Finding time to knit...

This might just be one of the coolest, crafty clocks I've ever seen! 

Designed by Siren Elise Wilhelmsen

Howdy...

No I haven't fallen off the edge of the world...I realise I have been incredibly lax at writing posts of late (April was ages ago!!) and technically this doesn’t count as it’s not even craft related. I just thought I should let the world know I’m still breathing…just…things are hectic here at the moment with no sign of slowing down. But I shall return, eventually…I hope!







ps. Hope you’ve been blessed with the same glorious sunshiny days as I have x

Crafty Catch-up

Gee it's been ages since my last post...I have no excuses either as I've had the last couple of weeks off work for Easter and my birthday, so I've definitely had the time… tsk tsk! Now that I’ve told myself off lets begin…

- delicious birthday muffins from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook

Just after Easter I went to stay with some relatives in London. It was Luca's first trip to the big city and overall I think he liked it - his poor Dad and Uncle though were left with the challenge of carrying the pushchair up and down a gazillion steps to and from the tube - if nothing else they came back a lot fitter than when they went!

Luca at the V&A Museum* 

Whilst we were there I managed to drag everyone to my favourite fabric shop – Fabrics Galore. I didn’t go too mad with fabric buys…ahem...

I bought some lovely blue linen for a bag from this book. I thought it would be perfect for the summer - light weight and big enough to pack the suncream, a good book and even a small crafty project.

The only alteration I made was to add a small zip pocket inside, just so I don't have to keep rooting to the bottom for my lipbalm!

I also bought some beautiful bird fabric. It's medium weight cotton, perfect for making an apron. I'm really proud of how this turned out as I didn't follow a pattern, and usually when I don't follow a pattern things go slightly awry! After, I had just enough fabric left over to make a simple bag, which I lined with raspberry cotton.

Finally I'll leave you with pictures of a project I finally got around to starting. I've had a stack of Folksy Flannel on my sewing room side for a while now with the intention of making a simple blanket after seeing this one at Frontier Dreams.

Well I finally bit the bullet and cut it up!!

All that's left to do is sew a white border around each 9-patch, which I'll do using a brushed cotton sheet from ebay - bargain!

*If your heading to the V&A Museum before July 4th they have a Quilt exhibition which is well worth a visit.

And finally...

I finally finished Luca's gift this weekend, and not a moment too soon!! His birthday was on Monday, but luckily his party wasn't until today, so I had an extra 6 hours to get it finished! Phew!

I had the idea to make a blanket showing his first year, around Christmas time and since then I've been getting a little bit made here and there. Although it's not perfect, I'm chuffed with the finished blanket, and I'm pretty sure my sister liked it...oh and Luca too!

It's made up of patterned and plain squares; embroidered pieces and photographs, which I transferred onto fabric using Inkjet Iron On Transfers Paper, which I bought here. It was really easy to use, although I did have to rope Karl into the photoshop bit (cropping, reversing and printing the photographs!) - thanks honey!

-this is the back

- and as it is Luca's day, and I'm a smitten Auntie, here are some cute birthday boy pictures...

Iggle Piggle - sweet and sugary

Luca drooling over his birthday cake!

Hope you had a wonderful weekend!

The Good Life

I don't know about you but I have become a huge fan of Monty Don recently. Thanks to him I now want to buy a farm; keep pigs, sheep and bees; learn how to weave, thatch a roof and make stained glass windows!! No I haven't gone mad, but I have been watching My Dream Farm and Mastercrafts - if you've missed them then you can catch them here and here. (Warning: you too may wish to join The Good Life once viewed!)

Scenes from the Weekend

This is what job hunting looks like...messy! Notice the umpteen cups - tea to get me through the day!

A little night time reading - the newest addition is this book, which I have whole heartedly fallen in love with!

Progress - 8 days to go!

And finally...

I finally got around to snapping my crafty Christmas gift from Karl - only 3 months after the event! Isn't it wonderful! It was completely stuffed to bursting point with shredded wrapping paper which went everywhere! Inside is a real treasure trove of craft goodies - from a scrap bag of fabric, fancy wool, and sparkly thread, to a collection of beads and buttons. All I need now it time to play with it all!

Hope you all had a fun weekend x

Heavenly Half Term

What a busy week! I've been extremely spoilt with time for the last 7 days as I've had the entire week off work and literally done nothing other than sewing. Total bliss!
I've made a great start to my nephews 1st birthday gift, it's still a secret so I can't reveal what it is yet, but here are a couple of pictures of the progress made so far.

More to follow.

This week also saw my first attempts as dress making.

I bought a couple of Japanese dress making books from Etsy and finally had a stab at making something from them. The first project was from the  Stylish Dress Book vol 2 - dress 'D' which is on the cover. I made it using a thin wool fabric which is super warm. I did have to alter the shape around the waist and I took the sleeves off. Overall I'm really happy with how it turned out. If you're attempting to follow a Japanese pattern and need a little help, Pink Nelie has a really useful list of Japanese-English sewing translations.  

The second project was from the Stylish Dress Book - blouse 'B'. The only alteration I made to the pattern was taking it in at the front a little more, just to reduce the bagginess. I love how it turned out.

I've been eyeing up a few more dress making books, but I'm spoilt for choice - any recommendations?

Scenes from the Weekend

A glorious morning surprise...snow...again!

My neighbours dog Alfie...enjoying the snow.