Namaste

Namaste (salutations to you)

This craft blog is turning out to be a bit of a lifestyle blog...unless maybe I live craft??

Well if you haven't guessed from the first word I have taken up Yoga.  I tried it years back and we never quite got on but now I am loving it.  I've been attending a Hatha Yoga class every Tuesday evening where not only have I learnt some postures I have also learnt something deep breathing and relaxation techniques.  Which is doing wonders for the ole anxiety and keeping the doc happy! 

I'm a little obsessed with it at the mo' and as Mr C is working away all weekend I am looking forward to having some me time and some time to do some long Yoga practice.

But for the proper crafty bit.

I bought my gorgeous pink yoga mat from Tesco but I didn't have a carry bag for it.  I since bought Yoga socks and take a water bottle with me so getting a carry bag was beginning to become a necessity.  So roughly following this post I created this little beauty...

Complete with Yoga mat inside to prove it does the job!

I say roughly followed that post as you can see I used ribbon for the handles, didn't have a button closing (couldn't get the button bit to go inside out so threw it across the room) and its not exactly the same but it does the perfect job for me.

Look at that for a bottom seam.  Not only are the handles are aligned, I managed to give it a rounded end (which wasn't easy as I didn't fully understand the instructions).










I also got a book from the library 'Yoga for a new you' Dorling Kindersley 2012 which I am considering buying as its really good.

I've also downloaded a few apps to my smart phone Pocket Yoga and Pocket Yoga Builder both by Rainfrog LLC but I haven't properly used them yet.  If I'm not at class I tend to use a DVD I have called 'Roxys Bite Sized Yoga' which has different routines split into bite sized chunks of 15 minutes each.

I'm hoping to get more regular practice in, especially as its doing my overall health so good, and have downloaded worksheets from my friends Alyson Tyler who is a Yoga teacher and writes a blog here (which has been super useful).  But I feel I need a little more guidance from a video clip for now.

I hope to try out some Youtube videos, in particular ones from Tara Lee, like this one...

...and will let you know how I get on.

Oh and I have seen a pattern for easy Yoga pants in my book 'The Sew Everything Workshop' that I bought to accompany a Craftsy Class so watch this space for more Yoga related craftiness!

P.S I can do a mean tree ;)

Misses and Mrs

Well hello again reader, apologies for being off the radar lately but you see I was off getting married (yay) which was then followed by a gorgeous honeymoon in Scotland.  I won't go on but it was a beautiful day and we were able to get married in the sunshine in the garden of a lovely manor house near to where we live.  The hall was then filled with our even lovelier family and friends and we partied into the night.

Our scrummy cake made by the Mimosa Bakery

My sister-in-law, who also happens to run the Mimosa Bakery made our scrummy wedding cake with accompanying cookies ...

I made the bridesmaid bouquets,and it was a joint effort by me and the hubby to make the centerpieces for the tables which were five different planets in Star Wars (he did the planets I did the flowers).  This being a slight nod as we got married on Star Wars day, May 4th (get it).

We then had a fantastic honeymoon in a log cabin in Strathyre, Scotland where we explored all around including Loch Lomond, Loch Ness, Aberfoyle and Callander.  The only craftiness whilst on honeymoon was I completed a travel diary each day in a notebook I was given as a wedding gift.  

Not a bad spot to fill out a diary, drink tea or read a book :)

This gave me the idea to incorporate a little more technology in my life (like I need that) and complete a blog each time I go on hols...we'll see if this ever happens!

But on to crafty craftiness.  In amongst all of this I have managed to sew (yes, sew!) two cushion covers.  I followed the Craftsy Class and ta da...

Clicking on the photo takes you to the project page on Craftsy:
Source: French Seam Envelope Pillow/Cushion via Sharon Cook on Craftsy

I was chuffed to bits with the first cushion but the second one didn't come out as well.  the seams weren't the correct size and ended up showing in the final product which it shouldn't do with the french seam.  I've since discovered a bubble in my cutting mat and think that may be the problem so have ordered a new one, a 24" ruler to work alongside my 18" one (the cushion measures 21"x 21" you can see how annoyed I was with an 18" ruler), and a magnetic seam guide for the sewing machine.  I've also ordered more of the same fabric to give it another go and may rip out the stitches of the second cushion to use the fabric and make a smaller cushion or possibly napkins (we could really do with them!).

I have also knitted, but not yet sewn up the seams, for a pair of fingerless mitts from yarn I purchased in Bath.  I'm hoping to sew the mitts up over the weekend and get started on a matching cowl.  

I haven't started on the cowl yet and undecided whether to use this pattern which I use for all my cowls or this new exciting one.  I'll keep you posted on that.

Meanwhile I'm nursing Mr C back to health after a rotten trip to the dentist and hoping the sunshine stays so we can enjoy a hike in the countryside tomorrow, hope you're enjoying your weekend :-)

Mrs C  x

The best bit, shopping!

I am still working my way through the Craftsy course, "Know Your Wool" and I found the talk about different breeds and how they produce different yarns interesting but now we get to the good bit, shopping for yarns!  

As the course is delivered from North America I thought all the online stores would be from the US or Canada but the very first shop demonstrated was from the UK.  Blacker Yarns has been added to my favourites list as you can also search by sheep breed - Welsh Black anyone?

Also demonstrated, which are useful to me in the UK, was Etsy (do a search for yarn, wool etc) and also eBay.  Again try and keep the searches specific, especially if you know the breed you want. 

Although shopping online for specialist yarns can be fun there is nothing like giving a ball of wool the squidge test so I think I would save my pennies for the annual Wonderwool Festival held in mid Wales in April each year but if you can't make it to a wool festival I can see this being a great idea.

Getting Craftsy with wool

Hi folks,

Recently I've signed up to a tonne of craft courses on the video tutorial website Craftsy...darn them and their spring sale (pun not intended)...but they also have some free introductory courses which I thought could be pretty useful, like this one 'Know Your Wool.'

Being an avid knitter forever stuck in the realm of beginner knitter I thought getting to know the ins and outs of wool would be useful for when it comes to choosing the right wool for the job.  I also live in a very rural area in mid Wales and frankly not knowing more than one sheep breed is getting embarrassing!

I quite like the format and style of the Craftsy courses, especially as I can watch the classes on the iPad - with access to all the same features as the PC -and replay them as many times as I like.  The site itself is easy to use and nicely laid out and I like that in the classes you can post video notes and see questions from other learners.  I have also noticed that the video lessons start off from where I last viewed them, which is very useful so I don't need to keep notes of where I am.

So far I have completed the introduction looking at the differences between wools and some sheep breeds.  So far I'm thinking this section is particularly useful for hand spinners, although I am beginning to understand why certain wool is better for say a hat and a different type for socks.

I have quite a few videos still to get through but will let you know how I get on.