Spots and dots: fabric and paint

Finally, made inroads into my dotty fabric stash today and put two bobbin thread and fabric paint panels to some use. The results is two cushion covers, destination unknown at present!

The black background of the panel was difficult to blend anything with, matching the spots and dots seemed easier. Comments welcome as to whether this worked!

Not sure at all sure I would embroider with the bobbin again ... its a lot of work just so you can use fancy thread!!  And my design skills definitely need development.

But I'm very glad to know how to use fabric paint and will put it to good use for the Merry Christmas blocks I'm making. Some of the decoration is very fiddly (and that's an understatement) so I'm not following the instructions for applique and plan to fill in with dots later.

Very pretty sky here tonight, lots of fluffiness dancing in pink ... maybe there'll be another summer's day tomorrow. Its well past wine o'clock and there's still some tennis to watch, so no prizes for what's next for me

Bookwrap from my stash

Lots of patchwork and quilting inspiration last weekend: the Kaffe Fasset exhibition on Saturday and Sandown Quilting Show on Sunday. The result is my first bookwrap.

This is my prototype, or pilot,, made from fabric and notions already looking for 
a project , just in case it all went dreadfully wrong.

Now I sort of know what to do I shall use the lovely linen fabrics and very pretty buttons bought at Sandown.  That's my sewing sorted for Wimbledon watching, alongside another pair of socks   on the needles (nice chevron pattern this time) and a rapidly growing granny square being crocheted from some wonderfully fluffy yarn bought many years ago and desperately in need of being used. I can watch lots of  tennis swapping between each project!

Sadly, I'm not going up the road to Wimbledon this year as I'm very unsure about the comfort of their seats on my back.Will have to make up for it in 2014.

By way of coincidence, although not good for my bank account, my car is in the garage waiting for a new clutch bearing, so I'm walking everywhere  -as long as its sunny!! So good for my back. Hopefully, I'll be able to get to the gym next week to resume the more intensive rehab programme.
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Toasty feet

….   and for my second sock knitting effort a pair of what I'm told are called peds!  Perhaps better known as short socks and very useful this wintery summer. Not sure about the yarn –the end result is rather too blocks of colour and not as stripy as I imagined.   There’s a lesson there for the next time I buy variegated yarn, 

    

I fear  I’m getting serious about my knitting as these were sprayed and then blocked in recently purchased sock blockers. Have to admit it did make a difference to the final look but not sure if I have to do that every time they need washing, or can I just throw them in the machine with everything else? 

 

My next sock project will use a lacey pattern, and hopefully I’ll  be able to turn the heel and keep to the pattern. More on this later.

Welly socks: a first

In between walking away my back pain I've been knitting my first socks. I chose to knit a much longer leg than given in the pattern, hence welly socks, perfect for hiding my mistakes!  Which I must add, I give myself permission to make.

But I nearly ran out of yarn, so will need to be careful to check for this next time I adapt a sock pattern.
Could have done with more information on number of stitches at certain points, and the instructions for the Gusset were less than helpful … I had to get help from other places.
Now for the next pair, little socks for trainers this time.
Also posted on Ravelry with details of the yarn and pattern  ...http://www.ravelry.com/projects/mhammick/perfect-plain-sock
and, of course I've been doing lots of reading, resting on lots of pillows. Nicci French's Tuesday's Gone -a pacey, well plotted light read, another wonderful  William Boyd -Waiting for Sunset- he is a master story teller, and George Orwell's Burmese Days -a book group choice best described as a dreadful classic with very unlikable characters and a weak story. It'll be interesting to hear what the others thought at our meeting next week.
Also watched Argo -great movie and Anna Karenina -which was OK to pass the time but best to read the book.
Warmer today,  off now for some walking and thinking ... I need to work out a back friendly sewing position. There are several blocks of the Christmas Quilt queued up for applique work, and other stuff for the sewing machine.