Day Tripping to The Historic City of Wells

Yesterday my husband and I headed to the historic city of Wells in Somerset, which as the crow flies is almost exactly 30 miles (48km) south of us. In reality it's actually about an hour and a quarter away, 21 miles (34km) south of Bristol and certainly worth the drive.
Steve bought tickets for The Bishop's Palace on Amazon Local and we were keen to see Wells' Cathedral too, so while the sun was shining we headed to Somerset's ancient city. Also as one of our favourite films, Hot Fuzz, did a lot of its filming in Wells we thought it would be great to see the place in real life. (My dad actually informed me after we were back home that we went when I was little but I honestly can't remember that.)
The Bishop's Palace was stunning & the cloisters of the cathedral were very tranquil.

Unfortunately we didn't get to go properly into the cathedral as a special service for a retiring Dean was taking place but what we did see was very impressive.
Saturday is market day so we had a good look around that, there was a large selection of items on offer. It included a farmer's market so we bought lots of lovely, local produce to enjoy over the weekend, my favourite being very tasty pies (chicken, mushroom and asparagus in filo pastry for me). The Town Hall was hosting an antique fair where I bought some delightful teaspoons just because I couldn't resist.

An absolute gem of a wool shop was located down a little street (Mill Street). It's very unassuming frontage completely hides the huge array of wares inside, it was massive yet you would never have known from outside. I didn't even know it's a name until I looked it up once home, Mandy Wools. It has a very large range of yarns, together with all sorts of crafty goodies such as buttons and clasps and vilene etc.

There was also Millie Moon, a fabric and haberdashery shop, there was no way I was leaving without a purchase or two from inside there!

Look how beautifully wrapped my items were, using a piece of pattern paper and Millie Moon labelled stickers.....

I almost didn't want to unwrap them but, of course, I did.

Around the corner from there was a wonderful little bead shop, Bella Beads Boutique, again I wasn't leaving empty handed.

On top of that I managed to pick up an old Quality Street tin containing, yep you guessed it, BUTTONS for £6.50 from a charity shop. They're just crying out to be sorted and that makes for one very happy Ernest!

And that doesn't even cover everything, I also bought 4 crafty books in an Oxfam bookshop and a few other bits and bobs to use in projects in the near future.

What a great day- as a place to visit I would highly recommend it!

Until next time, craft in earnest. Craftin' Ernest x

Knit Texture Buttons

I don't know if you can tell from the background but I really love buttons, it's borderline obsessive. I love sorting them, sewing them on things and making them, as this previous post will attest to.

So when I completed another knitted project, a stripey knitted cowl, I searched my extensive collection and decided it was time to make a couple of buttons I had been thinking about for some time- with the help of a teacup and saucer!

To knit the cowl, I used a Paton's 4ply Regal Cotton in pale blue for the main sections and a denim blue, 100% wool from Guernsey for the thinner stripes. As I wanted it to be quite chunky I used three strands of each to knit with and 7mm needles.

I started with a 5 rows of rib stitch before switching to stockinette stitch. I knit 15 rows in the pale blue and 6 rows in the denim five times before 15 further rows in pale blue. In the last set of 15 pale blue rows I included 2 large buttonholes, created over 2 rows, and finished off with another 5 rows of rib.

The yarns I used led to very defined stitches and this is what told me it was time to make knitted textured buttons! 
A few months ago I stumbled across what I thought was a real bargain in a shop I love, Paperchase- a teacup and saucer with a knitted texture for £4. As if I could leave it behind!? Not only does it look fantastic but I thought I could get crafty with it at some point. Now was that time.

To make the buttons I used Milliput, a 2 part epoxy putty that is just perfect for making buttons. I know this stuff thanks to my dad and his model making days, it also came in very handy for jobs around the house so he would often use it to fix things.

It comes in a few different colours, all of which consist of two rolls of putty which you mix together in a ratio of 1:1. Once thoroughly mixed you have a couple of hours before it sets and after 24 hours it can be sanded and drilled. It really is tough stuff once fully cured- I dropped the buttons a couple of times on tiled floor (unintentionally of course, I was having a clumsy moment) with no damage!

For these buttons I used the silver grey, I had originally intended to use Milliput Standard but accidentally gave that to my dad when he needed some, thinking it was the older of the two packs I had. I was most definitely incorrect about the age, so the rolls in the pack I was using had gone hard on the outside, this just meant I had to cut away the outer layer on both and discard them.

 The colour didn't matter as I planned to paint the finished results anyway.

 Once it was the right consistency I made two balls the same size.

Ooh by the way, it's recommended to wear gloves when you mix Milliput however I don't, I use bare hands, but I make sure I apply barrier cream beforehand and have never had a problem.

The next stage is where my wonderful Paperchase find came into its own. Although Milliput is very adhesive, water can be used to prevent it sticking and this means you can impress a texture into it if the surface is wet.

I coated the surface of the saucer in water before pushing the balls of Milliput, one at a time, into it creating a rough circle shape, the right size for my buttonholes. I decided I liked the irregular shape but if wanted a cutter could be used to neaten the edges, just remember to wet the surface of the cutter.

Once I had two similar sized discs with a scrummy knitted texture on each, I put them aside on foil for 24 hours to set. The next step was to drill two holes in each using a 3mm drill bit and my electric multi-tool. Be prepared, this can be messy, especially if the door opens just as you finish and the wind blows the bits EVERYWHERE! I could have pushed holes into them before they cured, for example using cocktail sticks, but I like the sharpness you get from drilling.

Once the holes were drilled it was time to paint them. I used nail varnish, in a colour also called denim, which was very similar to the thin stripes knitted in denim wool. I only gave them one coat because I liked the way the pattern was highlighted by the lighter colour of the putty underneath so it worked out well using the silver-grey

All that was left was to attach the buttons, for this I used the pale blue yarn, and bingo- one happy Craftin' Ernest!

Until next time, keep cosy and craft in earnest! Craftin' Ernest xx

Can't Stop Knitting

Perhaps a little late in the day, with January all but over, but happy 2015 peeps!
I've been trying to have a chilled out January & just concentrate on making things for fun, experimenting a bit with no real deadline or reason. I've been making birthday presents too, thought I'd get a head start on the year. 

With the weather being rather chilly, I couldn't help but be drawn towards the big chunky balls of wool in my stash! There isn't much better on a damp and cold January evening than getting all snug in front of the TV, surrounded by huge balls of yarn that's the width of a pencil or more.

I got busy with a yummy ball of Rowan Big Wool in shade 65 "Champion" a scrumptious, burnt orange colour (one of my three go-to-colours at the moment, the other two being navy & mustard). 

I think nice, fat yarns work up lovely using a really textured knit. One ball was easily enough to make 2 cosy headbands, just the thing needed to keep your ears warm when out for wintry walks! 
For this sort of project I usually grab my box of "Harmony 101 Stitches to Knit" by Erika Knight. As the name would suggest it contains all you need to knit 101 different stitches, each one detailed on it's own, handy card, just right to slip in with your project on the go. I think it's a great addition to any knitter's library.

For one of the headbands I used the ric rac (or rickrack if you prefer) stitch, so called because (yep, you guessed it) it looks like ric rac. Here's a great YouTube video by New Stitch a Day with all the instructions needed for the stitch.

I used 7mm needles and 16 stitches, it needs to be multiples of 3 +1. Once I was happy it would comfortably fit around my head I cast off and sewed the cast-on and cast-off ends together. For an extra bit of detail I gathered the join and covered it with a small strip of stocking stitch (17 rows of 5 stitches on 5mm needles) and attached a big button in the centre of the strip. The colours of the wool and button are distorted in the picture because they're actually almost identical.

The second was made using the knot stitch or star cluster stitch (the same stitch just known by different names, I've heard a few others too but I think these are the most common- please correct me if I'm wrong). It's a really simple pattern (here's a YouTube video with instructions), more so than above, repeating every 4 rows with all right side rows being plain knit, always good. The wrong side are purl and involves knitting 3 stitches together as well as wrapping the yarn and the needle and knitting into the same stitch, nothing more complicated than that.
I used 13 stitches, this time it's multiples of 4 +1, but I used 12mm needles and although the knit is much looser the headband has a similar width to the ric rac stitch one but obviously needed a lot less rows! I decided just to sew the ends together with this one, I thought the texture was all the detail needed.

Along with the knitting, I've been "making" almost instant rings and by "making" I just meaning gluing a ring finding onto the back of something. I had a great little charity shop find- a kitschy brooch clip for 50p. I removed the back look and glued a silver plated ring finding to the back of it with E6000 glue. Now the reason I mention it was a silver plated was because after wearing it for less than an hour it broke. The glue had held tight but the plating had come away from the finding! I was left with a nice silver circle in the glue, so I filed down the the circle on the ring to the copper before re-gluing and so far it has held tight.

Buttons are always wonderful to make into rings also and the one above, on the right, from my Grandma-In-Law is a real beaut. It looks lovely and old and well-loved and as it was a shanked back button I had to snip that off

. I gave the finding a good file beforehand with this one and I used Hard-As-Nails super glue, also once it had set the following day, I gave it another layer over the top. That button isn't going anywhere (I hope I haven't just jinxed myself)!

I hope 2015 is super, wonderfully, crafty for you. Thanks so much for taking the time to read my blog, it's much appreciated.

Until next time, craft in earnest! Craftin' Ernest x

I Like Big Buttons and I Cannot Lie!

To be honest I like all buttons- big ones, small ones, shiny ones, matt ones, shank backed, two-holed, four-holed, you name it and I'll probably like it.
Nice, oversized buttons are fab for embellishing items such as bags, knitwear and cushions. Also, all you have to do is glue a brooch finding on the back and you have yourself a super quick, delectable accessory!

Whilst shop bought buttons work wonderfully well,and I have quite a few that are now brooches, it's still not quite the same as making your own button. 
I do enjoy making my own big, feature buttons using air-dry clay, polymer clay or epoxy putty.

Below are a couple of examples of previously made ones. I like to use nail varnish and enamel paint to finish them off.
For this one I used terracotta coloured, air-dry clay with red nail varnish which I have only applied to the top surface. After I cut the basic shape and holes, I left it to dry in a shallow bowl to make it nice and curved, unfortunately that doesn't really come across well in the photograph.

These ones were made with white, air-drying clay with nail varnish and enamel paint to highlight the letters- see the link below on how to make your own.

This is an epoxy putty button, textured using lace netting and impressed with a star-shaped cutter before using various nail varnishes to highlight once set.

Below are glazed, ceramic clay but they require the use of a pottery kiln so are not so simple and unless you're super lucky enough to have a ceramic kiln at home (sadly I'm not lucky enough but, happily, I do have a local pottery club). Similar designs are achievable with the above materials though.

As you can see it can be simple to achieve a wide variety of results.
This previous post from August last year included a tutorial to make a teapot shaped magnet using air dry clay. You can use the same steps to make buttons by using your desired shape cookie-cutter, e.g. circular, and something to make two or four holes. I prefer something that actually cuts the hole instead of poking it as this displaces the clay. By cutting it, the result is much neater, i.e. using a small tube rather than something pointy- for example the barrel of a pen or lid versus a knitting needle.

Once the clay has dried/cured it can be decorated as desired. All that's left is to glue a brooch finding on the back and attach it to your favourite top/blazer/whatever and you're all set! (Although sometimes I add thread to the holes and sometimes I don't- depends on my mood I guess.)

Until next time craft in earnest, Craftin' Ernest x

Ding Dong The Bells Are Going To Chime

I do love a wedding, it's such a delight to share in a couple's "Big Day".
I can totally appreciate all the hard work that goes into making the day so special and all the decisions that had to be made along the way.

I also love a bit of wedding related crafting! It's the most perfect time to get busy with the pearls and crystals, lace and ribbon.

I recently had the pleasure of making my close friend's sister-in-law-to-be's beaded tiara and the bridesmaid's hair accessories! (Not great pictures sorry)

Also, as I mentioned in previous posts I had the great honour of being part of my friends' Becky and Steve's wedding. For part of their wedding gift I thought I would make them something personal to commemorate their special day and decided on a cushion.

I used transfer paper for inkjet printers to copy an image of their hands with their wedding rings onto white fabric. It took a few attempts as the instructions didn't mention anything about letting the image cool after ironing before peeling off the backing paper. Probably very obvious (especially as it's not the first time I've used it) but I forgot so trial and error certainly played a part, as did some choice words.

Once I'd finally got it right, I machine embroidered the lettering. I used white tissue paper to space the words just as I wanted them.

I went over each letter a number of times with two different colours. To finish it off, what else but a few buttons- heart shaped, shell buttons were perfect for this project in my opinion.

I think the happy couple were pleased were the result, it's certainly very personal to them.

We have a few other wedding this year to look forward and to keep me busy :-)

Until next time craft in earnest, Craftin' Ernest x

Jet Setting Part 1 - Poland

Well, I've had a super busy week jet setting about, as you do. 

As I mentioned in the last post my oldest friend, Becky, married the love of her life, Steve, on Thursday in a truly beautiful ceremony in Poland! The day couldn't have been more perfect and I was truly delighted to be part of it as Matron of Honour and one of the witnesses. The wedding took place in Niepolomice Castle about 25km outside of the wonderful city of Krakow: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niepo%C5%82omice_Castle

Krakow is a lovely city with lots to do and see, we went on a few day trips (for example The Salt Mines in Wieliczka), took part in two walking tours and consumed an incredible amount of chocolate at Pijalnia Czekolady Wedel: http://www.wedelpijalnie.pl/pl/o-nas

There were quite a number of shops selling handmade items, including Kiku Miku, below, which sells a wonderful mix of accessories and gifts.

 

I treated myself to a cute, little brooch made from a bottle cap -https://www.facebook.com/MANIFESTO.SHOP

I also bought my sister a pair of earrings as she has a thing about Paris.

These were most deserved as later on the trip, whilst on one of the walking tours, my eagle-eyed sister spotted some wool in the window of a shop which was the first port of call after the tour had ended. There are lots of little passage ways in Krakow hiding all sorts of places and at the end of the one with wool in the front window was this wonderful treasure trove -

It was packed full of goodies, everything from buttons and wool to zips and patches. The brilliantly helpful man behind the counter didn't speak English but was really great, producing all sorts of extra colours of items I was after. Buttons, naturally, were a must and I couldn't resist a few other things. The zips for example were a bargain at the equivalent of 50 pence each! 

I think Krakow is well worth a visit! In the next post, I'll fill you in on Part 2 - Ireland. Until then, craft in earnest, Craftin' Ernest x

Washi Tape Boxes

You can’t fail to have spotted the huge popularity of washi tape lately! It’s all over the internet and rolls of the lovely stuff have been appearing in my favourite shops.

For me it was a case of, I really liked then look of it and definitely wanted some but didn't really know what I wanted to do with it. That put me off buying some for all of about 3 minutes, so I treated myself to a bumper pack online in the New Year sales. I also bought an extra couple of rolls of ones I simply couldn't resist on a shopping trip.

Now what to do with them (other than admire and gently stroke them)? In some ways I feel they are too precious to use, I annoy myself when I get like that.

One roll I purposely bought to stick on the back of clocks I've made, that one was pretty obvious.

The next thing to jump in my head was to jazz up some boxes. I was given a Charbonnel et Walker, Pink Marc De Champagne Truffle box (without the chocolates which normally would be an awful travesty but I don’t like champagne truffles so all was fine)
The box itself is actually rather nice as it is and very sturdy, but I didn't want people thinking there were chocolates in there if they spied the box, so I decided to give it a makeover. 

I attached some stripy, paper stock and embellished it with a few strips of tape over the top, followed by some strips around the edge. Next were the obligatory buttons, I used PVA glue to attach them in the shape of a heart and just for good measure I coated the whole top with PVA for extra toughness. I thought the end result would make a lovely gift box that the recipient could keep as a trinket box. I didn't think about lining the button design up with the lid indents which bothers me now but I know for next time!

I felt I was on a roll then [pun intended ;-)] so went to work on a plain, brown, cardboard box. Again I used a rectangle of paper just on the top as a foundation and added washi tape with just a single button accent. I also decorated the bottom half with tape. It's just the right size for a pair of earrings I've made for a friend and makes the gift just that bit more special.

I then remembered a Thomas Sabo gift box I received containing a stunning bracelet, well that had to have a make-over too.

I did try to use it as I would use regular tape to wrap a present. The paper was slightly glossy, red paper with small white polka dots so I thought the white tape with red polka dots would look good. Unfortunately the tape would stay stuck down, after about 10 minutes it would curl up at the ends no matter how much I would rub it down. Ah well, that wasn't to be.
All in all, I do love the stuff and have a few more ideas up my sleeve....
Until next time craft in earnest, Craftin' Ernest x