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. 

Houseplants

My houseplants started on my desk and in the bathroom, my desk is looking good, I love Bette, her hair is filling out, as the ends get long, I have been  tucking them back, now I'm going to let them grow, she does have a full head of hair.

My desk is looking good, brain has grown, but there is plenty of room, this pot should last. The trio on the sill are growing, the expensive succulent now has babies, bonus for me, this plant was 4x's more than I normally pay. 

These are the other plants in the office, all have grown and are healthy. In order, pineapple, which was a baby off another purchased plant, string of hearts and spider plant, which I managed to save, I over watered it before. 

Bathroom, the pots are the same, but I have replaced the 2 smaller plants, as the previous plants got too big. The big pot was a birthday gift from daughter last year.

Kitchen, my African violet has stopped flowering, which is OK as I've had blooms most of the summer, these Christmas cactus cuttings are doing well here in their permanent place. I still have the mother plant in the greenhouse. 

I am sneaking more plant into our sitting room, I love leafy plants, the only flowers are Orchids, which I am getting loads of blooms. 

My coffee plant has lost loads of its lower leaves, its still a house plant, but I think it needs a bigger pot, I will need to read about its care to keep it healthy. I've had this plant since 2019.

We have always had a fake log burner, we don't use it for heating the room, but we do use the flicker in the cooler months, I always keep plants on here, normally only 2 pots. Will gave me the hedgehog and spaceman pots, he also loves the man with air plant hair, which I replaced last week, I kept the previous one alive for almost 3 years. 

Having plants growing around me is my idea of heaven, hubby puts up with them, he's not keen on houseplants, so I have limited the number I have, I do sneak them in on occasions. As the cooler months are closing in, and time limited in the garden, my house plants are my main focus, along with the succulents and Cacti in my greenhouse. 

It was a truly wet weekend, and with the extra traffic coming through the village, and long waits at petrol stations locally, perfect time to spend at home.  I have finished my sewing Christmas sacks for the grandchildren, photo's next time, they deserve a post of their own, can you tell I'm really pleased with them. I have also done loads of french knots on my friends cushion, I have run out of 3 colours, which I am not able to get local, so an order to Wool warehouse has been placed, the silks were on special, and I also got loads of reduced yarn. 

Knitting and sewing.

 I'm busy with making Christmas gifts, and sewing, but I decide to unpick the sock I started back in May, I just did not enjoy the colours and start another new pair. In my defence, Grace wanted to sit on my lap loads of nights this week, and most of my projects are too big to hold with a cat on my lap, I'm loving this yarn, it James C Brett, the navy is Opal all 4ply.

I loved making Molly's dress, it's from this pattern book, there are a few more I might knit at some point. Daughter is so pleased, made with  soft Crofter by Sirdar another 4ply. I changed the neck opening, adding a few rows of garter stitch with a couple button holes, on both shoulders looks much nicer. 

I got myself in a bit of a tizz with Georges jacket, it looked far to thin for him, George is a slim boy, buy this just looked too small, on a visit this week I tried it on him and it fits perfectly, so I can happily finish it. Just the one and a half front tops and sleeves to do. 

I love the texture on this work, it's all done with french knots, loads of them, just embossing the colours, I have done a similar design here, I find it very therapeutic, I enjoy making the knots and checking for no holes, seeing the design come alive, simple craft at it's best. I did break one of my own rules, my workbox is full of DMC threads, but not one to match the red, our local shop sells only Anchor threads, so for the first time ever I have mixed threads, I can't see any difference. 

I have a few books to read, but I've not settled enough to start a new book, I am trying to get ahead for Christmas this year, I have a couple local craft people make some items, which I should pick up in the next few days. I'm not making socks this year, most of the family have a few pairs of my socks. We are trying to take our season values back again this year, I've never been one to purchase the latest must haves, even the grandchildren get a cash gift, not huge but enough to put towards something they want. I am putting together gifts for daughter and her husband, and similar for my sister and her partner, both gifts will reflect each couple. Not sure regarding my brother, he can be difficult to sort, I've plenty of time to think about his gift. 

I have been crafting through the rainy days, we have no need to go out, we did get a dry walk on Friday evening at 9pm, we got another too good to go M&S bag, loads of cheesy treats, so mostly for me, hubby does not eat cheese. The cones were out across the garage, no fuel, we still have half a tank so we should be OK, I keep saying it, but life is strange. Saturday I did not leave the house, hubby popped into garden to check bird feeders, just to wet to be outside. We did not get the winds and heavy rain, it just rained all the day. Today is going to be the same for us, there should be less rain, but we will stay home. 

Our local part of the motorway M27 is closed for the weekend, so all vehicles are diverted through the village, it will remain closed until the early hours of Monday morning, another good reason to stay in. 

That time of the year.

I have changed my kitchen display, I love this old jug, but it has a crack and leaks water, so this is the next best thing, none of the contents are new, most are 2-3 years old, and a true reflection of the season. This will stay until December, when I add Christmas glitter, I love this display so much, autumn is not my favourite time of year, but I do love the colours at this time of year.  

Hubby has been working in the garden, he is closing down the decking, our wooden table and chairs are now covered, the bench and chairs are over 30 years old. The canopy is also packed away, it does flap on windy days, much better to keep it in the dry in the garage. 

This is our winter view, hubby picked up all the leaves yesterday, it no longer looks like this after a stormy night.

 I have been lucky to have Molly a few times on her own, Will is at school everyday now, George goes to nursey for 1 day, soon to be 2 days, so I don't normally have just Molly. This is taken on our spare bed, I pop an old towel on top of my ripple blanket, she was catching her fingers in the yarn. Here she is meeting Tiger who lives on the bed, and has been loved by all our grandsons, and Molly as well, she was talking to him for ages. 

The weather has changed, it's cold most days, I have started wearing my vest each day and socks, the rain has been heavy and stormy, there is a northern cold wind, so sandals are now packed away. Autumn has arrived, the garden still has loads of colour, most will stay until the first frost arrive, we do love to sit inside and watch the birds in the garden, hubby is filling feeders more often. We are spending more time at home and inside, I don't mind the cold but hate to be cold and wet, most of what we need can be got in our village.

Our local haberdashery shop has new owners, it also sell carpets, rugs and curtains, so it has always been a nice shop, but the haberdashery side was run down, the new lady is very passionate about all craft, and has already changed the layout to add more space, the yarns have doubled in size, and she has better quality cotton fabrics, she is selling off loads of things to allow more space. There are now loads of lovely gift items as well. 

Our florist has expanded their gift section, they started small last year and now has given over more space, they will often allow you to choose a pot for them to fill with a floral display. Neither shop have bargain prices, but the do offer a different range of items. 

If you want cheaper prices we have our local bargain shop, which sells great priced yarn, toys and gifts as well as every sized plastic container you might need. We do also have a few charity shops, including Sue Ryder, who sell loads of yarn, I love the charity shops for different containers for my plants. 

2 card shops, one cheap chain and another lovely independent who also sells gifts. 

We do have an old fashioned family owned hardware shop, hubby loves it in there, if you can't find what you want, just ask, they will know where to look, they will often open packs if you only need 1 or 2 items, not as cheap as the big chains, but often they will save you money, it's always our 1st port of call. 

We now have a veg shop and butchers, we use the veg shop but not the butchers, his meat is expensive and often very fatty, we do use another butcher in a village close by. 

Tesco took over part of the old Co-op shop, soon there will be a Costa's and Dominoes Pizza, neither of which we will use, but they should bring in the younger shoppers, which can only help the survival of our village. 

With barbers and hairdresser, and independent model/dolls-house shop, we have a good balance of everything you could want, and only 5 minutes walk from our home, this winter we are planning to stay local and use our lovely shops. 

PS 1st October already !!