Blog Archives - Jenny Wren Crafts

31st January 2021

1/31/2021

My new project is a cushion cover in chunky teal blue yarn for the conservatory. Have run out of yarn though and Hobbycraft have no more in stock so unless I can find something suitable to finish it I may have to do a fabric back.

The fitters are coming tomorrow to install the conservatory so I am hoping it does not rain overnight or tomorrow. It will be great to have a roof on so it can start to dry out.

Bathroom is now in its early spring colours of pink and white.

Watched The Dig on Friday night which I enjoyed. It is apparently based on a book so I might get it to read. I was wrong about the ship though, it wasn't Viking it was Anglo Saxon.

I have also recently watched White Tiger which is set in India and is really about the class system and corruption. Interesting.

Just had a look at the Secret World January auction and I see that my large hedgehog door stop has sold for a whopping £22. Amazing! The small went for £8 which is also good. I have suggested they put some more of my things into the auctions as I think it is a good platform for them. Probably better than the shop where people are looking for cheap things.

30th January 2021

1/30/2021

Finished!!!!! At last my CAL is finished. It has taken me about 5 months to do but I did put it to one side in the run up to Christmas as I was doing other things. I have never tackled anything so big so I am quite pleased that I have finished it. There are bits of it that I'm not happy with and would improve if I ever did another. Some my fault and some the pattern. Still, the overall result is not bad. Too big to photograph whole now so have captured key bits.

25th January 2021

1/25/2021

Have been working on my Scheepjes CAL and only have a few rows to do now. I want to get it finished so I can start on the teal blue one for the conservatory. It's getting difficult to photograph, I have to stand on a chair to get it all in the picture.

My lockdown hair was driving me nuts so yesterday I cut 3" off and layered it through. So much better. It's regained its bounce and wave that the weight was pulling out. The last time I had it cut was in the summer and my hair grows quite quickly.

Need to find something else to watch. I have finished all episodes of The Serpent and Traces, both of which were very good. Not sure I fancy Bridgerton. The Dig is starting on Friday on Netflix which sounds OK about the Viking ship unearthed at Sutton Hoo which is now National Trust.

Currently reading The Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling which is definitely not a children's book! I thought it was a bit slow to start but have got into it now and have nearly finished.

23rd January 2021

1/23/2021

Made three cushions today from the teal blue taffeta that I found and I have a big piece left. Could make another cover or perhaps a lampshade.

There is a story behind how I acquired the teal blue taffeta. It was during a visit to my sister Scarlett who lived in Brixton at the time, close to Brockwell Park. On a Sunday morning we often used to walk up to Herne Hill as there were some nice vintage shops and a local produce market. Scarlett likes mid century furnishings and was looking for a table for her TV. We came across a nice teak one in a vintage shop which she agreed to buy. The guy then informed us that it was actually a sewing table with a hinged lid and storage inside. It also came with two large carrier bags full of random sewing bits. We carried it all back and tipped it onto the floor in a huge pile which Scarlett then very kindly shared with me. The teal blue taffeta was among the contents. See post from January 2014. The white rings in the photograph were used to make some bags for Secret World.

17th January 2021

1/17/2021

I have been having a rethink about the teal sofa. Although I love the colour it would probably be better to have a neutral colour and add the teal in the form of accessories such as blankets and cushions. I quite like this one from Ikea which has the advantage of having removable covers which can be taken off and washed. Besides the blanket pack I have also found a large piece of teal material and a ball of chunky teal yarn which would make good cushion covers and I have some new cushion fillings in the loft.

I spent quite a bit of time last week sorting my stash of yarn and finding suitable patterns for things that I can make with it. I think I now have enough projects to keep me going for the next 10 years! I logged the main yarns in a book and can report that I have 6.6k of super chunky (that's 66 x 100g balls) nearly 7k of chunky (70 x 100g balls), nearly 9k of aran (22 x 400g balls) and that's not counting dk which I haven't logged, just sorted into colours. I have also sold 3 packs of yarn that I knew I would never knit anything with on ebay. Do you think I have a problem!!

16th January 2021

1/16/2021

Another three days work done this week and have also been busy sorting out things for the conservatory.

I ordered the laminate flooring (smoked oak) and it arrived on Thursday. I also sorted out a light fitting and light bulbs (they don't come together!), some wallpaper, and a doormat. I have decided the colour scheme will be neutrals and teal blue. The blanket pack that I had for Christmas will be perfect.

I still need to get skirting board (which is out of stock at B&Q), magnolia paint (I thought I had some but inspection of the loft says not) and blinds for the windows which I can't sort out until the conservatory is built. I also have my eye on a two seater setee from Argos in teal blue. The good news is though I now have a fitting date of the 1st February. It's nice to have something to look forward to other than the vaccine! I can also start work on the blanket and come cushions.

7th January 2021

1/7/2021

Well, the new year is galloping by already, one week gone.

The skip man came today to take away the full skip. He was very good and even picked up some rubbish that had been out the back for ages and was nothing to do with me.

It has been very cold today. The thick frost has not moved all day and it was foggy this morning and this evening. Ventured out to the Post Office as I had a parcel to post. The town was deathly quiet.

Have finished my 1000 piece jigsaw that I had for Christmas. I have enjoyed doing it. I can wash the Christmas table cloth now!

I have always liked to read and since retiring I have had more time to do this. I read in bed at night while I drink my bedtime drink and again in a morning if I have time while I drink my morning cuppa that the teasmade has made. (I can't get up till I've had my morning cup of tea). At the moment I am reading some Michael Morpurgo books which are very good. I read War Horse a while ago but picked up some more of his books last summer. I have now read Escape from Shangri-La, Adolphus Tips, Dear Olly, Private Peaceful, Farm Boy and Why the Whales Came. I have Mr Nobody's Eyes still to read and then I will pass them on to Olivia if she does not already have them.

Another author I have enjoyed reading is Kate Mosse. I read Citadel first last year and this year I read Winter Ghosts, Labyrinth, The Taxidermist's Daughter, and Sepulchre. I have also read 5 books by Karen Menuhin, who is a new author. They are murder mysteries set in the 20s among the upper classes and are quite amusing. A touch of Downton Abbey with a dog.

Earlier in the year I read Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy. I did Far from the Madding Crowd at school and have also read The Mayor of Casterbridge. They are all set around Dorchester in Dorset where he lived. We have visited the cottage where he was born and the house he had built when he married. They are excellent books.

Other books read include The Librarian of Auschwitz which was fascinating and harrowing at the same time, All the Light We Cannot See which accompanied the CAL I am doing and was very good, Chestnut Street by Maeve Binchy (I love her books and have now read them all), The Handmaid's Tale (not my usual choice but ok). several Philippa Gregory's (I have now read all of the Cousins War and the Tudor Court series, all of which I enjoyed very much) and Mary Queen of Scots by John Guy. I first got interested in historical fiction of this period in time after visiting Hardwick Hall and hearing all about Bess of Hardwick. I bought a book about her by Mary S Lovell which was fascinating. She was the richest woman in England after Elizabeth I and was married four times. Her last husband, George Talbot the Earl of Shrewsbury was jailor to Mary Queen of Scots for 16 years before she was executed.

5th January 2021

1/5/2021

The builder came this morning and finished off the inside skin of blockwork. For anyone who hasn't guessed what it's going to be yet - it's a conservatory! The footings have been there for a long time but it was never finished. We just made it into a patio so I thought it was about time I got it finished. Someone came yesterday to measure up for the top but I have no idea when it will get fitted as we are now all in lockdown again. At least the garden is tidy again as the builder has taken everything away. The skip will be collected later this week.

I can now start thinking about how I am going to finish the inside, flooring, curtains/blinds etc. I always said I would not have laminate on the floor as my vision of laminate is the stuff like printed hardboard. However I have been enlightened that it is not like that any more. It is actually about 1/2" thick and guaranteed for 20 - 30 years. I sent for some samples which arrived today and it does look good. Just need to decide which colour.

I am actually back at work as of yesterday, 3 days per week. I accepted a 3 month contract at Lantra to work on a an apprenticeship project for Skills Development Scotland. It has been nice to catch up (and actually see) a couple of my old friends. We all work from home but use Microsoft Teams to speak to one another.

2nd January 2021

1/2/2021

Well, I was going to go out today as I had a parcel to post but it decided to start snowing again! I didn't post any pictures of the snow we had the other day so here they are. We had about 2" which started to melt and then it snowed again and topped it back up again. Most of it has gone now.

Have now put away all of the Christmas presents and the tree and decorations will come down tomorrow. Have been working on a 1000 piece jigsaw that I had for Christmas which is really hard. I haven't done a jigsaw in ages.

Have also finished part 5 of my CAL. Just one more part to go. It's getting big now but keeps your knees warm as you work on it!

1st January 2021

1/1/2021

Happy new year to everyone. I think we have all been waiting for the end of 2020 in the hope that 2021 will be better. I have been extremely lucky and it was not too bad for me or my family. We have all come through it relatively unscathed. Just keeping everything crossed now for this new year.

Looking back at the calendar for last year the year got off to a good start. Although I was still working it was only a couple of days a week and I had spare time to do other things. During January, February and March I went to the cinema 8 times, (Cats, Frozen II, The Good Liar, Official Secrets, 1917, David Copperfield, Emma, Military Wives), to the theatre 5 times (Blythe Spirit, Asking for it, Cat and the Canary, Lady Chatterley, And then there were none), and to meetings of the Historical Society 2 times (Medieval Medicine, The origins of nursery rhymes). I also managed to get away on a couple of short breaks to Chester on my own and to Oswestry with Mark, Michelle, Anais and Roman.

I finished work on the last day of March and we went into lock down so all thoughts of using the caravan went out of the window. Instead I started making scrubs on the 1st April, using some of my own fabric and some supplied by groups. That carried on till the end of May and in all I made 45 tops, 40 trousers and 23 scrub hats.

In June I should have been going to Durham and Northumberland for 4 weeks with the caravan but of course that didn't happen (postponed till this year, fingers crossed). I did mange a few socially distanced picnics in the park though with Mark, Michelle, Anais and Roman which were lovely and as soon as the caravan sites were allowed to open on the 4th July we were off! In all I managed 39 nights in the caravan, mostly at Studley but also Somerset, Malvern and Broadway, one week in an apartment in Weymouth and 2 nights in Highbridge. Not bad all things considered.

I have managed to do quite of bit of crafting (aside from making scrubs). I have framed lots pictures for the hall, stairs and landing (pity no one can come and see them!), made some things (about 150 items) for Secret World Wildlife charity for them to sell in their shop and made several Christmas presents.

All in all I think I can say that I have made the most of what could have been a very miserable year!