I haven’t been very good at sharing my creative projects recently, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been busy.
First, I completed the blanket for charity that used up some wool given to me specifically for such projects. It’s nice and big and it will be on its way to Knit for Peace just as soon as I can get it packed up and to the Post Office.
I’ve started work on a new project too. I wasn’t going to – the plan was to finish some of my WIPs – but a dear friend asked me to make her a hooded cardigan and since she’s been having a challenging time over the past couple of years, I didn’t want to say no. We spent a long time selecting the perfect yarn and so I’m now working with beautiful Jacob’s wool from WYS and a pattern by Hailey Bailey called The Albatross. Here’s a sneak peek:
I also made my mum a handbag for her birthday, but I don’t think the pictures really do it justice:
Then there was the mending… new clasps on the strap of another of my mum’s handbags, repairs to two buckets (one with a broken handle and one with a hole, both mended using Sugru) and a bit of binding round the top of an old laundry basket to keep it going for a bit longer (using some salvaged ribbon from a fancy Easter egg).
And then there’s the adjustments and additions. First, a rug for Mr Snail’s rented flat that may not be colourfast (the rug not the flat). Just in case, I backed it with a piece of an old towel… we really don’t want the floors getting stained. Then letting down the hems on a pair of trousers (too boring to photograph). And finally a transformation that I’m saving for this month’s ScrapHappy.
So, what’s been keeping you busy recently?
The Snail of Happiness 
nanacathy2
/ August 11, 2019Love your Mum’s new handbag. I mended a seam on my favourite nightie this morning I shall be so upset when this one bites the dust, it really is very pretty.
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The Snail of Happiness
/ August 11, 2019It’s so sad when a garment that is much loved finally gives up the ghost… hopefully you can keep your nightie going for a while yet.
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Laurie Graves
/ August 11, 2019You have been busy! Lovely birthday present and beautiful yarn for the sweater.
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AJ
/ August 11, 2019Your blanket and purse are gorgeous! I’m hoping to start on some market bags for Christmas preaents
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The Snail of Happiness
/ August 11, 2019Ooh, that sounds extra-organised!
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AJ
/ August 11, 2019I need to get going on stuff before I go back to work as then I have no time
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anne54
/ August 11, 2019Just checked out the cardigan pattern on Ravelry, and I am very impressed. Am I right in remembering that you only began crocheting a little while ago? At the moment I am knitting a wrap. I pulled apart a jumper that never really worked, and am now creating a large rectangle in simple plain stitch. So easy to pick up and put down.
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The Snail of Happiness
/ August 12, 2019I think it’s now about five years since I learned to crochet, after decades of simply not getting the hang of it… now I probably do more crochet than knitting.
I have a jumper that I want to take apart because, since I knitted it, it has sort of ‘relaxed’ and changed shape, so that it now nearly comes down to my knees, although the sleeves are a bit too tight. It’s lovely wool and I don’t want it to languish in a cupboard. I think it’s going to be one of my winter projects.
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katechiconi
/ August 12, 2019I *was* going to mend one of my favourite shirts, which has given way under the arm and needs some fairly comprehensive repair work. It disappeared somehow from beside my chair while I was out the other day, and I have only just discovered it. In the dog’s bed…. I hardly dare retrieve it, and am wondering if it’s still worth mending, or if he’s ‘loved’ it to rags…
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The Snail of Happiness
/ August 12, 2019Mouse is just doing a bit of repurposing, clearly.
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katechiconi
/ August 12, 2019I’ve retrieved it quietly, and it seems to be mostly intact, if rather crumpled and covered in dog drool. I think he wanted it because it smelled of me.
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Wild Daffodil
/ August 12, 2019Some great makes and mends.
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Kim
/ August 12, 2019Excellent, and very important, work. Sometimes the things you think are least worth sharing aren’t because it’s a reminder that we all spend time (or need to) doing these sorts of jobs.
Your mum’s bag is lovely.I hope she had a lovely birthday 🙂
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The Snail of Happiness
/ August 12, 2019We took my mum out for afternoon tea, which was really lovely – if you are ever near Bishop’s Castle I can highly recommend The Castle Hotel.
You are right about the need to acknowledge such work… I forget to photograph lots of my mends and so generally they go unrecorded since I generally don’t write a blog post unless I have pictures. Perhaps I need to get into the habit of doing a post of mends once every month.
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Kim
/ August 12, 2019Brilliant idea. I think many people are unaware that some things can be mended. You’re singing to the choir a bit here but if even one person starts mending every month it would be a good thing.
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crawcraftsbeasties
/ August 12, 2019Oooh, lovely makes and mends here! I especially liked the gift handbag for your mum – always good to see a brightly-coloured lining, for those of us who are forever losing things in the bottom corners – and the rug for Mr Snail’s apartment. Did you weave the top part of the rug?
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Born To Organize
/ August 13, 2019That’s a lovely purse, Jan! It’s nice seeing your creative endeavors.
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Helen
/ August 14, 2019What is Sugru?
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The Snail of Happiness
/ August 14, 2019Magic stuff for mending: mouldable glue: https://sugru.com
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Helen
/ August 14, 2019Thank you – sounds like a product I need, as I have a bin with a hole in the bottom.
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The Snail of Happiness
/ August 14, 2019It’s great for repairing all sorts of things – I’ve used it to repair a broken yarn bowl, a teapot lid and various buckets; I’ve use it to add ‘non-scratch’ feet to a candle-holder, to reinforce a computer cable, to stabilise a wobbly trivet… so many uses, so versatile for mending.
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Helen
/ August 14, 2019Brilliant!
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skyeent
/ August 20, 2019I may take a look at sugru too. I’ve got a few plastic buckets that aren’t as ept any more.
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The Snail of Happiness
/ August 22, 2019It’s really good
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