UFO is Captured

For the non knitters amongst you a UFO is an unfinished object.  This is something I have several sightings of in my knitting bag.  I captured a UFO a few days ago and made it into a FO.

The pattern was from a group on Ravelry called Solid Socks for a mystery sock thingy like the ones I used to do but it started months ago.

speaking of mystery sock patterns - another sock year starts tomorrow in Sock Knitters Anonymous group and I'm going to try and have a play along with the first month. More to follow.

Also starting tomorrow is the Learn Something New Everyday class at Shimelle.com.  I signed up for it last year but stalled after a few days.  It is a lifetime class so I don't have to pay to do it this year. Going to try and make an effort to keep up to date this time.  This is how I played catchup last year so I didn't feel like I had missed out completely.

Don't Faint But.....

I have crafting to show.

Here are a few layouts I have done over the last week.  It has been so long with the building work going on that I haven't had a chance to do much but I am loving it all over again.

I love these papers and they go perfectly with the borders of the hipstamtic prints

This is a picture from a number of years ago that I have been meaning to scrap for ages.

This one I'm not too happy with and I feel it needs something extra but not sure what so you may see it again with an addition.

It would be better if the pictures were straighter and I will try and correct that another day when the weather is nicer.

I have so many ideas running through my head at the moment so I'm sure there will be more in the next few days.

Also I finished my very first bag.  It was a bit of a learning curve and I struggled at times but it is finished.

The pattern was from Modabakeshop and to be honest it is quite simple but not if you are just starting out lol.

and hey guess what? Shhhh keep quiet because the world might explode with this news - there is finished knitting tomorrow.

Skywatch

Scarborough Castle in the August sunshine

Skywatch

Through The Window & Close UP

Over on Shimelle.com there are some fun and games going on this weekend.

Two of the challenges have been a photograph through the window.

This was the view through my bedroom window yesterday

and another was a close up so I chose this box I got some Lush goodies in at christmas. Not very good focus I'm afraid.

Skywatch & A Giveaway

This week Skywatch is a picture of a bell tower in a local hospital which is closing soon. 

How would you like to win a giveaway.  Then hop over to My Little Bit Of Whimsy to find out how.

How To Sew - Book Reviews

I saw this post over on The Sewing Directory and thought I would try my luck.  I was successful (yippee) and was sent four ebooks to review.



They were called How To Sew Basics, How To Sew Machine Sewing, How To Sew Patchwork and How To Sew Applique.

First of all and most importantly for me, as I'm not that technologically minded, the pdfs were very easy to open.  They opened in just the right size to read too which is a great advantage as I hate having to mess with zoom and unzooms to get it so it isn't too small or too big to fit on the screen.

The first thing I saw was the well set out contents page on each which was where I wanted it to be (right there straightaway).  Some books have them a few pages down and that usually loses my interest in those first few pages instantly but that isn't the case with this.

Each section is informative and contains just enough information for beginners of each topic without getting too involved. 

As someone who used to sew many years ago but is just coming back into it these books are very good as a refresher.  I also found useful information on newer products such as disappearing ink pens for marking on fabric which weren't around in the days I used to sew before.

There are step by step instructions on some great projects and I can't wait to get started on the pig in the picture above.

There was one quite big downside for me though with these books.  The backgrounds and the actual photographs are blurry and whilst the font and the little embellishments (needles, sewing pics) are in focus, the blurry photographs distract from them.

To sum up - the books are well set out, informative, the font is easy to read and the little embellishments to the pages are a nice effect but the photographs and background are out of focus.

Skywatch

Earlier in the week we went to a park and racecourse for a walk around.  It is a 2 mile circuit all the way around and by the end my little man was exhausted from all his scooter riding.

This pylon was about half way around and I thought it would make a good focal point for this weeks picture

here are a few most shots of the walk

Fabric & Stuff

Jelly Rolls, Honey Buns, Dessert Rolls, Turnover, Sweet Bag, Layer Cakes, Fat Quarters, Charms. 

I had no idea what they were until I was searching the interweb for some fabric yesterday.  It is a whole new language to me.

I came across Moda Bakeshop whilst looking and WOW there are so many ideas for using the above strange sounding sizes of fabric.

They even have a pdf explaining what everything is - right here

I love so many things on there and I think this might be top of the list but not in those colours as they are so definitely not me. It uses jelly rolls

or there is this which uses charm squares

and who could resist Oopsie

this is another favourite that I would consider making just for the hell of it even though I don't have a little girl or maybe my adult daughter might want a dolly to take to uni with her in september