Isn't it beautiful. In the spirit of being green and thrify it was made from my brother's old dining table! The lighter part of the box says this on it.....
This inscription was done by a friend of my brother's who does engravings and now has a spanking new machine that works on pretty much anything. Isn't it great. It also gives a VERY big clue as to the contents of the box.
When assembled, the contents of the box make this...
.... yes a very happy CraftyCripple! That, and a beautiful swift.
My partner and my guests looked at me in a very bemused fashion when I got giddy and excited at the bits of wood in a box. They were all very impressed with the box, but the swift just confused them. So I had to give them a demo.
First step assemble the swift and place the adjustable legs in the right position.
Second wind a handy hank of wool onto the swift (if you don't have an un-balled skein handy, which I didn't).
Then wind the yarn from the swift onto the ball winder, watching with awe as it spins freely.
Weeeee look at it go!
It's as simple as that! After my swift demo everyone was as in awe as I was at the cleverness of the design and my Dad's handiwork.
I'm pretty sure if anyone wanted one of these marvellous creations I could persuade my Dad to get crafting again for a reasonable fee. How else would you get a personalised swift in it's own box???
After calming down from my swift giddiness, I opened my other gifts. I got,
- some cash from my Mum and brother to buy a subscription to Yarn Forward, my favourite knitting magazine.
- cash from my in-laws (which bought my new specs) and a lovely bead jewellery making kit. Added to my growing bead collection I am sure I could produce something wearable, eventually. This will help my embryonic beading skills.
- A book from my friends, based on their knowledge of my growing sock addiction. They know me so well. This book is rather wonderful and will certainly help with any socks I decide to make in the future, which lets face it, is going to be many.
I love how my family and friends understand my passion for crafts, it probably makes it easier to buy gifts. Maybe I will have to get Dad working on making a spinning wheel next, I wonder if he could get it done by Christmas?
My sister-in-law (SIL) has recently taken to doing patchwork and she bought quite a lot of fat quarters at Mary Clare this weekend. She also bought some other quilting bits and bobs after falling in love with my favourite shop. She had enough to start her patchworking whilst on her visit. It was fascinating stuff. I am so very tempted to try my hand at patchwork, but I know that once I start I will end up with a fabric stash that rivals my yarn stash.
To ease my longing to sew I found a dress that I had half finished before I got very ill a couple of years ago. My SIL helped me to work out where the darts should go and I intend to get it finished by the time the sun comes back, as it is a lovely summer dress. I have also got enough material left to have a go at making a wrap that was shown in Sew Hip magazine last month. I am determined to become a sewer. There are so many lovely fabrics about, it is impossible to ignore them. So there may be more fabric on the blog in weeks to come.... watch this space.
So all in all, it was a lovely birthday weekend with presents, craft, shopping and all rounded off with a lovely meal out and cocktails with my friends. What more could a girl ask for?
