Ukulele!!

A couple of blogs ago, I mentioned that I was going to have a 2 hour taster learning workshop on the ukulele with the 50+ Adventure Club and Market Harborough Ukulele Group led by Ali. Oh I was so uncoordinated! However the lesson was extremely professionally set up with each of us having a songbook and ukulele and after having practiced the strumming we then learnt some chords. Luckily these were set out in picture form and we had to move from one chord to the other, strumming at the same time!!  Easy you may think, with pictures!! Hah, hah. I couldn't get the strumming right and instead of using my index finger I had to use my thumb, that meant I could only strum down and not up but by the end I had mastered the index finger - so lesson learnt.

We played AND SANG Singing in the Rain (easy version) and then again (difficult version), Clementine, Just wanna dance the night away, We all smell good on Sunday (didn't know this one), Jambalaya and finished with Da Doo Ron Ron.

Trying to look professional!!

I posed for this picture but realise that I was strumming in the wrong place - you don't do it over the hole but further up the fret!!  

Now to the crafty bit:-

Yellow wool demonstrating the hole

I have just finished this 'useful pot to put things in'. Actually it is for keeping wool in when knitting or crocheting and as you can see the wool comes through a hole in the side and the top is closed over to prevent the ball coming out. It really works. There is also a dip in the top edge of crochet for your knitting needles to rest - so ingenious. I started the pot here.  J handed out the pattern at a crochet lesson.

If you look carefully there is another strand coming through the hole and this is almost the end of another project with the rug wool. I hope to finish this in time for crochet lesson next week.

I hope they will be straps!!

The Christmas Challenge 2014 mentioned at the end of this blog is on course but I am doing free machine embroidery and the thread keeps BREAKING!! So annoying, but after consulting friends, I am going to use a metallic thread needle as it has an elongated eye, that should prevent this happening. Hope it works as there is a lot to do, but if not I will have to buy some embroidery needles which I do not have. This book is in constant use on these occasions and I swear by it and Dawn has autographed it for me!!

Finally a quick update on other sewing - 

Embroidery progressing slowly but steadily

I am enjoying this but couldn't master the 'feather' stitch very well, so need some tuition for the leaf on the right hand side. I am pleased with the 'bullion knots' on the other side as I have never done these before and I learnt out of my book. 

Smocking of the Christmas bauble is nearly finished and I have another fabulous project to start, but this is Top Secret!!