Fabric Painting

I have finished up most of my WIP's and was rather bored this week.    Of course when I am bored I usually end up in the kitchen baking something.   I remembered that I had made recipe cards from all the recipes I received at my bridal shower (24 years ago).   Since I am a bit of a compulsive tidier I don't keep stuff around if I don't use it - so off to the storeroom in search of the recipe cards (hoping that I hadn't actually thrown them away ???)

A couple of  years back when the kids were little we discovered that the best way to store their keepsakes was in those big plastic crates with the click on lids.     I have since been using them to store the things I don't use but don't want to get rid of.

Yaaaay!    Found the crate with the recipe cards - and in it a couple of  smallish table cloths I had painted back in 1998 when I first started fabric painting - Oh my goodness!!     I had packed them away because they were my first attempts and  as my skills improved I was a bit embarrassed to use them.     Well looking at them now 15 years later I feel rather sentimental - so I decided to give them a wash and use them on the kitchen table:

First Attempt

Second Attempt

Sunflowers - quite a few attempts later

Corner Section View

A couple of attempts later and my technique had improved quite a bit!

Colourful Vegetables

Also found one I had done using one of my favourite poems "The Sea Gypsy" - I think I had planned to frame it at some stage and use it one of the children's bathrooms

The Sea Gypsey

 

Seashells

I don't have any of the items made after this - most of them were given as gifts or sold.    I fell out of love with fabric painting about five or six years ago and have only done a bit of odd painting here and there (mostly teaching projects) - don't know why actually because it was really something I loved doing - (adding this to my TO DO list along with all the old recipes)

First recipe I tried out again is the one for Pita Bread with some yummy fillings.........

Daisy Granny Square Afghan - Scrapbuster Project

As mentioned in my previous post I was inspired by the lovely daisy centres I found here
The daisies form the first two rounds of each square

Round Three:
Join in space between any petal.    3ch, 2dc, 1ch;   3dc, 1ch into each sp between petals - join with a ss
Round Four:
3ch 2dc into space between 3dc, 1ch;  *3tr, 2ch, 3tr (corner), 1ch into next space;  3dc. 1ch into next two spaces* 3 times;  3tr, 2ch, 3tr, 1 ch;   3dc join with ss into top of starting 3ch
Round Five:
3dc, 1ch into each sp;    3dc, 2ch, 3dc, 1ch into each corer, join with ss

Since I was using rescued yarn I made 64 Daisy Granny Squares in an assortment of colours. 

Colorful Daisy Granny Squares

1 row of granny clusters and a chain "joining" row in cream

The first set of joins

Four joined Daisy Grannies per block

I made sixteen of these, chain joining them on the last round of each completed square:.  I then crocheted two rows of granny clusters and 1 chain "joining" row around each block in denim blue

Second set of joins

Border of four rows of Granny Clusters in Denim

1 row of "blanket" edging in cream - final size 200cm x 200cm

 

I love it! 

Afghan Makeovers: Part 1

A bit embarrassed to see how long it is since I last posted.

This is not so much due to having nothing to post as it is to having been too busy.     Crazy year - I can't believe we are already a third of the way through May.

It is supposed to be late Autumn here and we have had a few coldish days - but it is mostly still lovely and sunny!

Doing a bit of Autumn cleaning  I came across two really ugly (even too ugly to donate) scrap afghans I made a few years back.  My elder daughter threw two of her "not too fantastic" projects into the mix and  I unpicked them, saving as much of the yarn as I could.    I also saved a lot of the squares from my daughter's one afghan and some of the prettier squares from one of my afghans.

Remade my squares into an afghan for my youngest's three quarter bed by crocheting around the rescued squares with two shades of grey from my stash.

Large Granny Squares

Squares crocheted together on wrong side with black yarn

Right side view of the join

This is the easiest way of joining squares - only problem is you are left with an obvious right and wrong side.

Granny Border

"Blanket Stitch" Edging

I finished with a couple of rows of granny clusters using a slightly smaller hook and edged it in black with a simple "blanket stitch".

While I was unpicking I was doing some blog hopping - found a lovely little daisy centre for a granny square on another blog and voila - inspiration for the rest of the recycled yarn!   Can't wait to get started.........

"Secret Admirer - Icons" Cards

Sunday already and I finally (almost) finished making the cards with my complimentary stash.

Not the style of toppers I would normally use - so I had to challenge my creativity a bit, but without further ado, here they are:

Off to tidy my craft room a little as it looks as if a train hit it - maybe I will first take a swim and ....

Cupcakes

Haven't got started on my new cards yet..

Cleaning up one of my memory cards last night I came across some photos of cupcake themed cards I had made ages ago:

This made me feel like cupcakes - so I baked a batch for our tea later this morning (yum wish it was ten already!)!

Now for a quick cuppa (I'm not going to have a cupcake with that) - and then to get started on those cards!

Diagonal Box Stitch Afghan: Blueberry Cheesecake

After the most horrid heatwave it finally rained (a lot!!) in Johannesburg - it was quite wonderful!   We decided to have a completely lazy weekend and do absolutely nothing (well absolutely nothing for me usually means finding something to keep my hands busy anyway!!)

My latest crochet obsession is the Diagonal Box Stitch.  I've been stewing on an idea for an afghan for a while and the rainy weather provided the perfect opportunity for me to get started (and finished) with this project.     Chose a bunch of blues whites and purples for my project (sort of reminded me of the Blueberry Cheesecake Swirl Ice Cream I just cannot get enough of!!)

I made four identical squares using the Diagonal Box Stitch and sewed them together for the center.   Then worked around them in single crochet.     Added an outer row of identical granny squares and finished with a border of single crochet, double crochet and then single crochet again.     Quite pleased with the result:

Nerve finally decided to "un-pinch" so I can actually sit comfortably again.    Time to get some papercrafting in!      Received an e-mail in December from Papercraft Essentials - they would feature an e-mail I had sent them (Christmas Cards made from a freebie in one of their previous issues)  on the letters page of Issue 89.    Received a lovely little gift in the mail from them.     So I have some inspiration to get me going ......   watch this space

African Flower Crochet Bag

This lovely African Flower Crochet Motif was posted on one of the Facebook pages I "like" - I just had to make it as soon as I got the pattern - did not have any idea what I was going to use it for at that stage!

Then the other morning after being lugged to the shops by my beloved (can't drive myself because of the damned pinched nerve #$%@) I quickly turned it into an African Flower Crochet Bag (between swimming and unpacking supplies and brunching and swimming ........ tough life I have!!)

I made two large squares with the African Flower as the centre.

Crocheted a gusset / strap in dc.     Joined the squares to the gusset with slip stitches.

Made a flap with a buttonhole (which I also joined with slip stitches).

This was one of those projects that could not wait - unfortunately there are no in-progress photos.    I also did not write down the pattern as I went.  The bag as it is here is unlined - I should probably line it ....... at some stage - but it doesn't look too bad for a first attempt!

Vintage Style Crochet Afghan

Now that the Holiday Season is well and truly over its time to get some work done!     Haven't been doing any papercraft or beadwork for a few weeks now - I have a pinched nerve which is causing me serious discomfort.     Have to sit with my legs on the same level as my hips otherwise I know all about it!!    Bit difficult to be doing any papercraft or beadwork that way - as I tend to move around quite a bit while making cards etc.

What to do????

Luckily I had cleaned out all my various craft stashes pre pinched nerve - so everything was nice and organised.     The only thing I could really do with having to sit quite still (something I manage with extreme difficulty) was to knit and crochet!

Made a vintage style crochet afghan for our Caravan!

Saw the idea for a vintage style throw on the cover of  one of those learn to crochet magazines - didn't have a pattern or anything with this one.   Just started out by making a bunch of random granny squares and then filling it out from there.

I tried to use colours I wouldn't normally use / mix together.   Think it is quite a happy looking afghan (and it is super snuggly)