More shoes

Round two, i spent ages trying to get a good shot of O wearing these little shoes, but no joy,
so i settled for a picture of them off her feet, this pair fit the length of her foot much better, but i've made them a little two wide, so might try to alter them, although i quite want to just make another pair, as she can wear these fine. I love the chunky cord on the soles ( this fabric was recycled from an old dress of hers) & i used a soft brushed cotton on the inside. The green matryoshka fabric was brought on-line from kitty-craft (although i'm not sure if the shop is still there?) the pictures taken with the flash are how the green really looks, so they are quite bright! Yesterday i made it to the final day of an embroidery and textile art exhibition, which was taking place very close to me - here, unfortunately i couldn't afford to buy anything (as i've been on a bit of a fabric buying binge lately! but will save that for another day), & there were lots of amazing pieces, i did come back very inspired with lots of ideas to add to my ever growing 'to make' list.

I've also signed up to another swap over here, as i just can't resist a monkey!

Baby shoes

Having seen these baby shoes about quite a bit lately, i was rather keen to have a go at making some for little O, & as i can't get my hands on a copy of 'meet me at mikes' (yet!) which i know does have a pattern in, i did a little searching in blogland & found this pattern,
These are my trial pair, they just about fit, but i've made a few changes & have started to cut out my next pair already!The great thing about these shoes is that they help keep baby socks on! & i'm sure i can make a pair to co-ordinate with every outfit!

Bella Italia

We have just got back from a few days away in Italy & what a lovely break it was. Lake Como is such a beautiful place, we enjoyed a boat trip on the lake,
lots of tasty food, relaxing & enjoying the view. I even found time to get on with some sock knitting in the sun,I'm using the wool the lovely Lin sent me & using this pattern off ravelry, it's a great pattern & i'm loving how they are knitting up,I also managed to do a little shopping at a market in Como & returned home with this to add to my stash,
Lovely lovely 100% Merino wool & a bargain at 11 Euros for the 10 balls! (even with the appalling exchange rate at the moment!)

Car Booty

or credit crunch chic! we had a fun trip out to a car boot sale over the Easter weekend & i found bargains galore!
A cute 'accessorize' bag!, trust me, the last thing i need is more bags but at 50p i couldn't resist as i fell in love with the lining material!
A men's gingham shirt for 10p, which one day will hopefully become one of these
A robe/dressing gown for 25p !!!, i brought this thinking i would use the fabric, as there is so much of it, but this robe has been handmade & I'm having second thoughts about chopping it up.
Then i also found a top for 10p, again my first plan was to chop it up and use the fabric for something else, but this top fits me really well, so think this one will definitely stay as it is.

Mail swap!

The last week has brought exciting mail for G, He has loved getting post & has been the first to the door step on hearing the postman's arrival. Three letters all the way from Australia, containing many goodies-
Then the last two letters arrived today, another from Australia & one from Canada! - he was a happy boy! not sure how we'll cope with the let down of no post for him next week, we'll just have to sign up for the mail swap 2

Easter treats

What a lovely weekend, i finished my cardigan for little O (pattern found here if you're interested). i am really pleased with how this turned, only wish i'd made it even bigger (i did put in a couple of extra increases)
she seems pretty happy with it too. It's knitted in Rowan wool cotton & i love this colour, think it was called 'cypress'. It's so soft & was really lovely to knit with.
we've had easter egg hunts, indoors due to the inevitable rain here! although we did get out for a (rather wet & muddy) walk, on which we saw some of the cutest lambs (i think it would be safe to say they were 'frolicking'),
we also made a trip down to Littlehampton to meet up with my sister & see the 'chocolate toast building' (as we shall now be referring to it) it's really called the 'east beach cafe'
unfortunately we didn't get to have our lunch there as we hadn't booked, but we did go to the 'west beach cafe' where we had tasty fish & chips before a rather bracing walk along the pebbles.

today however has been a real treat, as the sun has been shining, so after a (very successful) trip to a car boot sale this morning (will share my bargains when i get round to taking some photos) we spent a lovely afternoon in the garden.

Happy Easter

Wishing you all a happy Easter

These little bunnies will be hopping off on Sunday (but they won't be straying too far!)

Tutorial found here!

Lucky me

I made my mums mothers day card this year & sent a photo of it into one of the Cath Kidston competitions on the website, the card wasn't great (but made with love) & my stitching was a quite wonky as you can see -
but i only went & came 2nd!!!!!! & look at the goodies they sent me.

Sewing Saturday

I turned this -
into this on Saturday -
and i am ever so proud of myself!

This was a sewing kit, brought for me (from here) last year, only what with being very pregnant at that point & then being caught up in the whirlwind of having another small person to care for i never got round to making it!

till now, & how pleased i am, just in time for the sunny weather today!

this was a great introduction to making your own clothes, it all comes printed up on a large piece of fabric, (the kit even includes the right colour thread!) you just cut out the pattern in the size you want and sew it together, i was a little scared of doing the binding, but after watching the tutorial's they put online, it actually was much easier than i had feared! (and came together so quickly) so now i want to try out one of these, the only trouble is which one to choose!

Mail swap post out

After a little flurry of activity, we got the kids mail swap posted out today.
G had enjoyed talking about what we should send & even roped me into helping him make some Easter finger puppets (as he had been making some at pre-school)
I think he wanted to hang onto them once they had been made & asked if we could make some more for him to keep. Fingers crossed their recipients like them as much as he did! (& yes he was back at pre-school today - feeling much better.)

& just a little snippet of the Easter presents i have been making -