our sunday

despite the cold, oh how lovely it was to see the sun today, our Sunday was

the washing on the line

playing out back on the bikes 

 a family trip to the garden centre (if only to dream about what i'd like to be buying)

a pot of tea & slice of cake in the cafe

a  go on the swing for the little ones

then home for dinner

hope you all had a lovely weekend too x

the prettiest pin-wheels

the finished 30's pin-wheel quilt top 

can't quite believe that i bought this fabric nearly a year ago (from the quilt room but don't think they have it in stock any more), then spent an age thinking about what i wanted to do with it! 

turns out it will be for little O, for her 'big' bed, when we eventually get it that is (i'm trying to hang on until we move - which is likely to be the end of feb, all being well!) this also gives me some time to find the right backing fabric & make a start on quilting it

once the pin-wheel blocks were all made, it came together really quickly, they were well worth the effort,  i feel i'm getting better at piecing my quilts, don't get me wrong, there are still a few parts that don't fit exactly right, but it's by far the neatest quilt top i've made

the daffodil dress

okay, so the dress has very little to do with daffodils, other than the fabric has a little yellow in it & this little pot of beauties is on the widow sill next to my sewing machine,  

i've had this fabric for so long, i think it's a cotton / linen mix, i brought it with the intention of making some trousers for G when he was a toddler, something i didn't get round to doing, i had thought about making a scarf for myself with it, but didn't have quite enough to make it as long as i would have liked

but i had just enough to eek out a summer dress for little O, she won't go near the thing now, but then i can't blame her, it's so very cold here right now,

i followed my template from this dress i made,  just tweaking it to make it a little smaller where it needed to be (& to make it work the the small amount of fabric i had), so it should hopefully fit this summer, (original idea from here)

i've had a break from the summer clothes this week but did leave my machine out, which has meant i've finished piecing the 30's quilt top, now it's all come together i'm so excited about it & can't wait to share it with you all, will be back over the weekend with some pictures if the sun puts in an appearance!

part two

the second project i finished last week was a skirt for little O, i opted for a more muted colour scheme, but then that means she can get away with wearing it now (with a pair of tights) instead of having to wait for spring to arrive 

i'd had this one planned in my head for a while, i just love the Denyse Schmidt, wallflower fabric (from here) which i teamed with some Kaffe Fassett shot cotton (sorry can't remember what the colour was called but i got it from here) it's ever so soft, i'd love to make myself something to wear with it 

i added a little lace & ribbon to make the pockets, it's had the seal of approval, as she chose to wear it at the weekend

back with more sewing soon

sewing for summer

i don't like January much, so in a bid to sew away the January blues i've been busy in my sewing corner this week, having pulled some fabric out the stash, i piled it up in the corner & left the machine out, prompting me to get on & finish what i start

first up i made a little birthday present for one of G's friends, 

a quick skirt, made using some Tanya Whelan fabric from her Darla range (i think i bought it ages ago in hobby-craft!)

a little cotton lace along the bottom & there you go!

of course i couldn't stop there & set about making a few summer bits for little O, i'll be back soon with some pictures next week

all in a mornings work

we had one of little O's friends over yesterday morning, i planned to do some cooking with them both but maybe this time didn't choose the most toddler proof recipe! we made a raisin sour dough loaf, which got very very messy!

still they had almost as much fun washing their hands after the mixing was done 

& it turned out rather yummy, so we had something for our elevenses

think we might stick to biscuits next time though

rainy days need cosy slippers

another quick knitted project, i had been wanting to make some felted slippers for a while now (just one of the many things on the 'to do' list in my head) i had brought a couple of balls of 'natures way' chunky yarn from kemps last year, not really having a plan for them, but they were at such a bargain i couldn't resist

as i didn't really stand to lose much, i just dived in head first, having read a few notes from others on ravelry, who had also made this pattern & felted the slippers

i wish i had remembered to take a before photo as they looked so funny

i was so lucky really, as i just chucked them in the washing machine on a regular 40 cycle, with a load of other washing & the slippers turned out to be a perfect fit, the other great thing though is how very warm & cosy they are, i might make a few little adornments for them, as they look rather plain as they are now, but not sure i'll want to take them off long enough to sew anything to them, 

my notes can be found here

little miss mouse

i needed one of those quick little knits {to keep my fingers busy whilst i decide what my next big project will be} so i had a quick little look though my favourites on ravelry & came up with the Marisol mouse pattern

super cute & very quick, all the bits were knitted on & off throughout one of the rather rainy days last week, then she only took an evening to sew together,

a great project for using odd's & ends of yarn, good job i've got plenty lying around as i'm going to have to knit another one to stop the children arguing over her, my pattern details can be found here 

a whole heap of effort

my 'effortless cardigan', really wasn't all that effortless, but i guess that the name of the pattern refers to the actual wearing of it & not the making

as i really haven't wanted to take it off, it's such a pleasure to wear

just one of those comfortable, snug & easy to wear woolies

it took me a couple of months to make, but then i did do a few things in-between & it was definitely mindless sitting in front of the telly knitting,

the pattern is straight forward & easy to follow, the yarn is ever so soft, warm & comfortable, just hoping it will wash okay 

pattern: effortless cardigan by Hannah Fettig

yarn: merino bliss by Wendy, brought from kemps

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my details over here

today i am

- making the most of having an extra day with both the children due to a school inset day, we took a trip to 'soft play' this morning & had an afternoon viewing of 'the jungle book'

- trying not to eat too many of the 'squashed fly' biscuits i made

- working out an order to sew the completed 'pin wheel' blocks together

- pondering the almighty party the spiders must have had whilst we were away over Christmas, judging by the cobwebs on the living room ceiling

- getting my hopes up about moving house, only to get frustrated by things getting set back

- keeping warm in my newly finished knitted cardi (details to follow soon)

- planning my next knitting project, with the wool my lovely sister brought me for Christmas (all the way from purl Soho in NY)

- not looking forward to getting ready & out the house in time for the school run tomorrow