Blogtober 13th

My Creative Space this week comes courtesy of MY BIG MOUTH.

The one that opens at all the wrong times and lands me with projects that I wish I could say no to.

So there I was showing  some friends what I did with a 20 inch zip and a piece of ribbon ....

And now I'm trying to do it again, while taking step by step photos

Our Rural has been invited to entertain another Rural in November and despite telling everyone that I'm really not that entertaining I have have been volunteered to demonstrate.

Not quite a silk purse from a sow's ear.

Just a little coin purse purse from a zip and a ribbon.

You will find a link to the original tutorial for this purse on fruitfulfulfushion

My Creative Space.

This weekend is the annual Federation show for Angus SWRI. It's open to the public on Friday and Saturday at the Reid Hall in Forfar. Today was set up and judging so my creative space was cleared out this morning when my friend Cathy came along to collect my entries. If you were reading here last year you may remember me saying how bad I am for leaving things till the last minute. The schedule for the show comes out in September, and like last year I ticked off a few things I would like to enter for and this time told myself that I would work at a steady pace and get everything ready well in advance.

So ... what do you think happened ?

Well I finished off my 'Novelty Doorstop' on Monday afternoon.

My 'Button Necklace' wasn't so much of a challenge as I make lots of these to sell in the shop, but I did have a bit of a challenge just choosing which one to enter.

My 'Knitted Toy' was a bit of an afterthought.

 I have been busy crocheting bunnies for Easter and had kind of forgotten that I had said I would knit a toy.

This little guy was knitted on my day off on Tuesday, sewn up and stuffed on Wednesday and has his nose and eyes sewn on at 11pm on Wednesday night. I really should be better organised in future....

And finally this 'Christmas Themed Cross-stitch' was re-framed on Wednesday afternoon as I realised the original frame exceded the size specified in the schedule.

I think I now qualify for a big fish supper from the chippie for tea tonight. Or does that sound like a reward for being disorganised ?

See Creative Spaces from all over at kootoyoo

You can tell it's nearing Christmas when.....

....... you attend a cake decorating demonstration and find that the cake is made of florists oasis and that the decorations aren't made from sugar paste.

Now I'm all for trying something different but floral art and cake decorating are not high on my list of accomplishments. Visions of some of my confectionary creations still horrify my kids who would plead for a 'bought cake please' whenever they were inviting friends round for birthday tea.

Likewise, give me a bunch of flowers and I will stick them in a vase, tweak the occasional bud to face the front, and feel like I have created something wonderful.

So I hope you enjoy the one and only floral / confectionary creation which is ever going to be seen around here.

xoxo

Fiona

Federation Show

At the end of last week I had my work cut out for me trying to complete a few projects for this years show which is in the Reid Hall, Forfar, on Thursday and Friday this week.

I had mixed results but finished these ones on time. Cathy, who sells her engraved glass in Buy Design, and just happens to be a good friend of mine is popping round soon to collect them so here are a few pics before they go. First is a beaded spectacle chain.

I have sold similar ones in the shop. It is made from fine wire and seed beads knitted on a french knitting dolly. You may remember these as four nails tacked into an old wooden cotton reel. We made loads of scarfs for our dolls with this when we were wee but now I use a fancy bobbin to make necklaces and bracelets.

Next up is a Fathers Day card. I used to make all my cards for birthdays, Christmas etc but don't do so much now so it was good fun getting my little scissors out again and making this one.

One of the classes for the show is a gents knitted hat. All the hats will be donated to the seamans mission after the show, so it's nice to know this one will be going to a good home.

This is my knitted, lacy scarf. It's possibly more of a shawl than a scarf but I really like it. It's really light weight and the yarn is more like ribbon.

Cathy has just been and gone and my projects have gone with her.

If you are anywhere near Forfar why not pop in to see the show. Hundreds of handcrafts on display and a nice cuppa and cake.

Federation Show.

The Angus SWRI show is next week at the Reid Hall in Forfar. Set up is on Thursday and it is open to the public in the afternoon and again on Friday.
If you are in England, think Womens Institute. If you are anywhere else in the world I'm not sure what you would call it.
Basically "The Rural" is made up of women's groups all over which meet each month, have guest speakers or demonstrators, and have competitions based around two main areas. Housewife's and Handicrafts.
Once a year there is a regional competition open to all members with lots and lots of categories from jam, preserves, homebaking, needlework, papercraft and pretty much everything in between.
The schedule appeared way back in September and I happily ticked off a dozen or so things which I would work on over the following months and enter in the show in March. Sounds like a plan eh?
Obviously, to anyone who knows me or has experienced my cooking, I passed on anything in the Housewife section.
So am I organised? Have I completed even half of my projects? Mmmm Have I even started some of them.
Ooops.
Will keep you posted and let you see what I finish this weekend.

Rural Demonstration.

Well, it's that time again. I'm off tonight to do a jewellery making demonstration and I am having those last minute nerves again. Actually this should be quite a good one as it is a small group and it will be much easier to get everyone involved. It's in a place called Tannadice that I haven't been to before so I will be relying on my trusty sat-nav to get me there on time.
Last night we had our first flurry of snow but thankfully it didn't settle.
Just got to pack up supplies and load the car up now.
Wish me luck. Fiona

I'm A Winner

Sometimes a little boasting is okay. So long as you don't overdo it. Well that's what I think anyway. For anyone not living in rural Scotland I shall explain a little bit first. I am a member of The Rural. For any one living in Scotland who has just raised their eyebrows, that does not make me as old as your granny.
The Rural does have a bit of a reputation for being full of old ladies and I did think that myself until my friend Cathy Arnott asked me to go along a couple of years ago. It's kind of social, fun, and it's a night out. There are a couple of competitions each month. One food and one craft. So, to the point of todays blog. This month's craft was a knitted corsage and I won with my bunch of Lavender. Am pretty chuffed and now I can tell customers that I sell prize winning corsages!!!
Fiona