How To Make It...

Good morning All!

So we have nearly completed 6 weeks of ‘shelter-in-place’ and Philip has been working from home for 7 weeks. But while Philip has been working - what have I been up to?

All my volunteer work has been put on hold with schools, libraries and museums shut until further notice. The Recorder Orchestra and Choir have also finished for this year. So I’ve gone from being quite busy - to nothing! (As a punch line, I received my EAD (Employment Authorisation Document) the day California went into ‘lockdown’…)

However, I’m not one to sit around doing nothing…let me show you

10 THINGS I’VE MADE

1. Beaded Rosettes

A couple of years ago, I bought some blank acrylic coasters so I could fill them with some bead work. Over those years, I’d done about 12. Took me a week to finish the final 8!

2. Dorset Buttons

I got the instructions out again to have another go at these. I am limited to the colour of thread I have - but I have plans to get some shower curtain rings and Christmas colours when we’re allowed out again…

3. Lucet

This is something that I had lurking at the back of a shelf. Once again I got the instructions out to have another look. It’s an old Viking tool apparently and it’s used to make chord. I still need to experiment with which type of thread to use.

4. Extreme Knitting

Each Monday, the choir has a get together on Zoom - not to sing but just to say hello. There are a lot of knitters in the choir and I was reminded that I had some ‘wool’ to use for my large knitting needles so I had a day of Extreme Knitting. The ‘wool’ is in fact a strip of woollen fabric cut from the edge of blankets. So I’ve knitted a seat throw for the garden chairs.

5. Children’s Jumper

I started a child’s jumper a while ago - so that has now been finished off and is ready to add to mum’s children’s clothes charity collection.

6. Philip’s Birthday Cake (& lemon curd)

I have discovered a YouTube channel called ‘HowtoCakeit’ - making novelty cakes. It was Philip’s birthday on Easter Saturday so inspired by the tips and hints from this channel I made a chocolate cake - with levelling and coat crumbing and everything! And a by product of making Italian Meringue Buttercream is that you have a load of egg yolks left - so there is a pot of lemon curd in the fridge.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/aa19e5_d326dfd9724e41059cd08c2f2d03c1a4/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

7. Cross stitch

This was barely started when we came here but I’ve managed to do a bit more. Unfortunately, I’ve run out of some of the colours so when we’re allowed out again…

8. Shawl

I still have lots of aran wool left in the wool bag so I thought a shawl would be useful for those summer evenings when we’re out on the porch..

9. Biscuit Tuesday

Philip has told you of ‘Takeout Thursday’ and ‘Milkshake Friday’ (and he said something today about ‘Tinpot Creamery Sunday’,..), well I have instituted ‘Biscuit Baking Tuesday.’ So far we have had Gingerbread People, Peanut Butter cookies and Chocolate Chip Cookies. Shortbread this week, I think…

(No picture here - they were all eaten before the camera could get to them..)

10. Beanies

We had no teddy bears to put in the window for children to spot as they walk around the neighbourhood, but we did have a beanie! I then remembered that I had a few cut out that needed assembling - so we now have a dragon, crocodile and turtle to sit with Alien Bob.

And there’s still the rag rug kit, another cross stitch and lots of wool left in the wool bag - not to mention all those beads; I’ve got plenty to keep me going!