keelysews... sometimes

Nothing like a dedicated sewing and study room to stir the mojo. I feel like I should make something.  Although I have a large pile of alterations and repairs sitting on my new desk. Glad today is over. I must remember to speak more slowly when presenting.  Hopefully I won't have to worry for a while though. Crocheting black at night is tricky. Actually crocheting black in anything but direct sunlight is tricky. I have about 240 more black granny squares to go. I better hope for some sunny days. I might wear a skirt next week to work. I only said might. Thoroughly enjoying the Game of Thrones books. Reading on the ereader is much easier than heavy books in bed. And easier than crocheting the black granny squares. Haven't mentioned that hubby has a job back home. He's in the same building as me. Which is nice :) I've become quite fond of cider. I found Feijoa cider Yummm. Whittaker's now make Peanut Butter Chocolate blocks. Also yummmm! As is ...

Last weekend I got a new toy a new gadget for work - a Sony ereader. I have to say this is a very cool toy helpful device for work. Unfortunately, for the $229 you pay, you do not get a cover. There is also a stylus included, but no way of attaching it to the device. I umm-ed and aah-ed over the cases available, before deciding that I might be able to do something at home to keep my reader safe in the depths of my handbag. So, cos I have to have something to blog, I took photos of the way I made my ereader cover. Step 1: Find an old book that is bigger than your ereader. I started with an old diary I'd found the day before in my decluttering. I have no idea why we had an unused 2004 diary on the bookshelf.   2. Carefully cut out the pages by slicing through the inner cover paper with a craft knife - 3. Lay the book cover on your chosen fabric (or decorative paper) and cut around, leaving enough to fold over. My allowances were 5cm on each side and 2.5cm on ...

Wouldn't it be great if Murphy's Law kicked in as soon as you throw out all those clothes that are a bit tight?

I've mentioned that I've rediscovered crochet and it's become my new craft - to be honest it's about the only craft I'm getting time for lately. It can be quite addictive, not to mention it's a heck of a lot easier to pick up a crochet project to take to craft night, than a sewing project. My latest project is going to take me a while - the 'Granny's colour palette throw' I was impatient and used Spotlight for my yarn source so any hope of getting 11 shades of any colour went right out the window immediately. So my throw will be more 'vibrant' i.e I went for bright colours cos that's all SL had, and that was enough of a struggle. There are a lot of squares in this throw - yes they're only 2 round granny squares, but I'm not going to win any awards for speed crochet especially on granny squares which I only just learned to do. So I'm looking at 374 squares total, 248 of which will be black. So far I have thi...

Another blogiversary missed. You would think that New Year was easy enough to remember wouldn't you? And it wasn't because I was celebrating all out. In fact the whole Christmas/New Year period has seemed delightfully quiet. I say delightfully because this past year has simply flashed by with DH working in Christchurch, thesis work ongoing, transporting and wrangling organising kids, my Mother's death and the long, long job of sorting out the estate of a hoarder. Everytime I come home, I want to throw things out of my house, but usually by then I'm too tired. So, this last week, DH and I have been tackling all the jobs that have been neglected around our house - the weeds have been brought under control, for now, after a mammoth effort involving my sister and her husband as well as us. Why is it that the plants I grow the best are the ones I don't want? We've been decluttering and reorganising for the last few days. A trailerload has gone to the tip, 2 carl...

I can't believe it's been 5 months since I last posted! Well, ok I can because it's been hectic. Warning: Pity party bleat to follow - My Mother fell ill and died in August; the work/study thing has been busy, busy, busy; DH is still commuting to long-distance work which adds stress and makes life lonely at times; and I have 2 teens and a tween who's desperately trying to prove she too can exhibit teen behaviour. Phew!!! My hairdresser is certainly proving her worth keeping the grey at bay. Anyway, pity party over. Still no coat - which is my fault for not chasing up the proper interfacing for a while. Between Spotlight's lack of stock and the rude lack of service I received at Anne's Fabrics when I asked, it was ages before I got around to getting some. By the time I did SL had it back in stock. Plus I found a totally much more beautiful lining at the same time so obviously I was supposed to be slack take my time. It's all at Judy's house just wait...

(Apologies to Shakespeare) It's rapidly becoming winterish here and after shivering away with the knowledge that my schedule was not going to be allowing any coat sewing I came up with a brilliant plan - buy the biggest bag of Reese's Pieces I could find and bribe Judy to make it for me help me make it at her place (tho' who are we really trying to kid here - my 'help' will consist of opening packets and nodding wisely as Judy explains techniques). So, pattern - Vogue 8626 which has a nice pleated back detail, the collared version. One visit down and there's progress. A muslin has been examined, Judy has approved it and was very tactful about the modifications she will be making to fit my broad back, full bust and the hollow chest that occurs above the ample aforesaid bust. And perhaps stitching the pleats down for the first few inches. Then came the big decision. Sensible navy cashmere for which I do have a really beautiful satin lining already picked? OR t...