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Friday 31 January 2014

January WIP Progress

I completed several half started knitting project as well as starting and finishing some new knitted items.  My main project though was to restart my blackwork project.

I posted here with a picture of the state of play at the beginning of the month and after several hours of work it has reached this far:


It doesn't actually look like I have done very much but whilst the darkest thread is pleasant to work with, the thread for the other stitches is a very fine shiny thread that splits very easily and so you can only work with short lengths at a time.

I was tempted to do all the dark thread first so that I got more done but just knew I needed to have something easy still do by way of a pleasant change from the harder work.

It won't go back in the cupboard again.  I will still continue to do some week by week until it is finished and I can get it framed.

Wednesday 29 January 2014

Terri's swap parcel

As usual my heart sank when I opened the swap parcel.  Panic set in and only after a little while did some inspiration flow.  It often takes me a couple of days to begin to get ideas, meanwhile all the bits are laid out on the desk for me to keep glancing at them.

Yes, I loved some of the loves, but not all by any means.  That hates were ....err, not much to make cards from really.  A few pieces of plain card and image and a diecut ballgown.  What was I to do.

In the end I made these cards:

This one I found some toning papers to layer the image on and also to mount the greeting.  This came from the Love parcel.


This one uses paper from the hate parcel.  I punched the edging and used two images that Terri had given me quite a while ago.  I just found a small piece of contrast paper for the middle and a greeting.


This one uses two of the papers from the Love parcel and I found an image in my stash that had come from a previous swap and a bit of toning paper to layer it onto.


I just found some gold glitter card for this one.  The white glittery paper and the butterfly came from the Love parcel.


This one is all from the hate parcel.  I cut the front of the base card so it was only half width and then used a corner punch to round the edges.  I embossed the plain green card  and then die cut the image and the brown card.  They all came from the parcel.  I used a bit more of the brown card and die cut the edging.  I used that one as it wasn't straight lines and seemed to compliment the scallops of the image in the centre.



The last one is very simple and comes all from the love parcel.



Well, that is it for this month.  Won't be long and we will be starting the Feburary parcel.

Monday 27 January 2014

Shoes

A girl can never have too many shoes, can they? Well obviousy Pat does because these goodies appeared in her "hate" parcel and is the last of the cards I have to show you from her January swap parcel. From my own stash I found black card and cut it with a scallop die for behind the image and also cut a piece to put behind the greeting. I used some of my sparkly stick on black dots .....et voila!!


Wrapped with Love

This is a card from Pat's "Love" Parcel.  I must admit I fell in love with both the colours and the knitting topper pieces.  I rummaged round in the snippets box for white card for layering up and also found the little floral flourish too.  I also found what I thought was the most appropriate sentiment .... I love knitting, I loved the card ..... it was well and truly "wrapped with love"


I am entering this at Pixie's Snippets Playground

Sunday 26 January 2014

Fairies

I am not sure if these are supposed to be fairies or fairy princesses but either way they will make a lovely card for my granddaughter as she likes fairies and princesses and purple is her second favourite colour ..... yes, you guessed it, pink is her favourite!!

This paper was included in Pat's "hate" parcel.  I must admit I thought the 6 x 6 paper was horrible when I first looked at and then I thought about cutting it in half and using just one strip on the card.  It will leave me with another strip just the same so that I can make another card with it.

I rummaged around in the snippets box to find some toning paper and one of these was fibrous so damped the edges and pulled gently so that it made a fluffy soft edge rather than a straight cut with the guillotine (thanks Terri for the idea).  I then found 6 gems to put in two of the corners.


I am entering this in Pixie's Snippets Playground

Friday 24 January 2014

Another Butterfly

I have been looking at Pat's cards made from my latest swap parcel, "love".  How can she not like butterflies ....shaking head!!!  I know I was supposed to be making my swap cards but I just couldn't resist getting the Marianne Creatables butterfly die out again and making another card as they are so popular at card sales.

I rummaged through the snippets box and found a piece of Christmas cracker that I could use for the butterfly and also a backing layer for the greeting.  I mounted it all on a card from my Mariposa Matstack.  I used some of the waste pieces that popped out of the diecut to show the trail of the butterfly.  Waste not, want not!!!!



I am entering this in Pixie's Snippets Playground


Wednesday 22 January 2014

2014 swap time

Once again I am doing a monthly swap parcel with my two friends.  The theme this month was Love and Hate, as chosen by Terri.  We had to stop looking lovingly at our favourite bits of stash and share them around but the plus was that we could look out the bits we had consigned to the back corners of the stash cupboard and share them too!!!

This was one of the cards I made from Pat's hate parcel.  It used a very intensive patterned paper that I too hated as a whole sheet.  I pondered how I could "dumb down" its intensity and in the end decided to just use a strip of the paper and find some toning green card in the snippets box.  I used my new Martha Stewart punch (thank you DH for my Christmas present) and then used the swiss dots embossing folder with my Cuttlebug.  I rummaged around in the green snippets folder and found some darker toning green to use for the backing behind the greeting, the numbering, behind the numbering and also behind the pretty image that also came from my stash.


I quite like it!!!

I have shown this over on the Crafts By Carolyn Forum for TTC 2014-01 - die cuts/punches
and am also entering it at Pixie's Snippet Playground

Monday 20 January 2014

Christmas Challenge

I decided to throw a challenge to my two cardmaking friends and that was to make one Christmas card a month preferably using any of the goodies that we received during our Advent Parcel swap.

I had a lovely selection of goodies during the swap and for this card I have recycled one of the Christmas cards I received, found a snippet of gold ribbon and then a lovely piece of Christmas paper from the swap.


I am entering this in CHNC #160 as there is blue  on the tag; CHNC Challenge Extra and Pixie's Snippets Playground

Sunday 12 January 2014

Get Well Soon

A few different snippets here but somehow the snippets box doesn't seem to get any smaller!!!

I stamped the flower image onto three small snippets of patterned papers and used a snippet of white card to stamp an image.  I mounted them all onto another snippet of patterned background paper.

I am entering this in Pixies Snippets Playground.

Thursday 9 January 2014

January WIP

Our January challenge over on one of the Ravelry groups is to complete some of our WIP (works in progress).  I have already finished a pair of fingerless mittens and a little baby jacket and am now starting a blackwork project that I started many years ago.  You can see the project here.

I thought I would photo part of what I have done as the start of the month and then I will post an end of the month photo at the end of January just so folks can see how it has progressed.

Start:





Upcycled

There is nothing like a new selection of Christmas cards to give you ideas.  This was a very quick upcycled Christmas card using a dark green card as a base.


I am entering this in Pixie's Crafty Workshop, CHNC challenge 158 and CHNC January challenge.

Wednesday 8 January 2014

Back to knitting and family history

All the Christmas visitors have gone home (boohoo); some to Hertfordshire and the others to Seattle, USA.  It is time to unhide all my bits and pieces and that means bringing the knitting box back out of storage.  I had a few pieces of Work In Progress that I wanted to get finished and this is the first item, a pair of fingerless mittens.  They have been put in my charity bag, ready for the next consignment for Kids Co.


My second item also destined for Kids Co is another one of these little crochet jackets





I have also been doing some family history and filling out some of the blanks in the records of some of my Scottish ancestors. The East Sussex Record Office has now moved to purpose built premises in Falmer and I am looking forward to visiting The Keep in the near future to try and fill some more gaps in my maternal ancestors.