Every Inchie Monday - Goat - and catch up Turkey, Boar, Wolf and Reindeer

I cannot believe where the last five weeks have gone!  What with trouble getting anywhere with so much snow, Barry's busiest time of the year so travelling the length and breadth of the country to entertain it's been difficult to keep up with the preparations for Christmas let alone any crafting or inchie making.  I have tried to do them but keep finishing them as a new one should be posted so I would have been on the wrong animal all the time.  However on Boxing Day when it was all quiet I was at last able to sit and finish the last three.  You can probably tell they have been done with a little less enthusiasm and care as some of my past inchies!!  The aim was to actually get them finished and posted.  I am sorry I have not been on your blogs to comment either - we have been trying to sell our house where we have lived for the last 33 years and apart from trying to clear out 33 years of junk and stuff everything keeps going wrong.  Out toilet got blocked and we had to call emergency services.  Our electric keeps tripping and now we have finally found the cause on the Eve of Christmas Eve (when it would not come back on), courtesy of emergency services again!!  Turns out it was our old microwave (which has a plug very hard to get to and of course it was the only plug I hadn't unplugged!  the electrician's meter told him something was still plugged in and that's when the penny dropped!) - I had thought it was the outside Christmas lights due to the excess snows but they appear to be fine.  So guess what I got for Christmas!!!  Not only that without electric we had no computers nor water since we are on a bore hole which needs electric to pump it in to our header tanks!  And to add insult to injury two weeks before Christmas we ran out of Calor gas which runs our rayburn and the heating - just after that really cold spell, and with everyone else in the world having done the same we had to wait until Christmas Eve to get a fill up!!  It's just a good thing that we have log burners and one with a water jacket that's linked in to the system to heat the water!  Anyway finally everything seems to be working again and I have a little time on my hands before I need to pack up this big house and move into a smaller warmer one - with hopefully, less work to do and more time for me and crafting!  Am really looking forward to it but am so sad about not doing our Every Inchie Monday.  Maybe I can get involved with something else?

Anyway back to the inchies I have at last managed to complete them all and this week's Inchie is Goat, which I thought was a strange choice for a last one but having read some of your blogs just quickly last night I've discovered I'm not the only one to think that, except Freebird, who posted it as the "Greatest Of All Time!"  Which I thought was great!  So here is my little billy goat - I have run out of my lovely variegated browns and creams so he's a little odd in colour!!:

And so here are my catch up inchies -

 Turkey I found quite difficult and in trying to do the background of his tail feathers dark to make his head stand out I've given him a crown!!

Then came Boar which again I found uninspiring and drew it on plain fabric (my wax removing strips!) with promarkers and then attempted to colour him in with thread but once I started making thread marks on his snout it looked totally wrong so I just left it as is.  I tried to get his bristly ears but not sure I succeeded!!  Here he is:

Next comes Wolf.  I have done a wolf before on an inchie which was Wild in 2013 and I did a lone wolf braying against a yellow moon which I loved and had thought about cheating and submitting that one for this to save me time!!  However I wanted to use my embroidery skills and really embroider one - maybe with more time and feeling less pressurised I could have done it justice but what resulted was a rather Red Riding Hood Wolf!!  He looks ready to gobble up someone!!

And lastly our penultimate inchie for this year was reindeer which I can't help thinking should have been Christmas Day's!  I would have liked to depict Santas's sleigh being drawn across the sky by silhouetted reindeer but on an inch it just became silly lines!!  So here is one reindeer in sillouette - Barry named him Prancer! 

So that's it for 2017 - I hope we can still meet via comments on each others blogs - I will try and visit in 2018 but hey - we have things happening - Firstly we hope to be able to move into something by February - we are still waiting for the solicitors to round up paperwork and so, having accepted an offer and had an offer accepted, we are now in the waiting game of monies being released so we can commit and exchange and set a date.  Still not sure what sort of wifi we will have but it's in a better area so should be ok.  And best of all were our Christmas Day surprises -  Not one baby but two baby grandchildren to look forward to in July 2018 -both my youngest daughter and my son had been saving their news - unbeknown to them!  My daughter in law is a week ahead of my daughter in her pregnancy how strange is that!! So a double whammy!!  Am so excited - we will then have ten grandchildren!!  So I think 2018 is going to be a good year and am quite glad to see the back of 2017 to be honest - it hasn't been a good year health wise for my husband or me and one of our grandchildren was very ill on New Year's Day which rather started the year on a bad foot when she was rushed in to hospital with a burst appendix.  And so here's to 2018 - I raise a glass to all the friends I've made doing this wonderful project every week and wish Trillian a relaxed and Happy free from pressure new year and everyone out there good health and good fortune.  Thanks for visiting my blog and for all the lovely comments I have received throughout the year - you have made my day!  All the best Jenny

 

Every Inchie Monday

And another Monday bites the dust!!  Only five more to go!!  Where has this year gone?  And so I have actually finished my inchie on time as I have been instructed to rest!  I've gone and sprained my arm muscle so can't lift a kettle or do any cleaning or sorting etc. so I thought I'd sit and sew, and by keeping my elbow tucked into my side I have no pain but I am rather glad I have finished sewing.  Am a bit disappointed that the repeated sewing of the quills on the hedgehog have pulled the fabric and distorted my inchie.  Oh yes this weeks challenge word at everyinchiemonday is Hedgehog and my daughter came home with one a few weeks ago which was very young, so she made it a hibernation home and has tucked it somewhere in the garden so fingers crossed it will survive!  We used to have loads around our house and they used to frighten the dogs when I was walking them up the lane late at night.  Scared me too when they'd start barking and leaping around and then, by the light of my torch,  I'd see this poor creature curled in a ball at my feet!  I guess the dogs had sniffed it and got a spike up their nostrils for their trouble!!  But I haven't seen any in the past ten years.  Locally there is a hedgehog charity which had a stall at the local vet's open day and there were loads of little ones in a glass cubicle - very sweet things.  Anyway here is my little chap - again I should have used my magnifying light but I couldn't lift it so I made do without!

So now I am going to sit back and watch some TV ... in the afternoon  so bad!!!  But it is cold and we've lit a fire so why not ... maybe I deserve a rest.  Thanks for dropping in and any comments you leave.  I shall really miss this when it's finished.  Maybe I can join something else ... have a nice week!

Every Inchie Monday - Goose

Can't believe how a week has flown by!  This week's challenge word on Every Inchie Monday is Goose and since we are getting nearer to Christmas I had wanted to do a lovely white goose waddling along with a blue bow round its neck - but the bow just wasn't working .... in fact the goose wasn't working either!!  I didn't have my special magnifying lamp and so it was harder to see the stitches but I'm not making excuses!!  Anyway I'm not sure at the moment if I'm sad or glad that my inchie making is coming to an end with the ending of Every Inchie Monday as I am really struggling to find the time!  However once I get through the next few weeks I am sure I will miss it dreadfully.  It is so nice visiting the blogs of like minded people and receiving their comments too.  But we still have 6 more to do so I won't get morose about it now.  Just a lot on my plate at the mo.  Anyway here is my goose!

 

 

Thank you so much for dropping in and viewing my work and any comments you may leave - it's always nice receiving comments.  Hoping your weather is warmer than ours - I just can't seem to get out of my nice warm bed in the mornings, but it gets dark at 5, and then I just want to curl up in bed again with a book!!  So not much time to do all the things I have to do let alone all the things I want to do!!  Sorry for the moan it's just that time of year - I'm sure I'll bounce back! Have a lovely week and peace be with you.

Every Inchie Monday - Owl

Another late one.  I nearly finished it Monday but had to drive my husband to the airport on Tuesday and didn't get back till Wednesday however I did finish it Tuesday night but was not able to post it!  I used to own a barn owl, which free flew in our kitchen, but having done a barn owl for one of my other inchie challenges before, I decided to do a different owl and so went with a Turkenian Eagle Owl as I just loved his stern face and beautiful amber coloured eyes.

Didn't quite get the mixed coloured feathering, it is more speckled brown but heyho - it's an inch and I'm running out of that coloured thread as I've been using it for nearly every animal! - the fawn and  the squirrel anyway. It is getting colder even though we had a fabulous day yesterday but was on the road driving back and by the time we got home the sun had gone and it was already feeling frosty!  I'm having to crank up the fires and working in the attic is getting more unpalatable!!  Also how dark is it getting? - my daylight seems to be gone by 5pm!  Anyway happy autumn and thanks for dropping by.  Make sure you click this link here to view the other wonderful inchie owls and thanks for any comments you leave, it's always nice to hear from you.

Every Inchie Monday - Spider and Squirrel

What a couple of weeks!  Grandchildren to stay as it was half term and so many things going on in the house anyway I finally managed to get my squirrel inchie finished on Sunday when everyone had gone and did my spider today.  I had to cop out a bit with the spider as I am so short of time and it is the only one I haven't drawn out before I've stitched it!  I found two beads which I thought placed on an inchie with black legs embroidered underneath would work and I tried to do a web with silver thread.  It only took me half an hour to do as opposed to the two hours for the squirrel!!  But I think they both work.  Anyway I am up to date and sorry I missed posting last week.  Can't believe we are already up to number 44!!  Christmas is looming!  Anyway hold that thought we still need to get through Halloween tonight so great choice for the inchie to be spider.  As it so happens my smallest granddaughter of 3 is dressing up in a spider dress tonight to go trick or treating in.  She loves spiders and is always doing "Incy wincy spider ..!"  When she sees my inchie I think she will want to take it home with her!!

 and here is my squirrel from last week's challenge:

Happy Halloween and thanks for dropping by.  Make sure you check out the other wonderful inchie spiders by clicking here.

Eery Inchie Monday - Bear and Deer

I tried to get my deer on last Monday and we couldn't link!! - then I was away without any internet!!!  So by the time I got home I thought I might as well wait till today to link it with my bear.  So today's challenge for EIM is Bear.  When I was a child my mother and I used to go everywhere by walking to the train station and then getting on a train.  Whilst waiting for the train we always used to play I Spy with my Little Eye something beginning with ... and whilst playing this game we would suck Foxes Glacier mints.  Mother always used to have a packet in her handbag and so this week's challenge is a tribute to her.  In case you've never seen the logo for Foxes Glacier mints I will include a picture and then my version as an inchie!!  I'm afraid his nose almost got cut off as it protruded over the edge of the inchie base which is why he looks a bit funny in the face!!

 

It is so easy to see the discrepancies when enlarged in a photo, but when you are working with fabric that is not a very fine weave it becomes quite difficult to cut small details without it fraying!!

 

And so we come to last week's inchie challenge which was Deer and so I thought I'd do a little Bambi lying in the grass!

We have very high winds at the moment from Hurricane Ophelia and I am worried the power will go off before I complete this so I am madly trying to get this online before that happens.  Hope none of you are suffering from the power of this wind.  I have already got quite a selection of starting wood that has been brought down across our drive!!  At least we will be warm but then it is 18 degrees outside - in October - what is the world coming to - and this morning was very strange, dark at 10:30 and the street lights had come on in the town - I had a message from my daughter and a picture of the sky - very dark and brooding and someone said the sun was red this morning too - good thing it's not Halloween yet!! I  have battened down the hatches and made sure all windows are closed so fingers crossed there will be no damage - Please don't forget to visit the other inchie makers fabulous work by clicking the link here.  Thanks for dropping by and any comments you leave.

Chameleon Inchie

I cannot believe how quickly this year is going - already it is October!  And another Monday challenge comes around for Every Inchie Monday the subject being chameleon.  I know very little about these little creatures but I do know there is a tiny weeny one that only just sits on your thumb coming in at 3 cms long and is thought to be the smallest reptile on earth found on an islet just off Madagasca which is where at least half of the 200 plus species hail from, and of course their most known feature is their ability to change colour and camouflage themselves to whatever their background. However I have since found out that this is not the case and that they only change colour to facilitate warmth from the sun or mood changes as in fear or aggression. (Thanks Di for that).  Not an easy creature to embroider to say the least, but I had an idea to use a thicker skein of embroidery thread and whilst doing the tail reduce the thickness as I went by taking a thread from the skein and couching the main run with it in effect taking it to the back of the work until I was down to 2 or 3 threads.  In theory this was sound but in practice ...hmm ..... especially since I chose a heavy count thread in shiny rayon - slippery little customer it was too!!  However when I twisted it, it became thinner so I managed to couch it whilst twisting until I was able to take it to the back of the work at the coil of the tail.  Couching the rest of the body took some doing especially trying to get the flow correct so it would show the legs but on smaller than an inch???  I also managed to try and embroider the eye radiating out with a French knot for the pupil which sits proud but I thought my pupil was black thread - it turned out to be navy!!!  Oh well.  Anyway I did actually enjoy the challenge of this one and I did the background in promarkers again as I was worried the green embroidery wouldn't show up on green fabric, I know it camouflages itself but what was the point of all that embroidery if you can't see it!!!  But the muted tones of promarkers suited it better and sets it off so you can at least see the little critter!

I had a couple of birthday cards to do so once again I used my fresh flowers between organza and a background painted dried out wet wipe!!  I then cut it into inch sizes and sewed a very pretty cord around the edges of four and mounted them on a card.  There was a piece left over and rather than waste it I decided to use it on a very simple card I made for a friend, it was one of those that sort of made itself in half an hour with what I had to hand!!!  But I was quite pleased with the result and the flower is lilac organza melted with a heat gun!

I do feel much more myself this week apart from feeling tired - I think it's the bear in me wanting to hibernate as it gets colder!  Anyway hope you all have a good week and thanks so much for dropping by and any comments you may leave, it's always nice to hear from you.  Take care and don't forget to click the link and visit all the other inch creations.