Beading for Victory

For the last 5 years I have helped my Mum out at the Lunesdale Agricultural show, she’s the show secretary, so each year I’ve lent a hand with various little jobs and also acquired the role of steward for the mounted fancy dress (that’s kids and ponies in fancy dress to us muggles). It’s quite wonderfully refreshing really and a stark contrast to working in a city some 150 miles away. The first year I helped out I was told off by a 10 yr old boy for not knowing my sheep breeds (maybe I should have asked him if he could tell the difference between knitting and crochet). Being at the show each year I took the opportunity to enter some of my handmade items into the home industries competition.

Having won several 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd prices for various items over the years, from pin cushions to knitted garments, hand felted items, cushions and jewellery, I very much wanted to win a trophy, but hadn’t held out much hope. Until last year, I won best exhibit in classes 1-5 with my bead woven star pendant (I was rather chuffed), you can also see my second prize winning bracelet on the right. It’s the only trophy I’ve ever won so I’ve enjoyed it sitting on my mantle piece for a year and there’s a part of my very happy that my name appears on the show’s website in the winners list 2014, sadly there’s no space to get your name engraved on the trophy (that really would have been the icing on the cake)!

This is the last year my Mum will be secretary and therefore I probably won’t be attending again. So my last opportunity to enter some creations. Several weeks ago I made a beaded bracelet with the intention of entering it in the home made jewellery category. It’s something I’ve wanted to make for while and this gave the the perfect opportunity to get on and do it. After doodling a few ideas while watch films recently I was eager to get started. I’ve already worn it loads, I purposefully went for colours I that would go with lots of things I wear. I’ve had lots of compliments too (thanks). Last week I decided to make another one, this time a thinner version based on the same design, swapping the blue for red, the subtle difference has made quite a difference to the finished look. I love this pattern and I’m already day dreaming of using it in some fairisle too.
I do love a bit of beading on a loom and even more so now that I decided to buy a Jewel loom, they make life so much easier and the lovely ‘hide everything’ connector ends are brilliant, not only do they finish the bracelet neatly – I don’t have to sew in all the ends – whooh!

I haven’t entered as many items as I have in previous years, life has been getting in the way and now I’ve achieved my dream of winning a trophy there’s less impetus. Despite having a dress to sew for a wedding I attended last weekend (blog will follow soon) and being in the middle of a (minor but ongoing) house disaster I have entered 3 other items too.
I made another piece of jewellery, a simple necklace with Superduo beads and Swarovski crystal, using peyote stitch in the round, joining the circles together as I went. I’m also entering the jumper I finished knitting earlier this year and a made a small patchwork pin cushion, not up to my usual standard of pin cushions but I really enjoyed making it so we’ll see what happens. Wish me luck!

Thanks for reading 🙂

Patchwork Star Cushion

So this time last year I was starting to think about my entries into the Lunesdale agricultural show, you can see my post about the show here! I was pleased last year to have won 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd prizes for some of my pieces. I also promised last year a post about my first prize winning cushion – an English paper piece patchwork star cushion.

The inspiration for this cushion came from 1 single fat quarter I picked up, quite randomly, at Hopkinson Vintage, Antique and Art Centre in Nottingham. I was drawn to the patterned stripes and at £2 I could hardly leave without it. At the time I had no idea what I was going to do with it, but an idea quickly formed.

I love patchwork that plays with fabric pattern as well as patchwork shapes. Using stripes are one of the most effective ways of adding that extra element.

So that’s the approach I went for, a simple, but effective, star shape created from 6 fabric diamond. I cut all the diamonds out of my fabric so that the more dominant stripe went straight through the centre, so that when they were sewn together each piece would have a stripe going from the centre out to each point of the star. I sewed the diamonds together by hand and positioned them on my plain square of fabric and top stitched around the edge of the star with my machine.

I then cut some of the stripes out of the fabric and created a boarder around the square of fabric to frame the star (the corners were tricky as I wanted the stripes to form a neat point (some are definitely neater than others). The one below I was particularly chuffed with.  I then sewed more plain  fabric strips around the square to finished the front, I didn’t do anything fancy here, just added straight pieces on to each side, like a log cabin.

Up to this point I had completed the idea I had, I still however had to turn it into an actual cushion. I don’t usually put too much effort into the back of a cushion particularly since it rarely gets seen. My preferred method for all  the cushion I’ve made for myself have been to just have two piece of fabric that over lap on the back, creating a sort of pocket effect to put the cushion in (sometimes I add a popper if it gapes a little). However for the competition piece I decided to put a little more effort in and although I did do my usual over lapping fabric effect I added a decorative strip of fabric to the exposed edge and added 3 self covered buttons and made matching button loops.

I really enjoyed making the cushion and thinking on my feel a little for this project and I was rather pleased with the result. I must admit I was a more than a little surprised, but also thrilled when I won on the day mainly because the other entries were very good, including an lovely layered Chenille cushion which must have taken ages and looked very effective. I can only imagine that it was my attention to detail in the finishing that sealed the win.

If you like paper piece patchwork but can’t bring yourself to do a whole quilt, a cushion cover or other small project like a tote bag could be the perfect creation for you – why not give it a go!

Now it’s time for me to get thinking about whether to enter another cushion into the show this year. I’m going to go and browse back through my Pinterest board of patchwork and quilt of pieces that I love and have inspired me, you can also check it out here, if you like.

The Results and a wander about the show

The Show is over for another year! It was a lovely day (the rain stayed away) and I managed to get myself a 1st, 2nd & 3rd prize for some of my entries (my Mum also got a 2nd & 3rd prize for raspberry & Blackcurrant Jam) whoooh!

There was so many wonderful entries into all the varied classes so I’m particularly happy I got a 1st prize for my cushion it was up against some great entries, but all the little finishing touches were worth it in the end. My clover lace wrap cardigan came in second to a lovely tweedy red cabled chunky cardigan, I certainly can’t complain about that.

A miniature scene on a plate, part of the kids section – one of my favourite classes, if only I was still little, I’d love to enter this class.

I’m surprised my card got 3rd prize – check out the intricate quilling design next to mine that got a deserved 1st.

Here are a few photos I snapped while dashing about the show in my role as Secretaries assistant & Steward for the Children’s ridden fancy dress class – an amusing, sweet part of the day where all the little sprogs & their Shetland ponies get dressed up & paraded around the main ring; loads of effort goes into the costumes and there’s often some fun original ideas.

This was the winner of the fancy dress – an English country garden, complete with two little gnomes & a pony in wellies!

 

Barrrr Baaaar – What you looking at….?
I do love a grumpy sheep!

 

What a cutie! Just think of all that gorgeous fleece.

 

The lovely traditional Punch & Judy.

Crafts for the Home Industries

I like that the crafts section of the Lunesdale Agricultural show is called home industries; it makes crafts sound so much more diligent (as it should be). I dropped all 14 of my entries off at the local primary school this morning ahead of the judging today and ready for the show tomorrow.

I must admit the last few weeks have been rather busy, even without family & friends visiting to help celebrate my birthday, every spare minute I have had has been dedicated to completing my entries into the home industries. See my previous post a creative jump start for the first of my completed entries.

I entered a few greetings cards. I’m not great at making cards for the sake of make cards – they seem a bit too faffy. I much prefer to make a card when I have a specific purpose in mind and know who I’ll be giving it to. I have several occasions that I’d be making cards for coming up soon, including a few birthdays and a house warming. So I thought why not kill 2 birds with one stone, make the cards early & enter them into the show first.

I am also entering a few items that I have recently finished knitting, my clover lace wrap cardigan I finished to wear for my friend’s wedding in May and a sweet little knitted cardigan that is soon to be gifted to an old university friend who’s recently had her first child.

I have entered a handmade bag, this is something that I’ve thought about doing for a while to sell at craft fairs. I made the bag out 3 fat quarter (ish) sized pieces of fabric – which is a good way to use up those slightly too small bits of fabric. Pinks are not my usual cup of tea but I treated the bag as bit of a test run to potential future bags and I wanted to use something that’d be eye catching for the show. I like the design, I have a few ideas in mind for some pattern tweaking, I reason it needs to be a bit wider (or shorter) not 100% decided yet. I did enjoy exercising some techniques I’ve not used for a while, like flat seems and pleats.

Facebook followers will have seen a sneak peek at my embroidery entry last week. I have wanted to have a go at an embroidery for a while & have been brewing an idea for months, but there hasn’t been the right opportunity to give it ago until I saw the home industries schedule that said an embroidery – perfect. I thoroughly enjoyed stitching this and I’d happily put in up in my house once its part in the show is over. I have no illusions that this will do well, it is small & rather amateur looking but I like that about it.

Another entry is a pincushion, something I had part made and sat in a draw (for I don’t know how long), a perfect excuse to finish it off.

A slightly frivolous experiment of an entry was my items for the something new from something old class. I’ve had coke bottle caps lurking around for a while with the intension of turning them into fridge magnets and never got around to. I developed the idea a little and came up with these butterfly designs, adding in coke cans too. I thought they were fairly original and were quite easy to put together (using resin & a sticky back magnetic strip) so we’ll see what happens – there were some rather interesting entries in this class.

The last of my jewellery entries is a flower necklace; a relatively simple yet effective wirework piece, assembled with strung beads and chain to form a necklace.
The last item I spent perhaps more time than I anticipated on, but again I enjoyed making it, a cushion. I do really love paper pieced patchwork, but it’s not always practical to make large items mainly down to the time it takes. Creating a smaller piece to then embellish on a cushion I felt worked really well. I will dedicate a whole post to this cushion later.