I came down sick with a sore throat on Thursday and have been sniffly-snuffly and fuzzy headed since then. Leaving the house is about the last thing I want to do. So with all the extra time on my hands I got the perfect chance to craft. It also helps that it is far too wet to tackle the growing mound of laundry, even if I could be bothered.
This card was a quickly-made commission from Crafty Things because she had to work, poor thing. It is for her father's 70th birthday, if my lurgy-fied brain is remembering right. All the supplies were her own. Card, yarns, rub on alphabet. Couldn't be easier. It turned out nicely, I think. Simple, elegant and certainly not too girly.
Of course simple is best when crafting with the lurgy. Otherwise it is far too easy to make heaps of mistakes that just have to be fixed later.
This cross-stitch fits the bill. Nice blocks of colour and a cute design. I've been working on him for a couple of weeks now. He makes the perfect project to stitch on while watching a movie, and because Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is about to be released there have been plenty of Harry Potter re-runs for me to watch. I love watching the first movies, they all look so young in them.
Anyway, this teddy will eventually have the words "Days... to remember" next to him. He is the the last kit from Crafty Thing's stash that I have to stitch but don't worry, I picked up a new one at the Craft Fair when it was here the other week. This adjustable hoop/frame system came from the Fair too.
It works with several different sized sections that screw together to make different sized rectangles. Then a plastic strip with little teeth is clipped onto the sides of the rectangles. You stretch the fabric over the frame and the teeth hold it in place. The handles then clip over the top to make it comfortable to hold. You do have to make the rectangle the right size to go around the edge of the whole design because the fabric ends up with little holes in it where the teeth grip it. So you need a decent amount of spare fabric. This teddy design only just has enough, it gets a bit hard to end of threads at the edges of the design. That's the only problem I've had aside from a little difficulty putting the aida on. Evenweave fabrics are much easier. I think a little practice will help. The whole frame is lovely and light though, and doesn't lose tension like my Q-snaps tend to do.
There's one other project I have been working on, but it deserves a post of its own. Besides, my lurgy-fied brain has just about had it. Time for some more stitching!
