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#SundaySevens 45

Published by Thimberlina

Are we all back to some kind of normality this week after the Christmas Hols?

1 We’ve taken down own trimmings and packed away Fairy Florence for 11 months. Isn’t she gorgeous? I never got chance to introduce you over the hols. A very talented friend of mine has a Fairy Factory and makes them. Not just for Christmas, for all sorts of occasions! She has a shop on Etsy if you want to have a peak. If you’re like me and love Peter Pan you’ll still believe.

2 I was parked up at work for a roadside stand by catching up on my blog reader I looked top and saw blue sky. The first I’ve seen in I don’t know how long! I’ve not doctored this pic at all, the sky looks just like this!

3 Starving wasn’t the word. After a 13 hour shift I NEEDED fish and chips!! (it’s funny how sunday sevens gets you good at taking sneaky photos, or should that be improve your ability? but then that wouldn’t sound like proper Yorkshire!)

4 Look what arrived in the post. Anne who blogs at “How Hard Can It Be” had a few goodies left after she made lots of crafty gifts for her schools Christmas Fayre so I luckily was able to snap up 4 packs of fridge magnets. I really wanted some snowman poop too (tic-tacs!!) but she’d sold out!

5 This is purely to shame me into sorting out my shoes. There’s a stack of empty box in the left side you can’t see and things have got a bit out of hand!

6 Busy day Saturday. Started off with a very muddy park run. No personal best as I did it with a work pal and it was her first time so we took it steady.

7 In the afternoon we had a family badminton tournament. H and Mr T sometimes play but it’s usually when I’m working so H was really surprised (and devastated!!) when I beat him. Twice! Mr T beat us both. Lucky I say! Later we went out to another 50th party and I felt quite justified in having pie and peas and 2 helpings of trifle after such an energetic day!

8 The view from the 5th floor of some flats in Sowerby Bridge – a proper mill town and one of the towns that was hit badly with the boxing day floods, and where Happy Valley was mostly filmed. (the second series must be starting soon – they’ve been out filming again, I’ve seen them!).

So that’s my Sunday Sevens for this week!

The feature photo is the same hillside but from a different vantage point, taken near Warley in Halifax.

Sunday Sevens is the brain child of Natalie from Threads and Bobbins. If you’d like to link up with her too you can – it’s easy! Just share 7 ish photo’s from your week that don’t necessarily warrant a blog post of their own.

Cheerio for now x

The Octopus Scarf

Published by Thimberlina

You’ll just have to humour me. I know they have 8 tentacles and my scarf has a lot more but it still does remind me of one!

A few of you were interested in how I made Mo’s scarf in last week’s Sunday Sevens so I thought I’d buy some wool and make another, taking a few pics along the way.

I’ve only been crocheting a couple of years and I think I’m somewhere between a novice and an intermediate sort of crocheter. I’m hoping this makes sense!

I much prefer to crochet and knit with variegated yarn (stripy!) as I find it exciting to see what’s coming next! And with this scarf it also makes the tentacles different colours or shades depending on the subtlety of the colour change.

This yarn was also different thicknesses. I wasn’t sure how it would turn on so it was kind of an experiment. Click HERE to see it on the Sirdar website – there’s some gorgeous colours. 2 50g balls cost me less than £6.

The label recommended a 6.5mm needle. I decided to use a 5mm as I thought it might end up too holey when I crocheted the thinner sections.

Before I start, here’s a photo of the first one i made. This was a chunky wool.

The idea of this is that you make a chain as long as you want to scarf to be:

Don’t forget to try it for size: (just to mention, I started this in my break at work on Wednesday)

Double crochet DC (single crocket SC American) all the way back to the other end – counting as you go! I had 100 stitches.

I then chained one then DC into the next 8 stitches.

I like to have my end bits (the bits that aren’t tentacles!) 8 stitches long. It works for me, but you could try slightly more or less.

As the other end will also have 8 stitches I took 8+8 away from 100 and was left with 84.

I then chained 84

And attach to the other end – 8 stitches from the end. DC to the end (8)

It’s really important for the first 2 or 3 tentacles not to get them twisted, and it’s easier to do it at a table. Once you get to 3 tentacles it’s safe to put your feet up on the couch!

Turn your crochet. Chain 1 and DC in the next 8 stitches. This should take you to your chain. DC into each chain until you get to the other end.

When you reach the end of the chain, DC into each stitch (this should be 8)

Just to warn you there’s a lot of counting goes on. I find it better not to engage in conversation or drink wine (not an option when working!) as I’m easily distracted!

At the end of my break i managed to complete 2 rows of tentacles and eat nearly a full packet of chocolate biscuits and a big wedge of lasagne.

I was sent out to do a road side stand by so was able to do a bit more on my knee in the car.

For each new tentacle Chain 1 and DC into each DC and chain the same as previous chains, in my case 84.

When you’ve completed your chain, connect again to the end bit…

and 8 DC to the end:

Turn, Chain 1 and work you way doing DC all the way back to the other side!

This was as much as I could do as I was busy the rest of the day, but did do a bit more when I got home that evening. Not quite an octopus as it’s only got 6 tentacles so far!

Carry on making more tentacles until you’re happy with how wide it is.

Each time you make a chain, before you attach it lay it along side the existing tentacles to make sure the length is correct. As you can see below I must have lost count!

Ooops!

I pulled back a few chains until it was the right length:

For the very top one in the chunky wool there are just one layer of tentacles.

For my silver one from last week I decided to make it a double later as the end bits would be a bit flimsy.

I folded it in half and slip stitched the narrow ends of the end bits together.

Make sure the seam is in the centre then slip stitch the end closed.

To make it even more secure I slip stitched the front and back inside from the bottom – parting the tentacles:

Then it was finished!!

And all that was needed was a way of securing it together at the front.

The easiest way is to find a brooch. This was perfect!

If it’s for a pressies, simply wrap it up in tissue paper and secure it with a length of chain made from the same yarn:

Hope that makes sense to those who’d like to make one. If it doesn’t, get in touch and I’ll try and explain a bit better!

If you think of a way I could explain it better please say! I won’t be offended!

I’ll hopefully finish the one I started at work in the next day or so and will share it with you when I do.

Cheerio for now x

Game

Published by Thimberlina

H winning his first man of the match trophy from November 2008, playing football/soccer.

Click HERE to find out the weekly photo prompts and all the rules – there are no rules!!

This photo challenge was created by:

Cathy from Nanacathydotcom

Jane from rainbowjunkiecorner

Melissa from the Aran Artisan

Sandra from Wild Dafodil

Head over to their blogs to see their pics!

Sunday Seven(teens!) from Settle

Published by Thimberlina

Happy New Year Everyone and welcome to my first Sunday Seven’s of 2016!

I’ve been away since the 29th in Settle in the Yorkshire Dales so feeling very chilled out and relaxed. There’s no way I can narrow it down to just 7 photos and that’s without including the photos of the shops I want to tell you about. That’ll just have to wait for now, but here’s a teaser!

All packed up for our road trip! I’ve gone up in the world and no longer need an IKEA bag to pack my clothes thanks to Sewchet! (she’s written a tutorial if you would like one too!).

There was some BIG puddles on the way:

And some wet flooded fields that looked more like lakes:

In less than an hour from leaving home we were in Settle!

The house we had rented overlooked the river. Luckily it rarely floods. Ours is in the middle behind the tree so you can’t see it very well!

The view from our bedroom window.

I’d taken some hand stitching to keep me busy and soon got settled. I soon had to turf Mr Thimbers up from his spot in the corner for some extra light from the lamp.

the local pub “The Lion’s Den” had some knitting in a basket by the fire for anyone to knit a few rows as they pleased. It was HUGE! Once I had knit half a dozen rows, no sooner had I put it back when another knitter started to work! Oops! I forgot to mention the lovely parents came away too!

We couldn’t do any proper walking up the hills as it was either rainy, foggy, windy or a combination of 2 or 3!

We had rides out to different places, below is in Hawes.

The Tour De France came through Hawes, though not on this!

Another day we went to Kirby Lonsdale, which is well known as a stop off point for those travelling to the Lake District and in need of a brew and a butty at Devils Bridge. We ventured into the small town and had a pint in the local pub.

There’s also one of the best crafting shops there I’ve come across, they even stock a big selection of Indie patterns, so are definitely in the 21st Century! I’ve taken lot of pics so watch out for a separate post coming shortly.

The week seemed to be all about eating! A cafe above an outdoorsy sort of shop in Ingleton makes it’s own cakes. These cherry and sultana scones were fresh out of the oven!

By New Years Eve I’d finished my hand sewing and was at a bit of a loose end so walked into the local town and bought a couple of balls of wool. We had been invited to my mums cousins (who lives nearby) for a meal on New Years Day so I thought I’d made his wife a scarf.

I made one for my mum here 2 years ago and added a button but for Mo i found a broach in a local shop that went perfectly with the sparkly scarf!

Harrison modelled it in case I didn’t get a photo of Mo wearing it!

But I did and she loved it!

Once I’d made Mo’s scarf I started a hat for me.

On Saturday H and Mr T went home for the day to watch Leeds United. I hopped on the train and 22 minutes later was in Skipton.

Found my lunch spot for next time I’m in the vicinity!

On our last night we went back to the Lion’s Den. No more knitting, but did have a delicious seafood linguine:

And a few games of UNO:

And then today we’ve had to come home. We could have stayed 2 more nights as we’d had to pay for a full week but H is back to school in the morning.

Just to finish, here’s what else I managed to make as well as Mo’s scarf in our New Year Trip.

Here’s a pin cushion caddy! I stumbled across this last week when Lyric made one on here blog HERE. The instructions for it are HERE.

And here’s my hat! I love the sparkly yarn. It’s sirdar Devine – I’ve been eyeing up their patterns and wondering if I could pluck up courage to make something bigger than a hat!

Now for some crazy reason WordPress is acting up on my computer so I’m now finishing this on my phone😳.

If you’re not sure about Sunday Sevens and want to give it a whirl head over to Threads and Bobbins to find out more – link on previous Sunday Seven posts!

Now I’m going to head downstairs, pour a glass of rosé, fire up the iPad and find out what everyone else has been up to this week!

Cheerio for now!

#StitchingSanta – The Reveal!

Published by Thimberlina

I can certainly say that the #StitchingSanta has been one of the highlights of my Christmas this year! A HUGE thankyou to Sheila from SEWCHET for arranging this, and an even bigger thankyou for saying you’re going to do it all again next year! I’m counting down the sleeps already!

I was lucky to have met my Secret Santa recipient back in April when I organised the Spoolettes Meet Up, and have been following her blog for quite a while. It was Corinne from ApplebyMakes – a lovely lady who’s lucky to have a crafty husband and 2 crafty children. Her husband even writes blog posts too!! (mine doesn’t even read mine, though he does sometimes look at the pictures!).

Corinne and her husband are both teachers. Whilst racking my brain as to what to make (and having a few nights when I struggled to get off to sleep thinking about it!!!) I remembered I had some fabric in my stash which would be perfect for some handmade gifts.

So I made what I make for everyone…… a peg bag!!

And I also did my first attempt at patchwork, which I really loved and can see will be playing a big part of my sewing on 2016.

Then I made a quilted zipper pouch. I really loved making this! I thought Corinne might use this as a pencil case.

And I was able to try out some different stitches on my machine.

I also made a roll thingy wotzits which could be for anything from make-up brushes to pens and pencils. Corinne said she’s going to use it for her crochet hooks and DP needles.

Then after rummaging in my stash I found some fabric perfect to make coasters for someone who lives at the Seaside!

Without realising and looking at everything together I bought a makeup bag with a sewing theme, and a Tote bag from SewOverIt. Definitely a bag theme going on here. Hope that was alright Corinne!!

I had a few things in my stash which I also sent.

The first was a piece of fabric which was really soft and would make a lovely shirt to wear with jeans. I thought the colours would suit Corinne. This fabric is quite well travelled already, Amanda from Sew Deputy gave it to me in a fabric bundle with other bits and pieces last time I met her. I originally tried to find some stretchy fabric so Corinne could make another VNA top but it was either too expensive or I didn’t think it would suit her.

Corinne bought an overlocker this year and has gotten into sewing with jersey fabric. I looked through my collection of Prima patterns and found a cowl neck top which could be made with jersey fabric, or fabric cut on the bias.

And lastly something which her children might like to do…

Once I had it all wrapped it was such a relief to get it all sent off.

I just managed to squeeze it into a shoe box!

I also posted off a little pressies for Sheila as a thankyou for all she’d done.

Coasters! I think the wording on one or two of these phrases is quite apt for this lady who I think has some super human traits considering what she can fit into her week!

So onto my #stitchingsanta parcel!!!!!

I felt extremely privileged to have Sheila send me my parcel!! I’d seen a post she’d written about her pressies so far and was hoping they might be for me!! But I’d thought that too about all the other updates I’d seen! Take about a child in a candy store!! My blog reader what driving me crazy seeing all these wonderful makes!

I was the first to wake up on Christmas morning. It was just before 7am. I sneaked down hoping to have some peace and quiet to open my parcel but no, my footsteps weren’t as quiet as I thought and H and the hubby joined my too.

I took things a bit slower than H, he wasn’t taking photos of his pressies as he opened them!

I even had a special tea bag to make a drink to have as I opened my pressies. (Sorry Sheila, hubby made it part way through as I couldn’t wait for the kettle to boil!)

The first thing I opened was these gorgeous handmade buttons!! (that’s when i knew my pressies were from Sheila!). Look at all those tiny stitches!

You might wonder what I’m showing you here!! Wouldn’t normally put on early morning face without coffee on my blog!! Can you see my earrings!!??

They were a bit hard to photograph wearing them so here’s a close up. I’ve worn them everyday since and got lots of lovely comments!

A zipper pouch! This will be perfect so carry some change about when I’m working.

And a matching tissue holder comlete with a packet of Kleenex. This will be great for work too!

I don’t own a real pair of little scissors so I feel like a proper seamstress now! I’ve used it already and it’s great not looking for the needle on the sofa – Sheila’s made a cute little needle keeper! I’ve not photographed it very well, but can you see the scissors are in the shape of a stork?

These patterns will come in useful. I’m thinking I might do the RTW fast again in 2016 so would need all of these.

Tissues…. how cool are these! Obviously I won’t be blowing my nose with these but might dab my brow with them when I’m sweating over a particular challenging sew!

Fingerless mittons! So soft! These have been worn already even though it’s not been cold enough!

An IKEA bag! I loved these when I saw them on Sheila’s blog and this will be really useful. It’s got all my Christmas pressies in at the minute.

A super cute Christmas decoration! Pic at the top of it hanging on my tree!

A fat quarter……. I think I might use this when I get round to making myself a peg bag!

Saving the best until last!

This is just the best thing ever!!! A hand made sewing box with goodies in too!! I don’t know how Sheila had time to do all she has done. Not just for me but all the other handmade presents she’s made for her family. I truly am grateful for everything and love every single thing in my parcel!

Hubby was in awe of it and didn’t believe me at first when I told him Shiela had made it! After quite a thorough inspection he was still shaking his head and wondering if I was kidding him.

And I’ve been using it already! I’ve started a little project and learning how to do english paper piecing.

Thanks again Sheila! I’ve loved taking part in the Secret Santa, loved reading all the other posts and found some new blogs to follow too along the way!

Save The Date – Yorkshire Spoolettes Meet-Up!

Published by Thimberlina

Back by popular demand I’m arranging another meet-up in Dewsbury on Saturday 6th February 2016.

The day will be the same or similar to our last meet up – link in the top menu (or HERE) with what we got up to last time.

Everyone’s welcome!

More details will follow, but as it’s only a few weeks away I thought you might like something to look forward to and have time to juggle child care etc so you can make it.

Hope you can make it!

#SundaySevens Christmas Special

Published by Thimberlina

Hello! Hope you’ve all had a lovely Christmas! I know I have and so far I’ve taken advantage of not working and been able to spend time with my lovely family. Having worked for the Ambulance Service since I was 21 I’ve worked more Christmas’s than not so really do savour the ones I’m off.

I started off the week having afternoon tea with H and my mum. There’s a shop near my mums which sells clothes and things for the home, and also has a little cafe. Not quite the Ritz but not bad for a fiver each either!

Upstairs in the home dept there was a shelf full of bits n bobs to do with chickens, made me think of Sewchet and her chickens!

Christmas Eve- H and I spent the afternoon deliveries cards and pressies. We met up with Tina and Charlie in KFC – he was so excited! I wish H still believed!

Later in the evening we called at some friends for a few drinks. Clare is a really bad influence on me and often tops my glass up without me knowing. I managed to keep tabs on my bottle of Rosé and didn’t have more than a bottle. She has a fancy fridge that dispenses ice. It got a bit too generous and spilt all over the floor!!

Christmas Day

He’s been!!!!

Think I was more excited than H!! Here I am in the midst of opening my #StitchingSanta parcel from Sewchet – separate post to follow! Check out my lovely gloves and the earnings!!

Christmas Day we went to our Local Indian Restaurant for lunch. Here’s my nephew and niece – my sister’s 2. I always think Lucy is more like me and H is like my sister. Unfortunately big sis’ was working – she works for the ambulance service too.

The other end of the table – quite a rowdy bunch. Wonder if it’s anything to do with bringing your own drinks!!

When it was time to go I collected up the placemats and napkins which I’d made. (last time we went on Christmas day it wasn’t christmassy enough for our liking!) It looked like we had pinched them! Do you like how the napkins are folded – I followed this tutorial here on ShopJoya.

A rare pic of the 3 of us…

Back to Ma and Pa’s after Christmas Dinner for more food – the Indian restaurant doesn’t do Christmas Pudding or Cheese & Biscuits. We also had a game of “Articulate”.

Mum & I were the Champions!!

Boxing Day

Started the day with a 5k run to make up for stuffing my face on Christmas Day. The rain was torrential, which lead to all the flooding around north and west Yorkshire. Luckily we’re at one of the highest points in the West Yorkshire so escaped it, but the area I work in and where a lot of my friends live were badly affected.

I was cooking for 6 on Boxing Day then at 9am Big Sis’ called to say there would be 3 more. Yay!! We’d missed her on Christmas Day so was great that she would be joining us. Her hubby is also a paramedic so it’s really hard to get all 3 of together.

Another game of articulate, only this time mum dropped all the cards! Ooops!

Followed by a game of Pie Face….

Bright blue sky today. Hubby and I went for a walk this morning. I couldn’t face another run though the weather was perfect for it. On the horizon on the right you can just about make out the tall buildings which are in Leeds city centre.

Fancy joining in Sunday Seven-ish? There’s no hard and fast rules, but if you’d like to read more head over to Natalie’s blog, Threads and Bobbins, to read more!

#StitchingSanta

Published by Thimberlina

It’s arrived!!! My pressie and it’s taken prize of place under my tree! I’ve just gotten back from a run and our lovely postie had left it next door.

I was starting to get worried that it might arrive when i was out and I’d have to go to the sorting office, or miss out altogether!!!

So this is just to say Thankyou to whoever sent it and let them know it’s arrived safely. I admit to scrutinising the parcel for clues as to who it’s from but she’s not left any! Not even a post code so I can’t even narrow it down just a little bit!

Only 3 sleeps!!!!!

A Competition Ladies!!!

Published by Thimberlina

I’ve just stumbled across a competition whilst making tea. Well, I should’ve been making the tea but like most of you I am easily distracted, I’m still at the deciding stage!

CroftMill are running a competition for those of us who are making a party or posh frock! Click here to find out more! And what’s even better is it doesn’t matter whether or not you bought the fabric from them!

SEWCHET……you need to enter your posh frock! I bet it looks amazing! I think I might enter my Colette Wren!

More good news!! Hubby just rung to say he’s on his way home, I’ve suggested going to the local……2 meals for a tenner! Off we go…..!

See ya & good luck 🍀🍀🍀

PS they’ve not asked me to spread the word and I won’t be a judge or anything, I’m just sharing the sewing love! ❤️

#SundaySevens Week 67 (me 42)

Published by Thimberlina

Gosh! Only 5 sleeps ’til Christmas so one or two festive shots in this weeks Sunday Sevens, and a food-less one too, so no need to look away if you’ve not had your tea yet (or breakfast depending which part of the world you’re in!).

1 I took this photo on Tuesday from the 11th tee after I’d tee’d off. My ball was up there somewhere!! Luckily there weren’t many daft enough to be playing in the fog otherwise it would have been quite dangerous.

2 I made a start on my Stitching Santa pressies at the beginning of the week. I had this fabric from a charm pack I bought earlier in the year when I decided to give quilting a try. I thought this fabric would be just the job for my recipient. I’ve a Craftsy class that showed how to make these triangles, then I had a play around with the arrangement but ended up with something completely different!

3 H and I went shopping to buy him some clothes for Christmas. We went straight from school and was ready to leave at 6pm. After half an hour we were still not out of the carpark due to the nearby M62 being broken. We went back into the shopping centre from hot chocolate, and eventually got home at 9pm!! (No this is a drinks picture, not food!! lol)

4 On Friday I started work at 7am. They sent me out to stand by and there was the most amazing sunrise. I pulled over to get a shot, which was lucky as I got a call 2 minutes later and it was all gone by the time I’d finished. You can just make out the allotments in the foreground of the photo, and the lights are from the school.

5 Yay for the Park Run! I love it when I have Saturdays off. I should have been working but had taken leave as we had plans for later in the day. Nearly everyone was dressed up and looking really festive.

And when I say everyone, I mean even the dogs!

And Gemma and I had made an effort too, though we couldn’t run in the glasses!

6 Saturday afternoon I had some selfish sewing time and whipped up my first Coco dress to wear that evening. I used the same fabric that I used to make my Colette Wren and went down a size from my current Coco tops as I find I have excess fabric in the front. It’s a little bit snug across the upper bust but is definitely a better fit. I think I’ll wear this Christmas day and might even add some Christmassy embellishments!

7 It’s a good job Mr Thimbers doesn’t read my blog! Here he is dancing away in our friend’s kitchen after remembering he rather likes a Jack Daniels and Coke (or 2!) :-0

7a Sometimes when I’m at work i struggle to get my 10,000 steps a day in, more so if I’m working on the response car, which is most of the time. So when I get to the hospital, as soon as I’ve sorted out my patient I’ll walk up to the top floor (4 flights) along the corridor and back door the other staircase to get the blood flowing!

This is the view from the top of the stair case overlooking the old part of the hospital. The building on the right with the big chimney used to house circular wards. There used to be a bit large outer circle of beds and a small circle of beds in the middle facing the outer circle. Seems strange now, but that was what it was like when I first joined the ambulance service. I think the new hospital has been only open about 10 years.

So will you be joining in the Sunday Sevens over the holidays? If you’d don’t have the time normally maybe you could just to a one off Christmas Special! Head over to Natalie’s blog if you’d like to read more about it from our leader!