Last year my granddaughter and I sewed a Freeform patchwork square using Liberty fabric scraps for their patchwork collective to celebrate 150 years of Liberty. I didn’t think we stood a chance as ours wasn’t a traditional patchwork pattern. Today I can’t quite believe it , but I opened my emails to see our square was selected to be in the display. I am so excited , proud, elated is probably the best word, still with a little disbelief. But very happy.
Crafting wise, 2025 has got off to a good start, with some done everyday. I always aim to do some everyday,but this year as I want to craft everyday and make more items, I have noticed that occasionally, I would have gone to bed without doing it. So I am making a proper effort to do it.
I started the new year with a few knitting WIPs , including Debbie Abraham’s mystery blanket 2024, my Wicked tank top, my Meadow Slipover , Debbie Abraham’s baby blanket 2023 and the Good morning blanket by Purl Soho. Progress has been made on all except the baby blanket and the meadow Slipover. Sewing has been a big plus and so far I have managed to complete a number of items.
Amongst the items I made were 2 of @Adamsews EPP Keeper Case from the Alice Caroline Christmas sewing festival. All fabrics and notions were from stash as I am still aiming for a no craft purchases year. I made padded matching needle case so that the needles won’t pierced the plastic pocket.
Also made a pouch which was supposed to be a 10 minute make, this was an epic fail as it took much longer. I have a much easier and quicker way to make the same item.
I love sewing so sometimes if I don’t have anything in particular I want or need to sew I will find a pattern I like and make a few of the same. These reusable coffee cup sleeves were one of those projects, a few have gone into the wild are in use already. Some are reversible, so a festive fabric one side and something else on the other.
If you scroll down you will see the Anjou Slipover I made that was too big, so I took it in and made a drawstring small pouch with it.
And after a couple of years I finished the embroidery kit I was gifted one Christmas
Looking forward to a year of working through my stashes. My wonderful granddaughter will be helping me to. Her sewing confidence is growing fantastically.
t’s a little earlier than usual, this post, while I am in the zone. My WIP list doesn’t seem to be getting much shorter but I am making progress on them.
Debbie Abrahams mystery blanket for this year still has 20 squares to be knit and I don’t think it will be finished this year, I am determined to complete it and send it off before the next one arrives.
The wicked tank top is still very much where it was after seeing the film for the second time. I do want to see it again and was contemplating the sing a long version, when I realised I don’t want to watch it with loads of people singing, yet. Although if my granddaughter wants to go I may be persuaded .
There is another vest/tank top I have on the go. For this one, the Open Trails Sweater Vest by Ashley Lillis , I will be utilising the yarn I bought for the Fletcher cowl. It is a beautiful Blue Sky Fibers yarn from Tribe Yarns , the cowl frustrated me when wearing it so much that I frogged it and am repurposing it. It is going to be so cosy.
I have managed to get a few bits sewn and hope to progress and complete this embroidery which was a gift a couple of Christmas ago. Not sure what I will use the finished item for.
In the sewn items it has mainly been the grandchildren using the machine, but I have managed to make some gift bags and reusable coffee sleeves. I want to make at least one of my PDF patterns a month next year. I also plan on destashing a lot of my craft books and am not buying any more knitting or sewing patterns next year. Well that’s the plan anyway.
I haven’t completed a lot in the last few months, at least that is how it feels. I am working hard to finish this years Mystery Blanket before the next one starts. I’m making good progress and I really enjoy the knitting of them, however I came to a realisation recently that one of the reasons I have started signing up to them again is FOMO ( fear of missing out] , as there are a few that I wish I’d signed up for in the years I didn’t .
Melpomene is still on the needles and I never managed to get past the cast on Stage for the Sisu KAL, the yarn and pattern are still all kitted up to be knit at a later date. I did manage to finish the MMosiac blanket, I haven’t blocked it as the recipient will wash it once they get it. The only thing I don’t like about it is how the garter stitch edging waves pre blocking.
I took part in a test knit for Anjou Slipover using more stash yarn. I knitted a size that is way too big but I shall use my sewing skills and take the side seams in. It is lovely and soft and warm. The yarn is Leader of The PAC from Hobbycraft, which I bought with a voucher from work last Christmas. Once I got my head around the very simple pattern it went really quickly.
Sewing has gone reasonably well, a quilted zipped pouch was made as well as some gift bags, pencil cases and book marks. I did fall of the wagon and out of the Last Sewist Standing event , as Liberty launched two Wicked themed fabrics and whilst I know there will always be more fabric, I still think about the Liberty Hello Kitty fabric I didn’t buy and still, regret not getting it. So I bought 1 metre in each of the designs. I’m going to use them to sew a project bag from the Alice Caroline Christmas sewing event. Hopefully will have a few more pictures of finished items next month.
I’m still knitting the two blankets mentioned previously , the mosaic one has the finishing line in site. As well as signing up to the Sisu berry KAL, I have signed up to the Ravelry Romi Hill group one skien , one month KAL, pattern I have chosen for this is from deep stash Melopemene using yarn from RiverKnits that I’d frogged from another project, so far it’s looking good.
I have also signed up to the 10,000 yard challenge, encouraging you to knit from stash , if you buy more you have to start again. As this included WIPs I should do okay. This years mystery blanket from Debbie Brahmas is back on tracking, or should I say getting there. In an effort to help I bagged a few squares up with the yarn, pattern , beads etc and it seems to be working. One tip I have for hooked in beads is to use a water bottle lid to put a few in at a time. I find this really useful and portable.
Sewing wise I am still in #lastsewiststanding heavyweight section. I haven’t sewn a huge amount but have managed to finish my first Lena Shift Dress. Will definitely be making another one but will make a smaller size for the next and shoulders. It has pockets ,
Starting the new year with 2 WIPs, the first is Kyra a kit from Tribe Yarns. I may have to unfollow her as she has so many beautiful posts that inspire and tempt me. This was one of those. The pattern is a simple roll neck sweater in a bulky yet light yarn , which is my favourite type of jumper to wear, I could not find the pattern on Ravelry as it is one of those with a number not a name, so I gave in and bought the kit. It’s knitting up nicely and I will definitely be knitting at least a second from stash, this yarn is so warm . My only slight annoyance is that if you like to work from a printed pattern the writing is quite small compared to all the patterns I’ve worked from recently.
The other WIP I have is the Anthology shawl which I think I am going to do the lace edging early as I am not enjoying this as much as I did. We shall see.
My plans for next year are not hard and fast but I want to work from the patterns and stash I have , get tempted from the stash. The exception will be if I need something that cannot be substituted with something I have to finish a project. I have snuck in a last minute pattern for a KAL in January, another project I found through Tribe Yarns, this is the Artus shawl . I will be using a different colour palette and have already put my yarns together for this from stash. I may use an extra colour if one runs out but am hopeful it won’t.
I want to make some skirts, a Christmas fabric dress, some birthday and Christmas cards, knit though a hat pattern book I have , sew another adventure land baby quilt, keep my sewing table clear , sew each of the bag patterns I have, sort through the boxes and condense. I have a pile of bags and stuff I need to sort through. The sorting has started but it is such a pain, there are groups it is sorted into, sell, charity shop, recycle, bin and keep. Stuff to sell has a cupboard that I have set aside for the items once full I shall send the rest to the charity shop. I have an old bin with a bin bag to put all the charity shop stuff in and once it is full it is going straight down there. Recycling is the same, once full put in the relevant bin. The stuff to keep has to be put away and if no where to put it can be found, given to charity shop. I also need to go through my wardrobe day to day clothes and do the same although none of those will be binned.
This is being updated a little late but I am proud to say we have a new addition to the family the gorgeous Archie. So happy and thankful. I was lucky enough to go visit him a couple of weeks after he was born.
I made him an Adventure Land quilt which I have to say is my favourite quilt to sew. I like the patchwork part of sewing a quilt but was not a fan of the quilting. This was so simple to quilt, I chose to do stitch and the ditch and because of the design it was so simple to sews without a huge bulk in the way. I used a Jelly Roll I had and the backing was a quilt cover from Aldi. I do need to learn to make it completely square but I really enjoyed making this. Labels are as always from WOVEN labels UK. The best part is mum loved it too
Around November and December you start to see posts about what peoples goals are going to be in 2021. Originally I was thinking of doing 21 a craft projects a month, I gave my self a quick reality check and whilst it is doable if sewing or card making is involved, it will make me stressed and what is the point of that. 21 projects for the year seems to easy as regularly make more than that and a goal is supposed to stretch you. With this in mind I decided on 60 projects for 2021 #60projects2021 this equates to only five projects a month on average and if I make some cards and bibs this will be achieved. I am looking forward to this as I am intending using lots of my stash and up cycling some items. This time I will try and remember to take before and after photos and details the steps more.
Some of the ideas I have are to repurpose two cardigans, make some cross stitch Christmas decorations, a Christmas stocking for a new baby, dresses for my darling Evalyn and matching dresses for her toy bunny, shirts for Harry, some garter stitch baby blankets( always have one of these on the go) and clothing for me. I have stacks of fabric and need to use it.
If you would like to join me use the hashtag #60projects2021 and #stashbusting2021 if using stash projects. I will be adding a page to list the items as I make them
Happy New Year, always look forward and look for the silver lining in every situation
Okay that may be a slight exaggeration in being a necessity, I was at my desk making lists of all the projects I either had on the go or wanted to do. When I am planning to do lots of projects especially sewing, I tend to do a lot of cutting out and set them up like kits before I get to the sewing. My mind was buzzing with projects I had cut out and ones that I wanted to prepare.
Sometimes when my head is too full, I do bullet point lists for each project. For instance cut out x , get notions, sew. Lots of little notes broken down in to do lists. What I really needed was a notice board. I have one but it is buried some where. Head was still jumbled when I spotted some card packaging from a duvet cover and a light bulb went off. Right next to it was a pair of jeans that just don’t fit right now.
I found a fat quarter from Stash and bingo I had a plan. I measured the FQ around the card and it was a tight fit but it would fit. Out came the sewing machine and I sewed along one short edge and the long edge. The jeans were inserted in-between the card and the fabric pulled over the top. I didn’t sew the base up, just tucked it in like a pillow case and voila I have a mini noticeboard.
I have been isolating since 19th March and it has had it’s ups and downs. There was a week near the start when I was very snappish and an emotional rollercoaster and now for the most part I am settled in my routine. I am lucky, that through out my isolation I have been able to work from home. I still get up and at the same time and do some chores before I start work. I think this has helped, although the one thing to suffer is my sleep pattern. I go to bed at the same time and spend most of the night tossing and turning. I have tried all the usual tricks, reading, knitting, warm milk, deep breathing, nytol, nothing works.
One good thing about the isolation is that I have managed to get on and properly tidy and sort the rooms I’ve been procrastinating about for months. Normally I would start sorting, then think of a reason to leave the house and not finish it. Now of course, I haven’t been able to leave the house so it is finally done. I have also sorted out the old craft/junk shed and it has been sorted and filled with boxes ready for when the charity shops open . I donated two large bags of fabric to my local scrub hub which made me feel like I was helping the cause, as there was enough fabric for hundreds of scrub caps and a few scrub sets. if I wasn’t up to sewing them at least I could provide the materials.
Craft wise I am still knitting the Afternoon tea blanket which is coming along nicely. Five strips have been knitted and sewn together and am midway on the sixth. I have also been sewing, mainly masks for the family and extended family. When my daughter asked me for masks I obviously said yes and just got on and did it, I didn’t dislike it but it wasn’t a joyful process. When I chose a different style- the full faced masks- I found the process of sewing the masks very therapeutic and want to sew some more. I am lucky as I did not need to buy anything to sew any of the masks, everything came from stash, well apart from one fat quarter of Star Wars fabric my grandson requested for his masks. One WIP I did manage to sew was The Raglan Dress by The Avid Seamstress. I absolutely love this dress. The fabric makes me smile and the pattern is a dream to sew. The instructions are clear and raglan sleeves are for me the easiest to sew. There will be many more of these in my wardrobe. I think I may need to do a post on this at a later date.
Talking of WIPs, I am the worst for having a day where I will cut out a few projects ready to sew at a later date. Some of these projects have been untouched for a few years so I decided to be ruthless and have decided to bag up those that didn’t inspire me any more and donate as a kit – fabric, pattern, pins- to the charity shops when they reopen . This actually made me relieved, as if a pressure had been lifted as now I only have two projects cut out ready to sew.
I really need to start a simple knit project, something I can pick up and knit mindlessly when I need some mindless knitting. Just to be contrary and play devils advocate, I also want to knit something intricate and lacy. when sorting out I discovered the Year of Lace 2009 patterns, only one of which I got around to knitting . Now if I can just find the yarn these came with …….
Jen Sews and Knits 