Stash Avalanche

New gadget #2: a sewing machine!

I did it. I bought a new sewing machine.

Not a cheapo one from Lidl (you know how much I love those) but a Janome from a proper sewing machine shop!

It was the Burda onesie that was the final straw for the Elna Supermatic. Much as I love that machine, I have to admit that it can't cope with anything other than straight stitch these days, and there I was trying to use a twin needle through 5 layers of akwardly tight jersey. This is what happens to you when you're 50 years old (the machine, not me!). There was a great deal of changing needles (I started off with a 6mm twin needle and ended up with a 2mm one), a lot of skipped stitches, and a long time spent pulling things out and starting again.

And then there is the button hole issue (it doesn't do them), which is a pretty basic requirement I can no longer do without.

It was a bit of an eye opener looking for a new machine after sewing on the Elna for about 20 years. Things have certainly moved on! There are lots of things I'll miss about the Elna (the knee bar being one of the biggest) and in some respects it is easier and better than this new one, but there will be no more skipped stitches, there will be buttonholes, and it even has a range of stitches specially for stretch fabrics which I have already used several times (although the most useful one has the fabric edge on the left of the presser foot which takes a bit of getting used to).

No doubt I shall go back to the Elna occasionally, and I certainly won't be getting rid of it, but I am well on the way to mastering this new one and pretty pleased with it so far too.

p.s. It's a Janome 2522LE and I got it from here.

New gadget #1: chalk propelling pencil

I sew, therefore I chalk.

I've always used tailors' chalk, and I've also tried those chalk pencils that Prym make. I was full of excitement when I discovered them, because you can sharpen them with a standard pencil sharpener (much easier than filing down a triangle of tailors' chalk) but then I also discovered that the leads break. A lot. And I mean like every time I try to use them.

But lookee here, what I found.

A chalk propelling pencil. How clever is that?

Having had a bit of a Google around for you to see if anyone sells them on-line, it seems that there are a few different types available. The advantage of mine though is that it comes with several different colour leads. Others I saw only seem to come with white.

I even found one on Etsy exactly the same as mine (actually better, because the Etsy one comes with a sharpener, and mine didn't) so if you want one, try here. There are probably enough leads to last me a lifetime which is just as well because I didn't find any refill packs. Nevertheless, I am now a happy sewing bunny and am off to chalk a make-it-up-as-I go-along collar for a dressing gown for Baby S. More on that and the onesie I mentioned earlier later in the week.

Happy Monday!

May Giveaway - Dara Golden onesie

Yay! it's the final Giveaway!

Remember I was telling you about Dara Golden and her lovely hand painted babygrows (yes, I refuse to spell it 'babygro' - eugh!)?

Dara has kindly sent me one to give away for the May Givaway Day. As you can see it's a lovely tree frog like the one I got for Baby Stash. It's a long-sleeved size 3-6 months, is made of 100% cotton and is fully machine washable.

Here's what you have to do to be in with a chance of winning. Leave me a comment by midnight on the 25th of May - that's next Wednesday, and I will pick a winner using random.org. Say something nice, tell me a bad joke, give me baby advice... whatever you like so long as it's not offensive.

Good luck!

Oops! I forgot to say: yes, I will post internationally and when I say midnight, I mean midnight UK/Irish time.

 COMMENTS ARE NOW CLOSED.

May Giveaway - scarf

Yay! it's another Giveaway!

(The rain was crashing down on the skylight like you wouldn't believe!)

The next giveaway is a scarf. Its a lovely, chunky number but sufficiently lacy that you don't feel  like you're wrapped in a fluffy straight jacket when you wear it. It measures 140 x 33cm (that's 55 x 15 inches for all you Impirealists out there!) and is knitted in cream Rowan Polar yarn (60% pure new wool, 30% alpaca and 10% acrylic). Like the crocheted bag it's something I've never got round to using so I think it should go to a better home.

Here's what you have to do to be in with a chance of winning. Leave me a comment by midnight on the 25th of May - that's next Wednesday, and I will pick a winner using random.org. Say something nice, tell me a bad joke, give me baby advice... whatever you like so long as it's not offensive.

Good luck!

Oops! I forgot to say: yes, I will post internationally and when I say midnight, I mean midnight UK/Irish time.

COMMENTS ARE NOW CLOSED.

May Giveaway - yarn

Yay! it's another Giveaway!

This giveaway is vintage  mohair yarn. There's lots of it andit's bright pink. And when I say bright pink, I mean bright pink!

It's 78%mohair, 13%wool and 9% nylon, and it's made by St John's Wools (who probably don't exist any more, but there you go). There are eight 25 gramme balls and probaby the same again wound onto card. I think I got this yarn from my aunt but I've never been able to think of anything to do with it, so it's better if you have it instead. Gone are the days of mohair jumpers being on trend (er, I think... don't ask me I'm a new mum) but it would be great for crocheting something light and cobwebby.

Here's what you have to do to be in with a chance of winning. Leave me a comment by midnight on the 25th of May - that's next Wednesday, and I will pick a winner using random.org. Say something nice, tell me a bad joke, give me baby advice... whatever you like so long as it's not offensive.

Good luck!

Oops! I forgot to say: yes, I will post internationally and when I say midnight, I mean midnight UK/Irish time.

COMMENTS ARE NOW CLOSED.

May Giveaway - bag

Yay! it's a Giveaway!

Ok, so this giveaway is a crochet bag. Last year's giveaway was a bag so I thought I'd try to start a StashAvalanche tradition.

This time it's the crochet bag I made last summer. You can read about it in detail here. It's an enormous cotton bag with a draw string and two internal pockets which would be perfect for a trip to the beach or the park. It's a great bag but I have an entire cupboard full of bags so this one deserves a home where it will actually get used!

Here's what you have to do to be in with a chance of winning. Leave me a comment by midnight on the 25th of May - that's next Wednesday, and I will pick a winner using random.org. Say something nice, tell me a bad joke, give me baby advice... whatever you like so long as it's not offensive.

Good luck!

Oops! I forgot to say: yes, I will post internationally and when I say midnight, I mean midnight UK/Irish time.

COMMENTS ARE NOW CLOSED.

 

May Giveaway - the giveaways!

Foof! I finally made it to the Giveaway posts. Time for a celebratory cup of tea while I tell you all about it...

It's Sew Mama Sew's May Giveaway time and call me crazy but I have four for you.

Here's what you have to do. Go look at the giveaway posts, decide if you want anything, leave me a comment (you can comment on all of them if you like) and do it by midnight on the 25th of May - that's next Wednesday. I'll pick winners using random.org and put everything in the post by the following Wednesday. Oh and I will ship internationally so wherever you are, do join in.

If you're not interested in what I am giving away, there will be plenty more to choose from. Last year it took me 4 days to get through all the links, and I'm betting that there will be even more this year.

The items are a scarf, some vintage yarn, a bag and a babygrow.

Have fun!

Yay! May Giveaway Day!

Ooh! I'm excited! Sew Mama Sew's May Giveaway Day is here again.So get a big fat red marker pen and put a ring round Monday, May 23rd.

You might remember that I made a crazy orange bag for last year, and this year I have several ideas for giveaways, some pretty simple and maybe some quite fancy.

We're away for a few days next week and after that, I shall start putting giveaway posts up. I think one post per giveaway will make it easier to pick winners, rather than try to sort out comments into who wants what.

If you haven't come across this before, or didn't participate last year, I have to tell you that it's really good fun, and if you're new at the blogging game, like I was, then it's a great way to get noticed. You can read all about it on SMS's post where it tells you how to participate (easy) and what you can give away.You can choose to ship internationally or not, and really anything handicraft-related goes, so it's dead easy to take part.

And if you don't have anything to give away, you can still leave plenty of comments and see if you win anything.

So, see you on the 23rd!

Happy Friday!

 

A busy two weeks

It has been a very busy two weeks. I had posts all lined up in my head, comments to answer, photos to take...

... but that all went out of the window after a bout of high blood pressure and my consultant deciding it was time to induce me.

And look what came out!

A baby Stash!

Born a week ago today and weighing in at 4.74kg / 10lbs 4oz! The birth plan fell by the wayside almost immediately and he wasn't that eager to leave a comfy tummy but we got there in the end.

So posting and catching up with comments will be a bit erratic until we've got used to the (new) normality and caught up on our sleep.

And now it's time for a feed...

 

Oooh!

Well! Just as I was logging into Typepad I got a message from Andrea at Apples and Pears awarding me a Stylish Blogger Award! Eeee, missus! How exciting! Thank you so much!

I have been trying to think of 7 interesting things to tell you about myself but I can't at the moment, so I will jiggle this around in my head for a few days and see what I can think of.

In the meantime, I wanted to tell you about a walrus. Yes, alright, this is a blog about crafts and cookery and suchlike, but I'm pregnant and therefore can take outrageous liberties and blame it on the hormones! So there!

In Forest Hill, in deepest south London, there is a museum called the Horniman Museum. It opened in 1901 and was built to house the collections of Victorian tea trader Frederick John Horniman after they outgrew his family home. Horniman's original collections centred around natural history specimens, cultural artefacts and musical instruments, and this has been developed over the years - it now has an amazing range of artifacts from other cultures (eg. African and native American), and recently opened a new wing, which if I remember right, houses a large musical instrument collection.

Horniman's original idea was to "bring the world to Forest Hill", which , if you know Forest Hill, may well make you laugh, but it certainly is a worthwhile museum to go to if you are visiting London.

Anyway, the walrus. 

(photo from here)

Horniman collected a number of animal specimens including a walrus which was presumably sitting on an ice berg, enjoying the sun and minding its own business in Hudson Bay in Canada until a chap called J.H. Hubbard came along with a big gun in 1870 or thereabouts.

In those days, not much was known about animal anatomy so the art of taxidermy was a bit hit and miss. In the case of this walrus, it was rather a miss - the taxidermist didn't know that walruses have skinfolds, so he stuffed the skin to within an inch of its life. And now, this taxidermical (is that a word?) cock-up has made this animal probably the best known walrus in London.

I can't go into stuffed animal galleries anymore, they really make my skin crawl, but I do remember the few times I've seen the walrus and I really feel for him, poor chap. He even looks like he's straining to keep upright in the photograph!

So why did I tell you about the walrus? Well, I waddled up the hill to the vet yesterday morning (Mrs Grey Cat needed some wormer) and thought, god, I feel just like that walrus. The baby is now in a tentative head down position which makes walking uncomfortable (they never tell you that in the books!) so I really am staggering aound in a rather over-stuffed manner. My teeth are fine though.

By the way, did I mention that we're going to get another scan? Tomorrow, in fact. So hopefully we will get a definitive answer on what sex young Avalanche is. I'm still sewing in variety pack mode (when I manage to find time to sew) but a definitive answer would be helpful, doncha think?