Crafting While Camping

I like to have my hands busy.  Sitting still is hard for me and I get itchy if I haven't sewn something for a couple of days.  Anyone else like that?  So camping for three weeks without my sewing machine was going to mean a grumpy me if I didn't have a plan.

I saved up all my hand binding projects, I took some of my hand-dyed threads and an embroidery hoop, I planned to learn how to hand spin and knit and my mother in law took her spinning wheel.  I also planned to take my hand-cranked sewing machine.

Well, best laid plans and all...

Belinda, my hand-cranked machine, just WOULDN'T fit.  So I thought I'd come home again (we don't camp far away and I come home every now and then to do washing and check animals etc) and collect her once I'd finished all my other work, but I never got finished!

We couldn't get the spinning wheel going.  We think it's warped out of alignment as the wheel and the bobbin wouldn't line up and the cord that runs between them (I'm sure it has a name) kept jumping off.  So that wasn't happening either.

And the knitting didn't even get a look in......maybe next year.

But the embroidery got started and was fun.  I loved seeing the colours form up from my hand-dyed silk/cotton threads. It went slowly though because every time I started I had four little nieces wanting to stitch too.  I got them all going on their own little projects (they are all getting embroidery hoops next time I see them), but had to spend time re-threading needles, tying off, and just a bit of untangling!

The hand-binding projects kept me satisfyingly busy and I'll show pictures of them separately as they were mostly samples for my beginner quilt making classes.

And I found a photo my MIL took of me hand spinning with my spindle!  I think I've got the hang of it now.  My yarn is looking less like dreadlocks and more like yarn, but I'm far from finding it relaxing!  I aim to spend a few minutes spinning each day to try and build my skills....I'll let you know.

Thanks for all your comments on my hand-dyed thread giveaway.  It's neat to read what everybody plans and hopes for 2014.  Remember to leave a comment by this Saturday if you want to win some threads - as you can see above, they stitch up into loveliness!

Show Day and Spinning

Last weekend was the Bay of Islands P and I Show.  Show days can be a big thing in rural areas.  Agricultural and pastoral shows or pastoral and industrial shows, whatever you want to call them, they are a chance for everyone to get together and socialise and show off their talents, whether that be cake making or calf rearing. 

Now that I have kids at school, I have two show days to prepare for.  The kid's school show day comes first, so nothing got entered into the town show this year.  But the kids are keen to enter some categories, so next year's town show week is shaping up to be a busy one.

Instead, we concentrated on the school show day.  I admit I had fun helping them with their vegetable models for the classroom display!  They also made pikelets, lego models, aqua jars and dressed up.

The town show (Bay of Islands P and I Show) was great fun too.  The kids wanted to ride everything, but we managed to narrow it down to the bouncy castles and then a mechanical bull ride for my son and a blow up floaty ball thingy for my daughter.

We sat and listed to local music, ate candy floss and admired the animals and crafts.  Then we came across the local creative fibre stall.

My kids were fascinated by the spinning wheel and wanted to learn how to do it.  Who knew?!  The woman who was spinning generously gave us some carded wool to take home and now the kids are pestering their Grandma (who happens to have a spinning wheel tucked away) to teach them how.  I also said I'd youtube how to make a drop spindle and we'd learn that too.  Me and my big mouth!  I'll let you know how it goes.