Preparing Halloween

Making things , customizing ...Well , sewing again

This is an appliqué that I made years ago when I was in Martinique , and that I have found again recently ...


















This used to be a skirt , I changed it into a top because it was too short ( I like long skirts ) ... and maybe too tight now ??? :)











This used to be a nice coloured pair of jeans that belonged to my daughter and the colour of which I liked , so I had kept it many years in a cupboard until last year I made this bag - it was quite a success with my students and I remember in June they brought their own old jeans so that I cut them and show them how to do the same ...They did nice things too , and so did some of my colleagues ...









This one is my present school bag , I made it because I couldn't find one the size I wanted ...
















This is for putting the remote controls , but somebody never uses it , and they keep lying around , ...and anyway the colour doesn't match anymore with the cover of the seats that I changed ....

In fact I realize that these few past months , I haven't made anything, so all this was made last year ... Mostly because I have been spending a lot of time on my computer , and for my work , of course , but it's nice to look back on the things I have made , and I wish that pretty soon I will find again some time to do all the things that I like to do ...

TAI CHI CHUAN

This is more than a hobby .
I have practised for many years now. I started taichi at first because I had problems with my back and used to see a Chinese acupunctor , and he directed me to a school of Tai Chi .
Since then , I have found it difficult not to practise at least once a week , and I found out now , even if I move house , that it is easier and easier to find a club where you can do taichi ... Although it is not always the same taichi , but I don't mind , there's always something to learn .

This is where I go now. It is half an hour's walk from home , but I enjoy the walk too ...

If you want to know more about it , well I can tell you that it used to be a martial art , and that what I practise now is more for welfare and well being , it teaches you how to stand , how to walk , how to breathe , simple but vital things ....

And , NO , we don't shout "YO! " , when we do our exercises .. : )

The swimming pool across the road

As I have just moved houses , I have discovered that just across the street to my new house , there is that lovely swimming pool, and I have decided that I deserve at least an hour a week There : I love it , I dont really swim , I enjoy the waterfalls and the massages , and so I go there at the opening , sometimes I am the only one there, THAT is very relaxing too ...

Sewing

This is an advent calendar that I made for my first granson , a few years ago , with 24 different felt socks , and now every year , I have to find the different surprise gifts that go inside :) I have already started thinking about it for this year ... There's 3 of them now , and they seem to like it and expect it every year .... See the lovely little hand trying to reach for it ????

This is a little lavender doll stuffed with lavender from my garden ... I make them for friends ...

My garden

And the pond that we made last year ... I like it ... Too bad I can enjoy it only at the weekend ...

embroidery

If you double click , it will enlarge , so you can see I used different stitches . The oval one is a much smaller piece ....
I have started a huge one which I was supposed to finish next year ... I am ashamed to say I haven't done a 10th of it ... But it is small stitch ... I was crazy to even start it while I am still working ... I should have waited till I was retired ... Because I feel guilty to have it lying there ...

Boxes

On this one , I did some embroidery ; so this will be another of my hobbies ....
The two small ones are tea bags boxes ....


I like doing things with small or big boxes , just for fun ... Or for using them for storing things....

crochet

Could you guess what I used to make all those crocheted squares ?????


I also like crochet , it is very relaxing .....

patchwork

This one is made up with old trousers ...

The Teddy bear blanket is my favourite ...

So, the first one is patchwork ..I like cutting squares of material and making something out of it !!! :)