Predominantly Pink

Whilst the supermarket shelves were being denuded of loo roll and pasta ahead of lock-down, and most people were making sensible domestic and culinary choices for the weeks ahead, spent staying safely at home, I was at the local craft shop ensuring I had the necessary supplies to make a project bag!  Endeavouring to view my enforced isolation in a positive light, I could see an opportunity for my sewing machine and I to become better acquainted.  Also - Maddy had given me this beautiful bundle of  Liberty fabric strips for Xmas and I was keen to start making use of them.

The pink art nouveau style print really called to me so I delved into the fabric box to see what treasures might coordinate and was able to put my hands on some dark teal and pink spotty cotton.  I bought a zip, thread and fusible fleece and was good to go.

As the Liberty fabrics are long and narrow, I chose to follow the Squishy Bag tutorial by Erika Arndt which uses strips of material for the outside with a contrast lining.  I was especially happy it included the words 'easy' and 'beginner friendly' in the description!  

The seam ripper had a fair bit of use to correct my wonky sewing but I gave myself a thumbs-up after improving the box bottom liner - all the more impressive as it's inside and will be seen by precisely no-one!  No scrap of precious Liberty fabric went to waste thanks to this tutorial for a scented sachet by Bev at Flamingotoes.com.

Considering the construction involves quilting and zip insertion, I think the bag turned out fine.  It's even got  a wee handle.

Knitters (and crocheters) can never have enough project bags.  They house the yarn, pattern, needles and notions for a particular project and keep everything tidily together whilst the work is in progress.  My new bag now needed a project and I was dying to start knitting a jumper with some of this wool from last year's Aberdeen Yarn Fest.

I had four skeins of a luscious merino/silk blend DK hand dyed by Sheila, an indie dyer from Livingston, also known as Dye Ninja.  Her colours are beautiful and she specialises in small batch, hand dyed luxury fibres*.  My yarn is scrumptiously soft and drapes like a dream.  I chose to knit the Arcade Sweater by Isabell Kraemer.  It's knit from the top down so you can try it on as you go.

Sheila's Dye Ninja colourway is named 'Flowering Cherry' - appropriate for this time of year as there's a cherry tree right outside my craft room window.  Though ours isn't the typical cultivated pink variety but a Scottish native wild cherry, or gean tree, which has white blossom.  Seen here from my window at the end of April, and from the garden in mid May (by which time Geoff had power washed the whole patio!) 

I nipped on with my knitting, completing my jumper in the months of lock down as the gean tree finally blossomed with all the promise of spring.  

I grew up on a street lined with flowering cherries.   A sudden strong wind could abruptly finish the blossom, leaving petals strewn like confetti, and no more flowers til the following spring.  As a child I remember quite a philosophical discussion with my father as I bemoaned the short blossom season.   Dad asked if I thought it was better to enjoy brief beauty or long term mediocrity.  I was at an age when I still wanted it to be Christmas every day so I pleaded for long term beauty.  With 50 more Christmases behind me, it's December again before I know it and  I'll admit to slightly guilty relief as I tip into bed on 25th December, exhausted but content that it's only one day and it's all over for another year!  

At my age I'm happy to enjoy the seasons, and the blossom, and accept their transience.

Whilst feeling incredibly lucky just now to be able to enjoy country dog walks from home, and enjoy my neighbour's cherry tree shown here in full bloom, it's impossible to be unaware of the loss and  suffering in the country due to Coronavirus.  I noticed that a ward at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary was appealing for pairs of hearts to bring comfort to families unable to be with loved ones at this time, one heart remaining with the patient while its twin would be given to the family.  Pattern is Hearts by Amanda Berry.

In colour psychology, pink is a sign of hope.  It is a positive colour inspiring warm and comfortable feelings, a sense that everything will be okay**.  

If that's the case then I'm glad my crafting world has been predominantly pink lately.  Even our evening sky has been joining in.

Photo from 21st May 2020 by my friend Vicki who lives just over the hill - used with kind permission

* Dye Ninja has a sale on merino and camel/silk yarn throughout 2020 to help crafters keep crafting in this difficult time so pop along to Sheila's website and drink in her beautiful colours.

** https://www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com/color-pink.html

Keeping my spirits up

I've had a go at making my own gin.

Before you are awed by my ingenuity at whipping up a home distillery whilst we're living in lock-down, I should point out that I was given a Kitchen Provisions Gin Kit for Christmas.

My old Dad, who was fond of a dram, liked to quote WC Fields, saying: "I always keep some whisky handy in case I see a snake...which I also keep handy"

The only requirement to make your own gin is that you possess a bottle of vodka which, handily, I did!  Everything else is included in the box so I was ready to get cracking.  

I'd like to impress you by pretending it was a really complex procedure but in reality, there's some simple measuring and pouring and err.... that's it.  Oh, I got to pick which botanicals I wanted from a choice of three deliciously scented sachets.  Then you just have to let the infusions work their magic for 12 hours.  Yes, whisky lovers, you read that right - wait 12 hours.  Not 12 years.

After some straining (that's filtering with a wee sieve, not me training for the Olympics) my very own gin was ready to drink.  If I had the chance to write the pretty label again I'd be more careful not to smudge it next time.

I'm quite partial to a gin, as our drinks cabinet can testify.  Some craft gin bottles are lovely too and making them into lamps, once their precious contents are consumed, has become quite popular.  I've tried lampshade making before (see this blog post).  When friends from Dumfries came to stay, and gifted me some delicious Hills and Harbour Gin from their native Galloway, we remarked at the time what a nice lamp the empty bottle would make.    

It's not just actual spirits keeping my spirits up -  crafty projects are just as vital to me and keep me buoyant.  I'm not a monogamous crafter - there's usually multiple items on the go.  Today I'm mid-way through knitting a shawl, a sock, a jumper, a bralette and I'm also crocheting a blanket.  Staying home by myself, with my husband offshore again, I've needed these diversions even more to help me feel settled through these troubling times.   A lack of craft supplies during lock-down is never going to be my problem, as I alluded to here , though even I was surprised and delighted when I discovered I had a lamp shade making kit from Dannells Needcraft lurking in the depths of my craft cupboard.  

Just like the Kitchen Provisions gin kit,  Dannells supply virtually everything you require.  This time I only had to supply the fabric.  Half the fun of embarking on a new project is sourcing just the right materials so I enjoyed rifling through my fabric box for a suitably sized rectangle.  Sometimes, however, the perfect materials just present themselves.  Like many others, I've been tidying cupboards during the enforced stay at home.  One victim of my wardrobe purge was en-route to the fabric stash after I decided I probably wasn't going to wear it but loved it too much to throw away.

It's a mohair scarf I bought from a charity shop a few years ago because I loved the vivid turquoise shades.  I aksed Google about the manufacturer and discovered that Glen Cree Mill, located in the town of Newton Stewart in the South West of Scotland, made mohair blankets and scarves, as well as some garments, under their own label and for prestigious clients like Liberty of London.  The distinctive logo shows a bell hop, laden with luggage, travelling rug over his arm, harking back to a grander era of holidays and voyages.  The mill sadly closed in 1986 and has subsequently been demolished.  Today Newton Stewart is the home of the Crafty Distillery which makes Hills and Harbour Gin.  Seems like these two were meant to be together.

Seeing the scarf beside the bottle, I knew I'd found my lampshade fabric.  

There's an excellent instructional video tutorial to accompany  Dannellls lampshade kits and soon I was sticking, trimming, sticking again and rolling to create my very own lampshade.  Rolling was tricky with my wee hands but the Hills and Harbour bottle proved to be an excellent pattern weight.  Perhaps the contestants on The Great British Sewing Bee should take note.

Dannells advise in their video tutorial against using certain materials and wool gets a mention in the tricky category so I was apprehensive how the mohair would behave during the final stage when the fabric has to be tidily tucked into the rolled edging.  

I needn't have worried, the nifty tool provided for the task did the job - and the lampshade was done.

Now I just need to decide where to put my new lamp.

Bedroom or dining room?

Hall or lounge?

Whilst sipping my homemade gin

Spirits up?  Bottoms up.  Cheers!