Cross stitch WIP's

 

Cross stitch is probably one of the first crafts I took up when I was in my 20’s. I went however for many years without doing anything until a few years ago when I joined the WI craft club. I had a project that I had started 16 years earlier and found and was determined to finish. Although I enjoy cross stitch I find that because it takes so long to see any decent results it is one that I do least of all.

My interest was piqued again last year when I saw an advert on TV for Disney Cross stitch. I love Disney as does the rest of the family, so I bought the first issue and made a start. It is a weekly publication but as I have a subscription, I get four issues in one go once a month.

As well as the samplers, the magazine also includes lot of other projects. A few have caught my eye but they are definitely going to be on a back burner until the samplers are finished.

My intention was to keep up and do the week’s project every week. Unfortunately, that did not happen as I became wrapped up in other projects and the dark evenings set in. I have found that I prefer doing cross stitch in natural daylight and now I am working again, and it is winter I have put it down and am now many, many weeks behind. The first sampler should have been finished at this point and I haven’t even finished the first section.

Another casualty was one I was hoping to finish before Christmas. I bought this kit on sale at Hobbycraft. I found that I wasn’t really enjoying doing the foliage which is why I put it down. Hopefully this one will be a relatively quick finish and will be done by Christmas this year.

As the evenings get lighter and I finish my knitting projects, I should be able to pick these up and get them completed. I have no plans for any other cross stitch projects (except for the other 2 Disney Samplers) as I just want to get these finished. Maybe in a few years I will look at some of the other projects that are included in the Disney magazine.

 

Happy Homemaker Monday 22nd February 2021

 

One of my intentions for 2021 is to save money by buying less. One way of achieving this is by doing a menu plan for the week and reducing the amount I spend on food. I started out by first looking at what I had in my cupboards and freezer and trying to use up what we have before going out to get more. This means that I know what we have so when I come to do my shopping list I only need to buy a small amount of things. I know I will have to do an inventory every so often to make sure it is up to date.

On the Menu

Monday- Pork Steaks in French Onion Gravy

Tuesday – Veggie Quesadillas

Wednesday – Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken & Rice

Thursday – Vegetable Frittata

Friday – Bean Chilli

Saturday – Steak Pudding, Chips, Peas & Gravy

Sunday – Chicken Broccoli Alfredo stuffed shells. 

Whilst searching for inspiration for my menu plan on the internet I came across Diary of a Stay at Home Mom who not only shows her menu plan for the week but also shares some other aspects of her week as well as encouraging others to do the same. I have decided to join in on this link up.

The Weather

This week is forecast to be very mild with temperatures about 13C (55F) getting sunnier as the week progresses. It feels like Spring is about to arrive.

How I am feeling this morning

For once, not minding that it is Monday. It feels like things are turning a corner and are getting better. It shouldn't be too long before it is light when I am driving to work. There are already glimpses.

Looking around the house

We had a busy weekend with the dog, cleaning cars, shopping and starting to do things in the garden that the house was rather neglected. Every room needs a good tidy and the floors are absolutely filthy. I will try to catch up this week with everything.

To relax this week I will

Finish knitting the baby cardigan I am making for my niece who is pregnant, and work on my quilt.

On my mind

I really want to sort out my back garden this year. I have never been one for gardening (maintenance wise) but it is looking a little tired and the fence panels needs replacing. I bought a little plastic growhouse over the weekend and I am thinking about starting off some bulbs in there before planting them in pots for a concrete area we used to have a rabbit hutch on. I also want to put gravel down at the bottom as Penny has a habit of running down to the bottom when she sees a squirrel and at the moment it is just soil. This makes her paws dirty which she is then bringing back into the house and creating more work for me.

 

My W.I Life

I have been a member of the Women’s Institute (WI) since 2013 and I am currently a member of 2 WI’s in the Lancashire Federation. I have been a member of both since they were founded one in 2015 and one in 2019. They are very different in terms of leadership and how they communicate with members. Both have been holding meetings over Zoom since the pandemic started which has been enjoyable and a way of keeping in touch with other members. I know there are a lot of WI’s that have not done anything since the physical meetings had to be cancelled which is such a shame for the members. A lot of the members of the two WI’s I am a member of do not join in the Zoom meeting either because they do not have the technology, they do not know how to use it or simply have decided not to participate.

I decided to join the WI as I had more free time as the kids were older and Craig had been a member of the Freemasons for a while and I wanted something just for me. I also wanted to join to make some new friends as I had lost touch with a lot of my friends for various reasons. I also went for the crafting and the cake which are synonymous with the WI. The first one I joined I found was a bit to cliquey for me, most of the ladies just kept to their own little groups and didn’t bother with anyone new. I am no longer a member of that one. Luckily, I had joined the Book Club and the ladies there felt the same way, so they decided to set up their own WI in late 2014. They had their first meeting in January 2015, the centenary year for the WI. Around 40 people turned up at that meeting and joined so that was a good start. The second one I found out through a Facebook group I was a member of. The second one is within walking distance of where I live which is why I decided to join that one as well.

Both groups had active sub groups so I was able to get more involved with them. Both have craft groups which met once a month. My second WI have been able to continue this on Zoom and we buy our own materials from the list that is sent and the demonstration and make along is done on Zoom. They have also been able to continue the Book Club virtually this way. My first WI hold a weekly chat on a Monday which was the evening that the Craft and Knit & Natter groups met. A lot of ladies will either knit or sew as they are chatting. This is a lot less formal than when a demonstration or monthly meeting is being held. Unfortunately Walking, Gardening, Choir and Walking Netball groups have not been able to take place since the first lockdown last March. As yet there is no word on when WI’s are going to be able to a physical meeting.

When we have a physical meeting it starts out with general business which is minutes of the last meeting, any announcements, giving out of birthday cards and what has been happening in the subgroups. The main part of the meeting is a talk or demonstration from an outside speaker. Some of the talks or demonstrations have included chutney/jam making, guide dogs, history of a local landmark, belly dancing, soap making, gin tasting and talks about a local charity to name but a few. As you can see they are very varied and rarely follow a theme. The programme is usually produced almost a year in advance by the committee. Obviously since the lockdown and having to change to virtual meetings then there has been a hasty change in progammes from both WI’s.  The latest meetings have been about the history of gin and tales from a retired prison governor.

Once the talk or demonstration is over then it is refreshments where there are a variety of cakes to sample. You cannot be on a diet and go to a W.I meeting. This is the time to socialise with the other members. Unfortunately this hasn’t really been able to happen in the same way over Zoom.

History of the WI in the UK

Formed in a small Welsh town in 1915, the Women's Institute was originally brought to life to revitalise rural communities and encourage women to become more involved in producing food during the First World War. During World War II, the WI played a vital role in growing and preserving food and looking after evacuees at the Government’s request.

Since the end of the second World War the WI’s aims have broadened and they have become leading campaigners in many different campaigns.

In the 1950’s after passing a resolution to start a national anti-litter campaign, the WI and 25 other UK organisations form the Keep Britain Tidy group and in 1993 the NFWI (National Federation of Women’s Institutes) became a founding member of the Fair-Trade Foundation to name but a few.

The WI attracted the attention of the media when the movie “Calendar Girls”, starring Dame Helen Mirren, is released in 2003 and in 2015 it celebrated its Centenary and is now the largest women’s voluntary group in the UK. 

Scrapbooking

 

Do you have loads of photos stored on your computer and phone and you know that you really should do something with them? Me too! It seems such a shame that you have all these memories that no one ever sees, be they special occasions or just special moments.

Last year I decided that I wanted to do some regular scrapbooking. I have done some pages over the years but not consistently.

Unfortunately nobody realised how the year would turn out. I still managed to do quite a number of pages as I decided that I wanted to document the year anyway.  Emma’s and my birthdays were not as planned and lots of days out did not happen. However, I was able to record the crafts I had made and the new skills I had learnt. I wanted to acknowledge what was happening but not make it a dominant feature for the year.  I also did some pages to put in my scrapbook from previous years. 

I have several scrapbooks covering different years. The one for last year and pre 2017 were just 12 x 12 albums. However for 2017-2019 I have used a Project Life album which gives me plenty of flexibility to do a traditional layout or a quick one using the cards and different layouts using the different page layout protectors depending upon my mood and time. This is the album that I still have pages to include and will continue to work on this year.

What got me back into wanting to do more scrapbooking was a pre- Christmas visit to Disneyland Paris in 2019. I didn’t want to just display the photos in an album so I decided to create a scrapbook for the visit. I decided against a 12x12 layout as I didn’t have a lot of time to spend creating it between Christmas and the New Year and so I went for a smaller size which I enjoyed doing. I would choose this size again if I were creating a whole book on one theme.

I have also decided to have a separate scrapbook to record any knitting or sewing that I undertake for myself or other people. It is just a photo of the finished item, the pattern and the wool or material used to make it. Hopefully over time it will also document my improving skill levels.

This year as well as the normal scrapbook pages I am also going to create a page for each week showing the highlight(s). This is to continue to help me think positively despite everything that is still going on. I must admit I am finding this project difficult at the moment because I am literally in work or not doing much at home. Hopefully, this should get easier in the next few months as restrictions ease and we are allowed to do more.

For this project I am using the Project Life again but this time a 6 x 8 album. There are a couple of different page layouts you can use depending on the number of photos you want to use. Although these have several photos I do have some which only have one photo.

As I do not want to bore you I have only included some of the pages I have created. I will share more as I create them for this year when I have something other than the weekly page to do.

I have also taken to printing out photos from days out or holidays and putting them in photo albums so I can look back on happy days and enjoy the memories. I like the fact that the photos are not stuck on the computer and are not being looked at.

Do you print out photos and put them in an album or scrapbook? I would love to know.

What I have been watching

 

We recently cancelled our TV package as we found that we weren’t really watching anything that we couldn’t watch on Youview. Craig had taken out the Netflix subscription last November and Emma took out the Disney+ subscription when it came out last year. I don’t really watch much TV normally but there is certainly some interesting programmes on these two services.

Designated Survivor (Netflix)

A devastating attack on the night of the State of the Union kills the President and most of the Cabinet. Tom Kirkman (played by Kiefer Sutherland) was named Designated Survivor (in case of such an event) so is immediately sworn in as President. He has to keep the country from dissolving into chaos and faces many challenges and struggles to balance his own beliefs and values with decisions that need to be made as President.

(image courtesy of imdb)

I started watching this one evening when we were looking for something that both Craig and I would watch (we have vey different tastes generally) and I remembered a work colleague had recommended this. We ended up watching about 3 episodes back-to-back as we were quickly drawn into the whole drama and the ‘what is he going to do’. The poor guy never seemed to get a break for the majority of the first season and it makes you wonder why anyone would want that position. Tom Kirkman comes across as being a decent man who genuinely wants to do what is best for everyone and quickly adapts to his new role. If he were a real person then he would be a man I would vote for if I were an American.

This is a series I am going to have to finish watching on my own as Craig has lost interest now the initial crisis is over.

Bridgerton  (Netflix)

Like the rest of the world, I have watched Bridgerton. I enjoy period dramas anyway so this was obviously something I would watch. I loved the costumes, the sets, the story and the characters. It is pure escapism from what is currently going on in the world.

(image courtesy of Google)

The series concentrates on Daphne Bridgerton, the oldest girl of the Bridgerton family, and her quest to marry. She strikes up a friendship with Simon, The Duke of Hastings, who is looking to never marry. The pair decide to fool the world with their ‘relationship’ but the obvious happens and they fall in love with each other.

A second series has now been commissioned and will focus on Anthony Bridgerton.

The series is based on books by Julia Quinn, each one following a member of the Bridgerton family. I have now bought the books and hope to read them all by then end of the year.

The Imagineering Story  (Disney+)

This is a miniseries that looks at the development and history of the Disney Parks throughout the world. It is a behind the scenes story and looks at the people involved in bringing the parks and rides to life. If you are a fan of the Disney Parks and want to know more than this will give you the detail you need.

(image courtesy of Wikipedia)

We watched this when we first got Disney+ last year as a family on a Friday evening to spend time together as during the day everyone was working in their own spaces for school or work. It was a way of signifying the end of the working week. I initially only agreed to watch it for that reason but ended up thoroughly enjoying the series.

 

Wandavision (Disney+)

This lockdown we are now all watching this series as we all enjoy the Marvel Comic Universe (MCU).

This series shows Marvel heroes Wanda Maximoff and Vision living suburban lives in a TV show format. Each episode is set in a different decade but not all is at it seems.

(image courtesy of Disney+)

I enjoy the format of the show as I do like shows that feature so called normal family life in America. There are also small things that make you realise all is not as it appears, and you think what is going on and who is behind it. There are 3 episodes left of this series so hopefully we might find out more. Last week’s episode gave a different view of what is happening, and every episode ends on enough of a cliff hanger to make you want to watch more.

I have started to watch ‘Queen’s Gambit’ and think that is something I could get into. I tried to watch ‘Umbrella Academy’ but didn’t really enjoy it and I don’t know why as I have watched similar programmes in the past and enjoyed them.

As you can see I have an eclectic taste in TV programmes but I do not like programmes or films that are overly violent or crude. That is why there is not a lot that Craig and I will watch together.

What TV programmes are you currently enjoying and what would you recommend.

My First Finished Craft Project of 2021

 

As well as the long-term projects I have already mentioned I also like to do some quick projects that I can achieve in a weekend. This helps to keep my crafting motivation going whilst tackling the bigger ones.

I have had this Cath Kidston book for a few years and it came with the items needed to make a pocket sewing kit. I am on a decluttering mission this year and this book was one of the ones I had targeted to donate. I decided that I wanted to make the kit before I made the final decision and looking at the other projects included.

I have never done anything that needed bias binding so thought it would be good practice for when I have the quilt binding to do. I found it okay to do though it is not even all the way round and the instructions as a complete beginner for going around the curved edges needed further investigation with regards to easing and stretching (thank goodness for Youtube).

The finished object isn’t perfect. I was distracted when I was making the pockets and just used the same colour thread as the binding rather than white so it does stand out. The binding isn’t even and I did have issues going around the bends.

One thing that is not my fault is the pattern on the fabric. When folded the pattern is upside down, unlike the photos in the book. The bottom pocket even when opened is still upside down. The illustrations in the book do reflect this but it looks like the fabric in the photos have been cut differently. If it was a plain fabric or did not have a directional pattern then it would be fine.

I also decided to use press stud fastening rather than the loop and button purely because for something like this item I prefer this.

It is made as a pocket sewing kit but I won’t be using it for that purpose. I think initially I will be putting a face mask and hand sanitiser in the pockets and keeping it in my handbag so that the masks can be kept tidy and ‘clean’.

I don’t think I will keep the book as there are only a couple of projects that I would want to make so I will photocopy the ones I would make and then donate the book to charity.