It’s Been A Year

 

Well that has been a long year, 

What happened, 

Well if you follow my main blog, face book you tube you will know I had some serious health issues, crafting was very difficult and there was just not the energy to do much along with just day to day stuff that needed doing.

Anyway I have now had an operation and getting back to normal, crafting is now becoming part of my day again.

At the moment I am playing around with weaving up scraps bit of yarn, along with some of my early first attempts of spinning,

 A bit of scrap weaving

A short video showing some of the weaving I have been doing in the evening

I am now starting to get back into doing some craft workshops in the cabin we did an applique draught excluder the other week.

I am not back to doing craft chairs and don’t know if I will return to them, but we have during this past year built and opened a little farm shop here on our smallholding and I have lots of craft bits in there for sale also while I was unwell I did set up a web site and started listing items on there. 

My Website

So that’s a rough update of we’re and what Ihave been doing the past year.

We’re have I been

 Well not doing a lot of crafting although I have been itching to get going, unfortunately my health has reared an ugly problem and it has made crafting difficult, but Christmas looming I had been getting bits done. 

I am just finishing off my last gift.

I did start up doing workshops but unfortunately I then had to cancel everything, the same with doing crafting videos 

But I have plans afoot for getting going again in the new year, 

My Facebook craft group

I will be doing 52 weeks of crafts on my Facebook group were I will be posting a video every week showing a different craft. Please pop along and join. 

As I am awaiting surgery I can’t really arrange workshops at the moment, it’s all very annoying but nothing I can do about it. 

So keep crafting and looking forward to crafting with you in 2022. 

Lots of Crafty Developments

 Sometimes I feel like a little chubby hamster on a wheel chasing my own tail, I am sure hamsters have a little tail, but there is no chance of catching up with it.

I have made some major changes in the craft department, firstly after many request from local people I know I decided to start up doing workshops again, it’s been 7 years since I left all that behind in the shop and it’s been a bit of a baptism by fire, I forgot how much prep is involved and how mentally tiring they can be, but now getting back into the swing of it, 3 under my belt I am enjoying it.

We kicked off with Fabric Feathers 

Followed by a cushion that included hand stitching and Applique

Then we went on to Southern Start pin cushion which involved fabric folding and patch work

But of course a workshop space had to be created, working under COVID guidelines I only had space for 4 people, that’s fine I am happy to work with small groups, , but to get a working space created meant a lot of preparation, while we were having the hottest of hot heat waves.

I have taken over the small bedroom in the house, and a lot of my personal  sewing stuff has been moved there and a new sewing room has been set up,

A lot of sorting and clearing destashing from the cabin has taken place to make room for a workshop table and sewing machines

My long arm quilting machine has been relocated in the sewing in the house. 

It has been a lot of work and there is still more to do, but there is a workshop space, I still have lots of the equipment and tools from doing workshops before and have lots of stick and materials to hand that has made the task a bit easier, I have also set up a social media group for the craft side of things and started doing live videos on there making small projects, as well as doing a large sew along quilt project.

Last night was the first sew along for the quilt, it was a free pattern to down load and I am doing live videos coving the various methods used in constructing the quilt.

Last week was the first live small project, making fabric pumpkins, I have to say these videos and workshops are not the polished professional ones you see out there, they are crafting on the hoof on a real working smallholding, with chickens and cockerels wandering around, dogs in and out and me sat in front of the camera perhaps having just come from trimming goats feet or soaking wet having just finished feed rounds in the rain, they are real life warts and all no editing , here is a link to the Facebook group if you want to have a look at what goes on 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/356617119426793/

Oh and this is what happens when you try to work when animals are around

As well as all of that I am still getting new products in my shop, 

My Little Online Store

Knitting Machine is out again.

 I have had my old Toyota machine out again, playing around with punch cards

I have been making up hats using the cards that I punched out to try out the designs.

Here is a short speeded up video of the knitting machine been set up.

That’s all for today folks.

Take care.

Last Christmas or the one before

 Last Christmas no it was Christmas 2018 on my list was a small laser engraver I wanted one just to play around with, I did play with it a few times with mixed results.

Recently I have got it out again, often when I return to things after a break I get better results

I can load an image up on the computer software

Then send it to the engraver 

I can only do 4x4 area but that is great for what I want to do

I am pleased with the Results and the detail 

I have done lots of the vegan leather key fobs, at some point they will be added to my shop

I have also been experimenting on the log slices 

I have a few other Wooden things I am going to play with next.

Anyone else got a laser engraver?

Playing with Resin

 I have been having great fun playing with Resin, it’s a messy craft and not an economical craft.

The resin is mixed in two parts and has to be left for a few days to cure.

There are hundreds of molds out there.

This layered pyramid lamp has been my biggest piece to date, it took over a week to make as you have to wait for each layer to cure 

before you can Work on the next one. 

It has been fun, and the demolding at the end is exciting as it’s the first time you see your pieces.

I love setting the dandelion clocks in the spheres , 

Theses came about through my grandson wanting one as gear knob in his van. 

The little snails I adore, some of the shells have individual dandelion wishes set deep inside them 

The reindeer jewellery tidy I love too.

I have made so many little bits and pieces, some will go as gifts.

It has been great playing around with a new craft.

Just a selection of some of the resin things I have done .

Is there a new craft you have tried during this strange year, I would love to know.

If you have a craft blog please let me know in comments I would love some new ones to add to my side bar. 

Finally a couple of you have asked about my online shop it’s here, please pop along have a look, let me know what you think. 

Homespun Creations Shop

Yes Still Crafting but Changing

I may have disappeared but I have been crafting my little fingers to the bone, there has been a lot of family and smallholding stuff going on, pop over to my other blog if you want updating on all that.

New additions arrived in the family a few weeks ago 11 weeks early so little dresses hats and quilts have been made 

I have also been getting to grip with something else, a couple of years ago I bought a long arm quilting frame and machine from a fellow blogger, try as I might I couldn’t get results I was happy with following the pantographs, well just before lockdown I have a lovely PPI payout, I was mulling over the idea of upgrading the quilting system to make it user friendly.

Then we went into lockdown, all the craft fairs were cancelled, I had boxes of stock all made so didn’t need to make more, 

so I thought ideal opportunity to work on the quilting white elephant that was taking up a lot of room in my cabin.

I invested my payout in a computerised robotic system to work on the long arm.

I have been spending my time during learning the software and how to top quilt on the long arm

This the front and back of one of the quilts I have done,

I have now top quilted two quilts and about to start my third, I have another two in the box to do, I am loving quilting again, it has been a bit of a learning curve and I do hope that by the end of the year I can offer a top quilting service.

If this works out then I can vastly reduce the amount of craft I do, which do take a lot of preparation and very exhausting at times. 

Any craft fairs I go back to doing my stock will greatly change as well including more of what is produced here on the small holding something I have been striving to achieve. 

More on that in my next post.