Gift Tag Cards

Summer has arrived at last and we have had a glorious sunny weekend. It is so good to open the curtains in the morning and see wall to wall blue sky. 

(And not cloud over by 9.30 a.m. as it has been doing recently).

 It almost feels like being on holiday. I had to turn the bathroom cabinet out to find some sunscreen as being very fair skinned I turn lobster coloured very quickly. It was a pleasure to potter about in the garden, have meals outside, knit under the sunshade and generally soak up the warmth. The little time spent indoors, after finishing off the washing and other chores that could not be ignored involved making a few cards.

I found these calico gift tags in a sale recently and thought I could probably use them for something creative. At less than a £1 for a pack of 6 they begged to come home with me - honest.

Going to my default mode of flowers I thought some applique would work well.

The calico was sturdy enough to free machine embroider quite easily. I was initially undecided whether to tidy up the frayed edges of the calico with a border stitch, but thought the shabby chic look worked quite well so left them raw.

A brad was added and some ribbon threaded through to complete the "tag" look. It is probably just as well my immediate neighbour is deaf as she might have wondered what I was doing on a sunny Sunday morning bashing away with a hammer. My hands are not strong enough to use the proper brad tool and I find using a hammer much more satisfying (and quicker!). 

Colour coordinated buttons were added for a finishing touch.

The tags could have been left to add to gifts but as my card box is still quite depleted I thought I would use them to decorated cards.

This card pack was another bargain buy in the sale and with some pretty papers added...

...they made an ideal background for the tags.

They needed a little something else to finish them off but I did not want to commit myself by putting 'Happy Birthday', 'Best wishes' or 'Thank You' on them just yet so I went back to sitting in the garden. This was thinking time of course, not relaxing in the sun you understand.

It must have worked because I had the idea of making little fabric legends. By printing and stitching strips of fabric like so...

.....they would be ready to attach to the card of choice when required.

Having added these new cards to the card box, I went back into the garden for a celebratory glass of something cool. 

The perfect end to a lovely weekend.

Five on Friday - Projects Old and New

Joining with Amy at Love Made My Home for Five on Friday.

This week has been a mixture of completing old projects and starting new ones. Although with the number of unfinished projects still to be completed, it is a little crazy starting new ones. But sometimes the mood or inspiration strikes and surely it would be foolish not to go with it?

1. Shirley and Friends

Shirley, who introduced herself in the last post is now on her way to Yarndale. This was an enjoyable project and it will be interesting to see pictures of the other sheep created for the Woolly Sheep Sale in aid of Martin's House Hospice. I hope to be able to attend Yarndale one day, but it will not be this year. It is held in Skipton, North Yorkshire where I spent many happy times, while living in the area when I was younger.   

2. Spiral Staircase Shawl

The Spiral Staircase shawl has been on my needles for some time, but is finally finished, yippee! This is a lovely simple pattern that is easy to pick up and put down at odd moments. It packs up small and has been to many different appointments and worked on in waiting rooms. I also found it useful for when I was too tired to do anything else but wanted something to occupy my hands. The yarn is Drops Fabel, Berry Dreams and reminds me of Autumn fruit compote.

3. An Odd Sock

When looking back at photos I realised this sock was started back in March and I only finished it yesterday. How long is it going to take me to complete it's mate?! The problem is I quickly fell out of love with the yarn and the mini loop needle I used for it. My first and only completed pair of socks were created using a basic metal mini loop and were enjoyable. This pair were upgraded to a bamboo mini loop and the yarn did not slide in the same way, making it more awkward. It is no doubt my basic knitting technique rather than the tools that are causing the difficulties. Having knitted this one on the bamboo needles, probably it's mate should be too. Perhaps it is time to experiment and see if there is a vast difference if I go back to the metal needles for sock two. As they are for me it should not matter if they are slightly different but there is something in my nature that struggles with this.

4. Couthie Shawl 

This scrummy hand dyed yarn from Truly Hooked has been in my stash for some time, along with another skein that I foolishly forgot to photograph before winding it up. As soon as the Spiral staircase shawl was off the needles I could not wait to get started with one of them. 

Choices, choices..........

I decided to go with the lighter coloured skein as it seemed more summery and the sun was actually shining yesterday when I started.

The pattern for this shawl is by the Winwick Mum and can be found here. It is an asymmetric shape and great for draping. The pattern needs a little more attention than the Spiral Staircase but there is a handy chart to print out so each row can be ticked off easily. 

5. Cards (A change from yarn!)

Last week whilst out having tea with friends, I spotted this pack of cards and linen tags marked down in a sale.

There are lots of pretty papers in my stash and with some machine embroidery on the tags they should look good together. That is my project for the weekend.

What are you planning to do this weekend? Whatever it is have a good one.