Patchwork group

Yesterday, the Competa patchwork group meeting met. The ladies had finished their glasses cases, which all turned out to be different.

As it is Halloween tonight I have painted my nails black and am going to dress up as a witch.  Lots of the Spanish  villagers dress up too, although tonight is traditionally the night of the chestnuts...mmmm. A combination of the two traditions is normal here.

Knitting and crochet fun

Yesterday, we had another (Spanish) new member come along to learn how to crochet.
Fortunately, I seem to be getting a bit better at translating the instructions, and managed to show the lady how to do several stitches. She also came armed with a magazine from which she was hoping to make a garment, which will be next weeks task.
We are all helping each other out, which is great, even having a laugh at the 'very dangerous' KNITTED BATHING COSTUME...?????
we were all wondering why???? ha ha
Anyway, concentration was the name of the game, and here is a picture of Julie showing the rest of us just how much is sometimes required. :D

Patchwork Sleepy Fish

Despite the confidence of Dolores in my abilities ... I decided that before I needed to teach the Spanish ladies from the translation I have tried to do, I had better make a prototype fish so that at least I would have an idea of what we are supposed to be doing...
Here are the results so far

This is front of the fish with all the fins and tail folded in so it can be sewn to the back...

and here it is showing the scales, bits of ribbon and fins/tail

My thumb in comparison so you can see how fiddly this is going to be turning everything the right way round once it has been sewn
Despite my misgivings, Dolores still thinks I will be able to manage to teach  this class. 

And here is a photo of the village church tower and rainbow.. we are so lucky to be here :D

Oh and following our trip to the optician, Dave and myself now have new glasses too.... :D

Knitting crochet and patchwork

Monday ( or knitting/crochet) saw myself and Jan helping the Spanish ladies work out what they were going to knit.
Jan was explaining how to knit an intarsia hounds tooth pattern and had two of the ladies following her every stitch.......
Meanwhile, I was explaining a pattern I was not familiar with to another Spanish lady. We managed in the end with a chart I drew for her to follow the casting off for the armholes and back neck.
I was the called upon to explain a crochet chart for a bolero type summer jacket for another of the ladies..
(phew)..... at least we all managed to understand each other in the end.
Tuesday (the Competa Patchwork Group) saw us making a spectacle case with an applique of a cat face on the front...
Next week I believe we are doing a pot holder (not sure) also with a cat picture....
I had to go and look at the diagrams to work out what was needed....
Our teacher, Dolores has also asked me to run a class to make a scrappy Sleepy fish following the tutorial she found in Moda.... EEK!!! This is written totally in English so it means I will have to translate every thing into Spanish so that I can explain what will be needed to make this during next week's lesson AND also do the class the following week ...... :D

Improving my photos

This week I have been making a stand I saw on line to try and improve the quality of my close up photos.
This involved taking a cardboard box and cutting slits in the side to enable a sheet of glass to fit in.
the bottom of the box is covered in wrapping paper, and a piece of greasproof paper covers the open end of the box to diffuse the light from a reading lamp.
Using a hole cut into the top of the box, my digital camera is then used in macro mode, and the piece of jewellery is brought into sharp focus...no flash is used.
I have been refining the paper colours and focus, but the initial results look promising

 Then  I began to knit Dave a pair of fingerless gloves on a set of four double pointed needles. Just wish I had not chosen black wool... what was I thinking???

Oh and we both went today to have our eyes tested... will both have trendy new glasses later next week :D

Busy week of knitting crochet and patchwork..

Monday saw some new members of the knitting/crochet club, all Spanish ladies who normally never use patterns to   complete their projects. So another lady and myself spent our time translating patterns into charts so that they  could understand and make what they had in mind (which is good for my Spanish too)
Yesterday, I went to the first meeting of the Competa Patchwork Group, where fifteen or so ladies were practising different applique techniques such as 'puntos con Dios' (an invisible stitch to sew one material onto another) and chain stitches, looking towards making a cat applique next week.
Which this morning led to being asked to wait in the supermarket while  one of the lovely patchwork ladies who lives above the shop with her daughter, came down to the shop as she wanted me to show her how to do an open chain stitch, as the way I sew mine turned out to be easier to do than the one we were being taught. So we stood in the supermarket (next to the honey) while Dave waited patiently whilst we practised.
I suppose we all have various different skills to bring to the group and of course there is always something new to learn too..

Watercolour in green

Following the shopping this morning (and holding up the supermarket queue while someone on the till looked at photos of the latest projects), doing the ironing.....and a bit of housework... the watercolour bug hit again and I found myself painting a flamenco dancer in a green dress, which makes a change and turned out nicely I think...

Going out tonight as well to open the doors for 'Intercambio' an english/spanish conversation group, which we always enjoy...

Second doll

Yesterday was the knitting/crochet club meeting. I helped one of the girls to crochet butterflies so she can sew them onto things for her granddaughter.
Then another one of the girls wanted a pattern for her daughter who also called into the club, so we spent some time translating the charts into Spanish so she could understand them.She was very happy with the result and the loan of a book with easy to follow charts of patterns from another knitter.
I sat in the shade and finished the second doll this afternoon and then made some leaves and flowers from a book my friend lent me.

This doll has a much frillier dress and a flower  instead of a bow

 Then I made a marigold and a fern leaf..

Dave and I are going out for some tapas tonight too :D

Amigurumi dolls/crochet

It has been another lovely day here in Competa...
Potting out was the order of the day.. baby cyclamen plants.. about 30 so far.
They have grown from a larger plant and are very tiny with one leaf and a tiny bulb at the base.. so cute.
Having finished the first doll in the style of 'Hello Kitty' I have begun another one in lilac.

This time I have changed the pattern a bit. I think I may have sewn the head onto the doll wrongly on the first doll.. It looks much better to me in the second version. I also made the body in one piece, and added shoes to the second doll.
You may also notice that the nose on the second doll is crocheted as well and I think I will do the eyes in the same way because it makes a better looking circle than just sewing them on. I used less stuffing in the arms and legs too.. only stuffing the hands and feet for a better effect.

Crochet amigurimi Hello Kitty

After visiting the market which is held weekly on Saturdays here in Competa, I sat beside the front door as the temperature is very pleasant at the moment so we are making the most of it.
I began to crochet an amigurimi (Japanese cute doll) in the style of 'hello Kitty' which is looking good so far.
I am in the process of sewing her bow very firmly in place and then I will finish her face.

:D
Dave and I have also bought ourselves new phones...and have spent most of the week learning (or trying to learn) how to use them, which has proved to be frustrating at times as the instructions are minimal...

Intercambio and village nicknames.

Like every Wednesday, we had an intercambio meeting last night. They are always good fun and a great way for us foreigners to practice our Spanish and for the Spanish to practice their English too.
I happened to mention that my friend Maria's dog had fallen from the balcony (it is ok)!
and someone said 'Oh you mean Maria rubio' (the rubio means blonde)
I did not realise that nearly everyone in the village has a nickname....
I gather this is to tell everyone who has the same name apart from the others.
One of the Spanish ladies for instance is commonly known as 'Dolores canella'
(the canella bit means cinnamon) but she has no idea why everyone calls her this except to say that this nickname was originally her grandfather's...
I believe that my nickname is 'Anna la extranjera espanola' which means Anna the Spanish Foreigner, so that everyone knows who I am among all the Spanish Anna's.
:D

Plant pot display

Following the rain we had at the weekend, many of my plants were looking a bit bedraggled and waterlogged. So after we began to dry out, I made a display with three teracotta pots.
These are held together by a cane which is inserted into the bottom pot and the other pots were placed and planted up with a variety of succulent cuttings

They look quite effective and it adds a bit of height to the plants.
I am also glad to report that the patchwork group seems to be off and running, but we still need to find out when and where we are meeting.
Dave and I also went shopping to find a lightbulb holder for our bathroom cabinet, which keeps tripping the electric circuit in the bathroom... fortunately, as we were going to buy one, the shop assistant said 'we were the second person to look for one of these this this week' and we discovered that the builder had already been to the shop and the one we were going to buy was not the right size :(
BUT a huge thank you to the girl in Portichuelo!!!!!
But the good news is that a friend's husband who is a retired electrician is going to call and have a look too!
:D