I like making things: December 2023

Friday, December 22, 2023

Merry Christmas and a wonderful and healthy New Year

A Christmas card for all my blogging friends: Merry Christmas everyone! XXXXX

Just click on the link below.

Friday, December 15, 2023

It is all very confusing!

In a bid to be ready for when we get good fast fiber internet on Monday and we can doin streaming TV, I have been trying to familiarise myself with it. There are so many different platforms and apps and none of them work in the same way as our regular TV provider so it is a bit overwhelming. We are determined though to get to know all the ins and outs as we so want to cut the proverbial cord!

We have tried streaming and pay for a couple of apps so we can watch our favorite sports teams because not all of their games are on regular TV. But to be totally dependent on it is going to take a lot of getting used to.

Will keep you posted!

Christmas is about all sorted, just a quick shop to do next Tuesday or Wednesday. I have found it very stressful this year though which is a shame as it is my favourite time of year.

😕 😖😟😒

Hope you are all sorted but stress free.

Saturday, December 9, 2023

9 days and counting!

This month is going OK, and the high spot is that in 9 days they will be connecting up our fiber internet and we will at last have unlimited super fast internet and will be able to stream on the TV without using up a whole heap of our bandwidth allowance just to watch our team, The Chiefs, play a game. The cabling and everything is done and had we just wanted the internet we would have been up and running already but we wanted to get the phone service too and port our number so that process takes more time.

My husband has to have a new loop recorder inserted and the old one taken out as the battery is flat. It monitors his heart and as the AFib and flutter are back with avengeance they need to keep an eye on it remotely. This is a same day surgery procedure next week.

Christmas decorating is done, cards all written and mailed and present buying is in progress so all is good. Thank goodness for Amazon. I would much prefer to buy presents, wrap and mail them but that is cost prohibitive nowadays as everyone lives so far away.

Our new neighbours gave been coming back and forth bringing stuff over to their property and hope to be moved in by next weekend.

So life here in the boonies is plodding along nicely.

I bought down our bigger tree but I didn't want to spend hours decorating a tree this year, don't ask me why, I just didn't so we bought as smaller one which came with lights, pretendy snow, berries, icicles and pinecones and I just added some tinsel. This one is in the living room. And the larger one I just added lights and tinsel and it is in the sunroom and looks lovely in the evening with the lights on and the sparkly tinsel.

The new tree in the living room. That pesky elf gets everywhere!

Old tree in the sunroom

Santa is happy he is back out!

I hope things are all good in your worlds and please keep on posting. I love to keep up with everyone and their blogs.

Glad you stopped by

I started this blog in 2011: Ever since my Mum taught me to knit at the age of about six or seven I have made things. Back then it was doll clothes. I was also inspired by Mrs Levitt an elderly lady who had a sewing room in a conservatory type room on the back of her house. I would sit and watch her in awe as she sewed.

When I was a child living in England the school system was such that you started at 5 years, did two years in Infant School, then four years in Primary School then five to seven years in Secondary School, depending on whether you chose to stay on after fifth form to get qualifications to go to University. I can't remember much of the Infant school other than making the standard square doily thingy from fabric that had holes in it so you could embroider patterns into it. A bit like the modern day cross stitch fabric but with bigger holes and spaces to make it easy for small hands to use. I also remember with great joy getting a toy sewing machine one Christmas which sewed only chain stitch but I did make doll clothes on it and that was before I started Primary school. I do have very vivid recollections of Primary school and having sewing and knitting lessons. In Primary school I knitted gloves and made a dress from scratch hand sewing it all.

Secondary school continued on with sewing by which time I had progressed to using full sized sewing machines and was making more intricate skirts and dresses. My parents bought me a proper sewing machine when I was thirteen. I used that same machine right up until I emigrated to Canada at age forty six years.

I have always had a fascination for sewing machines and knitting machines. I bought my first knitting machine at around age twenty one from an ad in a newspaper for twelve pounds. I had absolutely no idea what one was just that I wanted one. I trundled on the bus to the address in the advert and handed over my twelve pounds having absolutely no idea what I had really bought. Fortunately it came with a manual. It was an aged Knitmaster, very basic and I loved it. I wore it out. Next was a Brother push button one which I didn't keep because it was at a time in my life when things were difficult. Later on in my life, around forty, when things were better I bought a brand new Brother punchard machine with a ribber attachment. I loved it and made many things. Life took a different turn, I moved countries twice and along the way, regrettably I sold it.

Now, through the universe's blessing I now have another machine. It is a vintage one because they stopped making them early 90's but works perfectly and I love it. So I decided to make this blog to document my knitting progress and include sewing projects.

In 2013: we embarked on a new hobby, leather-work. My husband got started with it and it drew me in. It is something we can do together. We have a workshop so have plenty of room to work. We added another workbench for me to work on in 2013. We already had one but we were tripping over each other both trying to work at it. We only make things we want to make. It is strictly a hobby. We made some things for our good neighbours who help us out a lot. I am also working on Christmas presents. So this blog now incorporates the leather-work. Knitting and sewing will always be my first love though.

Fast forward to 2023 and now age almost 75 years. I have seven sewing machines, four knitting machines, several ribber attachments and a garter carriage for one of the machines. I am blessed beyond words, but I know that I have more than enough machines to keep me going in my lifetime so I don’t think I will be adding to my collection any time soon……….unless a nice embroidery machine manifests itself very cheaply.

I am a Brit living in the USA, sometimes I spell like a Brit and sometimes like an American. Sometimes I use slang and even make grammatical errors. I blog for the pleasure of it and to record my endeavours in the event that my memory fades, as I am sure it will with more age. I will be able to look back and remind myself of the things I have made along the way. So please forgive my mistakes when reading about my life making things here in the hinterlands and I hope you get as much enjoyment from my blog as I do from reading the blogs I follow.