Crafting Update - November 2020

Oh look, we're in another lockdown.  If I'm being honest I would have say that, in my world of job-searching unemployment and living at my parents, it hasn't really made a huge difference to my days.  I also recently got a flight refund from one of the three airlines I've been having long phone conversations with over the last few months, so that has definitely helped take away the financial pressure for now.  Of course, all this extra time has allowed for more crafting and this is what I've gotten up to so far.  (You can see what I originally had planned on my blog about Crafting to Come).

1860's Sontag

This is now complete, and I really like it.  It's like wearing a body warmer, but closer to your body, and probably allows for the same amount of freedom.  However, I actually prefer the silhouette of this.  I will need to make this again at some point, with some alterations for a better fit and wool yarn for extra warmth as I've never found acrylic particularly warm.  But this will do for now.  

Culottes

These are completed and I love them (you can see my hap hazard method here).  They really aren't the most flattering items I've ever made or in fact worn, but I love the brightness and the feel of them.  The cotton fabric is still a little stiff as well so that doesn't really help, but once it's been worn and washed a little more it should flow a little better and sit more like a skirt.  I am thinking about possibly making a top from the same material, but we'll see if I get round to it - probably not this year.

1930's Cardigan

I started this project in October, but then had to put it to one side to do some other, mostly Christmas, projects as I was worried about not getting them all finished on time.  These are now complete and I can now get back to working on this lovely cardigan.  The wool is a beautiful colour, but I do slightly regret picking the multi-coloured style as getting the two front panels to match has turned out to be a bit of a headache.  However, it finally looks like the second panel is now matching and coming along nicely.  There is another problem that I've noticed though.  I've been looking at the first panel again, and tried an initial fitting, and it looks like it might be slightly too short at the shoulders.  So, it looks like I'll need to frog to the garter section of the shoulder to then increase the length.  The main problem here is that this yarn is actually quite difficult to undo as the fibres tend to stick together once knitted.  Thankfully I did keep the rest of the yarn from that ball so I can just connect it up and keep the same patter going.   I guess we'll  have to see how it turns out.

Christmas Cards

These are now completed and most have been sent away to their respective recipients.  They were a lot of work and I definitely wouldn't have done them like this had I not had all this extra free time on my hands.  But it was nice to do and I like that they sort of look like Christmas decorations.  I now need to work out what I'm going to do next year as I usually have to start the whole process right at the beginning of the year.  Oh joy.

Face Masks

These were one of the additional three crafts I've added relatively recently.  We only had two fabric masks each that we had brought off Etsy a while ago, and one each that my Mum had made for us, so I decided we definitely needed more than that.  I found a pattern on line and decided to make up a few up (including one each for my parents).  I got permission from my Mum to raid her fabric stash and ended up making ten in total.  The pattern only called for two layers of fabric, including a opening to put in a filter, but I wanted to put in three with at least two being cotton.  These did take quite a while to make, about 2.5 days in total, and were quite fiddly.  Even though they are made from the same pattern, some do sit a little off and had to be re-fitted.  There is one that's still sitting in my to-do pile that I basically need to redo for it to work properly.  However, most function just as you would need them to.  I think if I was to do the pattern again I wouldn't sew the first two layers together right from the start, but connect central lines separately and then join them at the end.  It didn't help that my sewing machine didn't want to work at all this time and I think it needs to really good clean out and oil.  I'll add that to my list of things to do in the near future, and definitely before I take on another sewing project.

Nightmare Before Christmas Cross-Stitch

This was my second add on project.  I got the pattern from Home Decor Cross-Stitch on Etsy as the movie is one of my partner's favourite.  I was going to do it as their Christmas card, but then I realised how big it is so now it's a Christmas picture instead.  It did take a while to make, but I really love how it looks and the pattern was pretty easy to follow (though I did go a little funny doing all the black for the skirt).  I'm more of a Halloween fan than a Christmas fan, so this was right up my alley and it'll probably stay up all year round.

Aran Jumper

Project number three and another Christmas present.  The pattern for this one was Hayfield Bonus Aran 9465 and the yarn is Cascade 220 in the colour Shire (couldn't resist the Hobbit connection there).  It's a cable knit jumper and definitely one of the hardest things I've ever made before, but I started to get the hang of it near the end and I think it actually turned out pretty good.  The soon to be owner saw me making the jumper but didn't get to see the final piece, so I'm looking forward to them opening it on Christmas day.  I'm not sure I'll ever make a cable knit jumper ever again, but it was good to give it a try at least once.

The Shawl

I haven't actually started this yet but I've finally decided on the pattern and what wool I'm going to use.  The pattern is Biophilia by Mary-Ann Mace and I really like the connection to the sea.  I'm using yarn recommended by lovecrafts.com, which is where I brought the pattern form, and ended up getting the yarn Fyberspates Vivacious 4ply in Peacock (and yes I know it looks exactly like the wool I got for the cardigan.  That wasn't the plan I just apparently have a thing for that colour palette 😂).  Looks like it's going to be quite a complicated pattern, but it'll be good to test myself with it.

Lord of the Rings Cross Stitch

Buying the patterns are about as far as I've gotten on these as I'm taking a little break from cross stitching for now.  But I know I'll enjoy them once I get started.

Looking at it I actually managed to get quite a lot done during this month and a half.  I've also realised that I quite enjoyed having a sewing, a cross stitch, and a knitting project going together so I could mix and match depending on what I'm feeling like that day.  It's something I would like to carry on doing in the future.  However, right now I'm taking a little break from multi-crafting, especially as there will come a time when I actually need to have a few project on the go at once, and am just going to concentrate on getting my cardigan finished.  Especially as I think it's going to turn out to be quite complicated enough in it's own right.  Then I'll get back to it, probably just before Christmas.

Crafting to Come

 

If there's one good thing that has come out of this long lockdown and self-isolation for me is to remind me that I actually quite enjoy crafting.  Due to that, I've decided to add some more little crafting projects to my to do list, including one that I've been thinking about doing for years.  Of course, the main problem is that once you start thinking about one project you want to do many more come forward, but here are the few I'm starting with.

1860's Sontag

So, I'm a big period drama watcher and I've been wanting to make one of these for a while now, but it doesn't look like just a standard shawl and I was struggling to find a pattern for this until I stubbled across this website, Ragged Soldier Sutlery and Vintage Volumes, which not only had the original pattern, but a modern translation of the pattern.  

At the moment I'm knitting this with a yarn I got from a charity shop and which is 100% acrylic.  It's not the nicest wool to knit with, but it should be quite hard-wearing and the plan is to make this Sontag with this wool as a trial of the pattern and how much wear I get out of it.  Then I'll make it again with some more natural and more comfortable wools. I'm also making this as part of Voolenvine's History Make-Along, #HistoryMAL, which is about making projects  either from or in an ode to pre-1950s clothing, styles, and fabrics.  I have a few more projects in the line for this one as well.

Culottes

Almost 20 years ago I got this beautiful fabric as a gift from a friend in Africa to make into some clothing, but I haven't really known what to make and, if I'm honest, I was a bit nervous about using it.  But I've decided that it's time to just use it and there's enough fabric that it doesn't matter too much if this time it doesn't quite work out.  With that in mind I've decided to make some culottes using the information made available on this video by Global Fashion Workshop.

I know that I should probably make a pattern first and then a test piece, but I've decided to do what I normally do with this sort of thing and sort of wing it a little.  That being said, I'll probably write a post about it if it works out in case anyone else wants to wing their culottes. 😂

1930s Cardigan

A couple of years ago I brought this book called Knit Vintage (by Madeline Weston and Rita Taylor) with patterns based on original vintage knitwear from the 30s, 40s, and 50s.  I've been wanting to make one of these patterns but never really had a reason to.  However, I actually need a new cardigan at the moment and realised that the cost of buying the wool would basically be the same as buying a new cardigan (though obviously not pre-loved one) and this way I'd be able to get the specific style I wanted.  

I wasn't able to get the wool that was suggested in the pattern, but I did get some beautiful blue Viking by Norway Nordlys wool (in colour 927) which is meant to be inspired by the Northern Lights.  I got this from the Love Crafts website, which I have to admit has now become somewhere I spent a ridiculously large amount of time.

Christmas Cards

For the last few years I've been sewing most of my Christmas cards, if not all, and this year I decided to do the same.  I've actually already finished sewing all the cross stitch parts of the cards (joys of lockdown) and was thinking that this year, instead of mounting them on a card, I'd sew them onto fabric so that they can be hung up instead - maybe even used as a Christmas tree decoration.  I've already got the fabric for it so all I need to do is sew them onto it and then back them.  Should be pretty quick and easy, hopefully.

I do have one other, larger Christmas card to sew for my partner, but I can give it a month or so before I start that.

A Shawl

I still haven't quite decided on the pattern or wool for this project yet, but I have an event happening next year and wanted to knit myself a shawl for it to add a personal touch.  There's not much more to say about this one right now, but I'll probably be adding updates about it (as with everything else) on my Instagram, @greeninggeorgie.

Lord of the Rings Cross-stitch

This one is for way, way into the future, but, when doing the dangerous browse of Etsy, I found some cross-stitch patterns with a Lord of the Rings theme from Country Magic Stitch.  I couldn't resist and did something I shouldn't have, which is buy them even though I knew I won't get round to them for a while yet.  So there they are sitting in a folder, ready to be made once I've finished absolutely everything else on my list.

And that's it, those are my crafting plans for now.  I'm sure more will come along and I definitely want to make more clothes for myself in the future, including getting pre-loved items and altering them to fit me, so be prepared to hear more about this in the future.

De-cluttering - Quarantine version

 

As I've been self-isolating at my parents house it seemed like a good time to go through the things I had stored in their attic to see if there was anything else that I could get rid of.  It didn't go quite as successfully as I had hoped as there's still quite a few boxes to take to my next home, but I did manage to get rid quite a few things.  The biggest issue this time round is that I'm not certain what the future is going to bring or even what work I'm going to be doing so I'm not sure what items I should keep and what things I can get rid of.

With that in mind I've kept all my outdoor/work gear as, even if I'm no longer working outside, I'll still be going outdoors as a hobby, all my warm gear, and all the kitchen stuff I've acummilated and which survived the last purge. 

The easiest thing to get rid of was all the books I'd read in the digital form during my lockdown in New Zealand and just needed to pull out of the box and put into the charity bag.

Clothes were also pretty easy as I'd gone through most of my items whilst I was in New Zealand and there were just a few that I had left here and either didn't miss or knew I wasn't ever going to use again.  I also added a hoody and an outer fleece to this pile after I had taken the photo.  There's some fabric I'm never going to use and an outer casing for a wheeled suitcase I don't even own.

I'd already gone through all of my make-up brushes and gotten rid of the ones I knew I wasn't going to use but I completely forgot about these eye curlers.  I compared what my mascared eye lashes looked like after using and not using the curlers and noticed absolutely no difference.  I also can't be bothered to do this extra step, so they're heading off.

There were also a few pieces of jewellery that I either haven't worn in years or am bored of wearing now.

There's a few bags which are either falling apart or that I've tried but just haven't liked using.

Now for the more difficult items.  Firstly, I decided that I would actually let go of all my David Attenborough and Disney DVDs.  They've survived previous purges as I'm emotionally attached to them, but I've come to the decision that I'm not really going to watch them again, especially as I haven't had a DVD player for the last few years and it's very unlikely I will have one in the future either.  So, it's time they went somewhere were someone is actually going to get some use out of them.  I also got rid of a few other DVDs that I won't watch again any time soon.  I have kept some DVDs which I'm not ready to get rid of just yet and some to watch over the next few weeks whilst I have a DVD player, but they will probably go after that as well.

Secondly, is the soft toys I've held onto, mostly because they were gifts from people and even ones that had been made for me.  I did get rid of more than these but my nieces have already headed off with a few of them.  I kept my first ever soft toy, a bear, and another older soft toy both of which I'll probably keep out, but it seemed a shame for the others to just be sitting in a box unused so they're off to where someone will give them the use they should have.

And that's it for now.  I'll probably keep getting rid of things over the next few weeks, but this is at least a start and it's funny how much easier it has become to let go of things that I only have an emotional attachment to since I started decluttering a few years ago.  I haven't regretted anything I've gotten rid of so far either.  However, this is really an on-going process and I see a lot more decluttering in my future.  I usually just have a bag which I fill up with items I find, but every now and then I'm in a situation like now where I have the chance of doing something a bit more thorough.  Definitely worth doing this as a regular thing.

Walking in New Zealand during Lockdown

Here in New Zealand, we've spent the last few weeks working out way through levels 3 and 2 and, with each move, we've had a little bit more freedom allowing us to walk further away from home.  We obviously wanted to carry on doing our bit to keep Covid-19 at bay so we didn't go too mad, but we did drive a little bit to remind ourselves what the outdoors actually looked like and I thought I'd write a little bit about it here to remind everyone else.

Duder Regional Park.

This is a pretty nice park on the Whakakiawhara Peninsula with paths that take you by the coast, through a working farm, and along to the Whakakaiwhara Pa located right the very end of the peninsula.  There are actually remains of houses and pits at this Pa, but you can't see these when you're standing on the site, though there are really obvious terraces found in most Pas.

We were lucky to have a really beautiful, sunny day (a little bit strange for the fact it was actually autumn) with just the right amount of cool wind to make walking actually enjoyable.  We also took a picnic to eat by the water's edge knowing that we would have no trouble in keeping a good distance from anyone else there and enjoyed watching the birds and little fish swimming in shoals along the water's edge.  

I'm not necessarily a big fan of walking through farmland as they tend to be quite samey, but the undulation of the land was pretty unique here and the views were beautiful, including a good view of the Hanua Ranges.

Maungakiekie / One Tree Hill and Cornwall Park.

Based in the centre of Auckland, this gives you a really good view of the city - if you like that sort of thing.  The paths that head around the park are lovely gentle walks surrounded by a lot of oak trees.  One Tree Hill itself is actually the peak of a volcano, so the walk up there is a little steeper, but still pretty doable for just a casual walk.  Interestingly the hill did use to be a Pa, but it was left in the 1700s and all that remains, visually, are the terraces you can see at every angle.

The tree which gave One Tree Hill its European name (and possibly the Maori name as Maungakiekie translates as 'mountain of the kiekie vine') was cut down by one of the white settlers (it isn't sure if it was vandalism or just for firewood) and the remaining tree of those Sir John Logan Campbell (Major of Auckland in the late 1800s) tried to grow on top of the hill was attacked by Maori activists to highlight the treatment of Maori people by the New Zealand Government.  Both are a real same, purely because the trees are lovely living things, but a few years ago the Tupuna Maunga Authority held a ceremony which included the planting of young totara and pohutukawa trees (grown from parent trees on the hill) and later a kiekie tree.  

There's also a memorial obelisk to the Maori at the top and beneath this the grave of Sir John Campbell, who gave a substantial sum of money to the building of this memorial in the belief that the Maori would soon die out.  Not surprisingly this has led to some objections to it being called a memorial and suggestions that it should instead be called a centennial tower to mark the signing of the Waitangi Treaty. There's also some really cringy writing on the memorial which talks about the Maori signing the Waitangi Treaty and that they were basically happy to accept the sovereignty of the Queen and all that entailed, completely ignoring all the issues like the mistranslation of the treaty into Maori and the treatment of them after the signing.  Just as well the views are pleasant from that spot.

As before, the weather was really good for autumn and, probably because of the location, the fact it was a Sunday afternoon, and the fact that it was the first weekend in level 2, there were quite a few people there enjoying being outside again.

Hunua Ranges Regional Park.

Found to the south-east of Auckland, this range is quite a large area of native forest.  There are quite a few walks that you can do, but we stuck to the Cossey-Massey Loop and then the Hunua Falls Loop.  They're not particularly long walks, we basically took an afternoon to do both, but we did get a really good workout as the Cossey-Massey Loop takes you up quite a steep track before it flattens out into a high loop before dipping down to the Cossey dam and back round.

As with most native forests in New Zealand, the vegetation is quite dense so you don't really get much of a view of the surrounding area.  This is more about experiencing a walk through the woods and the wildlife that's there.  The only problem here was, there didn't seem to be much wildlife when we were here.  We heard a few calls and got to see a fantail up very, very close, but mostly there was a very eerie silence as we walked around.

The Hunua Falls Loop was a very easy walk and the one that most people do.  We decided to add a bit of excitement to our day (sarcasm) by crossing over the water at the falls to meet up with the path that takes you directly back to the car park.  The falls might be small, but they were still beautiful and it would be a really nice place to have a picnic before carrying having an afternoon walk. Perhaps something to do in the future.

The weather was a little bit cooler when we did this walk and much drier then it should have been, but the air was still pretty heavy within the forest, so we ended up getting quite warm despite the coolness.

Kariotahi Beach.

There's not really a whole lot to say about this one, you literally just walk up and down the beach.  However, it was so beautiful that I just wanted to add it in.  These are located to the south-west of Auckland and were probably the further we drove to go somewhere to walk, about a 45-minute drive.

It was really interesting seeing the black sand sandwiched between the ocean and what looks like sand cliffs on the land side.  There's usually quite a lot of activities that can be done here, including driving your car on it, but when we went it was pretty empty with only a few people here and there.  To me, that made spending time here all the more special.

It was quite a bit colder on this walk than others as the wind was blowing off the ocean, but the clear blue skies were amazing and really added to the views of the beach.

As things begin to open up more and more in New Zealand we're hoping to get much more further afield in our walking outings, including some walks in the South Island, before I need to head back to the UK.  However, these were lovely little walks that kept us going and sane whilst still mostly being stuck indoors during this pandemic.  The weather has really held out for us here and, I have to admit, I've really appreciated it and how it's made these walks all the more enjoyable.