2011....last post of the year

Well, this is the last post of the year and in a few months time I will have had a blog for nearly a whole year. I love having a blog and it's been amazing looking back through the months, next year I will try to be a more regular blogger as there are a lot of gaps. I am also going to stock my shops and try to take better photos too.

Thank you for all your lovely comments and support. 32 followers....unbelievable......I really didn't think any one would look at my blog let alone follow, so thank you so much.

Have a lovely happy and peaceful new year,

Much love,

Emma x

New cushion

I should be making christmas prezzies.... oh well! 

My cushions are looking a little battered so I'm trying to replace them gradually. I was after fabric for something else when I came across these little bits, some still left from the lovely stash sent to me by Ceri and I'm afraid I forgot what I was about to do and made myself a new cushion instead. I love that when I think my cushions look rubbish I can just have a little rummage in the fabric drawer and produce enough bits and pieces to make a beautiful cushion that costs next to nothing.  Eeek, back to the presents quick :)

Emma x

Look away now if you don't like chocolate !

This is my first attempt at rocky road, it was delicious, notice I'm saying was, as it is all gone....yummy.

Emma x

I've put something in the shop...yay!

I really love the cute little japanese characters ( think paper-chase stickers and stuff ) that seem to be so in at the moment, especially putting sweet little faces on things, so I went with it and spent a really enjoyable evening making this for christmas.

I won't put anything in the shop that I'm not 100% happy with, hence the fact the shops are empty. This is neat and tidy and so cute that I felt it was good enough to go in, so at last my etsy shop has a listing, only one thing but I am hoping to add to it soon. It can be found here. I am having a go with etsy as I have done a few swaps to different countries and found on the whole that it is relatively easy to ship to other countries and as long as I keep the items and prices small if it all goes wrong I won't lose too much. I'm never going to make a living from it but I get enormous pleasure knowing that someone has actually wanted to give my makes a home.... Does that make sense?

Any way I'm off to make some sloe gin...yummy : )

Emma x

10

Today Hollie is ten......TEN....how on earth did that happen so fast !
Happy Birthday princess we love you very much xxx

 Emma x

Getting ahead of the game...well trying really hard to anyway.

As there is only four weeks and three days left until my littlies break up for the Christmas holidays ( running round living room hands in the air screaming with panic, I have so much to do eeeeek! ) I have been trying to get the teachers gifts sorted. So far I have managed to complete Hollie's teacher's gifts and at last a beautiful sunny day to take some pictures.

Hollie is in Hedgehog class and I had some lovely Michael Miller fabric with a hedgehog print so that was the theme ( the second mug rug I had already made so I only had to make one more. I am adding a lovely Cath Kidston christmas mug too. So two down two to go, Sophie is in Fireflies class! Wish me luck.

Emma x

Yummy new wool and at last Casper boy has a new bed.

I have splurged on some yummy wool for a few Christmas projects, I've never used this wool before it's Millamia 100% extra fine marino, it's so soft and the colours are...well...yummy ! I brought it to make crochet snow flakes and mug cosies but now I have it I'm not sure I may change my mind.

And here's the boy in his new bed.

Have a super spOoOky week end,

Emma x

Mug cosy

I can't tell you how long I have been desperately trying to make mug cosies , I cannot stand cold tea and the thought of something wooly to keep my tea warm is very appealing. Also I think they would make lovely presents especially for my tea and coffee drinking friends in the thrift shop.
I don't know how to crochet so I have been trying to knit them and NO I am not putting the sorry evidence on here...although it would give you all a good laugh...hmm I'll maybe consider it.
One of my favourite blogs to read is Attic 24, Lucy's crochet is absolutely amazing and she very kindly has a lot of free patterns on her blog, in all of her patterns she describes how to do each stitch in such a way that even I can follow. So I thought what the heck I'll try and crochet a mug cosy, I have used just one simple stitch, don't ask me what cos I don't know! This is what I've made.

It looks like they are showing us how to make these in next months Mollie Makes (thats where the tea bag idea was from) I think it looks knitted though so if there is a proper pattern I may try knitting another one, I'm hoping there will be some ideas for the fastening around the handle as well. I am very happy with this one and I will be making more as it only took an evening and it was easy yay :D.

Emma x

I need to make this!

When I got this book (Scandinavian Needlecraft) even though it was nowhere near Christmas I knew I wanted this lovely Folk bird garland in my house, I almost made it there and then.
I have struggled to get hold of nice felt, it has either been really expensive or too big or too small. Kirsty from ThatCraftyFish has recently started stocking wool felt in manageable sizes here: Fuzzy Fish. So I ordered 1/2 a meter of Bunny white wool felt, although it is not as thick as I would have liked it is far more substantial than normal felt, soft, the colour is just perfect and it arrived very quickly yay. So I set to work, it isn't finished yet so this is a work in progress post, I have rather a lot more birds to cut and stitch. I'm mostly doing this in the evening when Casper the dog sleeps at my feet, which allows me to get on in peace.

Evening stitching with a glass of wine and a sleepy puppy hot water bottle, bliss.

Emma x

Decorating

I have managed a spot of decorating in the last few weeks. The girls rooms were looking a bit tired (there was a projectile vomit incident in Sophie's room where I decided the best thing to rid the wall of germs was bleach, unfortunately it also removed the paint in big circular patterns) and various other incidents that trash children's bedrooms, I believe it's called life ! Any way they needed doing so paint was chosen and they were done.

I'm sooo pleased with how they termed out the girls love them too, of course you can't see the floor again now, that would be life again I suppose ! ; )

Emma x

Finished and ready to send.

I have managed to finish the mug rug for the swap, yay :) and I have also managed not to eat the chocolates to go with it, double yay :D. It all went wrong at the quilting stage (as usual) but apart from being a little wonky I am very happy with it and hopefully my partner will be too, if nothing else she'll have some nice choccies.

I'm all set to start the christmas things now, cos it's only 74 days till Christmas you know ;).

 

We have a new addition to our family too, this is Casper and he is taking up a lot of my time at the moment, not that I mind as he is adorable, we couldn't have asked for a lovelier dog.

Emma x

Little bird

This little bird is a sneak peak of my mug rug for the mug rug swap adventure, she's turned out to be really rather lovely. Again I took inspiration from "Scandinavian Needlecraft"  the bird isn't one of the projects but in the back ground I loved the shape and based this little birdie on it. I think it would look lovely on little lavender tree decorations to give as gifts too.
(Judging by this picture I appear to have forgotten how to use an iron, sorry about that, I will press it before I stitch it all together)
Emma x

The Fox and the Hedgehog.

"The fox knows many tricks, the hedgehog only one, but it is the best of all" I used this little saying on another autumn mug rug. 

I'm hoping to re-stock my shops soon so I'm building a little collection to sell at christmas fairs or put in the shops we'll see how it goes, they could even be christmas presents. I would love to make all my own this year. I grew those little pumpkins too, aren't they adorable.

Emma x

An apple a day

Yep more apples, are you bored yet?
I'm doing a mug rug swap and I haven't made one for a while so I thought I would have a little practise run, making mug rugs is fab so no excuse needed really.
I love the saying, "An apple a day" so that got added too. I seem to be going through a stage of putting little quotes on things at the minute. I enjoy hand sewing and it's nice to stitch a few words on to a piece I think.

Also I'm trying to use other colours than pink, I love using pink so it isn't easy, I'm thinking autumnal colours to help myself a bit. Actually two of the prints on this one are from the lovely stash of fabrics sent to me by Ceri, goodness it has been so hard to cut into some of those lovely fabrics hence the fact I still have some left.

Emma x

Apples and pears....

....I love the shape of them and to me they always seem so autumnal. Autumn is a lovely time of the year and I love decorating the house with autumny things. The recipe for these apples ( which are stuffed with lavender of course ) are from a book called home sweet sewn and the pears, I just adapted the pattern to make a taller and not so fat fruit.

They are growing everywhere, ooh and the squashes are from the allotment of course and I'm really proud of them.

Emma x