My first blog of 2014!

This year seems to be flying by and I'm only writing my first blog of 2014 three months after my last blog! I do have one rather big excuse, though.

In February I went to South Africa for three weeks.My main reason for the trip was to celebrate my sister's 70th birthday with her and, of course, there was the added bonus of seeing my son and daughter-in-law and grandchildren as well as my brother and sisters-in-law. I also had a great time catching up with friends. It was a wonderful time and I'm so pleased I went.

 I decided last year that I would go for my sister's birthday; if I hadn't gone, I would never have known what I had missed. My niece organised a wonderful gathering the day before her birthday and then we had a happy day together on her actual birthday. As a big surprise, my nephew flew out from Scotland for his mother's birthday, so that made it extra special. Here I am with my sister and brother-in-law:

February is the hottest month of the year in KwaZulu-Natal and I really felt it! On the Saturday before I left for home, I went to uShaka, a water park on the Durban beach front, with my son and his family and one of my sisters-in-law. We all enjoyed cooling off in the water!

As usual, I returned home with a few pieces of fabric to add to my stash! I haven't used them yet but I've done some sewing since coming home. My first sewing task was to make 40 table napkins for the care home where I work. They look so easy to make but are actually quite time consuming.

I've also tried my hand at making these wooden bead and fabric necklaces. I bought two at a charity shop in Durban and thought I'd give them a go. Softer fabric certainly works better than stiff shwe-shwe fabric from South Africa. They are quite effective, though.

Last weekend I went to London to help my Durban daughter-in-law promote her business at an exhibition in Kensington. Imagine my delight when I found out that the Spring Stitching and Knitting Show was on in the same exhibition centre, the Olympia! I managed to spend a short time wandering around the many stalls and stands. It was all rather overwhelming! I managed to resist temptation except for a few small purchases. But more of that later, as well as my current sewing projects. 

A look back at 2013

It is so easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the build up to Christmas! There have been many Carol Services and other church activities, let alone shopping for food and making gifts, and we seem to go from one appointment on the calendar to another. So I thought I'd spend a little time reflecting on the past year and reminding myself of the things that have happened in our lives.

January got off to a pretty cold start and winter stayed with us for several months.

I did have a break from the snow and cold when I visited Chay and Sharon, Tarryn and Angus in Bahrain in February. It was so good to see where they live and get an idea of what their lives are like there.

In May, Ian and I went to South Africa for a few weeks and had a wonderful time in the Natal Midlands, where we spent two weeks at Whispering Waters. Friends and family were able to come and visit us for a day or two and we had a great time catching up in the beautiful countryside.

We were able to see Sean and Allison's new home in Durban and catch up with many of the family members when Ian baptised our great nephew, Kaelan Faul.

In July Sharon and the children came to the UK for the summer holidays to get away from the intense heat in Bahrain and it was wonderful to have them here as they used our home as a base from which to go off and visit friends and then come back again.

A special treat was to have Chay stay with us for two weeks. No surprise as to what he and Ian did!

In October, Ian and I managed to go to the Lake District for a week. It was a much needed time of rest and relaxation! We swam every morning in the heated pool at the resort where we stayed and just soaked in the beauty and tranquillity of the scenery.

The year has not been all holidays and fun, though! I have done my share at work, doing two shifts a week plus several extra shifts as well and my nearly-67 year old body is telling me that this kind of work is very strenuous, both physically and mentally! My sewing has kept me busy and I have made many bags of all shapes and sizes as well as other items, such as metres of bunting! Sewing certainly gives me a lot of pleasure and fills many hours. Other people seem to appreciate it as well as I seem to have a reasonable flow of orders.

Ian has had a busy year in the church; there are not enough full-time clergy to take care of the parishes so he often has more than one service a Sunday as well as baptisms, weddings and funerals. Fortunately, he still manages to play golf regularly and enjoys the company of his golfing partners.

As we come to the end of 2013 and look ahead to next year, we do so in faith. Ian will be 74 in a couple of weeks and is now on a yearly contract with the Diocese, so we might have to rethink our lives in the middle of 2014. Who knows where we will be next Christmas? I will continue in my care work, which I do to support Ian in his ministry as he gets the house in return for the work he does but no stipend. I am going to South Africa at the end of January for three weeks as it is my sister's 70th birthday and I decided a long time ago that I would spend that time with her. Thank goodness for the money I have invested in South Africa as it pays for my air ticket!

I have some plans for my sewing: I have some fabric suitable for spring/summer bags as well as a piece I intend using to make a few bags to celebrate the start of the Tour de France in Yorkshire. I also have quite a lot of African-themed fabric and I intend buying some more in February so I will have a range of bags which I shall call, 'A Taste of Africa'. I am still trying to pluck up the courage to start an online shop; maybe this will happen in 2014!

Busy November

November was a very busy month! I did several extra shifts at work as one of my colleagues was off sick and I seemed to spend all the time I could sewing. I made items for two craft fairs as well as filling a couple of orders. From tomorrow I will be working hard on orders I have for Christmas.

Considering all the time and effort I put into the craft fairs, after today's I wonder if it is worth it! I sold two items and managed to cover the cost of my table! Oh well, I know what some people will be getting for Christmas presents! I'm also organising a Pop-In Christmas Shop here in our village so will have a table there. I do prefer sewing to order, I think. I had an order for two patchwork tote bags and the person for whom I made them was pleased with what I had done. Here they are:

The blue one is made from shwe-shwe fabric, manufactured in South Africa and popular with African women because it is so hard-wearing.

The manager of the Keyingham Community Café here in our village, asked me to make her some Christmas bunting with stockings on it. They were pleased with it and I think it looks quite cute.

Now I have a stock of tote bags, pencil cases, make-up bags etc. Maybe it's time to start my online shop... At least I know that the sewing I'll be doing in the next couple of weeks is all going to be done to order!

Our holiday in the Lake District

We had a good, relaxing week away in the Lake District. We stayed at Whitbarrow Village, near Penrith, where we have stayed twice before. We like the Northern Lakes, away from the crowds and dense traffic in more commercialised places, like Windemere.

Our main aim was to relax so we didn't intend going for great walks. Anyway, my knees and back don't seem to cope very well with walking over rough terrain any more. However, if you count walking the 18 holes on Keswick Golf Course, I did have at least one good walk! Yes, the Great Golfer took some clubs and a cart as part of his holiday equipment and I walked with him while he played. Thank goodness that was one of the days when we just had some misty drizzle! The scenery was lovely and I did pretty well until about the 14th hole; then the going got a bit tougher. However, I managed to make it to the 18th and then a very good lunch in the clubhouse.

We did enjoy more regular exercise with a good morning swim on five mornings. Thank goodness for 'adults only' swimming times. We both benefited from the exercise and by Friday morning my back was hardly affected.

Of course, we also indulged a bit! What's a holiday for, if not to have a treat now and then?! This was the final indulgence on our last day:

As for things 'crafty', we visited The Wool Clip in the village of Caldbeck. This is a co-operative of fifteen crafty people who spin, weave, knit, felt and make all sorts of wonderful things out of wool. It's not my area of interest and skill but it is always good to admire the work put into top-class crafts. To satisfy my inner craft self, I kept my hands busy with crocheting more squares for another little blanket and then visited a yummy fabric shop in Penrith, called Just Sew. What a feast for the eyes! Even the GG was attracted to the lovely fabrics, suggesting possible pieces for eye-catching bags! I managed to avoid impulse buying and only bought what I needed for some Christmas orders. Oh, the self-discipline!

On the day with the best weather all week, we drove to Ullswater Lake and soaked in the beauty and the peace and tranquillity of the surroundings. I really felt revived after sitting looking at the lake and the mountains.

Now we have more memories and more photographs so that we can say, 'Yes, we did enjoy our break away.' Tomorrow I'll be back in my sewing room!

Using my stash.

Why is it that I seem to run out of essential materials when I want to get on with a project?? I have such lovely fabric to make bags but have run out of the Thermolan interfacing I usually use as well as fusible fleece. We are taking a short break next week (going to the Lake District!) and I didn't want to order more and then not be here when it comes in the post. So I decided to use my time profitably (I hope it will make a profit!!) and use what I had in my stash to make some pencil cases for a Craft Fair on 10 November. For once, I had outer fabric, lining fabric and matching zips to make what I wanted - five pencil cases. I even found reasonably suitable charms to use a zip pulls. Here are the finished products:

Last week I made my granddaughter's present for her 8th birthday. She loves her ballet so I made her some ballet dancer bunting and a drawstring bag for her ballet shoes. I might have to explain about the bunting as my sister tells me that it isn't trendy in South Africa - yet. It certainly is trendy here as I seem to be making quite a bit of it!

The next bunting I make will be Advent bunting, which will double up as Christmas bunting. I got the idea from Craftseller Magazine but will not follow their instructions.

Still using my stash, I am going to make two knitting needle cases using some rather pretty tea towels that I bought a long time ago. This is another idea I found in a magazine.

The other step I have taken is that I have set up a page for MBags on facebook. I have hesitated about doing this but it seems to look OK and I've had very nice feedback from my friends (and family). I suppose the next thing I'll have to think about is a website for selling my bags. The thought of that makes me rather nervous, though.

All this will happen when we return from our little holiday. We are so looking forward to it!

A tale of two bags

I was asked to make a bag that had to have butterflies on it. I searched the internet and found some very pretty butterfly fabric on ebay. I ordered what I needed and, only after I had paid for it, I realised it was coming from Bangkok and would take a few weeks to get here! I told the person who had ordered the bag and she asked me to try and find some fabric locally (in the UK) as she needed the bag sooner than October. I found some that I thought was suitable and the bag was completed by the end of last week.

I emailed the lady to tell her the bag was ready but she didn't get back to me. Yesterday the fabric from Bangkok arrived, earlier than expected. I set to and made another bag in this fabric and emailed the lady yesterday afternoon to tell her she could now choose between the two bags. I attached photos of the bags and within a couple of hours her husband was at our front door to collect the bag made with the fabric from Bangkok.

It is pretty, isn't it? Fortunately, someone else has expressed an interest in the first butterfly bag, so I should be able to sell it. Next time I order something from ebay, I'll check where it's coming from before paying for it!

Some weeks ago I bought a very big curtain at a charity shop. The fabric has a very nice feel to it and I've been looking forward to using it. I had a pair of bag handles which I bought years ago and they go very well with the curtain, so I decided to make a basket bag. The bag was working out just fine and I had attached the handles and was putting the finishing touches to it when one of the handles came apart! I was so disappointed! However, in a previous life the Great Golfer was the Great Engineer and he loves nothing more than a challenge in that line, however big or small! Off he went with the offending screw 'thingy' that wouldn't screw together and less than 15 minutes later the handle was fixed and I was able to complete the bag. So here is my up-cycled basket bag.

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Bunting seems to be the thing at the moment in my sewing room! I have made three lots now with two more in the making and then some I want to make for my granddaughter's birthday. More photos of bunting to come...

Keeping busy

There seemed to be rather a lot of laundry, tidying, vacuuming and re-organising of bedrooms to do after our children went back to their home in Bahrain. It kept me busy, which helped with the empty feeling inside me and the quietness of the house. In a way, it was good to have our own space back again...

I have also kept at it with my sewing, although I haven't really had a heart for it. Some orders are coming in for Christmas, though, so I've got them done and I've finished the crocheted knee rug I wrote about in an earlier blog. It will go to our local church Victorian Christmas Fair. I'm so pleased that I've used up all the wool that was left over from knitting jumpers for my granddaughter. There's still some pale pink and white wool so I'll make a little baby blanket. The weather is decidedly autumnal and I won't mind working with wool in the evenings. Here is the finished knee rug:

Oops - I meant to rotate the photograph!

A lady in the choir I sing with asked me to make a bright bag for her and this one certainly is bright! She says people comment on it whenever she uses it - I'm not surprised!

I also had an order for some bunting for someone's birthday. It looks very pretty and the person who ordered it has asked for some more, this time in shades of purple. I ordered the fabric online this morning. I make the bunting the quick way: I sew the triangles together with the right sides on the outside and then use pinking shears to neaten the edges. They look pretty and it saves the time it takes to turn the triangles right side out and press the edges.

Christmas is in the air and some people are already thinking of stocking fillers. Despite the move to reusable shopping bags (one I support!!) there are still plastic bags around and a colleague asked me for two plastic bag holders.

The criss-cross coasters are proving popular and these are orders for Christmas stockings:

The care home where I work had a table top sale yesterday. I wasn't able to go but I made four shopping bags for them to sell and these little coasters. I bought strips of little horse pictures a long time ago and thought they would make useful little coasters. I hope there were some horse lovers out shopping!

I have been offered a table at a Craft Fair on 10 November, so I need to get some bags made. I have plenty of fabric and have got started. A very generous person gave me some wonderful offcuts of curtain fabric, which I'm looking forward to making up. If only I didn't have to work and then use up valuable sewing time by sleeping in the daytime!