happy little hands

being so bored of knitting the hubs jumper {having missed the christmas deadline i had moved it to valentines day - hum, maybe his birthday in August is looking more promising} i really needed a quick pick me up knitting project, these little chunky mittens were the perfect thing, they knitted up so quickly, the pattern was very easy to follow & the yarn was nice & soft to work with too! pattern details found here

another quilt

this is the quilt i finished off last week, if there hadn't been a delay in the {right size!} wadding arriving i would have probably finished it off last year, well when the right size did arrive i got stuck right in & finished it off within about 24 hours! {it's really rather a small sized quilt}

i tried out making the binding following a tutorial i'd found on pintrest, it really did work, although i did find it a little tricky at first, i'm sure after a few attempts you'd get the hang of it, the vintage sheets i used to make the quilt top were from 'little tea wagon' & had already been cut into squares for me, as was the fq of vintage flannel used to make the binding, then the dotty flannel on the back & the wadding both came from 'prints to polka dots' - which always seem to have lovely fabric at great prices {i am so in love with flannel, i'd really love to get my hands on some more Anna Maria Horner flannels - please message me if you know of any good uk sources}

i did some simple lines of quilting & machined the binding on & then added one of the sweet labels Laura had sent me, which i think finished it off perfectly!

resolved to sew 2012

there is a very lovely 'giveaway' going on over at very berry handmade right now, it got me thinking about what my sewing resolutions are for this year, i've just finished another {small} quilt today, i'm no expert by any stretch of the imagination but i'm getting quicker at making a quilt, although i can often leave a long space between the different parts of making a quilt, i'm also better at ripping something out if i've gone wrong along the way, i really love making a quilt, from choosing the fabric, pattern, seeing it all come together, the time, effort & love you put into it, it all makes a homemade quilt something very special indeed, i do plan to make a couple more baby sized quilts this year, for friends & family due little babies, but that will probably be it, because what i want to really get better at & make more of this year is clothes, mostly for little O & myself, but maybe the odd thing for G too, making clothes was what got me started on the sewing machine in the first place, as a teenager making things for myself {really without a clue about what i was doing! although i do have fond memories of one particular skirt} i look forward to sharing my achievements here with you - wish me luck!

special thanks to laura for the sweet parcel of goodies you sent through, they will be put to good use!

good timing

i couldn't finish these socks quick enough - i've been 'right down to my bones' cold today, so cold that after i'd finished off a few tasks which couldn't be avoided, i made a cuppa, a hot water bottle & snuggled up on the sofa with the dog, the socks & a film i'd recorded a while back, what a treat eh - it really was lovely, the socks got finished & put straight on, where they still are, not sure i'm going to want to take them off any time soon, it's still so cold

these socks make me very happy, they are knitted up in some regia 'world college' yarn {which was on special at kemps but think they have now sold out} in the library colour way, i used my usual 'go to' sock pattern, but took the textured pattern from these socks, they turned out a treat!

ravelry details here

squeak squeak

i have to say what a lovely weekend it's been, the weathers been cold but bright, perfect january weather as far as i'm concerned, the wood burners been getting lots of use, my new socks are so nearly finished, i made the best home made curry ever in the new slow cooker this afternoon, so am now plotting what i can make in it next, 

this very little mousey was a very quick little make {which has now been claimed by little O} he is from the 'christmas crafting in no time' book, G chose this as my christmas present from him {all by himself} such a sweetie! it's a lovely book, there are plenty of projects i'd like to make for next christmas

one week in

gosh that went quick! this week has been a shock to the system & getting back to work/school was the hardest for us all, poor Barney got so used to having us all around, all the time it's been rather a shock for him too i think, still only five weeks till half term, evenings getter lighter & the signs of spring will hopefully be on their way, we kept up the new years day tradition of watching the morris dancing {despite the dismal weather} although we've continued to have more power cuts the past week  {i had to despatch the hubs out for more candles & wood for the burner just to keep us going} i've cast on for a new pair of socks - to keep my feet warm too!

a long time in the making

it's finished, it was finished on friday, but seeing as we spent new years eve without power i wasn't able to post this yesterday, yes we really did have a power cut from about 3pm in the afternoon to somewhere about midnight - not quite sure when as we'd given up by that point & gone to bed {we did sneak out to friends who did have power for a early curry though, so it wasn't too bad} still, back to the quilt! the top was made way back when last year before we moved to this house {oh my nearly a whole year ago} in fact i remember planning to have it done before we'd moved, i'd brought the wadding & backing way back then too, as with everything, once i got going again with it, i really enjoyed finishing it, even hand sewing the binding on, i also think i now want to back every quilt i make with flannel, as it really makes them so much warmer & perfect for snuggling up with, this quilt is a keeper & think it will become one that is shared amongst us all {although it's on my bed right now}