Settling for a bit of this.........

 and a bit of that:

Going one step further than the patchwork cushions:

And dipping my toe in the world of quilting:

Even the beloved man got to join in this little patch (boo!!) of creativity by tidying up this sad little thing:

Loving it's transformation:

And for the grand price of........

wait for it...........

£9!!!!!

Wicker chair from the car boot sale, the seller swore blind it was a genuine Lloyd Loom but I don't think anyone believed him as he couldn't raise his £10 asking price. The beloved one bargain him down to six whole pounds. Wandering around we found another stallholder selling cans of spray paint for £1 so bought three to transform the chair from it's sickly lilac to a lovely antique white.

The fabrics are leftovers from assorted makes - the obviously Ikea birdie print and the deeper green was left over from the bathroom blind, the light green used to be Owen's bunk bed curtains, the tiny scarp in the centre was one of Heather's slings, the granny floral was left from making the caravan curtains and the pinky satin trim was the lining of another sling. The reverse fabric is Craig's old duvet cover, he's far too grown up for a mama made wild floral bedroom don't you know? As for the crochet flowers, well surely you recognise that yarn? Yes, it's the half skein left over from the cardi I just made Sophie. 

So there we go - super happy with my bargain recycled piece of loveliness, and doubly happy with my first little foray into quilting. Not a patch ( I know - again!) on some of the beautiful quilts I covet daily on fabulous blogs, I wouldn't want you thinking that! The stitching is a bit on the wavy wandering side, and the placement is a bit skewiff in places creating a few little ruffles when the ends were reached, not to mention that a little of the lining is held in place more by luck and repeated hemming than by any level of skill, but hey it's my first attempt and it certainly won't be my last. And now I know why those books are so detailed......and to follow them too!!

Another project finished, no more to be started until I finish the ones in progress. Back tomorrow with another completed...........I hope!

-x-

Decisions, decisions.........

Which shall it be?

Getting on with this:

Or this:

Perhaps I might get another row or two done on this:

Because there's a house full of people who can do the dishes right?

-x-

Bathing beauties.....or a gift idea!

Many, many weeks ago I posted a giveaway on my other blog to celebrate: my 40th birthday, my 3 year blogiversary, and my 400th post. Well this week I finally sent out the mystery gift. How lax am I? I can't excuse why it took so long. It wasn't a difficult make. I didn't need to specifically buy anything. I didn't need to think up an idea. I guess I was just too forgetful, the bane of my life. My memory isn't so great any way but I'm sure turning 40 has made it even worse ;) Funny how I can remember where I acquired virtually every scrap of yarn in my stash, but I can't remember something as simple as carrying a parcel to the post office!

But hey, it's done, and should certainly be in it's new home now. So you want to see what it was that took so long:

It involved my default craft - knitting:

And a little cross stitch:

A bit of sewing too:

A handknitted bamboo/cotton facecloth, an all-nasties-free handmade (not by me!) lemongrass soap in it's own little knitted bag, a hand rolled beeswax candle, a little cross stitch trimmed lavender sachet:

All packed away in a pretty little cross stitch trimmed drawstring bag:

I hope it's well liked, especially as I have a few more in mind for yuletide gifting! Always on the lookout for more inspiration though, so what do you have planned?

-x-

The shawl collar cardigan!

Well what can I say about this?

I picked up some bargain yarn at this shop just recently, and picked a simple pattern to make a little cardigan to put away for Sophie for a yuletide gift. So aran yarn, wool content, stocking stitch cardi - easy don't you think? Poorly mama wanted as easy as can be for those late nights spent upright and aching. Cast on the back, follow the pattern - fine. Same for the right front. Do a quick tally of the yarn left........oh dear! One and one third skeins used for the back, around two thirds for the front. Taking a guess that each sleeve will use one skein and a further two thirds for the left front, leaving just under half a skein for the shawl collar. Hmmm, maybe my tension is out a little? Nope, all fine there. Did I mis-read the yarn requirments? No again, five stated and five bought. Oh well, maybe the collar won't use as much as I'm thinking. But just in case I cast on a sleeve next. Just as I thought it used exactly one skein, with only just enough left to stitch it up. So I set aside one skein for the other sleeve, and enough yarn for the left front, stitched the shoulders of the right front and back, and picked up the stitches for the shawl collar. I hoped that I would get this half of the collar completed with half of the remaining yarn. It soon became clear I wouldn't!

But then an even bigger problem became apparent. Following the pattern exactly was not going to give me the collar shown on the picture. I doublechecked the pattern, squinted at the picture to ascertain the number and formation of the stitches. No way was the pattern going to result in that collar. The shawl collar on the picture ended in a button closure at the chest, the shawl collar in the pattern  vee'd all the way down to the bottom edge of the cardi. So after banging down my knitting and snapping a lovely wooden needle taking a deep breath, I pulled back to where I thought the pattern was going wrong and started on the alternative top-of-my-head shawl collar. This turned out better than the original pattern but I still wasn't 100% happy with it. And I used over half of the collar yarn too! Although I have to say considerably less than I would have used following the pattern. So after acquiring an extra skein of yarn I put the cardi away and went on a little R'n'R break.

After a couple of days away and some non-taxing and therapeutic hooking of the Granny Stripe Kingsize Throw (capitalizing for such a mega project is essential I think?) I decided to face the  cardi again and so knitted up the left front and second sleeve. When it came to the collar I decided to follow the pattern once again,  and then showed  anyone I could bribe into caring  interested housedwellers the mutant-looks- finished-but-why-does-it-have-2-different-collars? cardi and see which they preferred. And the overwhelming opinion of all three bored interested people (I tried to get an opinion off  the 15 year old boy on his way to the fridge but strangely he didn't appear to be that interested) was that the revised collar was the winner. So I ripped back the original, pattern followed, odd collar and tried to remember my own. A bit more moaning and groaning later and the collar was finished. Still not how this knitter imagined but the general opinion is that Sophie will like it, or more importantly, that her mum will!

And if you read my yarn along post on the other blog yesterday you will already know that I have casted on for the same cardi again in Heather's size and an even lovelier colourway. But this time I know what I'm doing with the collar. And it definitely isn't the one on the pattern......or the one I ended up with above!!

So just in case anyone else wants to buy a pattern that shouldn't be followed, or knit a very oddly shaped shawl collared cardi, or maybe even show me exactly how I could have gone so wrong, here are the technical details :)

Pattern used (kind of): Sirdar 2275

Yarn: Sirdar Click aran shade 0148

Amount: 5.5 skeins (although pattern states 5 and would have used at least 6!)

Size: age 6-7 (although this fits cain who is actually a small 5 year old, luckily the same size as Sophie)

Needles: pair of 4mm (plus one extra for snapping!!) and pair of 5mm

Cost: 6x£1.39 - £8.34 from this sale (no idea why the price states £1.49, it was only £1.39 instore).

Yarn left: approximately 35g including short lengths.

I would love to hear if any of you have knitted this cardi, or will knit it, and how it has turned out for you.

And yes, I have yet another finished item to share with you all, so don't forget to come back soon.

-x-

Mice? Owl sort it!

The natural way to solve the mice problem - call in an expert mousecatcher:

No fee necessary, just a good meal will do.

Hang on a minute - they're not what I expected:

Aaargh I'm off, sort your own rodent problems.

Ok so I promised a knitty post, but I'm not happy with the knitty thing just yet. If it improves with blocking I'll share later ;-)

-x-

Having a mice day!

Oh dear, we appear to have mice.

Today we spotted two huge ones up in the bedroom. 

 

Twitchy noses, long tails and huge ears, pretty things they are. 

Owen is very taken with them and wants to keep them to himself.

Their names are Pinky Whitenose and Whitey Pinknose. Can you tell which is which?

And something that won't be snaffled away by one boy or the other - another in the set of pretty patchwork cushions.

The mice are inspired by an old issue of Sew Hip magazine, adapted slightly as I can't find my tin with toy eyes and noses, so I made stuffed noses and used buttons for eyes instead.

Hopefully a little knitty finished thing to share too later.

See you soon.

-x-

Catching up.

Ooh, it's been a long time hasn't it? Shall I give a multitude of reasons, or shall I just get straight on with showing some of the things that have been keeping me busy? Well aside from family, work, and general life that is!

Plannig lot's of projects using vintage fabric and bargain yarns:

Rowan Purelife organically grown 100% wool natural plant dyed only £1.50 per skein here but very limited now

Ebay bargain - over 2m of pretty barkcloth fabric

  Sirdar Click aran £1.39 per skein from the same place - love this shop, and it's not too far away for a personal visit either.

Crafting gifts for lovely mama's:

Knitted bamboo facecloth, soapbag, cross stitch trimmed scented sachet, and a trim for the carryall.

Starting on the christmas gifting:

Knitted dolly for Heather with removable clothes, just a couple more outfits to make.

Knitted cardi for Sophie with yet more of the bargain Sirdar Click

Sewing pretty cushions:

Enjoying patchwork and getting to grips with zips too.

Preparing for winter:

Granny stripe blanket 200cms wide, 110 treble clusters, 50cms high, another 130cms to go. And the edging.

Oh yes, I've been a busy crafting mama lately, with lot's more makes all jostling to show themselves off.

Sorry it's only a flying visit but maybe the changing weather will mean more time snuggling inside with the hooks and needles, and lot's more idea's to share.

-x-