I know, it's been a while.  There's something about working with other creative people that rubs off, though, and a new group of trainee craft judges chatting about this and that reminded me that I'd left my mojo somewhere.

Actually, I've been working on getting these socks finished for the last week or so, because there are a couple of balls of yarn sitting there, looking at me, waiting to be made into Christmas gifts (that's last year's, not this one!)  But the light in the evening was just not good enough for me to work without getting up and plugging in the anglepoise lamp, and you know how it is... pathetic!

Anyway, I was a bit chuffed with the way this pair matched so closely, which I knit for my hero from the Opal yarn bought in the Hundertwasser shop in Magdeburg and labelled as "imagine tomorrow's world".  Yesterday afternoon, as we watched The Crown for the fourth time with Bettine, after lunch, I finished the toes and said a quiet "tada!" to myself!

I spent much of last week chatting to my new crafty chums, who were talking about this and that, posting pictures and giving me reasons for diving into the long-forgotten, nether reaches of the folder on my hard drive with the title "sewing".  It was there that I came across a pattern I'd bought a while back: the forget-me-not pouch.  Oh yes, I had planned to make that pattern up, to make two - no three or four! - small pouches.  But just as often happens around here, something else came up and I forgot all about it.

But today, I had a day at home with nothing in my diary.  Inevitably, things would crop up during the day, but ever optimistic, I pencilled in "sew" in my mind and as soon as I'd got my act together when I came home from swimming, I pulled three fabrics from my collection and traced the pattern.

Switching on my sewing machine always makes me smile - the opening screen can show a customised message and mine says "Hello Sweetie!".  In no time at all, I was sewing curved seams on bias cut fabric - not the easiest thing in the world, but we made it.

The instructions which accompany the pattern are super-easy to follow and have helpful comments alongside, in fact, the Straight Stitch Sewing Society's fun manifesto is worth sharing, I think, though it was a little early in the day for #6.

Anyway, with a break for lunch (kippers!) and a few email conversations with students, a FB chat or two and so on, in no time at all, my little forget-me-not was complete!

Next time, I think I'll use "cute" fabric, but this one is fine and made in the spirit of "use what you have".

Two finished projects in one day?  I need to lie down.