Haven't posted for nearly a year

Well, I have been very lax in posting, so I will give you a quick resume of what I have been doing for the last year. I didn't make the two chunky sweaters in the end, I still have them to do. I have made several for my Grandaughter, a green crochet sleeveless top for me, a dark blue crochet shawl which is now on display in a craft workshop window in London and a peach 4 ply knitted sleeveless pullover.

I have been spinning a little, but the hand carding affected the arthritis in my hands badly, so I have been given a drum carder for Christmas and I have been carding like mad, Hebridean, Jacobs Fleece and North Ronaldsay so far. Once I have a load carded I will spin it all and make something.

I have just finished tiling our lounge floor (ceramic tiles) and it looks really good, but it made my hands and shoulders very sore and painful. I went on a virtually raw food diet during the Summer and it improved my arthritis greatly, but over Christmas I lapsed and ate things I shouldn't. Basically I have cut out anything containing wheat, sugar or other processed foods. So my hands got bad again. They are just recovering, nearly a month later. I want to use the Hebridean fleece (dark brown) to spin some chunky wool and crochet it with a giant crochet hook into rugs for the lounge which I will felt so I will be able to machine wash them.

I have just started quilting again. I did hand quilting many years ago and nothing since, but my eldest daughter taught a quilting beginners class last week, I pieced 2 ninepatch cushion tops to go in the lounge, black flowered with plain cream. I also tried out free motion quilting on my daughters vintage Necchi Supernova and really enjoyed it, so I will be setting up one of my treadles to practice some more before I quilt the cushions. I have to make a long overdue quilt for my Grandaughter, just waiting for the size and deciding what pattern to use. I also have some hand pieced squares left over from hand quilting which I might finish quilting on the machine.

The turbo charger on Our Renault Megane blew up 2 days ago and it is very expensive to fix so we only have Phil's trike as transport or the Post Bus. So, I need to knit 2 balaclavas, 2 neck warmers and 2 sets of knee warmers to keep us warm on the trike. all on the knitting machine for speed. I will use the Singer Chunky I think as I have some dark purple coned wool in quantity.

Eco-stitching

Hi

I have set up this blog to show my journey into what I am calling eco stitching. Eco stitching I would define as trying to sew/knit/crochet in the most environmentally friendly way possible.

I have a collection of antique sewing machines, about 20 in number at present. I am planning on getting all of these working so I can use them to sew actual garments and soft furnishings. I have 3 domestic treadle machines, 1 industrial treadle and the rest are hand operated (hand cranks). There are at least 5 which work well already, after basic oiling and cleaning. Some of the hand cranks I have had for a while are being sold on eBay, that way I can pass on the eco stitching to other people, and help buy more old machines to be refurbished.

I also run a Yahoo group with my daughter. This is called Eco-sew and is run along the same principles.

Another thing I do is refurbish hand operated sewing machines for a charity called Tools For Self Reliance. They send the machines out to Africa where they are used by local people to earn a living and also to make clothes for themselves and their families.

I am learning to spin as well. I bought about 6 fleeces at a rare breed fair in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, ready for spinning, this should keep me going for a few years. My partner bought me a brand new Ashford Traveller spinning wheel, so I am all ready to roll. I have done a smallamount of spinning, but I find the carding part of the preparation both boring and hard on my hands. Much as I would love to buy a drum carder, I can't afford the £200 that they cost.
so, I am attempting to make my own using some rough plans I found on the internet some years ago. I have got to the stage where I have made the large and small drums and ordered the carding cloth. When I get the cloth I have to attach it to the drums, after that build the box it all sits in. I have taken some photos so I will post them when it is complete. If it works when finished, I will also write out a blow by blow description of the whole process so that other people can also try making their own.

I think this is about enough to start me off.