's used in them as Alkali PH Plus granules, mere mortals get hold of it in smaller quantities from George Weil amongst others (who also sell the Procion MX dyes). I do know that it's quite a nasty chemical: apparently, and to my mind somewhat bizarrely, the chemical can be used as an ingredient in explosives so if you choose that route, keep it away from children, the feckless and any other extreemists of your acquaintance! and use a mask) rather than household washing soda and also that they pre-cure the fabric in the soda and heat dry it, rather than using the soda in the dye bath. As a result you get a more reliable and deeper dye strike with C2C, but I personally find there's nothing wrong with the Helen Deighton approach which is more simple and easier for novices/ doing at home.

Below is some of my C2C dyed cloth. Be aware though, that the colour values are better in this pic than the others, and also this cloth has been scoured properly, dyed once, then again and then again, so it's not exactly a fair comparison to the TicTacToe block/ stool fabric which has only been washed in the machine with washing powder and not soda scoured, then dyed once using Helen Deighton's method and not overdyed a couple of times!

I have got quite a lot of old prime quality Swiss bedsheeting (acquired from a lovely friend of my mum's who was downsizing, the really good 'never used' stuff went to charity shops, I got the slightly worn stuff - as with all sheets where it's worn in the middle it's very soft and great for cleaning cloths, but the outside thirds are still good strong cloth that's perfect for dyeing and using for hand or machine stitching) that I'm thinking of dyeing in the next month or so. I'm currently unemployed and as I always end up with coloured hands, now's the time to do it before I'm required at interviews or in front of clients! So bearing in mind there seems to be an interest in fabric dyeing from the Block Lotto ladies, and how much easier I find it is to learn to do something from tips on blogs, I'll do a tutorial of Helen Deighton's method so that people can try it for themselves at home. Also, I'll scour the cloth with washing soda, and do some overdying so that I can see for myself whether the end result is comparable to C2C method or not.

I won't be doing C2C method for a while as I don't own an electric blanket, and it's not what I want to spend my cash on at present...

Fabric Printing for Block Lotto & Paper Printing for 365 Cards - Tutorial

2010-01-22T17:53:00.002Z

As per my last couple of posts, I've got a bit excited about the idea of doing Blog Lotto. So, having confirmed with the blog owner Sophie that my self-dyed Whaley's Cotton Sateen, being medium-weight 100% cotton will be acceptable, I searched my entire stash for WOW (white on white) medium-weight 100% quilting cotton, and couldn't find any, at all. It was raining, and I'm feeling poor and didn't really want to go out and buy any...

So I decided to print some up for myself, using some Opaque White Screen Ink that I bought from Committed to Cloth a good few years ago when I was doing one of their courses. The beauty of this Screen Ink is it's for fabrics and once heat set can be washed, and as long as you don't layer it on too thickly, it doesn't alter the handle of the fabric too much - whereas Acrylic Paint (which you can also use) can peel off in use, and you can't wash it, so you can't use it for anything that needs washing after use.

That said, I've done a little tutorial below, as the principles are the same for Acrylic Paint or the Screen Ink and I thought people might want to know how to do it for themselves.

Step 1: Gather together the items you need:

a. your cloth or paper - that you want to print your image on

b. your printing medium - paint or ink - it needs to be quite thick and gloopy otherwise you end up with splodges when the ink runs off the stamp)

c. a suitable stamp - I've used an Indian wooden stamp of a flower that I acquired at a craft fair years ago - you could use a cork, or a stamp you've carved yourself out of a potato or even a pencil eraser. I don't recommend using your favourite scrapbooking/ cardmaking stamp unless you are quick off the mark on cleaning it (as the ink/ acrylic paint dries really quickly) and have a gentle stamp cleaning sponge that won't ruin it if you need to give it a bit of a scrub.

d. a flat palette and an ink pad - I use the lid of a plastic takeaway box and a couple of pieces of white felt for this. Depending on the colour of ink used, I sometimes keep the ink pad felt after it's dried and use it in my textile pieces or cards (it makes great flowers etc), but you'll probably just want to throw it away. You need to use felt because it is a bit bouncy and will 'give up' the ink when you press the stamp onto it.

e. Decent covering for your table (and some old clothes) - I use layers made up of a vinyl tablecloth (not shown) with a layer of plastic (which is actually the bag that part of my sofa came in) and then some newspaper topped off with cheap paper Banqueting tablecloth. Any ink/paint spillages or overprinting will be soaked up by the newspaper and banqueting cloth which can then be thrown away and you won't need to clean your plastic layer nor your vinyl tablecloth.

f. Kitchen or paper towels - to keep your fingers relatively clean.

Don't use Barrier Cream etc as it stops the ink/paint sticking to the cloth/paper, but you could use gloves if you need to have clean hands for work the next day and are a bit worried about the ink/paint staining your skin.

Step 2: Put a splodge of ink/paint on your felt pad on your palette and rub it into a thinnish layer on the felt. Then put your stamp in it, and then 'blot' your stamp a bit against some of the felt that doesn't have the ink/paint on it. If you're using acrylic paint, it's a good idea to make your felt very slightly damp (this means barely damp, you don't want to dilute the paint, just make the felt a bit thirsty so it takes up & gives the paint up more easily) first with water. I didn't do this with the ink as I'm not sure it would be a good idea, and it made it harder to handle, so next time I'm going to dampen my felt pad and see what difference it makes.

Step 3: Print the stamp onto the cloth/ paper making sure you turn the stamp around randomly to get a nice coverage (unless you want your stamping all in the same direction). Depending on what effect you want you can use more or less ink or use the stamp twice before reinking. As with any background type stamping, stamp across the edges of the fabric fairly frequently so that the pattern goes to the very edges. I wanted quite a random & rough effect so sometimes the print isn't complete or is too much or too little ink. To make it more even, pad out the printing area with layers of newspaper to make it more 'bouncy' and have more give, then the printing will be easier to control, you can then also 'pin' out the cloth against the layers which will also mean you don't have to keep touching the cloth to keep it still when pulling the stamp off it. Try and keep your fingers wiped with the kitchen towel so you don't leave fingerprints of ink where you don't want them (long nails help with this, or hold a cocktail stick or similar).

Sorry for the poor quality of this one, I was in the kitchen with the light behind me....

Step 4: Print as much as you need/ want.

I know I want to cut my fabric up into nine 9" blocks, so I did 3 lengths of 9"x27" approx plus a left over bit in case I needed it for something else later, and to use up the excess ink. Then leave it to dry overnight somewhere the cat/ family/ you won't trample it by accident - make sure you've protected the surface you're drying the cloth/ paper on - I used more plastic and more banqueting roll underneath mine because the ink/paint seeps through and you don't want to end up with coloured floors or furniture! Particularly because mine are balanced on the top of a large Victorian Wicker Basket that holds all the clean washing ready for ironing....

Step 5: Don't waste the leftover ink

I got some coloured sugar paper and printed all over it with the leftover ink until there was none left. I'll use this paper for cards for one of the 365 Cards Challenges in due course. I've also kept the felt I used as an ink pad, because I'll either add more colour later or just cut it up into flower shapes or similar for using on a card in due course (cheaper than Bazzill Chips flowers!)

Step 6: Make sure you wash your stamp and palette/ utensils IMMEDIATELY. If you've got to stop for any reason or can't wash up straight away - then put them into soak in cold water until you get back, otherwise you could find yourself with a solid mess of wasted ink and ruined stamp (although if you've made it out of a potato that might not be an issue, unless you need exactly the same stamp again to carry on)

Step 7: If you're using acrylic paint, you're good to go once it's dried, but remember you can really only use it for decorative purposes, as acrylic paint will fall off with much use or if it's washed.

If you're using screen ink or other fabric paint make sure you follow the instructions for setting it.

I have to leave mine for 12 - 24hrs then cover it with baking parchment and iron it on a Cotton setting on the right side without steam, then on the wrong side. Then I am going to stick it in the washing machine as this will improve the handling for when I turn it into 9 TicTacToe Blocks for the Blog Lotto January Blocks.

Block Lotto - suitable cloth?

2010-01-21T09:55:00.003Z

For Sophie of Blog Lotto - is this sort of thing ok? I picked these five at random, they're all overdyed and won't run when washed.

What's on Your Desk Wednesday (WOYWW)

2010-01-21T09:24:00.004Z

The lovely Linby has found a site which encourages you to post a pic of your workspace on a Wednesday. Which I find a strange but curiously amusing and attractive idea. Yesterday was Wednesday and Ivor was obviously feeling better as he leapt up into the space normally taken up by my Trusts & Estates Diploma files (normally there's no space at all in the shelving!)

There's no point in taking a pic of my actual workspace desk as it's my dining room table and so instead you get a pic of my textiles/ threads/ studying & tax technical/ card making supplies. As you can see (and that's only about 2/3rds of it), I've a lifetime's worth of supplies to get through!

One of my Unfinished Projects is to hem some cloth and velcro it to each of the three units to hide it all so that I can have friends round for dinner. I bought the velcro a couple of days ago (it's in the paper bag above Ivor's head), so now all I need to do is work out which fabric to use... I've found a blog called Block Lotto which is rather enticing, I could learn lots of different blocks, make some and whatever I don't submit for the lotto (or even win from the lotto, yeah right!) could be used to make up the unit hiding cloths. Especially if I used the leftover fabric from the pink/orange/purple curtain.

Or I could just use plain white sheeting then it will actually happen!

Finished Projects 5: Patchwork Curtain

2010-01-19T10:32:00.004Z

This one's a bit embarrassing, I actually finished it last week, but when I was taking pics of the other recently finished projects, I forgot all about it! And it's my biggest finished project EVER!!!

Anyway, when I was doing my Embroidery City & Guilds (2000+ which I've still not quite finished...) I dyed a load of calico in candy reds/ yellows/ purples/ oranges to make a cover for a footstool (using large gauge canvas and strips of the calico in tent stitch. I did actually finish the footstool!) - but because I didn't know what colours would come out, nor how much fabric I needed, I ended up with huge amounts left over. I found a book in the local library in 2006 called Quick Colourful Quilts by Rosemary Wilkinson, and really liked her 'Glow Worms' quilt. A quick Google search produced THIS by Lenibayside, who has obviously followed the instructions to the letter as it looks exactly like the one in the book.

Anyway, for the last few years I've been making these blocks when I feel like it, in the vague hope I'd have enough to make a kingsize bedcover (which looking at the pile of fabric that's left, I would have...) But then the snow came, and the house was freezing and I got fed up with the draught from the Coal Hole door (which I can't block off as the Fuse Box is in there (with the spiders and the damp and the slugs) and I need to go in and reset it when a lightbulb blows and the electrics trip. So, I looked at all the fabrics I had and realised I had enough blocks to make a curtain, so that's what I used it for. There's 5 lengths of 14 blocks sewn together, then the side edges are bound with half of a sixth length. It's not quilted or batted or lined, it's just hemmed at the top with curtain tape and has a pretty deep hem at the bottom to keep it hanging nicely.

I didn't do the spiral 'glow worms' though, despite having lots of templates and suitable cloth. But as the curtain's unlined, I can always go back and put them on later.

It's on a dormer rail with a riser, so that when you open the door the curtain comes with it, and is raised up a little bit at the free end so it doesn't catch under the door. Hurrah for John Lewis!

I've got 10 made up blocks left over, and as this curtain's in what is now the dining cum work room, I could make up another couple of blocks and make cushion covers for my 4 chairs, as I've got 4 spare cushions sitting around.... But that's for another day entirely, especially as two of the chairs have solid seats which have split and I really need to get them mended before anyone can sit on them as they're in immanent danger of collapse.

Finished Projects 4: Rag Books

2010-01-19T10:16:00.003Z

Quite a few years ago, mum took me to a factory somewhere near Manchester, where they print and make items such as teatowels and scarves etc. In the bargain bin, I pulled out a length of cloth that had 4 Dean's Rag Books images on it, although some of the images had blotches of printing ink where it had all gone a bit wrong, which is why it was in the bin...

Having spent all of about 50p on this length of cloth I vaguely thought that one day I'd make it up into books. But never did. Until yesterday when I pulled it out, and made up the two Rag Books that were perfectly printed, and made 4 little bags out of the remaining 12 'pages' for the other 2 books - leaving 4 pages unuseable as ruined by blotches.

I'm not convinced I worked out the openings for the pull ribbon particularly well, and one of the books couldn't be pinking sheared as it would have destroyed the title, but all in all, I'm quite pleased.

Not sure what I'm going to do with them though, maybe give to friends, or put into an Operation Christmas Child shoebox? I was thinking that maybe the little bags could be used as cases for chalks or wax crayons.... So they'll be put away until the Autumn when I decide what to do with them.

Finished Projects 3: Cat Towels

2010-01-18T11:50:00.008Z

I think my friend Wendy gave me this metre or so of cream towelling (from her oddments bin, she used to have a childrenswear business and I've had a lot of good sized offcuts that weren't big enough for her to make a kids garment from, but I can use for my purposes). I know mum gave me the turquoise bias binding (a roll a good 10cm across). And as usual, I've had both for years.

The cat, as you all know is a fairly new addition, he arrived in May 2009, and much prefers being outside, in all weathers, so he can be quite grubby when he eventually deigns to come in. He's also a creature of habit and very slow to accept new things. And I only have one towel that I can use to rub him down and as a mat to catch muddy paws by the catflap.

All of which led to today's finished project - cat towels, two thereof, approx 30"x20" (as that's the size of the halflanding area giving access to the back door), so it can be used as a washable door mat and/or a rubdown towel if Ivor's very grubby - and hopefully even a straightjacket if we continue having trouble with the tablets. And be easily identifiable by all as a cat towel and not for human use.

He is actually asleep in the headshot above, but his eye doesn't ever close properly on that side, so he looks a bit like he's giving the evils, but he's not!

He's got a bladder infection, was in the vet's overnight last week then came home with 2 different tablets and some powder to take at each meal, and is supposed to be moving onto prescription food.

Being slightly semi-feral he's not keen on being held, so he gets very stressed if you even try to hold him preparatory to manhandling his mouth open and pushing in tablets he doesn't like the taste of... I've tried slitting open chunks of cat food, surrounding them with cheese of various sorts and also the directly down the mouth route. The chunks of cat food and cheese attempts mostly result in him spitting half the tablets around the kitchen (I had a pony once who used to lick the brussel sprouts leaves in his bran mash and then spit them out, all nice & clean - Ivor's a bit like that with his tablets). The directly down the mouth route has resulted in him spitting half the tablets around the kitchen. Same result, but more distress all round, so we're not doing that again for a while, and anyway need any towel to smell of him to even be able to get hold of him.

The technique I've not tried is mashing the tablet up with butter and smearing it on his foot. It might work for clean cats, but Ivor doesn't always wash his feet immediately they are grubby and I'm not sure I can face cleaning up the mess if he doesn't...

Mum has suggested sild or sardines in oil, as these have a strong taste and are already slit to hide the tablets in - so that's what we'll be trying tonight, especially as I don't think he took any of this mornings tablets, just the powder...

So, the finished project:

I cut the towelling into 20"x30" blocks (for two towels) and laboriously pinned the bias binding over the edges of one - and utterly failed to reliably sew it together. So I cut all the sewn bits off, and straightened the edges (couldn't unpick as the binding is quite loosely woven as is the towelling) and starting again, instead pinned one open edge of the binding to the edge of the towelling, and sewed it down, then wrapped the rest over to the other side, and then sewed everything together from that other side. Which more or less worked on the first one, but was much neater on the second one.

So, the original cat towel is in the wash, and the only reason Ivor was prepared to tolerate the towel being gently laid over him for the pics was I suspect drug induced lethargy as a result of his post breakfast marauding outside for an hour or so before he came in and collapsed wearily on the floor. (The towel was actually laid over him to get it smelling of him, in the vain hope he'll accept me using it on him next time it rains/ need some tablet manhandling).

Finished Projects: 2

2010-01-18T11:06:00.004Z

I've not posted for a while (again), as I was busy with snow and a sick cat and other stuff: like looking to see exactly how many unfinished projects I've got ...

To do this, I had to pull them out of various boxes etc, and then tidy up again - which has been great as in the process I completely reorganised my workroom, did a load of filing and I now have only a couple of boxes of stuff to sort out (keep, give or throw) and I can pretty much reach everything I want to fairly easily.

Turns out I've got about 21 unfinished projects (but I think there's a couple more lurking), some of which are nearly finished, some are halfway through and some are just not-started piles of materials with an idea pinned to them, and some are just intentions...

I bought 4 furnishing fabric offcuts years and years ago in a bargain bin outside an upholsterers in Buxton for a pound each, thinking I'd use them for cushion covers one day. They've got some sort of plasticised or rubberised backing to them.

I've also been intending to make some chunky doorstops (as I've got those selfclosing fire doors in my flat) and a couple of years ago bought some sand (and dried it out) as a filler.

And about a year ago I bought some quilting/filling because I thought I might want to make something that needed stuffing.

But never did any of these things until last week, when I made these two doorstops.

The first one (top) is a bit saggy and the corners are dodgy. I decided to use a 7" square, and save time by having a single strip 7"x28" and then two 7" squares - don't all shout at once, but as I found out, and you probably know already, I should have deducted my 5/8" seam allowances x3 from the 28" length, as it didn't quite fit together. My solution was to put a pleat into each corner. Then it was hideous to fill with sand and once I'd filled it, I couldn't get it totally full AND manage to sew up the opening I'd left at the bottom. It's huge, it's saggy and it's really really heavy, so it works but could be better....

So, I went looking on the internet and from looking at a couple of tutorials on cube making (specifically soft baby blocks), I realised the single strip problem and how to do neat corners, and also an idea of half filling the doorstop with quilting/filling then using an inner bag to hold the sand. Whilst fretting about the cat and holding him up (the Valium's had some funny side effects, he kept falling over - tricky when he insists on being outside as much as possible), I realised if I did an inner bag with a long tube, I'd be able to pack it really full, and still reach the needle on my sewing machine to secure it, AND then sew up the opening of the outer shell by hand without cascades of sand all over me & the cat.

What I didn't quite manage was to put the inner sand liner against the bottom of the outer shell, and happily filled everything up, then sat back to admire it before I sewed up the outer, only to realise I'd got the sand liner against the side rather than the bottom. So, out poured the sand, the quilting/filler shuffled unwillingly and lumpily to one side, the liner readjusted against the bottom and the sand poured back in. Except it wasn't that quick... And I had to fiddle with the stuffing and add more to get it standing up properly. Still, the next one will be really easy now I know what I'm doing, oh, wasn't planning to do anymore. Oh well!

Anyway I'm really pleased with the second doorstop as it's heavy from the sandbag liner taking up the bottom half of it, but not too heavy, and truly cubelike due to the stuffing taking up the top half.

I may or may not unpick the first doorstop, make a sandbag liner and use stuffing and sandbag to make it stand up. Or even unpick the whole thing and do it properly. Or maybe I'll just leave it as it's in the kitchen. Although now I've finished it, the kitchen could do with a halfmoon shaped one, as it would fit better with my funky recyling bin...

365 Cards - Day 16 - Sunshine

2009-12-31T15:16:00.004Z

I made this paper back in the summer for an exploding box card that I did for mum's birthday, which I finally sent to her a couple of months late, but didn't post in case she saw it before it arrived. Eventually I'll go home & take a pic & post it for the relevant day but not yet, there's too much ice & snow on the roads. Anyway, I got a thin sheet of cartridge paper and pasted one half in torn up and one half in cut up pieces of various shades of red/orange/yellow tissue paper (a co-ordinating colours pack from Paperchase that I've had for over 10 years). I used most of the paper for mum's exploding box, but have taken some of what's left for this sunshine catchup card.

The backing is part of the torn paper half, and the lettering is part of the cut paper half, which helps make the word stand out. I think. I hope.

You can take a piece of acetate/thickish but bendable plastic and paste the tissue paper straight onto it with diluted PVA glue, then peel it off when it's totally dry, which gives a translucent quality, that you can also stitch on.

365 Cards - Day 15 - Super Sketchy Sunday

2009-12-31T15:12:00.004Z

This catchup sketch is erm, well, honoured more in the breach than the observance.... But it's got the main elements in the right place, more or less. Anyway, used up some more of those fussy cut elements from the Basic Grey June Bug Aggie sheet.

365 Cards - Day 236 - Pretty Paisley

2009-12-31T15:08:00.004Z

Not the best picture ever, but I guess it's good enough for catchup.

Jim Holtz' Paisley Prints CMS 011 (which I find quite difficult to print out, because it's so large) , in Lapis Lazuli and Peony VersaColor, fussy cut & layered up with Spica clear all over the top layers.

365 Cards - Day 305 - Quarters

2009-12-31T15:01:00.004Z

Tricky challenge this, to quarter your card and have, one in each quarter, a punched shape, a floral embellishment, a stamped sentiment and a rhinestone. Which I didn't quite manage, as I've only got one punch (snowflake) and no rhinestones. So mine is 3 pearly bits, fussy cut dragonfly (instead of punch) then the floral embellishment and stamped sentiment instead. It's not cheating if there's no alternative chortle!

365 Cards - Day 306 - Digging Deep

2009-12-31T14:56:00.004Z

Today's challenge is to use something that's been in your stash for ages, but you like too much to use. Which is these fussy cut-outs from the Basic Grey June Bug Aggie sheet.

365 Cards - Day 201 - One, Two, Buckle My Shoe

2009-12-29T18:10:00.003Z

More catchup, but no peeloffs! This is one of those leftover from taster sessions diecut sets from Puffin Crafts. I don't have a die cut machine, so I buy oddments that I find in their bargain bin box. I like the red glitteryness of the shoes, and hopefully they're placed so it looks like someone's standing in them!

365 Cards - Day 276 - Angel

2009-12-29T18:07:00.003Z

More catchup, more peeloffs, more naffness chortle. I'd rather the sentiment that came with it had been more faith orientated, but it is what it is.

365 Cards - Day 203 - Feeling Lucky

2009-12-29T17:58:00.006Z

More catchup, and more peeloffs. This was the closest I could find to a good luck symbol in my stash. And again, it's a bit naff, but turned out better than I feared!

365 Cards - Day 72 - Musical Notes

2009-12-29T17:55:00.004Z

More catchup, this time to have musical notes in the card. It's a rather naff peel-off that I was hoping might be less naff with coloured card pieced behind it. I was wrong, but hey, one more challenge down!

365 Cards - Day 14 - DIY Flower

2009-12-29T16:07:00.002Z

I followed the blog instructions on making a ribbon flower, twice. The first time I did running stitch on the selvedge edges (it's so wide it needed doubling over) and it was very stiff, so I unpicked it and did it down the centre line instead. It's a bit 'high' dimensionally but looks ok I think. The ribbon is blue/pink warp/weft so the colour changes with the light.

Mounted on sugar paper, with CraftWork Cards Card Candy (Truffles) fake brads, and the sentiment in black ink with silver embossing on top to tone it down a bit in line with the Card Candy.

365 Cards - Day 13 - Primary Birthday

2009-12-29T16:01:00.002Z

This catchup challenge was to use only primary colours for a birthday card.

Using the sugar paper pack & Fiskars Bubbles Energy Texture Plate (I think I'm going to get one of their embossing gadgets, it takes ages using an oldfashioned embossing tool) & Fiskars Letters 4 (a scalpel not their cutting tool as it really doesn't like this sugar paper) I made this 5"x5" card. I think it does what it says on the tin!

365 Cards - Day 10 - Photograph

2009-12-29T15:56:00.003Z

Back in the late 80's I went to Greece with a friend, I didn't have a camera but she did and what's more she took great photos. I lost touch with her years ago but I've still got the photos. I think this one is somewhere near Epidauros theatre, but am probably wrong.

Anyway the challenge was to use a photo on a card, and I took the coward's way out just layering up the mats... This together with the next 2 cards brings the second week of 365 Cards to completion, yes, I have now done all challenges up to 14th March 2009!

365 Cards - Day 304 - Sounds Great

2009-12-29T15:48:00.005Z

Today's challenge (and it is actually today, I'm doing well this week) is a rather, well, garish yellow & red CD cover.

So I picked up the yellow, red and white and abandoned everything else...

The backing paper is some of that yellow sugar paper that I'd self decorated back in the summer using green, orange & clear wax crayons/ candle & paint - if you're wondering where the green & orange is, I've used the reverse side as I rather like the two tones of yellow where the paint soaked through the unwaxed bits.

The dog & speechbubble is from a Basic Grey card sheet - June Bug Aggie 1814, which is full of very cute dogs, bones & bubbles etc. I bought about 6 sheets and spent a happy evening fussy cutting them all out of one sheet back in the summer. Although with it being card my fingers were a bit sore afterwards...

365 Cards - Day 8 - Super Sketchy Sunday

2009-12-28T17:21:00.002Z

Yes I know it's not Sunday today, it's a catchup. And with this one, I've finally finished the first week's worth of challenges. Of 1-7 March 2009. Well, better late than never! Quite a simple one this: Puffin Crafts run taster sessions and then sell-off sets of materials that are spare from them, which in this case was two Christmas puddings, so I made them up into a card for the Sketch for Day 8, mounting them on a red then a black square of card. The pudding itself opens up for you to write a greeting, so it's not a card that stands up by itself, it leans gently instead.

365 Cards - Day 7 - Shape Up!

2009-12-28T17:15:00.004Z

This challenge wasn't supposed to be bling-tastic, but it is! The dominant theme in this challenge from erm the 7th of March 2009, yes well moving swiftly on: was to have a circle as the dominant theme. And because I enjoyed the wreath stamping for Day 296, and the glittering challenge for Day 6 so much... oh alright, I'll fess up. I still had the glitter and the SEI Wintertime stamp set out from earlier today, and the bright green card from Day 297 and the wreath card from Day 296 out on the table, I used them all at once, to make the catchup circle challenge.

Although the colour values are shocking and I think I need to shake it a bit harder as myself, the cat, the table and my cutting board are now covered in stray glitter after taking the pic.

PS Anyone know how to get glitter off a glue pad? If no, all future glue stamping will be in red glitter.....

365 Cards - Day 6 - Flashy Friday

2009-12-28T17:09:00.004Z

Bling bling bling is what's required, bling bling bling is what's been done. I found my glitter stash the other day (wasn't what I was looking for, but hey nice to know where it lives), and decided to use it for this catchup challenge (and the next one as I just couldn't let go of the glitter pack chortle). Bird stamp is from SEI WinterSong, sentiment is from Hero Arts Wintertime Messages. Glitter is from, I have no idea, it's anciently old. Purple card is from that Dutch Manufacturer that Puffin Arts sell. I'm rather hoping it comes across as a complementary colour scheme, I suspect it comes across as a bit granny... but I like it.

365 Cards - Day 4 - Ad Inspired

2009-12-28T17:02:00.005Z

Ok, so I'm slightly embarrassed about this set of catchups.... but on the other hand, today's catchup session does mean that I've actually finished all the cards from Week 1 of the 365 Cards Challenge blog. Yes, yes, I'd fallen behind that early on! I think the only week I actually did 7 cards in a row was in the Days 40-odd. Anyway this is for the challenge that showed a party table decorated in orange, black & white. I cut into a 12" square paper (no idea who the manufacturer is) then fussy cut the grey out and glued the whole thing onto some orange card. Which promptly buckled badly. So, looking on the bright side, it has a whole fairground theme (you know the mirrors that make you a funny shape) going on as well as the actual challenge. I'm hoping if I squash it between some books it'll go flat....

365 Cards - Day 303 - With a Flourish

2009-12-28T16:46:00.006Z

With a flourish? Do I have any flourishes? Turns out I do, or rather did, have a piece of double sided 12" Bo Bunny Beau Jardin Harvest light card.... Amazing what you find in your stash when you're actually looking for something else entirely! Like black & white & orange colour scheme for a first month catchup (which will be posted shortly). Although I was a bit hesitant about cutting it up - it cost 85p and is therefore my most expensive card to date by far, normally I spend about 10p on a 12" square sheet chortle).

Anyway, last week I was mooching around the 365 Cards site and found a card posted by Tesas Scrap which I absolutely loved the shape of (and the card itself) so I followed the link she provided to a lady's YouTube video who runs a blog called HoneyHeads and who does a lot of 3-D cards. Both blogs are worth a look.

And ended up with this diamond shape card, which I made out of a 4"x12" strip of the 12" square piece, then fussy cut elements out from what was left and popped them on the front of the diamond, in front of the diamond and at the side.

365 Cards - Day 265 - One Paper, One Embellishment, One Sentiment

2009-12-26T09:55:00.005Z

I was a bit stuck looking at this piece of paper, I like the design, the colour I can live with, but it didn't really go with any of the other papers. So, I decided to make the whole card out of the paper - which gives me the one paper, the one embellishment is the same paper plus a button, with a single sentiment. I am stunned that it turned out so well! If slightly muddy looking in the pic...

And this is the final card in my mammoth catchup session of Christmas Eve.

Although I'm still behind having only done 76 out of the 301 challenges so far. All I can say is I'm so thankful I'm unemployed as I might just manage to catchup by the end, although with only 64 days to go, maybe not! Still only 225 cards to go as at today, how hard can that be!!! (eeek!)

365 Cards - Day 271 - Blessings

2009-12-26T09:50:00.003Z

Hmm getting closer to the end of my mammoth catchup session of Christmas Eve, with a card that I've got on my short list as 'thankyou/ blessings' but now I think about it, if someone had really blessed me with their presence in my life, is brown really a joyful colour? Anyway, it is what it is. Which is brown, and ochre.

365 Cards - Day 214 - White Space

2009-12-26T09:44:00.004Z

Fifth and final one of the notelets (Days 286, 273, 252, 251 & 214. See Day 301 for details) but not the last one using this set of papers, there's another 2 to come (Days 271 & 265). All torn, all the same two colourways, and this one stretches the White Space challenge a bit - flipped onto it's side and proportions altered.

365 Cards - Day 251 - Two favourite colours

2009-12-26T09:38:00.004Z

Fourth of the notelet set (Days 286, 273, 252,251 & 214. See Day 301 for details). All torn, all the same 2 papers, in ochre and brown, which is a colourway I really really like, so whilst they're not necessarily my two favourite colours, it is my current favourite colourway.

365 Cards - Day 252 - White Space

2009-12-26T09:33:00.003Z

Third of the notelets (Days 286, 273, 252, 251 & 214, see Day 301 for details), more catchup, all torn, and this one more or less follows the sketch, again I was using leftovers....

365 Cards - Day 273 - Damask Pattern

2009-12-26T09:26:00.006Z

Second in the set of notelets (Days 286, 252, 251 & 254) all catchups and all torn paper. See Day 301 for details

365 Cards - Day 286 - White Space

2009-12-26T09:19:00.004Z

Ok so, as far as following the sketch goes, it's turned on it's side and the proportions have been a bit stretched, but I was using up leftover bits.... This is part of the notelets set per Days 273, 252, 251 & 254 as per previous post Day 301.

365 Cards - Day 301 - Torn

2009-12-26T09:03:00.005Z

I actually made this on Christmas Eve as part of my huge catchup session, but when I came to work out which cards I'd made for which challenge this morning, there was one left over, and you could have knocked me down with a feather when I opened 365 Cards and found the challenge for today was torn paper! I suspect it's cheating slightly as you ought to make the card on the day, but hopefully I'll be forgiven! Before Christmas hmm probably in Oct/Nov I made a set of notelets out of some brown/ cream/pink paper I really didn't like from a pack by the English Paper Company, but did really like this damask pattern, so I've made a set of slightly larger notelets (all 4"x6") out of it, together with a sheet of some pretty neutral mottled brown from the same pack. And I used torn paper on all of them... (lost my scissors chortle)

This notelet set covers challenges for Days 286, 273, 271, 252, 251 & 214 all of which will be posted after this one). I also used the same paper for Day 265.

365 Cards - Day 275 - Red & Green

2009-12-26T08:36:00.002Z

This might be looking rather familiar, in that it's the same layout & sentiment as Day 285 and the same size, but on a different backing paper... It is however Red & Green and a different card, so it counts for this challenge. Also, it's catchup so no-one's going to be arguing (I hope!)

365 Cards - Day 285 - Peace

2009-12-26T08:02:00.002Z

And yet more from my catchup session.... This is an idea I had last Christmas, but it didn't really work back then, although it does now! The paper is some unnamed 10p a 12"sq sheet from Puffin Crafts, the sentiment is an Inkadinkadoo stamp 606 959.X. Card is 5"x5". And the flocking is using the stamp with PVA and an initial sprinkling of Model Railway makers tiny woodchip flock then (and this is the bit that now works) you very carefully paint over the sentiment with a thick line of PVA again and bury it in flock. Otherwise it looks patchy.

In theory it's quite simple, in practice it takes ages for the second layer of PVA to dry and you get lots of bits dropping off everywhere. Still, once it's done it's rather lovely. Sorry for the poor piccies, there's not much light today and I want to get the mammoth catchup session posted.

365 Cards - Day 207 - Own Patterned Paper

2009-12-26T07:55:00.003Z

Same catchup session from November as Day 259, but not posted until now This time the snowflake stamp is Personal Impressions P1444S, but the rest of the tecchy details are as Day 259. I made 4 each of these notelets (5"x4") as sometimes I think it's quite nice to send people a set of cards as a present..... (and also because I wanted to see how many cards I could get out of 4 sheets of 6"x6" paper)

Not that I have actually made or send many/any sets yet, but am working on it!

365Cards - Day 259 - Snow

2009-12-26T07:46:00.003Z

More of the catchup, although I did actually make this one and the one for Day 207 on the same day back in November I didn't get round to posting them (they were already late then!) This challenge is to have a card themed with snow. The snowflakes and sentiment are from an Hero Arts set CL105 Wintertime Messages. As well as the three snowflakes it has two very cute snowmen that I've not quite managed to use yet, maybe one day! The blue paper is from a plain paper pack from Dovecraft. Ink is I suspect Versamark Indigo, but I didn't write it down and couldn't remember.

Christmas dinner wasn't omlette after all, I got back from church absolutely ravenous yesterday and rustled up a pre-cooked pack of mussels in white wine sauce and a sesame bagel (I know not very traditional accompaniment, but it was really nice!) Then Dr Who got in the way of supper, so I had a range of traditional british cheeses and salad and crackers. Not overly festive but very tasty. So, today's the day I plan to make the chestnut & mushroom suet puddings and the chicken liver pate, then I won't have to cook again for days. Bonus!

365 Cards - Day 280 - Red & White Stripes

2009-12-25T14:20:00.002Z

Ok so, part of my mammoth catchup session of yesterday. This challenge was to use red & white stripes (like a candy cane), and this was the closest paper I have.... Then inside I've used a larger version of the spotty paper. Not hugely different to the layout of the Day 299 card with the snowman wrapping paper.....