Confined Crafting

 Happy New Year! It's 2022 already... The #ConfinedCrafting blog is now a year old. Which brings me to my first resolution: update the blog more often ! I haven't been a regular blogger and I would really like to make a good go of regular updates here. My new sewing assistant is even more disruptive than the cats! Meet Rudolph the Spanador (Cocker Spaniel-Labrador mix). Spot my stolen tape-measure... My second resolution involves following projects through to the end before getting distracted planning a new project! I really enjoy the process of planning, choosing a pattern, assembling the kit, even cutting out the fabric, and often at that point I start to sew then run out of time to finish in one go, then just ... Never pick it up again. Even if I really want the thing I am making! Hence the resolution to focus and finish on a project before starting another. I still haven't hemmed this circle skirt that I made in May 2021... My third resolution is to keep my sewing area...

 I've decided to try a new thing on the blog! I'm finding that I'm not posting much as I feel like I need to do a summary post when I finish something - and that can take a while! So these will be little diaries showing what I have got up to and discussing any thoughts I've had along the way, without anything needing to be finished! Embroidery The week started with a bit of disappointment as I failed to meet one of my New Year's Resolutions (as made in this post ). As you can see from the image above, I've not managed to finish the birth sampler for my friend's son in time for his birthday. But it's much closer than it was and I might be able to get it done by the end of May! New deadline! Also in embroidery, I made one of my Jacobin Day Quilt Blocks  as an applique. I really enjoyed this method, which is completely new to me. The way I did it was like making a little collage of scraps of fabric and felt with embroidery highlights. Though I did cheat a l...

 Ten intrepid crafters have signed up to participate in the #JDQBS, under the expert organisation of @byekitty who has provided this explanation of how a Quilt Block Swap works... Sophie has been sent a list of items. They are: parsnip, beetroot, honey, limestone, axe, hedge mustard, hornbeam, lily of the valley, quail, chamois, lupin and tuberose.  Sophie hates lily of the valley and she doesn’t know how to represent limestone on a fabric square so she strikes them from her list. She embroiders a parsnip on one square, a quail on another, a tuberose on a third. She prints a photo of a chamois on one square. She uses fabric pens to draw hedge mustard on one and lupin on another. She makes a beetroot appliqué for one square. She finds a bee and honey themed fabric and cuts it to the correct size. She sews a sequinned axe on one square. She makes prints with a hornbeam leaf on another.  Now she has ten squares with a thing on each and our respect for her creativity and skil...

  It all started with a Tweet... Well, maybe it all started in 1793, when the new French government introduced a new calendar, one that was stripped of royal and religious influences, used a decimal system, and celebrated the ordinary, everyday passing of the seasons within nature, agriculture and gardening. According to our friend Wikipedia   the months were given new names based on Parisian weather patterns: Autumn: Vendémiaire  (from French  vendange , derived from Latin  vindemia , "vintage"), starting 22, 23, or 24 September Brumaire  (from French  brume , "mist"), starting 22, 23, or 24 October Frimaire  (From French  frimas , "frost"), starting 21, 22, or 23 November Winter: Nivôse  (from Latin  nivosus , "snowy"), starting 21, 22, or 23 December Pluviôse  (from French  pluvieux , derived from Latin  pluvius , "rainy"), starting 20, 21, or 22 January Ventôse  (from French  venteux , derived from Latin...