T is for .... Trying

If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again ..........................or so the saying goes.

Well, after unravelling my bunting once I got home from the knitting and stitching show, I decided to try and make it again, sans errors.  Originally, I hadn't put the holes in to pass the ribbon through, which you did by knitting two together and taking the yarn over, a knitting skill I've never tried before.

So, armed with my bamboo needles, ball of wool, the pattern and a recorded programme about hoarding on the TV, I gave it another try.  Initially, I got it wrong again, by managing to somehow pick up an extra stitch where I shouldn't and therefore filling in one of the holes, but on my second attempt it worked, much to my delight.

I continued on with the bunting flag until I realised that I hadn't put the rubbish out ready for collection in the morning (it was 11pm by now), so had to rush around the house emptying bins and bagging up recycling before heading to bed.

So, here's a picture of where I'm at with it at the moment.  It's not perfect, but it's taking shape slowly and I'm happy with it. 

Here's a close up of the holes.

 

Determination + effort (trying) = success (or moderate success).

 

Joining in with Mum from Mum's Simply Living blog posting using the Backwards Alphabet

A Day Out At The Spring Knitting And Stitching Show

Today, I had a lovely day out at the Spring Knitting and Stitching Show at Olympia in Kensington.  I'd never been to Olympia before, so I had to plan my journey, which actually wasn't too complicated, as I could catch a train from near where I live.

I arrived at around 11am and joined the long queue to get in which moved very quickly and then there I was in amongst all those lovely, lovely stalls selling anything and everything you could possibly think of relating to knitting, stitching and lots of other crafts too.

The first stall I went to was just full of lots of lovely accessories and other bits and pieces, so it was difficult not to indulge in some new fangled pom pom makers that I'd seen Kirstie Alsopp use on one of her craft programs on TV and which looked so simple to use. 

I have a massive stash of acryllic double knit that I need to use up, so I thought I might use it to make some pom pom bunting.  They were very reasonably priced on this stall too, as I've seen them elsewhere for a lot more money.  I also got some lovely ribbon to label my hand knitted projects

and a lovely inexpensive ring casing, which I bought so that Little Bird could make me a dress ring with her polymer clay.  (She was quite thrilled at the prospect).

I had a good look around all the stalls.  There were some beautiful fabrics on sale at very reasonable prices, but to be honest it was just so busy that it was hard to get to the front of some stalls to get served, so I didn't really indulge in much fabric buying.  I did buy a couple of lovely grey spotted fat quarters, for a possible future patchwork project, but that was all.

This visit, I made a point of sitting down to watch one of the demonstrations on the stage.  It was a lovely project for a paper cut style felt cushion/pin cushion, which I enjoyed.  Then, after stopping off for a sandwich and a cup of tea, I joined in one of the free workshops to learn to knit bunting.  It was great.  You were taught how to knit and then decrease down to the point to make the triangular shape of the bunting flags, so I learnt some new knitting skills that I'd never practiced before.  You were also kindly given your bamboo needles, ball of wool and simple how to knit instructions to take home, which were really useful for future reference.  I didn't manage to finish my bunting triangle in the time allocated, as it was only half an hour, and have since unravelled it, as I had made a mistake early on, so I'm going to try to do it again at home and make a better job of it.  You can get the gist from this picture on the pattern.

I met a very nice lady in the workshop, who also gave me another pattern, to knit a very simple ruffled scarf.  I later purchased an appropriate ball of wool and I'm going to try do follow it at some point in the near future, so expect a post on the subject!

After stumbling out of one knitting workshop, I came upon another gathering of knitters and asked what they were doing.  They were knitting links for a chain of knitting, to decorate the knitting tent at a forthcoming music festival called the Wilderness festival.  I couldn't resist joining in, as it was only six stitches wide and however long required to make a link.  There was some gorgeous ultra chunky mohair and big 15mm needles, so I plumped for these and knitted this alternating between rows of garter stitch and purl stitch.  (I've not used purl stitch for years, so I was pleased to try it again.)

I loved working with this type of wool and would love to knit an ultra chunky blanket if I can ever find/afford some, or I may even knit some strips of fabric together into a blanket, cushion panel or rug.  I purchased these 15mm fixed circular needles for just this purpose. 

Whilst knitting the link, I managed to find out how to knit moss stitch, which I've seen and really like the effect of, but didn't know how to knit, so that should be useful for me to practice in future.

As you can probably tell, I found lots of inspiration at this show, from the stalls and the people I met and interacted with.  It's just amazing what you can learn from other people and I'm now seriously thinking of taking some kind of knitting course to further improve my skills. 

Elsewhere at the show, I loved this use of fabric on an umbrella frame, decorating a stall selling fabric. 

I also got inspired by lots of other ways to use narrow strips of fabric, either by sewing them together or knitting or weaving them into practical, usable items.   Imagine recycling clothing in this way, how zero waste would that be.

There was an exhibition of fashion by schools and colleges and a patchwork exhibition too, to wander around, plus other workshops you could pay to enter and other free demonstrations and workshops to watch or take part in.  Plenty for everyone to see and do.  If you like knitting and sewing, this is a super show to attend.  Just be prepared for the crowds and to part with some money, as there are so many tempting things on sale.

Tuesday at Home and A Change in My Exercise Routine

This post is a little bit rambling, but then life is a bit like that sometimes, so here goes.  Yesterday, I spent most of the day at home doing various bits and pieces.  I say most, but I did take the dog for a long 2 hour walk in the morning, on which I managed to squeeze in a few tasks such as returning some out of date drugs to the pharmacy, to be disposed of safely and popping into the doctor's with a prescription.  It felt good to get home knowing I'd crossed two things off my to do list for the week already.

Once home, I settled into spending the day pottering around the house.  OH had gone out in the car, so I couldn't do some bits I needed to do, that necessitated my having the car.  I did, however, manage to finally expose the bottom of the washing basket, which I haven't done for a good few weeks now and I'm definitely getting there with the ironing.  I waded through  a massive pile of shredding that has been building up under the sink, another tick off the list, and also did a bit of outstanding work before settling down to soup for lunch.

In the afternoon, I almost finished replacing the broken zip on a jacket of mine.  I bought the zip when we were in the Yorkshire Dales and hadn't measured the length of the original.  It was a bit long, which I had feared, but luckily with a bit of unpicking of seams, pinning and tacking into place, I managed to fit it okay, without it looking too much of a dog's dinner.   I need this jacket now the weather is getting better, as it is quite light for wearing in the spring, so it was vital I got a move on with it.  I now just need to sew it in place on the machine.  Fingers crossed.  I was pretty happy with the result of my work so far and if it extends the life of it, I will be even more happy.

(Talking of extending the life of things, I took delivery of my welly glue the other day and mended a couple of tears in a pair of wellies.  It seems to have worked okay, but I haven't road tested them by going through a puddle or anything yet.  At a cost of only a few pounds, it was well worth it to have hopefully extended their life too.)

Later, I prepared a beef stew for dinner and cooked up some meat for the dog.  When OH finally came in, it was decided that I would take Little Bird to her swimming lesson in the evening (usually he does the honours and goes for a swim himself), so I found myself venturing out once again.  I must admit I wasn't really in the mood, but someone needed to go and OH was far too busy. 

To pass the time whilst the lesson was taking place, I popped into Primark nearby (always a big mistake) and came out with a pair of trousers and a couple of storage bags for myself  and a few things for Little Bird to be put away for Christmas.  I know it's incredibly early, but I do like to shop over the course of the year to spread the cost of Christmas and  these were things that would be fine for next year.  It's been my first real indulgence this month and wasn't actually a huge one, so I don't feel too bad about it.  To be perfectly honest, I just haven't really been in the mood to spend much money at all so far this month, which has been a really good thing.  It means that I will have a bit of spending money for when I go to the Knitting and Stitching Show later this week.  Perhaps it will all change from here on in.  Let's hope not.

Today, I'm trying out a new Zumba class at a different leisure centre, as I couldn't get into my normal aerobics class on account of it being fully booked up.  This is getting to be a much more common occurrence lately, as it's getting very busy down at the gym.  It doesn't help that I can't seem to book online, so have to rely on booking in person or over the phone (when it is eventually answered).  It can be a bit frustrating, but there's not a lot I can do about it.   Fortunately, I have a membership that covers my use of a large number of leisure centres all over London, so I've started to look at classes in other centres as an alternative and to add a bit more variety to my week. 

I'm looking forward to trying a new class.   It's good to mix things up from time to time and I've been attending the same classes week in week out for a long time now.  I'm also trying a new class on Saturday morning, which I've been meaning to try for a couple of months.  Sometimes, I just need a good kick up the back side to get around to doing these things, and not getting into some of my usual classes gave me just that.  I'll let you know how I get on.

Waste Not Want Not and a Baking Drawer De-clutter

Sunday morning I found myself melting chocolate and making crispy buns. 

As a consequence of buying a different brand of cereal for Little Bird, which she didn't like, there was almost a full box languishing in the cupboard not being used.  As I don't eat cereal very often, preferring muffins, crumpets or potato cakes for breakfast, and OH prefers Bran Flakes and Fruit and Fibre (healthy man), and as I don't like to waste food, I decided to use said cereal and make some chocolaty treats.  Not very imaginative I know, but they were super easy and I haven't made them in a while.  (I do sometimes make these at Easter using Shredded Wheat (more nest-like) and top them with chicks and eggs.)

Using half the cereal and half the chocolate I'd bought, I made lots of crunchy treats to see us through the week.

That's one way to get it eaten!  There's also plenty left to make some more next week, when hopefully I'll be left with more space in the cupboard, without having unnecessarily wasted any food. 

Whilst on the subject of baking, not really an area of expertise for me, I thought I'd share a great little idea with you for storing bun cases, that I saw on Pinterest.  They are kept very neat and tidy in a jam jar.  Here's a picture of mine.  It keeps them in one place, saves them spilling all over the baking drawer and you can clearly see what you've got, which saves buying more when you really don't need them.

 

All this talk of baking gave me the sudden urge to de-clutter the baking drawer, in the hope of inspiring me to bake more.  Here is what it looked like before I started.

 

 

 

Quite tidy underneath, but lots of things randomly thrown back in on the top.  It's a lovely deep drawer which is really useful, but I find I can never keep it tidy for long as there's far too much in it.  (Probably, because a lot of it never gets used)  There's duplicate bags of flour and boxes of icing sugar, some items I've never used and are not likely to, plus those few things that I need quite regularly, but still have to root around to find which is quite annoying.  If it gets too untidy, things fall out of the back of the drawer and stop me closing it.  It's a fine line.

 

I decided that I needed to be a bit ruthless.  I'd tidied it a while ago and got rid of quite a few things, but there was still more that could go.  As you can see from the next photograph I earn my name around here as Mrs Receptacle as I often like to put things inside of things inside of things.  If you know what I mean.  It does work though to keep things in order, but is probably a side of my personality that OH finds most scary.

 

 

Eventually with a bit of effort, the drawer was in a lot better order.  Still a bit cluttered, but I know that most of the things I use regularly are within easy reach and don't require my delving into the depths.  Maybe when I get around to using up some of the duplicates, or just using some of the things in here full stop, there will be a bit more room.  I live in hope.  Here's the finished result anyway.

 

 

Continuing with my kitchen de-cluttering, with the aim of making it a clutter free zone.

One Lovely Spring Saturday

Saturday here was a lovely day.  A bit of sunshine and a bit of a breeze.  I had loaded up the washing machine with a few weeks worth of dirty towels, with the intention of drying them at the launderette. Instead, I decided to set up the retractable washing line.  First time I've used it this year.  Quite exciting really, which I know is very sad, but it did save me £3 that I would otherwise have spent at the launderette. 

Little Bird was out on her trampoline for the first time this year.  The dog was enjoying sitting out on the decking. 

It was good to see.  Seems like spring has really sprung.  (Please excuse the pun).

Later in the day I decided to get out into the garden and get my greenhouse set up again.  It had been blown around the garden during the bad weather so we took the plastic cover off it and left the frame alone outside.  Now the weather has calmed down a lot it was time to get it up again and OH did the honours of tying it back to the fence so it wouldn't blow away again.

That job done I decided to sort through all of my seeds and pull out the ones I wanted to sow this year and that could be sown now.  A sowing session ensued and I now feel like I'm caught up on the gardening front for the moment.  Sometimes you just have to take the opportunity when you get a good day weather wise and just do as much as you can, while you can. 

I sowed tomatoes, chillis, sweet peppers, camomile, nasturtiums, cosmos, sunflowers, salad leaves, basil, peas, sweet peas, dahlias, oh and some carrot seeds in a tub.  I've given up on growing them at the allotment as they get carrot root fly every time.  Now I just need to sit back and wait for them to grow.  Until next month that is, when I can sow a few more things.

Oh, the simple joys of a sunny spring day!

52 Projects - Week 10 - Getting My Smart Phone Up and Running

This Christmas, I received this lovely smart phone as a gift from OH.  It wasn't an expensive, all singing all dancing phone, as I'm not really interested in having the latest thing, but it was more than sufficient for my needs and I liked the styling of both the phone and the case.  Simple, no nonsense.

 

Fast forward two months and I have almost finally got it up and running and should be able to use it for the internet as it was originally intended in just a couple of days.  I say almost, as we have done all we can do and now just need to wait for my phone number to be transferred over to the new sim. 

 

It has not been a particularly smooth transition.   I have had some teething problems with my original provider taking money off my Pay As You Go account daily when I thought I was using the free Wifi connection in the house.   I think I might inadvertently have had it on a roaming setting, but this was eventually resolved when I finally got my PAC code this week and swapped provider going onto a very simple inexpensive monthly tariff of £7.  (I paid this out in one week for hardly using my phone for internet use outside the house!)  OH arranged this new tariff with his provider so I'm very grateful to him for doing so and helping me with this task.

 

I must admit that I've found it a very frustrating process.  I am such a technophobe and hate dealing with providers etc., so this kind of thing is not something I enjoy, hence why OH ended up making most of the arrangements.    He knows what a procrastinator I am in such matters.  Left to me it would probably never get done.

 

Anyhow, I am looking forward to being able to use the phone on the new tariff, which should give me far more time, texts and downloading capacity than I am ever likely to use per month.  I have already been using the inbuilt camera whilst out and about, which is a real novelty for me.  I have even started posting using photos taken with my phone, which saves trying to remember to take my camera with me everywhere, adding extra weight to my handbag. I'm not quite as au fait as I'd like to be with regard to uploading the photos just yet, but am gradually getting there.

 

I'd just like to add that I have not been sponsored by Samsung in the making of this post. 

 

This was another of the items on my list of 52 Projects.   Joining in with Dreamer at Living a Slow and Simple Life in doing a task a week in 2014.

Kitchen Decluttering - An Update

I don't know about anyone else, but in our household the kitchen is the worst room in the house for accumulating clutter and towards the end of last year it got so bad that even OH was complaining about it, which is not like him at all.

As a consequence, this year I've been trying to resolve certain problems in this regard, by slowly working my way through them one at a time.  I cleared the main windowsill early in the year and then did some work on another clutter spot, namely my kitchen table 'office', by buying some drawers which keep the clutter at bay and so far this new system seems to be working well.

I attempted a February Food Challenge to use up lots of food that had been around for a while and was filling a shelf in one cupboard, in the hope I'd free the shelf to house all the pet 'stuff'. 

Whilst waiting to use up the food, I decanted the dog food, biscuits and treats into jars, that had been languishing unused in another cupboard, creating a much tidier and easily accessible worktop system which seems to work well on a daily basis.  Here's a picture of the jars now in use.

 

 

I was still, however, left with the problem of  a trug full of doggy items, toys, medicines, grooming products, etc., that  I needed to find space for.  It had been sat in front of the microwave for ages and required moving every time I wanted to use it.  Not very satisfactory.  In the end an impromptu reorganisation of 3 or 4 kitchen cupboards created enough space for a whole designated pet shelf. 

This has really liberated my worktops, to the point where I may even attempt a bit of baking and bread making in the near future.  Here's the shelf in question, looking especially tidy.  (Not sure how long it will stay this way).

As a consequence of all the rejigging and reorganising, I managed to create my pet shelf and still keep my food overflow shelf, which I must admit is really useful, especially if I get tempted by any great offers from Approved Foods or in the supermarkets.  Here's a picture of it.

Spurred on by my efforts, the other night I decided to tackle the broom cupboard.  I didn't take a before photo I'm afraid so you can't see the comparison. I did manage to re-house a few pet items to the 'pet shelf', remove some paperwork I'd stuffed on the top shelf , get rid of a few unnecessary items, sorted through the bag of cloth shopping bags hung on the door and sent a few to the charity shop, and managed to collapse my shopping trolley so that everything fitted in a lot better.  It looks a lot neater now and is much easier to negotiate on a daily basis.  I'm not sure it will make me do a whole lot more cleaning though!

There are still a few problem areas left to tackle, namely the top of the fridge,  the recipe book cupboard and the baking drawer (for someone who doesn't bake very often, I seem to have an abundance of items in here), but I live in hope of one day having a clutter free kitchen.  I'll keep working on it.