A Different Weekend

During September and May of every year for more years than I can remember I would spend my weekends officiating Basketball games.  This has led to me being selected to officiate at the Paralympics in my home town of London, I am so honoured, excited and nervous.  So when I get asked what I am doing at the weekend my answer is usually "Basketball".


Not this weekend, I was lucky enough to win two tickets to the Fashion Embroidery & Stitch, Hobbycrafts, and Sewing for Pleasure shows at the NEC courtesy of Making Magazine on Facebook.

I posted on my Facebook page if anyone wanted to come with me & the lovely PaisleyImmy came back first. After tweeting our excitement off we went to the NEC.


These shows are like a crafters sweetshop and the two of us were extremely excited big kids.  After attending a Business Development Workshop at the Birmingham Small Business Centre, I got organised and wrote a list of the stands I wanted to visit and specific items I needed. Some of my friends and creative peers will be proud to know I stuck to my lists.


I got some lovely fabric and beads and have already made a pair of earrings and a necklace.

I have made this necklace for myself and the earrings are for a friend.  I will be getting some more of these beads as I think they are pretty and each one is not the exactly the same.

The fabric is for some project bags

 

The Russian dolls fabric wasn't from the shows but from Fibre Flurry in Hall Green.  As the weather this weekend has been glorious I thought I would get outside to top up my vitamin D and take some photos of my show stash.

I Went to the Peace Gardens

I hopefully took some good pictures as a fantastic photographer told me lighting is so important.  The Peace Gardens are a little haven in the middle of Birmingham and have given me some lovely backdrops to capture my creativity.

Happy Mothers Day

This morning I'm sat at the side of a Basketball court thinking of my mum and all the mothers I know across the world. I have rung my mum who has opened her card and gift and with great excitement. She then proceeded to ask me did I make the card to which I told her yes. She loved the card and wants to take it to her sewing class to show it off. "If people like it will you make some more? They will pay you!". Too right they will was what I was thinking along with my mum has just entered into my marketing and sales plan without even being asked.

I was more excited by what I'd put in a little white gift box. She opened it whilst I waited on the phone and yet more excitement came from her. "They are lovely, I will wear them to church this morning." Then she realised the earrings were made from a bracelet she wanted me to fix for her. She did ask where the bracelet was. I told her the earrings were just a taster and the bracelet was on it's way. When I told a crafting friend what I planned to do they said "That is like giving someone the top half of a finger and not the rest of the hand. "
Upcycling is really taking off and thats how I see this Mothers day gift to be.

As I watch two women's teams play Basketball I think to myself which of them will become mothers or masters of industry or both? Back to the knitting, Happy Mothers Day.

Knitting Therapy

Yesterday was Brum Knit Night at Cafe Blend.  It takes place every second and fourth Wednesday of the month.

I have been really grateful for this and the MAC meet-up, especially over the last three weeks.  The others that attend are unique, friendly, funny and talented.  They have also been my focus group when asking crafters their opinion on building my website etc.  They also amuse me when I go on about Basketball & have lived through my Olympic/Paralympic journey.

I always get an honest answer when I ask something craft or non-craft related and that is really appreciated.  One of my knitting resolutions this year is to knit and complete a pair of adult socks.  I thought I was making progress with the sock I had started on numerous occasions oh, how wrong was I?

 

As you can see in this picture above, it looks like a sock but can you spot the error?  Yes there is no gusset in it and I couldn't work out what was missing until the experience of Brum Knit Night pointed it out.

I have managed to complete a pair of socks, they just don't fit or the baby they were made for.  So the adult sock was frogged, there is something therapeutic about ripping all those stitches out but also sad.  But I am trying not to dwell on things that are sad which sometimes is easier said than done.

Again the experience of Brum Knit Night made suggestions of what kind of sock I could knit, toe-up, cuff-down, patterned and I settled with a plain sock.  This will be an excellent travelling project and hope it will grow as I hope I will when writing these blogs.

This is my first blog in two years, so thanks for reading this.