Retro-posting, Her Maj & wearable bunting!

This is a bit of a retro-post as I've been a good girl trying to rest my hand a bit since those jabs and staying away from anything that involves too much effort on the knuckle joints.  I'm glad to report that they are looking much more settled now so it was all worthwhile!

I've been doing a bit of light crafting and have made up the project I wanted to show you pre-jabs, that was inspired by a lovely day out (see the bunting necklace in the picture above) and I've just finished another one  - the little beaded crown - which will fit nicely with the up-coming celebrations for HM Queen Elizabeth II's coronation anniversary!

My inspiration started after a walk about a local village, more recently famous for it's racing track, called Castle Combe.  It's on the edge of the Cotswolds and you can see lots of the famous Cotswold Stone in the rows of pretty little cottages..

I believe that there was once a hill fort which was used by the Britons, Saxons and later, the Romans to protect  'The Fosse Way' (a long Roman Road that ran from Exeter to Lincoln) and that it was the Normans who would later built more of an actual 'Castle'.  Sadly, all that can be seen now is a vague outline or what's commonly called an earthwork. 

There's a good couple of public houses in which to have a nice Sunday lunch (and yes, we did..nom nom!) plus an old market cross around which the village was built and the obligatory Medieval village Church...

One of the things I love most about old places like this is simply looking at all the interesting little features such as this old door bell pull (spot the studded door too!) I bet the bell on the other end was loud...

And I wonder what the people who peeked through these ancient looking, time worn window frames saw...

This lantern looks more modern to me but is still quite in keeping with the overall look I guess.....

It's also one of the few places you'll go nowadays where there is someone selling their homemade wares in front of their house with just an 'honesty box' for payment - in this case lots of scrummy looking cakes...

(I think it was the flag on this house that triggered my bunting idea!)

Right at the bottom of the village the road goes over a bridge by some old weavers cottages...

You can see why the village has been used as film locations in the past!

Then the bridge goes over the 'By Brook' which was used to power the mills of the prosperous wool industry era in the Middle Ages....

There's a magnificent Manor House (hotel) built in the 14th Century and of course, just outside the main hub you'll find that famous race track which was built in the 1950s (just after Silverstone) It's all very traditional and all in all I can recommend it as a very pretty place to potter about on a sunny day!

I'm afraid I'm still a little slow typing things up so the crown tutorial will have to follow later, but would you like to see how I made the 'village bunting' style necklace...?

You would?  Ok here goes...

First gather your bits 'n' pieces such as selection of pliers, some tiger tail, thin jewellery wire, crystal beads, seed beads, small spacer beads, crimps, crimp covers and a trigger clasp (oh - and a couple of clips to hold the beads on the necklace while you are working will come in very handy!)

Start by cutting a long length of fine 0.2mm beading wire (around 16-18cm should do it but this will ultimately depend on your seed bead size).  Slide a single seed bead onto the middle of the piece of wire then secure it by passing the wire back through it once.  

 Next, thread 2 x seed beads onto one side of the wire and thread the other side of wire through from the opposite direction as show above. 

Pull both wire ends firmly so that the beads end up sitting above the single seed bead nice & neat as shown below...

On the next 'row' add 3 x seed beads to the wire as before, then pull the wire ends to sit them on top the stack...

Continue in the same way, adding 4 x seed beads then 5 x seed beads on the next couple of rows...

And finally make a row of 6 x seed beads.  By now you should have a nice little seed bead 'flag' shape as pictured below...

At EACH end of this last row, thread the wire through the last bead to secure it...

Now make lots more little flags in the colours of your choosing (I made 3 of each in red, white & blue)...

When you have made all your flags, use round nose pliers to coil ALL the long wire ends (you may need to trim them if they are a bit too long)....

Now they are ready, cut a piece of tiger tail (around 18-20cm for a shorter necklace) and thread it through one coiled loop of the first beaded 'flag'...

Add 6 x seed beads onto the wire then thread through the other loop on the other side of the flag...

Add a crystal bead between each flag as you continue to work and add all the little flags to the length of tiger tail (remember you can use the clips to stop the beads falling off the ends of the tiger tail - it really helps!)

Make sure you add enough extra seed beads on each side of the necklace wire to make it the correct length for you, then add the endings to *finish off (see the two pictures below).
  

*To finish the necklace ends thread the following onto the ends of the tiger tail: a crimp bead, spacer bead, wire guardian - then thread the tiger tail back down through each one and pull to tighten.  Squash the crimp bead and hide with a crimp cover then add your trigger clasp & a large jump ring to attach it to. Always thread the end of the tiger tail back down through the first few beads before trimming it.

All you need to do now is wear it with pride on 2nd June!

                    Happy Anniversary of your Coronation Ma'am :-)

....and Happy Making to all of you xxx

Saving The Min & Machine Embroidery Experiments (part 1)

This isn't quite the post I was going to write today but I am, how shall we say... a little 'compromised' ?

I was going to write about a lovely day trip we had at the weekend and a little project inspired by it but, after a visit to 'The Min' yesterday ('The Min' being an affectionate name for The Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases in Bath)  and a couple of steroid injections in my arthritical knuckles I can't really make what I was going to make so that one will have to wait until later.

The Min is a really wonderful old building with such history and an ongoing record of excellence.  I have had several family members receive treatment there and, in recent years, have also been sent for treatment myself.  Sadly, there is currently a big shadow over its future & survival which you can read all about here and I would also be ever so grateful if you can pop over here to sign the petition that has been organised to try and help 'Save the Min' (please do... it would be such a shame for us to loose this national treasure - and please share the links too - thanks)


I didn't actually know I was going to get injected beforehand and had happily browsed round the shops, buying this sweet little ball of primrose yellow wool (ready for yet another project idea I'd had...) 
                              

but unfortunately this is what happens when I try to work with wool and a hand support..... (plus I am supposed to be resting my hand for the next day or so. Hmm.)

Anyway, I decided to look upon it as a crafting challenge and think about what I could do with one hand out of action (so to speak) and so long as I didn't need to grip, press, or use any real pressure it would probably be OK.  So, I thought, how about a bit of machine embroidery....

I've not done lots of this craft before but could remember the general set up for the sewing machine which is basically to set your tension to zero and also the smallest stitch possible.

Then remove the normal 'foot'... (you can put on a special darning/embroidery foot if you have one)

Then cover the 'dogs' (tracks that move the material through - on some machines you can push a button to drop them down) and pull the thread up through as you would normally..

You also need an embroidery hoop (I tried several hoop sizes and found the middle one the best)...

Once your hoop has fabric in it you actually work on the reverse side to usual and need to slide it under the needle and foot attachment 'stem' 

Next, you pull up the bottom thread and hold it with the top thread while you make the first stitch and then you are away.... 

...and I really mean 'away' if you are a bit heavy with the pedal (oops...like me!!)

I started out with a single line of wibbly wobbly text just so I could practise moving the hoop around. And some wibbly wobbly doodles....

Then I tried going over and over some text to 'thicken' it.. ..

     (you don't half get some knotty messes on the back at times!)

eek....

I do quite like that effect so practised a bit more...

hmmm..  not so good but getting better towards the last word ;-)

...and then I practised a bit more. Quite honestly I think the key to it is LOTS of practise and using a thicker fabric (mine was quite thin so puckered easily). Practise, practise, practise... until you have had enough for the day.  I got to a rather-messy-but-starting-to-get-better-looking-bit-of-text before I decided to finish up.

It has to be said that I do not accept defeat easily and decided to tidy up that  rather-messy-but-starting-to-get-better-looking-bit-of-text and rummaged around for my 'stitch ripper' (yes, I could only find my broken one but needs must....)

I discovered that if you remove the messy, squiggly lines and trim the odd ends off that it starts too look a little bit more 'passable' and you can then go back over some bits if needed.

Ok, I know... not super fantastic but remember I was compromised with a cumbersome hand support too (what gratuitous excuse mongering!)

Anyway, finally,  I gave it a press with the iron and... well...I'll let you rate it yourself.

                                 (all tips gratefully received!)

I will be trying this again sometime.
I think. 
Probably.
Maybe. 


What crafting I am going to do tomorrow to get my fix I have no idea - hope you're having better luck with whatever you are making!

xxxx 

May Day, Flora & The Romans...

                          Happy May Day!  

Just look at the colour of the sky today - g.e.o.r.g.e.o.u.s isn't it - makes you want to go and dance under a Maypole!

Early this morning, as I washed my face in the morning dew...well, OK,  not really but there is an old myth that says to do this will bestow beauty upon you!

Actually I was simply sat outside with my cup of tea, watching the birds and generally enjoying the fresh earthiness of the air and began to ponder what type of mini-make I could do to welcome in the new month.  To begin with I was tempted to go for something festooned with colourful ribbons 'Maypole Stylie'...or maybe something with bells on a la Morris Dancer.  Then I began to fancy the idea of something along the lines of a floral crown for a May Day Queen....

The traditional role of a May Day Queen is to generally sit on a throne looking beautiful while everyone else dances & celebrates around her.  It's believed she is meant to represent the personification of 'Flora' - a minor Roman Goddess associated with spring, fertility & flowers (the latin word 'floris' meaning flower).  In fact, a festival in her honour known as  'Floralia' was held between 28th April to 3rd May.

Anyway, having a fondness for all things Roman (that'll be my Bath upbringing again...) I decided to go with the Flora theme - often she was depicted with a flowery garland on her head and, in addition chose white to represent innocence & purity.

Here we go...

First of all I sorted out some green cotton cord and a piece of white tissue paper (yes I know it's wrinkly but it's recycled from a gift and really doesn't matter for this project...)

 Then I folded it, lengthways, in half, then half again so that I had 4 'layers'. I then cut some small strips around 10cm x 2cm (but this is totally up to you and how large you want your flowers to end up - there are no hard & fast rules)

 You need to make sure each strip has no 'looped' ends and if so, cut them with scissors.

 Now, beginning at one end of the strip, fold it into a 'concertina' as shown.

 Then trim each end of the folder paper slightly to give it a rounded edge.

 ....and don't forget to put a snip in each side of the middle point of the paper strip.

 Next, tie the cord tightly around the middle (where you made the small cuts) and knot it to secure.

 Then (and this is a fiddly bit....) begin to gently separate out the layers of tissue paper from each other. Slightly damp finger tips help do this.

 Keep pulling, separating & fluffing until your paper resembles a small blossom flower.

To speed things up, I cut several more strips and attached them to the same strand of cord.

  ...and once that was done, I went back along 'fluffing' each one into a flower so I had a small 'garland' of paper blossoms.

 To make it into a 'floral crown', I covered some thick wire with ripped strands of linen fabric and then wound the strand of flowers around it ... 

 Simply adjust the fit according to the size you need and voilà... a pretty little floral crown fit for a May Day Queen!

If you want to go for all out for that sweet & innocent  'May Day Queen' look , you could always add a few strands of white ribbon to dance prettily down the back.

Happy 'May-king' :-)