Lockdown pastimes

March15 its lovely that your granddaughter enjoys crafts. Fortunately I think there is a growing interest in crafting and upcycling. My daughter and I have had some lovely craft sessions pre pandemic. Obviously not possible at moment in person. We have however done a cake session over WhatsApp video. Well,she was trying something new and I watched making helpful comments! It's not the same as being there in person but it may be a way to go during winter months. I have managed a cookery session with eldest grandson, but at 5 years old it's not easy ?.
Maybe we are lucky in that we can mix traditional methods with new. The internet is a wonderful resource for information and extending skills,and indeed sharing end results.
I also think there is a growing place for written work you can physically touch. For a while photos have been digitized which is brilliant but they have tended to remain in a cloud.! Over the past few years I have made use of photo books for holidays or visits from grandchilderen. This year has been a little different of course but I have had books made of photos shared during lockdown and socially distanced visits. At first it seemed a slightly strange idea but seeing all the things we managed to achieve and how we stayed in touch was rather lovely!
I do think nothing quite beats the feel of a real book or photo. For many years I resisted Kindle and then became a bit of a convert. Its certainly more convenient than carrying books around. The only disadvantage is I've yet to find a way to share books! What I do now is use Kindle for fiction I would only read once. Favourite authors or special books are bought!
NottoOld well done on your diary success! I have lots of memorabilia from my late father, thousands of photos plus cards,letters,war time telegrams and 60years worth of diaries. My aim is to turn them into scrapbooks. The diaries I hope to use extracts to match events. The diaries themselves do take up a lot of space and I wasnt quite sure what I was going to do with them. I couldnt just recycle or dispose of. I did find a link in Yours Magazine of a society that uses diaries for social history. Annoyingly I have lost it,hopefully a Google search be successful!
I do find Yours magazine a fantastic resource. It has amazing craft sections,recipes,a very diverse collection of articles and tips plus stories and puzzles! I now ask for a subscription every birthday!
Happy crafting everyone.

Ooh - some lovely ideas on here. Unlike others I still enjoy reading (God bless Kindle) and most weeks I read two or three books. Kindle have a great choice at £1 each and also some of their daily deals are very good value.
My friend and I have a regular art challenge. We decide on a title - last time it was 'Seascape with Lighthouse' - and individually paint our pictures any way we like and with any medium although we sometimes stipulate 'acrylic on canvas' or 'must be abstract' for example. At the end of the month we post our pictures and spend an enjoyable half hour being friendly art critics. This would work with groups of more than two, of course.
My father was an inveterate diary writer and I have his diaries going back to when he was a young man. If we get locked down again I am planning to write his life story, based on the diaries and using family photographs. I will get a copy printed for each of the grandchildren.
Last lockdown I kept a diary which included a precis of what was said at the press briefings each afternoon as well as notes on how we and family members and friends were coping. Recently our village history society asked for items about the pandemic which could go in the village archives and my diary was accepted. I felt ridiculously pleased!

Thank you Dorsetcupcake for your reply, yes I still can't let go of a lot of my crafting supplies either! Will certainly have a look at the Xmas Tree version, am sure my granddaughter would love it too!!

March15 I have had a look for the card pads online at Wilkinsons and they dont seem to do them anymore. Hobbycraft do similar ones,but not many. The Works is a good place for card making supplies. I used to pop in regularly. I have just received my online order from them,a combination of wool,card toppers,blank cards and envelopes,a pack of Christmas cards , Kraft Gift bags and a Christmas book for my Grandsons called Grandma loves you! Excellent quality and value and arrived quickly. Think I had better stay away from online craft shopping for a while though,have enough resources for a decade?

Thankyou March15, that was very kind of you.
The card was by DoveCraft. I bought them in Wilkinsons but it was about five years ago. They used to have a good selection of different designs. Sadly I dont think my local one do them now,luckily I had a stock which I'm still using. You may be able to find them in your local craft shops or online.
The tea cosy was a pattern from Yours Magazine about 18months ago. It may be worth contacting them to see if they have back copies.
The book hedgehog you will be able to find online. You tube has lots of videos. Once you get into the routine it's very easy and very relaxing. There are some lovely decorations such as Christmas Trees you can make as well. I found it worked better with older books that seemed to have slightly thinner pages which easier to fold.
Sorry I cant be more specific with patterns. If you cant find the knitting pattern there are lots of free patterns online for tea cosies etc. Happy crafting ?

Loved your projects Dorsetcupcake! I used to make a lot of cards too, please could you tell me the stockists of the cake design? It has really tempted me back to card making again! The hedgehog and teacosy I loved too, where can I find the instructions please? Thank you for your inspiring post, much appreciated, oh and please keep us/me updated of your future projects!!

I’m another avid reader who couldn’t concentrate on books during lockdown, or on any of my art and craft projects. However I found adult dot to dot books really relaxing.

Lucca we have just finished a 1000 jigsaw, started at beginning of April. If we have another lockdown I shall get another.
rubysong my knees went weak when I read your post at the beginning of this thread. I have a large scar on the soft part of my arm, courtesy of a Lino tool, at art school. 50 years on and I still remember the shock. So take care

No Punctuation. My jigsaw was an actual one not online.

Trying to avoid over use of screens I tried a 1000 piece jigsaw in March-April-May......
Fine for 75% of it then the rest was just masses of small pink flowers. Impossible .
I think I’m a lost cause but might try the colouring for adults but I fear my 2 sons would extract the Michael.

I just purchased a treadmill and looking forward to loosing some lockdown pounds whilst reading a book/wathching tv.

Does anyone do jigsaws online? There are several free games to download with hundreds of jigsaws to do, complete with relaxing music..... creates a zen like peaceful feeling.

I did say use the mantras of your choice Lucca ?

Thankyou VintageGirl.?. What a lovely thread, full of inspiration and ideas. Partyoffour I looked up the diamond art and a kit is on it's way to me! I have wonderful ideas but that doesnt always translate to the end result,although practice does help. Chewbacca your post did make me giggle! I have a beginners felting kit. I've watched you tube videos and craft programs and they make it look so easy! I look ar the little piles of wool and just cant imagine turning it into anything recognisable ?.

Oh dear and we were getting to agree on so many things....

How about a drinking game for those long cold evenings??
I would start by looking at GN political/Covid threads and looking for these phrases ‘you couldn’t make it up’ /‘ those
Incompetent bastards’/ ‘The rules aren’t clear’/ ‘Scotland ( and
All EU countries )are doing so well’/ ‘Boris will be out by Christmas’ etc.If you aren’t drunk by then ( you will be) then choose other mantras.
I will be using rhubarb gin, but use the tipple and mantras of your choice, enjoy!

Callistemon

If anyone is interested in locations when researching heir family history, there are sites online with many photos or postcards of towns and villages in years gone by.

The Francis Frith site is good and you can purchase photos to add to your family history.

I love those F Frith sites, so many amazing photos, a real trip down memory lane, and you can buy (as Callistemon says)
The photos, I was thinking of buying one for a relative in the form of a canvas print.?

The penguin emoticon was really mean Callistemon! but now I've looked closely, she has a point!

Chewbacca perhaps your neighbour needs to go to you know where!
? ?

I never got past the stabbing my fingers stage with felting.

So, it seems that it's only me doing woodwork? I have plenty of spare materials in the garage so I've made simple bird boxes, a rustic stool, trellis, planters and a towel 'ladder'.

All the time I'm painfully slow, improving my skills - but not aiming for perfection. It's another world in there with the radio on!

I enjoy doing a lot of different crafts but had never had a go at needle felting and so, just as lockdown began, I bought a felting kit. It took me a few weeks before I actually got started and once I'd got over the pain of repeatedly stabbing myself with the felting needle, I thought I'd made good progress with the small red and white fox. But it seems that my efforts weren't as good as I thought they were because my neighbour popped in this week and admired my "unusual penguin". Back to quilting and cross stitch then.....

If anyone is interested in locations when researching heir family history, there are sites online with many photos or postcards of towns and villages in years gone by.

The Francis Frith site is good and you can purchase photos to add to your family history.

Another vote for Google Earth! I had a lot of fun finding current views of old family photos and 'snapping' them.

I have found locations of old family photos by looking at the backgrounds and guessing at the general location. For instance there was a photo of Mum and Dad with Grandfather standing formally dressed in a square in Brittany. Dad was from a very small village, with no homes 3 stories high. I went to the nearest larger city, searched outside the churches and city hall. Lo and Behold, they were indeed standing outside city hall in St Briec. They were married in Jersey, but honeymooned in France. I'm guessing they had to register their marriage in France. I recognized the location by the distinct rooflines of the buildings in the background.

Did similar with some other old photos. It was a lot of fun, and a great scense of accomplishment, as well as feeling closer to those that are no longer with us.

Am I the only one who still enjoys reading. I easily read 3 books in a week.

Insomnia plagues me and I am so grateful to have kindle with so many books available. Usually there's about 5 books in my kindle library at any time.
I do understand that many readers find real paper books more satisfying but I like the fact that on kindle they are lightweight and have a back light. Also it is synched with my iPhone which is even more lightweight and easier to read in bed. I can finish one book and immediately have another to start.

I got my stamp collection out,it was my Dad’s from the 1920’s
and over the years I have bought more albums and kept collecting.So interesting looking up all the countries that have changed their names etc. I have really enjoyed spending uninterrupted time studying the stamps,definitely a dying hobby.