Here is a project that has taken me.....oh, about 10 months to get around to completing. The funny part is once I got going on it yesterday, it went together so quickly. That is pretty typical of most things in life, I think, once you just decide to do it and get on with it, it doesn't take long at all.
When I saw the felted knitting needle holder in this book, I knew I wanted to make it. I had the perfect fabric in mind that I had found at one of our local thrift stores some time back that had been sitting on my shelf since then. Some of the yarn is thrifted and some is leftover bits from last year's felted bags that I made for gifts for all the women in my family. The sewing machine that I used ( that I finally took the time to get working yesterday) is a freebie that was given to my mom - in case she knew anyone who could use it ( which she did) - and then passed onto me. So now that I have one machine that works like a dream it makes it easier to get rid of at least 2 of the other 3 that I have languishing in the laundry room in varying states of not-workingness. Anyway, this is my favourite kind of project - taking bits and pieces of second hand stuff and making it into something useful - I use up some of my clutter and get something useful in return - even the knitting needles that will go in it are thrifted.
(pre-felting and post-felting)
I didn't quite follow the pattern ( again ladies, I can almost hear you guffawing at that). I didn't have the size needle called for and since it was to be felted I figured how much could it really matter. I also wasn't using 100% wool for part of it and I wanted to use double strands to get the mix of colour I wanted so, basically I guess I didn't follow it at all. I realized, when I was thinking about this, that I am a real "slap-dasher" - that sounds rather like an English term for someone dirty, doesn't it... a scoundrel, a blackguard, a bounder, a real slap-dasher... not quite what I was meaning...I like it though - I tend to like to follow my own ideas and I also like to get things done quickly (once I decide to do them). This can make for some....uh, interesting outcomes, but it works well for me. My friends know that I am a slap-dasher extraordinaire when it comes to cooking, I just find it soooo hard to follow a recipe. This can make it hard when someone asks me for a recipe, especially if they have some reasonable expectation of actual measurements. Don't even get me started on my gardening methods, they're enough to give my husband ( who makes a living running a landscape company ) nightmares.
So, here it is, all rolled up, with my needles stashed inside - ready for Nicola's next knitting night. Now I just need to find a ribbon to tie it closed with.
On another note, the boys and I have been enjoying listening to Terry Deary's Horrible Histories on CD. These are very funny tales presented by the BBC. W has always loved these books, and we are finding the CDs hilarious. If you love British accents and have a bit of a warped sense of humour (yes on both counts for me) then I think you would really enjoy these tales too. We got a stack from our library to listen to, we are listening to the Groovy Greeks right now. Still to come: The Terrible Tudors, The Savage Stone Age, The Vile Victorians, and The Measly Middle Ages. Hilarious!
3 comments:
Well done, Heather! It's beautiful, useful and thrifty... what else it there?
Love that you've coined a term for your approach to life. A slapdasher, hey? I'm a bit like that but you are a genius at it. It's one of the many things I admire about you ;o)
Looks great!
As we are into the Odyssey right now, I think I will have to get Groovy Greeks - next, a field trip to the Greek Islands???
Oh those CD's sound fab! I've just put a couple on hold at the library.
The SOTW CD's are a disappointment frankly because of Weiss's speedy delivery. I refused to read out loud anymore to the kids though so we didn't have a whole lot of choice. I still like the series so I want to finish it off.
I'm really keeping my fingers crossed for the CD of the Island Story - it's done by Nexus and their stuff is usually good. But I never knew that the horrible histories were out on CD - woohoo!
re the dog meds - it's a bit of a sticky issue with some vets as they obviously mark up the meds they sell (which is why it's clearly in the better interest of patients to have the diagnosing & prescribing to be separate from dispensing.....) You need a prescription for some things so they need to be willing to give you that. But yes, some things are quite a lot cheaper.
Post a Comment