The Coronation Street Tour

When we were away for my daughter, Shona's, hen weekend a couple of weeks ago, we visited the Coronation Street Tour.

After struggling with the map - none of us seem very good with maps, Google or otherwise, we hailed a taxi which took us right to the gate.

And there was the famous street sign.  

We started inside, going through the door to Carla Connor's flat and into the green room where the actors used to hang out before shooting their scenes.  A few of them had written messages on the walls.  We got to see the pigeon holes where the actors would find their scripts each morning, and the notice board which included the filming time-tables.

Then we went past all the personal dressing rooms to the studio and the famous sets.

We saw the chair where both 'Jack & Vera' died, and the Platt's staircase, as well as Hayley's colourful eco coffin.

Then we all gathered behind the bar at the Rovers to have a group photo taken.

Unfortunately you cannot take your own photos inside the studio where all the sets are, but you can take them freely outside on the cobbles.  So here are a few for you :)

See the scene through the arch?  It is a photo on the wall opposite!  

Here you go..

We could walk down the ginnel and look in the back gardens.  No one was out having a sneaky cigarette though  ;)

It was a great tour, costing around £17.00 for two hours, but worth it in my opinion.

If you fancy it through you better hurry as they are knocking it all down in December  :(

Fingerpainted Tree Canvas

I am always looking for new things to offer for my workshops, especially the children's ones where I like to have what is on offer open to all abilities.  So one of my new activities this summer is a Fingerpainted Tree canvas.

All you need is a canvas and three colours of paint - brown, yellow and green.

Dip your finger in the brown paint and draw the tree trunk and branches.  The smudges your finger makes creates lovely branches.

Now for the yellow paint, tap the end of your finger in the paint and blob all over the tree branches.

And finally the green, do the same, but cover up a bit of the yellow leaves for a smudge of different colours.

And that is it. What a great hand-made gift this would be for any child to make parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles.  And you also have the lasting treasure of their little fingerprints encapsulated in paint for ever   :)

Woolfest 2015

A couple of weeks ago I went to Woolfest.  For those not in the know, Woolfest is a Wool Festival, where lots of people who buy wools and yarns go and meet wool and yarn sellers - and their sheep / llamas / bunnies etc...

Personally I tend not to buy wool unless I know it is responsibly sourced.  A few wools - Merino and Angora for example, are well documented to be very cruel towards the animal in their production.  At least at Woolfest a lot of the sellers are small businesses who treat their animals very well and you can chat to them and find out exactly what you need to know to help you make that purchasing decision.

And now for some photos...... please excuse the slightly blurred pictures as I dropped my camera and broke the zoom, so now it doesn't focus properly.  Time for a new one.

How about this for a ball of yarn?  It's a whopper!  I didn't buy it, but I did buy the needles that would have been used to knit it with  :)

We watched some fabulous Quaker tapestry going on, those little blackberries with 3D and made to sparkle with tiny beads added.

As a footnote, I found this most excellent blog on Love Knitting about Angora wools.

http://blog.loveknitting.com/angora-wool-is-it-cruel/

Incredibly busy

I feel I have abandoned my Bloggy people, but the last few weeks have been totally manic around here.

I have had lots of commissions, that I cannot yet share with you, but soon.  They are taking up a lot of my time and whereas I would normally share snippets, I can't even do that, but hey!  I am not complaining, it keeps me out of mischief.

I have also been trying to sort and tidy The Shed out to make a better storage area for my continually growing yarn stash.   I am outgrowing the largest bedroom in the house.  When my daughter had this room she had a double bed, triple wardrobe, sofa, coffee table, TV on stand, computer desk, bookcase, chest of drawers and bedside cupboards in it, so you can imagine how big it is - yet I am filling it to the brim with yarns!  I should stop hoarding.

I have just posted my latest box of commissions, so you would think I would have time to breathe, but no, I have a 10 week Crochet Course starting tonight, in one hour in fact, so need to shake my tail and go and get ready for that.

Then, it will be time to relax for a few days as I go off with some friends for my Daughter, Shona's, Hen Weekend.   We are doing lots of touristy things in Manchester and I am looking forward to it loads.   Watch out for some blogs when I get back.

I do feel a little guilty though as I am leaving the Hubster with all the housework I have been avoiding while trying to get through my pile of crafty creations.  Still, will give him something to do I guess   :)

See ya soon.

A giant Mandala - in a Hula Hoop

This week I have been playing with a new yarn - DMC Natural XL, which is gorgeous.... but more about that later when I do my review.

After making a few bits and bobs there was a bit left over - part balls of four bright and cheerful colours.   What can I make with these, I wondered.

What I REALLY wanted to do was to make a blanket, I just thought the yarn would lend itself so well to a lap blanket, but I didn't have enough.

A mandala, I decided.  I quite like making mandalas, especially out of my head as I just hook what I think the next row needs.

I got to work, picking up the colours in no particular order, hooking different stitches in no particular pattern.

Then of course, it got bigger and bigger.  I would need a frame to put it on.

So off I popped to Argos and picked up a twin pack of Hula Hoops.  This would make an ideal frame, I thought.

And it did!

Now, I have no where to display something quite that big, so I took it up to Hobbycraft where it got a place next to my Afghan Blanket   :)

Go have a look if you like  :)  It is in the Carlisle store, just off J44 of the M6.

Crochet flowers...... and a cunning plan

I have been having a wee tidy up in my craft room, and consequently found a load of crochet flowers - from various different workshops.

There are only so many crochet flower brooches you can make and give away, so I have decided to do something different with these ones - and any further ones that may blossom in the future.

What might that be?   Well, you will just have to wait and see   ;)

Do you crochet flowers?   What do you do with them?

Roll-Up Craft Tidy Tutorial

A few weeks ago the lovely people at Hobbycraft HQ sent me some gorgeous fabrics to play with.

I made three projects in all, and the first one is now live on the Hobbycraft Blog for you all to see and make yourself, if you like.

The fabric is just delightful  - I mean, who could not love purple elephants?

These roll-up storage solutions are great, just think of the things you could store in them.  I especially find one useful for my crochet hooks.

If you would like to make yourself one, pop along to the Hobbycraft Blog and check out my tutorial.

Hope you like it.

"Love" spray-dyed T-shirt

When I was down in Bournemouth doing some video tutorials for Hobbycraft, I made one of these t-shirts using a stencil and spray dye paints.

The one I made was with a spiral shape rather than the letters, here is the video...

If you would like to make one, I have prepared a step-by-step photo tutorial.

So.... grab a t-shirt and pop some cardboard in-between the front and the back to save the dye soaking through and marking the back.

Get some vinyl - this one is leftover Fablon from another project, but you could use masking tape, Duck Tape, anything sticky.

Cut out your chosen letters and stick them to the t-shirt.

For the dye I used this fabulous spray paints from Tulip.  They work really well.

Give them a shake..

... and start to spray in small patches - you can always add more but you can't take it off, so start small and build up to the colour you want.

Add other colours.

Until you are happy with your design.

Now leave to dry for 4 hours before removing the letters.

Wash as instructed on the packet and Voilà!
You have a funky, unique t-shirt.  Just for you.