Luna and Alba

  Luna Lapin, I did as much sewing as I could on my sewing machine, this is for baby Molly and I need it to be safe for her to play with, so adjustments were made. Daughter chose the gold spotty material for the ears, I had thought I would use a pink fabric, but the spots look good. 

Heads up, having a chat, these are ready for their eyes and nose, in the book they use buttons for the eyes, I am thinking of using felt, but I checked out the safety eyes and went with them. This was the point I decided to make 2.

I had loads of fun making their clothes, it took an afternoon with my sewing machine, I have not made buttonholes, I will stitch the shirt and dress closed, making it safe for Molly. 

Here they are, both dressed, I was thinking of making Luna a bolero or cardigan, but decided she looked good just in her dress. I have red and black thin leather for shoes, but I think I prefer them without shoes. 

I love his waistcoat, made with tea towel fabric, left over from a bag. His jeans are from an old pair of my shorts, the denim is thinner. 

I made the nickers from some lace I already had, the colours chosen to match the flowers on her dress. 

These are such fun to make, doubling up and making two was just so easy. All the clothes has been sewn on and should not be removed, I'm not sure what mummy will do with these, they could be a toy to play with or used as decoration in Molly's bedroom. 

Everything is now finished for the big day, I had my hair cut yesterday, today we will walk to local shop for cream and a few bits. It's a relaxing week here, I am thinking about my next craft project, I still have the button band to knit on my green cardigan. 

Maybe, just maybe I might make another rabbit for myself next year. 

Another finish

The dice are completely finished, one is a normal dice the second has shapes on, the last side I changed to the six numbers. I really enjoyed making these, they are an added gift for George to play with. I can see Will playing with George and showing the numbers, shapes and colours.

These are made with an 4inch upholstery foam square, some calico, and loads of cross stitch silks (threads), I purchased 2 skeins of each colour. 

We have had a quiet weekend at home, only walking to the village, where we can get most of what we need, the new real ale bar opened, so we did pop in for a half on Saturday, it's nice to see something different open, it's in one of the old charity shops. We have had another shop open, it's an Asian small supermarket, full of lovely spices and many things we have not seen before, and a fresh veg counter, we will try and use it as much as we can.

I have made all the clothes for both rabbits and my sewing machine is packed away, I do have some hand sewing to finish on both rabbits, but it's simple stitching so won't take long. I hope to be all finished by Wednesday, when I will do a rabbit post. 

We are still all testing negative, everyone testing this morning as my brother is on his way to us for Christmas, mummy and daddy tested Will yesterday and he is negative again, but they sticking to the rules and he won't be going anywhere this week, which sadly means they had to cancel their visit to Santa.

This morning I am picking daughter up and taking her to a local hospital, she is due an injection in her foot, daddy is home with boys, so I am happy to taxi her around, I won't go inside their house, it's hard not seeing the children, 10 days is a long time, but with everything crossed we will be together on the big day. 

 

Along came three

This blanket is finished, here it is on my king size bed, I love the colours, very me, it's made with a fine cotton purchased in Spain a few years ago, I used 3 x 200 grm balls, and I'm left with just 14grms. I do have one 200 grm ball left in a pale cream, not sure why I did not use it, I do think these 3 colours work well together, I just made the design up as I worked on it. 

I love the drape and weight of this blanket, I will get loads of pleasure in using this, and being cotton it's easy to wash and dry. I stitched all the ends in as I made the blanket, so I only had the finished strand to sew in. I have promised myself I will not make anymore granny square blankets, I think after this one they will all feel less worthy. Next year I hope to teach myself to follow patterns in crochet. 

I have finished my friend shawl, I still don't like the colours, I'm not a fan of yellow, but I've shown it to another friend who agrees it perfect colours. I knit these shawls up quickly and I enjoy making them, this is another Christmas gift, this friend does not craft at all. 

I really should have not cast on a pair of socks for me, but I loved this yarn, again it's James C Brett, this time just done in the main green colour, I am again pleased with the stripe match, I'm going to have warm toes again this winter. I have now cast on a pair of men's socks, not as a Christmas gift, but as a thank you for my wood turning friend, his wife has given me his shoe size. 

I'm loving putting these colours together for a pair of socks, Mick does wear colourful socks, so 🤞he is going to love these. The stripe in the bright blue is dark brown, I will do the toes matching the top, the heel I will do in the dark brown. 

Every spare moment I am crafting, I want to have everything done in the next couple of weeks, the time consuming items are finished, daughter  requested the few things for George, he is moving bedrooms, out of the nursey into a bigger room. Molly will be going into the nursery, as yet nothing from me is required, it is a small room. 

Christmas cards are all almost done, I have mainly the inserts to print out and attach, they should be in the post next week. I did cheat and buy one box for the sign ladies, I just fell in love with the simple design on the front.

It's been a restful few days, plenty of time knitting, lazy afternoons at home, we did do a big shop at our local Lidl, the freezer is now full, we should not need to shop for a while. Today I am going into town with hubby using my new bus pass, I have an eye test booked, which I'm sure will see me needing new glasses, expensive but necessary, no other plans, a treat of lunch out. The weather is now cold, with a strong wind from the north, so a weekend inside is planned, no gardening, the leaves are being blown off, but we will wait a few days in hope the wind dies down.

Get stuffed

This project is finished.

I have made pockets on children's cushions before for their reading books, on this cushion, I made a huge pocket on the back for patterns. I am always juggling with a pattern when knitting and often it falls on the floor, so this should be useful.

All finished, I am really pleased how well it looks, not perfect, but pretty and useful, in hope my friend will pop it on her crafting chair in her summerhouse. 

 I have enjoyed stitching this project, I found the french knots very restful to do, just stitching the same colour over the pattern on the fabric, making 'S' for Shelia. I did notice the 'S' was not straight, just a little off, but it should not notice, I used a bright blue cotton for the pocket, it was the closest match from my fabric stash, adding binding at the top of the pocket, which picks out the off white lines in the design. The biggest pain was in the pretty bobbles around the edge, I was planning to pop them in between the front and back when sewing together, but the black edging was too narrow so I had to hand sew it, I stitched around it twice for strength. The size was determined by the cushion insert I purchased, just a couple of hours to finish.

I have loads of crafting things on the go, so plenty to choose from each time I sit down, I can't sit and do nothing, I will have other finishes to show, I will post photo's soon I wanted this project as a single post as I am mighty pleased with myself.

I've had a couple restful days at home, time inside, I love my creative time, last night I slept at daughters house, with Molly and George, Will had a sleep over at Grandma's house, mummy and daddy went to a huge fundraiser in Portsmouth for the local DS group, they booked a hotel room and stayed over, they will be back soon with tales of the fun they had. I've had my hair cut from a shoulder length bob is a much shorter style, George was shy for just a few moments, Molly no reaction, Will just said 'like your new hair', I got really bored and changed my style, I also have a colour to put in, purple, rather a major change for me.

I'm home the rest of the weekend, some gardening to do, a tidy and a few last bulbs to plant, then back to crafting, no plans to go anywhere, we have everything we need. 

It's coming, so get ready.

Both Christmas cakes have been baked, I always put them upside down on the cake board, I can then tuck the marzipan in along the bottom, giving a neater finish to the icing. Both cakes have had a drink of brandy, daughters cake will now be covered in marzipan, I only ever give it one drink as Will loves cake, and I'm not prepared to let him eat boozy cake.  Our cake will get a few more drinks, I am only decorating our cake this year, Will and daughter will do theirs. 

We decided to be naughty this year,  I love Galaxy and hubby loves Thorntons, a couple of years ago I made hubby an advent calendar and I had a yarn calendar, but these are much cheaper and the chocolate inside is much smaller. I am hoping the inside is foil and not too much plastic. 

I have a couple of presents to wrap, for my sister and her partner, I don't think they will visit before Christmas and we have no plans to drive down to Somerset again this year. My brother is here next weekend and I will have everything ready for him to take back. We never spend huge amounts, just something I know they will love. My sister does not read this blog. 

My cactus is blooming, it always blooms early, brings colour into the bathroom, these blooms will last a long time, I never move this plant from this spot. 

I am fully into Christmas preparations, we did a big supermarket shop last week, so we have all our treats, tucked away until the week before the big day. I read somewhere that once Halloween has finished it's full on Christmas, that is the case here, I want to not have to go out when everywhere will be so crowded. We are popping into town later this week for just a couple of things, it's great to be ahead of the rush. 

TV ad breaks have started to show Christmas adverts, just incase you forget that unmissable item every home should have, I sit and shake my head, but I'm so glad we have stepped away from it all. 

I am not making as much craft as I usually do, no-one needs home knitted socks this season, but I do have a pair I am knitting myself. I am almost finished the french knots in the 'S' shape, once done I will make a cushion for my friend, I have all I need. Luna Lapin is taking shape, this is for baby Molly, I am thinking of making Luna a brother called Alba (meaning daybreak, sun) might be fun to have a pair. I am glad I finished the grandchildren's stockings last month, seen here.  

After the heavy rain and windy days over the weekend , its a much drier forecast this week, I hope to get outside and tidy the back garden, mainly picking up leaves from neighbours trees, our Magnolia still has all its green leaves. 

Growing nicely

 I love these french knots, I find it so relaxing, the colours are easy on the eye and the pattern is a great size. I stitch on this most afternoons, just for a couple of hours. 

My mum installed into me the back of my work is as important as the front, tidy stitching always sits flatter. I am able to workout exactly how much I have done, I think I'm two thirds through. 

This crochet blanket is growing, I work on it most evenings. I still have loads of cotton yarn left. I'm very happy to only have the tiny amount of caramel yarn left over. 

I did 2 rows of caramel which should sit lovely in the pale blue. I plan to add a row the lilac in the blue, just trying to mix the shades. 

It's already a nice size. 

I've had a few lovely days, Tuesday and Wednesday, staying at my daughters house, caring for George (23 months) and Molly (16 weeks) both sleep through the night, and both are fun and give loads of cuddles. George still has an early afternoon nap, so I was not on the go all the time. I cheated and took minestrone soup and a fish pie, so I did not have to cook the 1st day. Hubby drove over with our main meal on Wednesday, they were much later leaving the hospital so I stayed another night. 

Sadly everyone has a cough and cold including Molly, I don't know how Will managed to not pick up the germs. It was a very long morning waiting for news after Wills operation, the pre op preparations were not great, but he is only 4 and was very scared and brave. Everything looks to have gone well, he loving loads of ice cream and soft food for a few days, whilst at Great Ormond Street he was given 2 toys for being so brave, I am so proud of him and of course mummy and daddy, its been a hard time for everyone. 

I have nothing planned for the rest of the day, once I get home I can rest and relax. 

More crafting

I am loving the colour of these socks, the tones are just so pretty, just another top down knitted pair in stocking stitch, no need for anything else as the yarn is doing all the work here. 

 Slight issue here, the 2nd sock has a bigger navy band, by a couple of rows, I'm not going to unpick as once worn it should not notice, these are for me, so I'm happy, the colours match which is more important. 

I have done more french knots, this is just so relaxing, but for a while I have to stop, I had run out of 3 colours, to get them locally is almost an hours drive, so I went online and purchased them, just waiting for them to arrive. I'm making good progress on this project. 

As I stitch this any worries I have regarding the fabric is being washed away, it's looking good, I hope my friend will love it, she knits and crochet, but does not sew. 

We discussed popping out earlier this week, but with the fuel problems still very real here, we decided to save our half a tank, until everything settles down. We have a huge Hobbycraft just under an hours drive away, it's next to a brilliant garden centre, which will have it's huge Christmas selection out, sadly I will have to wait a few weeks. BUT I did need my threads, so online was the answer, my favourite WoolWarehouse had the best prices, plus they had lovely pale 4ply baby yarn, 100grm balls for 99p each, so the above order was placed, they have normally have a quick delivery.  

Wednesday I had an hour in the garden, loads of plastic pots to wash, all left over from my pansies and violas, they are now clean and packed in greenhouse. I have planted the last few plants in the side bed, hopeful I get some colour over the next few months. The garden is now mostly sorted, I'm not cutting back too much this year, it can have a tidy in March. We are still picking late raspberries, it's been our best ever harvest, we are eating fresh berries every morning with our breakfast. 

Thursday I had an early haircut and then out to lunch with friends, it's been months since we have seen each other, they came to our lovely village bistro, a super long chat together. Afterwards I drove to daughters, she had her nail appointment in evening, but hubby is working away this week, so I babysat and stayed the night, loads of laughter with this happy family. 

Sewing, 3 finishes.

 I have made new Christmas sacks for 3 grandchildren, I had made matching stockings for both Will and George, but the were not wide enough to pop a big book in and George loves to eat the fir top. With Molly now part of the family I decided it was time to make new matching ones.

The names were made for me, each with my choice of colour, by a talented lady with her own small business, the red fabric I had in my stash, everything else came from our new look haberdashery, each has a loop at the back for hanging, and each are fully lined. I did not make them too huge, 

I ensured all the reindeer were the correct way up, I made 2 bags, an outer and an inner and stitched them together at the top. Really sturdy for the children to use each year. 

This was a first pleasing Christmas make, I can't wait to see Will's face when he gets to see these. A very simple shape, all the embellishments are on the front, I had loads of pretty ribbons, but decided they were not needed, just an afternoon's work. 

I have always loved sewing of any kind, well maybe not mending! I would love to make my own clothes, but the cost of fabric is much more expensive than purchasing the ready made item, and I am not purchasing many new clothes. I hope to start making Molly pretty fabric dresses as she gets older. 

I have done a couple small quilting projects, I have thought of making a big cover for our bed, but I would not be able to add any wadding or backing by machine. It is something I would like to do, I have loads of fabric in my stash, maybe next year, too many Christmas projects still to do. 

Finished

Totally completed, I made a small cushion, I like the green tape it balances the look and brings the green stitching out, I wanted to make it bigger, but I did not want the red material on the front. I kept to the limited colour pallet, to allow the stitched design to be the star. I did not stuff it full and large, again I am looking for a softer feel. 

 At some point we are hoping to meet for coffee, then I can gift it to our friend and sign teacher. For the past few years, we have signed The 12 days of Christmas together, as soon as Jo put this on her blog, I knew who I would make this for. 

The joy of doing cross stitch again is brilliant, with so much time at home, a craft which is time consuming has helped. I had the green tape and red fabric in my stash and the wadding. 

I am getting loads of stitching done and hope to finish my Christmas tree this week, I will make it into a full size cushion for my chair, I have already found the backing fabric from my Christmas fabric stash, thank heavens for stash's. 

Another lockdown week

I purchased this book 4 years ago, with youngest daughter, we thought it would be fun, I still use it everyday.

This strange year, my comments are really rather different, keeping in contact with friends is still vital, as is contact with family, the biggest lesson learnt from Covid is we are social, we need contact of others. 

I had the most beautiful yarn arrive this week, I ordered and paid for it in June, it's the colours of a Robin, not normally my colours, but the shades are stunning, I won't be making socks with this, I think a shawl will be best use. 

I have redone the G for George's Christmas tree decoration, it has fused much better, the large glass disc were purchased at different times, and the newer disc is different from the original. I popped it in the microwave for 8 minutes, then added another 2 mins and then did an extra 2 mins. I have more glass fusion tree ornaments to make, these take time, as once I have used the kiln to make an ornament, I have to wait until the kiln is completely cold before using again, so I can only use once a day.

I would never have picked this book up, but it was sent from our local library, and it's was the most enjoyable book, Harold is 65 and just retired, settling down to a simple life when a letter arrives, if you can, please read this book, I loved it. This being my 72nd book read this year. 

I plan a sewing day this weekend, I need to make 12 days of Christmas into a finished ornament for my friend and sign teacher. I also have a couple of other things to make, nothing big, fun things to do and a special homemade gift for George. 

I have done more knitting to Will's jacket, I am now waiting for measurements from mummy and also buttons to arrive and I have just finished reading a truly lovely book. 

My cakes are being fed brandy, daughters only has one feed as Will loves cake, so I will cover with marzipan soon. I have coloured icings to make the decoration, but as yet I've not decided what to pop on top. 

Daughter, Will and George are now free to go out again, all are still well, as is Wills little friend from nursery, mummy found it hard having to keep Will in, he's an active 3 year old, back to pre-school next week, we miss the fun of their visits and Will's constant cries of I'm hungry.

I am trying to keep busy, it's hard being in winter lockdown, I have plenty to do, but no true inspiration or energy, I do spend loads of time reading or sat on here, but often I get bored being 'online'

Can I say I'm fed-up with all the bloody Black Friday deals on offer, I thought it was the last Friday in November not the whole month, and no I have purchased nothing. 

 

Finish and WIP

12 days of Christmas is done

Stitched on DMC, Monaco, 28 cwt, using 1 strand of DMC silks. 

The design for day 11, 

11 pipers piping, I have changed, I am pleased with the way it looks now, 11 notes look good and I had space for my name and the date. 

This is my next project, I love this design, it came as a kit, but the fabric shown here is loose weave, so I am using a finer tighter weave, which means it will be smaller. I have never decided if I was going to stitch the banner in the designers form or change the wordings. 

This is where I left it, almost half the length, but not half way through, as the lower branches are bigger and more stitches.

I left the needle in the fabric, so I have rust marks, will have to decide once this section is done, how to hide them, I have a flying bird in the design, so I could stitch another to hide these marks. I might just get away with doing nothing, and the rust marks being outside of design area, I normally always remove needles from my work, but this was left on the frame, with the intention to stitch it to the finish. This is again on 28cwt, DMC evenweave, with 1 strand of DMC silks.

 Firstly a huge shout out to Jo, she suggest we all stitch along together this design, I picked it up with the thoughts, I had everything I need, give it a go, nothing to lose. But it's just what I need, so much time at home, stitching eats up time, I do find it's easier to stitch for gifts, as I still own loads of finished stitching, each rolled in my work basket, not used. The Christmas tree is for me and I will use it every year, I think I may make a big cushion, but that might change, I do like framed Christmas stitching, but not sure if I can get it done this year.

The joy of finding cross stitch again, in these strange times is immense,  I happily sit and stitch for hours, watching a design appear on the fabric.

I own loads of fabric and enough silks (Floss) for me to make almost anything. I have purchased designs, my tasted does not change, so I can stitch away for a few years, hubby many years ago purchased this sewing chest, which is full of colourful joy. I do feel confident this stitching can be finished this year.