A bit of this…

i.e. college work – and a bit of that – i.e. a Christmas stocking.

A day late I got round to photographing T&T. Brown paper T is  soggy and beginning to show signs of wear around the edges – the result, I think, of this morning’s heavy rain – but the plastic bag T is also living up to expectations and looking good.

 

 

 

POT also got some attention – and in response to Karen's question about how I fasten it together, I took some step by step photos.

Step 1.

Collect tools and materials.  The secret weapon is my rouleaux turner, which has penetrated far more envelopes this last month than it ever turned rouleaux. [The tools also include Radio 3, but you’ll have to imagine that.]

Step 2.

Roll tubes

You can see the ends of the strings emerging from POT, ready to attach the new tubes. The ball of string is in waiting in case it is needed.

Step 3.

Insert rouleaux turner into tube. It is just long enough.

Step 4.

Snag one of the strings  emerging from the last tube into the hook of the RT.

Eagle eyed readers will have noticed that this is a different tube – I couldn’t get a decent photo of the blue one, which is slightly longer.

Step 5.

Remove the RT, bringing the string with it.

Step 6.

Insert the RT into the opposite end of the tube and snag the second piece of string emerging from the other end of the last tube. Pull through.

 

 

 

The tubes should look like this. [Those extra bits of string sticking out of the palest tube are the tail ends of a knot.]

Side view of snugged up tubes.

Step 7.

Repeat till you run out of envelopes. Or glue. Or string. Or patience.

Much quicker to do than describe.

If you are wondering about the preponderance of plain blue envelopes – we are in the process of moving our bank account to the Co-op, so we are getting a lot of letters, in duplicate, in their rather nice mid-blue or indigo lined security envelopes.

After all that, I tackled the Christmas stocking – which has required more unpicking, rearranging, resewing and at one point, chucking in the bin and starting again [only the back, fortunately – I cut it out upside down] than many more complex things. I have decided to hand quilt the front [only ‘big stitch’, in the ditch, nothing fancy] – and sitting down to do it has been wonderfully relaxing, especially compared with the previous stages. Good for the foot, too – I have realised how little sitting down I actually do when machine sewing!