Great fun baking and preparing for the party…
Great fun face painting and singing and drinking and making merry at the party…
Great fun baking up individual Christmas cakes… such a lovely little project, I’ll post the VERY BASIC details on a separate post…
Little snippets of Christmas around a crafty house…
The little lady’s big ZERO-THREE is coming thick and fast…
We’ve decided to not try to ignore the fact that her birthday is a fortnight before Christmas and this year will be throwing a generic holiday/celebration/bash type event instead of our usual *shuts ears and eyes and pretends it’s not Christmas until after her birthday* type birthday party.
I fell in love with the festive retro spin of this collection from Party Pieces but I’m darned if I’m going to ship in a ready-made party theme… Having got a bit pin-happy on the-addictive-site-that-shall-not-be-named (come find me there – I’m ALWAYS on it), I’ve been slowly piecing together reds, white, spots, ginghams, wreaths and printables to bring a touch of sparkle to a hired village hall at the start of a likely grey December afternoon.
Have also enjoyed putting together this oh-so-simple styrofoam-and-felt concoction *with* her one afternoon so that will form an element of the decorations too I’m sure.
Watch this space for adventures in baking… She has requested a pink rainbow cake with lots of sprinkles… Never one for subtlety so we’ll see how we go…
Fabulously smug husbands book minibreaks in watery cities as surprise birthday presents…
And take their shocked and fabulously indulged wife to watery hotels with private boats…
to fish and food markets to drop one’s jaw…
Even when the weather is wet and the wife’s attire seems to be modelled on the fashions of the local fishermen…
And said hubbie spots quilting inspiration on the floor of many and varied religious venues…
And then indulges a wooly passion or two with a rain-sodden exploration around the semi-navigable streets to find the ONLY YARN SHOP IN VENICE…
Beautiful wools…
Patient staff and exciting, Italian ranges in a range of prices, colours and styles…
With the inevitable souvenir purchases….
Watch this space for the hat and scarf that will be emanating from these four balls of gorgeousness…
What a busy summer! And hence why so quiet on the blogging front…
The summer games happened in London, and also here on the home front, in the form of the Ravellenic Games, in which I undertook to make 6 items within the time between the beginning of the Opening Ceremony, and the final credits of the Closing Ceremony. I did it, with time to spare (but rather pleased I didn’t take on anything else as the cupboards were getting bare and the Boy was objecting to another night of baked beans for dinner…)
Herewith the products of my labours…
Pup Tent – in Woolyknit crafts beautiful British Naturals mid-grey wool
Twisted Rib neckwarmer – in a not-very-fabulous-but-very-stashbusting Wendy 4ply
Crochet openwork gauntlets – in a lovely British alpaca yarn purchased at Cotswold Woollens in the Spring
Thick & Quick ribbed cowl in a handspun variegated yarn received in a swap years ago
Waffle Stitch Fingerless gloves in Woolyknit’s British Aran
Gaptastic Cowl in the other skein of swapped handspun
Turns out that if you put on a programme of exciting and interesting workshops…
If you publicise them regularly around town and chatter about them incessantly on social networking sites
Post pictures of potential finished projects and get your audiences raring to go
You end up running lots of fabulously full workshops
With no time to actually blog yourself
But lots of time to get inspired and spend every free moment trying desperately to make some pretty things for yourself !
Congrats to all my happy workshoppers and looking forward to seeing more and more of your fabulous creative outputs!!
In a haze of dressmaking (dress salvaged from an adult friend’s frock complete with pockets all ready for treasures and pennies…)
…Sunshine, stately homes and paddling pools…
…Antiques, soft furnishings and beautiful salvaged windmills in deepest Kent…
