March Life Update; Knitting Many Things!

Hi readers, 

I'm currently really ill due to my long term illness, which I'm still in debates about writing a blog post on. Though I do feel the need to do this more and more just get some of my frustrations out! Anyway, this is a much nicer post today and it's about all the things I - and I one thing my mum made- have been knitting. Normally, I just put them into other Update posts but I've not been up to writing much lately. Though my short story a day blog is sill going - more out of habit then anything else. 

First off, let's start with the dog soft toy that's heading this post. He's so cute and snugly! He's made of Sirdar snuggly snowflake for the white bits and a soft double knit with a main brown colour and a mixed colour pattern - which didn't turn out that great- for the body but it makes him look different. I didn't give him a lot of stuffing because I wanted him soft and squidgy.

I have enough wool to make 4 or 5 more and my plan is to do one for my best friend's daughter's 1st birthday and then one each for when my brothers and their partners have kids. These doggies are so cute and simple to knit as it's all squares and rectangles. I can't wait to knit another one! 

I do like knitting baby stuff even though I'm not knitting with anyone in mind. I guess if and when I do get around to having babies all these knitted things will be useful. I think the main reason I like knitting baby stuff is because it's quick to finish things and you can knit easy or hard patterns, plus, the things are so cute! 

Booties were the first baby thing I made and I also learnt to increase with this pattern. I like to try and make different kinds of booties now. These ones below, I made in my favourite colour purple and added large star buttons to the front. I really like how they turned out. Also, making baby booties let's you practise different knitting techniques and they are super cute! 

The other baby things I like knitting is baby jackets. My mum found a real simple pattern which is just one rectangle for the back, two rectangles for the front panels and two smaller rectangles for the sleeves. There is no increasing or decreasing and it's just the plain knit stitch. Plus, its made of chunky wool so it knits real fast.

I've made a few of these jackets now and I've adapted the pattern to be made in double knit wool. My last jacket, I made out of Sirdar snuggly snowflake chunky and I decided the wool was so nice and I had many balls of it, I wanted to make it into a coat instead. With my mum's help, I learnt to add rows to make the length bigger. Once done, I also wanted to make a hood and mum helped me to that and add the little bear ears on top! To finish, large star buttons which I learnt how to make button holes for.  

I'm really happy with how this coat turned out! It looks so snuggly and warm for winter time. 

I've more wool to knit other jackets out of, including wool that is pattern to knit up like little flowers, I can't wait to try that one out! That's actually on my to do list next. 

The last thing I made and finished was this cute little bear comforter. I had problems making the head because I couldn't get the increase right. I got too frustrate with it and mum made it for me. I did the rest of it though because the ears, arms and blanket were easier. Once again it's made out of Sirdar snuggly snowflake and just snuggly for the bear bits. This bear comes from the same pattern book as the dog. 

The bear turned out well, even though I had bit of trouble with it! I'm not I'll be making another one any time soon, even though I have the wool to make a blue one. 

My mum has also been knitting baby things but of late, she's been making bits of pieces of things including a tea cosy and a regency doll's costume dress. She also made this little sheep. He come from a kit that someone give me ages ago but I can't do the little loop pattern, so mum made it instead. It took her ages because she had re-learn how to to the loop and the sheep is quite small too! 

The sheep turned out really well and mum didn't put a lot of stuffing in, so it's real squishy. There's a also a lamb in the box still to be made too, I want to say I'll have a go at making it, but I doubt it. For now this sheep is living on my bedside table and become a perfect comforter for my anxiety attacks.  

It's not just me and my mum that love wool, our dog Patch does too! She loves cuddling up to whatever wool ball we are using but the softer the better, though she's not a fan of fluffy stuff. She often sleeps between us or behind one of us whilst we knit and if the wool ever gets stuck, Patch is often the cause!  

Rainbow Blanket Project 

As part of my wool order for the Sirdar snuggly snowflake, I got this one called rainbow splash. I love all the bright colours! My first plan was to make a baby jacket/coat like I did out of the white/purple/blue mix further up in this post, but the thick strips that the rainbow colours made didn't look good. So, I decided it would make a better blanket instead, so I undid the half back of the jacket I made and began a baby/toddler size blanket. 

My first try though didn't turn out wide enough and you can see how thick the lines are in the photo above compared to the two below. I decided, despite having knitted almost a ball and half, that I did like the size of it, so once again I undid all my work and give this wool a third attempted!

This time though, I liked it better and it's wide enough now too. 

Since my re-start, I've been trying to work on this blanket as much as possible, it's been maybe around two-three months now and I have four balls left to knit in. As you can see from my recent photo, this blanket has grown! 

I really hope to get it finished by the end of this month and of course I shall post a photo when it's complete. It's getting real big now and becoming more of a toddler/child blanket then a baby's one! It'll be put to a good use in the future, I'm sure.  

That's it for this post, thanks for reading and happy knitting! 

(All photos belong to me). 

October Update : Counting Down To Halloween, Part 2

Hi readers,

So, Halloween is nearly here (12 days) what have I spent the last week doing? Well, shopping, baking, writing and sleeping! Also, planning where to put decorations and doing a practice Jack 'O Lantern! (It's the above photo, btw) And this next week it's looking like more of the same things, though I'm returning back to work and I need to sort my last driving lesson out, but more on that next time. 

Okay, so firstly and because I need to get this out of the way, let's talk about my baking 'disasters'. My mum really wanted to make a dinner meal out of a pumpkin and though we had found a few different recipes, I decided to make a lasagna. Normally, it's a dish I can make from scratch or tins/jars etc and it turns out fine. This one; http://foxeslovelemons.com/giving-back-with-pumpkin-kale-lasagna-chewforchange-pmedia/ turned out okay, but it so needed more flavor and it took twice as long as I thought it was going to. 

I'm not sure what happened, but I do know that having to sort out the pumpkin took up sometime and the fact that my oven is broken. That never helps anything, but we get by. My parents expecting it to be done when they came home and not having to wait two hours, got me a bit stressed out too. I wasn't that big a fan of the texture of it either and there wasn't enough sauce. (I'm a big fan of sauce) I think this will be a recipe I might not be returning to. To be honest the lasagna wasn't a disaster, these however were; 

So, these didn't turn out, but I should be grateful that they taste okay. I've made pumpkin muffins before, but when I saw this recipe I really liked it. Here;

http://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/spiced-pumpkin-muffins-with-cream-cheese-frosting/

Now, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with the recipe, it's just that I didn't get it right. I've a number of reasons; 

1. I don't think my oven was hot enough nor did it stay at the right heat. 

2. I really should have tried to get more water out of the fresh pumpkin because the muffins were soggy and sank. 

3. I didn't adjust for the use of my silicone mold and I probably put too much muffin mixture in.

4. I accidentally tipped too much cinnamon into the frosting. (I love cinnamon, so that doesn't bother me, but I don't know how that effected the overall taste of the topping.)

5. Piping icing and me just don't see eye to eye, but knifes to the rescue! 

6. I ran out of time baking and decorating them, due to other things I had to get done.  

Really, it's a good job that my boyfriend isn't big on sweets nor baking, because I was kinda making them with him in mind -since he stayed the weekend- but I knew he might not like the cream cheese or the pumpkin. My parents, well my mum, grabbed two (without frosting and just out of the oven) as they were leaving to go to Scotland for the weekend. Their verdict; they were okay but weren't right. My verdict is that if the above list hadn't happened or was less then they'd have turned out better. They are still edible though, but in future I'll be sticking with my normal recipe.

Moving on to something I did get right, though it's not baking -thank goodness- are these pretty cool tissue paper jar lanterns.  

 

You can find how to make them here; http://mycraftyspot.com/mason-jar-jack-o-lanterns/ but all you need really is some tissue paper, empty washed jars and some fake or real tealight candles. Then you just cut the tissue paper into strips, glue on to jar and put the candle in. Remember not to put the lid back on if you use a real candle though! I made Frankenstein and a vampire. There was also a ghost and pumpkin, but I have enough decorations of those already and liked the idea of bring more different colors - greens and purples in.

I'm not sure where I'm going to put these yet. I was hoping outside on my front wall, but I'd need to get more fake candles for them as the ones I used to take the photo have already been claimed by another project. Still, they look good just on my bookcase and though the photo doesn't give the lit effect well, they did turn out good and were super fast to make.

At the same time as preparing these jars, I did the others for my next lantern project. This one is more difficult and needs more time, but hopefully I'll try and start them next week ready for maybe next Monday's post? Though I shall be doing one on Halloween night anyway. I'm not sure about timings of things right now, but I do know that due to what I want to do with this next project it's going to take a good few days. Also, I'm still waiting for one item to arrive from Amazon.

I've got two more projects on my list at the minute too. Either are related to Halloween though, so have the moment been put on hold. The first is to finish off making small items for my mum's Christmas advent calendar bag. (I know Christmas stuff once again!) but I need it ready by December first and it does seem to be coming fast. I've got like three or four things on the list to make. Got the patterns and stuff ready, just need to find the time and mood to sew. I'll be posting more about that come November/December. Though I'll have to let my mum know not to read my blog! -she sometimes does and there's nothing wrong with that.

My second project is that I've loved the canvas painted button trees for ages and finally I found a YouTube video of someone making one and saw how easy they were to do. For all my creativity and skills, drawing/painting really isn't one. But now I've seen how to physically make it, it's not that hard and I can make to easier if I need to. So, I brought my first ever canvas -granted it was on sale at a discount art/book shop, but it was the right size and price. I got purple and pink paints for the background at the same time. I have a ton of buttons brought for sewing, but they'll now come in use to make the autumn leaves for my tree. I'm so excited and I'm going to do a post all about it next month.  

If you're looking for some Halloween inspiration for your own D.Y.I projects, check out my Pinterest board as there's lots of stuff currently on there; https://www.pinterest.com/hails9/halloween/ It'd be awesome to hear about your projects too, so please take the time to leave comments and links below. I love chatting and reply to everyone.

Oh and please check out my other blog 'The Story Files' linked below, I've got a longer short story up at the moment which concludes tomorrow, but you can still read it all. The stories are all Halloween themed and there is something for everyone on there.

That's all for this week, thanks for reading!

You can also follow on me on:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thestoryfiles

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ironmaidenfan9Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/user?u=327832Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=208056472&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profilePinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/hails9/Readwave :http://www.readwave.com/hayley.hardman.7/Blogger: http://hailscrazyblog.blogspot.co.uk/Wordpress: https://thestoryfiles.wordpress.com/

All photos; my own. 

Monthly Update January

Hi readers, 

This is my first end of the month update post! And yes, I know its a bit over due now, but for some reason I thought it was the 31st January on Sunday and thus had another day to write, when actually it was on a Saturday! So, I did gather my photos and half start writing and then I just got thrown into doing other tasks and have now only just be able to come back to try and finish/post this up. Anyway, I decided the easiest way to do this would be to divided things up into different sections and just write a paragraph or so about them. So, here it is.

Books

I'm currently reading all the above books; Little Women, Cloud Of Sparrows, The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror Volume 22 and The Kick-Ass Writer. Which I know is bad because I'd probably have more chance at finishing at finishing just one then all of them! However, I started reading Little Women on my Kindle and because I read mainly before I go to sleep, having to read off another screen when I've spent all day starting at one or more, is just getting to me. That's why I started on Cloud Of Sparrows, which has surprisingly turned out to be a very interesting book. I started the New Horror book some time last year and having been dipping in and out of the collection of short stories ever since. It's good way to get me in the mood for writing my own, when I need it. The last book was one I got for Christmas and I've been attempting to read it for further inspiration, it sits on my desk along the Horror one. I'll be reviewing all of these in the future, though I'm not stating any dates right now.    

Writing 

As well as writing a daily short story every day for my sister blog The Story Files on Wordpress, I've been working on my novella Church and chapter 3. I had some difficulty writing a fighting scene and have had to ask a number of different people for advice. Which is not like me, but I knew it wasn't right, but I didn't know what to change. They offered me just what I needed and I was able to go back and edit the chapter. It's now ready to be published in a few weeks time. For those of you that don't know about it, Church is the story of Blaze, a warrior angel who has become trapped on Earth, though he doesn't understand why. I've included the link below if you want to check it out. The image is one I used for chapter 2, by the way. I've not been doing anything else right now, though I am currently trying to get ahead in writing short stories to free up some more time for when I'm away and also for writing chapter 4. Feel free to check out my short stories. https://thestoryfiles.wordpress.com/category/church-novella/

Work

I've a paid job now! I work as an activity supporter at my local youth center, where I've been volunteering for the last two years. I only do one day a week right now, but hopefully that'll increase soon enough. So, I help to run and I run my own arts and crafts sessions and I work with 8-12 year olds. We make things like the pen holders below, felt toys and scent pouches. As well as drawings and other paper things. I'm currently leading a recycling project right now and plan to make other things out of cardboard boxes and tubes. I really am enjoying my job because its something that allows me to have a good level of freedom and to be myself. It also meets my creative needs and allows me time to write as well. I'm also mega happy to have finally found a job!   

Music of the month 

I've been listening to a lot of music this month, though most of it is the normal things I listen to whilst writing such as 12 Stones and Five Finger Death Punch. There's something about their music that just inspires me and helps to to write. I also like listening to a lot of different natural sounds like the fall of rain, burning fire and wind sounds. It helps to relax me and allows me to focus more on what I'm working on because it blocks everything else out and the noise is a constant thing. I've been listening to a lot of Bon Jovi too recently. Not sure why, but it's phrase I'm going though. I'm also branching out into some new music, so i might give this section a more closer look next month.  

General/home

I'm currently doing a teaching course, which is the PTLLS one. It'll mean I can teach choice subjects in anywhere but a school/college. I'm not sure what I'm going to use it for right now, but its a good step on the teaching ladder, plus some of the skills I'm getting are useful in my job right now as some aspects of that does involve teaching. I've got some essays to get writing though and they are proving hard to do. Sure I'll get there soon enough though.

I've been making a teddy bear out of an old pair of denim jeans, but he so didn't turn out like the pattern and I've not finished him yet. I'm not too keen on him actually and I've made better things. Though it seems I'm good with felt but not much else! I guess I'm still a novice at all this sewing and creating though and its going to take more time to learn the skills and remember what I've to do. I'll try and carry on, but finding any spare time at the minute is getting harder.   

Lastly, I've been looking forward to it snowing, but so far we've not had a lot and its not stuck around! I do love the snow, but I don't like going out in it because of all the difficulties. I'm still hoping it'll snow more soon though. Maybe next time I write, it will have snowed some more? Anyway that's the end of this month's update. Here's one of my dogs, Sindy, enjoying the snow in my back garden to end things on.  

Images from: 

January poster, http://www.dreamstime.com/illustration/january.html

Book covers, author's own

Abandoned St Etienne Church, France, http://imgur.com/owSErIU

Tin can pen holders, http://diyandcraftsideas.com/diy-crafts/how-to-design-and-make-diy-pen-holder/

Album covers, author's own

Jean Bear,  author's own 

Sindy dog in the snow, author's own 

Life Update #1

Hi readers,

I've been so busy this week and last week I was on holiday, so I've not had a chance to put together a review yet. It'll probably be the first Batman and Dracula comic book that I'll review next week, as I'm currently reading Shift, the second Silo book and I don't think I'll have it finished anytime soon. It's been awhile since I last wrote a diary/life update post. I guess because I've found that people are more interested in reading my reviews then reading what I've been up to. I had the need to post up something though!

It seems I've been really busy over the last few weeks. I was on holiday with my boyfriend last week and we were in the Lake District. It was really nice and the house we stayed in was awesome. The weather was very typical British Summer! The first half of the week was reasonably. There was some sun and it was warm enough, however it was nothing like the heatwave that we'd had the week before. The rest of the week it rained, luckily it wasn't wet all the time, but Friday and Saturday were the worse. We went out on a steamboat ride and got drenched. The river which ran behind the house changed dramatically too. It was low and slow at the start of the week and then became  fast moving, roaring and flooding the bank at the end of the week. As much as I love the Lakes, I was glad to get home!

Whilst I was there I decided to start playing Pokemon Diamond. I younger brother had passed on his DS to me and since I'd not really had a chance to use it, I thought I'd have enough time to play some games whilst I chilled out. Turned out it was useful for the rainy days too! My boyfriend had the Pearl Pokemon which is the companion to mine. So, we spent a lot of time- a lot more then I thought! Playing and battling. I'm now addicted and also determined to finish the game. I'm not doing that badly, as I'm up to the last gym leader now. Though I know there's the Elite Four and other things to do afterwards.

I was into Pokemon when I was younger too. It seems to be one of those things that's still going strong, even if the fame surrounding it has dropped off. For me it was always about capturing the Pokemon and winning the card game battles. My boyfriend and I have played them too and I'm sure he owes me another match! Hopefully, I'll have it finished soon and be able to fill more of my time with reading and writing.

This week, I also finished off my Steampunk cushion (cover photo). I had to wait to get the sewing machine out and for the glue to dry on the felt pieces. I'm really pleased with how it turned out as its my own design. It'll go really nice with my other cushions now, which seem to be multiplying! I still need to make a Bioshock one, though I think I'm going to have to simplify the design. I might have some skills, but they aren't good enough to make a Big Daddy and Little Sister out of felt. The best part of my cushion has to be the cogs and the top hat with goggles. I'm really happy with it.

The same can also be said about my other felt creations (below). I've been planning some activities at the youth center and I use this as examples for the young people. I also get to use them too! Starting from the left is a seahorse, then above is a dragon wrist band and a small zipped purse is below that, then there's the scented square butterfly and a coin purse. My addiction and love to felt just gets growing. I really wish my shop had taken off and I could have spent time making things. I might look at trying again around Christmas time. Till then it's back to making examples and things for myself.

I've got this gold fish to sew and finish tomorrow (second photo below). I made one two weeks ago and now can't find it. So, I'm going to make another and cover him in sequins to give him that shinny scale look. It's going to have awhile, but he'll turn out really nice! After that, I've no idea what I'll make, maybe I'll get start on some Halloween stuff or maybe Christmas presents!

The next big thing I've to get sorted is my driving theory test. Though I don't feel ready, I'm going to try and book the test tomorrow. I've no idea where and when I need to be, so I guess I'll find out. My driving lessons as going really well and I've had about 21 now. I think passing the practical will be a lot harder, but I so need to get the theory out of the way. I probably should spend more time studying, but I've already read the Highway Code twice now and some of the questions they could ask might be in there! I've got to do the hazard test too, though I feel more prepared for that then the questions.

I'll just have to give it a good shot and hopefully booking it will make me study harder. At least I know if I fail it I can take it again and it's not the end of the world. Still though, like with every other test you want to pass first time! Hopefully, I can get there though and going through all these should help.

On Friday, I helped my boyfriend to create the first episode of his new YouTube series using Minecraft. It was really nice and fun to be working on a project together. I'm looking forward to seeing the results of all our hard work too! The idea is to tell a story like Red Vs Blue (if you've not seen that you should check it out.) using the world of a game and Minecraft is actually very suitable for this. I think it's got something to do with the fact that you can create so much and have adventures. I don't want to give to much away about the story, which is due out next week now and can be watched on my boyfriend's YouTube channel. He's currently doing Let's Plays of varies games and making other content. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJWrkwGLBfitfNNMjHR_7tw

Taking part in this experience has given me a greater appreciation for people who make internet reviews and shows. A lot of time and hard work goes into making some of the things people are now watching online. I think that people believe that making these internet shows is easy or else people are just wasting time or its just a hobby, so it doesn't matter. But, a lot of people are now making enough money to class their internet work as a part-time or full-time job. The same can be said for self-published writers! Of course, you've got to stick with it and make a lot of great content to get people interested and watch your show. I guess though if that's what you want to do and you try hard enough, its possible! For me though, I'm not that interested in having my own show, but I love helping others to make their's and it's fun!  

Lastly, I baked these apple crumble cupcakes. They turned out good and they were tasty. Though I think I'll stick to making felt things then baking, I'm much better at that!  

Images: 

All authors own, other then the Minecraft logo. 

Creative Writing Courses Online.

Hi readers,

It's been awhile since I wrote again, but unfortunately I've been ill and busy and not reading much. That's why this week's post isn't a book review, but still links in with the theme of my blog. I recently signed up for and this week started an online writing course run/partly by the Open University. My mum suggested it to me as she had been looking into it as part of her offices' writing poetry for nurses' day activity. The main focus is on creating characters, so I thought I'd give it a go and see what happens.

Its' been awhile since I last talked about writing courses and it'd been interesting to see if my views have changed about them. Actually, though I wanted to focus to be more about people/writers who'd already taken course/s on writing, ( no matter what they were) and weren't new to doing a creative writing course. I know this might leave a few readers out so I thought I'd go briefly write something for the new people afterwards. Okay, so, this is going to run into an A&Q post, but it seems the best way to write it.

Question 1: why if you've already done a creative writing course be it at uni level or equal too or just online etc, would you want/need to do another?

Answer: for lots of different reasons. It could be that the course is looking at one element of creative writing that you want to improve or be introduced too. For example you might be a poet, but you have an interested in travel writing but don't know much about it, then you could find a course tailored to met that need. Due to the fact that there are a lot of different subjects and they divided into different topics that make up a general creative writing course, it means that each course can offer different things and focus or main theme subject matters. The course I'm on for example does contain all the information a new writer needs, but its key theme is creating and developing characters.

Another reason might be that you've taken a break from writing -like I have and you want to get back into it but you don't know where to start. Plus, you need some motivation and to just go back through things. Courses can be really good for this. There one aim is always about getting you to write and getting you confident about your writing. The questions and assessments they give you can help get you back in the mode and time management for writing. It also allows you to make new connects, which are always useful to have. Adding into this is if you did a course a long time ago and you need to update your knowledge.

Question 2: How useful can it be to take another course? 

 It really depends on if its' suitable for you and if you put in as much as you can. For me, writing has always been something that can't really be taught, similar to other creative areas. Yes, you can learn about, but the talent and determination needs to still be there at the end. I also believe that you never stop learning and with Creative Writing being so broad this seems very true. Some writing courses wouldn't be much use to me now as I already know the basics and a lot about the publishing industry. However, a course that is focused on online-publishing or writing horror fiction might be still be useful to me because those are the areas I'm looking at and weren't that focused on at uni.

As an add to this going to public talks and readings to can be really useful. I can learn a lot about a certain subject and meet new people. You can also get inspired too and it's great to support other writes and teachers in this way.

Questions 3: Online or classroom?

I think this just depends on the course and yourself. I've got experience with both. I enjoyed going to classes and physically meeting up with tutors and friends. Certain environments can allow you to do more work or become more focused. I would love to go back to uni and do an different or related course, but I've not got the money to do so. Doing an online course paid for or free, is actually become more popular and I'm already seeing the benefits of it. Being online means that you can go at your pace and fit it in at a good time for you. So, there's no worrying about being late or missing things. A lot of people from around the world can get on the course as most of the time there's no number restrictions. You can do it all from home or from anywhere with a computer and the internet. You are still able to talk to the tutors and other support staff as well. Lastly, the qualification you might get isn't that different from a classroom on.

Question 4: Course or Writers' Retreat/Holiday? 

To me these have always been different things. A course is were you learn and the writers' retreat is where you go to get the space and time to write. I've seen some writers' retreats that do run classes and readings. But most of the time they do seems to be for someone who is currently writing and wants sometime to continue to do so. Most of the time there are other writers there for you to meet as well. Once again this depends on what you are looking for.

Question 5: Can I run my own writing course?

This is a tricky one but I was thinking about it before. The answer is technically yes. Though it does help if you some experience and a qualification in teaching to start with. Also, having stuff published can be a big element. Where to teach and how much to charge, is something I've not really looked into. However, I'm still trying to get a writing group set up at the youth center, though I'll probably won't get paid for that. I did know someone who went into prisons to teach creative writing. Schools might also be interested. I think it'd need some research and connecting the right people.

So, I've pretty much answered everything I had my head now. Hopefully it's also give you more insight into writing courses. It really does come down to what you want to get out of it and how you want to study. I'm really wanting to get back into writing my novels and meeting other writers. I miss how we motivated and support each other and that can be a large part of the writing process. It's also easier and cheaper for me at the moment. One thing it's also allowed me to do is find a use for these notebooks I  made. Though I fear I might need some more soon!

New writers

I want to do a writing course where do I start?

I'd so recommending doing some research into the different courses out there. Also think about how much time you can commit to and if you can offered to do it. Plus, traveling and other living expenses. Uni and college courses can be very expensive now. Of course you don't have to do a writing course to start writing and self-publishing. There's lots of information and helpful people on the internet and just doing that might be more useful to people then taking a course. but if you really do want to do it then I'd say look at doing a uni course or the equal to it. Doing a whole course like my BA Hons one meant that I could write a whole range of different things, I could also work in the publishing industry or do things like editing and making content online. There are ones that are tailored or more focused on certain parts of writing. So, it just depends what you want to do.


Images from:
http://chalkthesun.co.uk/?page_id=51
Handmade note books; Author's own. 

Keep Calm and Sew!

It's strange to think that up until ten or twenty years or so ago, most women knew how to sew. They knew how to make clothes, toys and home furnishing by hand and using a machine. Many could also design their own patterns and create something new that fitted their needs. Girls were taught the basic techniques in schools or extra classes or else by family members. They also learned to knit, crotchet, cross stitch and anything else that falls into this category.

Now though, it seems to me that these skills are slowly fading, yet the demand for handmade items is still high. No longer are people being taught how to sew in schools and family members haven't been teaching each other because everyone is just too busy or else it doesn't interested them. Plus, nearly all items can now be made via machines and thus given the 'handmade' look. This means that shops can sell this stuff cheaply and sometimes it can be more cheap then the materials needed and the work being put in! So, people take the easy route and just go with the handmade style look to their clothes or furnishings. Of course there's nothing wrong with this, but to me it shouldn't be allowed to take over.

In a way, this decline of sewing reminds me of all the other skills that people have or are losing. Most of them seem to be hands on skills like carpenters, blacksmiths, farriers, old fashion farming and some engineering jobs. They've mostly fallen into history because of the new technical and peoples ways of looking at things. Don't get me wrong, that's not a bad thing, it just seems a shame to me that these jobs are not popular anymore.

  

I should get back to the actual point of this post now. I recently discovered a hidden talent and love for sewing that maybe had been overshadowed by all my other hobbies. Working with older children at the youth club and teaching them the basics of sewing by hand and creating a whole range of items, was the trigger. I never really thought about where my talent might have come from but on reflection I can so place it!

Crafting seems to have always been in my family one way or another. I have memories of curling by my nana's gas fire in the dim light whilst she crotchet blankets, dollies and dolls' clothes. I have a few she made in my bedroom, but where the rest went to I've no idea. I always remember her crocheting and knitting though and her needles always being close to hand. My grandmother, who I never meet was also into the same hobby, but she was also a fan of cross stitching. My mum can do everything, but crochet as she finds that too tricky, which is a weird thing to say. She has always been into making clothes, toys and cross stitch pictures.

My first memory of my mum making something for me was my school uniforms. I hated wearing them- not because they were handmade- but because they looked slightly different from the brand new uniforms that everyone else wore. My mum said that I was too tall for my age and she couldn't find any uniform that fitted me, so she decided that making one would be easier. I think that memory caused me to be put off handmade clothes for years. Then due to getting into making cards and scrapbooks, I become interested in knitting and so encouraged my mum to get back into knitting. Thus she has made me some nice jumpers, jackets and soft toys over the last few years. She also taught me how to knit, but I still have a lot to learn!

On reflection, the youth factory really did inspire me to start sewing again. I remember that we had a session making squishes. Which are soft flat-ish toys made from white cotton and fabric pens. I knew I could do that on my own and so did create some hearts and stars. Then I moved on from that made myself a cushion to take to Dungeons and Dragons with me. Then it just kicked off and now I seem unable to stop myself from making things out of fabric and felt. I've found that working with both is relaxing and fills the time. It's also helped me with my depression.

It does take awhile to decided what to make, but I just Google for inspiration and the Pinterest it. Thus I have two boards of things to make. Now the actually making part can take forever, but the end results always seem to be worth the time spent. I've actually decided to make Christmas presents for my family and friends as I've the time and though it might not seem cheaper over all, it's good fun. This does mean that I can't show all my creations, but here are a few;

                                                                                                                                                                 
The other thing I've been making are these candle jars. I was inspired by a walk though I saw on Pinterest and so have made my own. The first is made with actual dry leaves and the second is made with skeleton paper leaves. Both look really good though.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Images from;
http://cherryandcinnamon.com/tag/vintage/
http://dict.space.4goo.net/dict?q=forge
Author's own.