November | 2018

November 26, 2018
by sewchet 29 Comments

Sunday Sevens #175

Two week’s worth of Sunday Sevens today – on a Monday, of course:)

The husband has been hard at work in the evenings finishing off the bits that need doing before we exchange contracts on the house. We finally almost have railings on our bedroom balcony!!

2. Exploring a new local walk with Tess. I love the way the sun creates flare through the trees.

3. We discovered the derelict building that The Boys have been playing in for years!

4. Another trip down to Exmoor to get to know some of the other villages that we are not so familiar with.

5. We tried out one of the local pubs.

6. We had a stroll through what will hopefully become our neighbouring village very soon. Could there be a more quintessentially English scene?

7. Popping out with a friend the other day could be an expensive exercise when I spotted an all-singing, all-dancing coffee machine….

8. Just after The Hunt galloped at a rate of knots through the fields behind us, we were happy to see a deer that had avoided capture.

9. The view across the fields is ever-changing with the seasons and I caught this rainbow streak as it briefly coloured the sky.

10. No.1 Son called in after a night out with friends in the area. The ‘phone rang mid-haircut….

11. Lobster tail for supper. You’ve got NO chance, Tess!

12. Our local Farm Shop has just extended its café, so I had the perfect excuse to go there.

13. The Farm Shop also has a Trading Barn attached and I picked up this sock box for a fiver. Obviously, I now HAVE to make a ninth pair for myself to fill that last cubby hole.

14. Perfect! Well, almost…..

15. Turns out that handknit socks are far too bulky and the lid isn’t even close to fastening.

16. Talking of socks, the third Christmas pair are blocked and ready to wrap….

17. …..and the fourth pair are already on the needles.

18. I made this Polo Neck, so called because it’s neither a cowl nor a scarf and is all the better for it. It sits nice and snuggly against the neck because of the double rib and doesn’t let in any draughts.

19. I finished this poncho whilst watching Marple. It has been quite the marathon and just needs blocking before I can photograph it properly.

20. Well deserved, as it was quite a feat, that poncho. Prosecco with Pomegranate seeds that travel up and down with the bubbles….:)

21. I moved swiftly on to the gloves that will be gifted with the poncho.

22. Instead of casting on the second glove, I cast on a Polo Neck for myself, allowing just two evenings to complete it in time for the 24th Annual Christmas Shopping Trip to Bath with my daughter.

23. And here’s proof that I did it!

24. First stop, as always, was breakfast in The Pump Rooms.

25. A trio of musicians accompanied our meal.

26. “Quick”, I said, “the bride is in shot – smile!”

Turns out there was a wedding party having breakfast just behind us.

27. The moon is visible well before sunset at this time of year, although this was taken just as the sun had dropped below the horizon at 3:55pm. Days are getting short in the Northern hemisphere.

28. Finally, a festive-feeling shot of berries taken at the other end of the village. Christmas will soon be here!

November 13, 2018
by sewchet 14 Comments

Sunday Sevens #174

Linking up with Nat at Threads & Bobbins for another Sunday Sevens – a weekly blog series showing your life outside the blog.

The first photo is especially for Pauline – proof that they did enjoy the competition last Sunday!

2. Hubby and I went out for coffee at Hooga in Wincanton. He worked and I did a bit of knitting.

3. I spent a couple of solid days sewing Christmas presents at the dining table and this is the mess that ensued.

4. Here are a few sneak peeks, all of which I hope to blog soon.

This one was made of patchworked scraps of fabric.

5. There were just enough scraps of this Orla Kiely fabric to make a washbag. It’s moments like this that make me glad I keep the tiniest scraps of leftover fabric!

6. Another washbag made from hubby’s old tweed suit – definitely for a man in the family.

7. A matching cosmetic bag for his good lady. Now they can travel in matching classy style!

8. Discovered in Sainsbury – 100% dark chocolate! I love the ‘warning’ on the packet.

9. Mr H-L bought this pocket book of pub walks whilst we were out after a dental appointment. The scenic view on the cover is the exact same one if you look left out of the side gates of the house we’re hoping to buy in Allerford.

The irony is…..there is no pub in that village!!

10. I am a sucker for nostalgia, so couldn’t resist this little book of Christmas.

11. Talking of Christmas, The English Home dropped on the doormat and its gorgeous cover made me rather sad that we don’t even know where we’ll be living by then:(

12. This is me with the husband, all glammed up for our niece’s 21st birthday on Saturday. Rather the worse for wear in this photo taken at the end of the night, I nonetheless feel duty bound to recount to you the words of a little girl uttered as we entered the venue: “Ooh Daddy, look…..it’s a Princess!!”

And, no, she wasn’t referring to Him.

13. Despite the previous nights excesses, we all got up in time to join in the commemorations for the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day.

What a moving end to the week.

November 8, 2018
by sewchet 17 Comments

Felt Owl Purse (With Secret Pocket!)

Browsing Pinterest with no particular goal in mind is usually dangerous in that it will take away hours of your life that you will never get back again.

On this occasion, however, this image caught my eye almost immediately.

owl

Now, owls are perennially popular and, when given a useful (not to mention cute) function, proved too irresistible a present-making opportunity for me.

I remember when my daughter was about ten she loved Polly Pocket and a large part of that enjoyment stemmed from its minuscule nature and the fact that, as it hung from a locket around her neck, it was a portable toy that could go anywhere with her, ready to play with as the urge arose. This purse had similar amusement potential.

Clicking on the image through to the original post revealed that the owl was a coin purse with – and this bit is crucial – a secret pocket!

Instantly I knew two little girls that would potentially love this, and I also had an idea for the contents of the secret pocket.

You can find the full tutorial here.

Made from scraps of felt, the only extras needed are a zip, D-ring and two buttons, all of which I already had so these were effectively ‘free’ projects.

Although if you were to count the hours spent (approx six for both) they’re probably the most expensive felt purses ever:)

The raw materials…..

….the completed front and back before final construction.

Here’s a peek at the insides.

A combination of hand and machine sewing make for an interesting mix.

I chose to include zips of contrasting colours, but you could match them to the felt for a more blended-in finish.

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I’m going to buy some sprung keyring clips to attach to the D-rings.

A bit of hand embroidery makes a welcome change for someone who rarely gets the chance to indulge in such things!

The tutorial calls for a magnetic clip to close the secret front pocket, but I literally just used my last one so improvised with a tiny piece of Velcro.

As for the secret contents, the obvious choice was a sleeping baby owlet.

I sketched out a quick pattern and cut out the pieces from neon-coloured felt.

At the last minute I decided to add a pair of legs, sandwiched between the front and back layers of the body.

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Another one made in opposite colours for the second purse.

Lift the flap and……a little surprise is revealed under the wing!

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So there we are, one each for two girls that will, hopefully, derive as much fun from a tiny toy as my daughter did all those years ago.

November 5, 2018
by sewchet 16 Comments

Sunday Sevens #173

Linking up with Nat at Threads & Bobbins for another Sunday Sevens….

Autumn has well and truly reached South Somerset and with it comes frost. Crunchy, beautiful…and cold!

2. Still, it was nice to light the fire and put the Christmas decorations up again for another Christmas Present Workshop. At least the weather felt more in keeping than last week’s workshop.

3. Seven more children (including No.2 and No.3 Sons) donned festive hats and spent a day making as many gifts as they could, before wrapping them up ready to put under the tree in December.

4. Socks, however, take rather more than six hours to knit. Little pleasures like my favourite stitch marker help to keep me going.

5. Tada! The second pair of Christmas socks finished.

6. I also finished Teddy’s matching jumper and hat. All I need now is to find a teddy bear that will fit said jumper.

7. We popped up to the flat to do a bit more work. I say a ‘bit’, but it’s all relative and we actually spent two days solid doing remedial works. Another couple of days effort should see it ready to put on the market.

8. Relatives were kind enough to put us up overnight as the flat currently has no furniture in it. If you look carefully, you’ll see Tess going nuts at her reflection in the mirror, daft dog.

9. Another clear, frosty morning saw us making the most of it by walking through the woods from Alfred’s Tower to Stourhead.

10. I know this photo was in my last post, but this is in context.

11. Just look at that sky!

12. Back home to a roaring fire and PJs, although I kept my socks on!

13. We took The Boys to ‘Flip Out’ in Bristol for No.2 Son’s 13th birthday on Saturday.

14. Basically, it’s a warehouse full of numerous trampolines on floors and walls, together with foam pits and foam gym ‘horses’ for Parkour (free-running).

15. Within five minutes No.2 came over sporting a sheepish grin….

16. ….Yep, he’d knocked a wobbly tooth out.

17. Luckily there was a café on site so I cast on another pair of Christmas present socks and managed quite a few rows in two hours.

18. Not the best photo as he was too eager to blow the candles out and eat the cake….

19. Sunday saw No.3 and his dance partner come 5th out of 35 couples in a 4-dance format competition.

20. My eldest came over for the afternoon and we had lunch followed by supper and a family film, during which I added to the latest socks.

See you next week!

November 3, 2018
by sewchet 19 Comments

Knitted Aran Jumper

Three and a half years ago, in mid February 2015, I started knitting myself a jumper – the first one since the Eighties, in fact, the first one in nearly thirty years.

Back then, I knitted lots of jumpers. All in mohair of course, as was the fashion, and all of which have long since disappeared into the ether.

Nowadays I favour a more practical yarn, one which doesn’t shed or tickle and one that washes well, so when I happened upon Stylecraft Special Aran with Wool in “Oatmeal” in our local garden centre, I bought a couple of 400g balls. A nice Aran jumper pattern also caught my eye.

Sometimes I wish I’d gone for the green in the photo on the pattern leaflet, but I figured that “Oatmeal” (aka “Beige”) would go with more things and would get worn more.

5mm needles, Aran weight yarn and a simple cable design ensured that the jumper knitted up relatively quickly.

I can’t remember exactly when I finished it, probably later the same year, but it immediately got relegated to the bottom of the wardrobe until a few weeks ago when it reappeared during a clear out.

Here it is.

I remember loving the generous ribbed roll neck…..

….and the simple but pleasing cable running down the centre front and back of the jumper.

The yarn was so nice that I even used the plentiful leftovers to make a two matching hats, one for myself and one for a present….

….and a pair of fingerless mittens for a Stitching Santa present.

So why didn’t I like the jumper?

I had set in the sleeves too tightly using a basic oversewn edge and it was uncomfortable to wear.

That was it.

Biting the bullet, I carefully unpicked the sleeves, shoulder and side seams of the entire jumper and started again.

Taking my time, I used a more appropriate method of construction which resulted in more flexible seams and a neater looking jumper to boot. A simple solution that took just a couple of hours, but one that I had procrastinated about for three years.

I was impatient to wear it but I’m naturally a hot kind of person who rarely feels the cold and rarely wears a coat, let alone a jumper. So, as soon as the weather turned cold enough this week, I gave it a try.

A freezing cold, frosty morning with blue skies and no hint of a breeze – perfect for a walk through the woods.