Yarndale inspired Mandala

I expect those yarn addicted blog followers amongst you can not have failed to notice that Yarndale took place last weekend, up in Skipton, North Yorkshire.

The first ever Yarndale was held in 2013 and from what I have read, was a tremendous success.  It is described as a "creative festival celebrating all things woolly and wonderful" and from pictures I've seen, it certainly lives up to it's claim.  One of the people involved is Lucy over at Attic 24 a wonderfully colourful, yarny blog which I always enjoy visiting.  Recently she posted about the Starflower Mandala made from a free pattern

found over at Zooty Owl's Blog.  It was perfect for a visual display she was organising for this year's Yarndale and a few other friendly bloggers offered to help her out by making one or two themselves.

I came across this event too late this year to be able to get myself up to North Yorkshire, as it is quite a trek from down here in South Devon! But, I have already put it in my diary for next year when I hope to rectify the situation. Anyway, I am telling you all this so you understand where the inspiration for my mandala came from!  I instantly fell in love with the colours and the size so decided I would make myself a bit of Yarndale!!

I have some gorgeous Planet Penny Cotton which is so easy to work with and comes in a range of cheerful, bright colours (Planet Penny - another wonderfully colourful, yarny blog!). There are about 18 rounds to the pattern so I chose just 9 colours, deciding to start with red through to blue and back to red again.

I made a start .... the first 4 rounds

Now up to round 9!

and I'm afraid that is as far as I have got!  So far it is about 10" wide from point to point.  I am aiming to work on this over the next few days but if I had taken time to finish it before I wrote this post I wouldn't have had time to write the post. To finish or to post? Catch 22 I think!!  I should be able to show you the finished article next week. Watch this space.

I would just like to share one more little snippet with you.  I have been thinking of doing a bit of dressmaking for a while now, but it's not easy making things to fit when you have a few lumps and bumps in the wrong places!  Anyway, I thought I would start with something simple and have chosen to make a sleeveless top.  First hurdle - to find a pattern.  I came across this one Sorbetto by Colette Patterns which is free to download.

It prints out onto about 20 sheets of A4 and comes with really easy instructions on how to print it out to the right size and easily matches up using those little black diamonds you can see in the picture below.  Here it is all pieced up and ready to go.

It was easy to work out which size to follow, once I had measured my lumps and bumps, and there were also finished measurements so you could chose the perfect fit.  I'm going to try making it first using calico so I have the opportunity to make final tweaks if necessary before tackling the real thing!
I'll keep you posted on how it turns out.

Off to finish my Mandala now, thanks for reading :)

African Flower Square Crochet Bag

Having had a break for a while I'm sort of playing catch up.  I was able to do a little crafting from time to time so am sharing a crochet bag I made for the summer.

I came across this lovely pattern and tutorial for an African Flower Square and immediately fell in love with it.

I'm sure there are lots of uses for this pattern but I decided I would make a bag for the summer.  I began searching for a bag pattern and came across an interesting page showing 'plans' for arranging squares to make granny square bags.

I chose this 13 square pattern and set about making my squares.   I used Sirdar dk cotton, which was very easy to work with.  I just love these colours although the pink, I already had in my stash.

All squares completed and blocked I set about stitching them together as the template above.  I used mattress stitch as this produces neat invisible seams.

Lining this bag presented a few problems as I wanted a bright pink inside but didn't want it to show through the little holes in the squares.  I solved it by double lining, using a cream on the inside and a pink on the outside of the inside - if you see what I mean!

I then needed to work out how to add the handles.  They needed to be long enough to wear over my shoulder and I didn't want them to be stretchy as crochet could be.  I solved this problem by crocheting over window sash cord and am pleased to say having used the bag regularly it has worked really well.

And here is the finished result .....

I've had some really lovely comments on this bag, even my youngest daughter who isn't a crochet fan thought it was pretty!!  Trouble is now, it has been so well used it needs a wash!!

I am looking forward to seeing what has been going on over at Handmade Monday, see you soon :)

Blogland Tour

I have been nominated by my daughter Clare to take part in the Blogland Tour.  A tour of some of the fun and creative blogs across the internet and what a wonderful way to start back after my break. She rather put me on the spot actually and gave me a kick up the proverbial backside!!!

If you haven't been over to Clare's blog yet you are definitely in for a treat.  Her work is stunning. Drawing, painting, doodles, crochet, stitching and most recently very intricate paper cuts like the one below.

She can turn her hand to anything and always produces an amazing result.  Of course I may be just a tinsy winsy bit biased!! So why not take a look for yourself and make up your own mind, you wont be disappointed.  I'll leave you with a coloured pencil drawing Clare did recently of Molly our cat, who is sadly no longer with us.

Ok! To take part in the Blogland Tour I have to answer four questions and then nominate a blog to take part, in order for the tour to continue,  So here goes with the questions first.

What am I working on?

At this moment in time I am creating Dorset Buttons.  From time to time I teach crochet and craft workshops and during October I have two coming up, one at a really gorgeous wool shop called Spin A Yarn in a nearby village.  Usually Dorset Buttons are created using fairly thin thread but this time I am using dk cotton on a larger ring to enable them to be used as brooches or shawl clips.  This is proving far trickier than I first thought!  Here are a few of the smaller ones I have created in the past. They measure about 1.5" diameter but the one I'm working on at the moment is nearer 2.5" and the ring is fatter.  Which I think is the cause of my problems!

Later this year I will post a tutorial on how to make Dorset Buttons and you should then be able to see the outcome of the larger ones.

I am also returning to my patchwork and quilting workshop this week (not teaching this one, just learning!) but here are a few of the blocks I worked on last time.

How does my work differ from others of my genre?

Hmmm? this is a difficult one!  I'm not very good at 'playing' with creations.  I like to learn a new skill and achieve a finished article all in one, so I produce something useful.  I think I'm more of a practical crafter than a creative crafter!

Why do I write/create what I do?

I love the challenge and how each piece presents its own dilema!

How does my writing/creative process work?

I think we are back to the challenge again here!  I see something I like and think "I could make that". Then I start working out how to achieve it. If I need to learn something new in the process, even better!  For instance, I used to make jewellery and fancied crocheting with wire.  I couldn't crochet so I learnt how to do it, now I'm hooked on crochet!

You can find out more about the little elephant in the picture by visiting a previous post Maisy the Elephant.

Moving on now to the blog I would like to nominate to take part in The Blogland Tour.

I have recently come across Itsamistry Design Studio.  I was browsing through the blogs on Handmade Monday when this cheerful picture of an elephant caught my eye.

I was instantly drawn to Itsamistry's use of colour and after having a wonderful nose around her blog realised this was a major part of her work.  Why don't you pop over and pay her a visit too - go on, you know you want to!

Well thank you all for reading my first post in a while! I hope you enjoy the blogs I have introduced you to.  It's lovely to be back and I'm really looking forward to taking part in Handmade Monday and catching up with what everyone has been up to.

My Cancer Interlude

Well, it has been a little while since I added to my blog I'm afraid so I thought a short explanation was in order.

Unfortunately I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer just before Christmas.  As you can imagine this diagnosis turned life upside down, so Fiddly Fingers has taken a bit of a back seat.

I have undergone, chemotherapy, surgery and radiotherapy since January and have just last week come out the other side!! I am now on the long road to recovery and hopefully a cancer free life. Fingers crossed!

This journey would have been near impossible without my wonderful support network of family and friends who have helped me immensely and given me tremendous support along the way.  Thank you to all of you.

Camera case in Crete!

I'll start with a 'thank you' to all who left a comment on I shall wear purple!  They were fascinating to read and I'm so glad you all liked her!  I'll keep you posted on her progress over the next few weeks.

Quite a heavy visual post this time as we have been on holiday to Crete so I thought I would share with you the creation I made whilst we were there and a few holiday snaps.

I chose 4 bright colours from my Planet Penny cottons as I decided I would make a case for my camera

 I wanted plenty of protection for the camera so I used bobble stitch to create a dense fabric.

You can see how bright and cheerful it looks here.

 Not quite finished yet though!  

I just need to add an edging around the flap and a fastening of some kind.

It took me until nearly the last day of our holiday to complete this, but unfortunately at the very end of the holiday ....... the camera broke!!!!

I'll just have to hope I can get it fixed or that the next camera fits the case!

Anyway, here are a few holiday snaps to give you a flavour of just a tiny bit of Crete.

See you over at Handmade Monday!

Have a good week everyone!

Bye!

x

I shall wear purple!

Hello everyone

I'll start with a huge thank you to everyone for the wonderful, helpful and supportive comments left on my previous post.  Unfortunately I didn't manage to comment individually this time but I did read them and found them all so friendly and considerate - thank you :)

Recently I have joined the South Devon Branch of the Embroiderers Guild.  It is a very friendly group of ladies, with a wealth of knowledge for many crafts not only embroidery.  I am really looking forward to attending some of the fantastic workshops they hold.

As I have done very little embroidery, I thought I ought to try out a few stitches and started to think about a project.  Have you ever heard the poem called 'Warning' by Jenny Joseph?  Maybe if you hear the first line it will jog your memory -

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple

With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.

Sound a little more familiar now?  If you would like to read the whole poem, just click on the link above.  

Well I love the idea of this, so have decided to use this poem as my theme.  I am making a doll and will dress her using the ideas in the poem and my own interpretation of how I think she may like to look!  I shall then use embroidery to decorate her clothing.

Here is what she looks like so far!

I chose to crochet her body as it is something I am familiar with.

I used chunky, soft, multi-coloured yarn for her hair, crocheting a cap the same as her head first then looping strands of yarn in layers.  I have not yet decided whether to trim the hair or leave it as it is!  As her character is a little off the wall, I think she may look fine like this :)  What do you think?

 I embroidered her eyes onto small white pieces of felt, using 3 or 4 different colours and black for the eye lashes and pupils.  I may add another black line below to define them a little more but I shall wait and see what she looks like when I have added the other facial features.  I then needle felted the whites of the eyes in place.

She looks a little naked don't you think?

I'm working on her underwear as we speak - watch this space!

Thank you for reading!  I hope you enjoy the poem; it makes me smile :)  Off over to Handmade Monday now and of course, must watch the Strictly results later!!! Enjoy :)