New to my craft room this December

I ended last month’s post by sharing my advent calendar, so let’s start with that. I was impressed with it then, and I’m even more impressed with it now. It’s the type of advent calendar that I don’t think you’d need to do every year, as many of the items were tools and gadgets that will last hopefully for many years. Actually you could easily reuse the packaging for a self-filled advent calendar (of any nature) in future years too.

And as much as I love a pouch, I really love a box that can be reused!

MORRIS WORKS QUILT SHOP ADVENT CALENDAR

MORRIS WORKS QUILT SHOP ADVENT CALENDAR DAYS 1-14

With thread, needles, needle threaders, needle storage, a seam ripper, magnetic grips and a super long tape measure as well as a kit to make a pouch (well I never!) there was plenty to unbox each day.

MORRIS WORKS QUILT SHOP ADVENT CALENDAR DAYS 15-24

And there was more thread, some embroidery scissors, an extra hand (if only!), tools for cleaning and some bejewelled mixer fabric on the 24th. There was plenty of new to me tools, and only one that I was completely baffled by (day 17) - and that’s a magnetic seam guide.

There’s things I know I will find useful, and other things I definitely want to try. There’s probably a couple of things I may not use, or maybe I will - and that’s ok. All in all it was a great advent calendar which brought an influx of aids which I most likely wouldn’t have tried without it.

But December also brings opportunities for recycling additions to my craft room, more so than normal. I mean Christmas crackers anyone? Exactly. This year I think I’ve been relatively restrained, saving the main cracker ‘bodies’ and the ribbons that were tied on each end - which are kept together with my cracker paperclip gift!

I’ve also added a lime fruit net, the first green net for my weaving with waste supplies. And there’s various ribbons too - the pink ones were out of some new pyjamas which had four ‘hanging ribbons’ - four?! I don’t even need one! The white ribbons are from an already slightly adjusted Christmas present, and I’m not sure where the multi-coloured braid came from, but it’s pretty isn’t it - and I’m sure I’ll find a use for it.

Good news - the long awaiting invisible zipper foot arrived! In fact it arrived in a few days from the new supplier, so that’s good news. It’s pictured below along with some more sewing gadgets and aids which were Christmas presents from my parents. Mum’s also sews and this year she included a pen-shaped chalk wheel, a measuring gauge, some bodkins (that’s a great word isn’t it?) for pulling elastics and ribbons through a casing, and a clapperboard and roller to help seams behave in patchwork.

Mum also knows how much I love pouches and boxes, so there were a couple of pouches and a collapsible box tied with ribbons. It’s this that I’ve adjusted, as it’s immediately in use with that pouch I mentioned the other day that’s still on my ‘to do' list. I’ve trimmed the ribbons and added black poppers in the corners so that the box/tray remains collapsible, but without long ribbons.

I’ve also been fortunate with other Christmas gifts, with some new books to read and learn from and a smaller size ruler which will be much easier to take out to craft groups, and a thread spool which I’m keen to try as I’ve several really large cotton spools that I’ve picked up from destash sales which at the moment I can only use on my overlocker, and as I try not to rethread that hardly at all, then it could be a while before the really large spools get used. I’m hoping that now I’ll be able to use the standalone thread spool with my sewing machine, that’s the theory anyway…

I love to receive a book on Christmas Day, as there’s no better way to spend the afternoon with my nose in a new book. These will be useful too, I hope - the Machine Magic book was recommended on the Bernina training day, and I think it’ll also be useful for when I actually tackle my Floral Fancy. The Modern Folk Embroidery book is for a project that’s been brewing in my mind for a while - I want to embroider a plain jacket I have, whether or not I will I’m not sure, but it’s currently at the research and examining possibilities stage!

The final book - Journey to the Centre of a Quilter - tells the story of many of Jo’s quilts I saw at the Festival of Quilts earlier this year, and looks to be a great introduction into improv quilting, which both interests and intrigues me!

So that’s another month in my craft room, check out my previous updates for earlier additions, and remember to let me know below what you’ve added to your craft supplies this month.

New to my craft room this November

I knew when I started this series that some months would be heavier than others, especially when visits to craft shows and stash sales happen in the same months - like this month.

I’ve learnt though that it’s good to go to the bigger craft fairs with an idea of what you want, otherwise there appears to be no limit to what you might end up with. For the Harrogate Knit & Stitch Show I had ‘some modern Christmas-type fabric’ on the list in my head, and I left with six Moda fat quarters, so that was good.

MODA CHRISTMASSY FAT QUARTERS FOR £24

I’m finding that I’m often drawn to Moda fabrics too, so it seems that my subconscious knows what it likes - look out for one of the quilts I have planned for next year (sorry, that was a complete teaser that I won’t share more about just yet!). And while having a list is good, I did end up leaving with more than these - well, it was a craft show after all, and there was so much loveliness there - including some gallery areas which were amazing, and I’ll share more from those in the next few weeks.

At the show I was keen to learn more about the Cone Exchange, based in Harrogate. It’s the flagship community project of Bettys & Taylors Group who repurpose waste materials from businesses, alongside donations from the local community raising funds for local good causes and creating a sense of community and new skills for all those involved along the way.

At the show they were selling, rather too cheaply for my liking, some fabric sample books. Even worse for me it was a buy two get one free kind of deal, so for £4 I couldn’t refuse three, thankfully relatively small, fabric sample books. They even gave me one of those sturdy canvas totes to carry them in, and when I was umming and ahhing about the weight (but still having my hands on the three I was interested in just in case anyone else nabbed them) they told me about the bag creche. I knew I was done for, but at £4 I couldn’t refuse. I have already made use of them though, so I’m glad I got them.

I also found out more about their shop, so I’ve a feeling that at some point next year I’ll be making a visit there - though going in the car is likely to be even more dangerous I’m sure. But perhaps I’ll wait til the weather warms up a bit.

ONE OF THREE FABRIC SAMPLE BOOKS

ANOTHER ONE OF THE FABRIC SAMPLE BOOKS

I went to the show with some friends from my sewing group, and one spotted that there was an embroidery section in another hall, and I’m so glad she did as that too was amazing. There were some recent graduates showcasing their work, more galleries and plenty of inspiration packs encouraging you to do whatever you wanted with them. I fell in love with the colours in the pack below, and especially was rather taken with the tassel-ly type thread on the white card at the bottom of the picture. Chatting to the people on the stall I asked how I could use it, and was quite promptly told ‘however you want!’

A MELEE OF EMBROIDERY THREADS FOR £6

I didn’t know how I’d use them, but as things do something has already turned up so now I have a plan - not an immediate plan, but a plan nonetheless. It was my first time at the Harrogate Knit & Stitch Show and it was a good show - I’ve a feeling this could be a regular November outing, though next year I’d welcome a bit more warmth and less threats of snow if you could manage it Harrogate!

I didn’t employ the ‘have a list’ approach at the Living Threads Sewing Room Sort Out sale earlier in the month, but then you never really know what you’re going to discover at these kind of sales. I was pleasantly surprised both by what I found and for managing to spend just under twenty pounds, plus a cup of tea and cake.

GREEN & ORANGE COTTONS AND COLOURED WIRE SPOOLS

LACE AND HAND DYED TRIMS

A DUSKY ‘INSPIRATION’ PACK

SOME SENSIBLE PLAINS

MORE SILKS - BRIGHTLY COLOURED AND A GREEN THAT MATCHES NICELY

I’ve no immediate plans for these items, but that’s ok and I think I’ll know when I know - and as the lady next to me who bought the other pack of coloured wire spools, when you need it you’ll have it. Exactly.

My craft room has a new look to it this month too, as once my long awaited shelves in the cupboard were up it was all gloves off for a huge rearrangement, bringing things I use the most often closer to hand and retiring some things I thought I’d use but haven’t yet. I even think that some of them may end up for sale as I’m not sure I’ll ever use them, but for now they’re stored in the large chest.

VINTAGE FABRICS FROM SNEINTON MARKETS FOR £9

On a trip to Nottingham I had another major find, and one that is likely to get more regular visits. In the Sneinton Market area, as well as the fabric shop I planned to visit, I also discovered the vintage fabrics above in the curios shop next door. Once again at a price I couldn’t resist - these fabrics, which have now all been washed and ironed, cost me £9, or £3 a bundle - and they’re gorgeous. There’s designs and colours in there I might not have chosen myself, but I think I will find plenty of uses for these - it’s another watch this space tease!

The appley green cord was from the fabric shop I wanted to look around, and was a compromise purchase as the cord I really liked came in at £27 for three metres - gulp! Even the girl in the shop had to check the price, and as it’s just for the drawstring of a picnic rug bag it wasn’t going to happen, however nice it was. I wanted to check out the fabric shop before they move to online only at the end of the year, but I was even more pleased to discover the curios shop and the vintage fabric next door.

BERNINA ADJUSTABLE GUIDE AND GREEN CORD FROM SNEINTON MARKET FOR £9

While I’m waiting for my Bernina Invisible Zipper foot to arrive (sigh) I decided to order the Bernina Adjustable Guide (from a different supplier) with the plan of getting to know that before the zipper foot gets here. I want to sew straighter lines in my quilting, and while they have got better with practice, at times they can still wander and so I think I need some more help. I plan to straight line quilt my Essex Linen Kisses picnic rug and I think the lines need to be sharper than my lines currently are. My plan is to test the guide out on my next charity quilt which is currently underway, before getting on with quilting the picnic rug, and then making myself a draw string bag to keep it in.

In repurposing news, I’ve acquired two shirts from MOH after a wardrobe change over and a bundle of potentially stranger things to weave with, including some lemon and orange ‘nets’, some old headphones and various cords from clothes tags and from those bundles of vintage fabrics above. I’ve also kept the latest Inntravel brochure, and not because there’s a holiday or two in there that’s tempting me, but because it’s really good quality paper and I’m wondering if I can use it for a future English Paper Piecing (EPP) patchwork project!

The final addition is a bit of a treat, and a bit of an unknown - a quilter’s advent calendar.

QUILTERS ADVENT CALENDAR FROM MORRIS WORKS

I do like a craft based advent calendar, but like most things they’re not cheap. Last year I opted for the Aurifil calendar and it was a good introduction to their threads, but I didn’t want to have that again. In previous years I’ve had Vicki Brown’s yarn advent and have been really pleased with its contents, and the throws that I’ve made with them.

It’s clearly early days for this year’s advent calendar but (so far) I’m impressed with its presentation and explanatory note. I’ll be spending this month opening the packages - hopefully knowing what they’re for, and will likely share more in a future update.

So that’s another month in my craft room, check out my previous updates for earlier additions, and remember to let me know below what you’ve added to your craft supplies this month.

New shelves, and ensuing chaos!

I lightheartedly dubbed 2024 the year of the shelves, and while we did get quite a few shelves up then this year has seen us tackle almost as many shelves (though I’ve not actually counted). My craft room cupboard was always on the list to have some relatively narrow shelves across the alcove to make use of the space - and I commissioned MOH to make three shelves from the large shelf that came out of our built in wardrobes (more on those another day I’m sure).

He duly and promptly made two and a half of those shelves, which sat mostly undisturbed under our stairs. But this is where it all went wrong, while I was waiting for the actual installation (and I’ve been pretty patient even if I do say so myself) I decided I needed a fourth shelf.

I think by this time MOH was very much of the opinion that he should get these four shelves on the wall PDQ in case the four grew to five, and so on.

So when I spotted this in my craft room, I knew we were in business…

Bring on the shelves

Like anything once you start and get the first piece up, it flies by - and thankfully that was the case here even after a small hiccup when the pipe/wire detector decided it needed a new battery and we actually had a spare so work could continue, phew.

Somewhere along the way one of the shorter supports went missing, or was never cut, or whatever - but now that we’ve spent some time sorting out the garage so there’s actually space to move, MOH was able to quickly cut a new/replacement one - it’s purposefully on the inside of the cupboard, but one day it’ll get painted I’m sure.

Load them up

And aren’t they great?

They are only about 70cm wide by less than 20cm deep - though you’ll not be surprised to learn that MOH was provided with more detailed measurements than this! - but have really made a difference to my craft room. For comparison they offer a similar amount of space as four extra cubbyholes in my Kallax units, which is a lot of new space, but the space is linear so its easier to store and access smaller items.

The only issue was that as I moved things around, and onto the new shelves I realised that the spaces I now had in the Kallax cubbyholes should more usefully be filled with things I use more often. So these four shelves prompted an almost entire room reorganisation, which meant that for a day or two the room mostly looked like this.

But it has got better, and I can even see the carpet again!

I even found things that I had forgotten about, and things I didn’t even know I had - like a small bag of felt squares, which was handy as I’ve seen a small stand-up Christmas tree which uses felt which I want to try and make, so that’s a result.

My four new shelves are fully loaded now, and everything has its place - it’s so nice to have everything, such as my threads and patterns, together. But don’t tell MOH as I’m already lining up a couple more shelf installations around the house, he doesn’t need to know about these just yet, and I promise I’ll break the news to him gently!