Have I been camping?

Have you ever been camping?

Several times, but something always seemed to go wrong!

We went on the train to Wales, we were going to cycle around and camp every day. But we’d only took the fly sheet of the tent not the whole thing. We asked someone if we could prop our flysheet up against his tent, he said yes, then my hubby decided to be generous and bought the man several whiskys in the camp bar, so when we woke up in the morning most of the money had been spent and the forecast was for rain. After a brief discussion (argument) we caught the train home stuck in a guards van with a very loud Welsh rugby team singing rude songs!

Another time we took a frame tent in our car, we put the tent up, only to realise the tent was inside out and the curtains were on the outside. That time my hubby reversed the car over my saucepans! Result, Argument!

Another camping holiday, we cycled 40 miles in sunshine one spring, the weather turned and we had a few nights of snow. We had to sleep in all our clothes. It was minus 11 °C one night. We cycled home and got stuck in snow cycling up a steep hill, we had to take a detour adding 20 miles onto the ride. Result shattered!

Then there was the cycle trip to Cornwall, we were on a clifftop above St Ives. My hubby put his foot through the zip in the middle of the night. Luckily I’d got a sewing kit, so I sat with a torch in my mouth and sewed the front of the tent up, luckily that was our last night there.

We did have a few other more successful trips but we decided to go on caravan holidays instead, and I could tell some tales about them too!

Repairing split jeans

My old painting jeans. They are years old. When they started to split I started to sew. One patch of sewing covers another. Trying to keep up with the holes!

Mostly sewn with cotton reel thread, a few strands of embroidery silk. My stitches are no longer neat and small. My shaking arm makes it hard to hold the material while I try and stitch. The yellow is the latest cotton. I will swap to another colour soon. I just need to catch the rip below the pocket before it gets any worse. It’s really threadbare…

This is like the story of the old broom. It’s had three new stales and two new brush heads… But it’s still the old broom you always knew… X

Many times

Have you ever been camping?

When I was younger we used to go camping a lot. I can recall many adventures over a few years. On one occasion we decided to go cyclo camping. We took a train to Wales and cycled over to a campsite. But when we got there I realised we didn’t have the tent just the fly sheet and poles! We had a chat with someone who was already there and he kindly let us attach our flysheet to the back of his tent. We spent a cold night under it and in the morning decided we couldn’t continue. We did not have enough money to buy a new tent and carry on so we caught the train home!

Another time we drove down to St Ives. The campsite was on a field above the town and we spent a few nights there. On the last night there was a howling gale. My hubby stretched out and put his foot through the zip at the front of the tent! We knew we would get soaked if rain got in, so I got out my sewing kit, I had a torch in my mouth (hubby had gone to sleep) so I sewed up the front of the tent to hold it shut. I think that was our last night there.

We got a new tent and went to Grizedale forest in the lake district. It was a sculpture park and I remember walking around the forest trying to find all the sculptures, these included ones by Anthony Gormley I think. We also cycled up to Hawkshead and from and to Windermere where we travelled on the train.

The last trip I remember was in the car. We went to Anglesey and camped at Red Wharf bay. We had borrowed a big six berth frame tent, which we had never used before. It was only after an hour of trying to put it up that I noticed the built in curtains in it were on the OUTSIDE! We had to start again. The other slight disaster was my hubby backing the car up next to the tent. He drove over the saucepan we had taken with us.

I think that’s enough for one night. Safe camping!

Two years ago

Two years ago I was at a workshop. I was making a peice of a flag to celebrate Philip Astley inventor of modern circus born 1742, in Newcastle under Lyme. Belinda Latimer ran the workshop. Good fun to try a different craft. I don’t do much sewing or embroidery so this was quite enjoyable. I used a sacking type of cloth on top of a type of canvas cloth. I never did see the finished flag as there were different workshops to bring it all together.

Sewing – a good skill

OK so I am not skilled at sewing but I can repair and mend things. I’ve also done a couple of cross stitch things (just don’t look at the back). I don’t do sewing machines, I couldn’t get the hand of them, and the one skirt I made at school had a wobbly hem! But if a button falls off or I lose a bit of weight I can take things in.

Why is sewing good? It’s make do and mend. Don’t throw things away. Fix them! It saves waste and costs less!

Haberdashery

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My little sewing kit. Today’s usk Stoke-on-Trent challenge was to draw something to do with haberdashery.

As I don’t make clothes, have any clothes patterns, or any fabric, I’m afraid this had to do. The material below the kit is a knitted cushion, a cat blanket, and a teatowel.

Without the kit I wouldn’t have had any subject matter to draw. I don’t know who will try and add to the challenge today. Now I’m off out in the sunshine to plant up some begonias.

Sewing kit

I decided to try and make a badge from a craft kit that I bought last year off Belinda Latimer Designs to take my mind off things….

An hour later I’ve got a star made of vintage cloth, a couple of buttons and some felt and colourful threads. The kit also comes with a clip to sew on the back so I can wear it. The original patterns are a heart, a butterfly shape and a little bird shape, but I fancied doing a star. The only trouble was the vintage cotton which did fray, but I think I conquered it. Not perfect but relaxing. X

Bunting

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Cloth bunting in a cafe we visited earlier. A simple way to decorate and cheer up a room.

Easily cut out of old cloth or clothes using scissors or pinking shears. Fold over the top of the triangle and stitch up leaving a hollow tube to thread some wool, string, or a line of material through. Or stitch them directly onto the line so they are at regular intervals. I don’t think it would be difficult to make this at home and hand stitch it. A fun sewing project.

Whoever made this chose some pretty patterned and coloured  cloth. It cheered me up.