One hundred and thirty flowers

The crochet curtain is finished!

 

I made 130 Japanese crochet flowers and joined them all together. It is made in a very fine cotton called Rico Essentials crochet cotton using a 2mm hook.

 

Back to granny squares now and a BIG hook.

 

 

Liberty Stitches

I did an applique workshop with Susannah Sindall who runs the group Liberty Stitches and really enjoyed my day. Sewing has bad memories for me. It took me so long to finish a sleeveless blouse at school that it didn't fit me when I had finished. The next year Dad told the teacher that he was not going to buy material just to waste. As a punishment she made me sew brown paper for the whole year.

 

This was NOTHING like that. We were given a piece of calico and told to find fabrics that suggested the sea to us and just play. I was in heaven with all that colour and picked out loads of different blues. Susannah then came round and we talked about design and discarded/added fabrics. The whole process is about building up layers to make a background and using very fine gauzy layers to suggest things.

 

The sewing involves sewing all the layers together using a stab stitch which meant you went in and out of the same hole and the long part of the stitch (about 1cm) was at the back. You use a very fine thread called an overlocking thread.

 

I managed to complete the background selection and do some stitching. We then decided on the foreground and it will be kept very simple. I am going to do a butterfly. For this you use iron on interfacing to give some substance to the shape. Then there is the work of embellishing the butterfly so it will be some time before the piece is finished.

 

Watch this space! 

Once in a Blue Moon

I have found a new knitting spot at Windypoint which is right out on the far end of Beara. A glass of red wine, a comfy chair, a stunning sunset and what more could anyone want?

 

 

 

 

A blue moon (the second full moon in a month is called a blue moon and it happens very rarely) is a bonus. The next one won't be until 2018. It was bright enough to knit by!

Spinning (Again!)

I have decided that I really do want to learn how to spin. The wheel is going to be left out until I have cracked it. I am taking time out to practice turning the wheel and I have gone back to spinning with my spindle to practice drawing out.

 

 

 

Anniversaries & Birthdays

It is the 4th anniversary of my Mum's death tomorrow and my Dad's birthday this week. May they both R.I.P. I started doing my own flower arrangements because the ones from the florist were such a horrendous price for what they were. I use oasis, foliage from the garden and silk flowers. I choose flowers that are in season and have a good selection of different ones.

 My Dad's passion was hydrangeas and my Mum loved all flowers, particularly tulips.

The arrangements usually last about 4 weeks but can last for months in the winter.

 

 

 

 

Maritime Festival

Acappabella were invited to sing at this years Maritime Festival in Ballydehob. There was MUCH discussion about what we should wear! We finally settled on jeans, a white shirt and a scarf. I was in the middle of knitting my big wrap and Pat suggested a scarf in this wool would be ideal. I knitted FIVE of these and gave a tutorial to four others in the group who knitted the rest. Here is a photo that Finola's husband  Robert took.

 I think they look great!
 

 

 

 

Waves They Keep Rolling In

This song is running around in my brain as we are preparing it for a big performance with Acappabella in the Cathedral. I have been knitting a shawlette and I just realised that this too is a wave pattern. Now that I have finished it maybe the song will go!