sleeping gnome

finished this a couple of days ago, such a quick knit , this has been knitted up as a Christmas present (aren't i just the organised one!) for a littler one than my little O, but it still just about fitted her to get a photo, (she happily slept through the whole thing)Pattern can be found on ravelry here

lucky little me

well i only went & won another 'giveaway', think i might have to not enter any for a while,
i won this lovely wool from tomato tea, once i'd opened it i knew it would be perfect to knit up another little gnomey hat with, (the first of many handmade gifts to give this Christmas), so of course ignoring all the other little jobs i needed to do, i cast on!
i so keen i even got my knitting out whilst at a mother & toddler group this morning, (whilst little O was having a short nap) & was happily surprised at the many positive comments i got about it, it even sparked a few question off about patchwork, as i use little patchwork bags to carry my knitting about in. it's great to finds others who share my love of all things crafty.

good mail day

Oh i was so very pleased when the postman knocked on the door this morning, carrying a parcel - i just knew this was going to be a good mail day when i saw this
some lovely fabrics that i just had to order, they were such a bargain!some Erin McMorris 'poppy dot in orange' & Amy Butler 'seeds'
& two different prints from Amy Butlers 'daisy chain' Clematis & Dandelion field, these were on (a close down) sale in this etsy shop & even with postage & the exchange rate cost a little over £5 per yard.

Also in the post today was the oh so sweet hair band from Amy at Coco crafts, & i found an even sweeter little model for italthough she did wonder what i was up tothink her hair might need to grow a little before its a good look on her.

& some great news - i won a little giveaway on Carina's craftblog, one of her Happyscape Tropical Island embroidery patterns, which i look forward to finding time to make!

weekend craft

what a lovely weekend i've had, i started (& now finished) some lavender hearts for big G to give to his pre-school teachers when he leaves next week,i'm really pleased with how these turned out - just hope they like them too,today we took a trip over to Winchester, this was my suggestion as i really wanted to go to the Handm@de craft fair at the guild hall, it was great, lot's of lovely stalls, i really wanted to buy more to support all the lovely people trying to make a living out of selling the things they create, but had to limit my purchases to the following,

this cute keyring from 23 beechhill, i really struggled with which one to choose as they were all so lovely,then this gorgeous alpaca yarn had to come home with me too, from nimu yarns
& also a sweet little head band from coco crafts, no photo yet though, as by the time i had gone back to the stall to buy it, she had sold the one i had wanted, so she offered to make & send me another one,

oops also forgot i got a lovely card from paperleaf too!

there was also a lot of other things going on in Winchester as it was the final day of their 'hat fair' - a festival of street entertainment, so luckily there was lots to keep the little ones & hubbs happy too.

heatwave

am i the only crazy person in the UK knitting in this heat? i must be mad.finished up another little sophisticate, This was the smaller size, knitted up again in Debbie Bliss pure cotton, and took just under two balls, a great new baby gift, for one the baby's due later this year, i might knit another one up in girly colour, just to be on the safe side (& mostly just because i like knitting this pattern so much)

yum yum

Not much time found for knitting or sewing this weekend, but lots of time for doing nothing much, which is just how some weekends should be, there was of course time found for some baking, yummy lemon cupcakes - i'm slowly working my way through the recipes in the Rachael Allan 'Bake' book, perfect for an afternoon treat with a cup of earl grey

play mat progress

top of the pond play mat is done, i'm so pleased with how this is coming along, all the planning and forethought paid off, even if i did change my mind at least three times in the planning process

still not sure what to back it with, so getting on with some knitting whilst i have a think about it