Moley Makes …

Sep

Ever had one of those weeks where you really just don’t feel your normal self?? Well, I think this last week has been a bit like that for me. Just couldn’t get into anything much either work wise or crafty wise. I think my get up and go got and and went .

I managed to get the vast majority of my candle orders out on Tuesday. I had quite a few tumbler candles to make.

I’m still working on 2 last minute orders. I should get them done and dusted by Wednesday, then that’s it …. no more chandling for me.

I managed to sort of finish a couple of WIPs I had. I sewed the handles to my crochet bag and just for my friend Julia from Shetland, and everyone else, here is the bag.

I still need to line it and sew on the little flowers but essentially it is finished. I’ll be using it to carry any current crochet WIPs.

I also made a crochet hook case made with leftover Rico Creative Yarn from the bag. I needed a decent case for my hooks

I’ve been storing them in a flimsy roll pack that came free with The Art of Crochet partwork. Then my very good friend Jules from Scents-Ability showed me a crocheted hook case. I put it in my Ravelry queue and made it over 3 nights last week.

As you can see it’ s nice and bright and matches the bag. As you ca see there’s plenty of room for my hooks, a small pair of scissors, some stitch markers and yarn needles. I need to get a zip for it and that’s it. I’m going to make one for my friend as she wants one. Let me know what colour you want Jules

For anybody wanting the pattern, it’s free. If you’re on Ravelry, then you can find it here or alternatively you can go directly to Aluminum Crochet Case. If you’re a UK crocheter you’ll have to put your US crochet head on ….

So what have I got on the go. Well I got out my knitting needles for the first time in 11 years. I’m knitting a hat that came with some free wool in August’s copy of Let’s Knit magazine. And I’ve made some more squares for the Vintage Style Throw, but I think I shall save those for my next post.

Category: Candles, Crochet One Comment

Aug

Busy Little Bee

Ruby

Oh dear I’ve just realized that I’ve not updated my blog for a week. Naughty me (slap on the wrist). Things have been a tad hectic lately. The beginning of the week was all tied up with helping LJ sort out her requirements for Middlesex University. As you’ll know from my last post, she had to go through clearing and ended up changing both courses and Uni. We all feel that she has made the right choice and she’s looking forward to starting off her course at the beginning of October. I must admit that all the stress has given me a few more grey hairs and caused poor hubby George to lose some more hair )

Poor George, he’s been soooo busy this last week too. Everybody wants him to sort out their PC and/or Internet problems. Trouble is, it seems like every one of his clients had the same thought at the same time and what with his involvement with our local non-league football team, he doesn’t know if he’s coming or going silly

I’ve been busy too. I decided to close down my little hobby/part time biz making candles and my gosh in the last 5 days the orders have been coming in thick. With 3 days left before I close down my site Cosy Candles & Aromas completely, it seems that everybody is bulk buying my lovely candles and melts. I make everything to order, sometimes the only exception are the small fluted wax melts, shown below. I make them up in small batches of 6 at a time and as most people go for a pick and mix option, I tend to have 1 or 2 of each scent left over from each batch. Everything else though is made as when ordered.

Here are some heart shaped mini melts

A small selection …….

I’ve got some container candles setting up nicely at the moment. They’ll be ready later on this evening but I’ll probably label and package them tomorrow morning. I also need to make up some more tea lights but I think I’ll do those tomorrow. To be honest, I didn’t think I’d get many last orders, so I thought I had enough supplies. doh Nope, had to put in an order for more wax and I’m currently waiting for some more fragrance oil from the States to fulfill an order for a very good customer.

I have managed to find a little hooky time, not much, but I’ve finished crocheting my fun and funky bag inspired by the lovely Lucy of Attic 24 blog. I’ve finished making up the handles and I’ve made up some pretty little flowers to accessorize it. Here they are

Just need to weave in the ends and then sew up the bag. I wasn’t sure whether to line the bag, but George said it would probably be better if I did. So once I’ve gotten around to attaching the handles and flowers I’ll have to go searching for some fun and funky lining material.

Maybe something by Amy Butler

or Valori Wells

or even Kaffe Fassett

Category: Candles, Crochet Tags: amy butler, crochet bag, kaffe fassett, lucy bag, soy candles, soy melts, valori wells 2 Comments

Aug

Best Laid Plans And All That ………

Ruby

Well, to say that the last 24 hours have been challenging is a bit of an understatement. Yesterday was A Level results day and like thousands of anxious parents and students we woke up with some apprehension. DD came down at 9am in tears to say that she checked on the UCAS site and found out she was in Clearing. After a quick tearful outburst she hurried to her college to find out exactly what the damage was. For those of you not in the loop, clearing is when you’re matched to available courses for your exam results. Usually, it’s because you didn’t get the right grade or UCAS points for a particular course at a particular Uni. Occasionally, it’s because you did better than anticipated.

In LJ’s case she didn’t get the expected grade in English. She had a tough time on some of the questions during the exam and I think, possibly, deep down she was panicking about the final result. So with her hopes of studying English with Journalism at Lincoln Uni dashed, it was time for a rethink. What were her options? Well, she could redo her A Level in English, but that would mean another 2 years, only this time as an adult student. Do a foundation course for a year then transfer to a BA course for years 2 and 3. Or, change courses completely.

She opted for the third choice. So rather than English with Journalism it’s just Journalism. To be honest, when we were looking at courses last year, I thought she would’ve gone for a BA in Journalism. It was her idea to switch to a combined course with English as she thought it would give her more opportunities once she graduated. Who could foretell this would happen. So after searching for open courses in Journalism, a short list was made and after checking out the course details, entrance criteria, two Unis were selected as suitable potentials. University College Falmouth in Cornwall and Middlesex University, to the North of London. Both offered her a place, all she had to do was to decide which one to accept.

As LJ mainly wants to go into print journalism, she has opted for the course at Middlesex University as she feels this is going to be better for her. She’s happy with the choice and really, that’s all that matters. Obviously, we’re disappointed for her, but sometimes these things happen for a good reason. If she struggled with parts of the English exam paper at A Level, how would she deal with the degree paper. This may prove to be a blessing in disguise. Middlesex is also closer to home and as going through clearing means there is no on campus accommodation available, LJ would need to find private accommodation nearby, which, in North London, would’ve worked out expensive. So she has opted to stay at home and commute from Essex to Trent Park Campus, in between Oakwood and Enfield. She hopes that after her first year she’ll have made some nice friends and then move into shared accommodation for her second and third years as she would’ve planned had she gone to Lincoln.

So, we have LJ home for another year which, of course, isn’t a problem. It means George and I will have to wait another year to get our own bedroom back (that’s a different story altogether, folks). She seems happier today with the new choice she’s made and is looking forward again to this new chapter in her life. As I said to her, life has a habit of dealing you a bad hand every now and then. But it’s these challenges that help to mould us into the people we become, so we should embrace them. I know that both George and I are better people because of the bad times we’ve been through.

So, panic over.