Friday 8 November 2013

Gifts and Gadgets

gift boxes handmade
This has been a rather hectic week! 
Let me start at the beginning....

On Monday my pre-ordered Christmas present arrived early - look what I got :)

Ashford Rigid Heddle Loom

Ashford Rigid heddle loom 80cm

Yes, isn't it a beauty :) I received my Ashford Rigid Heddle Loom that I have been wishing for for so long!
It is an 80cm loom and I must honestly say I am in love with it!

It couldn't have arrived at a more convenient time either. Hubby and my mom-in-law share a birthday which happened yesterday. I wanted to make her something handmade but time had somehow got the better of me.

Once I had assembled the loom I thought it would be a great way to try it out by creating her something.

What should it be...she has a new bathroom......

Oh cool, I know, a woven mat thingy for on top of her washing machine!

Great stuff, that sounded like a super plan, and upon opening my other stash drawer I found a whole lot of cotton that I would probably never find the perfect project for.

Luckily I had recently signed up for two weaving classes at Craftsy:

Rigid Heddle Weaving - Beyond the Basics

 I have been watching both of these and making notes for the last month or so, so I knew how to start and what to do!

After working out my project size, heddle size, yarn usage etc (Thank you Craftsy ;) I was off.

The first mat flew off the loom but ugh.... did I want to give this retro looking, scrappy mat to someone?


weaving projects

No, not really, and the cotton quality I used was awful to work with, although after washing, it turned out to be amazingly soft :)

Decision made - the first project went to the cats who still aren't complaining!

The next brainstorm I had - this was already Tuesday - was to complete her a really cute scarf, which thankfully I still had some great looking stash wool to work up for that - unfortunately I chose another cotton blend as one of the yarns, so although the project looked awesome when it came off the loom, after washing it, it is still pretty stiff, and really not scarf material!

Now this scarf is awaiting it's new destination. I love it and would wear it if only I could get it softer!

Any tips?


woven scarf project

By now it was already Wednesday morning. What should I do?

I had ordered some Egyptian cotton to attempt a bath towel as my "first" project, so I thought I would use some of that and make her a hand-towel to go with the soaps I had put aside as part of her gift.

Once I had worked out the warp and finished warping the loom, I did think the towel was a little thin.....(I had worked out the width to be 44cm) and once on the loom it measured 22cm - oh wait, I went back over my calculations to find that I had miscalculated the ends and only warped half a project :( 

Being my adaptable self I had to make a plan!

 I thought there was no way I would be re-warping as time was literally of the essence - being mid morning on Wednesday by that point, so I thought I would create a couple of facecloths to go with the soaps.

Finally, I spent the better part of Wednesday, until 9:00pm actually,  weaving like a madwoman!

I love the results though and thoroughly enjoyed creating them.


woven facecloth

Woven handcloth

Definitely a fast way to get involved in a new hobby! I wouldn't recommend it, but thankfully it turned out for the best :)

On Thursday morning I quickly made her a gift box, card and envelope and we were ready to go!

Handmade gifting


handmade cards crafters companion

Handmade box crafters companion

What I love about this gift is that there was nothing that I hadn't created! 
I think this is my first fully handmade gift, from the gift itself to the wrapping and card - what a super thing to be able to do! 

Definitely something I will be repeating, but maybe planning properly with enough error room :D LOL

Well, now I must run again, the girls have a big movie weekend party ahead and I need to make some pizza dough as I have hoards of hungry teenagers arriving tomorrow :O! 

BTW the pizza I am making is an awesome recipe I learnt from a Craftsy Free course! (my family won't eat any other pizza base anymore - you can read my original post on this great pizza HERE!!)

Enjoy your weekend :)
x

Sharing with my lovely Friday ladies 


Online Quilting Class

21 comments:

  1. What a lovely gift! And may I just say that I am SUPER impressed that you persevered with your new loom for your gift making!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Shirley Ann,
      Thank you kindly. Luckily there is a warm kind of happiness I get from sitting in front of the loom, so I guess that helped with the perseverance :) I also love the fact that you can create finished items in a day, which is virtually not possible with knitting or crochet, so that is great!
      Thanks so much for visiting.
      Have a super weekend.
      x

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  2. You sure when "all in" with the weaving. :-) It looks like you and your new loom are getting along just fine. :-)

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    Replies
    1. Hi Kathryn Ray,
      Yes, I agree, we seem to be getting along just fine :D
      Thanks so much for your visit, have a wonderful weekend.
      x

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  3. A loom! Wonderful! Please enjoy and learn, learn, learn !

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    Replies
    1. Hi Nancy,
      Thank you so much for your visit. I am thoroughly enjoying it, the only issue I have is the size - not so much of the loom, but maybe of my home - I am battling to find somewhere to store it. But this is an issue I will gladly put behind me as it is so much fun :)
      Have a great weekend.
      x

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  4. Oh so pretty, thx for the pizza dough link, I'm def. gonna try that one out xx Thuri

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    Replies
    1. Hi Thuri,
      Let me know how the dough turns out for you, I think it is awesome. As some of the teenagers are gluten intolerant, I will also be attempting the gluten free version that is available there too :)
      Have an awesome weekend, thank you for visiting.
      x

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  5. What a lovely gift! I know next to nothing about looms and am very impressed at how quickly you've picked it up :-o

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    Replies
    1. Hi Evelyn,
      Thank you kindly. I can honestly say that it is thanks to Craftsy that it went so smoothly, otherwise I can imagine I would still be busy trying to figure it out!
      Have a super weekend and thank you for dropping by :)
      x

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  6. What whirlwind week you had! Love the gift set, nothing better than receiving handmade gifts. I have both of those Craftsy classes, your weaving is getting better with each project. Well done! ...

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    Replies
    1. Hi Cathy,
      Yes, I must agree, I think I will be very glad once this weekend is over and normality returns :) Isn't Craftsy just super for learning new things. I would love to connect there - my name is Marigoldsloft.
      Thanks so much for visiting.
      x

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  7. Beautiful weaving! I'm jealous of your spinning wheel!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Christine,
      Thank you so much. Maybe you can also wish for a loom from Santa ;) I love it and am furiously planning new projects. So much so that my poor knitting bag feels left out.
      Have a super weekend.
      x

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  8. Wow. What a beautiful gift. Where do you get all your ideas from!! Ever though about writing a craft book? you seem to be able to turn you hand to anything!
    Having horrible rainy foggy weather here,and the snow is gradually creeping down the mountain, to stay this time I think!
    Have a great weekend. We're off to town to buy dog supplies - we are picking up our new puppy (Border Collie) next saturday.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Emma,
      I can't really tell you where I get my ideas from, they just grow spontaneously I guess :) Maybe I am just a little crazy LOL! A border collie, how adorable, I can't wait to see some pics!
      Have a great weekend, thanks for visiting.
      x

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  9. It looks amazing! I am so incredibly jealous, I wish you many, many hours of joy with the new loom! :)

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    Replies
    1. Hi Corrie,
      Thank you so much :)
      Have a super warm, weekend.
      x

      Delete
  10. So...I've commented on a few blogs and it looks like it accepts it but then it disappears.
    I hope you got my last comment. If not, this one.

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  11. be still my beating heart! A loom!? How wonderful! I bet that is the perfect thing for the upcoming holiday season!

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