Crafty Creatives box13 and a quick update

Poor M'aiq - he's been put to one side again! I feel like I haven't had much time to craft lately, but it might just be that I've been busy with so many different things that I haven't realised how much I've been doing!

I've been considering signing up to Craft Creatives (www.craftycreatives.com) for a while now, and this month I finally did it. The company sends out themed boxes of crafty goodness to people that have signed up, and it's £10 a month plus P&P. There's lots of stuff in the boxes, so it's pretty good value for money! This month the box was a little different, as the company were celebrating their first birthday. The theme was floral, and the box contained 5 different kits to make flowers, and a few other bits (silly me didn't take a photo of the contents, but if you follow them on Twitter you can see clever bloggers that did remember!)

I'm not really that into flowers, and I'm not a pink person - it's my least favourite colour - so I was a little dissapointed by the amount of pink in my box (just realised that perhaps I should word that differently...) however, I did make a couple of things:

Firstly, a french beaded flower. I found some pearl-type beads in my stash, so used those for the stamens. Quite happy with how it turned out, and I have plenty of pink beads, and a full pack of yellow beads to make more with. (Decided to use the pink beads first to see how it looked)

There was also a kit to produce a nylon stocking flower, but I thought a butterfly might be a nice make instead. This was fiddly! Not bad for a first attempt, but I'm not sure that it's something I'd want to do again.

There were also kits for making a felt flower, paper rose hair slide and crepe paper rose ball. I'm not sure I'll make these, but I'm sure all the pieces will be useful someday.

I've also managed to complete something this week, yay! Here's my lovely Resident Evil cushion, complete with zip. I had a nightmare with the sewing machine, but got there eventually.

In hindsight, I perhaps should have made the logo larger. Still, it's lovely and soft, and I'm glad I've added something else to the 'completed' pile. (Although I may add a quote to the back of the cushion, not sure what yet).

So, what's next? I'm still plodding away with the Doctor Who Stitch Along (still need to stitch 5, 8, 10 and 11, plus 12 when it's released this week) and need to decide how to quilt it. I can see this being another large project which will take months to complete... I've also been knitting some yarn from my (ridiculously large) stash. It's a fluffy yarn, in pastel shades of blue, purple and pink (ergh). It's being made into a wrap/scarf so it's great for mindless knitting in front of the tv (Band of Brothers - amazing, highly recommend). I've decided it's not something I want to keep, but my mother has decided she likes it, so it will go to her. It takes 5 balls of yarn, and I've just finished the 4th, so I'm almost there! It'll be a relief to finish it, and then I can choose a slightly more exciting project. After I finish sewing up the bolero I made back in April of course. That must be done before starting a new knitting project. Short attention span, me? I don't know what you mean.

More pics, less text

Me again! I feel like I write lots and don't have many pictures, so I'm going to attempt to change that. I've taken photos of all the completed DWSAL so far, which have all been washed (but not ironed, which is probably quite clear!) I've also managed to get a photo of the front of the Resident Evil cushion cover I'm working on (hoping to get the sewing machine out again in a couple of weeks to finish it off).

So, enough text, here are the pics! No idea why they're sideways...

I still haven't touched doctor number 5 - but I have started on number 9. I will go back and start/finish numbers 5 and 8, promise!

DWSAL and Beer Festival

It's been a couple of weeks since my last updatw, and things have been busy! I've been stitching away with the Dr Who Stitch A Long, current progress stands at doctors 1 & 2 completed and washed, with doctors 3, 4 and 7 stitched and doctor 6 is currently being stitched. It may seem like an odd order, and that's because it is. I couldn't find my print out of 5, and need to copy 5 and 8 onto fabric soon. I'll try to post pictures soon, once I've washed some of them. So far I've used back stitch, chain stitch and split stitch, and so far I've avoided French knots. There do seem to be a lot of French knots for doctor number 6, wondering whether I should attempt them, or come up with an alternative...

I've also made progress with the Resident Evil cushion cover - as in I've attached the logo to the fabric and added the bias binding. All I need to do now is cut the fabric down to size, and attache the front of the cushion to the back! I think I've decided to go with an envelope opening rather than a zip, as it looks much easier, and I have some large black buttons I can add to the back.

It's also nearly time for the beer festival, which is next weekend. I feel sort of on top of it at the moment, which is unusual! I've ordered the beers, and the ciders, and this year have also made the programme (I did cheat and used last years format - made it much easier) This weekend will be spent helping put up marquees, and next week will involve checking the beer that arrives - not by drinking it sadly! Then next Fri/Sat/Sun I'll be helping at the festival, as per usual. It's good fun, although the days are long. I'm hoping that a few of my friends will make it over this year, and that I'll have time to see them!

Sadly, this means that not much crafting will get done over the next couple of weeks. I'm hoping I'll find time to take some photos and upload them though!