Tag Archives: pumpkin

Playing with fabric and paper

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Playing with fabric and paper

I’ve been watching quite a few YouTube videos this week from various channels and getting so inspired. I just had to try journal-making using some of the ideas that I learned.

I made a small journal with a denim cover and a fabric inner, and added pages using a variety of different kinds of paper that I had lying around the house. I used cast-off half zippers, buttons, fabric, greetings cards and envelopes to embellish the pages. As this was my first attempt, I didn’t go overboard, but I want to make more of these with a better plan in place.

I managed to fit this project in today between the stages of making our Thanksgiving dinner. Yes, it’s late. I was working all weekend and decided that today would do. Out of five of us, only one was working, so it was the most convenient.

This morning, I made the vegan double-layered pumpkin cheesecake (from fatfreevegan), cut up the root vegetables and sprouts, and prepped the stuffing and chestnut lentil loaf. I then had some time to spare to go and play in my sewing room. Later on, I baked the food, made salad and gravy, and we stuffed our faces!

Mr Fixit was busy outside while I was cooking. He was patching the driveway and unblocking gutters! We went for a walk after dinner, which was much needed, despite the wind and rain.

You may have noticed a new FO on the dinner table – a pumpkin crocheted with the other skein of Berroco Espresso that I had in the stash. It’s a medium-sized one, and nice and squishy.

I hope you are enjoying some temperate weather, whether it is spring or fall where you are. We went to Costco yesterday and they had cosy warm coats with faux fur-lined hoods and micro fleece-lined pants/trousers. Yes, I did buy both! Once I tried that coat on, I just had to have one. I feel like whatever the weather throws at me this winter, I will be toasty!

WIPs and waiting…

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WIPs and waiting…

Waiting for the electrician and plumber to arrive, who should have been here at 8 and it’s now 9.30am. Hopeless! The reason we need the team is that all three of our bathrooms are having extractor fans installed. Our tiny en suite (toilet and sink only) has a pathetic fan that’s never worked well. The two full bathrooms (one up, one down) have never had them. Now that we have new windows and doors and the house is better insulated and less draughty we have to make sure we don’t have a mould problem. (It started to manifest early this year after we had the work done – in January! Yes, the house was freezing for a bit.)

Tai Chi Man hung around an hour longer than usual this morning, but when we got the call that they would be late, he left for work and gave me instructions on what to tell the guys.

Anyway, last night was fun. I’ve started to host a Monday night ‘Hygge’ gathering, for friends to come and have tea and maybe crochet or knit or just chat. The first two, it was just me and one friend. Then last night there were four of us and we had such a laugh (and scads of Yorkshire Tea because three of us are Brits and the fourth is an honorary one)! It may or may not have been the tea that caused my wakefulness between 4 and 5am.

So my WIP is still Spill. I work on this when I can concentrate, as right side rows do require a bit of counting, but it’s an easy pattern and I love the way the colours look with the short rows. I’m almost at the end of the cake of Lion Brand Mandala and it’s 12 inches deep at the centre. Maybe not quite big enough to quit at the end of the cake, so I will go stash-diving later for something that works with it so I can keep going.

And I have a tiny FO that I started last night and just finished off.

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This is a bit of Stylecraft Special Aran. I just made a rectangle, starting with 20 chains, worked sc in the back loop only every row for 25 rows. Sew up the side seam, gather up one end, stuff it, gather up the other end, and then take the tails through the centre a couple of times to flatten it out and make it pumpkin-shaped. Add a little green stalk – 4 chain, work 3 sc into the chain, finish off and use the tails to sew it in.

This would be fun to make in different sizes. I may experiment with ever smaller starting chains.

Looks like I will have plenty of crochet time this morning. Have a great day!