Lockdown UK - week 1

As you are probably aware, the UK is now on lockdown and we are all asked to stay in our homes apart from one daily exercise outing or having to buy food.  Monday was my last day at work, late in the afternoon we got an email saying that no-one should be using public transport to come to work so my manager told me to stay home the next day.  I at least had the chance to bring home my stash of tea from work, then that night the government announced the lockdown and the office closed completely.

So I am now on indefinite paid leave, which is making DH jealous as he is working from home as he usually does with no real change.  I don't think DS has noticed much difference yet as he normally spends every waking hour on his computer anyway apart from perhaps one short outing for groceries if he is cooking.  As DS said, he and I have been training for this lockdown all our lives. Who knows how long it will go on for.  The streets are so quiet, it's almost eery.  We're on a busy road and normally there are revving engines and buses trundling by, but now it is almost silent.

So I've been doing loads of sewing, it's been wonderful to just think 'oh, I'll work on that' with no deadlines and the prospect of many days stretching ahead. I found the first day it was really difficult to slow down and stop rushing, when I am so used to trying to fit maximum crafting into limited time.  It's getting easier day to day to relax into it, although I worry that I will go too far the other way and start frittering away too much time playing video games (currently Dark Souls 2)  and watching Youtube videos.

In the first couple of days, I finished the top for the 9-patch scrap quilt and I'm fairly pleased with it. Even though it's such a random collection of fabrics, the overall effect is cheery and I think attractive.  It feels good to have taken a crumpled crate of useless waste scraps and turned some of it into a functional item.  The bin of 2.5 inch squares is much emptier than it was.  This is a large single but photographed on a Queen sized bed.

I also pieced the backing out of scraps cut into squares.  They should have all been 10.5 inch squares but I realised as I was seaming them together that I had absentmindedly cut some of them 10 inches square instead.  A little bit of trimming up and bodging ensued.

Once that quilt was cleared away, I seamed together all the jellyroll paired strips for the machine pieced hexagon quilt project but haven't pressed them open yet.  Then I caught up the next block for the Today's Quilter Block of the Month quilt which is a compass.  I managed to reverse the colours by accident, forgetting that the foundation papers were a mirror image, but it still looks fine. The colours haven't come out very true in the photo, in reality the blue is more navy and there is more contrast between the background and the lighter points.

After that I hand-sewed a zipper into a small pouch I made some time ago, then moved on to the cross-stitch panel zip pouch from YouTube that I posted the link for last week.  I found this quite challenging and it ended up taking me several hours to complete, with a certain amount of backwards sewing at times.  Lots of pausing the video to cut fabric to the specified measurements flashing up on screen or to work out what was getting pinned to what.  I have ended up with my two zips opening in opposite directions but other than that it has turned out fairly well.  I added a little handle, and some button embellishments on my cross-stitch panel, and a felt needleholder in the top flap.  (looking at these photos, I think I need to go back and press the cross-stitch panel again, it's become a bit crumpled with all the turning inside out and back again).

I used fusible fleece as advised in the video but I think the bag would benefit from something a bit stiffer as the bag is a bit floppy.  Although you couldn't make it too stiff as several times you are turning through sections and it wouldn't work well if the bag were really stiff.  I backed the cross stitch with fusible interfacing before adding the fusible fleece. I found the pouch quite fiddly to make because it was quite challenging to sew neatly around the zippers without puckers, especially the final seam when there are so many layers involved.

I'm on the final side of the final row of my crochet granny square afghan (hurrah) and I've started a new cross stitch project which is a set of ABC samplers by Little House Needleworks that I asked for for my birthday a few years ago.  When finished it will look like this (only possibly without the grid boxes):

It's a bit difficult as the evenweave linen is very fine and a bit slubby, so not every thread is the same width which is challenging my limited counting ability.

I ventured out for our first weekly shop yesterday.  Morrisons have a queueing system in place with lines painted on the ground for social distancing, and they were only letting in about 10 people at a time.  It was harder in the shop to keep my distance, the aisles weren't wide enough and the staff themselves seemed to be ignoring their distance from customers.  Most people were involved in an elaborate dance as we maneuvered around each other, but a few people were oblivious and just walked right past me close up.  Food availability was much better than it was a week ago, although spotty.  For example, there were loads of chicken legs and wings, but nothing else in the chicken department at all. Still no pasta, but there were eggs and you were allowed 12, and I finally found some chopped tomatoes in tins (2 allowed per person).  The checkouts were being traffic controlled so that it was one-in/one-out, and the till operators are protected by tall perspex screens now.

One thing I am getting heartily sick of is being bombarded by emails from every business or institution that I've ever come in contact with, all enthusiastically telling me that 'they are here for me' and here to support me and that 'we'll get through this together' etc. etc., with almost daily updates from the supermarkets on their latest tweaks to queuing and opening hours. I don't really see why a photo processing site that I haven't used for years feels the need to tell me that they are here for me, along with every bank that I've ever had an account with over the last 30 years.  Hopefully it will dry up soon once they've all clambered onto the bandwagon.

The radio station I was listening to while I was sewing was inviting text messages from listeners about what crazy  thing they are reduced to doing at home because of how incredibly bored they are (after less than a week of lockdown).   First of all, how do they exist without hobbies? and secondly, what are they going to be like after three or four weeks of this?

Anyway, I'm sure you have loads to do and like me are enjoying the chance to tackle long-standing wishlists of projects.  I've even done a bit of DIY: scraping down the flaking paint on parts of the back door, and giving it coats of prime and gloss paint. And I've done some gardening and weeding, laundry, and done a few bouts of hand-quilting on the neverending applique quilt.

Stay well, take care of yourself, and craft on!

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...

I'm having a long weekend due to having cancelled my London trip (because everything I intended to do had been cancelled or shut and now the government is advising against unnecessary travel).  So I've been doing lots of sewing on the Scrapbox 9-patch quilt and even pulled out a pattern and some jelly rolls for the next quilt after that (machine pieced hexagons) to start pairing up strips.  I managed to design about 80 blocks just from pre-cut squares, so I only had to cut squares for the last 8 sets.  They are all seamed up now either into finished blocks or 3-patch strips awaiting ironing.  I even trained DH how to press a 9-patch, so he has joined me for company a few times.  I do the stitching and he does the pressing.  I've had to remove the intervening sashing rows so that all 88 blocks will squeeze onto my design wall, and I will need to move around some blocks at the end to adjust the colour balance.

I am very jealous of all the people I see online who are happily self-isolating and turning to all the WIPs and dream projects they've been wanting to tackle.  I will be back at work on Monday, sigh. This is assuming the trains keep running.  I went out yesterday to Leicester to pick up some clothes and the trains were half empty, and there is talk of reducing the timetable during the emergency.  Leicester was about half as busy as it would normally be, many of the smaller shops in the city are shut but the big ones are still open and everything in the mall seemed to be open.  I asked one clerk if it had been quieter, he said it had but not completely dead.  I don't like clothes shopping but this was probably one of my best trips:  stores were quiet, lots of empty change rooms, lots of clothes in my size (16, the most popular UK size and therefore generally  out of stock), and no queues at the tills.  In fact in Debenhams two young clerks were jokingly fighting over serving me because they were so desperate for something to do.  All the restaurants and cafs are closed as well so I bought something from a supermarket for lunch.  Back home, we decided perhaps it would be prudent to acquire two-weeks worth of emergency food just in case one of us falls ill and we all have to self-isolate.  Until now we have been mocking the hoarders but it is getting to the point where thanks to those people, the shelves are bare of even normal food.  We had a trip to Morrisons to pick over what was left, coming away with such exotics as tins of asparagus spears and artichoke hearts (the only tinned veg left) amongst other things.  We got about half of our list, we'll have to keep looking for things like flour and pasta.  I only want enough so that if all three of us couldn't go out for two weeks, and if the timing were unlucky and the kitchen was a bit bare, that we won't run out of food.

I've been really impressed to see how many designers on Ravelry have been giving away free knitting patterns for people to work on during their isolation.  Through their generosity I have collected about a half dozen projects that I will hopefully get to one day.  There also seem to be various free quilt BOMs and stitchalongs going on - the crafting community is really pulling together.

My bobbin lace friends have mobilised to set up a What'sApp group (new technology for most of us) and we're going to try it out this afternoon to see if it is feasible to hold a virtual stitchalong.

I finished my sewing-themed cross-stitch last night. I have no idea why the picture has come out this weird colour, sorry about that.

I was looking around online and I think I might turn the cross stitch panel into a little sewing bag using the pattern in this Youtube video. I will set the panel into the top lid. We'll see.  First of all I have to finish off the scrap quilt to clear the decks a little.

I've also been making a push on the border of my giant granny-stitch afghan, which is sized more like a lap robe.  The border is four rows wide and I am on the final row, looking forward to getting this finished.  I am not a natural crocheter and haven't really enjoyed making this, even though I like using all the different colours.  I'm hoping it will block a bit flatter once I weave the ends in (although half the ends were crocheted in and just need trimming).

I've been reminded of my immense age this week by two separate things.  One was in this bag video by a young thing who at 7:34 starts talking about how sweet is that her grandmother still has her yellow-handled rotary cutter "probably from the 1960s or so".  I guess  someone who probably wasn't even born until the turn of the century doesn't know that rotary cutters were only invented in 1979 or that we used scissors before then.  I still have one of those rotary cutters which I would have bought in the late 80s or early 90s, and I am not old enough to be the young lady's grandma (her mother yes but not her grandma...).  Then when DH and I were at a big charity shop last weekend having dropped off some donations, we overheard two young things in the book department.  The younger one (c.14?) had discovered an old Duplicate book for writing invoices with copies, and the older one (c.18?) was explaining it to her:  "You write on the first page and a copy of what you wrote shows up on the second page, it's like a photocopier on paper..", "Oh that's so cool!!!", "Yes, it's like making a photocopy right on the paper, it's so cool!!", "so cool!!!".  DH and I were just rolling our eyes at each other, they'd obviously never seen carbon paper before. Makes me wonder how many people working in offices today don't know what 'cc' stands for on an email...

Hope you are all staying well and safe.

Zombie apocalypse much?

Anyone else feel like they are living in the pages of a science fiction novel? The coronavirus crisis seems to have rapidly gained momentum in the UK public consciousness, with the traditional 'keep calm and carry on' mentality seemingly moving inexorably towards  the 'panic and buy toilet paper' mode.  Most of the people at my office (including me) are still in 'carry on' mode, but my trains are emptier, I'm seeing more people in masks (a pointless gesture unless you are actually sick yourself - in which case what are you doing out of the house?), certain shelves are empty in the stores (the only handsoap I could buy at Wilko is bubblegum pink and scented like LoveHearts), the chemists have signs up like 'Sorry no hand gel', and even our local little DIY store has their dust masks prominently displayed on the till.  The cashier and I were joking about those because they don't even seal well enough to keep sawdust out of your nose, but nevertheless she said someone had bought £70 worth.  My son, who has suffered a normal head cold for a few weeks, was sent home by his office mid-week on paid holiday and I am being bombarded at work by official emails from local, national and government sources about exactly how I should be washing my hands and don't worry everything is under control. I was in Aldi today where there were long queues and they are rationing certain foodstuffs to four per person. A female customer was taking this out on a very tired looking cashier, while my cashier said they had put toilet paper out that morning and sold out in 30 minutes. And just while I've been typing this, I've received an email from the university to say my Japanese classes are cancelled until further notice - and I've been studying for the end of term test we were meant to have this coming week.

Meanwhile my in-laws, both in the 'at risk' elderly group with my f-i-l particularly at risk due to compromised lungs, are staying indoors as much as they can as a precaution. I'm worried about them but there isn't anything more they, or we, can do really. It's so sad for the families that have already lost loved ones, and the economic impact is looking worse and worse.

Just yesterday it was announced that Pour L'Amour du Fil, the big quilting and stitching show in Nantes, France, that I was booked to attend next month, has been cancelled.  I've now cancelled my hotel and my train ticket (less a £10 admin fee) but I can't get a refund on my Easyjet air ticket.  Travel insurance won't refund me unless the Foreign Office actually starts advising that no one should travel to France. Easyjet are waving the normal fee for changing date or destination so I suppose I could go somewhere else.  The French show is talking about rescheduling for September but who knows if that will happen or if the usual providers will be able to attend the new date.  Europe as a whole is probably a no-go zone because even if you can get there, you might not be able to get back.  So I am trying to decide if I really want to fly somewhere like Inverness or Ireland or just give up on the money.

Crafters on social media in my various hobbies are joking about how we are more prepared than many people for potential self-isolation, and I was so happy to see the photograph of the woman fortunate enough to have had the foresight to take a sewing machine onto her (subsequently quarantined) cruise ship.  I hope she also had sufficient thread and fabric. I've taken a sewing machine on holiday a few times in the past -  and even a knitting machine once a long time ago - but those were all to self-catering cottages.   I hope wherever you are, the virus is leaving you and your families alone and that you are all safe (and have enough toilet paper).

So apart from the looming end of the world scenario, my big news this week is that I finished the Let's Bake Quilt by sewing on the many buttons on various blocks and giving it all a final touch-up press.  It hasn't turned out how I was imagining it would (in terms of being wrinkly instead of pancake flat like the designer's) but it is a cheerful fun quilt that makes me smile.  It took me five months to make, which is lightning speed compared to my usually glacial progress, and unlike most of the quilts I made, it is actually quilted and finished right away.  It's hanging in our hallway where I can see it every day and enjoy it.

I've now started a scrap quilt using up some of the 2.5 inch squares I cut from all the leftover fabric scraps a while back, and from some very elderly white tone-on-tone fabric for sashing.  It's just a nine-patch, set in a layout I saw in a Craftsy picture, one of those infuriating 'quick' quilts that actually take ages.  DH came in and said "You've made 10 blocks already!" and I was like "yeah, but I need 88 for a single size". These are the first blocks and sashing just put on the design wall, not seamed to each other yet, just to get an idea what it will look like. I don't think I will have enough pre-cut 2.5" squares so I will likely have to sub-cut some of the many 2.5" strips that I also have ready.

So TV time for a few nights has been trawling the tub of pre-cut squares looking for matching sets of four in the same fabric, then making up block sets - each laid out on a stacking paper plate.  And when I get tired of that, I've been working on the cross-stitch sewing picture.  I like how it is turning out, apart from my scissors don't look a whole lot like the chart (usual inability to count accurately). Sorry about the shadow on the picture, I was standing in my own light.

Keep calm and carry on.

Do-over week

So a huge amount of crafting time this week has been expended on the Great Quilt Do-over project, after the whole non-colourfast red fabric debacle last weekend.  Step one after the quilt dried out was to unpick the quilting in the affected areas of the border, then unpick the seams of the four border pieces of red fabric, and to cut off the appliqued jar lids and spatula head. Then I re-bleached and re-washed all six affected areas a few times, eventually eliminating the red dye from the border areas completely and minimising  the pinkness in the appliqued areas.  The poor quilt is looking decidedly vintage after all this washing!

I pressed out the affected areas to flatten them, then prepared new appliques for the jar lids and spatula.  I made them a little bit bigger so that they covered up almost all the pink area.  I hand-appliqued them in place then secured with machine stitching. Aside from a little bit of visible pinkness at the lower righthand corner of the spatula, I don't think anyone would notice that there had been a problem.

I cut four new border pieces from a different red fabric.  The four gaps were all orientated differently but in each case I was able to stitch one seam on the machine then hand applique down the other three sides. It wasn't straightforward because the batting and surrounding fabrics had shrunk a little in the wash compared to the replacement fabric.  Once the four replacements were securely attached, then I re-stitched the quilting lines I had removed. The repairs look fairly invisible apart from the double stitching where the old and new quilting lines join.

Afterwards I wet the new border pieces to remove the applique glue and to let them shrink up a bit to match their neighbours.  Another dry and press and I was finally back to the stage I thought I was at last weekend when I put the quilt into the bath.  I could see several small areas that needed a bit more quilting added, so I did that, and then I made the hanging sleeve and attached it.  The final step was to machine on the binding which I am currently hand-stitching down onto the wrong side.  So it's (finally) almost finished! Whew!

In the spirit of do-overs, having watched a video by Sew Sweetness about adding zipper tabs neatly to a bag, I re-visited the zipper pouch I made back in the summer using selvedge ends.  At the time, I made a real mess of the zipper installation and have never been happy with it. Today I took the pouch almost entirely apart then added zipper tabs at either end of the zipper, then re-seamed the pouch.  It doesn't look as good as hers but it looks loads better, definitely a neater way to add a zipper. The cat thinks so anyway.

Also this week I finished off the Trinity Stitch fingerless mitts in Malabrigo wool/silk blend and I wore them out a few times this weekend.  They are so soft and warm.  I knit them a bit longer than the pattern called for, and I'm slightly tempted to join back on and knit them longer still. But I think I'll leave it, I have other pairs of longer fingerless mitts and these are useful for a warmer day when you still want something to keep your hands warm.

I've finally reached the border of my crocheted giant Granny Square afghan.  It's not very big, more like a lap rug, but I decided not to add any more rows because I'm not enjoying doing it.  And I've been doing a bit of cross-stitching using a chart from The World of Cross Stitch magazine for an armrest pincushion and pocket tidy by Cheryl McKinnon -  issue 292 (April 2020).  I'm just stitching the pincushion chart and thinking I might make it into another zip pouch.  This is a picture from the magazine project. I thought the colours of the stitching are really pretty, a bit painterly.



 I spent some time out in the garden today hacking back dead growth and flinging around general purpose fertiliser and rose food - hopefully it will do some good.  I was looking for the some 20 or so hollyhocks I grew from seed and planted out in the autumn but could only find two of them, grrr. A number of other plants are looking a bit questionable as to whether they are alive or dead - time will tell.