2013

Okay, so I admit it's a bit late, but it's January. Which usually means that people have resolutions. As do I. Not that I am going to call them resolutions because they usually fail. But here they are anyway...

1. Stop being lazy. 

Aaaaand... yup that's it! I realised that all the things I don't like about myself come down to one thing. My Laziness. It's getting out of hand. 

So I am going to go walking. Not massive walks. But if I'm going to eat, I want to earn my food, and actually feel hungry when I do so. So walking, even for 20 mins is helping. (I have just got back from a quick walk around the field and I'm starving.) Being this lazy is also messing up my sleeping. Some nights, because I haven't done anything that day, I just cannot sleep. The next day I am very tired then sleep well that night and that morning, and then can't sleep the next night so IT'S GOT TO CHANGE. 

I have a whole month of waiting to go back to uni so it's the perfect time to make a change. And I probably should get on with my dissertation. Maybe I should only let myself craft if I have done at least an hours research or writing. (I'm no committing to that one just yet).

Anyway, yesterday I was feeling a bit lost in my quilt progress. I kept seeing nice new fabric, but not wanting to make more hexagons because I already have a gazillion...

But then my mum treated me to some new fabric. Because they are pretty. 

So I HAD to make something with them, but hexagon making was not that. And i had a need to finish something...so I give you... a patchwork cushion! 

I used all the Fat Quarters that we bought the day before, and some of the ones that are already going into my quilt and I think it's safe to say I'm rather proud of the outcome! 

I chickened out of using my sewing machine, which still scares me, so I used the same method as I did for the hexagons (English Paper Piecing).

Oooh! And I had someone ask me about a tutorial for English paper piecing... the one I used was from here. This blog is beautiful. I want to make my own tutorial, but... I'm... lazy. SO in light of my new changes, maybe I will make one! 

I'm off to eat lunch. 

Have a lovely day! 

Dala Horses

I love em. You may have seen I'm one of my recent posts about lino printing a dala horse design... Since then I got my copy of Cross Stitcher... And guess what?! A dala horse... And I wasted no time! (Actually I regularly waste time... Not the point!)

I really want to paint the frame white soon... But for now I think my little horsey looks pretty spiffing, sitting up high, keeping guard of the room.

Granny Chic

Now, if there's something I LOVE it's a crafty book...

Granny Chic is the newest bestest thing to come from Ted and Agnes and Dottie Angel and I was seeing it everywhere on Instagram. People had posted pictures of some of the pages from the book, and it soon went staright to the top of my 'Books I really want but haven't got any money' list.

So when I saw it in The Works for only £5.99 but heart did a fluttery thing and I snatched it up. (There were quite a few on the shelf and I was the only one in the shop so the snatching wasn't nessesary...)

You can sort of just tell from the fornt cover that its going to be amazing. It is the only book I own where I want to make everything. EVERYTHING. That's going to take up a lot of time. 

But, depending on how you look at it, luckily, it didnt take me long to get started. On one hand, I get to make pretty things and dream of having an amazing caravan, on the other.... my uni work suffers even more! 

The pretty things win. 

So I took a stool I have long ago crocheted a cosy for, and made it even better! 

I had always felt it was missing something, so I added the doily. A direct inspiration from the book!

But it doesn't stop there...

I was doing a round of the charity shop... which is always nice. People don't seem to want the same things as me, so I usually find some good bargains, and since car boots are way too cold now... charity shops it is! And I saw something out of the corner of my eye... I was too excited... ANYWAY... It was a soon to be lovely old granny chic-ed up lampshade! Just realised that in my excitement I didn't take a before and after photo!

After stripping the fabric off it, it sat on the coffee table in the living room looking at me for about a day before I knew what I wanted to do with it.

Ribbon is always a winner!

And ta da! I couldn't really be more pleased with this. It fits in so nicely in my room, and the fairy lights make the perfect light to watch rubbish tv on 4OD.

It's a shame that my degree doesn't fill me with this kind of satisfaction. Oh well! Not long now...

I think I might go and hibernate in my duvet while I real some super interesting peer- reviewed articles from some lovely journals now.

 Or I'll do some more embroidery...

A Printy Weekend

The other day I got very excited because I cut and printed my very first lino cutting! Yay!

If you know me well, you'll know that things like this make me very happy. You'll also know that when I do something new I become OBSESSED. 

So it's only fitting that I spent most of my weekend cutting bits of lino, stabbing my thumb with a blade and printing stuff! Here's some sneaky peeks... (the thing I really want to show you, I can't. It's my design for my Christmas cards...) 

 Oh, and just a quick note on where the whole lino cutting idea came from... The Mollie Makes Christmas book. Buy it. Seriously. RRP is £10 and it is so worth that!  

So this Dala horse was originally an embroidery design from the Christmas issue of Mollie Makes (starting to sound like an advert for them!) from a whole year ago... and whilst I LOVE this design... I wanted something of my own... which I am not sharing with you all just yet...

But I seriously couldn't be happier with how it turned out! 

 

This was entirely the boyfriends idea. (in fact it was my idea, he was just the one to cut it out)

Then these little fishes happened... I rather like them. 

So there we have it! Some, but not all of my lino cuttings from the weekend. If you are inspired, I really would suggest buying the Mollie Makes book, it's lovely. And all the rest of the projects in there are inspiring too! And if I can do something which takes this much care, and only stab myself in the hand once, then you can to! Hurrah! 

I'm a printer!

No, not an electrical one!

The other day I got some lino and a lino cutting tool. (As if I needed another craft to get obsessed over!)

I have been putting off making my first cut since Saturday because I wanted to take my time and do it properly.... But then another argument with student finance later... I found myself cutting out a little birdy design! And I'm rather pleased! It's by no means perfect... But practise makes perfect right?! ;)