Friday 28 December 2012

Zebra!

I hope you all had a very merry Christmas!!  I am pleased to report that the Lumberjack and I were finally recovered from our mega cold bugs and able to enjoy our two Christmas Days!  (One with his family and one with mine).

We were spoilt with great food, company and presents.  I will probably share some of my presents at some point - but for now, I wanted to show you my December monthly make!  A zebra hat for my nephew!!



This was one of his Christmas presents.  My sister-in-law calls him her little zebra, as he had a cute zebra patterned baby-grow coat when he was born.  She loves zebra things for him - so I thought she would love this!  There are various other ones similar to this on the internet, crocheted and knitted.  I ended up making this pattern up myself, though - I'm quite surprised I managed it actually!!!!  (It took me four attempts to work out a way to do the ears!)

It is a bit big, but at least that means he won't grow out of it straight away!  I had tried it on him a couple of times during the making, but it wasn't easy.  I'd popped round, made my brother and sister-in-law leave the room, then attempted to get what I had on his head and work out how much more I needed to do, where the ear-flaps should go etc, while he tried to get it off, wondering why his mad Auntie was fiddling about with his head!  So, it wasn't exactly simple to work out the measurements!



Getting him to keep it on and pose for photos was very tricky, but I did my best!





Cute little angel boy!!!!

It is his 1st birthday today - so HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUTTON!!  One of his presents I gave him today was also following the zebra theme, for his nursery:



It's a Caroline Rose print, from one of her collages, from here.  Caroline was so helpful - the print wasn't for sale in her shop, but it had been there months ago.  I emailed and told her about it, and asked if there was any way I could get one.  She emailed back in no time, knew exactly which print I meant, and had it listed in her Etsy shop in minutes for me!  Thank you so much Caroline, my sister-in-law was delighted!

I'm thinking of writing up the pattern for the hat, and putting it on my blog in case anyone wants to have a go.  Not sure if anyone would be interested, but I might do it anyway!  It would be my first pattern!

This is a bit wordy today - so bye for now.....!

Tuesday 18 December 2012

33 Yesterday!

Hello!  It was my birthday yesterday - 33 years old... how the time flies!

The Lumberjack and I had booked the day off work, but unfortunately we were both ill with a nasty cold virus we'd had all weekend.  We'd planned to do something nice, along the lines of the Winchester Christmas Market and an afternoon tea.  Instead we stayed in sipping hot honey and lemon drinks - venturing out to the chemist for more cough medicine!

We're still ill today - it really is a horrible virus.  But, on a more positive note I was spoiled with lovely presents from him, his family and my family... so here is a selection to show you...


Lovely bunting wrapping paper and butterfly tag from the Lumberjack - I didn't get a picture of the parcels, as I was too impatient to open them!


These are some of my presents.  Kirstie Allsopp Craft, socks, lots of ribbon, a big traditional ceramic mixing bowl, a jewellery/craft box (so pretty, with bunting on!)... and look at the PiP Studio tea plate and matching cup and saucer - picked by the Lumberjack!

I'd not even ever seen the Vintage Knits book before - the clever fella found it himself - it was a nice surprise present!  Here's one of the projects I'm going to try to make:



Lovely wrapping paper from my brother and sister-in-law.


Here's one of the lovely presents from them - gorgeous pretty stitch markers!  I love them!


This fleece and fabric scarf is another present from them - I've got it on now to keep me warm!


And these lovely fabrics are one of the presents from my parents.  Gorgeous!

I won't bore you with any more, but I was very lucky!  I just wish we had been well, but we'll have to have a nice day out in January to make up for it.


Saturday 15 December 2012

Christmas Crafting

Hi!  Thanks for all the lovely comments on my last post.  It did amuse me to see the Lumberjack surrounded by girlie colours!  He didn't mind, though!

My Christmas crafting has been pretty rubbish really - I had so many ideas rushing around my head, but have not managed to achieve much.  One thing I have finished is the name of my nephew, on his Christmas Sack!


I can't claim credit for making the sack - my brother and sister-in-law got it for him from Next, for his first Christmas, and asked if I'd add his name.  It's one that he'll bring out every year and will hopefully be one of his happy Christmas traditions!



They're just letters cut out of felt and sewn on, so nothing too complicated, but I think it works well with the sack.

I'm working on another couple of handmade presents for my nephew for Christmas and his birthday (a few days after Christmas - some followers may remember from this post).  I will have to reveal those after they have been received, as I don't want my sister-in-law seeing them!!!  The little darling has taken over all my Christmas crafting - everyone else will miss out, hehe!


Thursday 29 November 2012

One Year Together!

Thanks for all the lovely comments on my cowl in the last post!

On Tuesday it was one year since the Lumberjack and I went on our first date - how time flies!!!


Here we have a photo of the Lumberjack - making his début appearance on my blog!  I took this the other day when he was feeling a bit poorly, so had decided he needed to get cozy under my unfinished waterlily blanket.  (Just off the picture are lots of squares only sewn together on 2 sides, so it was a bit gappy and drafty!)  I couldn't resist a picture of him surrounded by my girlie and homemade goodies!  There's my round PiP Studio cushion, my handmade fabric cushion behind his head, and just peeping in on the left is my african flower cushion!  And you are all getting quite a good view there of the waterlily blanket - although the light wasn't good for the photo.  Once I finish it, there will be a proper reveal!

Now, talking of crochet blankets, my lovely Swedish friend Anna - who I've mentioned before (the one who taught me to crochet, and is so much better at it than me!) - is the queen of crochet blankets!  And... guess what... she has just started her own blog - yay!  It is called 'Number 11' - so go over for a look and give some blog love!  It's in Swedish, so use Google Translate to read it.  (Although, I might try to persuade her to write it in English hehehe!)  I am sure there will be much more loveliness to come, as she is very talented - you can see a peak of some of her blankets in the last post!  (I haven't actually told her that I'm doing this shout-out in my blog, so I hope she doesn't tell me off... eeek!!!!!!!!)


Monday 19 November 2012

The Ultimate Cowl - Ta Dah!

Well, I finished the crochet I was working on in my last post!  Such a quick and easy project - I used Sarah's Ultimate Cowl/Snood pattern at Annaboo's House, here.  Thanks Sarah!



Yesterday was a lovely sunny autumn day, so the Lumberjack and I tried to get some pictures of the cowl in use.  (Such fun for him, I'm sure!)

I look a bit evil in this next one, but it shows more of the cowl!


Scary!!!

And these next ones are just silly ones, but we had to show off the gorgeous colours of the leaves - so bright and vibrant!  In fact, we should have left me out of the shot completely, as you can't properly see the cowl anyway!!





So, there you have it - this is my November monthly make.  Phew, made it in plenty of time this month...



Sunday 11 November 2012

New Project

I've started on a new project!  I needed something quick and easy for some instant satisfaction, alongside trying to finish off the waterlily blanket (sewing squares together, and trying to sew all those boring ends in as I go... eurgh!).


Super chunky yarn and a 15mm hook... so quick!  (Thanks Annaboo!)  It shouldn't be long before a ta-dah moment!

I did a bit of baking last weekend, and made some lemon oat streusel squares... well, this one is more of a rectangle than a square:


But the rest were squares.  Well, apart from the first one out of the bakeware... what a mess!  So, to dispel any false impressions of perfection indicated by the above picture, see below... oh dear!


It still tasted good!  :o)


Wednesday 31 October 2012

October Make - Fabric Covered Magnets

Well... again scraping in at the end of the month with this!


This is a set of 3 fabric covered magnets, made using self-cover buttons.  You might recognise the fabric as the same as my mobile phone case.  I thought one of the little owls might make a good magnet...


I think it might have been better if the button had been bigger maybe... but it's ok.  I have a new desk at work with a magnetic board, so I just had to make some magnets for it!


It's only a little make, but this is my October Monthly Make.  My blanket is taking up most of my spare time (when I'm not being lazy and doing nothing!) so I really hope to be able to ta-dah it in November... fingers crossed!


Monday 22 October 2012

A Bit of Cross Stitch...

Where is October disappearing to?!  It's passing in a blur!

I've been trying to get the Waterlily Blanket finished... I am getting there!  Although, I get hand pains if I do too much of it (I know, at my tender age!) - so I started a bit of cross stitch for when the crochet hurts too much...


Hopefully before long I will be able to show you the finished blanket!

Oh, and I've been meaning to thank Tania from Little Things Blogged for awarding me with the Sunshine Award.  Please pop over and check out her blog!  Thanks Tania!  :o)


Sunday 30 September 2012

Owlie Ta-Dah!

Well, here is my Owlie Ta-Dah!  My main September monthly make too - just scraping in!


It's a case for my mobile phone.


It's lined with pink felt, with a little pocket on one side, also lined in pink felt.  (Not sure what the pocket is for, but it adds a nice bit of interest!  The other side is just the owlie material, with a big wooden button to fasten...


It took me longer than it should have, and was a bit of a fiddley little blighter to make.  I was a bit fed up with it by the time I'd finished, and not that happy with it.  After a night's sleep, though, I decided I love it!


How many pictures of the same thing do you need to see?!?!


So there you have it!  I'll try to be more productive in October.  I have been crafting, just not finishing anything this month (like the never-ending Waterlily blanket!)


Thursday 27 September 2012

All Sorts...

Hello!


Doesn't that cake look delicious?  Raspberry swirl cupcake (bought not made, I'm afraid!) - it was goooood!

I've been having a massive sort and clear-out in my bedroom.  I thought I'd share a picture, as I'm taking part in Cherry Heart's Pretty Crafty Home.  This qualifies as tidying and de-cluttering - there isn't any craft involved.

Unfortunately I didn't take a before shot, but here is the after shot:


Those hooks have my colourful jewellery hanging from them - bracelets at the top, necklaces at the bottom.  That has actually been there for a while, but it's the clean tidiness that is the change!  I pulled the furniture out and hoovered behind, cleaning down the skirting boards - then I cleared and tidied the drawers and the piles of rubbish on top of them.  I actually found my watch that I'd lost a few weeks ago!  I'd thought I must have thrown it away by mistake as I'd searched high and low for it... but there it was - hiding amongst the debris!  (That might give a clue to how messy it was before!)  The spaces between units were also crammed with random things... now let's see how long before it ends up like that again!

I have also been lucky enough to win a giveaway!  Thank you so much to Helen Phillips - I was so pleased to win!  If you don't already know her, head over to her blog - it is always full of the most gorgeous photos of beautiful creations - she is very talented.

Here was my parcel, front and back...



And inside...


... a beautiful handmade big pin cushion, lovely Cath Kidston buttons and a gorgeous handmade tag (it's my little Mumsie's birthday tomorrow, so I've got the perfect use for that tag, she's going to love it - I hope she doesn't read this before then!)

Thank you so much Helen for such a lovely giveaway, I was very lucky to win.

Before I go - I have made a little something using the below selection of goodies...


Just need to take a photo of it.  It will be my September Monthly Make (in the nick of time!) along with the Swedish Chocolate balls from this post.

Until next time.......


Saturday 22 September 2012

Colour!

Well, it's been a busy last week - the Lumberjack and I have had the week off work and have been away to the Isle of Wight and Somerset, visiting family.  It's so good to have a break from work!

My crafting has suffered, but I thought I'd show you the latest pile of squares for the Waterlily blanket... I'm about 10 or 11 days behind my one-a-day schedule...oops...


I have also been buying more supplies for other projects!


Oooh, more lovely colour!  I've got some cross-stitch plans waiting for these embroidery threads!

One pattern needs these colours...


Another pattern needs these colours...


Another one needs these...


And these are the extras I bought, just because I wanted to...



Now I just need to find the time to do it all!!!

Tuesday 11 September 2012

Swedish Chocolate Balls... Yum!

Look at these delights I've made...


They are Swedish Chocolate Balls, made with a recipe my Swedish friend Anna gave me ages ago - so tasty!  (Thanks yet again Anna!)  You probably can't tell from the picture, but they're rolled in little mini chocolate flakey thingies (so descriptive) to coat the balls.  You can roll them in whatever you like - chocolate sugar strands, coconut... whatever your heart desires!  The reason there are only six in the picture, is that I didn't have much of the "little mini chocolate flakey thingies" so only had enough to roll six balls in.  Therefore the rest of the mixture I left in the bowl in the fridge, and I just munch it with a spoon out of the bowl - yes, that's the kind of girl I am!!  ;o)

In crocheting news, thanks for all the lovely comments and encouragement on my last post.  I have fallen somewhat behind in my 'one a day' challenge (who's surprised?!) - I'm about 3 or 4 squares behind.  Still catch-up-able, though... we'll see!  Although, as my friend Anna (of aforementioned 'chocolate ball' fame, and also the person who taught me to crochet - oh, what a positive impact she's had on my life!) says, it's not homework - if I want to put it down and start something else I can!  But I have just completed square number 41 of 81 - so half a square over the half-way mark - woohoo!

Here is something I made ages ago, but hadn't got round to posting about...


It's a tuna-tin cover (inspiration from Lucy at Attic24 - I'm sure you all saw her post ages ago)  The reason I hadn't posted about it is that I planned to make a few - but that didn't happen...


In case you're wondering what's inside that odd little flower pot thingy, they are cactuses the Lumberjack and I have been trying to grow from seed since about March time.  (Well, mainly him - as I kill all plants that have the misfortune to enter my presence!  That plant in the background of the first tuna-tin picture is his too, although lives at my flat - it's an orange tree... oh, exotic!  As far as I can tell, it hasn't changed one little bit in about six months, but what do I know?  I'm just grateful I haven't killed it off in the days when I'm left alone with it..!)


Not sure if you can make them out - there are about 8 or 9 cactuses in there I think.  Probably too many for the pot if they all actually survive!

Enough from me... I've been a bit waffley today!

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