hello sailor

this last week, as well as my knitting projects, i have been working on a little sewing commission.

my brief was to make something to hang under some shelves in a young mans room (he's about 6 or 7) it had to fit in with the existing scheme of the room. i shared some samples of the fabric i had in mind & mentioned a few ideas swimming around in my head.

then given the go ahead this is what i've come up with.
i'm really hoping all concerned will be happy with them. i've really enjoyed working on this little project, it got my mind working & got me excited about being at the sewing machine.

i also just had to share this, i finally manged to sneak big G's favourite soft toy 'Panda', in the wash this morning, he looked so sweet (& now smells so much sweeter) hanging on the line that i had to get a snap shot.

toast(y)

i must be mad, we seem to be having an Indian summer & i'm knitting mittens! well at least i'll be organised when the cooler weather arrives. I knitted these using the pattern for toasty & some really lovely, locally spun alpaca yarn, they are really very soft & a great fit. (i swapped the worsted weight for a DK - so did change the pattern ever so slightly)i've been working on a little sewing commission which should be finished in a day or two, a sweet little project i will share once i've taken some photos. Only it was put on hold over the weekend due to the rather lovely weather & a trip to Brighton seaside to visit my sister's new flat. Hope you all had a lovely weekend x

oh so snug

what a lovely, snugly quick knit! i finished this last night & so wanted to wear it today that i had to use a large kilt pin to fasten it, as i haven't brought any buttons for it yet!
the pattern was from the Rowan colourscape folk book, a very quick & easy pattern to follow. details can be found here
not sure i really liked knitting with this wool though, it was rather prone to breaking, but i would love to do this pattern again in a different chunky.

Christmas quilting

what an autumnal weekend, i'm really feeling the change in the season this year & quite enjoying it so far, conkers have been collected for the school nature table, the smell of bonfires has been wafting over my garden wall, we've been for a walk in the wood & blackberry picking to make a crumble. oh & of course warm knitting & cosy quilt sewing aplenty .


i've been plodding on with this one for a while & have just finished the quilt top, i used the nine patchtastic pattern from moda bake shop, with a moda 'peace on earth' charm pack,

it's been making me feel a little christmasy already, as i'm really looking forward to giving this gift, as i know the person it's going to will appreciate all the hard work. i've picked out the backing, just need to get on & finish it now. (might have to eat the crumble first, it should be ready just about now)

broken promises

i should have known when i went along to my local knit & natter group without the brompton, i would find it hard to stay true to my promise, i had gone along with the intention of taking my cosy neck wrap to show to someone i had been nattering about it too, well unfortunately for the brompton, my lovely local wool shop had got lots of lovely new yarn in, so much lovely new yarn,

i was tempted & it didn't take long for me to succumb, (what can i say, i have a weakness) i also blame the weather, which was cold & rainy that day, only adding to my yearning to be snuggled up knitting a new wintry project, so what made it home with me?
after lots of thought i settled on some Rowan Colourscape Chunky, i also found it hard to choose which colourway, once i'd found a project, but 'storm' it was, again maybe something to do with the weather that day.
i've wasted no time in getting started, & it's knitting up quick, so i'm very much liking it so far, unfortunately i have two poorly munchkins at home with me today, which have rather hampered my progress for now! but i'm looking forward to the weekend.oh & my sister did love her lavender sachets, thank you for the sweet comments x

smelling sweet

finished these sweet smelling lavender sachets, for my even sweeter sister, she's just moved & i thought these would make a lovely little (postable) gift. these were quite enjoyable to make so i'm sure i'll be doing some more in in future.

avoidance crochet

so very cute, i want to make lots in different colours to cover all the fruit in the fruit bowl - it's autumn now, i don't want my apples getting chilly!pattern found here

avoidance sewing

i'm now finding new things to sew, to avoid finishing knitting the brompton,inspired by another creative lady, if you've not yet found this blog, go take a look

take a look

Made by Rae Jackpack Backpack GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

how cute is this giveaway, i've got my fingers crossed!

A little lost

that's how i felt this morning, as big G had his first day at school, he was ready for it & to be honest so was i, but it still felt strange, & little O has certainly seemed a little lost without him around today.

I have promised myself that i won't start any new knitting projects until i have completed my current ones, well big G's socks are done, I have knitted this pattern before & will knit it again, but somehow managed to make this pair a little too big, but that's worked out fine as they will become a stocking present, as i'm sure they'll fit him come Christmas. I'm still working on my brompton cardigan, feels like i've been knitting it for ages, but just finished the body, so now only the sleeves left to do.
however i have this waiting to tempt me & urge me on to the finish the brompton quickly, this is some of the wool that came home with me from Italy, they had some of it knitted up and i knew it was the one i wanted (despite there being lots of other lovely colour ways).

i've also had a little luck lately, i won not one but two giveaways, one from the fantastic Julia at primrose cornernot quite sure when i'll find the time to make this, but i'm really looking forward to giving it a go. Having also just checked her website, i'm so very tempted to order some more fabric from her!

i also won a little wool giveaway from the lovely green pixey, lot's of odds & ends of wool which will be great to knit/crochet up lots of little lovelies

i'm back - well almost

back home from a little trip to Italy,lots of fun had by all, not much chance of knitting this time (although i did manage to buy some wool!)
too much cleaning & washing to catch up with now but i'm looking forward to big G starting school next week & the prospect of some more autumnal crafting, (the only thing my sewing machine has been used for recently is sewing on name labels to school uniform)oh and this is George Clooney's villa, we would have loved to stop by for a cuppa but we were far too busy.