Graduation Photographs

Hannah graduated with a BA Hons in Jewellery Design.  Here she is with fellow jewellers and contemporary design people.

More graduation photographs will follow when they have been downloaded and then uploaded.

Gradu-bear

What does a new graduate need?  A bear of course.

Tin foil hat time!

Oh boys!  Not being able to knit, crochet, cook or bake is taking its toll.  I've painted, drawn, and today was the day to make a tin foil hat with a rather fetching feather.

Hot, hot, hot!

Oh my! Hereford is hot. It reached 33.3 today. This is too hot for a little bear.

At lunch time I was looking for an idea of what to paint with my new paint set. I was advised to paint some that would make me happy. This is it.

Experiments with posting from my Kindle

I've never attempted to post from my Kindle.  Will it work?

Flat Out Missing!

During TT, one of the Isle of Man Constabulary officers went missing.  He simply disappeared!

PC Flat has done sterling work in the past, helping to remind people to slow down!  A plea was put out for information on PC Flat's whereabouts.  It appears that he might well have been Shanghaied by some Royal Navy sailors who had been helping as medics during the TT Races.  The local Constabulary are hoping PC Flat will be returning in around 11 months, having had a tour of duty with Royal Navy.

Manx Pie

A little pie I made today.

The filling was made from a tub of cranberries, the remnants of a tub of raspberries, a couple of apples, a sprinkling of cinnamon, and a metric tonne of sugar!  (That might be an exaggeration.)

The pastry contained 100g plain flour (Dove Farm), 75g SR flour (Dove farm), 100g butter, 1 egg yolk and 2 tablespoons of cold water.  The butter was rubbed into the flours, and then the sugar was mixed in.  Then the dough was brought together with the egg yolk and water.  It's a pretty sticky dough.  This was popped in the fridge to cool.  The stickiness decreases during this time.

 

Granny loves rainbows

My yarn stash is continuing to shrink. More yarn is being consumed by projects than is being bought! This is a glorious state of affairs. My running total for 'balls used up or given away' for this year is 84.

A few baby items have been made using a lilac merino (hat, bootees, cardigan and snuggly blankie). I played it so the yarn would be totally used up. There was about 20cm left over at the end! Then, I discovered I had previously knitted a baby cardigan in the lilac too. It was a cardigan in need of cuffs, welts and button band. And, I had just used up all of the lilac merino. Cue a trip to my stash to see if there was anything I could use to finish it off. Of course there was!

The second lilac cardigan was finished with a crocheted cream border, and second border in a beautiful rainbow yarn. This resulted in a completed cardigan, and a hook in my hand. I started crocheting again.

About 8 years ago I made a baby blanket from the same yarns:

And I am going for a repeat performance.  

Last time round, I ran into a number of problems and the blanket sat in the naught corner for a good few months until my Mammy came to visit and took pity on it.

I have been learning my lessons. The first is than on a project with lots of ends, weave them in as you go. Some people like weaving in ends - I am most definitely not one of them! The second lesson is to crochet the squares together as you go - definitely do not sew.

The blanket above was made of 42 squares (6x7) and proved to be a good, useful size.

The yarns being used are King Cole Merino Mix, and Lorna's Laces Shepherd's Sock in Child's Play. Both are 4ply, and I'm using a 3.5mm hook.

2016 Calendar Quilt

Overnight, I've thought about losing the leaf point. And, I've decided that it doesn't really bother me. Autumn leaves are not perfect. Neither is mine. 

With regards to colour, my plan is to have at least one colour in each block repeated in another block. The penguin belly is the background to the heart. The yellow background, and the orange from the penguin’s feet will form part of the daffodil. Leaves from the daffodil will be used in the Christmas tree. Not every fabric will be repeated elsewhere, but one of the fabrics in the block will. This will hopefully give the quilt continuity across the months/blocks.

2016 Calendar Quilt - October

The block for October has been done.  The choice of design was made by The Beloved.

There is a rule of quilting, "Don't point out your mistakes!"  I'm going to break that rule, but simply because this was the first bit of American paper piecing I have tried.  The longest leaf point should have a bit of yellow at the tip.  I forgot to leave a border on my patchwork, and things got a little silly.

I'm debating re-doing it.  

Stash Diving

These were actually the first finished items of 2016.  They used up several balls of stash yarn.

(5 finished projects, and 6 balls of stash used up)

Hat-a-thon 2016

This is the 4th or 5th year I have had a hat-a-thon.  The aim is to make 26 hats within the space of a month, a marathon of hats.  A few of the hats end up with family and friends, but the majority are donated to charities.

A couple of days ago I learned a group on the Island are looking for hats for babies and children.  These will be given to refugees on the mainland of Europe.  The collection date is 3 weeks away, so I don't know if I will be able to complete the hat-a-ton in that time, but I'll give it a good go.  

Here's hats 1 and 2.

2016 Calendar Quilt - January

And here is the January block for the Calendar Quilt.

2016 Calendar Quilt - February

One of the hazards of being a Time Lord is that life doesn't always follow in chronological order as seem from the standpoint of a neutral observer.  This explains why the February block was the first one to be completed.  Either that, or it was a nice simple one to get me started.  February is a simple appliquéd heart.  

The blocks will each be 12" (finished size).

The Mighty Squibs

The Mighty Squibs have swum passed Bray Hill, taken a right turn at the Quarterbridge Roundabout, on through Union Mills, Glen Vine, Crosby, Greeba Castle, and on to Greeba Bridge. This is just over 6 miles in 11 days! We are definitely on course for finishing those 37.5 miles before Easter.

Huzzah and puppy snuggles.

Swimming the TT

I am a sucker for challenges. This is so true. Fe challenged me to take part in 'Swim the TT' or as it properly called, TT Swim Challenge 2016. The TT circuit is 37.5 miles long, and a team of four of us is going to swim its length. 

Depending on when the challenge started, which might be this year, or today, I have either swum 1.1miles (1.8km) or 0.62miles (1km). I so hope it is the first! 

Resolutions - it's a new year after all

Last year, I took the Cold Sheep challenge.  I didn't buy any yarn for a year.  The total amount of yarn in the house became smaller as I was knitting and crocheting from stash. However, my general productivity decreased.  Out goes the 'no new yarn' mantra and in comes the idea that I can 'earn' the right to buy new yarn.  When I use up 100g of yarn I can then buy 50g of new woolly goodness.  So far this year I have crocheted 1x 50g ball of delightful alpaca.  But this isn't my resolution.

I've started work on 52 Weeks To An Organized Home.  Last week was the first challenge (I like challenges): Kitchen counters and sink.  Stuff that had accumulated in the kitchen was found new homes, or put in the bin.  Electrical gadgets that aren't used every day were relocated to the pantry shelves. The cleaning supplies and DIY stuff were moved to the laundry.The electrical gadgets are close to the kitchen, very accessible, but tucked away, giving clear counter tops. 

This week, the challenge is: Kitchen drawers and cabinets.  This is a large task, a very large one.  Looking over future challenges, there will be weeks when I have nothing to do, eg attic, basement, garage, 'back to school' etc.  Therefore, I'm going to split this challenge over this week and next.  This week is drawers - we have 6 kitchen drawers.  I can comfortably clean, tidy, sort and declutter one drawer a day. 

Today was the light bulb drawer. Also in the drawer are some screwdrivers, a ball of string and keys to various windows and the back door.  I've no idea why there's a drawer for light bulbs, screwdrivers, keys and string in the kitchen!  But that's were they are.  My inclination is for them to be in the laundry/utility room with the rest of the tools.  That room needs a good sorting out though.  If I just start dumping things in there it will turn into a complete and utter mess, rather than the partial mess it is just now.  The laundry room's turn will come at the end of February.  I'll hang on until then.

Next week will be the turn of the cabinets.  The other challenges will be off-set a week until I get to 'coupons'.  That's one I won't be doing.  But this 52 week organisation isn't my resolution either.

My actual resolution is to make my bed every day!  Yup, that's it.  Nice and simple.  It's a habit I want to instill in myself, and it's working.  I've managed 10 days of making my bed.  But's it's the 11th!  Not a problem, I'm just about to go change the sheets, and I'll make up my fresh, new bed.

Christmas 2015

A couple of quilted items from Christmas 2015.

A Nightmare before Christmas quilt:

 

And the reverse:

A Christmas Trees table runner.  There is a little gold star at the top of each tree.

Alpaca Blanket

My first purchase of yarn in one year was two 50g balls of Drops Alpaca in turquoise.  I've decided to make a Granny Square blanket in various shades of blues and greens.  When I've used up the 100g, I'll buy some more yarn from Sweet Ginger in Ramsey.  

Yarn: Drops Alpaca (5 ply)

Colour: 2918 (deep turquoise)

Dyelot: 312260

Hook: 3.5mm

Pattern: 8 round Granny Square

A year without new yarn!

This last year has been rather odd.  I decided to go a year without buying yarn in an attempt to bring my yarn stash under control. There was a minor hiccough in November when I was asked for a fox hat as a Christmas present, but didn't have the yarn to make it. The Beloved bought the yarn for me, to enable the present to be made. After the fox hat was made I started using up the leftovers. This resulted in a second hat, and four pairs of fingerless mittens! 

My year has come to an end, and I have my 'one year chip'.

Whilst this is a lovely accomplishment,  it has come at a certain cost.  Instead of yarning (knitting or crocheting), I have been fabric-ing. Two quilts and a Christmas table runner have been made. Fabric has been bought. Essentially I have switched from one form of stash enlargement to another!

Therefore, I am ditching the 'Cold Sheep' method of stash reduction, and am returning to 'two from stash, then one new'. To get new yarn or fabric, I need to complete two projects from stash yarn or fabric, and only then can I buy something new. There will be a little bit of wiggle room, and a tiny bit can be bought to finish a project. However, the underlying principle is 'two from stash, then one new'.