Marmadaisy

It let me back in!

2011-08-09T10:40:00.002+01:00

Stupid, stupid blog account locked me out but I have managed to get back in.
Please follow me on facebook and twitter.

I don't have much time for crafting these days but will do my best to blog about being a mum and knitting hats :)

Miss January (and March, and July!)

2010-07-29T10:37:00.003+01:00

The 2011 Sewing Calendar will be available shortly, with me in it! (And lots of other clever designs too).

Have a look

New website will be coming shortly - my current project of growing an actual person is taking all my attention at the moment.

Making something special!

2010-04-02T09:22:00.002+01:00

I know! I'm baaaack.

Back in business

2009-04-11T14:03:00.002+01:00

You'll be pleased to know the Marmadaisy shop is back online!

Hurrah!

Moving

2009-03-08T20:10:00.002Z

I have spent all day looking on t'interweb for a new house closer to work.

I can't afford the nice areas, so to cheer myself up I played in Youtube for a while.

This Blur video from 1999 is beautiful. Enjoy.

She's baaaaaack!

2009-02-15T10:00:00.007Z

Hello hello hello I've missed you!

Right, I knew I would be moving again (thanks for the roof John!) so I hadn't unpacked any of my stuff. I have now sorted it all out and will be moving house on Saturday - just under one week. I will hopefully get some time to bloggidy blog then. Unfortunately, I left my camera at my sister's over Christmas like a dunce, so I've been having to use my phone to take pictures and they're not really good enough to blog. I haven't even managed to get any crafty stuff done (on account of it all being boxed up)

But, here's what I have been up to ...

These are my OLD teeth:
... these are my shiny NEW teeth.
Technically, they're not new. They are my own teeth that I had filed and shaped to even them out. The worst bit was the 5 - count 'em - injections I had to have first. I didn't even faint or anything!

Also, I got together with some good friends for much silliness:

And drank expensive cocktails in the big smoke:

Met some new friends:

Behaved very badly on the tube:

Lived it up at the dogs:

Found out who my REAL friends are:

And changed my blog name!

It's a quote from Virginia Woolf, she claimed that a woman ought to have a room of her own in which to create. Ironically, I did have that in Wales in that massive house and it was wonderful, and now effectively it's ALL I have. But hey ho - when life hands you lemons ... you get some tequila and salt to go with it!

MIA

2008-11-21T10:49:00.003Z

Apologies bloggers! I know I have been crap.

I won't bore you all with the details, but I have have had a major change in circumstances and have relocated to England from Wales. I know you'll understand that I have other things going on at the moment and I just don't have time to devote to Marmadaisy this side of Christmas.
I'll be back to blogging in the New Year, with a new layout and shiny new tutorials and craft stuff (hopefully).
In the meantime, I'm still loving reading all your blogs and feel free to comment or email me directly for a little chat.
Take care all
xxxx

I'm doing this

2008-10-16T09:40:00.003+01:00

Details here.

Do the words "for punishment glutton" mean anything?

Christmas baubles

2008-10-12T19:42:00.001+01:00

I have put the tutorial for these baubles here.

What's wrong with this picture?

2008-10-09T18:02:00.003+01:00

This is my fabulous, shiny, new, state of the art guest bathroom.
Except it isn't.
This isn't what it should look like, two weeks before the house guests arrive.

This is half of the brand new bath-cum-steam room ensemble thing. In the kitchen. In the place where the new sofa should be. Which hasn't arrived.

And this is the dining room which should by now be half-full of wonderful, thoughtful, beautifully hand-crafted Christmas presents. We can't currently get in the for all the shower equipment.

I didn't take one of the tiles, sink, toilet and various other "oddments" in the bedroom.

Things are never that easy, are they?

Senior moments

2008-10-06T20:13:00.002+01:00

Senior moment #1
Half way to my destination, suddenly panicking because I hadn't put my car keys in my bag (I was driving the car at the time)

Senior moment #2
Hunting high and low for sunglasses, which were sitting atop of my head

Senior moment #3
Talking on the phone, suddenly exclaiming "oh no! I've lost my phone"

Senior moment #4
Posting a link to a technical wiring diagram for Mr Marmadaisy's car, instead of a link to April's site (thanks Marie for pointing that out)

Senior moment #5
Sending the same link to my reporter contact at the local paper instead of Mr Marmadaisy, then telling him off for saying he hadn't got it

Senior moment #6
Turning up half an hour late for an event, going into the room, thinking it was the wrong room, and waiting outside until people came out only to realise I had missed the entire thing

These are all in the last week!

And worst of all, Senior moment #7 I caught myself today saying "it's only 11 weeks until Christmas"

This is ... my favourite kitchen appliance

2008-10-05T12:20:00.004+01:00

I was going to tidy up for this picture, but decided you might as well see my Aga being used.

It's an original 1950s one, and runs on solid fuel. Truth be told, it's a bear to keep going, but I love the warmth it gives off, especially in Winter.

Here it is drying my washing (I'm not a fan of tumble driers), warming the dogs' towel (it had been raining all day and they have to be wiped down before they come in) and cooking our yummy shrimp and aspargus risotto.

The other good thing is that you can leave the kettle on the top and the water stays warm so it doesn't take so long to boil when you're desperate for that cup of tea.
And there's loads of room around it for when you're doing lots of cooking. What you can't see in this picture is that two of the dogs also have their baskets either side - a favourite place to curl up during the winter!

In the Summer we turn it off for servicing and a good old clean, and I always miss it.
Thanks to handmaiden for this week's theme.

I ...

2008-10-03T22:27:00.004+01:00

I got this from April.

I am: kind
I think: of others
I know: tomorrow's another day
I have: love
I wish: I hadn't wanted all the wrong things - and got them
I hate: waste
I miss: the naivety of youth
I fear: making the same mistake twice
I hear: a dog whining and the beach boys
I smell: wet dogs
I crave: sleep
I search: for latent talent
I wonder: if I'll ever get married
I regret: rien
I love: all the important people
I ache: too much for my age
I am not: stupid
I believe: in karma
I dance: badly (but with gusto)
I sing: ditto
I cry: at the slightest thing
I fight: for my beliefs
I win: some
I lose: some
I never: eat meat
I always: mean it
I confuse: most people
I listen: actively
I can usually be found: under two or three dogs
I am scared: too often
I need: validation
I am happy about: how things turned out
I imagine: the possibilties

Let's hear all about YOU!

** Sorry April about the wrong link. I blame the red wine.

Why I love Freecycle

2008-10-01T14:16:00.003+01:00

Before Mr Marmadaisy hurt his ankle, he had arranged to go to London for the week. Being extra organised, he had booked his train tickets in advance (first class, because they cost a fraction of the price if you book ahead). Anyway, after buggering his ankle he obviosuly couldn't go. The tickets are non-refundable so he thought he might as well give them away on Freecycle. A man came to collect them on Monday night and mentioned that he was using them to visit his elderly mother.

Yesterday, we got a hand written letter:

"Thank you for giving the rail ticket, and giving my son the opportunity to see me in London. He doesn't come very often because he can ill afford it ... and I am no longer able to travel. Thank you again for your generosity."

Awwww.

Being very brave

2008-09-29T22:20:00.002+01:00

Thank you for all the kind comments about Mr Marmadaisy.
Because of wearing a cast (which **fingers crossed** comes off on Friday), he can't do all the usual "man-jobs" around the place. Which means I had to conquer my fear of ladders this week to mend a crack in the outside wall.
I mean, I'm fine with heights, it's just being at a great height on a wobbly thing that I'm not too happy about.

Anyway.
Here I am getting stuck half-way.

Here I am getting stuck three quarters of the way up.

And here I am letting go of the rungs long enough to actually fill the crack.

Phew!

All About Mr Marmadaisy

2008-09-23T20:55:00.004+01:00

(Lots of pictures)

Mr Marmadaisy has been very busy this weekend.

The weather was glorious so he took the opportunity to get out his new scaffolding and paint the back of the house.

It's a big job!
And some bits were a bit tricky ...

Mr Marmadaisy also made some yummy (healthy) juice for breakfast.

1 orange, 2 carrots and about 1 inch of ginger:

(Mrs Marmadaisy's tip: use a biodegradable bag (or piece of newspaper) to tip the solid bits into then just throw in the compost.

And then THIS happened.

It's either fractured or badly sprained. He has fractured it so many times that the doctors don't *think* it has broken this time but aren't sure. It certainly wasn't fun to hear him screeching in the garden and running out to find him on the floor. I was expecting to see the bone poking out when we took his shoe off. Oh! The perils of walking on your own lawn!! He tripped over a small hole (probably done by one of the diggy dogs).

He's fine, by the way. This was just the temporary cast, we went to hospital again today and he chose a hot pink one (Manly!!) which he will keep for 2-3 weeks.

So I'm on 24 hour tea duty (and get my slippers, get my glasses, carry my laptop ...... ad nauseum)

Going wild

2008-09-23T19:56:00.004+01:00

I just read this very interesting article about reintroducing several species of wild animal which are now extinct in Britain, including beavers, wild boar and wolves.

Personally, I think a lot more thought needs to go into it before letting these creatures loose on modern Britain, although I'm in favour "in theory". I know there's a lot of controversy locally over the culling of wild goats on Snowdon (if left unchecked they over populate and cause massive damage to the eco-system). Although I certainly see the need to control numbers, the idea of an annual cull doesn't sit very comfortably with me at all. It might be a more natural way to control numbers. But then, that's easy for me to say as I'm not a farmer who might have his flock decimated by a pack of wolves.

In case you're interested, the largest native carnivore in modern Britain is the badger.

Unfortunately, when searching for a picture to illustrate this post I was directed to some rather ghastly pro-hunting sites. Blech. The picture is from here.

Sorry about the lack of blogging activity. There is (as always) a story involved, and I have pictures on the camera which I haven't moved over yet.

Exactly what it says on the button

2008-09-17T18:28:00.003+01:00

From here.

Thanks Julia for the tip.

Tree Fella

2008-09-16T15:15:00.005+01:00

As seems to be the common theme in blogland this week (at least in the UK) we have been making to most of the break in the rain and tidying up the garden a bit. That's a "Royal" we, of course. I've mainly just been supervising.
The extent of my participation was when I had to drive the tractor with the trailer on while Mr Marmadaisy carried the other end of a 21ft tree.
Anyone who knew me when I was learning to drive will have an idea of what this was like.

What I should have done was take a picture of the original location (the bottom field) so you could appreciate how difficult it was to get this tree from there, across 2 fields, round the back of the house and into position at the end of the garden. After getting it off the tractor we had to carry it between us (6 inches at a time) another 30 feet to position. It's going to form the side of a path that Mr Marmadaisy is making to link two sections of garden.

Watching all that hard work is exhausting!

And here is the "so far" picture of our bonfire. We're having our first bonfire party (get set for your history lesson and Guy pictures)* this year, so it needs to be a goodie.
* My friend April doesn't need the history lesson. I know this because we sat next to each other for 2 years of GCSE history where we learned all about Guy Fawkes.

This is ... what I do when I have a spare 10 minutes

2008-09-15T09:59:00.004+01:00

Mr Marmadaisy taught me to play poker last year. In fact, we decided not to go out on New Year's Eve last year and instead we sat up and played poker together.

Lately, whenever I'm in front of the computer I swtich on my on-line poker and a play a couple of hands. It's a pain, because it gets very addictive and I end up spending an hour sitting there. I wouldn't even call myself a competitive person. It's a nice distraction when I'm doing something else.

Thanks to Hoppo Bumpo for this week's theme and Handmaiden for being guest host.

The sewing machine ... A girl's best friend

2008-09-13T16:12:00.001+01:00

Take a look at this, which has really made me giggle today.

Nerd, Geek or Dork?

2008-09-11T21:52:00.003+01:00

You might have seen this bit of fun over at Moogsmum.* Now, she says that we can earn "geek points" but I don't think it's open JUST to geeks. I think nerds and dorks can join in too.

If you're also a pedant, like me, you might already know which category you fall in to. If not, drag yourself away from Buffy/ Linux/ learning Klingon and take this test.

I am a:

Pure Nerd
91 % Nerd, 48% Geek, 48% Dork (I don't know how that is possible! But that's what it says)

A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia. A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one. A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.

You scored better than half in Nerd, earning you the title of: Pure Nerd.

The times, they are a-changing. It used to be that being exceptionally smart led to being unpopular, which would ultimately lead to picking up all of the traits and tendences associated with the "dork." No-longer. Being smart isn't as socially crippling as it once was, and even more so as you get older: eventually being a Pure Nerd will likely be replaced with the following label: Purely Successful.

* Which, strictly speaking, should be apostrophed, but we let her off because I'm sure she did it on purpose and we love her blog. And it's rude to be pedantic. Apparently.

The great recycling scandal

2008-09-10T18:07:00.004+01:00

Image from here.

Like many of us, I spend quite a lot of time each week making sure that our rubbish (or "trash" if you're in the US) gets sorted properly to be recycled. In many areas of the UK you now get a hefty fine if you inadvertently put a bit of plastic in with your paper. Anyway, I was shocked to see this report this week.

This kind of apathy and "well I've done my bit" attitude quite literally stinks.

I guess the only way is to try to avoid producing so much waste in the first place.

Yearbook pictures that were never meant to be

2008-09-04T22:28:00.004+01:00

1960

1966

1968

1970

2000

Thank goodness I grew up in the UK where we don't have these awful things!

Courtesy of http://www.yearbookyourself.com/

Woven basket tutorial

2008-09-04T16:24:00.008+01:00

(or, "The reason we didn't eat lunch until half past two this afternoon")

I'll just caveat this by saying that I have made a couple of mistakes, but you can learn from them so my pictures might not match what I'm saying. That's because I'm human, not a machine and sometimes I get it wrong (and then I swear a lot).
I've labelled this as a fat quarter tutorial even though, strictly speaking, it takes 3/4 yard of fabric to make. But you can make it with two nice FQs - or even some scraps.

You will need:
Fabric 1- 2 pieces of 10"x16"
Fabric 2- as above
Lining - 2 pieces of 10.5"x16"
Iron on interfacing (light to medium) - 4 pieces of 10"x16"
Very heavy iron on interfacing - 2 pieces, but do not cut until the weaving is done.
Fabric 1,2 or lining fabric (your preference) - 1 piece 7"x15"
Very heavy iron on interfacing - 1 piece 3.5"x12.5"
A piece of bag bottom or card (I forgot to put mine in, durrr!)

Prepare fabric:

You can make this with strips if you have them (eg a jelly roll) or even ribbon strips. These instructions assume you are using yardage.
Iron on the medium interfacing to the wrong sides of all fabric 1 and 2 pieces. This keeps the fabric straight for the next steps.

Cut fabric 1 horizontally, into 2" strips (you'll have 5 strips for each piece)
Cut fabric 2 vertically, into 2" strips (you'll have 8 strips for each piece)

Either zig zag stitch the long edges using a very small stitch, or run a single line of stitching 5mm from the edges and then fray. I used the small rolled hem function on my overlocker.

For 4 pieces of each fabric you will only need to do one side. If your fabric has a right/left top/bottom make sure you do two of each.

To weave:

Lay your horizontal strips on a desk, with the unfinished edges top and bottom.

Lay your vertical pieces on top, with unfinished edges left and right.
Starting at the bottom, pin strips together, alternating between the fabrics.
* What I should have done on mine, was make sure that the edges were different so that when stitched together they would still alternate. So, your left bottom of piece one should be the opposite to right bottom of piece 2)
Continue on the next row, alternating each row. Use a pin at each end, until you get to the top. Pin along the top. (I did take a picture, but it didn't come out for some reason) You will end up with a checkerboard effect.

Make sure that you butt each piece close to its neighbour, otherwise your interfacing will show and it will look rubbish. You can see here how my ironing board was showing through a crack. Fiddle with the pieces until they all match up.

PRESS with a hot iron. Don't "smooth" the iron across, just press down firmly for a couple of seconds, lift the iron and repeat on the next section.

Carefully sew around the edges using a basting stitch (I also used my walking foot to minimise movement)

When your pieces are basted, trim the excess (depending on how you finished your edges, your pieces will be slightly smaller than 2" and so there will be some overhang). Cut out the very heavy interfacing to fit.

To make it up:

Iron the interfacing to the fabric pieces. Take your time and use a pressing motion. Make sure it is all stuck down well.

Put the pieces right sides together and make sure they fit together, trim if necessary.

Sew the two fabric/interfaced pieces together along the sides and bottom.

This is a winged needle. I used this to get through all the layers (because that interfacing is thick). You will need to use a needle for heavy duty sewing. I noticed my machine was missing stitches and the thread kept snapping. I changed to some better quality Gutterman thread for the top stitching and I had no more problems - so try to use the best quality thread you have.

Cut a 3.5" square from the bottom 2 corners. Open up the trimmed corners and squash down so that the side seams match up.

Carefully sew along the corner seams. I did two lots of stitching for a good seam.

Turn the basket the right side out, and press well to get a firm and square shape.

Make the handle:

Fold the fabric in half, press, then each half into the middle crease and press again. Iron the heavy interfacing into the middle between the creases.

Fold the 2 edges back over, fold in half, press with the iron and stitch both edges.

To attach, fold the ends of the handle (without interfacing) over the top of the basket, and then back onto the front of the basket, then stitch. (The handle will be stitched front and back of the basket)

Fold the handle UNDER the basket, and repeat on the other side.

The bit I forgot:

Measure your bottom piece and cut a bag bottom to size. Cut this in half legthways and glue each piece in the bottom, either side of the centre seam.

Sew the lining:

As for the outer shell, but only sew a few inches on the bottom edge. Leave a big gape in the middle (most of the length of the bottom, because you need a lot of room to push the basket through).

Put the basket into the lining, right sides together.

It will be very fiddly - sew the top edges together. Because the handle is tight, do one side at a time. Put your hand through the lining gap to move the handle to the opposite side to the one you are stitching, so that any distortion is on that side, and your stitching side is smooth.

Pull the bag through the hole and stitch the bottom closed.

Because your lining is slightly bigger than your basket, it will show proud over the top. This is on purpose, so you don't have to deal with trying to press the blazes out of that heavily lined top seam.

Press all the sides and corners to get a neat finish.

And here is your basket!

*(see what I mean about those side pieces? Yours will be better because you'll have made sure that your edges alternated the right way)

I'm certainly going to make some of these in Christmas fabrics to fill with pine cones. I would also love to have a go at a ribbon version.

Appley ever after.

2008-09-04T16:05:00.007+01:00

Have I ever mentioned we have an orchard? Well, orchard might be stretching it a bit. We have a semi-fenced section with various trees in various states of decay from lack of care. Neither of us knows how to deal with them all.
Anyway, among the trees are a couple of apple trees. Every year, we say we ought to pick the apples. Every year, we leave it too late, the birds eat them, they rot, end up on the floor and get wasted. ("Always stick to the path. Never eat a windfallen apple. And never trust a man whose eyebrows meet in the middle").

It's not that we're lazy, but neither of us are that good with ladders and it's so uneven and the trees are in such a state that we wouldn't feel safe climbing up. Not anymore.

This week, Mr Marmadaisy bought himself some scaffolding for a few jobs outside, and what a perfect excuse to have a practice run at putting it up.

Of course, the goats were on hand to deal with any that we dropped.

They are quite difficult to eat whole, apparently.

Anyway, we haven't weighed and sorted them yet - they need to be sorted into "eating", "horses" and "juicing" but we have 3 trays full. I wish I knew how to make cider.

Let's get organasised!

2008-09-04T15:35:00.005+01:00

Yesterday I had a little clear up in the sewing room. It actually wasn't too bad, except for one corner which holds all my odd bits that don't belong anywhere else.
The worst mess was my two baskets of "odds" - these are hampers that contain small scraps of fabric, bits of interfacing that might be useful and bits of leftover patchwork.
I wish I had taken a "before" picture, but I didn't think.

Anyway, I folded my interfacing neatly, threw away all the tiny scraps (how many teeny bits am I going to need, anyway?). I wanted to work out a way of storing the scrap fabrics neatly. Now, I'm not the best folder so I came up with this:

I figured that the fat quarter sized bits (on the right) could be folded and stacked. I can see what I have and get to it easily without rummaging. I also know that these are big enough bits to be of use.

The best bit though, is the small scrap arrangement. I usually keep these odds that are too small to be useful because it's always handy for checking tension, practising a stitch or seeing how a technique will work before messing up your "real" and expensive fabric. So I thought it doesn't really matter what colour these bits are - it's important to sort them by type. So, I now have rolls of t-shirt fabric, fleece, light cotton, muslin, heavy cotton etc. Now, when I want to check my tension, I just need to select the appropriate roll and take what I need, rather than rummaging in a massive box of bits. Good, eh?

Can I borrow your laptop?

2008-09-02T23:23:00.003+01:00

My friend Sylvie just blogged this.

"Scientists from RAND Corporation have created this model to illustrate how a "home computer" could look like in the year 2004. However the needed technology will not be economically feasible for the average home. Also the scientists readily admit that the computer will require not yet invented technology to actually work, but 50 years from now scientific progress is expected to solve problems. With teletype interface and the Fortran language, the computer will be easy to use."

I wouldn't fancy trying to make the bag for that to go in!

Overlocked quilt

2008-09-01T18:44:00.005+01:00

Cor, there's more to this overlocking business than just finishing seams!
OK, so it won't win any prizes, but at less than 2 days (including time taken to make dinners, do laundry, walk dogs, blah-di-blah) it's by far the quickest cover I've ever made.

It was a very simple design. I just flatlocked 3 strips together, cut them into lengths equal to their width (17cms)*, then blocked them together.

I then used a 10cm border in matching fabric. I backed it with an old duvet cover, attaching between border and patchwork. I roll hemmed the border, and underneath (on the backing piece) overlocked longer strips of co-ordinating fabric. Easy peasy.
The fabric is Folklore by Moda (2 jelly rolls made enough patches for a King size throw).

Unfortunately, the colours aren't exactly right for this time of year (because I've been putting this off for ages) so I'll have to make another for Autumn.

* My rotary cutter and I have been eyeing each other nervously for about 18 months. I used it once and decided I didn't like it. I have now made friends with it after realising that, as with most things, it's all down to having the right equipment to use with it and getting the right technique. It would have taken me forever to do this quilt without it.

Thank you

2008-09-01T09:24:00.002+01:00

I have been nominated by Julia for the Art y Pico award. I have already had this and passed it on so I won't repeat the process, but just wanted to acknowledge the honour.

Thank you!

I know I haven't been on much lately, and I keep saying "I'll be back soon". But I'm just under so much pressure to finish off university work, I really need to concentrate on that.

I HAVE made some hair clips, but my camera won't play nicely with the laptop for some reason so I can't post pictures.

And I have done most of the quilt top. Again, no pics - you'll just have to believe me :)

This is ... my favourite fabric shop

2008-08-31T13:36:00.003+01:00

I find it really difficult to find good fabric shops in the UK. If you know any, please share.
In the meantime, here is some Moda fabric from Buttonberry. I have had this for a while and, by strange coincidence, had started to sew it up today.

I'm making a new throw for our bed, in a simple flatlock stitch on the overlocker. Will post when it's done (Shouldn't be too long. That overlocker is QUICK!)
Other good places are:

U-Handbag -I'm sure most of you know this fab shop and blog.

Fabric tales - a great place for cute Japanese fabric.

Quilt Room - a good range of craft fabric and loads of helpful stuff.

With thanks to three buttons and handmaiden.

This is ... My favourite children's book

2008-08-24T16:55:00.008+01:00

Thanks Three Buttons, and good choice!

Wasting time

2008-08-19T22:17:00.007+01:00

Oh there's so much to do. Mr Marmadaisy and I are away for the weekend, going to the wedding that never was (don't ask!) and I still haven't written my final assignment for university, or even started revising.

The only thing to do was follow this tutorial and make a bag to put toiletries in when we go away.

The lining is waterproof, so it's ideal for wet shower stuff. I made these piped handles and am really pleased with it.

I did make a slight alteration as I used one of those "cut to size" zippers and attached my inserts first, then sewed the zip in place.

How to repurpose an old towel

2008-08-12T18:14:00.007+01:00

Another one that's not too exciting ... but a useful thing anyway! As someone with long hair I can confirm that it's mightily annoying to have your towel spontaneously unwrap and drop dripping hair everywhere.
We all have those towels that have seen better days, lost their "fluffiness" and are, frankly, only good for wiping dogs' feet.

This is quite a good way to use an old towel. Or you could use a nice new one, if you wanted to give it as a gift.

Start by marking out the towel. Fold in half, and for ease we are going to use the existing finished edge (of course, you could use some bias binding if you wanted).

Measure - on the folded side - 23cm up and mark with chalk. Then measure 8cm in from that mark. Then measure 8cm down from the same mark (ie 15cm up from edge).

These marks mean that we can make a curved mark on the folded side. I hope that makes sense.

Then free-hand draw a curve from your inner mark to the outer edge of your towel (it should be about 60cms long).

You can see on the left-hand side of this picture that I have made marks at 23cms from the finished edge, then 8cms down from that and 8cms in, and connected them in a curve.

Cut out the shape, and in the corner pin about 10cms of folded elastic .

Use your new overlocker *smile* or a zig-zag stitch around the curved edge.

Stitch over the elastic bit a few times and trim into a neat edge.

Turn the right side out, and sew a button in the middle at the front.

To wear, simply put the turban over your head, twist hair in the long side, pull up over the top of your head and fasten the elastic over the button.

Fat Quarter Friday Tutorial - Obi belt

2008-08-11T14:47:00.004+01:00

Here is another Fat Quarter Friday (ignore the fact that it's Monday) tutorial.
I was inspired by some japanesey fabric I had to make this thick belt. It's great for covering a multitude of sins, can be made in no time at all and makes you look like you have an hourglass figure, even if you don't.

Make the pattern by measuring out as follows. Measure 17cm by 15cm rectangle. Mark out the mid-point on one edge and 4cm in from that edge on the top and bottom. Then draw a curved shape. Fold in half to make sure your curves match.

This pattern piece goes on the fold (on the side edge). Cut one in your fabric, and one of contrasting fabric.

For the straps, cut two strips 50cm by 15 cm. Fold over one end 1cm and press. Fold in half lengthwise, press. Unfold, then fold the two sides in to meet in the middle. Press. Now fold over the original crease and press hard.

Do the same for the other side. REMEMBER that if your fabric has a "top" like mine, you'll need to make a left and a right. You can see here what I mean - one strap is folded on the left, one on the right. This is important for when you attach them later. Stitch the three sides, you don't need to stitch the raw edge.

Make a sandwich with your two front panels - right sides together- then two pieces of sew in interfacing on the outside. Lay the straps with the raw edge even with the raw edge of the front panel (making sure that you get your left and right the right way around).

Pin in place around three sides, and poke the straps throught the bottom. This will keep them out of the way of the stitching and remind you not to stitch all the way around. TIP: Before stitching, hold the belt up with your pattern the right way around and facing out (as you would wear it) and double check the straps are in the right place.

Slowly stitch all three sides, backstitching at the ends and over the straps.

Trim the seams and clip into the corners. If you clip a V out of the seam allowance where you stopped stitching, it will make the next bit easier.

Then fold over the fourth edge, pin, press.

Top stitch all around the front panel.

(ew, I think my machine is due a clean!)

Back view.

Modelling the Anna Tunic

2008-08-11T14:44:00.000+01:00

How to fold a fitted sheet

2008-08-10T17:44:00.002+01:00

Last year, by strange co-incidence, my two sisters and I all found ourselves visiting my parents in the same weekend. After much wine had been consumed (and Dad had vacated to his room), I showed my mum and sisters some of my "party pieces". Namely, my ability to fold a T-shirt in under 4 seconds, and knickers and fitted sheets into small squares.

Two of them were really impressed. The eldest sister was rather alarmed that I put so much thought and effort into folding. Anyway, each time I do my laundry I think "I should blog this" so I am.

Obviously, I realise that there are far more important things in life and this is another one of those "things you never knew you needed to know". But someone might just enjoy having tidy cupboards as much as I . So...

Step One:
Gather all the elasticated corners over one fist. Get them all facing the same way and evenly placed. I should point out here that this method works best with ironed sheets but frankly I didn't want you all to think I was the kind of woman who irons her sheets when there's wine to be drunk and fun things to make.

Step Two:

Lay the sheet (which is now folded roughly up into 4) on a bed, floor or table. Put your corner ruched bit in the top right. Spend a minute smoothing out the edges, and making sure that the sides are matched together.

Step Three: Outside view

Inside the corner should look like this.

Fold the right edge in until it makes a right angle with the stitched bit of the gathered corner. Fold the corner in on itself, and do the same with the top section. You should now have two sides folded inwards with the gathered corner piece now in a neat right angle.

Step Four:

Now the sheet is square(ish), you can fold in half, and half again, making a neat rectangle to be stored. If you have ironed your sheet like I always do (a-hem!), it will be crisp and lovely next time you put it on your bed.

Hurrah for being a perfect housewife!

This is my ..... Work In Progress!

2008-08-10T17:28:00.004+01:00

I am knitting a cardigan for myself. This is the first thing I have made on circular needles and the idea is that the back and front pieces are made in one. It's slow going, but getting there.
The yarn was a present from my mum and I love the colours. Hopefully, I'll get to wear it some time this year!

This is my other Work In Progress. At 6 1/2 months, and with 3 older dogs who know the routine, she should be well and truly house-trained by now. But she isn't. She is doing everything else perfectly, but she still hasn't learned how to ask to go out, or that she needs to go when I take her. One of us is doing something wrong!

Thanks to three buttons and kept in a jar

Another Anna Tunic

2008-08-10T13:39:00.002+01:00

I think overlocking is addictive. Or it could be this Anna Tunic from Amy Butler.

I made this one almost entirely on the overlocker and I'll say it again: it's quick!!
I changed the belt a bit. I was inspired by the fabric to create a thicker belt which is much more flattering for my shape. It is designed to sit under the best and cinch in the waist and I love how it alters the shape of the top. I'll model this properly later.

Sorry about the blurry pictures, I was in a hurry to get this blogged. I'm going to model it properly for the U-handblog comp (when I've brushed my hair!)

I overlocked around the neck-line and on the sleeves.

This belt was so easy to make and would look great with a plain shirt (FQF tute on its way).

Close up of the fabric-covered buttons.

I used overlock stitches on the lining and the hem.

Guess how much housework is NOT getting done in our house this week?

The Anna Tunic - overlocked!

2008-08-08T14:15:00.005+01:00

I know I said it would be lounge pants, but a girl can change her mind!
I have had this fabric for ages, it's an old curtain bought for £2 in a charity shop. Who says blondes can't wear yellow?
Anyway ... this is a really simple tunic to make. I did the cutting out last night and put the main bits together using the 4 thread overlock stitch. Then I went to bed because it was past midnight and I forsaw mistakes and swearing.

Usually, I would stitch, then trim, then overlock both edges. This does all three steps in one. And it's soooo quick!

For the belt, I just cut a thick strip, pressed in half and roll hemmed the edges. I used yellow and white threads for this effect.

And the same on the button loops. I love how this looks with those vintage buttons.

And here it is!

I just love how it has turned out. I still used my regular machine for the yoke, but used the rolled hem around the arms and used the overlock stitch on the lining hem. I didn't need to hem the outer piece because I was sneaky and used the existing curtain hemming.

First Impressions

2008-08-07T17:43:00.006+01:00

Well, here she is! She arrived yesterday but I was on my way out so this is the first chance I've had to have a play.

I had never used one of these things before so I was glad that it came with a DVD. I loaded it up on my laptop and followed all the examples.

The differential feed means that you can tackle a range of fabrics and achieve a good finish. I have always struggled with stretch fabrics, and the Janome (she doesn't have a name yet) seems to be just the job.
I made lots of samples and noted the settings on them for comparison.

I'm looking forward to using this rolled hem to finish off garmets.

And by adjusting the tension it is easy to create a ruffle.

After playing with 3 and 4 threads, I rethreaded the machine with coloured thread (corresponding to the threading guides) to get a better idea of what each thread does.

Although I tied these on the existing threads, I get myself in a muddle changing from 3 to 4 needles so I did actually get a bit of practice threading from scratch. This Janome has an easy feed mechanism which is ... erm ... easy to feed.

By using different threads, I could play with the tensions and understand how each one affected the finish.
And achieved some nice decorative finishes.

And this is the proper rolled hem.

Tomorrow, I plan to make some more lounge pants using just a 4 thread overlock stitch on the seams. I'll post the results.

The choice is made!

2008-08-05T15:04:00.003+01:00

Thanks for the comments/ emails about the overlocker.

In the end, I went for this one.

(picture from sewingmachine.co.uk)

I picked the Janome because:
I have a Janome sewing machine that I really like, so I trust the quality
It can be used as a 2,3 or 4 thread machine
It has an easy thread lower loop
It has a built in rolled hem
It comes with an instructional DVD (very handy when you don't know what you're doing)
It comes with a project book (as above)
It didn't come with extra feet, but I was able to buy £190 worth for £50, and the machine was £30 off anyway so effectively I got twice as many feet for the same price as the Babylock
It has a retractable knife (I imagine I might sometimes want to produce an overlock stitch without trimming??? maybe??)
It has an adjustable cutting width

I can't recommend that particular website enough, by the way. I bought my sewing machine there last year and they do the best freebies I have ever seen, and it's free next day delivery, and they are extemely competitively priced anyway! What's more, within 10 minutes of getting the confirmation email (at 15.04 today), I received another email from them with the courier number confirming that it had been dispatched.

The even better thing, it didn't cost me anything. After watching me mooning over these for the past few days, Mr M said to me today "why don't you use my credit card to buy your interlocker?". Bless.

Tagged! Again!

2008-08-04T16:26:00.005+01:00

There's another one of these things doing to rounds. Thank you, Jo I haven't received this award before. I hope it's OK to repost the rules:

1. Link to the person who “tagged” you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.

3. Write six random things about yourself.

4. Tag six people at the end of your post.

5. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

6. Let the tagger know your entry is up.

Phew, I have posted so many random things on here I might repeat myself. Here goes:

I have just passed my GCSE Welsh exam (I got an A, by the way).
I hate my front teeth. They are too big, and when I smile for photographs I push my bottom lip over the bottom of them to make them look even. I would get them fixed but for my abhorrence of dentists.
I am very sensitive about my personal space and hate having it invaded, even by a loved one. I can't sleep "cuddled up" to someone. I am very uncomfortable with hugging (except for my partner and parents), and I hate being anywhere where some is likely to touch me (eg the hairdressers, sitting next to someone in the cinema etc)
I would rather be too cold than too hot.
I still cry whenever I fall over.
I get muddled with my alphabet, and have to run through from "A" in my head to get the letters in the right order.

OK, my 6 tagees are (sorry, I can't remember all your real names):

Much Ado About Nothing Part II

2008-07-31T20:59:00.001+01:00

OK, I know the quality isn't great because I took it on my camera, but you'll get the idea.

Much Ado About Nothing

2008-07-31T14:39:00.003+01:00

Last night we braved the rain to see The Lord Chamberlain's Men perform at Harlech castle. I love this group; we saw them two years ago and have been dying to catch another of their productions ever since.

They keep the performance as authentic as possible, with a wooden stage and an all male company.

Unfortunately, the weather was so bad they had to halt for a quick non-period squeegy mop of the stage (after Benedick took a nasty tumble off the stage).

The rain soon stopped and as darkness fell the stage looked magical.

Help me choose an overlocker

2008-07-30T12:36:00.004+01:00

I need an overlocker. I have decided, I'm going to take the plunge and buy a proper overlocker. It will make my life complete. Honest.

I just can't choose - some of them are very expensive and I can't afford to fork out hundreds of quid on another sewing gadget.

I'm mainly going to be using this for finishing seams. I want to be able to do stretch fabrics on it, and maybe create some nice finishes with rolled hems. So, nothing too fancy, but something with enough functions that I can learn to grow with.
I have seen some great reviews, but these are of the more pricey models and I really don't want to spend so much money - although I will spend as much as I need to to get a good machine.

So, it's between this Janome: which I have to buy extra feet (do I need the extra feet? Will I use a piping foot? and is this different from the one I already have for my sewing machine?) and this Babylock: comes with lots of extras but can only be used with 3 or 4 threads (will I ever need to use with just 2 threads?)
I also like the idea that the Janome can have the blade retracted - sounds like a useful thing to have, but is it?
Of course, I'd really like this Pfaff, but it's a bit pricey. should I be saving up to spend more? Or will one of the cheaper ones do the job?

So: what do you think?

Why I hate people

2008-07-29T15:07:00.004+01:00

.. alternative title: I have worked in retail WAAAAAY too long!

This post from my old friend (see what I did there? I did that on purpose teehee) reminded my that I have meaning to share a website with you for ages.

My first job was working in my parents' newspaper kiosk at the train station, my first real job (by which I mean one where I actually got paid the going rate) was in a bakery. I never liked serving the customers, I liked being out back making sandwiches. Honestly!

My next job while I was at university was in the kitchens of a very snooty boarding school where I had to deal with snotty, spoiled, rich kids and snotty, spoiled, rich house staff. But I was a student, and I got fed.

Then when I left university I worked in a bank (oh! I met the most stupid and annoying people ... on both sides of the counter) And with my maths skills I didn't last long...

Finally, I moved to a call centre dealing with business mobile phones. This was a good call centre, not one of those "press 1, press 2" types of places but one where the number you had actually got you put through to a real, live person who knew what they were talking about. Our team was the best trained in the company and eventually I worked as a manager there with a team of very intelligent and sensible (and patient!) people. But the customers .... oh my! And talk about high pressure ...

All this left me with a nervous breakdown aged 25, I took a sixth month break and when I came back to work I couldn't be arsed with it all anymore. I decided to give it all up and move to the countryside.

Which brings me here. If you have ever had to serve stupid, ignorant, rude people, you will get it.

The curious incident of the blog in the night-time

2008-07-25T12:03:00.008+01:00

Well, although it was a gloriously hot day (26 degrees), it was a bit too windy to take the dogs out, so we had a "jobs" day. This included fixing a trailer, cleaning and vacuuming the car, cleaning all the mirrors in the house, gardening, laundry, and playing with the Big Ball (that last one was just the dogs, but it's a very important job that MUST be done at full speed, regardless of the weather).
As a treat, Mr Marmadaisy and I took ourselves off the the outdoor theatre in Harlech to watch The Hound of the Baskervilles. If you are in the UK please do check out this theatre company , they are touring all over the UK this summer and the performance was absolutely fantastic. It was witty, energetic and very entertaining. Take a picnic and a comfy chair.

I didn't get any shots of the first half, because I was worried about the noise my camera would make, but in the interval I worked out how to turn the sound off.

Here is Mr Marmadaisy being arrested because of his beard. Stangely enough, they didn't comment on his trousers - so obviously not the fashion police then!

This was the stage set up in the grounds of the theatre.

The cast (all four of them!) played various roles, and the use of props was so imaginative and witty.

Carriages were depicted by vigorous bouncing up and down and coconut shell noises.

The denoument!

This is the third spontaneous thing we have done this week! For a couple of anally-retentive, obsessive planners that's very worrying!

Playing hookie two days running ... and I don't care!

2008-07-23T20:55:00.008+01:00

(Lots of pictures in this one, sorry)
Mr Marmadaisy has been planning to go to his mum's in Oxfordshire for months and because of problems with having no-one to take care of the animals we were not planning on me going, until this week my parents came to the rescue and said they would watch our dogs for us (thanks MUM, I hope you don't regret it!)
You know how when you plan a last minute trip away there's always lots to do: ironing, packing, making lists for the dog sitters, cleaning, gardening ...?
Yesterday I woke up with stomach cramps, sweats, and general crappiness which I can only attribute to Monday night's prawns in spring onion and ginger sauce. So I did none of those things and spent the day on the sofa in my pyjamas. Which meant I had double jobs today. Except, I didn't do them today either, I went here instead:

This is Tre'r Ceiri, an impressive Iron Age Hillfort. It sits some 500-odd feet at the top of this hill. And it's a steep climb!

We were a little worried about the sea mist, but it turned out OK. There are something like 150 huts still visible, I couldn't get too close to take pictures as it's a preservation site and you're not supposed to climb on them.

The site dates back to about 70AD and was a stronghold against the Romans - some walls are still as much as 3m high.

I hope these give you some idea of the height.

Of course, some people always act the arse in photos!

Right at the top of the fort is a Bronze Age Cairn which, unfortunately, we couldn't get to because of this swarm of biting-flying things.

As I went to take a second picture of them I realised that the cloud had dispersed and we were suddenly under attack. Blech.

On the way home we stopped at this sweet little church which we found by accident last year.

St Beuno's Church was a stop off point for Pilgrims on their way to Bardsey Island. It's also the resting place of actor Rupert Davies (TV's Magrait).

It was quite over-run and I really wanted to go in but I didn't like to intrude into the grounds, so I just perched on the wall.

Then we went to see the derelict hotel Pistyll. We drove past this once impressive building about a year ago (which is how we found the church) and had to stop to take a look, I've been itching to go back and take pictures ever since. (By the way, how smart does my car look? Couldn't you just see me living in that great mansion? Hmm read on ...) Unfortunately, it was all fenced off. We did talk once about how amazing it would be to rennovate this fantastic building, but then we found out it's falling into the sea - which is why it's now derelict - and we decided not to put all our money it it!

So that concludes today's trip around the LLeyn. I now have three days' work to do tomorrow but guess what? If it's nice, we're going to take the dogs to the beach instead. Ha!

IN YER FACE, HOUSEWORK!!

Poetry Corner

2008-07-16T12:24:00.002+01:00

I love poetry, always have. I even went through a phase of writing it (no, I shan't be sharing it on here).
After reading this post I thought I would post my favourites. Sorry Marie, I'm doing a lot of copying today. Just like the old days (you do the Maths homework, I'll do the French and then we'll have more time for listening to crap pop music). And it is true, we DID used to learn poetry by heart, for fun. And sign language song lyrics. Incidentally, Suggs would have you believe that Birds Eye invented fish finger sandwiches. Actually, PTC and I used to eat them by the box-full with heinz vegetable soup when we were revising for our GCSEs.

I loved Marie's choices and If is certainly one of my favourites.

One Art
Elizabeth Bishop

The art of losing isn't hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.

Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.

Then practice losing farther, losing faster:
places, and names, and where it was you meant
to travel. None of these will bring disaster.

I lost my mother's watch. And look! my last, or
next-to-last, of three loved houses went.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.

I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,
some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.
I miss them, but it wasn't a disaster.

---Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture
I love) I shan't have lied. It's evident
the art of losing's not too hard to master
though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.

My second choice is by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. By the way, if you ever get a chance to read The Yellow Wallpaper by her you really ought to.

An Obstacle

I was climbing up a mountain-path/ With many things to do,
Important business of my own,/ And other people's too,
When I ran against a Prejudice/ That quite cut off the view.

My work was such as could not wait,/ My path quite clearly showed,
My strength and time were limited,/ I carried quite a load;
And there that hulking Prejudice/ Sat all across the road.

So I spoke to him politely,/ For he was huge and high,
And begged that he would move a bit/ And let me travel by.
He smiled, but as for moving!--/ He didn't even try.

And then I reasoned quietly/ With that colossal mule:
My time was short--no other path--/ The mountain winds were cool.
I argued like a Solomon;/ He sat there like a fool.

Then I flew into a passion,/ I danced and howled and swore.
I pelted and belabored him/ Till I was stiff and sore;
He got mad as I did--/ But sat there as before.

And then I begged him on my knees;/ I might be kneeling still
If so I hoped to move that mass/ Of obdurate ill-will
--As well invite the monument/ To vacate Bunker Hill!

So I sat before him helpless,/ In an ecstasy of woe
--The mountain mists were rising fast,/ The sun was sinking slow
--When a sudden inspiration came,/ As sudden winds do blow.

I took my hat, I took my stick,/ My load I settled fair,
I approached that awful incubus/ With an absent minded air
--And I walked directly through him,/ As if he wasn't there!
--Charlotte Perkins Stetson Gilman, 1898

With friends like these, who needs enemies?

2008-07-16T11:53:00.004+01:00

... or "The blackmail photos from Hell"

I hope Marie doesn't mind me using her Cookie pics (because I naughtily didn't ask. But she has known me for a very long time and is probably used to me borrowing her things)

I spent ages this morning trying to upload a current picture of me to my blogger profile, unsuccessfully. But instead you should go and have a look at this picture of me c.1992. It was taken by my friend, (now an ex-friend :p ) Marie. Funnily enough I don't have many pictures of me from my teenage years because I was convinced I was hideous and hated my teeth. I really wish I could go back and tell myself to cherish those years and keep more momentos. Anyway...

This was the final day of school (I should explain to non-UK readers that compulsory education finishes at 16, at which point you can choose to go on to Higher Education to do A-Levels based on what you want to study at University). We went to a school with a very strict dress code - the uniform had to be worn, no make-up, no jewellery. So this was a "fun day" with no lessons and relaxed rules, hence the non-uniform. It was also 1992, hence the green Pepe jeans and red Adidas trainers. I think this was probably my best outfit at the time.

Picture 1: was taken in Marie's bedroom. She has already gone into detail of the posters on the walls. For the record, I don't think either of us actually liked NKOTB music all that much. But we both wanted Donnie Wahlberg sooooooo badly. In fact, he is still on my "freebie" list! I think I was trying to look intelligent, but I don't know why.

Picture 2: was taken on the school field (you can see groups of similar friends behind us). I should point out that the carrier bag at Mrs Protect The Cookie's feet contained contraband (probably really cheap and nasty cider). And I have just remembered why I am wearing shades but I probably shouldn't say as my mum reads this blog. Remember, Marie?

Oh the memories ... I'll have to have a dig about and see what I can find by way of revenge. My mum swears she has evidence of Marie and me eating Pot Noodles - yeuch - but she has yet to produce the evidence.

I was only gone an hour!!

2008-07-15T21:23:00.005+01:00

Anybody want a dog?

We have four going free to good homes. They are very sweet ...

But can get a bit boisterous.

*** I am, of course, not serious. I shan't be getting rid of the dogs. I will probably have to get rid of that Chesterfield, though. Anyone want half a sofa? ***

Wardrobe Refashion gets CRIFTY

2008-07-06T14:43:00.009+01:00

There's nothing like a couple of rainy days and work-overload to make you want to have a good old closet sort out.

Within a couple of hours, I had a nice tidy closet with lots of room for new things (hurray!). I'm visiting with my folks next week and I always ALWAYS end up shopping with my Mum.

So, there was this for the charity shop:

And this for refashioning/ repair:

I can't decide whether to call this crifty (crafty+thrifty) or thrafty (thrifty+crafty). Either way, it's a couple of hours of crafting fun that costs no money - in fact, it saves money. So I can justify buying myself a new set of GHD stylers :)

I bought a set of three of these types of tops. They looked nice in the catalogue, but turned out to be shapeless, boring and unflattering. This picture does not do justice to how shapeless and baggy this top is. I only ever wore it for cleaning out the horses.
Restyle 1: I cut off the sleeves and resized the body by sewing (using a ball needle and stretch stitch setting) the sides again about 2 inches from the original side seam. I hemmed the arm holes. I tried the top on and measured under my bust (about 4 inches from the bottom of the arm hole). I then attached a length of ribbon just at the sides, so it would tie under the bust. I added a couple of iron on motifs from my stash.

Restyle 2: I cut off the sleeves and resized the original body. I cut the bottom off a jersey tunic which I loved but had ripped across the bust. I made bell sleeves out of the old tunic (I just cut across the bust, then split the bottom section in two and re-sewed to make sleeve shapes, using the old brown sleeve as a size guide for the arm-hole) I also removed the faux buttons from the brown top, and the faux white undershirt piece which was in the V-neck, and replaced with a section from the patterned tunic.
Refashion 3: I cut off the sleeves and resized the original top slightly, keeping it still quite loose fitting. I cut the collar and sleeves off a too-small shirt and stitched them to the blue top. Be careful to make sure you keep left and right sleeves on the correct sides or the fit will be wrong. I used lots of pins for the collar and sewed it inside first (inside of collar to inside of neck), then folded over and top stitched it on the outer edge of the neck (under the collar flap) to catch the raw edge within the stitching.

I also took off the faux buttons and faux undershirt piece and used a hook and eye fastening to bring the neck edge in.

Refashion 4: This was a polo shirt that I loved but refused to stay fastened and kept bursting open, and a cute T-shirt (size 8!!!). The T-shirt was tightest across the shoulders so to ease that I cut out the sleeve pieces, leaving just the neck intact. This made a vest shape which then slipped over the polo shirt, covering the gaping area.
You can't see very clearly but the polo collar comes over the top of the vest.

I also made some darts in a baggy shirt to make it fit better.

I finally got around to sewing a ripped side seam in a much-loved knitted sweater.

I removed the tatty lace from around a vest top and replaced it with new lace.

I found a corset style top which was too small (another size 8! my boobs must have grown a lot lately!) which I fixed by making an insert from cotton and sewing under the corset fastening, so that the lace can be left looser and what would have been exposed skin underneath is covered by fabric. I haven't taken pictures of these ones though.

I am left with a pair of trousers which are nice but are made an itchy fabric, they need to have a lining made up from cotton, and a plain white but too-big T-shirt which is going to be turned into a halter top when I get around to buying some lace for it.
I hope you enjoyed this little fix-it. If you want any further details, send me an email and I'll happily send you the destructions.

A dog's life

2008-07-03T22:11:00.003+01:00

I think most of the country has had awful weather this week. Here, it has been humid and wet which means that the weeds have taken over. I was going to take a picture of the triffids but it's too depressing.
Add to that a pretty big University assignment, a puppy with an ear infection (have you ever tried squirting drops into a puppy's ear? It's not easy!) and 10 stitches, and a new bathroom to organise and it has been pretty exhausting around here.

Some of us have found better places to snooze than others!

Playing out

2008-07-02T20:38:00.002+01:00

We had the Cookiemonster spayed last week, hence the lack of blogging activity as I'm on 24 hour stitches duty. She is doing well, and the stitches come out on Monday.
In the meantime, here are the 3 young dogs playing a game of tug last week (pre stitches).
See you soon!

A real pea souper

2008-06-26T20:15:00.004+01:00

No, not the weather (although it has been pretty horrible today). You know when you decide to defrost the freezer and you then have to have all kinds of strange meals? Mr Marmadaisy and I have been having some very odd combinations lately, but we had pretty much got down to the last item. What does one make with half a bag of frozen peas?

You need:
About 400g frozen peas
About pint and half water
Vegetable stock cube
About 10-12 mint leaves
A small onion
A small potato

Chop the onion and peel and finely chop the potato. Fry in about a tablespoon of your chosen oil (I used corn oil) until soft.
Add the peas and fry for a couple of minutes, without letting them burn. Add about half of the mint leaves, about a pint of water and the stock cube and simmer gently until the potato is cooked through. Add a few more mint leaves.
Wizz in a blender or use a hand blender and blend until smooth (I like to leave a few peas un-blitzed)
Add a little more liquid if you want a thinner soup.
Add salt and pepper to taste, and you should serve with a dollop of creme fraiche but I didn't have any, so mine just has loads of cracked pepper on it.

Marmadaisy cookies

2008-06-20T17:52:00.002+01:00

This is the first cookie recipe I have actually made up myself, and I'm quite pleased with them. These are not refined cookies, they are chunky, clumpy and full of bits but they are sooo yummy, and take hardly any time to make.

You will need:

4oz butter
5oz soft brown sugar
6oz plain flour
large tablespoon cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
Pinch of salt
1 egg
6oz peanut M&Ms (or bits of chocolate, or minstrels, or whatever)

To make them:

Cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy.
Mix the egg and vanilla and add slowly.
Sift the dry ingredients and add, mixing slowly, a bit at a time.
Stir in the M&Ms

Put baking paper on a couple of trays and drop dessert spoon lumps onto the paper - leave room for them to spread out.

Bake in a moderately hot oven (I have an Aga, so I can't give exact temps but I would say use about Gas mark 4/5) for 12 or so minutes.

Leave to cool slightly before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Fat Quarter Friday - "Doggy loggy bags" bag

2008-06-20T17:02:00.007+01:00

Hurray! The Fat Quarter Fridays are back! (Admittedly, this one is a little tardy but is is still Friday)

This week's FQF tutorial is another things you didn't know you needed to make yourself. Has anyone else noticed how many crafty bloggers are also animal owners? Most of us, I think. Anyway, when you take 4 dogs to the beach as we did this week (leaving the camera in the car and therefore having NO pictures of the puppy's first paddle. durrrr!) you need a few "loggy bags". For the uninitiated, that means plastic bags to put your dog's poo in.

When you own a dog, every coat pocket, handbag, glove compartment and picnic basket has a stash of bags - until you have a clear out, and then discover that you don't have any in the particular coat you are wearing at the time your dog does a big poo in the middle of the street, and it can be a bit of a pain. So, here is the Marmadaisy "doggy loggy bag" bag. It is based loosely on my carrier bag holders. Please don't copy this design to sell or reproduce, although of course you are more than welcome to make them to use or give away.

(can you tell from this picture that we also use these particular kinds of bags to put treats in when we go for walks?)

You will need:

A strip of fabric 32x26cm

18cm elastic

10cm 1 inch ribbon

A 1 inch thumb clip

To put it together:

Fold the fabric in half, and sew the side seam. Use a zig-zag stitch or overlocker to neaten the raw edges.

Fold over the bottom edge 1cm, press. Then fold over 2cm, press, and sew a channel close to the folded edge - leave a small gap at one end to thread your elastic through.

Secure one end of the elastic to a safety pin, and thread through the channel, knotting the two ends together. Use the tip of some scissors to poke the knot through the hole you left.

Turn inside out. Thread the ribbon through a thump clip, and drop inside the pocket (so it will be on the outside when turned right side out). Pin in the centre and then sew the top seam. Then match the side seams to the top seam, and sew a line 2cm in from the point, to make a flat corner.

Zig zag or overlock the edge again. Then turn the right way around.

You now have a clip at the top, and a gathered elasticated bottom to shove bags in, and quickly pull them out when needed. This is great because usually this is done one-handed (as you have the dog's lead in the other hand).

When not in use it can be stored with your dog's lead, so you never forget!

Tagged!

2008-06-18T20:42:00.004+01:00

I have been tagged by Jo, I know lots of people have already done this. Perhaps nobody is interested in what I was doing 10 years ago. Anyway...

What was I doing 10 years ago?

In 1998 I had just moved into my first house with my then-boyfriend. I think this time 10 years ago we were just about to break up. I had also just lost my crappy job at the bank and had started working for a really fun company in Warrington. Most of the people I worked there with are now on my Facebook friends list. I was having a lot of fun, not earning much money, had a house that was freezing cold because it didn't have any heating, or a carpet in the bedroom, or even a bed in the bedroom. I think it was fun, but I remember money being a worry. The ex was a tight arse. Anyway ...

5 things on my "to do" list today.

I'm writing this at 9pm, and have done rubbish with my list because it hasn't stopped raining and I haven't felt like doing jobs today.

Clean the guinea pigs out (not done)
Cut the dogs' nails (kind of done, I only did one of puppy's feet because she was wriggling and it was too much)
Choose bathroom tiles, shower unit, towel rail (shower unit and tiles picked, the towel rail caused a minor disagreement here at chez Marmadaisy so was rain checked)
Make this week's FQF (done, in fact I made a mess of the first design, and made 2 of the perfected design)
Do this meme (in progress!)

Things that I would do if I were a billionaire.

This is so tricky to answer, because we are very lucky that we have enough money for the modest lifestyle we enjoy. I would give most of it away. A large chunk would go towards opening an animal sanctuary locally, and I would probably buy a holiday home somewhere remote and beautiful where friends and family could holiday for free.

Places I have lived.

I'm so boring. I have lived in St Helens, Cheltenham and Wales. That's it!

Snacks I like.

I love eating and am a big snacker. I like most crisps (not ready salted), salad sandwiches, cheese on toast, homemade cookies (I don't like shop bought biscuits, weird huh?), pickled onions, fruit and nut toblerone, haribo.

People I want to know more about.

Everyone who reads this blog. If you haven't done this meme and feel like doing it, please do and post a link for me to go and read yours.

Happy Father's Day

2008-06-15T10:07:00.002+01:00

I love this picture of my Dad. It was taken the first time my parents came up to this house - before I lived here. It was around my birthday so mid-March, but the weather was glorious. This is how I always think of my Dad, relaxing outside with a pint.

Unfortunately, I think this is how he thinks of himself. Look at those shoes!!!

I always knew it!!

2008-06-15T10:05:00.001+01:00

I got this from Trashcan. It wasn't much of a suprise!

As a 1930s wife, I am
Superior

Take the test!

*** Addendum! Mr Marmadaisy took the husband version and got a "very superior" 110 points. I guess I'll keep him after all ***

Piped bag handle tutorial

2008-06-10T11:37:00.008+01:00

There are some gorgeous bags being made around blogland lately. Sadly, none of them by me (it's on my list ... okay??).

Check out this little beauty by Marmaladekiss. Julia said she'd had problems with making the handles, so I thought I'd pop a quick tutorial on about how I do it.

You will need:

Piping cord, whatever size is suitable for your bag style
A strip of fabric to cover your cord
A small amount of sticky tape
A loop turner (a very inexpensive bit of kit which you will get from most sewing shops, and very handy to have! I think mine cost less than £2)

First of all, this is what a loop turner looks like. You could probably make one from some stiff craft wire, bent over at the end to form a hook.

To work out the size of the fabric strip, fold your fabric in half, with the cord in the middle until it is covered, then measure 1cm (you need 1cm either side of the cord, for the seam allowance). Press the strip flat.

Fold in half right sides together, without pressing, and sew the edges together. Backstitch at the ends , but don't sew right up to the end. Trim seam allowance.

Insert loop turner.

Poke the prong through the farbic at the end, and secure the hook in place.

Fiddle until you can pull the fabric back through the tube. (I forgot to trim my seam allowance, just pretend, OK?)

Gently pull the fabric through itself, until eventually it comes out the other end of the tube.

Unclip the loop turner. Poke the loop turner back through the tube. Wrap a small amount of tape around the end of you piping cord. Push the loop turner up into the tape, starting at the open end, push it in between the cord and the tape until it comes out of the tape, then secure the loop in place.

Gently pull the cord through. Press the handle with the cord inside, which acts as a mini seam press and avoids nasty crease marks.

Easy when you know how!

In other news....

We have had some great weather this weekend, so we went out in the Marmadaisy twice.

We took two trips to Puffin Island, which is quite tricky as we had to negotiate the sandbanks down the Menai Straits.

The best bit though was mooring at Caernarfon castle to partake of the goods at ye olde ice-cream van. Just like they did in the days of Edward I.

Blonde

2008-06-07T20:45:00.002+01:00

Five hours well spent, I think.

Goodies

2008-06-01T14:59:00.002+01:00

The Inspirational Summer Swap was a lot of fun, I hope the next one is as successful.

Here are my goodies, which I am so pleased with.

I wish I had taken pictures of how beautifully Doris wrapped everything, but I was just too eager to see what I had.

A gorgeous journal, and a moleskine.

And this sweet box of prompts - just the thing for some inspired crafting!

And now my turn ... the winner of the FQF giveaway is ....

Junie Moon!

Please send me your address so I can send your soap.

Top 10 tips for getting rid of slugs.

2008-05-30T20:54:00.003+01:00

Picture courtesy of this site.

I have been asked about how to deal with slugs in the vegetable garden. Now, I don't profess to be an expert but I have never EVER encountered so many slugs as I have living here. So, thanks for the query, and here is my answer.

The best advice I can give is kill the buggers!

Seriously, there are several options, depending on how drastic/ organic you want to be.

1. Eggs shells. Crushed egg shells all around your tender greens is supposed to stop the slugs from getting to them, because they don't like the sharpness. Personally, this has never worked for me but then Welsh slugs may be particularly hardy.

2. Copper. Apparently, slugs don't like the feeling of copper either. It's a bit like putting a battery on your tongue - so they say. A barrier of copper around your pots or plants stops them. Again, I have had limited success here.

3. Beer. Bury deep dishes in the soil, up to the rim and half fill with beer. The slugs will be lured into the pot, but will be too drunk to climb back out again and will drown. I haven't tried this one because it seems like a waste of beer that I could drink, but I guess it's not such a bad way to go.

4. Raised beds. These help a lot actually. We built up our vegetable beds with timber and then filled with our own compost. The slugs find it more difficult to get in. But this is a lot of work and you will still get some slug damage from determined pests.

5. Companion planting. Plant things that slugs LOVE to eat close to - but not right next to- your greens. Hostas are good for this. The idea is that the slugs will eat the other plants and not your veggies. On the other hand, you might just encourage lots of slugs to come to your 'all you can eat garden buffet'!

6. Hedgehogs. These are great for gardens because they eat slugs and other creepies. Encourage them into your garden by leaving piles of leaves/ twigs for them to hide in, and put out food at night (pet food, meat scraps, peanut butter or muesli, NOT bread and milk). Of course, you should not leave food lying out during the day as this will encourage flies. The other problem with leaving food is that you might inadvertently attract unwanted pests like rats and foxes.

7. Poison. I must admit that, although I try to be organic, I DO use slug pellets. Quite a lot. We just get so many slugs it's impossible to control them otherwise. Follow instructions carefully, usually you are safe to sprinkle pretty liberally around greens but take special care that they don't become lodged in salad leaves etc. They are usually bright blue and contain a chemical which makes them highly un-appealing to domestic pets, but there is always a chance that your dog/cat/child will have a little nibble and that is not good news. Also, if you are trying to get hedgehogs into the garden, you don't want them eating slugs that have poison in their system. Tricky one.

9. Sprinkle salt on them when you see them. Of course, this means that you have to actually be vigilant and also that you have to pick up dessicated slug bits. It might also adversely affect your soil balance.

8. By hand. This is probably the best way to dispose of slugs, IMO, although it's pretty gross. I used this method when we were over run in the conservatory a couple of years ago - seriously, it was so bad the cat wouldn't go near them! Slugs like it best on warm, damp evenings. Usually dusk is the best time when the ground is still warm (and when there has been recent rainfall). Go out with a torch and scoop them up by hand (wear gloves, because slug slime is particularly nasty), putting them into a bucket filled with water and LOADS of salt. Like, a cup of salt to 2 litres of water. Then, tip the slug-water away somewhere safe. You need to put enough salt in to kill them otherwise they crawl out again. Repeat for several evenings. Slugs are experts at hiding during the day, you must do this at night.

9. Get rid of eggs. Slugs lay frothy frog-spawny type eggs. Get rid of it if you see it.

10. Ducks. At the end of your growing season, let a couple of ducks rummage around in your vegetable garden. They will clear up old vegetable debris and any hiding slugs and snails. Of course, they will also eat anything else you leave around so move your prize flowers. Also, take care to remove any potentially poisonous plants (eg foxglove, lupins).

Incidentally, never plant potatoes in soil that has been very recently fertilised with manure, as this ecourages keeled slugs (the kind that live underground and lurk inside your potatoes, blurgh).

So, there you have it. I'd love to hear any other suggestions.

Giveaway is coming up soon (ish).

A tale of two Cookies

2008-05-29T12:30:00.003+01:00

First of all, Happy Birthday to my friend Marie. Pop over to PTC and wish her many happy returns.

Secondly, nobody could protect this Cookie after she climbed out of a tiny hole in the fence (she's just not growing fast enough Grrr) and had a fun time rolling in everything she could find in the fields. She did NOT smell good enough to eat when she came in.

She smells slightly better now, although eau de wetdog isn't exactly great either.

Fat Quarter Friday is taking a very small break as I have exams. I thought I could do both, but I can't so there! But do check back as I will be drawing a winner from last week's tutorial to win some yummy coconut soap (made by me).

Fat Quarter Friday Tutorial - Folding tray

2008-05-22T19:22:00.008+01:00

Welcome to this week's Fat Quarter Friday Tutorial. This week, we will be making this little dish for putting your rings, watch etc in. This tray folds down flat for travelling, it takes up no room in a suitcase or bag, but then when you want it you just clip it togather and you have a little dish for bits and bobs. Great for when you are on holiday. This would also be a great gift for a man (they are so hard to make things for) as a change tray.

You will need:

2 pieces of fabric 22cm by 23cm (I've made it slightly longer on one side for ease in the final steps)

1 piece of card 8cm square

4 pieces of card 8cmx5cm

4 press-studs

Ribbon to decorate (optional)

To put it together:

First, sew the two squares together, right sides together leaving one of the shorter edges open.

Turn right side out and press, making sure to push out the corners fully.

With the open end at the bottom, measure and mark with chalk 6 cm in from the edge, then 8cm from this mark. Draw a straight line down so that the fabric is divided into 3 sections. Sew down these lines, leaving 1cm at the top and 2cms at the bottom.

Draw lines in the same way horizontally, at 6cm and 14 cm from the top edge, but do not stitch yet.

This will be the placement of the cardboard pieces in the following steps.

Insert piece 1. Sew the first horizontal line to keep it in place.
Insert centre piece, and pieces 2 and 3. Sew the next line.
Insert piece 4.

It should now look like this:

Fold in the bottom edge, press and sew a 1cm margin all around each edge.

Use a decorative stitch (I just used zig-zag for speed) all around.

Sew press studs at the sewn lines on each non- card corner as shown.

Put some ribbon or ric rac around the outside, if you want.

To assemble, simple press the press- studs together at the corner to make a box shape.

Don't forget, there's a prize for one person who comments on this post. I'll draw names out of a hat (or something) in one week.

Quick envelopes and mailers

2008-05-21T17:21:00.003+01:00

Following yesterday's CD case, I thought I'd post these pics of the mailers I sometimes use.

I haven't bothered with tute pics because they're so easy.

For the large one I used 2 pieces of 12x12 craft paper. I sliced about 8cm off the top of one piece. I measured out some bubble wrap to to size of the smaller piece, minus about 1.5cm margin all around. Cut 2 pieces, and stick on the wrong side of the papers. On the bigger piece, make sure you position the bubble wrap towards the bottom.

Then, I used sticky dots (or use strong craft glue or double sided tape) to stick down three sides - leave the top open for you to pop your bits in! Press the edges down hard, you might want to put it under a heavy book or something until it dries.

To seal, fold down the top tab of the bigger piece and I use double sided tape to secure.

For the smaller one, I folded a piece of 12x12 paper and then cut a rectangle out from one of the halves. To do this, slice down the crease about 4 or 5 cm, then across. Follow the instructions above (but this time obviously you're going to leave a side open).

These make really pretty mailers for when you just want to send a smallish thing, but remember that they are slightly heavier than a normal envelope so bear it in mind when posting!

Quick CD case tutorial

2008-05-20T17:30:00.003+01:00

I'm sending some CDs out this week, and thought that it would be nice to make some summery cases.

So, here's a quickie tutorial:

You need:
2 pieces of thickish paper (I used some scrapbook paper) cut into 15cm squares (handily, about 1/4 of a piece of 12x12 scrapbook paper!)
Good quality paper/ craft glue**

1. Cut pieces out neatly.

2. On the reverse side, mark out a 1 cm margin on all sides.

3. Fold over all sides and use a finger nail or similar to make the creases. Glue down one side (this will be the top, if your paper has one). Then mitre the corner as follows:

4. Mitre the bottom corners.

5. Fold over the other three sides, and repeat on the other piece of paper. Put glue on the patterned bits of one sheet that you have just folded over. Use plenty of glue BUT be careful to only apply it to the folded edges.

6. Carefully match the sides up and press the two paper pieces together.

(All sides enclosed, and a nice, neat top edge).

** Addendum: I've just been playing about with this and instead of glue I used those 1cm strips of sticky dots. It worked much better! Also, I used the tip of an old seam ripper to score the fold lines which gives a crisp edge.

I've got a lovely bunch of coconut soaps...

2008-05-19T12:09:00.005+01:00

By the way, this is the second time I have taken a great picture only noticing later that particular dog in the background.

... and I'm giving a slab away (approx. 3oz) to one lucky commenter!

Just leave a comment on this week's fat quarter tutorial, and I'll enter all the names into a hat the next week (so that will be a draw on 30th May, from comments made on the post from 23rd May, OK?). I made this soap yesterday; it has a totally natural soap base, isn't artificially coloured, contains coconut and olive oil, and is not tested on animals. Unless one of the dogs rolls in something and then it will tested on them for its ability to remove smelly horse poo. By the way, this week's FQF Tute is 'holiday based', I got the idea when I was at my parents' last week. I think it's one of the most useful ones yet.

In other news ... more stuff from the Open University! I'm just trying to get my assignment finished today so that Mr Marmadaisy can proof read it for me.

And ... I have finally finished my apron for the Apron Swap. I don't want to post pics until I've packaged everything up and sent it to my swappee, but it features some rather cute buttons ...

And some pretty nifty fabric matching on the pockets ...

Fat Quarter Friday - Rose buds

2008-05-16T13:29:00.006+01:00

Welcome to this week's Fat Quarter Friday tutorial. Please feel free to use this tutorial to make your own rose buds to use or give as a gift, but please do not make them to sell without my permission. If you pass this tutorial on please link back to this blog. And if you make any, I'd LOVE to see them!

Now, I know that at this time of the year we all like to see real flowers, but I've always felt somewhat uncomfortable with the mass grown, flown thousands of miles varieties we get in the UK. Anyway, these ones are sweet and you can make them out of Moda fabric whilst drinking wine in the garden.

You will need:
3 circles of fabric per flower. I used a coaster as a template. One fat quarter will make about 7 buds.
Florist's wire (quite a thick gague as these are quite heavy on the stem).
A bit of craft glue.
Some green wool or embroidery floss.

To make them up:

Get all your fabric bits ready beforehand. I'm going to make some more in red, but as I was doing this last night I didn't have time to do two sets.
Trim your wire to about 22cms in length, using wire cutters.

Fold your first circle in half, wrong sides together. Fold one edge in by about 1/3, and the other by about 2/3. Use small dabs of glue to keep in place if necessary.

Dab a small amount of glue down the centre and place the wire on the glue, about 1 cm from the top edge.

Roll the fabric around the wire, starting at one end and finishing at the other end. Dab glue to keep in place.
Fold the next circle down about 3/4. Place over the first piece of fabric, with the centre of piece 2 at the join of piece one. Make this piece ever so slightly proud of the top of the bud.

Fold the two sides down to match up with the edges of the first roll of fabric.

Roll one side around the bud, then the next side, pinching at the bottom and holding in place with a dab of glue.
Repeat the above with the third circle of fabric, keeping open edge as close to the bottom of the bud as possible.

Pinch tightly at the base to form a bud shape.

Unfortunately, this is where my batteries died in the camera. Wrap green wool or floss around the base, covering all the open edge. Tie tightly in place.

Please excuse Marmadaisy ...

2008-05-15T20:52:00.002+01:00

I haven't got much done today between going to Welsh class, doing the mountain of laundry and having an unpleasant visit to the opticians. I thought my blurred vision was due to a change in my contact lense prescription, turns out I'm (for the first time ever) getting allergy symptoms. Apparently, I have swollen conjunctiva and "stringy, sticky mucus" under my eyelids. Hmmm nice.

Anyway, this week's FQF tutorial is almost done - the batteries died on me near the end of the picture taking and it's a bit too dark to finish now. I'm at the dentists first thing, so will tute you when I get back.

No red wine for me tonight, boo to dentists!

Decisions, decisions ...

2008-05-14T20:58:00.003+01:00

Now that we are back from our zip along the Menai Straits (which was slightly choppier than expected, hence we didn't go out to sea and I needed both my hands to hold on, so no piccies. Sorry!) I need to decide what to do with my evening.

Do I get on with some work?

Or decide what I'll knit next?

Or shall I just park in front of the TV with a glass of wine and Desperate Housewives?

What do YOU think?

It will be an easy peasy tutorial this week - that can be done out in the sun and NO SEWING.

What I did on my Summer holidays.

2008-05-14T14:30:00.004+01:00

Well, not really. I spent a lovely couple of days at my parents' house this week, hence the lack of blogging activity. I just had my wrists slapped by Marie.
Nothing like a warm welcome is there?

That's more like it! Anyway, after a few white wine spritzers in the garden we decided on a shopping trip to the Lowry centre on Monday. Unfortunately, you're not allowed to take pics inside but I did get a couple.

And when I got home, Mr Marmadaisy had done the signage on the boat!

How cool is that??

We're popping out now for a little spin in her, so will post pics tomorrow.

Fat Quarter Friday Tutorial - Chicken bookends

2008-05-08T19:31:00.007+01:00

For a pair you will need:

About half of a fat quarter
Some buttons or beads
A small about of orange felt or thick ribbon
A small amount of wadding
10 pieces of red ribbon - 5cms long
Rice, pea gravel, or similar (I used gravel from the garden centre, it was about £3 for 5kg, I washed and dried it, and it works great in doorstops etc)

Make the pattern:

Cut out a piece of paper 20cm long by 15cm wide.

Mark the half-way point along the top edge. On the left hand side mark 5cms down, and on the right mark 8cm. Draw a curved line around these points (the dotted line).

Cut out 2 pattern pieces per chicken - I did one red and one white.

To make it up:

Fold the small pieces of ribbon in half, and pin along the right side of one fabric piece (on the short curved side). Machine tack in place.

Right sides together, sew the two fabric pieces together, just sewing about 4cms on each side of the bottom, backstitching at the ends.

Line up the side seam with the bottom seam and flatten the corner. Pin and measure 2cms from the point. Then sew along this line. Remove pin and trim seam.

You now have something like this:

Turn the right side out. Stuff a small amount of wadding in the top to shape the head. Then fill with gravel.

Hand stitch the bottom seam closed. Sew button or bead eyes in place, and cut a beak shape from felt or ribbon and sew or stick in place.

WIP

2008-05-08T19:25:00.005+01:00

Remember this pattern?

I'm about half way through, here is the WIP. I have made a few mistakes, but although they are slightly noticeable I'm not worrying too much about it. Obviously, I need to block that piece but I'm pretty pleased so far.

As you can see, I have LOADS of wool to make other things. I'm enjoying knitting more than anything else at the moment.

Friends Part II

2008-05-08T14:57:00.004+01:00

Thanks for all the comments and emails supporting the petition against that disgusting lunatic. I'm sorry if anyone was upset by it, I know it will prey on my mind for a long time.

Anyway, on to something much happier -the puppy that we rescued recently is settling in very nicely, thank you very much!

I hope everyone made a sun hat last week, just in time for this glorious weather! :) This week's FQF is a really quick and easy one. I also want to show you my WIP knitting tomorrow. I'll spend more time at the computer when it starts raining which I'm sure it will before long.

The first trip out on the boat

2008-05-08T14:45:00.003+01:00

I was trying to think of a witty title for this post, but decided in the end to go for one that just says what it is.

We took the boat out on Monday evening, and here are a few pics from the Menai Straits. It was really interesting to see where we live from a differnt perspective.

Petition - prevent serious animal cruelty in the name of Art

2008-05-05T09:12:00.005+01:00

I would like to be serious for a minute. I'll warn you now that this post might be upsetting.

Last year, an "artist" (Guillermo Habacuc Vargas) took a dog from the street and tied him up in a display in an art gallery, where the visitors and gallery staff all watched him starve to death.

Now, I'm all for freedom of artistic speech but I am absolutely horrified at the level of apathy and cruelty. Not only that, but he has been invited to repeat this cruel treatment again this year.

Warning: the following link has some pretty upsetting pictures, but if you feel able to please go here to sign a petition to prevent this atrocity.

As someone who has rescued several animals I'm so shocked and disgusted, I just can't even find the words!

Fat Quarter Friday Tutorial - Summer hat

2008-05-02T09:04:00.011+01:00

Welcome to this week's Fat Quarter Friday tutorial. Please feel free to use this tutorial to make your own hat to use or give as a gift, but please do not make them to sell without my permission. If you pass this tutorial on please link back to this blog. And if you make one, I'd LOVE to see it.

This IS cheating a little, as it actually takes a little more than a fat quarter (but just a little).
This hat is based on a 57cm hat – which fits my head. I don’t know if I have a larger or smaller than average head or not so it would be best to either measure your own head or measure a hat that you like the fit of. You will then need to adjust the measurements accordingly. (To work out the measurements, measure around your head where your hat would sit, divide the head measurement by 6.28 then minus 1cm to get the length of the string for the centre hole (don't forget this needs to be a bit smaller than your head to allow for the seam). To get the measurement for the top circle, add 2cm to the length of the string to give plenty of room for the seam allowance).

You can also make the hat stiffer than mine if you like by using timtex or similar. I’ve gone for a softer version because I wanted to be able to fold it up, put it into a bag, throw it into the wash and so on. Of course, you can also increse the width of the brim by making your donut shape wider.

You will need:
A little over ¼ yard fabric (about ½ yard if you want to put a flower embellishment on it)
The same amount of lining fabric
½ yard sew in interfacing
Newspaper, pencil and string

To make the pattern:
Fold a piece of newspaper into quarters, matching the sides perfectly. Use tape to secure the paper to your table.
Attach a piece of string to a pencil, taping in place. Measure 10.5cm from the pen and stick a pin through the string. Put the pin in the corner of the folded paper and draw an arc. Cut this out, this will be the top of the hat.

Repeat the above steps, measuring 8.5cm but before cutting out, draw another arc by measuring out 16.5cm. Cut out the big arc, and the centre arc. This will make a ring shape, this will be the brim.

The red mark shows what the arc should look like.

Cut out the fabric pieces: In your main fabric, cut 1 brim, 1 top and 1 strip 60cm x 10cm. In your lining fabric, cut the same. In your sew-in interfacing, cut the same, plus an extra brim.

Lay out your pieces as follows. The gap in the middle where the ruler is, is where your long strip will be cut (on the bias).

To put it together:
Machine baste the sew-in pieces to the main fabric pieces (leaving one sew-in brim spare), make sure to keep your stitches less than 1cm from the edge.

Sew the short sides of the strip together with a 1cm allowance. Press, and trim the seam.

Attach the brim to the top piece, right sides together. Pin in place then stitch. You might need to slide the pieces until it fits properly. Make sure you keep the shape of the brim, so that the hat stays round.

With a sewing needle and a double thread, run a line of long running stitches all around the bottom of the hat, fixing with a knot at one end. Pull the thread slightly to gather, until it fits into the hole in the brim. Pin in place, and stitch. Press the seams and trim them both down.

Clipping into the seam allowance on the centre hole of the brim will help to fit the pieces together.

Sew the lining strip and attach to the lining top in the same way above.

Place the lining brim piece (right side down) and then the extra sew-in lining piece over the main hat, so that it goes OVER the brim. You should have interfacing-brim-lining-interfacing.

Here is the top section of hat.
Lay the lining and then the extra interfacing over the brim of the made up hat.

Smooth the layers, pin together. Sew all around the outside of the brim. You might find it easier to use a walking foot, if you have one.

Use plenty of pins to keep the pieces together, sew slowly, and use a walking foot if you have one.

Trim the seam. Turn the brim right side out and press. The brim should now be right side up, with the lining underneath and two layers of interfacing in-between.

Top stitch close to the edge of the brim.

Run a long running stitch around the bottom of the lining hat piece. Push the lining hat piece into the main hat, wrong sides together. Then gather the stitches so that it fits the hole in the lining of the brim.
(I forgot to take a picture of this bit. You are basically going to attach the top part of the hat lining to the inner of the brim lining piece.)
Neatly slip stitch the inner brim to the inner hat – or - turn the edges inwards, pin and machine stitch.

I machine stitched.

Optional:
I made a fabric flower to cover the seam in mine, but this option might be a bit twee. To make the flower, take a strip of fabric 30cm x 8cm and fold in half lengthways (wrong sides together). Do not press. Tuck the two short edges in to make a neat end. Run a line of running stitch along the open edge. Gather the thread to pull the edge into a frill. Shape the flower and stitch in the middle. Attach a button or two to cover the centre. Then pin, stitch or glue over the seam.

Now all we need is some sunshine!

Friends

2008-05-01T16:51:00.007+01:00

When you're the new dog in the pack, it can be very daunting.

Especially if you're very small.

When everybody else is the best of friends.

It can feel like they are ganging up on you.

It can be hard to know where your place is.

But eventually your worst tormentors ....

...become your fiercest protectors.

Flush mufflers and cleats

2008-05-01T16:41:00.003+01:00

The boat has arrived!

We were all very excited about it!

Last day for the swap!

2008-04-30T14:42:00.005+01:00

There's still time to register for the craft swap over on Inspirational Craft Blogs.

To remind you, this swap is open to any crafter. The theme is "Summer" (for you to interpret how you like) and the idea is to swap a crafty goody that you have made with a crafty goody that someone else has made. You might get some cards, or a bag, or some jewellery ... who knows?

To enter, pop over here and read the rules, then email me at marmadaisy@hotmail.co.uk

I'll be picking swappers on Thursday.

Say "hello" to Cookie!

2008-04-27T19:28:00.005+01:00

OK, so this is what is EVEN MORE exciting than a boat!

Traditionally, Mr Marmadaisy receives his birthday present from me about three months before his actual birthday (August). While we were out shopping yesterday, we spotted a poster in the farm shop advertising rescue dogs. I phoned about a specific one who had already been rehomed, but they suggested another dog who might suit.

We went to see her yesterday and , of course, Mr Marmadaisy loved her straight away. So, this is Mr Marmadaisy's very early birthday present! This morning off we went to buy a new bed, bowl, lead, puppy food etc.

We have called her Cookie. Don't ask me what kind of dog she is. Apparently, she has some boxer in her but she's a bit of a mix.

She is four months old.

We all love her.

Fun things

2008-04-26T19:29:00.007+01:00

I just had to post this picture of the delicious purple sprouting broccoli that we have just had out of the garden. I almost gave up on this a few weeks ago - I planted it this time last year and was expecting it to sprout over Christmas. I'm so glad I persevered though. Yum!

Remember this post about the boats? Well, luckily we had our offer accepted and we should be the proud owners mid-week, I will post pictures when we collect it. In the meantime, of course, I needed deck shoes. Here are the ones I picked up locally for the bargain price of £7.

Not very inspiring, although I loved the colour.
This is what they look like now.

When we were at school, my friend Marie and I used to always funk up our shoes with ribbons and such. Funny, I had forgotten all about it until I bought these. (BTW, Get well soon Marie!)

I'm still playing with my new camera so please forgive any wobbly photos.

The most exciting news ...... I'll leave until tomorrow. It's a lot of fun!

Carnival of Modern Home Dwelling

2008-04-25T19:29:00.005+01:00

I've had this in my side bar for ages, and just never got around to telling you about it (and how gorgeous is that banner?) Anyway, it's the first ever carnival and looks like it will be lots of fun. You can get information about it here.

See you at the carnival!

Summer swap

2008-04-25T19:10:00.003+01:00

Don't forget to hop over to Inspiration Craft Blogs to register for the Summer swap.

Anyone can register, all you have to do is send an email to marmadaisy@hotmail.co.uk with your name, email address and blog address or website (if you have one). Then you can make whatever you like, as long as it's summery! Easy peasy.

Fat Quarter Friday Tutorial - Toe separators

2008-04-25T10:40:00.004+01:00

Welcome to this week's Fat Quarter Friday Tutorial.

This week, we have a guest tutorial from Julia at Marmaladekiss. I love this idea for toe separators - those plastic ones really hurt my short toes. I love the scalloped edging Julia has used here too!

This tutorial is a good one for even the most sewing challenged, won't take long to make and, as Julia says, would make a great stocking filler or little girlie pressie. Click here to go directly to the tutorial.

Now there's no excuse for scruffy feet, it's nearly flip-flop weather!

Fat Quarter Friday Tutorial - Shoe Fresheners

2008-04-18T09:43:00.004+01:00

Welcome to this week's Fat Quarter Friday tutorial. Please feel free to use this tutorial to make your own shoe fresheners to use or give as a gift, but please do not make them to sell without my permission. If you pass this tutorial on please link back to this blog. And if you make one, I'd LOVE to see it.

Natural shoe freshener (no chemicals!)

This week's is a really quick and easy one. Of course, if you make it as a gift you're kind of saying that your recipient has smelly feet but then, as Mr Marmadaisy says, if you have smelly feet you probably already know it!

We all love a good cuppa, and I know that I can't sew without at least one. But not many people realise that tea has been used as a natural deodorant for centuries. You can use black or green tea, but I find that black tea works best. Obviously, tea can leave nasty stains so don't use these in light coloured shoes, or shoes that are wet.

You will need:

4 pieces of fabric 10cm x 16 cm

Approx 100g Fair Trade loose leaf tea (you could also dry used tea bags and use the loose leaves)

To put it together:

Sew two pieces of fabric, right sides together around the two long sides and one of the short sides. Back stitch at the corners.

Trim the seams and corners.

Turn right side out and press.

Using a funnel, fill each sack to just over half way.

Shake gently to settle the contents to the bottom of the sack.

Turn the top edge in 1cm, and pin sides together to close the gap.

Sew the gap closed, being sure to take your stitches over the edges to completely close off the bottom.

You can top stitch all around the sides for extra strength (and to make it look nice).

Pop the sacks into your trainers/ wellies or whatever when storing and this should help them to stay fresh.

These ones were tested most rigorously on Mr Marmadaisy's slippers and let me tell you, they cope remarkably well.

Here are some more uses for tea.

Anna's got a brand new blog

2008-04-16T21:35:00.002+01:00

To celebrate 200 posts, I have treated myself to a spanking new domain name:

www.marmadaisy.com

Hurrah!

Although I'm still playing with it at the moment, I'm trying to move to Typepad but it keeps eating up all your lovely comments. Booooo Hisss.

Anyway, please update your bloglines and whatnot because I'll miss you if you go away sniff.

Inspirational Craft Swap

2008-04-15T22:07:00.009+01:00

Check out the swap going on here.

The theme is SUMMER, and we would love LOADS of people to enter.

A grand day out

2008-04-15T17:33:00.007+01:00

Mr Marmadaisy and I went to the seaside today. But we didn't go on the dodgems ...

... or the ghost train ...

... what else could we do in Pwllheli ...?

We looked at boats, of course!

The best sliced thing since ....

2008-04-13T16:10:00.003+01:00

First of all I'd like to welcome all the new people who have found me through Sew Mama Sew. Thank you for coming, I hope you like my blog and visit me again.

My second thank you goes to Florence and Julia for the tips about Buttonberry. I really needed to make a new throw for our bed but couldn't face a whole heap of cutting out (I have never really made friends with my rotary cutter).

The answer .... sliced fabric!

OK so my design isn't exactly ground breaking but I figured it's an easy enough one that I can do as and when.

What (who) I'm not so pleased with is this spotty dog:

Who has done this to my lovely scarf which I have worn once:

With it being such a loose knit I'm hoping I can fix it without it being too noticeable

Have a great weekend everyone!

WIP finished!

2008-04-11T11:14:00.003+01:00

I finally finished my scarf last night. I wanted it long so I could pretend to be Isadora Duncan in my car (not really).

It's a spring scarf, as it's not quite warm enough to have bare necks but too hot to be all bundled up. I love the wavy texture and the way it flows.

If you want the pattern - which is EASY - here it is.

I used two yarns - 4 ply grey and 2 ply dusky pink and knitted on 6.5mm needles. You'll have to swatch it up to get the effect you want - but you can use pretty much any gauge or any yarn and just adjust the number of stitches.

Cast on 35 stitches (or any multiple of 3, plus 2 extra for a wider or narrower scarf)

k1, *k1, yo, k2tog repeat from *, k1

Continue until your scarf is long enough!

Another View

2008-04-11T11:01:00.006+01:00

Angelsey Allsorts challenged everyone to take a photo from their kitchen window.

My kitchen has two windows, so here are my views:

This is our back garden, with the fenced off vegetable plot just visible over the little wall.

This is the side of our house (you can see where the dogs have their race track past the window!), looking out onto our field and over the valley to the next village.
It's a bit grim at the moment because of the weather, but really I do love where we live.

I just wish it didn't rain so much!

I'm going to redo my page a little bit, change my links at the side and add my "new favourite" blogs. I'm also going to have to moderate all comments as I keep getting spammy ones which I have to delete.

Fat Quarter Friday Tutorial - Reading Companion

2008-04-11T08:50:00.009+01:00

Welcome to this week's Fat Quarter Friday tutorial. Please feel free to use this tutorial to make your own bookmark to use or give as a gift, but please do not make them to sell without my permission. If you pass this tutorial on please link back to this blog. And if you make one, I'd LOVE to see it.

A fabric bookmark, attached to a case to hold your reading glasses (or sweeties!).

This week's idea was originally intended as a bookmark which also holds a pen. I designed it because when I'm studying, I end up using my pen as a bookmark and either get inky marks on my books or it drops out somewhere (then I've lost my pen AND my place).

Talking to my mum, she suggested making one for reading glasses, which I though was a brilliant idea. How many people keep their reading glasses on top of the book they're reading? Then they get knocked off or bashed or whatever. I completely messed up my pen one (which I will make at a later date), but I would make the section exactly the same way but using cotton about the same size as the bookmark piece. I think this would make a good gift for someone who does puzzle books or who is studying.

I used fleece as the lining for the glasses one because it's important to provide protection for spectacles to stop them getting scratched or damaged.

You will need:

A strip of timtex/ cardboard/ leftover piece of plastic bag bottom 2.5 wide by 17cm long.
2 pieces of fabric 4.5cm x 22cm
2 pieces of fabric 12cm x 20 cm, and 2 lining pieces the same size (I used fleece for my lining to make it squashy, you would get a sleeker look by using cotton or similar)
About 6cm piece of ribbon

First make the spectacle case

Tack the ribbon in place in the middle of one side of the case. Sew this piece to one lining piece, right sides together along the top edge.

Do the same for the other side (but without the ribbon).

Trim the seam, fold the flap over and press so that the top of the "right" side is slightly higher than the top of the fleece lining, then top stitch as close to the edge as you can.

Open out the two pieces again and pin and stitch down the two long sides, making sure that your top seams match.

Then trim the seams and turn right side out.

Push the lining back inside the outer shell, and press.

Push the outer fabric up out of the way and sew along the bottom edge of the lining. Trim the seam.

Then push the lining up out of the way and tuck the bottom edge of the outercase in by 1cm, pin and press, and then sew a straight line along the bottom edge.

Flatten it all out again and set aside.

To make the bookmark:

Put the two fabric pieces right sides together and stitch the two long seams and one short seam.

You should leave one short end open. Trim the seams and turn right side out, then press.

Insert the timtex/plastic piece, it should be about 1cm too short.

Tuck the open edges in 1cm and press. Then poke the end of the ribbon that is attached to the glasses case into the top and pin.

Stitch right across, making sure to securely catch the ribbon in place.

Next!

2008-04-10T17:16:00.004+01:00

Because I'm so busy at the moment with my Welsh exam coming up, loads of essays to research and write, my FQF commitment, work with the Guide Dogs to do and everything else, what I really need is not one, not two but three new projects [insert sarcasm here].

#1 I've just received my Japanese fabric to make my Amy Butler top. I wanted to get this done for April's competition but hmmm... let's see.

#2 I really need (want?) a new patchwork bedspread for our bed. With three dogs in the house things tend to get a bit trashed here. I've bought some gorgeous strip rolls by Moda and, in theory, the simple quilt I want to make shouldn't take too long.

#3 I'm moving on from my "one skein wonders" and have decided to step up my knitting. I've almost finished my current WIP and the next thing will be this vintage pattern.

I'm hoping to avoid the inane grin.

It's no wonder the vacuuming doesn't get done!

This is my 189th post so I must do something for the 200th. I've done a couple of giveaways now so suggestions in the comments box please. What would YOU like?

Room With a View

2008-04-10T11:45:00.004+01:00

I've just finished this week's tutorial which is another "thing you didn't know you needed to make".

I actually had the idea whilst working on my OU course, but speaking to my mum yesterday she mentioned another use which is even better. So I guess mums really do know best after all.

In the meantime, I thought you might like to see my view from my sewing room window - my sewing machine and desk are right in front of this window so I get lots of light and have a nice distraction. If I'd known I was going to take this pic I would probably have moved my car!

Of course, this is Wales so in the time it took to make the tutorial it has gone dark and started raining. I'll try to remember to post another picture in the summer when everything looks a bit cheerier.

Say cheese!

2008-04-07T17:46:00.005+01:00

Picture from cosmonet.org

Right, if I'm going to take proper pictures for my blog and ever improve my photography skills, I'm going to have to invest in a grown up camera. The point-and-shoot we have is fine for snapshots (and actually it's Mr Marmadaisy's, it was a birthday present from me a few years ago), but it just isn't doing what I want it to. And yes, I have read the manual!

So, suggestions please. Nothing too pricey or flashy but decent quality - I don't want anything too technical because Anna and technology are totally imiscable* so a "hobby" camera is what I want. I'd be really interested to hear what everyone uses for their pictures, and how they find it, and what they would have if they could pick any new camera.

And ... I have just discovered that blogger lets you add multiple pictures and not just one, so I don't need to load them all to flickr, when did that happen? Told you I was a techno-dunce.

*I don't think I have used this word since GCSE Science, and I never thought I would use it again. Yay me.

Onion Tart

2008-04-07T10:07:00.003+01:00

I had to take a picture of this before we ate it! I did cheat a bit as I used frozen pastry - not normally something I would do but we're decorating the larder and kitchen so everything's in a bit of a mess.

Onion Tart:

4 onions (I used 2 red and 2 white)

Shortcrust pastry

1/4 pint milk

1/4 pint single cream

3 eggs

salt and pepper

Cut the onions into eighths, arrange in a baking dish and cover with a tablespoon of olive oil and salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until starting to turn golden. Leave to cool.

Roll out the pastry and line a greased dish. I don't blind bake because in the aga there's no need, but you might need to if you have a conventional oven.

Prick the bottom a couple of times with a fork and arrange the onion pieces in the pastry case. Cover with the mixed milk, cream and eggs and a sprinkle of cheese if you want.

Bake until golden - about 35 minutes. Sorry I can't give temperatures as the aga doesn't have them!

Serve with home-made coleslaw and lots of salad. A perfect excuse to use the new heart shaped le creuset!