September and October

Hello! I have managed to emerge from the life-sucking force that is school for one week only – the perfect chance to catch up on everything I’ve pretty much forgotten about over the last 8 weeks. I was actually hoping that I’d be able to write a post earlier in the week, but it seems that holiday times can be just as busy as work times!

I started the week by staying with my cousin and his wife in London.

They are the most wonderful hosts, so very welcoming and lovely. I had a very relaxed stay with them and managed to do a lot of reading, a fair bit of crochet and a trip to Ikea! I deliberately didn’t take my laptop and it was wonderful to have a few days away from all the distractions of the internet. And I very much enjoyed looking at this picture on their wall…

It’s so quirky, and I love the fact that the yarn is stitched on to the canvas.

I was also inspired by a blanket my aunt made – she knitted it, then backed it with fleece.

It makes a really weighty, snuggly blanket. I think that if I ever get round to finishing my CAL stripy blanket (which I’d really like to do – at some point) I’ll back it with fleece. That might also help to disguise the wonky edges!!

The crochet I’m working on at the moment can’t be revealed just yet as I’m busy making presents, but I can give you a sneak peek. This stripy item is a Christmas present…

…and I’m using this beautiful yarn (James C. Brett Aria) to make a birthday present.

The photo doesn’t do it justice – it’s really a deeper red, and has teeny tiny sequins attached every few inches. It’s really lovely, but a little tricky to work with. It’s really fluffy and if (when!) I make mistakes it’s quite hard to unravel.

There is a lot more I’d like to show you, but thought it would make too long a post to put it all in one! To be continued…

A little catch up

Hello, how have you been? Sorry I’ve not been around much lately (I seems like I say that in most of my posts!) Life, as usual, has got in the way of the fun stuff.

However, I have been able to work a little more craftiness into my life over the last couple of weeks – hurrah! I made a lovely ripply scarf for my friend’s birthday. The pattern was Lucy’s from Attic 24. I think I even took some pictures of it, but they all came out blurry and rubbish because it was dark and gloomy.

A lot of the things I’ve been working on are for Christmas presents, so I can’t show you what they are just yet! Hopefully I’ll have lots to show you in January though 🙂

Just this afternoon I’ve made another birthday present. I’ll pop by in a few days to let you see it.

However, something I can show you is my little jug. This is what I painted at half term on the Isle of Wight. It was all safely packed…

…and here it is!

If I’d realised how similar some of the colours are I think I would have chosen a few others. But on the whole I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out. It’s now standing proudly on my bookcase, just waiting for something to put in it. Any suggestions?

Another birthday present reveal

Today has been a pretty lazy one so far. I didn’t quite get the lie in I was hoping for (although 7.15 is a lot later than I get up in the week) but I did get to stay in bed and finish my book – bliss! I’ve been doing a few things that need to be done – washing in the machine, tidying, sorting, washing out on the line, preparing Sunday school, folding and putting away washing. So it was a fairly productive morning, but I didn’t have to rush from one thing to another as I often do, and it didn’t matter too much when I got distracted from what I was doing either.

I had lunch with some of my family at a local farm shop and restaurant which was completely yummy. It’s at the top of a hill, so we had great views of all the rolling fields surrounding us.

And now I’m back home with my feet up and about to start a new book.

But before I get to that I just wanted to show you the other birthday present I made. You may well have seen some of the elements that went into creating it (but only if you read these posts, here and here) but this is what it looks like all put together…

My friend has recently bought her first home, so thought that her birthday present should be something that reflected that. I’m sure that she was given lots of practical things, and although I did ponder making something that could be used (coasters, table mats, napkins, pot stands) I settled on something purely decorative. I was really pleased with how it turned out, and especially love the little colourful windows and tiny button flowers.

At one point I considered stitching words onto it too (probably along the lines of ‘home sweet home’) but decided against it in the end as 1) I didn’t want to ruin it by adding too much and 2) I ran out of time. If I make something similar (and I’m sure I probably will at some point) I may well add words, but I think this little picture turned out to be pretty lovely just as it is.

 

At long last

Hello, good evening, how are you? I’m so sorry I havent’ been around the last few days. Time has just slipped through my fingers and has been soaked up by all the things that have to be done, rather than the things I’d like to do.

But hurrah for the weekend! Hopefully I’ll have time for nice things as well as the necessary things. And let me start off the weekend by showing you what I was working on last week and was so desperate to show you! I finally tracked down my friend and gave her The Present. The wapping paper was off in mere seconds to reveal this…

It looks like a little clutch bag (and could be used as such) but I had a specific purpose in mind for it. Last year I made her a journal cover out of the same fabric and ribbon. Her journal is pretty much always in her handbag, as is her Bible. But her Bible was still in the box it came in. Practical for protection, but not very pretty. So I managed to sneakily find out the measurements from another friend who has a Bible the same size, and stitched up a made to measure case.

It fit surprisingly well considering I only had measurements on paper to go on. Usually if I’m making a case for something I like to have the actual object to make sure it fits as I go along. So the fact that it fits (and fits well) is really very pleasing.

I have also passed on the other present I made, but will post about that tomorrow, just to make sure that it’s been opened (it would be so annoying to ruin the surprise at this stage!)

In other news, I had a lovely email this week from the lady who bought all those Buttons on Buttons I made. They’re selling well in her shop and she wants to order another 100! I’ve said that I won’t be able to start for another couple of weeks (when the school holidays roll around) but am hoping that I’ll have a few free moments next week to get a head start. Circles and tiny buttons here we come!

Wrapped and ready

Well, I’ve been a busy little bee the last couple of days. So busy I’ve not had time to post (sorry!) but it’s been a fairly productive couple of days which is great. However, I still can’t show you what I’ve been busy with!

I can tell you that this soft yellow embroidery thread has been added as a finishing touch to the gift I started making a few days ago.

It has been used to add some lovely blanket stitch edging (I just love blanket stitch)

And I’ve also started and finished another gift today, but can’t reveal any of it just yet. But here they both are, wrapped and ready to be given tomorrow.

Tomorrow afternoon I’ll post proper pics of what I’ve been working on – see you then 🙂

Being nosy

I don’t know about you, but I’m quite a nosy person. I used to tell Mum off for being nosy, always wanting to know where I’m going and what I’m doing. But I think I’m probably just as nosy now! I love looking at people’s houses, seeing the things they choose to have in their homes and the way they decorate them. All those TV programmes about house makeovers and interior designs are just brilliant!

And I love knowing what people get as presents too, either for birthdays or Christmas, just in case I can find some inspiring ideas for other people. So I’m going to you the chance to be nosy too – here are some of my birthday presents…

What lovely people I have in my life to give me such wonderful presents!

This beautiful mirror was made by my lovely friend who said that I’d inspired her to do something creative. And there are some special stories in some of those tiny tiles too, which makes it even more special.

It’s signed and dated too, which is great for when I start losing my marbles and can’t remember how old I was when I received this fantastic gift!

I very nearly bought this magazine the other day – so glad I resisted the temptation! It’s full of lovely ideas (a lot of union jack themed items) and great tips for selling which should be useful.

And did you notice the pink camera in the corner? How exciting! Obviously I had to use my old one to take the photo of it (and I don’t have a memory card for it yet) but hopefully it’ll take some better quality photos. It has about a million different settings though, so please bear with me as I experiment with it over the next few weeks.

One more thing I wanted to show you – my birthday cake!

When I was 7 my aunt made me a castle cake which was always my best ever. So Mum decided (as it was a special birthday) to make me another one – and this one has pink glitter! Who says being 30 means being grown up?!

And the winner is…

It’s my birthday! I have to say that it’s not too scary (so far) although I don’t officially turn 30 until 3.25, so will have to wait until then just to make sure that things don’t suddenly turn bad 🙂

A lovely friend stopped by last night with some goodies (she’s working and can’t come shopping today) and I’ve had a few other cards dropped in…

This cute little guy is holding on to…

…a huge pink balloon!

But the best present – a sunny day!

How lovely to wake up to sun instead of gloomy grey clouds. I wish I hadn’t woken up quite so early (5.30 is just a stupid time of day) but it’s so lovely to see sun!

Today is also the day to announce the winner of the Big 30 Giveaway. Here are the names of the lovely people who commented…

I folded and cut them up…

…and put them in the high tec choosing hat.

And the winner is…

Rainbow Junkie! Congratulations 🙂 Send me an email (cuteasabutton82@hotmail.co.uk) with your address and I’ll get your presents in the post.

Thanks to everyone who entered – it’s been great reading about some of your birthday traditions, it sounds like you all have a lot of fun (as well you should!)

And now I’m off to enjoy my birthday with cake and shopping – what a good combination!

Short and sweet

I’ve had  a lovely afternoon being creative. But I can’t show you anything yet because I’ve been making birthday presents! I’ve taken pictures so once they’ve been given I’ll let you know what I’ve been up to 🙂

In the meantime, pop over to this post and enter my birthday giveaway (if you haven’t done already) for a chance to win all these goodies!