Pendant Making

I did a silversmithing glass this weekend at Rachels Studio with Rebecca. It was great! I was very rubbish though. It's so hard to get things straight. In the end I just decided to do something that was supposed to look rough and wonky. I wanted to make sure I finished it in the time so I just set about making two big hoops and bashing them flat.





I should have filed and polished the finished thing more but well, it just takes so long and I am such a wimp I got sore arms and fingers by the end of the day. Hitting your finger a few times with a hammer is no joke I can tell you. I can't quite wear the finished thing as one of the jump rings came unsoldered, but once I fix that then I am well chuffed.



Rachel cut her big circle out of flat silver which looked lovely.



Here is her finished necklace minus the polish.



Here is mine after the polish! I sat sanding and polishing all the way home on the train! I wish I could sign up the evening course and make more things!

Sewing Case

I finally finished my sewing cases. I just need to iron the white marker pen out so you can't see where I drew the quilting pattern on. I made two so that I could try different things out on each and learn with one so that the second would be perfect. Of course I just made mistakes on both instead.



I cut the wadding too small. My 1/4 inch sewing didn't leave enough room for the trim. My binding was too thin. My cord too fat... etc etc.. but even with all that, I am very happy with them.



I was intending to give one away, but I love both of them so much, I don't think I can. They have all my favourite scraps of material in them. They are really too precious. And it's always useful to have two of something right? They're the kind of thing that you need when you're on a train doing applique on the move. I bought a new pair of mini scissors just for the other case so now I have two sets of scissors, unpickers, threads, needles and pins. I feel very organised. I still prefer my mums case, but that's always the way I find.



I am also the owner of my very own bodkin now which I found I really couldn't make cord without. I tried with a safety pin but it was arduous work. Then bizarrely enough I was in a cheap shop and there was one right in front of me for £2 and I thought, "why not splash out on a bodkin". I am so very decadent.

The Year Review

So it's the first day of 2011, a fine time to take stock of the year.

Things I made this year
An iPad case
The Country Quilt
A baby quilt for a forthcoming baby
A baby quilt for baby Mabel
A pin cushion
Another iPad case
A knitted blanket
A cushion

Unfinished projects from 2010
1. The crazy quilt which I have done NOTHING on.
2. A baby quilt for Mabel Done!
3. The kit to make which I have been saving for a rainy day.
4. The partner to the speaker quilt which I haven't even thought about
5. The Country Quilt, Finished! It was a huge task but I cracked it!
6. The Sawtooth Star Quilt I haven't really tackled it this year as my aim was to clear the decks, so it almost doesn't count.
7. The Stripey Quilt, which I need to do the borders and binding for.

Oh dear, 2 out of 7 is very poor indeed.


Resolutions for 2010
To do a course which I did do in crochet.
To get more done. Well that's always tricky but I think I did pretty well.

Resolutions for 2011
To finish things off instead of starting big new projects (small ones are okay)
To improve my knitting

Better get back to my sewing case...

Blanket done!

Well it's taken me nearly a year, but finally I finished my blanket. I am very chuffed with myself. I can't quite believe I knitted something so big! The only bad bit is how I joined the two pieces in the middle. I did it really badly so it's all lumpy. I am hoping it stretches out with use though. In a way I can't wait for more cold weather just so I can test out it's warmth. I reckon it's going to be amazing. I would like to thank my new wool winder which just made the whole process much easier!



I got a cabling book for Christmas so I am going to try out some new cabling stitches. I might just make some squares and see how they turn out. The new local knitting shop had some lovely knitted cushions. I wish I needed cushions. I seem to finally have all the cushions I need!