I'LL BE WEARING RIBBONS DOWN MY BACK THIS SUMMER
(Hello Dolly)
Straight to the desk...and don't spare the horses!
What a tip! I've dragged some fabrics out for inspiration as I'm going to make a few things to send off for someone's charity stall. But the question is, do I have enough of that Union Jack to make a carrier bag tube? Sadly no, so I'm going to have to rethink what to do with that small remnant. I haven't cut into that moths/botanicals yet. As the old song says: 'I'm busy going nowhere....'!!
Well, this is a bit more like it! It's always tricky to know what's going to sell at a venue you know nothing about, but tote bags are always useful...... That green really pops.
This is my Downstairs crafting project (and no, I don't mean a Vajazzle....!!) It's a rainbow blanket that I'm running up for another charity. It's fairly brainless stuff which means it's highly appropriate for me :-) After seeing Debbie Rock's incredibly beautiful and complicated crochet sampler stitches recently on FB, it made me realise that it's all about the colour for me and the meditative qualities of mindlessly zipping up and down the rows. But I don't half admire those who can take on treble treble stitches and laugh nonchalantly........
This was the outcome of the Doggy Bag:
Hopefully, if the pooch grows too big for it, the little girl can still use it for other things.
I made a pretend 'dog collar' which can be used as a bracelet or pony tail band. Julia helped me make a chipboard heart shape covered in pretty paper, with jewels and ribbon..but I forgot to take a pic of that...DOH!
It was my birthday last week (thanks to those who sent cards btw!!) I had some great prezzies including some lovely fat quarters from my mate Helen and a riotous rigatoni of ribbons from Janet Fairythoughts....so gorgeous, they made me very happy and will most definitely get used soon! But my weirdest prezzy was from my menfolk who gave me a test where you send a cheek swab off and they trace your DNA back and tell you where your ancestors came from. I love it! I've got a sneaky desire to come from Viking stock...must be the horned helmet in the wardrobe........*wink*
Have a great week xx
ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED..... (c. Lennon and McCartney) Welcome to all you lovely deskers who, week in and ...
COME AND JOIN THE CHEEKY CLUB, THIS IS WHAT YOU WANT, COME AND SING THE CHEEKY SONG, OUR CHEEKY SONG, WOO ( Sung by the Cheeky Girls...
RIP IT UP AND START AGAIN..... You may experience a sense of Deja Vu with the desk today.... It's like a flashback to approxima...
39 comments:
A cheek swab.... For Ancestory..... I love it can you give me a link to this it's a great idea!!!!!!!!
Love how the doggy bag came out! Hope you had a great birthday and nice fat quaters you recieved as a gift .
Jackie 23
I love all the colour fabric. The doggy bag is adorable. My Polly said she wants one for me to carry her around in....Polly is a Greyhound:)
Hope you have a good WOYWW.
Sue 29
PS....I emailed you about the Tote Bags.
Happy Birthday for last week Jan. Hope you had a good one. Lots of lovely projects and your ancestry thingy sounds really interesting! I think I'm an ancient Egyptian but we won't go there!
Hugs
Lynda B 27
love your large pile of fabrics - the pink/green is gorgeous. You do have the most unusual birthday presents in your house, steam trains and dna tests!! hope you discover your viking ancestry soon! Helen 2
Lots of lovelies to see here today (love, love, love the rainbow crochet and that moth fabric) and yet the thing that I'm most interested in is the DNA tracing. How fascinating!
Think I'd rather take the fabric pressie thanks..what are your menfolk thinking? Seriously Jan they need to be on an island to be RE-EDUCATED!!hehe.
Love your bag. I have stacks of bag making books.I am just starting making some after ages not having made a one.
Have a great week
Judy
Belated Birthday Wishes Jan. Ooh do tell us about the ancestory when you get it back - Vikings - I think I have always wanted to have descended from them. Sadly I think I have some ancestors who were smugglers in Cornwall!
Love your doggy bag, blanket and the fabrics you are pondering over. Good luck with the charity makes, we will get to see them won't we? Please.
Hugs, Neet 27 xx
Oh how I love all your fabrics Jan....would love that they were mine :-) To be honest just a desk would be nice at the mo :-)
Hugs,
Annie
ps thanks for your early visit and you good luck wishes :-)
Happy belated birthday Jan and what a lovely stash of fabric you got too.
Mine next Wednesday .... I love birthdays and I'm excited already for my 60th next year. I've got a list as long as my arm already of things to do haha
What a hoot - I hope to read soon that you're related to Vlad the Barbarian, Conan the Destroyer or someone!! Congrats on your birthday and all those lovely gifts. I love the fabrics, especially all the zingy limes, and those bags are great - I must try something like them. Have fun x
Hi Jan, lovely, lovely fabric and yarn colours ... your posts are always so bright and cheerful :) I didn't show my sewing desk this week, in the interests of near brevity, but I have some lovely red gingham fabric laying there to make into a table cloth, and some plain calico tote bags I plan to decorate with applique - presents for a few on my long birthday list this month. I thought life was supposed to slow down for retired folks :) Love the gorgeous stash you received for your birthday - you're going to have fun with that - maybe you'll make something for yourself with them! Have a great week. Hugs, Elizabeth #33
Great blog post - I love the idea of the DNA testing - what a great gift - there was a programme a year to two ago with Eddie Izzard being DNA tested and travelling round the world to visit places where his distant ancestors were from - it was fascinating! Is it too early to start hinting at what I want for Christmas!? I'm drooling over your moth fabric - can't wait to see what you do with it, and can't wait to buy some, but that will be when the coffers are a little less depleted! Have a great week,
Diana
Morning Jan, thanks for visiting me, haveposted a pic showing how sturdy the desk is so no dangers of falling there.
Love your fabrics and you have butterflies on your desk too. Really like that bag, hope little girl does too,
Chris #6
Eek! Lime green, hot pink and cranberry! I'm swooning - one of my fave combos eva! Always a pleasure to rest my eyes on your desk. A clear winner in the yarn v fabric battle, which I always have when I visit :) Hope you had a fab birthday.
Happy WOYWW!
Mary Anne (1)
Burst out laughing at your 'downstairs crafting project' quite forgot what else I was going to type! Love the doggy bag - is it for real dog or toy one couldn't quite make out. The botanical fabric is beautiful, I'd picture that covering a nature book. Would there be enough union jack for a purse? See I still managed type lots of nonsense despite you trying to put me off!
~Kate~ #39
Pretty pops of color. Love the color combo's on all the photos, but that Doggy Bag is gorgeous. Happy late Birthday. I've a lot of catching up to do. Those birthday's seem to fly by each year. Enjoy the week.
Your workspace full of fabric always inspires me to try my limited sewing skills--but never anything as gorgeous as your doggie bag! I thought of you recently when I was making some gauze swaddle wraps and a nursing apron for a baby shower, but didn't get a pic of them.
(Oh, to be able to crochet at ALL . . . your rows of rainbow are a treat!)
Happy woyww to you!
:)trisha
returning to the WOYWW fold
#62 this week
Belated birthday wishes!
Love to see your fabrics, like rainbows waiting to be made into something fetching....like the adorable "Doggy Bag".
I get an itch to start sewing again, while four sewing machines wait quietly in various locations of the house, and a huge box of patterns scream "Play with me!" ( I do keep that box shut away in the cupboard to muffle the sound...grin). To satisfy the "itch" I repeat, to myself and anyone else who will listen, "Your patterns are all outdated styles, get over it!" then I go buy some pretty paper......LOL
LOVE all the pok-a dot fabrics.
Krisha #63
Hiya Jan, that moths fabric- awesome. Giggled at the 'downstairs' crafting project! Crocheted Vajazzles on your next charity stall then? The 'memories' idea was very clever, wasn't it? Borrow away- I think its lovely. And your menfolk are equally as ingenious- loving the DNA idea. I shall be mentioning that to Becky, its just the sort of thing Ant would love too. Viking ancestors would be the absolute best, I have to agree. Huge hugs, Shaz xxXxx
Gosh you crack me up sometimes with your comments. Love the little bag and belated birthday greetings, sorry not getting much done these days I am trying hard to visit everyone but been struggling to be honest, hey I am not admitting anything here, right, just trying to be honest. LOL When are you going to cut into that beautiful fabric? you can't just leave it there forever looking at it, well maybe a little longer will be ok.
Hope you have a wonderful week, Happy WOYWW
Hugs Eliza & Yoda 66
Thanks for stopping by my blog earlier.
I have sent another email to your email address. My email can be found on the About Me page on my blog.
Sue No. 29
I always love visiting your desk and seeing what fabric you are playing with these days. You make the bestest things. I love how the doggy carrier came out, definitely fit of for a diva dog. And this quote: " (and no, I don't mean a Vajazzle....!!)" oh my!!! Judy #70
And happy birthday!
Oh how exciting, I love Family History (researching mine) and I would love that test, though I do know my ancestors locations etc going back to 1600's! Fab fabrics and colours, wish I could get my head around crocheting in rows! Take care Zo xx 57
Oh Jan, I am giggling away here - what with your horned helmet and your downstairs activity - what are you like girl!!! You really do make gorgeous things and I am sure even that scrap of union flag will find a happy place to fit in somewhere. x Jo
OMG LLJ!!!!!! Vajazzle?!?! Best. Word. EVER. That is going to be my new word of the year!!! thanks for making my day!
Love love love the doggie bag! So cute! And happy belated birthday!!! Sounds like it was an extra special one! I didn't know about the DNA thing. That would be SO COOL!!!
Happy WOYWW
Amy E. #7
Scrapthissavethat.com
Such brilliant bags - hope mine come out half as smart ! Should I be quaking in my boots about attempting to sew oil cloth then ? Please send hints & tips before I do battle on Saturday ! hugs Ali x
I feel terrible I missed my soul sister's birthday!! But I love that DNA testing idea! I actually want to do that. And your "easy" crochet project looks amazing to me. If only I could crochet a straight line--I think those rainbows are so beautiful, but it looks complicated to me. So now, we're both 53? It's a lovely age! I hope you had a lot of fun on your b-day. The doggie bag is soooo cute too. You would be proud of me, because I actually made and canned a batch of salsa last night. Everything had just been picked from the garden. All organic. And so yummy! Only this year I couldn't put garlic in it--I suddenly have this very weird intolerance for garlic which makes me a little sad because I've always loved garlic. But, hey, I'll get over it! Hope you have a wonderful week. Hugs! Sandy Leigh #50
LOVE the tote! I have a small Chihuahua and swore that I would never have a little dog. Now that I am totally in love with my precious little one, I now want to make a tote for her to come along with me everywhere. Happy belated birthday!!! Hope you had a great one. You sure got a lot of pretty fabric to keep you inspired. Happy WOYWW, hugs, Rasz
That is not a "tip"..it looks just like mine! Haa Haa!
I am liking the doggy back and the err spotty fabric!!!!
Hugs
xx
Love the moth fabric! And the Doggy Bag is just too cute! Great projects! Happy WOYWW!
Carol N #53
The doggy bag is lovely, but the moth/botanical fabric is absolutely gorgeous! I would love to get my paws on some of that :)
Thanks for your kind comments re my knitting. Honestly, if you can knit with 2 needles, you can certainly knit with 4 needles. Actually, it's 5, because the knitting is distributed evenly on the four needles and you knit with the fifth. But of course, you can also divide the knitting between three needles and knit with the fourth, if you wish :) Give it a try, really it only takes a little practice. I never thought I would be able to master it as I'm short on patience at times, so I was super chuffed to get the hang of it. And like you said .... no seams to sew up!
Really? Vajazzles and horned helmets. You really do push my limits and you know I'm holding back on every side from commenting at will bout such things as these . . .
Being a good girl then (I've gagged Darnell), I have to say thank you for sharing the finished doggie bag. It's even prettier than I imagined! And well done on all the charity makes, LLJ! YOU are a good girl!!
Can't wait to find out about your horny ancestors! Thank you for coming by to see me and you're welcome for the mad cow card! I knew you would love it!! ! Happy WOYWW and have a terrific week! Hugs, Darnell #18
ha fun pressies indeedy Lunch Lady Jan.. y'know just adore that botanicals and agree with the green pops it will be a seller.. glad you had a happy birthday!!
... and love the doggy bag! happy WOYWW Shaz in Oz.x #9
Some fabulous fabrics out on your table, Jan. The moth one is just so different. Well done - you got the doggy bag finished - never dreamed of such a thing, myself - but there you are!! glad you had such a great birthday - and I look forward to hearing all about your long distance past!!!
Take care. God bless.
Margaret #10
Love the new bag and the fabric with the butterflies on is gorgeous.
Happy crafting, Angela x #38
Loving the doggy bag! If you added a few fabric covered card dividers would make a great craft caddy for crops!
Will be interesting to see what the DNA test turns up :-)
Thanks for the lovely comments
Hugs
Debs xx
That is lovely Union Jack fabric, can it be used for the top of the bag? Love the doggie tote, and well everything. I agree that having something that can just be done without a lot of thought can be so restful. After getting all my entries off to the fair, I came home and cut images I stamped on scrap paper while I listened to an audio book. I'll never be able to say my Downstairs Craft project with a straight face again lol. Sounds like you had a fabulous birthday, love your present and in case I didn't say it before, Happy (now belated) Birthday!
Thanks for visiting my blog earlier in the week! #18
Oooo loving all that material! The Botanical one is gorgeous!
Oh darn it. I just typed a huge comment and don't think it was published....
I love the moth fabric - I wouldn't have cut into it yet either. The Union Jack fabric is one you used for the tote I bought many years ago. I have gotten lots of use out of it, especially since Santa Fe has gotten rid of plastic bags. The dog carrier is adorable. I immediately noticed the little hand charm! What a perfect way to celebrate a hand made item.
Thanks for the comment and support regarding work. There were people that were laid off, without warning. I am to replace one of those people and am hoping that her co-workers realize that I didn't have anything with the decision (on both ends). Honestly I thought I'd be at my current position until I retired. I think that's what upsets me the most.
I may put the photo of me and Dyan on my sidebar. It's definitely quirky!
Thank you for visiting me. I hope to participate in WOYWW this week.
Love, Kay
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