Sewing Needles

Quite a while ago I did a post about my scissor 'collection'.  At the time I was doing one of my frequent tidying up and reorganizing sessions.  As well as getting my scissors together in one place, I put all my packets of needles all together in a box and I was surprised at how many packets I had.  I also have needles in several needle cases and pincushions.  How on earth did I accumulate this number of needles?  I think that when I originally started doing embroidery I tended to buy whatever speciality needle was stated in the chart.  Since then I've realised that I stick to my favourite needles for most jobs.  Plus, my working needles last a long time so I've ended up with all these packets with, mostly, just one needle used.  Well, if ever there is a needle shortage I know I'll be ok.  And this collection of needles doesn't include my sewing machine ones.

Nic asked me if the bad weather, that was keeping me indoors, was one of the reasons I was getting so much sewing done.  That is partly the reason but there is also the fact that I've got to get some of my stash used up (then I can buy more!) and another reason is because I use winter as my sewing machining season and summer my handstitching season.  The light in summer is much better for me to see what I'm doing, especially when we are at our caravan in Norfolk and I can't take my machine anyway.  Yet another reason for all this sewing is because I can't do a lot of physical things like I used to, due to my bad back.  I used to do a lot of decorating, gardening and DIY.  That's probably why my back went.  So my pursuits are much more ladylike these days!

Wednesday

Here is what I received from Lori in the heart swap I was talking about the other day.  I think Lori is just about the most prolific stitcher and swapper I know.  She just rattles out the cross-stitch and crazy-quilting.  Her crazy quilting is absolutely gorgeous.  Look at all the fab extras she sent me too.  The cross-stitched dove at the top left and the piece of fabric she sent me are so that I can make myself something up with them.

A tin of butterfly cakes, these won't be hanging around for long!

I won a give-away from Fiona, that's something to look forward to.  I'm still making my project bags, each time I make one something comes up and I have to send it to a new home.  I had been hoping to get a few stocked up so that I can send them out to my blog readers but it'll be a couple of weeks before that happens I think.  It's very motivating for me to have people to send my sewing to.

Baking Puzzle

I use the same recipe each time for my cupcakes.  It puzzles me as to why they always turn out differently.  Sometimes they are quite flat  and, like this time, they really rise up.  This batch have come up more than usual.  These will be 'butterfly cakes' this time, instead of piping the butter cream icing into a swirl on top I will cut out a disc from the tops of the cakes and spoon in the icing, then cut the disc in two and perch the two pieces at an angle on top.
Thanks to you all that gave me encouraging words about the jury duty.  If I had been younger I would have looked forward to it and probably have enjoyed it.  These days I just can't be bothered!  I feel that I've had quite a full life and, in the 1960s I served my country in the WRAF, so my patriotism isn't in question, it is just my desire for a quiet, uneventful life!!!

Another Set!!!

Sorry if this is getting boring but I did say I was going to be making quite a few of these sets!  This one is destined for New Zealand.  I unexpectedly received a package the other day, I'll show a picture of what I got in a day or so.  This package contained items for the heart swap I mentioned in my last post.  The items in it were intended for me but there was a mix up about names and a swap should have gone to New Zealand.  So, we all came to an agreement that I would keep the package and then make something for the swapper who should have got something.

I'm feeling a bit fed up at the moment.  When I reached sixty I decided that, being an old age pensioner, I would only do things that I wanted to do.  And what happens?  I got a letter saying I have to attend for jury duty.  There is no getting out of it and it has really got on my nerves that I've got to do it.  Think of all those wasted hours that I could have used for crafting!!!

A Swap Received

I've mentioned a group I'm in before, International Hand Stitchers, every couple of months we have a swap and the swap for January was to make a heart ornament.  My swap partner was Linda and this is what she sent me.  I was so excited to receive the heart from Linda, it's done in ribbon embroidery and, as you can see, it's gorgeous.  We always add a bit of something extra as a surprise and Linda was really generous with what she included, a beautiful brooch, beeswax thread conditioner and a fabric marker pen.  On top of all that there was the beautiful handstitched card.  The amount of work Linda put into this swap is really appreciated, it was an exciting package to receive - thanks Linda!!!

Melissa, who has a lovely blog, is having a give-away, why not pop over and leave a comment to have a chance of winning this fab pattern

Looks like it's a very useful sort of pattern, stuffed animals and quilts, perfect for making gifts.

I'm still busy making the project bags with accessories, I want to get a good stock of these made for two reasons, 1) I like making them, 2) they make great gifts, swaps and give-aways.  I came up with a pouch that will hold scissors and embroidery floss but I think I still prefer the sewing roll so will make a seperate scissor pouch in future.

Pin Tucks

This project bag and accessories isn't finished yet, I'm trying to think of some sort of pouch that will hold embroidery scissors and floss.  It will need to be strong enough to hold the scissors without the point cutting through.  I love the look of pin tucks, they are really easy to do if you have a zig zag machine, all you need is a twin needle and it's quite straight forward.  I have got a pin tuck foot but I don't always use it, as long as the tension is tight it works quite well without the foot.  The advantage of the foot is that it has a guide on it so that the tucks are easy to space evenly.

I was getting a bit worried about making all these sets, that is until I was reading this blog, the blogger loves making pincushions and I do belong to this group that is just about pincushions.  So, I decided it is ok to have an obsession for these things and I will carry on making them - so there!!!

A thought I had this morning was about energy levels.  I love to watch The Dog Whisperer, he is always talking about dogs' energy levels and I realised that I thought Doobry was the perfect dog because he has the same energy level as me.  This led me to understand about people's energy levels and that mine is low.  All my life I've felt tired when I've tried to keep up with other people, for instance Graham is a higher energy level than me and I know that sometimes he gets a bit annoyed when I say I can't do any more.  If I do try to keep up I get so tired that I feel ill.  Well, it's about time I stopped being like this and if other people can't accept me as I am - tough!!!

Project Bag & Accessories

Another Project Kit finished.  I think one of the reasons I like making these is because it gives me the opportunity to use some of my lovely fabric stash and I end up with something useful from it.  Recently I've been buying bargain lengths of fabric with no idea of what I will be doing with it.  I also keep trying to think of other sewing accessories I can make to go into a project bag but so far I can only think of the items in these recent pictures.  If anyone has any other ideas I'd love to hear about them.