applehead

there's a bear in there...

Grace turns one on Tuesday.
This means that I spent a stupid amount of time last week searching the web for that right something to knit her. Because you can't have your first birthday without a handmade present from your mama.
(Of course Grace could but would I ever get over the guilt of knowing that the other two received their toys knitted by me but not poor third baby Grace....)
After a tip off from Di, I made my way to I Knit in London on Tuesday to do a bit of wool looking ( who am I kidding - of course I bought something).
On a high shelf on the way out,I spotted a lovely little polar bear. I found out that the pattern had come via patternfish, went home and looked it up and hit the 'add to cart ' button.

One ball of cream alpaca from the stash and two nights of knitting( and counting - you really need to keep count on those short rows) and the bear is ready to make up. Hopefully I have chosen a fiber that will felt- possible something I should have checked before I started knitting....
Looks just like one of those bear rugs that you throw on the floor in front of the roaring open fire. Maybe I'll knit me a big one for the living room when I'm done with first birthday bears.
Fingers crossed that he felts.

not tab curtains....

Tab curtains are very tedious to make and not very inspiring or exciting to photograph. Longer days have highlighted the pressing need for curtains to block out the light in the front bedrooms.The past week has been spent cutting, sewing and hanging. My pincushion and most of my pins went missing in the move and as I found that eight pins were just not quite enough when making curtains, new pins and a new pincushion were called for.

Which is why you see a photo of a pincushion rather than boring old tab curtains.

Much quicker and more fun to make, as well as a good excuse for a bit of therapeutic embroidery after stitching all those tabs.

A big thank you to everyone who has sent mail to Charlotte - such a big smile to greet the postman each day! Your postcards have been sent (or about to be posted - I am a little behind on the mail) so be sure to let me know if you didn't get yours and should have!

a bit behind...

by now most of you would have read about, heard about ,looked at or perhaps even bought The Book. It seems so long ago that I put together my project for  Meet Me At Mike's: 25 Fun And Crafty Projects.
(I guess it was quite a while as I was pregnant with Grace and she is about to turn one in a week or so....)

 

If anyone decides to make their own, I would love to see how it turns out.

on its way...

I signed up for backtack 4 even though I know I really shouldn't have. Although it has been a bit of a stretch to fit it in, I am so glad that I did. Such a pleasure to steal a bit of time here and there to do something that was not on my must do list, but rather on my want to do list.
Finally, my parcel is ready to go and will be on it's way tomorrow. Once my partner at blooming heather has received her package I will pop a few photos up.
Now, the must do list calls.
Loudly.

just add glue...

A few evenings ago, I really needed a break from all thing wedding and moving related. Out came the paper and glue and I made a start on these decorations for Christmas.

Really, there were so many other things I should have been doing...which is probably why I enjoyed the simple act of cutting and pasting so much. A welcome change indeed from stitching meters (and meters) of silk chiffon ruffles.
I need to add a little bit of something shiny and they'll be ready to hang.

brown things....

are not usually my thing.
Howvever,these paper mache decorations caught my eye when I was hunting down a particular shade of pale green cotton to finish the girls flower girl outfit.

I thought that in my spare time when I have finished The Horror and before I pack up and move I might squeeze in a bit of Christmas craft.
Maybe.
Maybe not.
At least they won't take up much room in the shipping cartons.

Learning to....

sew on a button - I believe everyone should master this very basic skill.
Especially considering the shoddy job most manufacturers do with attaching buttons to garments these days.( one of my pet hates are buttons that come off after just a wear or two.)

We have been making these rosettes to put in party bags for Rose's friends.
Scraps of fabric, a button and a brooch back ( or safety pin will do) - with just a few stitches you have a pretty rosette.
Rose is quite proud of the fact that she has helped to sew these. And I'm happy that she has learned how to deal with those loose buttons!

paper mache cubes...

part of the class artwork I am co-ordinating for Rose' class.
Sort of a 3-D shadow box-like sculptural thingy.
All clear on that?
Firstly the children will cover the box shapes made from recycled milk cartons) with paper mache and paint them white .They will then decorate the cubes with drawings, mono-prints and collage and I will  build a shadow box to display all of the completed cubes.

Should look good.
(I hope.)

neat...

I'm really very happy with how this crochet roll has turned out.
Fabric from the stash and a big red button to finish it off.


There a few gift giving occasion coming up so I am trying to get the handmade gifts sorted out early.


Simple, useful and satisfying.

small distractions....

I find myself looking for any way to distract myself in these last few weeks (or possibly days)  of pregnancy.
So of course, when I saw the tutorial for this patchwork ball, I started one immediately. ( Many thanks to Lil Birdie for the how to and photos.)

Now what's next?......

(Two weeks to go)