2020 Christmas Craft

 Lockdown and Tier 2 & 3 have given me more craft time this year. I haven't been able to go out and do things that I would normally do so it's been a good time to get some projects done that I've been planning for years.

To be eco- friendly and use up some of my stash of Christmas fabric I made gift bags.

I used them to gift wrap presents for 2 of my crafty friends.

I bought myself a wreath making kit in Hobbycraft just before the 2nd lockdown.

A friend gave me a wreath making book for my birthday and enough wool to make one with a Christmas Robin.

On a rainy Sunday afternoon, I got my glue gun out, put on a Christmas film and had a lovely time putting the wreaths together.

Another job for my glue gun was to make a pompom tree. 

I saw this project about 5 years ago in the Hobbycraft tent at a craft fair where they were promoting pompom makers. 

I made half pompoms with wool from my stash.

I had some help from Bonnie putting it together.

On Christmas Eve I made a table decoration using cuttings I'd gathered from the garden using skills I'd learnt on a workshop at Hampton Court Palace last year.

And finally, something I started about 3 years ago and finally got around to finishing.

A gingerbread man garland which I completed a few days after Christmas.

Another Ottoman Makeover

I started this blog to celebrate things that I had achieved at a time when life could be a bit tough going. 2020 come on the back of 3 very difficult years so it seems the perfect time to return to my blog and reflect on positive things.

As with most new years, I was determined that in 2020 I would get things done that I'd been putting off and hadn't got round to to doing.

First on the list was to replace the net curtains in my daughter's room that Bonnie the new kitty had shredded. At the same time I decided to revamp the ottoman using fabric that I'd had for about a year.   

The ottoman once belonged to my Grandma. I remember sitting on it and chatting to her and sometimes using it as a stage to stand on when I was singing to her. Happy memories.

This is the 3rd time I've revamped it. When my daughter was a baby it was painted to match  the nursery and I covered the lid with farmyard fabric. As she grew up it was repainted and recovered to match the mermaid and under the sea theme.

This time she chose something a little more grown up. I stretched the fabric over the lid and stapled it to the sides.

To cover the stables I glued ribbon around the edge of the lid.

It's a traditional method that was originally used on the ottoman.

Ta-dah! All finished and back in the room to be filled with hand crocheted blankets and home made quilts.

My She Shed is Operational

It's August Bank Holiday weekend and 2 years ago this weekend  

I started work on my She Shed.

Life has got in the way of working on it, but finally this weekend, it is operational as the space I planned, even though the design & ideas have changed a bit along the way.

 I have somewhere I can sit in peace and quiet, crochet and have a cuppa. 

I have shelving for books and keepsakes that don't fit in the house. 

My craft books are organised and accessible, as is much of my wool stash.

I have an old folding table, ironing board and iron. So there is space  to block my crochet and knitting projects, away from the cats and not taking up any house space.

 

The old family sideboard provides extra storage.

The pinboard and hanging space display mementos and makes.

A few fairy lights.

There's still work to do but I can take my time in the finishing touches. At last, I have my own little sanctuary that I've dreamed of for years.

Charity Christmas Pudding Evening

I recently spent a very enjoyable evening at a Christmas Pudding making evening organised by the Reading branch of Cancer Research UK. I met up with current work chums and previous work chums.

It was held in the college kitchens. We each had our own work stations ready laid out with the recipe sheet & equipment. 

All the ingredients had been donated & we collected them from the weighing station.

Then got mixing.

Not only did I end up with my first ever home made Christmas Pudding, 

but we won the quiz

and I won a raffle prize, a beautiful handmade necklace donated by my friend and fellow quiz winner.

I also bought a few things from the craft stall.

I steamed the pudding at home.

Reheated it on Christmas Day

and very tasty it was too.

The Birth of My She Shed

There is a brick built shed at the bottom of the garden. It used to be very much the domain of my ex, but over the years, like a lot of sheds, it got piled up with all sorts of stuff. 2 years ago you could only just open the door. 

All that changed last summer and I cleared it out, dumped what I didn't need, and stored in the garage what I might need or wanted to keep. I dismantled the old work bench but kept all the materials to reuse. Inspired by George Clarke's Amazing Spaces and Shed of the Year programmes I set out to create a She Shed which could be my craft haven.

On August bank holiday the make over began. I had no budget so could only use what I had stored away in the garage. The walls were painted different colours and the the wooden ceiling was painted blue & grey strips, inspired by beach huts.

I whitewashed & vanished the shelves, but the finish was really rough. I bought some glittery PVC to cover them with.

The kitchen cupboards came from my sister's old kitchen and had previously been in the shed. They had a good clean and a new coat of paint. The pinboard was a corkboard that a friend gave me, covered in an offcut of my favourite fabric in the stash.

The sides of the cupboards were really tatty. I covered them with sticky back plastic which cost £4.

 I rescued these old school desks which had been used in a local am dram and were heading for the skip. The need a bit of TLC but will eventually act as a work bench.

These shelves were made from the the base of my daughter's old bed and are home to my dolls houses.

A few favourite pictures on the wall and it's beginning to take shape.