By Stephie, on Sunday 13th March, 2011 at 02:13 am
Remember this scrummy confection of red hair and outdoorsy earthiness that I fell in love with?
 scrummy! Well I finished my own version this week. Obviously a self-portrait in the bathroom mirror doesn’t quite capture the mood I was going for! Still, just slipping it over my head and breathing in the ‘lanoliny’ smell takes me to a wild and windswept moor dotted with hardy sheep…
 comfy! And trust me, this jumper would definitely keep me warm on high ground: it’s like wearing a hot water bottle. It’s so thick and heavy I feel like I could withstand the worst of the winter cold in it, but instead I want to curl up in front of an open fire when I’m wearing it (if only I had one, *sigh*) and listen to the wind rattling round outside and the rain lashing the windows. This jumper makes me feel cosy and cosseted; who would have thought it was possible for a piece of knitwear to do that?!
 toasty One of the most wonderful aspects of this jumper though was the knitting: it was an absolute breeze and over in a matter of pain-free days! It was so satisfying I can’t tell you.
So what’s next? I’m going to finish a pair of gloves I’ve had on the go for months. I’m in the mood to get things sorted and finished so that I can move on to something new, guilt free! And the list of new things I want to make is long. Very, very long 
What’s on your list of ‘things to finish before I start something new’? I bet you’re more restrained than I am and don’t have a list of wip’s as long as your arm! Or maybe I’ve got that wrong?!
Stephie x
By Stephie, on Saturday 26th February, 2011 at 09:00 am
Yes, I have been making things. I bought some yarn with money I was given at Christmas, but I’ve only just started knitting with it. It’s going to be a jumper. For me! I feel slightly guilty starting it when I’ve got two Christmas presents I still haven’t finished. I’m trying not to think about that (and feel guilty about that too!). Hopefully I’ll get a bit of wear out of the jumper before the weather warms up too much. It’s a very simple design in a very thick ‘eco wool’. Of course it’s a beloved Rowan design and yarn.
scrummy! The Purelife British Sheep Breeds wool really appealed to me because it’s un-dyed and produced in the UK, saving all those nasty dye chemicals and air miles. Ok, so one jumper’s not going to make a dent in either industry, but there’s still something robust and ‘earthy’ about the yarn that I love. It even appeals to the romantic in me to think that it comes from rugged and windswept hill farms in the north. Heathcliff…
 chunky! It’s only the second jumper I’ve ever made. Well, only the second one with sleeves. I feel confident enough to make something more complicated now, but I have to admit the simple style, chunky yarn and size 7 needles of this one are making for a very enjoyable process! It’s rewarding to see it progress so quickly. You can do a few rows while the kettle’s boiling or the pasta’s cooking and suddenly it seems to have grown by an inch – barely even noticeable that your knitting! My super talented friend Janie says it’s good to have a ‘no-brainer’ on the go at any one time, so that if you’re doing something that requires more concentration you can take a break from it. And boy, did I need a break from another project I was working on. Remember that unfinished Christmas present I mentioned…
 Reminds me of ET! My problems have nothing to do with the gorgeous hand-dyed Noro Kureyon wool, or the free pattern I got from Ravelry. Both lovely to work with. No. My problems all hang on my ineptitude with double pointed needles and enough ladders to get Jacob to heaven and back again 
 Sob, sob I’ve ripped it out and started again so many times I’ve lost count. I’ve tried different methods, different tensions and each time just end up with a ladder of varying widths. So frustrating and disappointing. Bear in mind this is a Christmas present that’s already late by a considerable mile, the last thing I want is to give something that looks like this. Giving up and making something else is not an option: I’ve already made the matching hat (with cables, knitted in the round). I will make a pair of gloves. Luckily my mother has come up with a ‘solution’. She was sceptical that it would work, because it would normally show: she suggested knitting into the back of the stitch when I move from one needle to the next to tighten it. Eureka! It works and it doesn’t show. I think that’s because of the type of yarn it is: hairy. I bet if I did it in something else it would show as much as the ladders. So, all you experts out there, tell me, pleeeeease, how do I use dpn’s without getting a ladder? There are so many lovely patterns out there to try, but I think if I carry on like this it’ll just be a waste of time and yarn! Glove number 2 is now underway, but I think I might need a break and and a no-brainer to work on for a few hours…
love stephie x
By Stephie, on Saturday 5th February, 2011 at 19:35 pm
It’s been a frustrating week one way or another. There are several projects I really should have finished a month ago and they’re still on the needles or in an embroidery hoop, or worse still languishing folded up in a basket. I’m frustrated because there are other new projects I want to start (a jumper I have the yarn for, for example), but refuse to let myself begin until I’ve finished at least two of the works in progress. I’m not making any real headway, but I am pleased with the way a couple of projects are turning out. This cushion cover is one of them:
 Some lovely Liberty fabrics in this piece I don’t often quilt my work in a hoop, but I thought I’d give it a go as it’s a relatively small piece – practice makes perfect and I guess smaller projects are worth practicing on. So far the patchwork has some appliqued tree motifs that I stitched by hand and I’ve just begun some hand quilting. The plan is that there will be some machine quilting and applique too, but I don’t want to give too much away at the moment so you’ll have to come back. I’d leave it a month though, the way things are moving around here!
 Needle turn applique I’m pleased to say that I have actually finished one project so far this year. It’s a child’s scarf, one to put away. I made it in 1 skein of Rowan’s Colourscape chunky by Kaffe Fasset and made the pattern up as I went along. The dropped stitch gives it a lovely texture and really adds to the stripey quality of the colours in the yarn. Of course you’ll have noticed the buttons. I couldn’t help myself, what can I say!
 This'll keep you warm  and the colours'll keep you happy! I’m sat here falling asleep now, I can barely keep my eyes open. I think it’s probably a good idea to take a break and come back later. I’ve been trying to sort out a new website for my running club, but it’s giving me a headache – I’ve never had problems with installing one before, so I’m baffled. And I think the baffling has exhausted me.
Back later
love Stephie x
By Stephie, on Thursday 3rd February, 2011 at 09:50 am
 For Janie This little pillow is filled with roses. Well rose pot-pourri. And it smells wonderful. Just imagine popping it on the pillows on your bed and falling asleep breathing in the smells of a summer garden. Romantic nonsense? No! Everyone needs a little bit of romance don’t they? I know I’d like some. There’s been a serious lack of it around here for years (It’s true!) But I digress. What do you think of the pillow? I made it for my exceptionally patient friend Janie (it’s a belated Christmas present) and I think she likes it, which is important! As you can see it’s an asymmetrical patchwork design with hand and machine quilting, some applique and embroidery. The small floral prints are from Liberty and the one with pink and yellow roses is from Tilda.
Are you wondering about the embroidered word ‘trees’? Maybe you’re thinking “it’s a bit random that bit”? You were? I thought maybe you’d be thinking that! Janie and I go for regular walks and I wanted to evoke something that might remind her of the beautiful places we’ve been, Trelissick in the autumn, Lanhyrdock in the summer…Miss P’s when it’s raining! (Slackers the pair of us.) And there’s a certain shade of green that she loves, so I included plenty of it here. And green, well it does remind me of trees…
I hope you like the photo mosaics I made too. They’re a lovely way of showing related pictures together, but I think maybe I need to take some better photographs. Or get a better camera, that might help. I wonder if the images are large enough too – if you click on them you’ll obviously see them full size, but I wonder if people actually bother to do that. Well people, do you?! You will let me know won’t you? I know I can be a miserable git but I really would like you to come back, so tell me what works best for you and I’ll give it a go.
 Details of the front  Hidden heart Until next time then.
Love Stephie x
By Stephie, on Wednesday 2nd February, 2011 at 11:07 am
My stash that is! It’s not very big though really is it, not when you compare it to the room-fulls of fabric some quilters hoard. These are my favourites and as you’d expect there’s plenty of Kaffe Fassett, Amy Butler and Philip Jacobs. Well, ok I’ll admit it, there’s plenty of Kaffe Fassett. I normally buy just one fat-quarter a week to add to my stash (can’t afford to do it any other way), but this week I blew the budget and splashed out on 1.5m of fabric because there was 30% off (in a shop that’s usually cheaper than my local one in the first place). As it’s such a horribly grey miserable day here today, I thought I’d cheer us up by looking at the gorgeous, joyous colours I seem to have randomly collected!
 A small stack  with a big colourful impact!  This week's bargain no. 1: 1m Kaffe Fassett for £7.00  And this weeks bargain no. 2: 1/2m of Kaffe Fasset for £3.50 There doesn’t that feel better? If a bit of juicy colour doesn’t do it for you, I don’t know what will! Now, I’ve got an impromptu, unplanned trip in to town to make in a few minutes, so should I count this week’s bargains as a bonus and go and choose my usual weekly fat quarter, or shall I be good?!! What would you do?
Back soon for a coffee!
love Stephie x
By Stephie, on Saturday 22nd January, 2011 at 20:44 pm
I feel guilty: I realise I never did finish my 12 days of Christmas posts. Things got on top of me I guess, but the omission is all the more annoying because I’d planned to show you one of my favourite cushions. I’d been mulling ideas over for a while based on some pebbles I’d collected from a local beach. I played with the possibility of a simple 9 patch design in greys.
 9 patch grey and white stripes  Collecting grey and neutral fabrics  Adding some sand colours for contrast I wanted the cushion to have added textural interest and decided on raw edge strips for the patches; it reminded me of ripples in the sand, or the way the waves bleed into the sand. If that seems far-fetched to you, just think of it as the whimsical musings of a someone who’s probably not quite right in the head!
 Hand and machine quilting lines I quilted it with flowing lines that resemble the white quartz in the pebbles. I quilted it by hand and free-motion machine and the stitches are in different sizes and colours. I also included a metallic silver thread that glistens when the light catches it. It’s very subtle, but adds to the texture I was after.
 The finished cushion  It could almost have been washed up on the beach I made the back very plain, just a simple white with a few lines of top stitching and a chunky button.
 Simplicity  Top stitch and button detail on the reverse That’s it. What do you think? I really liked it – and it was hard to give it away!
love Stephie x
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Narrative Self in pictures
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I'm running a 28 mile marathon in memory of Josie this February. Come and find out why.
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