Kumihimo Beaded Bracelet

Following on from last months Kumihimo braiding I had a go at adding beads!
It's a bit fiddly and threading all the beads before you start does seem to take forever, especially if they keep escaping and you have to find them off the floor before re-threading them!

But the end result is amazing!  It feels very organic, much more flexible than the braided cords I made first.  I want to touch it and play with it, rather than just wear it.
My first attempt was ok, but something went wrong when I got distracted by escaping beads, again, and I ended up undoing it and starting again.
After a search to find out how to stop the beads coming off my threads, I found a helpful lady on YouTube who suggested using bigger beads as stoppers, which worked perfectly.

So my second attempt went really well and I am so pleased with it.  The only issue being it's a little too big for me and just slides off my wrist.  

Still as a piece of jewellery its lovely and I am excited to make more.  The possibility's are endless!

Five point origami star garland

Last Christmas I came across a tutorial to make a five point origami star garland.  It looked so pretty and would be a lovely addition to the Christmas decorations, however what with work and being ill and all the family stuff I never had the chance to actually make it.

Front of a star

Finally with a week off over Easter and nowhere to go, I had time to give it a go.
I followed this brilliant tutorial, first learning how to make my square origami paper into a pentagon and then how to fold it into a star.  Once I understood how to do it, it was really easy and I soon had a good pile of stars ready to make into a garland.

Back of a star

The hardest part was getting the garland to hang right - too much thread and the stars all slide down to the middle and too little and they sit against the wall and don't move. 

The garland looks good now, but took nearly as long to get right as to make all the stars! So now I can't decide if I should pack it away with the Christmas stuff ready for December or leave it up.
I'd love to have a go at making them with bigger or smaller paper and see how far I can take it.

Rainbows and Stars

There has been an explosion of rainbows in windows all round the village.  Not really wanting to make a rainbow but wanting to join in, I made some new paper sun catchers to put in our front windows.  

The biggest is a rainbow star, so nearly right!
They were fun and quick to make and make a nice decoration to match the rest of the street.

Snowflake placemat

Last year I made 2 knitted coasters.  This week I finally had time to try making a matching placemat.
It came out really well, so I've already cast on the next one.  I want to make a whole set and while I don't have a deadline to work to, I'd really like the set completed this year.

While I have to concentrate when doing the pattern the rest goes well with a podcast, seeing as I can't listen to them while I commute right now.

Kumihimo Braiding

About a month ago before everything went weird, I went to Unravel at the Farnham Malting's - a festival of all things wool.  While there were lots of lovely things to look at, it was busy (as normal) and out of my price range.  I really can't afford £15 for a 50g ball of wool, however beautiful it might be.

A simple eight-braid spiral pattern in DK wool

One thing did catch my attention though.  One stall had some pretty beaded jewellery and when I spoke to the lady she told me it was kumihimo and showed me a little how to do it.
It looked interesting but it was only when I got home that I realised how much I wanted to give it a go.  So I bought a beginners kit and A Beginner's Guide to Kumihimo by Donna McKean-Smith online, and finally found some time to give it ago.

Same pattern but in Chunky wool

While what I really want to do is make the beaded jewellery, I wanted to learn how to do basic braiding first before adding the complication of beads.

An eight-braid stripe pattern

So I went through my wool stash to find something suitable.  The first one I tried was an eight-braid in double knit wool which came out really fine, so then I tried with some chunky wool.  
Once I was happy with the process I tried some different patterns, all done by the way you lay your wool out on the disk.

An eight-braid twist pattern

Its such an easy process but makes some really lovely patterns and I love how something as woolly and flexible as wool can turn into something so substantial.  It reminds me of the cord climbers use.
I'm very much looking forward to taking the next step and adding some beads to the process!

Papertrophy Gorilla

Last Christmas I was given a small kit for making a paper gorilla.  It was already cut out and scored so all I had to do was stick it together. 

He's only about 6 inches tool and made from a lovely metallic gold card (the photos don't do him justice).  It was a very easy kit to make and only took a couple of hours.

It was a nice project to spend an afternoon on.  I just bent all the pieces, then glued them together.  There a long periods where you just have to sit there, while you hold two bits together waiting for them to dry,where you can stare out the window and day dream a bit.

Virtual Running - part 2

On 27th February I finally 'arrived' in Paris.  
It's taken me 2 months, but I've managed to run the 214 miles needed to run from London to Paris as part of my virtual running challenge this year.  Admittedly most of them were in London, but every mile counts.
This challenge is a bit weird, in that there is no finish line to run under to know you have finished.  There is only the spreadsheet I've created with all my mileage logged.  It was a very weird feeling to look on the spreadsheet and realised that at some point on my run that morning I had completed my first challenge.  But it was also a very satisfied feeling to know that I had done it, even missing a few long runs due to storms and a grumpy ankle.
So in January I ran 125.74 miles, in February 91.84 miles.  
To complete my biggest challenge of 1000 miles in 12 months, I still have 782.42 miles to go, but right now that seems very possible and with the uncertainty of coronavirus and all the cancelled running events right now, it also feels like I chose the best challenge possible this year.
On to my next challenge - 220 miles 'along' the River Severn.

A Curtly Roll

Not the real office curtly

Years ago I received a set of curtly for use in the office from a good friend.  If I remember rightly, it was after I'd moaned to her about how disgusting the curtly at the office was and how I didn't want to use it for my lunch.
That set of curtly, consisting of a knife, fork, soup spoon and tea spoon, have accompanied me to many jobs, sitting in a drawer with a plate and soup bowl waiting to help me with my lunch and other snacks.

However my newest job doesn't involve drawers.  Because we can hot-desk round the office we have lockers instead.  I can't say I'm a fan, but I guess it does keep your junk a bit more manageable.
But my curtly set wasn't enjoying my locker, always seeming to disappear to the bottom of the stack, and so with a long-run free Sunday, due to Storm Ciara, I decided to create myself a curtly roll.

Using a spare tea towel and some left over ribbon, I made something that looks nice but is very practical, holding my curtly and allowing me to give it a quick dry after washing too.
Its very similar in design to the knitting needle wrap I made 6 (!!) years ago. 
It'll be going to work with me tomorrow and will hopefully show my curtly just how much it means to me.