WOYWW 546

RUDOLPH THE RED NOSED REINDEER....

I know... look, I'm sorry ok. Too early for the above lyric this week but it really is the most apt for what's on my desk!

And I'm sorry again - this will be a long post as there's lots to share ;-)

It's definitely Christmas in the JanCave at the moment as I've been busy making items for the WI and RNLI stalls at the town's Christmas festival. There are candy canes, felt Rudolphs, knitted snowmen, googly eyes, beads, ribbon, sparkly felt noses and a new tree decoration that's for our house. Oh and new fabric too!

I'd seen these reindeer on Pinterest but they were beautifully hand stitched - no time for me to do that so machine zigzag stitch it is then! The ribbon hangers are made with ribbon that was donated at the Crop, the felt is from my stash so cost per item to make has been very low.

Rudolph's sparkly nose is made from the offcuts of the fairy wand glitter felt and the snowmen are also from stash yarn, felt and beads. They'll have a Ferrero Rocher sweetie stuffed inside and need hangers attached as well.

I indulged in a little more fabric spending......

...and succumbed to a little collection of beads. I'll enjoy using them over the next year or so - in fact the Christmassy coloured ones will probably see action this week :-D

G and I went over to West Wales on Saturday - the reason was to meet up with Gail, a lady who's read my blog for a few years (and for whom I've made some items in the past). She was destashing her workroom and had wondered if I could use any of the stuff. It was fab to meet her in person after all these years and we had a good catch up! She was so kind in passing on a bootful of treasure:

This is a small selection that I was having a sort through - it'll be brilliant for WI craft club as well as fundraising. Thanks Gail, you're a star!

While we were out West, we went to Newcastle Emlyn, a small town which had some rather fine shops to explore and...oh dear....there was a fabric/yarn emporium. Well, it's a tough life but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do and it would have been rude not to go inside.....

The back end of an LLJ (definitely my best profile, lol!)

So much fabric.....

...so little time. I think that G had stolen Doug Silverwolf's Enabling Hat because he encouraged me to buy all sorts of this. I had to do it cos G said so ( well, there's a first time for everything, lololol!!!)

Newcastle Emlyn has the River Teifi running through and my goodness, it was in full spate after all the rain.

and the ruined castle has a lot of stories about the Golden Dragon. So I took this pic for you Shaz and Doug, it was above the castle gate and was really tricky to get a good shot but you get the idea...

He was a very friendly dragon - we'll definitely go back and visit him again when the weather is a bit kinder!

You probably need a coffee/tea/gin after all this - enjoy!

Have a great week xxxx

WOYWW 545

SPARKLING HEARTS AND DAZZLING BOWS..

Before I kick off the crafting this week, I need to share the news that Shaz Silverwolf is in hospital - she was rushed in with breathing difficulties a couple of days ago after suffering a chest infection and cold which left her unable to breathe. It's good to see she's doing better on her brief blog this morning.

The desk:

Everything has been chucked on the desk today! I'm making items for Christmas craft stalls for both the WI and the RNLI so there doesn't seem much point in putting anything away, I'd only have to get it out again!

There's a pile of little stockings....

Some snowmen that need their carrot noses sewn on (thanks for this pattern Twiglet!)

The RNLI feature Yellow Wellies a lot in various campaigns so I thought I'd make some as Christmas stockings - a couple of sweets will get shoved inside!

I was in Dunelm yesterday and saw some lovely fabrics so got a metre of each as I'm really down in my stash at the moment:

Useful for various things - the tartan fat quarters are lovely but I'm not sure what they'll be used for yet. Christmas coasters maybe?

A lovely lot of lace! I use quite a bit of this as bunting trimmings and in the jewellery wallets so had nearly used all my stash up - it's incredible how quickly it goes.

And finally, I paid a visit to the lovely Deb in Llandeilo the other day, got some mini pompoms and twinkly yarn and couldn't resist these buttons....

Oooooh, sparkly hearts - what's not to like?!

I must finish with a huge thanks to some of my fellow WI members - do you remember the crochet and knitted poppies I was doing a couple of weeks ago? Well, Janet and Lynne did an amazing job putting together the 200 poppies that all the ladies did - they made two wreaths and sewed the remainder on tape which they put on the railings around the Memorial gardens:

Remembering those who fought for the peace we have today.

Have a great week xxx

WOYWW 544

ALL KINDS OF EVERYTHING REMIND ME OF YOU...

A lot went on in the JanCave last week - feeling a bit rough meant I didn't go out and, after a couple of days not doing much, got a bit bored and got a proper crack on with some stuff for the Christmas fairs that are fast approaching. So there's a few things to share with you this morning!

I'm making a few little stocking ornaments and will get some candy canes to put in - that bead box you gave me is still earning its keep Shaz!

These were quick to run up on the machine, using scraps of ribbon and lace. I glued the buttons on though as getting the needle through at this point was impossible! The poppy is there cos I took this pic to send to another WI friend as a reference for something.

The long view!  I've tidied up the ribbons since then - can't bear wasting time searching for stuff....

And today I've started making the fairy wands. As me and the hot glue gun are sworn enemies, I find that doing things in stages is the best way forward! So I've gathered the little bundles of ribbon and held them with a Clover clip, then I wound ribbon around the wands and glued them - lastly, I'll insert them between two glittery felt stars and glue those too. Then I'll spend a happy half hour trying to unglue fingers, eyelashes, clothes, etc etc.....sigh. It'll be worth it though, they do turn out quite nicely.

I always have a stash of the sunglasses cases to hand...

..and have been playing Jenga with the tissue holders!  I'm actually getting quite low on fabric at the moment as I've used so much up this past year and generally haven't bought that much.

When we were staying with Julia last week, G and I went down to Salisbury to revisit old haunts. I went into B&R Textiles, one of my favourite shops which was hard hit when Salisbury was shut during the Novichok poisoning - the poor folk had to close their shop for months and trade was limited to their online presence. So it was good to go in and support them by buying some fabric.

I bought a metre each of the three on the left and the lady gave me the samples on the right when she found out I was making stuff for the RNLI. I've already cut into my three, they're lovely quality and I hope will sell well at the fairs.

That's it for now, me and the b"£$&* glue gun are going to get reacquainted again....sigh....can't type any mor..al..st8ck toge^&$r....

xxxx

WOYWW 543

GONNA GET RIGHT BACK TO WHERE YOU STARTED FROM

Sorry I was absent last week, there was just too much to do before I left the next day to go and stay with Julia - and I knew I wouldn't have time to return comments.  It was a whirlwind of a break but really great to have a good catch up with me ol' mucker!

This is last week's desk:

I'd been asked to make a jewellery roll and the Debbie Shore pattern I'd originally picked just didn't fit the bill. So, to t'Interwebs where I found a blog that had altered a Cath Kidston idea. Instead of being a roll, it folds in thirds and closes with some of my favourite poppers. This is a protoype for my friend Lynne.

There's a lined pocket at the top, a strip of lace to hang dangly earrings from, a stuffed roll to put rings on, which has a velcro closure at one end and a pocket at the bottom. The fabrics are really lovely, I enjoyed making this one!

And here it is folded up - more useful than a jewellery roll which tend to get creased. I might make a couple more of these for the WI stall at the town Christmas evening.

G and I had a lovely stroll around Salisbury last Friday and I may have gone into a fabric shop or two ;-)  I also got a couple of balls of glittery yarn to crochet some flowers to make into brooches:

They turned out ok, the red/green/white version is really lovely especially with a suitable button sewn in the middle!

Right that's it, short and sweet today - don't worry, it won't last......

Have a great week!

WOYWW 541

WHO PUT THE COLOURS IN THE RAINBOW?

There has been a lot of crafting going on this week - I'll keep it short!

After all the WI bunting, I swore I'd never cut out another triangle of fabric this year!! Well, that didn't last long..... A band friend became a Grandmother to twin girls so here I am attaching the flags of Mia's bunting onto the tape, Phoebe's is next to do.

Ta-da! I do love pink/apple green as a combo of colours, it makes me smile!

A friend has asked me to make some items for her to send off as Ch^%£&$£ prezzies - I hadn't made an apron for years! She chose the lime green fabric, I had some fun with the pocket. The pegbag is more straightforward, though the stripey lining is smart!

Now Julia - brace yourself - the following image might cause you to pass out with astonishment.......

Not only did I pin the fabric together, I tacked it as well!! This is only cos it's for someone - if it had been for me, I'd have been my usual slapdash self, as you well know :-D

Lots of glittery felt arrived this week, I need to cut out some stars and then wand making will commence shortly.....

I've been teaching another friend how to crochet - Denise and I often do the same volunteer shift in the RNLI shop. She is a very accomplished knitter but wanted some help with crochet - so in the quiet times, that's what we've done for a couple of weeks. Denise is going to knit a tumbling blocks intarsia sweater soon and wanted to play with the colours first....

And she found that just doing this with crochet gives you an idea of the colour play but was quicker than knitting. We had a lot of fun just mucking around with these! Lovely tones, don't you think?

And finally, I was at the WI AGM yesterday and discovered that I'd won the Annual Prize for the most competition points!! You could have knocked me over with a feather..... I was presented with a lovely trophy in memory of our first president, Rita, who unfortunately passed away. It's on the JanCave shelves already!

Yay - happy dance!!!

Hope you gals have a good week, enjoy your crafting, whatever it is xxx

WOYWW 540

COME BACK AND FINISH WHAT YOU STARTED...

Did you see Julia's exciting post from last Friday? The one where she mentioned Sat 6th June 2020?  The one about next year's Crop?!! If you missed it, go take a peek - the wonderful Sisters of Stitch are running another day for us at the hall in Shrewsbury, which was such a great venue earlier this year. Come if you can, it's a fab day!

Another busy week has shot by - a band contest (we came 4th which was good against stiff competition), I helped in the shop for the RNLI Open Day and went to a bonkers Murder Mystery evening at Llanelly House, a Georgian gem. Plus ordering a new kitchen. And this week's no better - how I thought that retirement was going to be quiet makes me hoot now.

Anyway, enough blethering, here's the desk:

A friend wanted a couple of things making so she came to have a furtle in the fabric... a couple of old favourites reappeared:

I used to make loads with this birdcage fabric - I still love it!

I couldn't find my apron paper pattern so used one of mine to give a rough outline plus seam allowance!

Action shot from the machine! Topstitching is one of my favourite ways of making straps, edges, whatever, look a bit more finished. The navy spot behind are more glasses cases as people are buying a lot at the moment, presumably for Chr£$%"£s prezzies.

Talking of the C word:

I've got them out and have no inspiration whatsoever. Suggestions would be most welcome :-D

And finally, those ribbons that I arranged in rainbow order last week needed to go back into storage and I just couldn't face putting them back in the box to get tangled again, so I did this:

And it makes me happy  My new outfit for all the parties in December perhaps?! *grin*

Have a great week and happy crafting!

WOYWW 539

 A LITTLE BIT OF THIS, A LITTLE BIT OF THAT....

After showing virtually no crafting last week, there's a right old pick and mix today! 

Last week, I went into the Harbour Lights cafe where I sell my stuff for the RNLI to find that the box was almost empty! Brilliant news but I didn't have any in reserve at home so on one of the rainy days last week, I set to.

I tend to make a bunch in stages finding that it saves time that way. This grey fabric is a relatively new buy and I thought it looked lovely with the pink spotty - there's some matching purses as well.

As I finished one, I lobbed it over my machine onto the desk and this is how they ended up completely at random! Looks like it's been staged but it wasn't!  The purple stripey turned out nicely as the lining for that flowery print and I do like the sage green with the grey floral too.

This was followed by a session of poppy making. Our WI President will be taking part in the town's Remembrance Day service and we thought it would be nice if she laid a wreath made from knitted and crocheted poppies. I've crocheted mine, it's a simple pattern and have sewed circles of black felt on the machine - quick and effective! It was like a huge poppy chain (instead of daisy) until the threads were snipped.

Even though there was a pattern, they all turned out slightly differently!

And then I ran the WI Craft club yesterday and sorted out all the ribbons that Neet and Shaz Silverwolf donated to me at the Crop in June. Instead of being all tangled up in a box, it gave me a lot of pleasure laying them out like this!

It was then easy for the ladies to see which ribbon they'd like to choose.

It was a do-your-own-thing session based on felt ornaments. There was a couple more gals in the other room but I forgot to take a pic of them! Deep concentration......

Kim was a very neat stitcher - she's going to make a few more for the WI stall at the town's Christmas Carnival evening. We'll stick some mini candy canes or sweeties in and hopefully raise some funds for our group.

Apologies for showing a C&^$%£"(s craft today.....it's too early!!

Hope you all have a great week xxxx