I heart counted cross stitch!

I must point out right from the start that I don’t actually DO any kind of cross stitch, I don’t even have much interest in starting (although that could easily change), I just seem to buy a lot of completed ones.

Whenever I see one in a charity shop or at a car boot sale I really have to stop myself from just buying it - I’ve started forcing myself to be critical and only buy the ones I really like because frankly I don’t have the wall space. I don’t know what it is about them, but I have a sneaking feeling it’s because they remind me of the games we played on our ZX Spectrum and Amiga 500 in the 80’s and 90’s. Especially the smaller ones.

The Perils of Rosella anyone? No? Really? Well I’ll show you:

You see? I think I must miss four pixels to the inch.

This is my most recent purchase and it’s a big one although it only cost £7. The subject appears to be The Spanish Village of Insane Perspective.

I’ve cropped in so you can just see the giant random black animal behind the teensy tiny blue and white lady under the arch. Also some of the crazy roofs. It’s amazing, I love it!

These two are modern but I couldn’t resist the Monarch of the Glen! I bought them both for £5 and they just need blocking and framing.

Finally, I found this lovely fire screen last week. It was marked down from £8 to £5 and I nearly bit her hand off for it. It makes more sense in real life, but it’s a picture of sailboats in a harbour.

Anyway, I think I’m probably a bit obsessed, but

I counted cross stitch!

Beccy xx

The Festival of Thrift

Last weekend we visited the Festival of Thrift, a brand new festival for this year, which celebrates all things thrifty, handmade, recycled and repurposed. It was free entry and luckily for us was held here in the North an hour away in Darlington at Lingfield Point, an old industrial site which itself has been repurposed into beautiful offices and studios. In fact part of it used to be Patons the yarn people.

The map has exactly the feel of the whole festival, a sort of 50’s/60’s kitschy pastel vintage vibe.

I don’t know why but it looks much smaller and less sunny than it actually was! This is the alternative village fete, which had hula hooping, a vintage hairdresser in a caravan, Oxfam vintage, a swop shop and loads of stalls selling handmade stuff and supplies.

There was also a DJ playing vinyl (you could choose from a selection of vintage greats!) and a dancefloor where they had hula-hoop dancing in the afternoon. There was also the Podium of Non-Judgementalism if you fancied a solo dance!

There were street performers roaming around – that chap at the top is wearing a suit made from growing cress and has persuaded that lady to wear a breakfast hat with real boiled egg, juice and soldier glasses. The blokes on the contraption above just travelled around squeakily. They were only wearing pants for most of the day but in the afternoon it got a bit chilly so they chose to accessorise with clear bin bags.

There were loads of food and drink stalls, this one had lots of yummy cordials.

Around the festival there were loads of jumble sale type stalls (fill a bag for a fiver!), vintage stalls, free crafts tables, cooking demos, even building with pallets! The whole feeling wasn’t preachy (recycle! If you don’t you’re killing the planet!!!) it was fun and relaxed – like a large group of people sharing ideas really.

Mum trying on a hat at the Oxfam vintage stall. She said, “if it was the 60’s, I would actually be wearing one of these!” I think she should anyway.

Sixty-three tickle me!

The huge posters and paintings on the walls are permanently at Lingfield Point where the festival was held.

As is the ‘Home’ house. I have no idea why it is the way it is but isn’t it great?

And finally not the best photo, but you can see the giant picture on the wall. It is a lamb being bottle fed in an office, and why not? I think I’d like to work at Lingfield Point, they have a sense of humour!

It was a great day out and we will definitely go next year. We maybe didn’t come back with as many thrifty ideas as we had hoped (although I saw some beehives, I want bees!) but to spend a relaxed day surrounded by like-minded people was wonderful.

Beccy

Mellow fruitfulness…

The summer seems to have produced exactly the right conditions for brambles, they’re everywhere and they are laden heavy with fruit.

And what’s the thing to do with masses of free soft fruit? Make jam! Lots and lots of jam!

Isn’t that an amazing colour? The recipe is really easy – 900g of blackberries and 900g of sugar boiled rapidly with 1 1/2tbs lemon juice until the jam thermometer reads 105degreesC. It’s really flexible too and can be adapted to other fruit. Recipe here on the BBC!

Yum jam! I’ve got half a freezer full of fruit just waiting to be made into jammy gifts!

Beccy

Steampunkish pirate part 2

I thought I’d start with a pic of the costume as it stands now and then follow with a series of ‘how it’s built’ pics. I wanted to avoid cogs and keys - I love it on other people, you know the ones who make an enormous effort and look amazing, but I can’t afford the level of detail involved and I think just chucking a few cogs on stuff can easily look rubbish. Anyway it’s a subtle steampunkery I’m going for but feel free to offer any advice!

Starting with the petticoat and ruffly shirt (both from charity shops) and the bustle…

Then on with the skirt – this is also a charity shop skirt which has large pleated gores. I just tacked sections up at regular intervals to give it that pouffy look. The skirt was too big so I put a large pleat in the back too. This helps to accommodate the bustle but I think it needs a bit of attention or maybe something extra, like a silky red something with tassels draped around?

And from the front, ok it needs ironing!

Then a crazy tight cinch belt. That’s pure elastic folks, with velcro at the back and corset-look pleather at the front. Did I mention it’s tight? I have a 29 inch waist normally but in this thing? More like 25!

And then an extra added belt – this was really long so I cut out a section, unpicked the stitching, and re-sewed it back together much smaller.

A couple of cheeky side and bustle shots – is the bustle too big do you think?

And last but not least - a corset back waistcoat, my previously mentioned hat, and a little bag for my phone and cash. The waistcoat is from ebay and the bag from a charity shop.

Because I had some of the things in my to-do pile and stash, the whole thing cost me no more that £30.

I also have a pair of stripy plus-fours I found on ebay because, if you remember, I HAVE TO ROW A BOAT IN THIS! Oh dear, I think I might have trouble but do you know what? I’m gonna try! It’s for charity!

Beccy

Making a bustle pad, a little tutorial…

If you’ve ever made a cushion, making a bustle pad is easy! I need one for my steampunkish pirate costume so making one was the way to go. I made it from calico, ribbon and some thick wadding I had in my stash so it was cheap and only took about half an hour.

First measure around the back part of you hips and transfer this measurement to your chosen fabric. Then draw out your bustle shape, notice the slight curve on the side that will touch the body. Cut out two of these.

Then cut out your wadding. I used four layers of thick polyester quilt wadding in the end but you might want a bigger or smaller bustle so you can experiment when you come to stuff it. These must be about an inch smaller than your calico all round.

Next take a length of ribbon that is long enough to tie around your waist but with long ends for adjustment. Pin this along the straight edge of one of the pieces of calico. The ribbon will be on the inside when the bustle pad is finished.

Sew the ribbon on and then pin the long ends of the ribbon to the other side of the piece of calico. It is important to pin the ribbon well away from the edges so that they don’t get caught when you stitch the two pieces together.

Now pin the other piece of calico face down. You must make sure that the ribbon ends are on the inside of the sandwich but that the ribbon sewn along the edge is on the outside at this stage.

Now sew all around the edge, leaving a couple of inches open so you can insert your wadding.

Turn the whole thing inside-out and check your ribbon hasn’t got caught in any stitching. Press flat and insert your wadding. Before you sew up the hole it’s a good idea to try it on to see if you have enough or too much stuffing!

I sewed an extra row one inch from the flat side to help it sit better.

And you’re all done! I’ve seen some with an extra, smaller pad above the larger one. I’ve also seen some so elaborate you’d be happy to wear them outside your clothes (well, almost)

Mine is not beautiful, but it will do the job!

Beccy

Little knitted bows

Last night I got bored with the jumper I’m knitting so I grabbed some 4ply scraps (I knew there was a reason I keep those oddments!) and made a couple of little bows. They are about 1 1/2 inches, so they really are little.

You probably don’t need a pattern (and this isn’t much of a pattern) but here’s how I made them.

Using 4ply, cast 8 stitches onto 2 1/4mm needles.

1: knit

2: purl

repeat 22 times

cast off leaving a long tail and knit another one, if you like.

The strips will curl but that’s good.

Sew them together at the ends so you have two little rings.

Make sure the rings are purl side out and wrap the tail around the middle of the strip and secure with a knot. You can now sew your little bows to anything – I made little hair clips but I thought dress clips in a spangly yarn might be cute. Or shoe clips, or sewn on a scarf, hat, little girl’s something?

You could crochet around the edge before you finish them for a bit of contrast. Using thicker wool and a lace pattern would be pretty awesome and would make bigger bows. If you go bigger it might be worth knitting a tiny strip to go around the middle though.

The world is your bow-shaped oyster!

Just one question – is 32 too old for teensy bow hairclips?

Beccy