Nayu's Project Progress #19 Cold themed projects!

 

As promised yesterday here's the lowdown on what I've been working on!  On Saturday I spent the day sewing. I'm starting to add more colours to this arctic animal alphabet project.

Sorry about my hand, I have poor circulation so they never look great!

While I was away without the internet (by choice) over the previous weekend I made these cute fingerless gloves for the NCD shop. They have a border on both ends, are vibrant colours to rival any grey sky. 

I plan to work on a blanket this week, so expect more project progress soon! 

It really does! Saw this online and thought it was perfect for an end of post quote.

Nayu's Craft Time #110 Chaotic Long Weekend!

A calming picture of a pair of zebra finches (similar to one of my birds)

I'm here! Been a crazy few days Friday I was too tired to post - visited a friend in the morning, came home and promptly napped for 2 hours. Me needing naps is a sign I need to rest so I did just that. While I'd meant to post Saturday, I'd forgotten that I'm trying to keep Saturdays as the one day where I do no blog work, no crochet, no review book reading - it's my 'day off'. I started this post Sunday but was doing it in between other blog bits so had to stop without posting it when my online time was up. I hate sticking to a schedule but otherwise I don't fit in enough rest. 

Nothing like the cat in question but a cute one all the same.

Monday I'd had 3 hours sleep due to a stray cat incident which is ongoing. I promise to do a full post once it concludes. I'm find it hard emotionally and am praying for a happy ending, so well wishes and thoughts most welcome! 

My latest craft news will be up in tomorrow's post.

Such a cute themed bed! I'm guessing the larger bow is a cushion...if not I wouldn't want it attached to the duvet.

While I slept better last night (no 1.30am wake up call) I'm more tired than I was yesterday. So after a very quiet morning I'm finally managing some blog work between household tasks. Go me! 

I wish this cute pencil was mine! Adore the dainty flowers and ring/tiara. Very girly!

Due to life getting in the way of my book review work for Nayu's Reading Corner, I'm now doing review blog work every alternate day, so I can get some writing of my own novels in too. I was trying to catch up with review then write, but I'm missing it too much, life happens, and I want to write! Alternate days will do for now.

Nayu's Project Progress #18 Mystery gift revealed!

Perfect bowl for a knitter/crocheter! Sadly not mine.

Due to the day turning out slightly different than planned (all good, ended up blogging after baking so have less time to write a post) today isn't a lemon cupcake recipe. 

What's inside?

It's about the mystery crochet gift I've talked about in previous posts, the one I completed while I had a craft session with a friend, is a pair of silk fingerless gloves which I made. 

100% silk, as lovely to make as they are to wear. Well the recipient is very happy with them, which is why I can now show them to you. Would love to hear what you think of them! Other colours are available, so if you're interested in a pair then let me know!  

Nayu's Craft Time #81 Mystery, ducks, cats and cakes!

Quack!

Hi all! The ducks will be happy with today's rainfall - I like it when I can stay cosy inside, curled up with craft, a book, or in the case of today both! Yesterday I worked on putting buttons on some fingerless gloves - I think they look pretty. I worked on my novel, and had some fun too.

1 of 2 pairs I've made up so far

Today's mystery part of the post is exactly that: this morning I worked on a mystery secret projects while listening to audiobooks, snug under a blanket out of the rain. Bliss! 

I listened to the audiobook version of this awesome kidnapping read from a wonderful author who I know so I'm rather biased but don't care!

The cat chaos was almost entirely because of the rain: my cat  Belle has many mad 5 minutes moment (which last longer than 5 minutes). If the weather is windy, wet, or stormy, then she goes even crazier than normal. Today involved whizzing around the house faster than the speed of light (almost), crying for us even when we were right there in the kitchen with her, and generally looking loopy. She did calm down, spent the entire morning on a chair near the kitchen, then on my spot on my bed while I gamed and did chores. She is on my lap, enjoying the heated blanket as I type this post. Pets! 

This is almost exactly the position she is in now.

As for the baking - it is winter (kind of). Autumn/Winter = the same for me. Winter = steam sponge pudding season, so I made one! 

Mine - it always gets eaten from the bowl ^o^

Steam sponge pudding is basically a victoria sponge mix cooked in the microwave, which takes far less time than in the oven and is still gorgeous. It's common to put jam or golden syrup at the bottom so it gets nice and gooey. Me, I like mine plain so I made it plain! 

It's time for some anime watching for me now. I'd love to know what Winter means to you, and what puddings you enjoy ^o^ 

This is what a neatly presented steam sponge pudding looks like. Picture source.

Nayu's Project Progress #10 Fingerless gloves with buttons

My pretty button box has more than buttons in it!

Today I'm visiting a friend and having valuable catch up time while crafting. I'll be taking something simple so I can focus on the chatting part. I'm not leaving you without a post though - here's the fingerless gloves with button decoration which I mentioned in yesterday's button post. 

I'd wanted to sew them up yesterday before scheduling this post so I can give you pictures of the buttons sewn on, which I expect will be a bit different, but a 1am wake up pushed that idea out of the way. Still, just means you can have another post with them in, in individual shots! ^o^

I hope you like them! I think they are nicer than just plain ones.

Nayu's Craft Time #80 Here be buttons!

I'm sure you can get what's inside this cute tin!

Apologies in advance if any part of this post and tomorrow's doesn't make sense - it's just gone 9am, I've been up since 1am, so I'm lacking sleep ^o^ One of those things which doesn't deter me from posting! As promised the other day it's time to show you my button stash. I keep them in a pretty tin from friends. Here's what it looks like inside. 

Not just buttons live here!

I thought I'd talk you through it as not everything is a button. First up the non-button items.

My favourite inanimate cat, Hello Kitty!

Here's a cute handkerchief which my family gave me, and I like to keep it in there for sentimental reasons. I have other Hello Kitty handkerchiefs in other places - they are my security blankets ^o^

Ribbon, oh ribbon, what are you for?

These are random ribbons from clothes (the ones which always get in the way so are best cut off). I keep them here because it seemed logical at the time. 

Next up on to the glorious buttons! I have brightly coloured plain patterned buttons (above)

Round ones and hearts form some of my collection

I have some heart shaped funky kind of vintage & flowery buttons 

The plain ones are simply the other side of the button.

...and round shaped vintage/flowery buttons. 

Like the heart ones, plain is the side which doesn't show once sewn on items.

And I've got some other bright spotty buttons! 

Also ditto the plain ones are pretty on the other side. I couldn't be bothered to turn them all over just so you get a perfect picture. This is a realistic photo!

I intended buttons to be used primarily for baby booties (in progress), but for now I'm going to try using them for fingerless glove decoration, which is tomorrow's post ^o^  I love buttons! They are so colourful, pretty, and it takes me back to when I was little and would tip out my mother's buttons from the jam jar and just look at all the different types. They were all shiny in my eyes, even though in reality only a few were metal. 

I'd love a lod of buttons like these (the ones with a ridge are what I call typical button shape). Picture source.

Do you like buttons? Did you play with them when you were little? Where do you keep your buttons now?

Nayu's Project Progress #9 Gloves Galore!

Not the best pic, colours are more vibrant than they look

Those who follow me on Twitter @Nayuleska will know I've been hit with evil reaction from the flu jab which I had on Saturday. I'd presumed since the previous years I'd had no reaction I'd be fine this year. I really should know better! Possibly didn't help I had my once every 5-6 week dose of ketamine a few hours after, but lesson learned. Ketamine usually just makes me really tired now, but ideally I have it on it's own so I can see if I react any differently. This time the flu jab made me feel absolutely lousy, but after a few days in bed I'm on the mend, slowly. 

As soon as I was up for it I was having fun with yarn - how do you like these new fingerless gloves? They aren't finished just yet, going to add a little something extra to make them more gorgeous. Hope to put them up for sale soon! 

Nayu's Craft Time #41 The Tale of the Travelling Yarn

This is no ordinary yarn...

Today this ball of yarn (before it got used) went on a little journey. First stop was a doctor's waiting room. Because I prefer to re-roll yarn into a ball, I sat and did just that while waiting for my routine appointment. I nearly rolled it all up, but, as often is the case when I get to the end of a ball (while winding) it got a little muddled up. It sort of looked like a string game called Cat's Cradle which I played when I was young.

A fun game for 2

I got called in before I could untangle it, so I popped it back in my bag and there it sat for over an hour. Appointment was fine :) The next time I got my yarn out was when I popped in to see my old work colleagues. It's a bit weird to think that I finished work a week ago. It both feels much longer and much shorter than that. I fully enjoyed catching up with my colleagues, who are my friends.

Out came the yarn when I had to wait for my manager to finish seeing someone. I managed to detangle it – whoohoo! I did 3 sides of the first row (which creates the square), then popped the yarn back in my bag since my manager was then free.

The yarn popped back out once I'd got home, and I crocheted one and a half squares for fingerless gloves which will be for me ^o^ Now I've had my post lunch rest I'll be back to working on a summery blanket, as soon as I've blogged, written a little, and done some reading.

I hope you like the tale of my travelling yarn. Small crochet projects are super portable. I do need to keep a pair of scissors permanently in my bag, as I didn't have any to cut the yarn if I got far enough ahead that I made 1 glove (I didn't), but want to be sure that won't be an issue in the future.

I actually have this cute bunny ear scissors with paperclips, although they don't stand look quite like the tip of this carrot!

There will be no travelling yarn tomorrow or Thursday, as they are planned days at home, but yarn will be travelling on Friday to visit a friend, so I may have another short tale for you then!