knitting and sewing

I’ve managed to vary crafting ever so slightly. I threaded up my sewing machine last week, complete with special “stretch fabric” needle, and ran up a few more easy trousers for Little Miss Tattoo. She’s 2 and a half years old now, but ever so tall for her age.

These were made using the very last piece of a gorgeous stretch fabric I’d bought several years ago.

And I’ve cast on to knit myself a new sweater.

Following a GarnStudio pattern.  But not using the recommended Drops yarn.  I very rarely ever use the recommended yarn. For this project, (free pattern on the GarnStudio site – called Deep Sea Diamond), I’m using an acrylic Alison & Mae yarn from my stash.

Oh and I’m having daily fun teaching myself to play the ukulele.

I showed you the ukulele I had treated myself too. It’s by the brand “Flight” a concert size (23″ long) and is one of their travel range, which means it’s not 100% wood, but has many abs plastic parts, including the back. It’s a lovely size to learn on.  I’m getting quite good with chord changing, and can play a couple of tunes. “Yellow” by Coldplay is one. “The Sound of Silence” by Simon & Garfunkel is another.  And “You’re so Vain” by Carly Simon.  I’m currently learning to play “All I have to do is dream” by the Everly Brothers.

Couldn’t resist adding to my ukulele collection, and bought a cheap soprano sized ukulele (21″) on @m@zon.

It’s ever so dinky ^^ Only cost 27€ and the gig bag alone is probably worth 10€. The sound is no where near as good as my “Flight” ukulele, but  I wasn’t expecting it to be. It’s still fun to play, and stays in tune.  I seem to have begun a ukulele collection!

 

SAL “Girl with a lion” # 1 new start

Last time I had a happy dance, with a design by Hanna Levchuk, which I’d finished and framed.

For my next project, I printed out another of her designs that I bought on etsy, and have made a start.

Should be a lot quicker to stitch since it’s not a full coverage like the last one. But this SAL isn’t about how fast we stitch. It’s about enjoying what we’re working on, and simply seeing projects grow with every update.

Linking with other members of the group.

Avis, Claire, Kathy, Margaret,  

Sunny, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, Cathie, 

Linda, MaryMargaret, Cindy, Helen

making progress

Progress is being made here on several fronts. I’m making headway in the garden/orchard, not quite on top of all the long grasses, but I’m getting there slowly.  Cleared a few more things from shelves and cupboards indoors. Admin and financial matters are more less sorted. Pension people have finally begun paying my widow’s pension.   I’m settling more into a routine, and have been able to turn my mind to other things.

Knitting is one. Way back in July, I’d begun a sweater for myself, to use up some leftover yarn.  The back looked like this.

I had to faff around a little, to get the sleeves looking more or less identical, and am pleased to say the sweater is finished.

It’s never going to be my favourite sweater because I’m not terribly keen on the colour combination. But it’s finished, and will be another sweater to keep me warm this winter.

Early September, I was inundated with vine peaches.

from two trees that self-planted in the veggie/hen garden several years ago. This year they’ve grown so big, and they were laden with fruit. All neighbours were encouraged to go and help themselves.  I harvested a good haul, and stored what I could in crates, in the fridge.  I eventually got around to making some jam.

only part of the production here.  One of the trees has yellow flesh peaches. The other is red. I made one batch of jam with a mixture of both yellow & red . . . and another batch with just the red. Two jam-making sessions resulted in 14 jars of jam. Six already given to neighbours and family. The rest are in the larder.

SAL “Girl on Pier” #10 (happy dance)

Having a happy dance today!

Three weeks ago

this is where I was.  I realised there wasn’t a huge amount of stitching left to do, although there were lots of colour changes, so I made a final push to get this design finished.

finished and framed.

For info, the design is by Hanna Levchuk, a Ukranian designer who has a shop on etsy: My Brave Stitch.  I love her work. She also posts on Instagram, and is one of the rare designers out there who actually takes the time to stitch her own designs!

Linking up with fellow stitchers, for our 3-weekly SAL updates.

Avis, Claire, Christina, Kathy, Margaret,

Sunny, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, Cathie,

Linda, MaryMargaret, Cindy, Helen

I’ll be choosing a new design for next time . . . maybe a kit from the stash, or, maybe a different design by Hanna.  Ooooh the suspense!

 

one day at a time

I’m continuing to tackle things one day at a time. Some days are good days and I feel I’m making progress. Other days are not so good, and I feel completely overwhelmed.  Four and a half months on, and I still haven’t been able to obtain a certain document, required by the insurance company in order for them to pay out the premium they owe. The husband’s pension people sent me word that they’ve processed my application for widow’s pension . . . but I’m still waiting for those monthly payments to kick in. All I can say is: I’m lucky I have savings in the bank to tide me over.

Anyway . . . not much crafting happening here. I have started picking up my knitting in the evenings, but don’t have a photo to share for now. Photos I can share . . .

my puzzle helper

Ducky has been helping me do a puzzle . . . I know, leave an empty box/tray lying around and cats just have to see if they can fit inside! Luckily, he soon grew bored and let me get on with my puzzle.

500 piece

Only a 500 piece one, but I found it quite tricky to do. Probably because only part of the picture is on the box, but also because some of the pieces were very similar in colour and shape.

home grown peaches

I’ve been busy in the kitchen. There are 2 very healthy peach trees that self-planted in the veggie/hen garden several years ago. In French, we call them “pèche de vigne” because the peaches are ready to harvest at the same time as the grape harvest (vignes). There were dozens of kilos . . . I told all the neighbours to help themselves because I don’t know what to do with them all. I’m not in the right frame of mind to be making preserves this year.  I’ve put about 6 kg in the fridge, just putting a few in the fruit bowl to ripen up and eat when I fancy. Also cooked up a very large batch to make peach purée, which I’ve frozen in 400g tubs.

I’ve also been sorting the dvd cupboard, and the bookshelves.   Some items have been boxed up and sold and with (some of) the proceeds of those sales,  I treated myself to a ukulele!

concert size ukulele

I had got the electronic keyboard all set up in October of last year, to teach myself to play the keyboard. That started off quite well, but fell by the wayside because I wasn’t practicing regularly. Probably because I’d set the keyboard up in the bedroom and in recent months I’ve been spending most of my time downstairs.  The ukulele is very portable, and I keep it in the veranda where it’s handy to pick up several times a day.  It’s also a lot easier to learn to play a few simple chords on a ukulele than on a keyboard, especially since I learned to play the guitar when I was a child.  Anyway, I spent quite a few weeks watching videos and researching different instruments before I went ahead and bought.  This one is made by Flight, and it’s a concert size (23″ in length as opposed to the soprano which is 21″).

 

 

 

 

 

SAL “girl on pier” #9

I haven’t been crafting much. But what little time I have spent crafting, it’s been xstitching on my SAL project.  Three weeks ago, it looked like this.

I’ve added two different blues.

I reckon, I should be able to aim for a happy dance for next time.

Here’s the list of other SAL members.

Avis, Claire, Christina, Kathy, Margaret,  

Sunny, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, Cathie, 

Linda, MaryMargaret, Cindy, Helen

Everyone working on different projects, but it’s lovely to see the variety.

SAL “Girl on Pier” #8

last time

It’s slow going with crafting at the moment. I’m still spending many hours per day sorting & clearing out indoors, or outside, trying to get on top of long grasses in the veggie patch and orchard. I do also take time out for a smidgen of socialising too. Quality time with the Tattoo family at weekends, and coffee with some of my close neighbours. Whereas I used to relax and craft for several hours every evening, I’m finding that, come evening, all I have the energy to do is watch a DVD then head for bed.

Anyway, there has been some progress.

Let’s do some blog hopping and see what other SAL members have been up to.

Avis, Claire, Christina, Kathy, Margaret,

Sunny, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, Cathie,

Linda, MaryMargaret, Cindy, Helen

 

back to the 1980s

While Mr Viking was here, we spent a couple of hours in the attic getting dirty, bringing some boxes downstairs to sort. Mr Viking mainly saw to boxes that contained his belongings, while I uncovered a few treasures of my own. Which included several boxes of vinyl records, both 33s and 45s.

It just so happens that the husband and I had also kept the old record player. And Mr Viking kindly offered to set it up for me.  I learned, with astonishment, that vinyl records and players have made a come back . . . so how “trendy” am I, eh?  With my genuine, vintage record player and LPs.

Mr Viking couldn’t get the entire “surround” set of  5 speakers to work, with woofers and tweeters, so I’ve only got stereo sound, but that’s perfectly fine for my needs.

I’ll be able to do a bit of disco dancing in the living room, which is very empty since the old 2-seat sofa has gone to the local tip. Or simply have a sing-along to old favourites while I’m doing puzzles in the veranda. Speaking of which . . . haven’t had time to do any puzzles of late, but I have bought a few more for the collection.

Local discount store, NOZ, had a fresh delivery. 1000 pieces puzzles for 5.99€.

And 500 piece puzzles for only 4.99€.

How could I resist? Well, I couldn’t lol.

 

while Mr Viking was here

While Mr Viking was here earlier in the month . . . Tali was thrilled to bits to have a man about the house. I hadn’t realised quite how much she was missing the husband.  She loved having Mr Viking here though, and although she didn’t actually take up juggling, she was very naughty and stole some nectarines from the fruit bowl in the kitchen.

Mr Viking had just been showing me how to use chatgpt, so I wrote a quick prompt and hey presto!

We also spent some time out in the garden, after some retail therapy in the local gardening/DIY shop, and purchase of a battery operated lawn mower.  I have the petrol mower the husband used, but it’s very heavy and I’m going to need something easier to push around if I’m to keep on top of the gardening.

Garden was in dire need of some TLC so I mowed, while Mr Viking strimmed. End result looks very patchy and brown, because the grass is parched . . . but it’s the best we could do in July temperatures.

 

(rusty table needs sanding & painting)

new chairs

I also bought some new chairs.  I’m going to keep the old iron table, which will need sanding and a coat of paint, but I’ve bought some new chairs to replace the old iron ones (which are very uncomfortable).  New chairs are folding, and with canvas fabric on a metal frame. I bought two yellow, two red, and two in petrol blue which, I think, look rather nice with my orange parasol.

 

 

SAL “Girl on Pier” #7

last time

Progress is very slow because I literally haven’t had time for any crafting lately. After a visit from my sister, end of June, I had a couple of days in which to get bedding washed and back on the bed in the guest room and do some more food shopping, in time for the arrival of second son, aka Mr Viking. He flew out on his own, for a signing that needed doing at the solicitor’s, and to spend a couple of days helping me with some sorting and other jobs.

this time

I’ll do another post in a few days time with photos of some of the things we got up to. In the meantime, I’m linking with fellow SAL members.

Avis, Claire, Christina, Kathy, Margaret,

Sunny, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, Cathie,

Linda, MaryMargaret, Cindy, Helen