
Embroidered needle case
I went to a course at Loop in London in July 2019 and finally finished this in January. It really inspired me to try more embroidery. Of course, I haven’t actually done any yet!

Linden Sweatshirt – number 3
I love the other two versions I sewed, so I decided to make another. It doesn’t show in the photo but this is navy flecked with different colours. My next plan is to make a patterned version. Maybe a floral pattern. I’m still having a few problems with the neckband on these as I always seem to get little puckers. Must research online how to avoid that.

Lockdown Patchwork Blanket
I started this near the beginning of lockdown and tried to knit a square each evening. It was coming along nicely but I have been distracted by other projects lately. I really enjoy it though. I’m using the yarn from my Dandelion & Dogwood 2019 advent calendar – its lovely. Again you can’t see in the photo, but this yarn is all sparkly.

Kimono Top – number 2
I made a trial version of this last year in a cheap navy fabric and it went well so I made this one. I didn’t think about the fact that the wrong side of the fabric would show, so it was a bit disappointed. The navy fabric looked the same on both sides so it wasn’t an issue. It’s a shame because this patterned fabric is really pretty. I think it’s destined to become a dressing gown for my 10 year old daughter. At least I learnt from it!

This sweater is a pattern by the lovely Ami from Tailoress Studio. I’ve never attempted knitting a garment for myself before, but she gave me the confidence to give it ago. It’s a brilliant pattern and I’ve loved knitting it. The yarn is from the yarn busines she and her sister, Jen, run – Dandelion & Dogwood. The colour is just my favourite – it’s called Married in Jeans. I put this project aside while it was hot, but I’m now on the second sleeve. Determined to have it finished to wear for a Zoom chat with my knitting group next week. Photos to follow when finished.
This is a pattern by Jooles from Sew Sweet Violet, and it’s fantastic. Such a relaxing knit. I can’t wait to wear this, as I finished it just as the weather got warm. I will be making many of these! I knitted this one using a magic knotball (so cool!) for Jooles magicknitballalong. These were all left over yarns. How thrifty am I? Not very usually, unfortunately.

This Tilly and The Buttons pattern came includes tween sizes, so I was able to make a pair for my daughter even though I actually bought it to make some for myself. She loved this shell fabric which I bought at our local fabric shop, Backstitch, and I was persuaded to make hers first. And of course I haven’t got round to mine yet. I’ve got some gorgeous fabric waiting. These turned out a bit baggy but she doesn’t seem to mind.

Small zip pouch x 2
When the kids and I really despaired of the homeschooling, we took a few days off to do different types of learning. We followed an online tutorial (I forget which now) to make a small zipped pouch. I made a version with really funky fish fabric with my daughter, but I can’t find the photo (it’s on my Instagram but I can’t work out this new version of WordPress and my laptop seems to have become old and incompatible with everything). This photo is my son with his version. He’s 8 and he chose the penguin fabric himsel. He was a reluctant sewer but he liked the result. I just wish I had eyelashes like his. Imaging the mascara savings (I need the crying face emoji here – if only I knew how).

Retirement Quilt
My Mum was due to retire in June, after over twenty years in the same job. Unfortunately due to the coronavirus situation, her retirement party was cancelled and she didn’t get to see her colleagues on her last day.
I wanted to give her a special present, so I made her this patchwork lap quilt. I followed a video tutorial from Melanie Ham on You Tube for a first quilt, which was really helpful. It was really detailed and clear. I think Mum was really pleased with it.
I enjoyed making it so much that I started a bigger one immediately afterwards, it’s all pieces, layered, quilted and it’s just waiting to be cut and have the binding sewn on. I must get on with that.
Snuggle Down Cowl – number 2
I knitted a second one with left over yarn from my Dirty Lace Shawl. This yarn is amazing to knit with, and I held it with floof from the lovely Kelly at Lay Family Yarns. I love this so much and can’t wait to wear it. The dog is keen too.

Socks
These socks had been on the go for a while because I made a mistake which I couldn’t work out how to fix. I put them aside for ages, but then decided to pick them up, fudge it a bit and carry on. And it actually worked ok. As has happened to me before, one ended up longer than the other. But no one will ever know.
I use the sock pattern from Christine of Winwick Mum. I learnt to knit socks from her beginners sockalong a few years ago, and bought her book as it’s so clear. The yarn was something I bought from Loop a while ago but I forget what now. Looking forward to wearing them soon. This was only my fourth pair of socks. I definitely want to do more – handknit socks are so comfy – and pretty.
Patchwork quilt
I watched a tutorial that Jooles from Sew Sweet Violet made about English Paper Piecing which I’ve always wanted to try. I then bought some fabric hexie sets from Jooles too. I found using a fabric glue pen to baste the hexies makes it all so much easier. I then got on with hand sewing the hexies together and found it to be very theraputic and totally addictive. I very quickly got through all the initial fabrics and Jooles kindly put another pack together for me. I then moved on to cutting up my fabric scraps, and then trawling local fabric shops for fat quarters. It’s surprising how much fabric you need so that you don’t end up with too many the same near each other.
I’ve slightly ambitiously decided to try and make this into a king size quilt for my bed. I estimate that this will be about 700 hexies, and so far I’ve sewn about 275. I am really loving it. I’m trying to stick to colour grouped lines but it is a bit random. I quite like that effect though. I’m sewing it in sections as it was starting to get a bit heavy. I think this project will be ongoing for a while, and I have no idea how I’m going to quilt it with it being so big. More research needed.

Bedroom makeover
This wasn’t exactly done by me. My daughter was desperate to have her bedroom redone, and I foolishly undertook the task myself with no real decorating experience. Luckily my Mum and Dad took pity on me and helped me with the painting. Unfortunately we chose the hottest days of the summer to do it and absolutely sweltered while painting.
She really wanted a dressing table, and as my dressing table which was second hand from my mother in law was looking a bit worse for wear, I said she could have it and I’d get a new one (which hasn’t happened, so I now sit on the floor and my stuff is in a pile!). She liked the idea of a ‘Hollywood mirror’, so I searched online for options. I found these lights at Ikea, and my Dad spent ages attaching batons to the back of the mirror to attach them. I think they look really effective, and kind of wish it was mine. Lucky daughter. She chose this rose gold wallpaper from Homebase to go on the wall behind it, which I thought was a bit over the top initially, but it actually looks lovely. The other walls are a lovely blue (Dulux Blue Babe). Dad also fixed the broken leg – thanks Dad! And Mum went out shopping with her for door knobs, a clock and a lampshade.
The table part of the dressing table has got a lot of marks on it, so I suggested that we print some photos and stick them on, and then put some kind of varnish or sealant on the top. I’ve got no idea if this will work, but that’s an upcoming project. Any suggestions appreciated. I also want to try and cover the stool which is grubby. Yet more research needed, but that must be doable. Anyway, I ramble…

Mountain Climbing – Helvellyn
It’s not making, but I did do it. We went on holiday to the Lake District a few weeks again. We had a lovely time and my husband, two kids, dog and I climbed Helvellyn. This was only our second mountain – we climbed Pen-Y-Fan in Wales last year.
The views were amazing and the weather was perfect. It was hard work but I loved it. My Nana and Grandad spent a lot of time in the Lake District and I’ve always wanted to go. My Grandad died a long time ago and his ashes were scatted on Skiddaw, so that’s the next climb on my list. I recorded a little video for my Nana at the top as she was at home in Cambridge wishing she was up there.
We also climbed Catbells, and did some other lovely walks while we were there. The kids were really good, but that’s as much as we could persuade them to do. They did some tree walking and scrambling which they really enjoyed.
Summary
Writing this post has made me feel much better, as again, when I look back I’ve actually done more than I thought. It helps me organise my mind as to what I want to do next.
Here are my goals for the next few weeks:
- Finish my Whitmoor Sweater
- Finish my quilt (the machine one not the hand sewn one!)
- Make some Jaimie pyjama shorts for me (although it will probably be too cold now!)
- Order some fabric for another Linden sweatshirt (hello Guthrie & Ghani)
- Get photos printed for dressing table
I could go on and on, but I’ll stick to these 5 for now and pledge to write again in two weeks.
Thanks for reading (if anyone made it through this epic post!)
Kx