In time for winter...

My remake is finally complete! After pulling some of it apart (having lost the original pattern), completely changed the pattern, run out of one of the colours, tracked down a replacement... at last the job is done. Another UFO off the list, and old yarn out of the stash.

Retrieved from hibernation

At the last meeting of my French stitchery group, we got the bindings cut for the two quilts which have been ongoing for the last year or two, and I now have one of the quilts bound. I can't describe it as complete yet, though, as the hand quilting isn't all finished. The target for completion of both quilts is now November, when we have a showcase event planned.

Travelling by train from the south of France to London gave me plenty of time to get the last bits of my art nouveau peacock embroidery done. The canvas is quite grubby in places, though, so will need careful hand washing before it can be framed. I did find the second kit for this design which I had planned to make up as a mirror image of the first one. Whether or not this will ever get made I don't know; so many hours went into this piece of work that it's off-putting to consider starting all over again.

I'm about to make the return journey by train now so have retrieved (from the box in the loft where she has languished for many years) a knitted rag doll which I made. About half of her knitted clothing has been done - I will now try and complete the clothing so that she can be dressed... I have a feeling that I lost my impetus with this project when I was unable to make a reasonable job of embroidering her a face. If I do get all her bits done, I think I need to find someone a little more artistic than I am to give her nice features!

A good day...

I ended yesterday with a sense of achievement and six complete articles! First, I finished off a crocheted beret which I'd started the previous day while on a flight.

Next I got out the cutting board and the sewing machine. Since we got back from a recent camping trip I had intended to replace our plastic sponge bag with a larger one; from an old plastic table cover I cut enough good waterproof material to make two bags - so we're all set for next year's camping... 

I'd recently managed to ruin the tablecloth used on the terrace, by leaving some candles out which melted next day in the heat, and had bought a replacement tablecloth which needed to be cut down to size. I'd also bought a second hand piece of fabric which I thought would be good for patchwork, but it happened to be just the right size for the table. A bit of cutting and hemming, and I now have two tablecloths for the terrace.

Finally, whilst I still had the cutting board and sewing machine out, I decided to have a go at a recent challenge from someone in my French craft group. She had suggested in July that we might all make a "little dress for Africa", and one of the group had already made one when we met in August. I can now add mine - made from stash materials so no purchase necessary!

Started... and finished!

As a bellringer and stitcher, I couldn't resist buying some ringing-related kits when I visited the Taylor bell foundry shop earlier this year. One of them kept me busy when travelling by train, and I since managed to finish it off. Here it is:

I plan to put it somewhere in the belfry where I ring most often... jugs of beer are always welcomed by ringers, but I've yet to see a ringer in spurs!

On the not-so-positive side, I've discovered yet another UFO, which I don't remember at all. It's another counted stitch embroidery, this time in tent stitch rather than cross stitch.

One day project

Not quite all in a day - there was a bit of preparation first - but almost! My French stitchery group had a one-day workshop at which we each made a large tote bag. Five of us took part, plus our tutor for the day, and we had all chosen completely different fabric combinations, so that our bags - all made from the same pattern - are very distinctive. I brought my bag home with the side seams, lining and top binding still to be done, but couldn't bear the thought of this becoming another UFO, so stayed up late until it was finished. I love it!

Final cushion finished

I finally got round to finishing the "Trip Around the World" patchwork cushion which has been waiting since January ... this is the seventh - and last, as I don't have more of these fabrics left. It's also slightly bigger than the first ones - but the fabrics all match.

I've also made another block for my sampler quilt - I now have five done. This was the "Maple Leaf" pattern - hand pieced then machine quilted.

Two complete

Two items finished off this week - one is a lap blanket (which will eventually be a SIBOL gift) - made with the yarn left over from the jacket I finished recently. On the photo it looks like there's a dirty mark on it - a strange trick of the light! The centre is a square from a pattern found on Ravelry (Sweet and Fair Afghan Square), then I just kept adding rounds of (UK) trebles until the yarn ran out! Fortunately this made it about the right size for a lap blanket.

The other piece is the baby blanket which I was making as a practice piece using different stitches of Tunisian crochet. The last time I mentioned it on here was because I couldn't find it! This was because I was looking in London and had actually left it at my French house. As with the lap blanket, I was using up leftover yarn and again ended up with a practical sized blanket when the yarn ran out! A border of white yarn made a neat job of the edges.

I bought a couple of children's playmats - the foam jigsaw ones - to use for blocking the pieces.

My French stitchery group has a one-day workshop next week - we'll each be making a quilted tote bag - so I've started work on that - quilting a couple of pieces ahead of the day. I went shopping with one of the other group members to buy fabric for her bag - and ended up adding three pieces to my stash too.

My sampler quilt progressed to the stage where I now have four blocks complete - but I need at least twelve even to make a quilt for one of the bunk beds - so that won't be done in a hurry. I'm trying to do a bit of work each day on the hand quilting of the group quilt too - and still have a cushion to finish - patchwork done in January, backing added and cushion pad bought a bit later - now needs zip and piping to complete.

One down!

Completely the wrong season for it ... but I have managed to finish the chunky jacket I started in April. However, there's quite a bit of yarn left over...

I'd found this really nice yarn in a discount store and wanted to make something with it. It wasn’t until I started knitting it up that I realised the colour blend wasn’t random - so the result was a striped piece; unfortunately this meant I then had to work it so that the stripes matched up on the seams - which meant lots of cutting and loads of yarn ends to darn in. It was also complicated by the fact that some of the balls of yarn were wound with the colours in the opposite direction to others, so these had to be re-wound by hand so that the colour sequence came out right. I later looked at others’ work on this pattern and saw that some had knitted in one piece so no side seams - would have saved me time but made the stripes quite narrow.

On balance... UFOs increasing

Well, it's been a little while since I posted any progress here. I did finish the Tunisian crochet scarf I was making - and have since added another ripple effect scarf, this time knitting rather than crochet, using up some feather yarn left over from a previous project. I went on to purchase some Tunisian crochet hooks (bamboo with plastic extensions) and started a baby blanket using different stitches. However - since returning from a recent holiday I can't find it!!

However, I've also started several other things too. First I began knitting a chunky jacket - but it was too much to carry with me when I next went travelling. I didn't want to start anything on my travels which would require multiple yarns, so decided to have a go at a Sophie's Universe all in one colour - I had a cone of lovely olive green cotton. This toured round part of the U.S.A. with me, and over three weeks of travelling, this is how far it got. I do like the effect of doing it in a single colour; it brings out the texture really well.

I also took with me the box of hexagons I'd cut ages ago, and re-discovered during my clear-out in January. I got all of the cut hexagons on to paper and have started playing around with them to make a design.

Travelling success

A long train journey gave me the opportunity to finish the second appliqué block for the London craft group - and the short return journey by plane saw another hat made for the winter sale. However, getting ready for the next journey I decided I was a bit bored with doing the hats, and chose to start a scarf instead - in a stitch I hadn't done for years (Tunisian crochet), adding a ripple effect (pattern from Ravelry) but in stripes of different shades whereas the pattern was in a single colour. Typical of me to make my first try at the pattern more difficult than the designer intended... There's a lot more work in the scarf than in the hats, too, so it would occupy several flights rather than the one-per-journey I've been doing with the berets.

Equilibrium? no, more UFOs than before

Since my last post, I've completed two UFOs, started AND finished two more items... but added three...

Travelling gave me time to complete a scarf from the UFOs, and crochet another beret - this is the smallest one I've done so far and actually fits my small head, so I shall be keeping it instead of putting it in a church sale (that's where the scarf will go, though).

The finished block

The second UFO finished was the block I was making for the London craft group I belong to - but as we had just 8 blocks on the go and needed 9 for our project, I found myself volunteering to do another... sometimes I completely forget that I went on an "assertiveness" training course years ago - to learn how to say "no"! Not only did I not say "no", I actually volunteered to do it. I'm travelling from London to the south of France very soon by train, so that may give me chance to do the embroidery on the next one (I've got the appliqué pieces ready).

The other project started - and finished - over the last couple of weeks came about because I was browsing the "crochet along" site from which I made a blanket last year. There's a new CAL about to start on that page - which I'm NOT intending to do! - but as an intro a pattern was published for a "project bag" to hold all  the yarn for the new project. I repeat, I'm NOT going to do the new blanket - but the pattern for the bag looked so interesting I couldn't resist. I didn't buy a scrap to make it either, just used the nearest colours from my stash to those from the pattern, and recycled fabrics for the linings and inside pockets. It was designed to be made using chunky yarn - mine is a mixture of chunky yarn, aran, DK and 4-ply used together, 3 strands of 4-ply used together - you name it, I tried it! It all came together in the end - but the bag is so big I don't know what I will use it for now it's done.

Finally - the biggest mistake: I'm a bellringer, and last weekend I was in the Foundry Museum shop in Loughborough... there were two embroidery kits on sale there... "Bells of London" and "Ringers' Rules"... I bought them both!

One down today

This scarf has been hanging around for a couple of years... I made a lot of them when they first became popular, using a crochet method - which was so quick that I could do one in a couple of hours. When I tried the knitting method I found it so slow that an inch or two at a time was as much as I could bear. Now it's finally off the needles... and will be added to the pile for the next charity sale.

More crochet... and another project underway

As usual when I'm travelling, my crochet hook travels with me. My latest journey included bus-train-bus-plane-bus-train-hotel-bus - so plenty of hooking opportunities. One striped beret was made, followed by a sparkly ripple pattern scarf - and then as there was yarn left, I decided to make another beret to match the scarf.

My travel bag was also full - with a new quilting book, and several fabrics brought from London to my French home, to be used in the latest project just started (I know, I know, I planned not to start another until I'd made more inroads into the UFOs - but that's me). The latest project is a sampler quilt and so far just two blocks have been pieced together - "Tumbling Blocks" (paper pieced and appliquéd) and "Spider's Web" (machined strip patchwork). Both of these are from Lynne Edwards "The Essential Sampler Quilt Book", as is the method of sashing used on each block. I only have a small sewing machine, so I found machine quilting a complete quilt was quite a challenge. This time I plan to quilt the blocks individually before joining them. However, although I have backing fabric, I haven't yet got the batting so can't start quilting them straightaway.

Having looked at all the quilts photographed in the book, I decided that my personal preference is not to mix straight lines and curves - so for this first sampler quilt I won't be tackling any of the latter designs. In fact the blocks which I like best are the ones with a 3D effect; I may search out some other ideas for 3D blocks to include. Maybe the curved designs can be tackled for another quilt later!!

I've not completely ignored my UFOs over the last few days - I've bought a cushion pad and added the sashing to my latest cushion patchwork (the "Tour Around the World" one) - piping, zip and finishing still to be done.

Travel sewing kit

No UFO's finished recently... yet another new job started (and finished, though!): I wanted something to carry my sewing bits and pieces around with me. As I belong to craft groups in both UK and France, I needed one for each country. This is what I've produced, mainly following a free pattern found on the internet. Apart from the felt for the needle case, everything used was scrap material.

Another baby blanket

One of the new pieces started last week is now complete - I've crocheted through a couple of meetings, and on the bus, and my baby blanket is ready to be posted off to the new parents.

Work has also started on some soft furnishings for our bedroom in London; about a year ago I restored an old chair, and at the time bought enough of the upholstery fabric to make matching dust covers for my office equipment and a box cushion to sit on top of the blanket chest. A foam pad was bought for the blanket chest at about the same time... and has been sitting uncovered ever since, whilst the fabric lurked in a drawer in the living room. I've now started to make the cushion cover. I began by making a cover for the foam pad from curtain lining, and then started to tackle the plan for a zipped and piped cover. (In fact it was searching for the piping fabric which kicked off the clear out I tackled a couple of days ago.) I've investigated various ways of making the box cover, have decided on which one to adopt, and have made a start on construction by setting a zip into the back section of the boxing.

One down... and three added!

Final completion of one of my UFOs today was not by me, but by a local picture framer. I finished the embroidery several weeks ago and have now had it mounted - at an expense, of course, but I thought it would never get done if I had to do it myself. However, I don't think the framer knew that embroideries should be stretched over a block before mounting, as it doesn't seem to lie completely flat. It's still much better than being screwed up in a workbox though! The colours suit our French home better than the London one - but when it will get there I don't know; I won't risk it with Ryanair baggage handlers! It will have to wait until we make a journey there by car or by train.

Today I had a "clear out" day - crafting bits and pieces were all over the place in the home, and an initial search for something amongst the mess led me to decide to spend the day sorting. In the process I not only rationalised the storage of my sewing equipment, but also discovered more UFOs which had been lurking forgotten underneath other things. I have absolutely no recollection of even starting the log cabin work, and there's no indication of what it was destined to become! Perhaps one side of a large quilted bag? I do have a vague notion of what the other patchworks were to be - at least, what the designs were, if not the finished objects.

Finally, I've also added to my UFOs a tiny cross-stitch which I think my Mum had started - most of her sewing things came to me after she died, and I think this was amongst them. If I finish this off, it will be something else to remind me of her. I owe my interest in crafting to her anyway - she was the person who taught me to sew and knit in the first place.

Best-laid schemes

Less than a month into the New Year and I've already started several new projects despite the good intention to clear up the old ones. There's a good excuse for at least two of them - I always have a good excuse! Two days ago friends became parents for the first time - so something has to be made for the baby; yesterday I joined a crafting group at a local church - and couldn't join in without agreeing to take part in their current project. So, I'm crocheting a baby blanket and also having a go at appliqué using fusible interfacing. The baby blanket is straightforward - I've made the same design before, for another friend's first child. The appliqué is something I've never done before. So far the fabrics are all fused together but now the embroidery needs to be done - I'll leave that until the group meets again next Thursday.

I have finished something off this week - but it wasn't a UFO - it's a child's jumper which I only started last weekend. I knitted it as a favour to someone who asked on impossible.com for test knitters for her new pattern. I've completed it and sent her my comments - but not yet had her reaction back. Here it is - I really need to find a 4 year old to try it on for a better photo!

Meanwhile I've also begun work on something which I didn't list as a "UFO" as all I had done previously was buy the fabric - it's to make a box cushion to sit on the blanket chest in our bedroom. This evening I've made a cotton cover for the foam pad, and now need to get going on the cushion cover itself.

Also this week I used up all the leftover fabrics from my patchwork cushion covers to make a final one using the "Tour Around the World" design. The patchwork is done but I won't be able to complete the cushion cover until I go back to France next month. I'm quite pleased that I managed to stitch the 1" squares together neatly. Unfortunately it will always be an odd cushion as I've now used all these fabrics up; the other cushions in these fabrics are in pairs - two each of three designs.

More from the loft

Searching through the loft for something else entirely, I discovered several more items which hadn't made it to my original UFO list last year: 

The crochet cotton bags are left from a batch I made to sell on behalf of a local church restoration project. Four of these had been completed, but the remaining two weren't made up in time for the church sale, and have been left unfinished ever since. The patchwork is more recent - a second design started from the "Stack-n-Whack" book which has yet to be made up.

The canvas bag already had the embroidered flowers on when I bought it in a charity shop, but my intention was to decorate both sides with beads etc. Finally, the last item pictured was an idea I had to make a gathered skirt re-using old fabrics decorated with ribbon and lace. Some of the fabric and the lace had been hand dyed to toning colours but the pieces then were put aside. It's waiting for a zip to be bought... and one of the fabrics frays very easily - as I don't have an overlocker I'm thinking of binding the edge of that fabric but that might make it too thick on the gathers...

A round cushion

Some time ago, we were visiting friends and I admired a crocheted cushion on their sofa. Our friend had made it herself many years ago - so long ago that she could no longer remember how it was constructed. I searched Ravelry for something similar and came up with one described as a "pinwheel pillow" - it wasn't the same design as my friend's, but a similar idea was used, so I determined to have a go at it... got the crochet work done, then bought a secondhand round cushion to use as stuffing... and then forgot it for a while. Today I have finally got around to making a new inner (from the stuffing of the secondhand one and using some leftover curtain lining fabric) and adding a couple of buttons from my stash - so another UFO becomes a FO:

Three in one day!

Today's been a great "finishing" day... three items off my UFO list. Firstly, I completed the sixth of my set of patchwork cushions. I'd made five some time ago, then realised there were enough fabric strips left to make another; the patchwork had been done but not the making up. However, I'd forgotten the order in which they were put together so had to search out again the website from which I'd learned the techniques of piping and inserting a hidden zip.

The crochet beret started on my last journey has also been completed:

Finally, the odd square of patchwork which I'd put together from scraps and was using as a practice quilting piece has been quilted and bound to make a table mat:

Nothing else in my UFO collection will be quite so quick to finish off as these have been!

First completion

My first completion of the year and my first "proper" quilt... it's a large throw really - big enough for our futon but not for a bed. The design is from "Magic Stack-n-Whack Quilts" by Bethany S. Reynolds. The fabrics I used were picked up from a charity shop, so I only had to pay for the wadding and the thread.

On the knitting front

The jumper I started many years ago was evidently begun as a stash buster as I discovered it in a bag containing various different types of yarn, which I had started to work in an entrelacs pattern. However, despite a good search around my loft (where lots of my UFOs reside) I was unable to find the pattern I'd started with. Reluctant to pull it all to bits - there were two perfectly good sleeves already finished - I tried to find another pattern with a similar layout, so that I could make up a back and front to go with the sleeves. I undid the entrelacs work and started knitting up the back. By the time I'd finished this I'd come to the conclusion that one of the colours wasn't going to last the course, so the work went on hold once again. I carried around with me a sample of the yarn I needed (it was the red) and tried in various places to find a match; eventually I did, and work started again. In the last week I've made up the front - and the turquoise almost ran out too (in the photo the tiny ball at the top is all that was left) and knitted up the neck. I can't finish it off yet, though, as the sleeves are back in London whilst I am in France... next week, though, I hope to get them all together.

Morag's UFOs

No, I'm not blogging about unidentified flying objects... my UFOs are UNFINISHED OBJECTS, of which I have built up a wide selection over the years. This is a result of my passion for starting new crafts... then finding another interest before I've finished the work started on the previous one. In the middle of last year I started sorting out and photographing my UFOs, but there are still more hidden away in cupboards, wardrobes and loft which haven't even made it to the camera stage. I did manage to complete one or two towards the end of 2015; my resolution for 2016 is not to start any new craft without clearing up the projects I left unfinished. This blog will chart my progress. Just for starters, here are some of the UFO photos taken last year. Firstly, the embroideries:

The right hand one is, I believe, one of a pair - but I've not yet found the other one!

Next, the knitting:

The problem with several of these is that although I've found the work, the patterns seem to have vanished into thin air. There are at least two major knitting projects I recall but which haven't yet been photographed: a large knitted doll with all her clothes also knitted (project halted when I was unable to embroider a face - lack of artistic talent) and a bedspread of squares knitted in a variety of different stitches - halted when I couldn't decide how to put them together.

Next, the crochet:

Crochet being relatively quick to work, I get a lot more crochet pieces finished than any other craft. The beret, for example, is the current "travel companion" - I can usually complete one of these on any long journey. As I'll be flying in a week or two, I expect this to be the first UFO to be completed this year. The ripple scarf was one of the few which got completed in 2015 - having been left for months with just the ends to be sewn in!

Then, the plastic canvas work:

Enthusiasm for plastic canvas work was very fleeting! Maybe some of these will turn out to be useful one day...

Finally - the sewing:

Strictly speaking, the two block quilts aren't MY UFOs - they're a joint project with my U3A stitchery group, but as I'm the group co-ordinator I take responsibility for getting them finished.