Tag Archives: craft

October 22, 2021 · 12:11 pm

ANYTHING BUT PINK!

Today is the last day of school for my boys before they get a week off for half term. To mark the day, the school have said the kids can come in wearing their uniform with pink accessories, or dressed entirely in pink to raise money for Breast Cancer Awareness.

My youngest (aged 4) often copies his older brother, but aside from that he doesn’t have any strong opinions about pink. In contrast, my eldest (6) once told me that it was a school rule that pink was for girls and blue was for boys. I’ve no idea where he got this from, but he is resolute. We all have colours assigned to us based upon our gender. I’m not sure how this manifests in life, but in his mind it is an immovable fact.

Several of the boys at school opted out of joining in. They couldn’t face the thought of donning pink and having their masculinity challenged, others really went for it. I saw one boy running in wearing his sisters pink leggings, a pink t-shirt and an excited smile. Hopefully my little man (and a few others) will see that no boys were gender re-assigned by six hours in a fuchsia top, that they walked away, pride intact, having had a lovely day.

As for my two, I knocked these up last night and they both looked very handsome. In the end they seemed glad they’d joined in and so am I.

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October 21, 2021 · 1:39 pm

Large Macramé Wall Hanging

A while ago some friends of ours moved into a beautiful victorian house just outside of Edinburgh. I say this, I’ve not seen it yet, but we have seen photos and it seems spacious, light and homely with tiled floors and raised ceilings – the perfect place to raise their wonderful girls. During a chat with my friend she mentioned that she was keeping an eye out for a macramé wall hanging as she had a large blank space in need of art work. I took this as a request, had a rummage online and Crystal from Marching North (click here for the pattern) did not disappoint.

I think I’ve made around four macramé items now, two very simple plant hangers, the more complex hanger in my previous post and now the wall hanger pictured here. This was surprisingly simple to make and it only took about two hours. I cut some cords a little longer to accommodate the thicker branch and I omitted the final step, it was easily done, a pleasure and I’m pleased with the result. I hope you like it too. x

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March 24, 2021 · 1:15 pm

Much Loved Bowls

This is probably going to be the last post show casing ‘stuff I’ve made’ over the last 7 years. Not to say that there isn’t additional ‘stuff’, just that it doesn’t really warrant a post.

That said, the kids probably deserve a mention, but making them wasn’t really a process I could control and the jury is still out with regards to the finished product. True, they are great WIPs, but until they get arrested or elected (or anything in between) (elected and then arrested?) I guess I shouldn’t brag too much… also, all credit to dad, extended family, school, etc… the boys are a group project and are, inevitably, masters of their own destiny. Many moons ago I was the oven and they were the buns, but, if they end up in prison, I want it made clear that it wasn’t my fault. I digress.

Pictured below are four bowls I made during a pottery course at York College, details of which can be found here. It was a great evening course for adult learners, which allowed full access to all the college facilities with no fixed agenda, we were free to do whatever we wanted under our own steam.

I love these bowls, chips and all. My kids enjoy eating yoghurt from the smaller ones, I use the largest for soups, salads and the odd take-away. I love the fact they get used and the way that use has chipped the rims like war wounds, scars obtained through acts of consumption. Although I’ll be sad when it happens, they probably will break at some point and then they’ll line the bottom of a plant pot. This just makes them all the more appreciated at the moment, their time with us is unpredictably brief, or not, who knows.

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March 7, 2021 · 12:39 pm

An Overdue Blanket Reveal

Today I am getting a bit of a preview as to what next week will be like, as my husband has taken our children to my Mother in Law’s house. She is part of our bubble and so the visit complies with the current lock down restrictions. This means I was able to have a lie in, the house is eerily quiet and some toys (for the first time in about 12 weeks) can finally be put away.

I decided it would be a good opportunity to post a few pictures of a blanket I made. I originally wrote about in February 2013 (see post here) as part of my first blog post, a post which included images of a number of granny squares, a work in progress. I can’t tell you how long the blanket took in the end, it was a while, which isn’t surprising as it is more than big enough to cover a standard (UK) king sized bed. In the autumn and spring it gets used as an extra layer on our bed, otherwise it is around for anyone feeling a chill.

This blanket was basically my first crochet project and, if only for it’s weight and size, I’m proud of it.

Thanks for dropping by, Polly

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February 26, 2021 · 4:27 pm

A Wedding and a Wreath

It’s been years since I’ve posted anything on this blog, seven and a half to be exact.  It is now February 2021 (the last time I wrote was June 2013) and, unsurprisingly our world is a different place now to what it was then.  

There have been a few significant events within our personal world: my husband and I got married, and we now have two beautiful boys (aged 3 and 5).  We moved house, trading-in local amenities for a garden and more space for the kids.  I am also no longer working and, at present, I spend my time with our youngest, preparing food, reading, being hugged, stumbling on toys and muttering expletives.  At present though, as for many, the overriding theme in our lives is COVID-19 and it is for this reason that I’ve returned to 45 Ginger Biscuits.

Once upon a time my anxiety levels were nonexistent, I may have been prone to brooding on arguments or worrying about things that hadn’t happened but, otherwise I was reasonably stable.  A miscarriage many moons ago seems to have irrevocably rocked the boat, and now I have to be a little more mindful about how I manage my mental health.  To cut a long story short, creativity helps, I enjoy writing, and so I’m back. 

Without further ado, I wanted to share the wreath featured above.  It was made, along with six others, after our wedding using the flowers from the bridal and bridesmaid’s bouquets.  I made the bouquets using a tutorial similar to this (click here) and then pinned the flowers to a wreath by way of a keep-sake.  I also crocheted bow ties for the groom and any significant gents involved in the ceremony.  It was a time consuming project but well worth the effort, that said, I couldn’t have done it without the help of some very dear friends.

My eldest returns to school on the 8th March, he can’t wait and I’m excited about the light at the end of the lock down tunnel. Hopefully a little more free time will mean a little more time to craft and to post.  Until then, hope you have a good day.

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June 8, 2013 · 12:02 pm

High Flying Lino Print

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I can’t tell you how chuffed I am with this clock, even though it is far from perfect, it was the third linocut I ever made and it isn’t horribly wobbly so I’m pleased.  I did cheat a little by cutting each image/number out individually and sticking them to scrap wood so I could minimise the impact of mistakes.  I managed to smudge the 4 and the centre of the clock when putting it together and I smudged the 10 and 11 when setting the time BUT these are minor issues, which can be easily avoided. 

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It’s taken an age to get the bits of wood for the backing, order the clock mechanism, not to mention figuring out how much ink to use when printing, which is the best sort of paper and what type of adhesive would work.  However, it has paid off as it’s finished and lovely and it’s telling the right time and everything!! (Sorry, I probably sound a little smug, but I made something, it’s pretty and it works).  At some point I’ll be setting up an Etsy shop and these clocks will be featured – watch this space!

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March 26, 2013 · 5:32 pm

An Invitation

Hello Bloggy-land!

I’ve not written in a while as I’ve spent a week or two down with Shingles! Most unpleasant but it could have been a lot worse 🙂

My time was not wasted though, I finally put knife to lino and created the stamp for our wedding invitation.

wedding invite

It is a little cryptic for those who don’t know us, and perhaps a little sombre for those who do… When I first met Mr Ginger Biscuit he had a lovely Labrador called Biscuit, sadly she passed away in January (doggies don’t live forever and we now have a gorgeous beagle puppy – Ginger, hence the name of the blog) – Biscuit is gone but she will never be forgotten.  Mr GB also owned a stroppy old donkey named Jupiter, which he’d had for 26 years, as long as he can remember.  It seemed fitting to honour them both on the invite as they were a big part of our family for a long time.  We both love scuba diving and I did an MSc in marine stuff recently, hence the fish and walking dogs whilst avoiding squirrels, star gazing and outings are things we love hence the tree.  Not sure if we’re going to be lino printing an invite for everyone or scanning the image and using a computer but either way, I’m pleased as punch with it!!

I’ve also been pretty hookey lately, but more on that some other time!

Thanks for popping by!

Po x

 

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March 2, 2013 · 2:43 pm

Restless Digits in Abu Dhabi

At the tail end of last year I went to Abu Dhabi to stay with my Mum with the aim of working for a Marine charity for six months.  The work placement fell through but the flights were booked and the loose ends were tied so I decided to stay there for six weeks to do research for my pipeline PhD and crochet.

I only found one yarn shop nearby, which was a good hours drive away, so I took some yarn with me in a vacuum pack, a true obsessive!  There are a lot of tailors in Abu Dhabi so sewing supply stores were plentiful (hence the buttons) and the metal clips were taken from the lanyards we were given at the Grand Prix.  (It was Mr Ginger’s 30th birthday last year so I got him tickets for the race and he joined me for a week in Abu Dhabi).  Each of us received a separate lanyard for each of the four days of the race and we went with friends = lots of lanyards = oodles of key rings 🙂

keyringMr Ginger likes his pictures and he got himself a super zoom lens from eBay – it obviously needed a super case to keep it safe and sound.  I made the pattern up as I went along, but the basics came from Attic24’s fabby baggy blog post which is here.

DSC03758Not one to miss out on the action, I decided I also needed a camera case.  I stole the button from Mum… I do hope she never loses a button off whichever blouse it once belonged to!  Again, I made this one up as I went along.

camera caseGranny Bunting! To be honest I’ve no idea where the pattern came from for these, there seem to be lots of similar ones online.  You may have noticed I seem to reference Attic24 in almost every post (repeatedly), the wonderful Lucy has a similar pattern on this post here, aside from that, I think I’d made so many granny squares by this point for my blanket a triangle wasn’t too challenging!

bunting

Having spent 6 weeks in the sunshine and knowing I was arriving home at the start of December I decided some gloves were in order.  I must admit they are a tad drafty as gloves go, but they did the trick!

Crochet gloves

Please note, the gloves match my camera case beautifully and Mr Ginger looks very well coordinated using his camera near the bunting.  It’s probably for the best I didn’t have more wool as there was reading to be done…

Thanks for popping by!

Po x

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March 2, 2013 · 2:03 pm

Birthday Crochet x 2

I learned to crochet in September last year at a café in York called The Flax and Twine, they do all sorts of wonderful crafty courses (during which they often serve tea, cake and sandwiches – ruddy lovely!).    Since then I’ve been well and truly hooked to the hookey business. 

By way of birthday gifts I made three brooches for the lovely lady next door:

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The rose pattern is from Cute and Easy Crochet by Niki Trench, in the book she attaches loads of them to a stunner of a tea cosy .  I then turned to the ever wonderful Lucy of Attic24 for tips on how to make them broochy from this post here.

AND a garland for a friend with a soft spot for ladybirds:

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The lady birds were made using Attic24’s flat circle tutorial, I left a gap in the second round and changed colour from red to black to make the head.  There are lots of flower patterns knocking around on-line, but I used this one from  Sarahndipities lovely flower garland tutorial.

The weather looks utterly gorgous and I have a puppy waiting to explore the great out doors 🙂

Thanks for popping by!

Po

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