Wednesday 10 October 2018

WOYWW 488–Two Completed Boxes

My desk today.

WOYWW 488 10-10-18

All tidy again! And a finished project!

I finished the two boxes on Monday evening, so in plenty of time for Thursday! We are seeing our friend tomorrow and I am giving her one of the boxes so that she can transfer her copy of the Floral Mini-Album from the biscuit tin it has been living in since February!

64 Two Finished Boxes Minus Stickles

66 Box Side and Front

68 Box Top Detail

69 Box Front Detail

71 Box with Album Inside

I had a lot of trouble with sticking on the metal embellishments. The hot glue didn’t seem to stick onto the metal properly and the embellishments started falling off. I had to scrape off as much of the glue as I could from the boxes, and then I tried again with Pinflair gel glue and this seemed to do the trick, but I hope they don’t start falling off again or our friend’s box will have to come back for running repairs.

You can scroll down for previous posts about the boxes to see how I made them.

Crochet

I think I’ve made enough embellishments for the striped scarf now. I made a few more of the larger crochet leaves this week, and on Sunday I steam pressed all the crochet leaves and flowers.

10 Crochet Embellishments Pressed

I have a little more work to do on the felt balls that I made, as they aren’t quite felted enough. They are needle-felted, but need a bit of wet felting technique applied to them to firm them up a bit. Once that is done, I can think about sewing all the embellishments onto the scarf.

I have started making the peacock feathers for the next scarf I’m going to knit.

01 Crocheting Peacock Feathers

I bought the cotton yarn for the peacock feathers from an online site – 25g balls in five lovely colours, and they came in this sweet little bag. For this pattern, you need to use cotton in order t0 comb it out to make realistic-looking feather barbs. I haven’t got to that stage yet. More photos will follow in due course. I’ve decided to do some feathers with shafts and some not. The peacock feathers will be on the ends of the scarf.

I’ve left tails on all these crochet pieces so I can sew them on.

I bought the yarn for the scarf for £1 in a charity shop, and had to re-wind it straight away as the skein was collapsing a bit and getting tangled. I am not sure what it is made of because it came without a yarn band, but it is some sort of acrylic, I think, and it is lovely and soft, and the colours are fabulous!

01 Yarn for Moss Stitch Scarf 9-10-18

Unlike the striped scarf which is knitted from 4-ply pure wool, stocking stitch on a circular needle, this scarf will be done in moss stitch, and single thickness, rather than in the round. It will also not be as wide or as long as the striped one. I made an experimental start last night but unravelled it after a couple of rows because it was too wide. I’ve got a friend coming tomorrow to watch a DVD with me and I shall begin it again then.

I shall enjoy doing some more knitting, and getting the second scarf done, which shouldn’t take me so long. I have also got any number of UFOs (UnFinished Objects) to get on with, including an unravelling and reknitting job that’s been hanging around since last winter. It’s high time I made inroads into these UFOs because that was supposed to be the main emphasis for this year!

Kitties

A couple of sweet pictures of them sleeping together, taken on Sunday evening.

03 Sleeping Together 1 7-10-18

I came down a bit later to find them like this:

05 Sleeping Together 3 7-10-18

Lily seems to have got Ruby in a face lock – you can see her other paw underneath – not sure how Ruby’s managing to breathe!!

Another fun position, this time on Monday evening:

06 Sleeping Together 4 8-10-18

Ruby has always liked sleeping on top of her lovely warm and soft sister. Now the weather’s got so cold, they are happy to stay in more. When I’m sitting with my feet up I nearly always have Ruby and quite often Lily as well.

Sourdough

My sourdough last weekend wasn’t a huge success. When I tipped it out of the bowl into the Dutch oven I didn’t aim very straight and it ended up half up the side of the casserole where of course it stuck because only the bottom was floured. I got it out OK when it was baked, but it came out looking more like a pasty than a loaf of bread!

45 Sourdough Like a Pasty 7-10-18

Cutting into it, it looked OK, and it tasted fine. Several slices laid out look rather artistic, with that Paisley-like shape!

46 Sourdough Like a Pasty Cut 7-10-18

Again, it’s not rising as much as it should. I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong.

This week I also made a normal loaf in the bread maker, half-and-half wholemeal and white, with added sunflower and pumpkin seeds – my normal basic bread. The sourdough loaf isn’t big enough to last the week. It keeps ages, and would keep a week easily, if we didn’t keep eating it all!

Health Update

I had my eyes tested on Monday. My eyesight hasn’t changed that much since two years ago so I don’t need new glasses which is a relief – even keeping my existing frames (which I have now had since about the year 2000!!) they are fiendishly expensive. They told me I have developed slight cataracts in both eyes but nothing to worry about yet. I can’t say I’ve noticed any difference in my vision except when I’m tired, and I feel as if I need to rub my eyes because they seem a bit blurred. It’s a bit depressing to be told that, though, because cataracts are what old people suffer from lol!!

Also on Monday I had bloods taken at the GP’s surgery – when I went back on the rivaroxaban (anticoagulant) the GP told me she wanted to check my kidney function after a fortnight. It took another fortnight to get an appointment with the nurse! Waiting times seem to be increasing across the board these days, at the surgery and at the hospital. She told me I was due for a general GP checkup and I can arrange this when I go in for the next lot of bloods in November before my oncology appointment.

My CT scan is a week tomorrow, and I have absolutely no doubt that this will confirm that my hernia has returned. It’s taken me two months to get this appointment.

Have a happy WOYWW everyone and a nice creative week ahead!

15 comments:

  1. Those boxes are just GORGEOUS! And your kitties... SO pretty!!!
    Happy WOYWW :)
    Claire, no.1

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  2. Your boxes are absolutely beautiful - they are perfect for your gorgeous albums and I'm sure your friend will be thrilled with it. I've always found hot glue doesn't work with metal, which is such a nuisance and it also doesn't work well with glass beads - they tend to ping off! The scarf decorations are looking lovely - I can't wait to see the peacock one, those feathers are amazing and I love the colours so much - it's going to be a real eye catcher.
    Lovely pics of the kitties - don't they know how to get comfortable!
    Have a good week,
    Diana x

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  3. WOW you have been one busy lady. I scrolled down to last weeks post and saw all your busy photos on each of the beautiful boxes. The flowers are a stunning addition. Your desk looks so neat and tidy. My favorite photos are of Lily and Ruby together. A little heart throb/Bailey still searches fro his brother. They all look so much the same. Medical process is the same in the states. Hurry and Wait. I've put off going ..seems they only have 10 minutes for office visits and only check for ONE thing per visit. Disgusting.

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  4. Hi Shoshi, the boxes look fab, well done. Good news on the eye test, Doug usually has new lenses put into his older frames, as they were expensive ones! Cataracts take a lot of years to become a nuisance I believe. Good luck with the scan tomorrow. Have a lovely week, Hugs, Shaz #5 XxX

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  5. Me again, I meant to say that Ranger Glossy Accents is brilliant for sticking metal embellishments to anything. It's what Tim uses for all his Idea-ology stuff.
    Hugs, Shaz X

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  6. Happy WOYWW. The boxes are just wonderful. You must be so proud. Funny that the hot glue did not work; I thought it was the best thing to use. I never used the hot glue gun I bought ages ago, so sold it recently. Bought some Gorilla glue in Aldi last month. Not tried it yet, but it is meant to be really strong. I love Lily and Ruby, and how they sleep together. Pictures of bread is making me hungry! We are off to Spain early on Saturday morning for 11 nights - so looking forward to the sunshine/warmth (around 24 degrees at the moment) and food. I really need this holiday (but taking my laptop and iPad with me to do some study whilst hubby is cycling). Hope your scan goes ok. Ali x #18

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  7. Morning Shoshi. The boxes are beautiful - they have turned out so well. Congratulations. Enjoy making the scarves!! Hope all the appointments go well.
    Take care. God bless.
    Margaret #4

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  8. Gorgeous boxes and loving your kitty photos. Have a lovely woyww, whatever you choose to do. Angela x13x

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  9. Love your work. Happy WOYWW #488 xx Jan (21)

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  10. Hi again Shoshi, thanks for your return visit and lovely comments. For gluing metal I use either Golden matte soft gel, which I am never without and also I sometimes use Glossy Accents. I've recently acquired a bottle of Gorilla glue from my husbands shed but I've yet to try it out - someone recommended it a few weeks ago so I thought I'd give it a go. Good luck with the Pinflair, I'd be interested to know how it works.
    Diana x

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  11. Just - WOW!! the boxes are stunning and a worthy home for the gorgeous albums that will live inside. Good luck with the appointments.. Helen #2

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  12. Hi Shoshi, both boxes are really beautiful, i've experienced hot glue not sticking as it should to metal before. Not sure if it is the coldness of the metal cooling the glue down to quickly or if their was a coating on it but I use pinflair or a good multi purpose glue usually does the trick and holds them fast.
    I'm so excited to see your scarf finished, you really are a tease with it and i'm fascinated by the peacock feathers and combing out the cotton fiber, now i'm double excited.
    There will be non stop cuddles when the winter comes for Ruby & Lily hee hee!
    Hugs Tracey #6 and Thank you for sharing WOYWW xx

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  13. Well, all of a sudden you’re ahead of deadline, the desk is tidy and the boxes are a triumph! Very pretty indeed, you must be very pleased, I know your biscuit tin wielding friend will be!! I resort to neat PVA for sticking metal embellies, it takes a while to dry and the damn things have to be secured whilst drying, but it is rock hard thereafter!

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  14. Hi Shoshi and meow to Ruby and Lily, glad to see that they are getting on again! Those peacock feathers are beautiful, as are your boxes. I am sure that your friend will love her gift. I need to get my eyes tested again. I think I probably need stronger distance lenses although the close up and computer part of the varifocals that I currently have are fine. Hope your hospital appointment isn't too much hanging around. Sarah #3

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  15. Hi Shoshi, the boxes are wonderful pieces, as are the albums that are going in them! You have certainly created some magnificent keepsakes Shoshi. I started wearing glasses a couple of years ago, I'm now convinced my sight has deteriorated because I wear them! Ah well, worse things in life than wearing glasses, when I remember to wear them. Hope all your appointments are ok, and you are seen on time! Have a lovely week Heather x #27

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