Saturday 2 February 2008

A break from sewing !!!

For a while now I have been a member of our local Freecycle group. I have given loads of stuff away - computer games, bikes, carpets etc but never actually got anything back. Seems like everytime I was interested in something I had been beaten to it and the item was already promised to some-one else. For anyone who doesn't know Freecycle is an initiative that keeps perfectly good, unwanted stuff out of the landfill sites. Great idea. Anyway the other night I was browsing the postings and saw that some-one was wanting rid of a pine desk. Nothing fancy but in great condition. I thought it would be ideal to use as a sewing desk as it was much bigger than mine. I sent off an email saying I was interested and to my surprise the next day I got one back saying it was mine ! Brilliant !!

Now I share my sewing room with Jason and his computers and sometimes we fight over floor space - me basting quilts etc and him taking pc's apart and re-building them and whatever else he does. He very kindly explains what he's doing in great detail to which I tell him to shut up cos he's boring me - what a supportive wife I am - lol ! So the plan was to get the new desk in place of mine and very kindly donate my desk to him so he could dismantle and tweak to his hearts content and free up the floor - which was not doing his back any good as it was. Because the new desk is bigger I needed to move the cupboard I kept next to the table holding my threads and baskets of UFO's etc. This has now gone to our bedroom where I will use it for 'something'.


I then bought a new shelving system to take it's place and put it together yesterday. It was a flat pack thing that you screw together yourself. Now I am a bit of a DIY fan. I do all our decorating - painting, wallpapering etc. Over the years I have stripped back every skirting board, doorframe and door in the house and re-stained them. I have even been known to lay carpets etc. I just enjoy it and to be honest I have more patience than Jason at it. Anyway this shelving unit was pretty straightforward or so I thought. The problem was though that the pre-drilled holes for the screws were ever so slightly out and as such were bloody hard work. What should have been an hours job at most took nearly 3 hours. And basically my poor hands are in a state. My wrists are sore and I have big blisters on my thumbs and part of the skin on my right palm has been ripped off. Ouch !! It is quite painful - but it is done and today I am going to sort out all my odds and ends into baskets ( of which I have a big collection ) and it will all be lovely ! Jason told me off when he saw my hands and told me I should have waited til he got home from work but I couldn't wait. I have to do it there and then. I would take a photo of my hands but feel it is a little sad and it's not very nice - LOL !!

So no sewing for me for a couple of days - it's even painful filling the kettle for a cup of tea. I made salad last night and it was hard going. Never mind - at least everything will be nice and tidy ready for me to make a big old mess :-)


Onto other things. Last week I saw a pattern on Belvie's blog and it caught my imagination. It was a wall quilt with lots of stitchery phrases and pictures. I really liked it and after seeing some of the beautiful stitcheries done in blogland I thought I'd see what it's all about. Ladies like Anne
and May Britt and many others have inspired me to have a go. Now I've had a look through the pattern and I have a ton of questions. Once I'm ready to work on this I'll be pestering the life out of all you stitchers - just wait and see !!!!!!! Here's the pattern - cute eh ?


I've done cross stitch before but never this sort of thing really - in fact whilst emptying my cupboard I came across a cross stitch picture that has been finished for a while. It has just been folded up in a bag and I may even get it framed at some point.



Here is one I did a long time ago which I did frame and it is hanging up in a corner of my sewing room. This one is a mixture of cross stitch and wool embroidery. I even gave the glass a quick polish in honour of taking a photo - aren't you privileged ? ha.



Have a great weekend and put in a couple of extra stitches for me.

21 comments:

Unknown said...

Ouch Andrea, you poor thing, those hands must be so sore. Hey now there's a new way to encourage Jason to be putting the kettle on etc *s*... Love the Bareroots pattern, she does such lovely designs.

Danetta said...

Oooh when your hands heal up please put that beautiful cross stitch in a frame for your home.

I am glad you got a new desk from freecycle.

loulee said...

You'll love stitchery, sooooooo much faster than cross stitch.
Hope your poor hands are feeling better soon.

tami said...

Hope your hands feel better soon.
Glad you found such a good freecycle. Isn't it a great concept. Anything to help out Mother Earth. Hope you are going to show a picture of your new space when your hands are better.

JanJ said...

Oh, I am so sorry about your hands. I understand about not waiting for hubby though. Some things just need to be done right then. Your cross stitch is beautiful. I do think it needs to be in a frame! Congratulations on your new desk! I haven't ever had any luck with Freecycle either. :)

Unknown said...

I hope your hands are getting better, of course you couldn´t wait for your DH to get home. Maybe we may expect some pictures of your sewing room after you organize it???

Quilts And Pieces said...

Oh what a great "find", and how fun everything is all getting organized and in place! I love that bareroots pattern - it is so cute! and that xstitch is gorgeous!

Debi said...

Beautiful stitchery, and ouch on the hands. Come visit my blog for my latest giveaway.

http://debiquilts.blogspot.com/2008/02/one-world-one-heart-event.html

Red Geranium Cottage said...

I'm sorry about your poor hands. I hope there back to new soon so you can get back to quilting.
Love the Bareroots stitchery patterns. And the cross stitch is very pretty.

Unknown said...

It sounds to me like you ought to treat yourself to an electric screwdriver to save your hands for sewing - good luck with the stitchery the pattern looks lovely

Belvie said...

Hope your hands are feeling much better.

Those two cross stitch pieces are beautiful! Glad to know I'm not the only one with unframed...completely stitched...cross stitch pieces! I have a couple of them in the closet.

meggie said...

I used to be the handyman in my younger days. I once made cupboards for a kitchen in the house we had bought, & the neighbour couldnt get over it. I borrowed her husband's drill. Had to get Gom's help to attach unit to the wall though... almost caused a divorce.

Floss said...

Have fun organizing, its always nice to have the room rearranged with better furniute. Hope your hand feel better soon.

Quiltdivajulie said...

I feel for your sore hands and wrists (my DH discovered this weekend that I have NOT been joking about the reduction of "strength" in my hands - I couldn't unscrew the "push here and turn" top on a large bottle of Scope that we purchased at Sam's). Battery operated screwdrivers are a wonderful investment for those of us who don't like to ask for too much help!

Love how your mystery quilt is shaping up - and thanks for visiting my blog and leaving a comment on the bargello quilt!

Kate North said...

I had to laugh (not at your hands, poor you) because this sounded SO much like me - in a lot of respects - the listening to DH's complicated whatever (he's editor of a science journal) or not - the being the DIY person (though I haven't laid carpet) and the being too impatient to get the shelving unit together to wait for help, and going ahead and doing it despite the damage to my hands...

Peg said...

Hi just found your blog through a link, it had me laughing at your antics and humour, thank you.

Don't give up the cross stitch you've produced some beautiful pieces. Nice isn't it to come across an old piece you've forgotten about, makes it new somehow.

Peg :o)

Ali Honey said...

Your perseverence is to be commended, but it's a shame you hurt your hands. ( don't bleed on the fabric )Take care you need them for other crafty things. I really like the idea of the freecycle - glad you got something back at last.

Your embroidery is lovely.

Tracey @ozcountryquiltingmum said...

Hi, well done with the hand work-hahaha! Think stitchingis preferable to hammering though.
Enjoyed a catch-up, there's a lot of good projects goung on there...and better add down the bottom of Austraia to who visits, Tracey

Pam said...

Oh - your poor hands, but in the end it sounds like you will have a much better sewing space. The pattern you got really is so cute - good luck with it. I have never done stitchery like that either and I will follow your progress. I would like to try one day and Rose from Threadbare is making a really lovely pattern right now - so maybe....

Wendy said...

Sorry to hear about your hands, you should consider getting a power drill...saves on the hands.

I love it when I see more bloggers taking up stitchery. I've pieced that Bareroots pattern and have plans to show it (unfortunately the stitching is not done. One piece of advise is to get some light weight fusible interfacing for the back of your fabric to iron on before you start stitching.
Have fun.

mereth said...

Yes, Anne was right, get a power screw-driver.I always used to make our own shelving units, and one huge thing that took up the whole of one wall had my hands in the same state as yours. But there's a sense of grim satisfaction about getting it done, who could bear to stop?
Please, photos of the new set-up, even in progress. I LOVE organising things, and looking at other people's set-ups is as good as seeing their quilts