CROCHET AND SEWING

I have been thinking about my crafty life, when it began and who taught me. I can remember knitting on small needles as a child but can't recall if it was mum or my grandmother who taught me.  I used to knit things for my Barbie doll like handbags and scarves. I didn't attempt knitting a jumper for myself until I was about 17 or 18. My paternal grandmother was a wonderful cook and she taught me how to crochet although I didn't continue with it as a square soon turned into a a cylindrical shape! I must have forgotten how to do corners properly. It wasn't until I was in my late 50's that I decided to try crocheting again as it seemed to grow more quickly than knitting and it was also easier to rectify mistakes. I bought a crochet magazine which had a photographed section of each stitch and I also had a lovely blogger friend who assisted me via email. Then I found Attic 24 and I never looked back. I did a couple of CALs while following Lucy's pictorial instructions which I printed up and I have a lot of Lucy's patterns with guiding photos that I refer to a lot. Thus the latest Sweet Pea CAL. I have just started the colour repeat.

When I was 16 years old my boyfriend's mother had some beautiful tapestries on her walls which she had done. That's when I first decided to use needle and thread. I bought my first tapestry which I think was The Pink Lady. Then I got a little more adventurous and did a Petite Pointe of an elegant lady reading a book. I still have it stashed away unframed. So when did I start doing patchwork and quilting? Hand sewing appealed to me but I had been traumatised by a sewing teacher in 5th form ( leaving certificate, equivalent to year 11 these days ). You see, I had one subject left to choose for that year and the teachers told me I should do sewing. The problem was that I had only done sewing in Form 1 ( year 7) and everyone else had been doing it all the way through. We had to make a dress with interfacing on a treddle machine. Well, I didn 't have a clue where to even begin once I had selected and bought a pattern. The teacher never instructed or assisted me despite knowing my situation, My girlfriend guided me step by step at home and I proudly presented my first ever major sewing project to the teacher. My pride soon turned to utter humility and embarrassment when the teacher held it up in front of the entire class and completely denegrated me saying how awfully it was made. Needless to say, my confidence with sewing was completely destroyed.I did make some overalls for my daughter when she was a toddler due to the help of another friend who showed me some practical shortcuts.

My maternal grandmother did a little EPP applique on cushions from fabric scraps but it never really  grabbed me.  Then, in my late 40's I read The Quilter's Apprentice  and was totally smitten with the descriptions of hand piecing a quilt while enjoying the company of others. After seeking out a local patchwork teacher I embarked on my first hand pieced quilt while all the other ladies worked on their sewing machines. Most of my quilts are handpieced and hand quilted but the larger ones have beem professionally quilted. Now I find myself whipping up table toppers and other small projects on the sewing machine. Hand piecing and hand quilting are still my preferred pass time.  

This is the latest table topper I am currently binding for my coffee table.

I like to make matching coasters with every table topper so I shall be hand stitching them soon.

I hope this post has not been too lengthy but it is the link up to Jenny's Tuesday book study.  See my side bar, top right.

Thankyou for visiting my blog.

Angel Blessings