Well I was right. All the magazines come at the same time. Today was CraftSeller. There wasn’t much in this issue I will make so I shall tear out he paper craft4 page’s, enter the comps and recycle the magazine.a short post today just before I forget to do it!
Author Archives: Jenny Stilwell
Twelfth day
I can’t believe I have actually managed to blog for a whole 12 days. At the moment I am enjoying an unabridged audio book whilst I knit or surf the web. I downloaded it after a recommendation from Skein Queen in her newsletter. It goes into great description about fabrics and embroidery and transports you to Thessalonika. The book is The Thread by Victoria Hislop and I can whole heartedly recommend it both in audio and written form. I have just downloaded the ebook The Forgotten Seamstress by Liz Trenow. There is a quilt pattern that can be downloaded from her website www.liztrenow.com which I believe can be sewn alongside the book. I will review it once I’ve got around to reading it.
I have almost finished my friends birthday and Christmas present which I am greatly pleased about
Number 11
I have come to a decision. It’s the same decision I arrive at every few years. Next year I am only giving presents I have made. I have a few ideas, for the young ones in my new Sew magazines is a pattern for a snakes and ladder mat. This should use a fair bit of fabric.
There is a new baby on the way and I am determined to make everything from my stash fabric. If its a girl it will be easy, not so much if it’s a boy. I am itching to get some sewing done but am not up to it . A fairly new trend in craft magazines is that the patterns to make the projects shown have to be downloaded from a website. They are still free but I find it annoying. If I pay for a magazine of patterns I do not expect to have to print them out myself. Ironically this is the last issue of my Sew subscription. I decided not to renew as there wasn’t much in the previous issues. This issue however had at least three projects I will be making and in next month’s issue there looks like a couple of projects I will make. Signing off to see if I can download the patterns.
Ten
I don’t normally bother with an advent calendar for myself, the nice chocolate ones are overpriced and the cheaper ones have the not so nice chocolate in. This year I was tempted by another type of advent calendar. A nail polish one. One of my friends told me about one she had seen in John Lewis Oxford Street and of course curiosity got the better of me and I had to have a look. It is manufactured by Ciate and is great value at £42 . For this behind each door is a mini Ciate nail polish or decorations pot and one full size polish for Christmas Eve as well as a top coat and base coat. I have turned into a bit of a nail snob in my old age using Nails Inc or OPI for the most part, but I decided to read the reviews and thought I would give it a try.I actually prefer mini pots of nail polish as apart from top and base coat I never finish a pot before it goes gloopy and I am a sucker for a good deal. Yes I did cheat and look through most of the doors , I know,no self control . There is a good mixture of colours and textures with only a a handful I don’t think I’ll use.
Ciate polish after 9 days
These are my nails after nine days. I used one coat of base and top coat and two coats of the polish. I am extremely impressed. My nail polish never stays on all my fingers for longer than a few days as the nails on the forefingers of each hand always chip or peel off, even when I use the Red Carpet gel polish. It will be interesting to see how easy it is get the polish off. I shall report back once I remove it.
Over all I am impressed with the quality and range in this advent calendar and will probably buy one next year as well.
Full details can be found on their website Ciate. http://www.ciate.co.uk/nails/gift-sets/mini-mani-month
Day nine
It’s been a funny one today. I am progressing well with my friends present and went for my compulsory ten minute walk. I only have about ten percent left to do. This is one project I really hope she likes. I have until next Thursday to finish it. The christmas tree was put up today and for once it is all matching. I’m not sure if I like it. You can tell I didn’t do it. I like an eclectic mix of old decorations with an odd new one. I bought some lovely fabric in Liberty to make some Christmas decorations but these will probably be made in the new year. I also found another UFO today. Debbie Abrahams teatime blanket. I have on strip out of seven done. Another project I really need to finish. I’ll add it to the list.
Eighth Day
As you all know I had all these plans for what I was going to do in my recuperation. I had also planned before I had the surgery to make stockings for my family for when boxing day. I have already made them their main stockings for Christmas day but wanted small ones for the years when we celebrate Christmas on boxing day because the grandchildren go to their other grandparents, with their parents of course! Yes I have the fabric but am unable to make them beforehand. With this in mind I asked my daughter to get me some small stockings from Poundland. I was thinking that if I’m up to it I could use them as a template and lining and if not will use them this year and as lining next.
As you can see the ones she got me are felt and I am rather impressed with them. They only cost one pound each but each comes with a small packet of adhesive felt letters which is worth the pound on its own. Out of one pack of the letters I managed to get all four names apart from 3 letters. So in this instance I am going to forget about even attempting a stocking until next year. I will report back once they are filled by Santa and let you know if they stand up to the job.
Day seven
Amazingly I have managed to update this blog for a whole seven days in a row. Hopefully it will bbe a whole 14 days at least. In yesterdays post I commented about it being the time of the month when all my subscription come through the door. I was right as today saw the delivery of the latest Knit Now. I subscribed to this magazine because it always has a good number of accessories and small projects I can knit from stash. Lately thought there has been more garments in it. I still likethe magazine although I do not like the American format of a picture of the garment and then the pattern a few pages late. I prefer to have my picture and pattern in one place. This issue came with 2 free extra patterns anda pocket book of baby knits which of course I am itching to start.
This issue didn’t have as many patterns for me as usual. I liked most of the designs in the pocketbook but in the magazine only a baby blanket and a shawl.just as well as I can’t keep up with the patterns I do want to knit.
I am still finishing my friends birthday present which is tomorrow. I only have about ten percent left todo. Unfortunately I am unable to do as much crafting as I thought I would be as for some reason it makes me uncomfortable where I had my op. Oh well onwards and upwards.
On the sixth day .
It’s that time of the month where I realise how many magazines I subscribe to as they all come tumbling through the door with a day of each other.
The first through the door was The Knitter, I’ve subscribed from the start before it was released as I had faith in the editor.
It is a lovely magazine and one that sits on the shelf nicely with its numbered spine. However I am running out of room so I am trying to be ruthless and destash the ones I’m never going to knit from.I managed to condense some by buying The Knitter Baby and Children collection.
I buy The Knitter for it’s garments and articles even if I haven’t made many of the projects. I am thinking of a digital subscription but when it costs more than a paper one and you don’t get the extra patterns I think its a bit of a con. I know one has to pay VAT on digital books but it irks me that a magazine or book in digital form yet the paper one whih you can feel and has actual components is often a lot cheaper than their digital version and it just doesn’t make sense to me.
Day Five
Today not much has been done.
My lovely friend Zoe came to visit me yesterday with the adorable Zahra. I was very good and didn’t lift anything I wasn’t supposed to but this morning I was exhausted and in pain. With the help of the pain killers the pain has eased but I am still exhausted despite spending most of today sleeping and resting.
Yesterday I did manage to make a list of everyone I would like to make a christmas present for in ……..2014. I wrote it in my project notebook and beside the children’s name I put their age that they will be.
I also went through my Ravelry queue and deleted a few items where I would need to buy the pattern or didn’t think I would make it. I then wrote in my trusty project book some of the items in my queue and the yarn I need to make them. Hopefully between these two lists I should get some done. One thing I am thinking is that as I go through the stash if I come across any of the yarns to make one of the projects I can tackle that project first. I am still finishing my friends presnt which should be done by her birthday. I am really enjoying making it even if progress isn’t as quick as I would like
Jen Sews and Knits 