Lilley Handcrafted Loveliness...

I'm moving...

2009-08-31T14:04:00.005+01:00

...a quick note to let you all know that as of tomorrow I will be over here...

A bit of a rash decision maybe, but so far I'm quite pleased (although it took me a while) with my typepadding.

Please come visit. I'll be doing a giveaway on the new blog (in an attempt to woo you over!) tomorrow, so please do follow me over!

More gardening...

2009-08-31T09:30:00.003+01:00

It's been a pretty super weekend round these parts...Johnny had a whole 4 days off work. It's been great for me to be able to get lots and lots done, including crafting, cleaning, boring computer chores and the building of my very own indoor gardening space.

By building I mostly mean bringing a large cardboard box (the one from Milo's pushchair) into the kitchen and putting some pots on top of it!

But I'm very pleased with my handiwork.

Growing in our pots we have...

oregano
basil (green)
basil (purple)
coriander
parsley
rocket
hot chillies
sweet chillies

I shall be sure to keep you updated on their progress.

Happy bank holidays xx

Crafting 31/365...

2009-08-30T20:53:00.003+01:00

...more ninjas...

Crafting 30/365...

2009-08-30T08:23:00.003+01:00

...ninjas in various states of completion...

Crafting 29/365...

2009-08-29T12:52:00.003+01:00

...citrus shades of ninja earrings...

...and a few black...

Beetroot Cake...

2009-08-28T12:51:00.003+01:00

Since we've been having vegetable boxes delivered to us from these folks, we've found we quite often have bits and pieces which we wouldn't normally buy, or we're not quite sure what to make with. This led to one of my new favourite games being born, google dinner, where you simply pop into google the ingredients you have to hand and find a whole array of wonderful recipes using them.

Well when it came to googling beetroot, the recipe I found most was definitely beetroot cake, mostly chocolate beetroot cake, but I did find a couple of basic just beetroot cake. 'What a wonderful idea' I thought, 'just like carrot cake'.

As it happened I had all the ingredients I needed at hand for this recipe (which coincidentally is from the same website that we get our veg from). So as Milo was napping I set about baking.

It was lots of fun, mostly for the wonderful pink juice that bled pretty much everywhere! And it was a very easy recipe. Once in the oven it started to smell fantastic, and then, well, it started to just smell a little weird!

It came out well, to look it, and is pretty much the perfect cake consistency, lovely and light and moist, but, well, it just doesn't taste that great! It's not bad, we'll probably manage to eat it all between the two of us, after all cake is cake, but I certainly won't be making it again. Maybe I'll try the chocolate variety next time.

Crafting 28/365...

2009-08-28T12:43:00.004+01:00

...knitting socks...

I started these socks, oh I don't know, about a year ago maybe, and well they had been abandoned. However last night I felt the urge to do some knitting, so I went upstairs rummaged through the many, many unfinished knitting and crochet projects and dug these out. Surprisingly I managed the whole bottom part (heel to toe) so who know maybe I'll have them finished in less than another 12 months!

Herbs in pots one week on...

2009-08-27T13:06:00.003+01:00

Growing anything from seed is just about one of the most exciting things!! Especially if, like these little beauties, they are quick to give you aesthetic rewards.

I'm quite tempted to create a little space especially devoted to the housing a growing of various herbs and plants that will be happy indoors.

Crafting 27/365...

2009-08-27T09:20:00.003+01:00

...red and purple heart buttons...

Crafting 26/365...

2009-08-26T17:34:00.003+01:00

...ninja's with nunchucks...

A weekend in Bruton...

2009-08-26T10:19:00.007+01:00

...this weekend just gone we travelled, not too far, south to a beautiful little town in Somerset, called Bruton where Johnny's grandparents live. We went to celebrate both Johnny's Mum's and Uncle's birthdays. It was a lovely family gathering, it's great that Milo gets to see so many generations of his family.

The weather was perfect (I even got my first touch of sunburn this summer!) there was some croquet playing, duck feeding, fruit picking and lots of delicious food.

Unfortunately my camera battery ran out just before the sun decided to shine, so it may look a little overcast, but the sun did definitely come out to play.

We stayed in a very grand bed and breakfast, I don't have any photo's, but it was stunning.

Milo was beautifully behaved all weekend, despite missing most of his naps and staying up too late! All in all it was a very wonderful weekend!

Fruity beads in action...

2009-08-26T09:00:00.000+01:00

The lovely snowberrylime has worked some of my fruit beads in to this delicious yarn.

What a privilage! I absolutely covet so many of her wonderful yarns...I have yet to purchase any, in the full knowledge I will never find a project that I feel worthy of such beautiful supplies!

A New Blog...

2009-08-25T20:08:00.004+01:00

...I have started a new blog over here. It is about my adventures on becoming a mama.

I'm using typepad, to be honest at the moment I'm not that all that sure I'm totally impressed by it, but we'll see how I get on, and maybe if it works I'll transfer this little blog over there too. I'll be sure to keep you informed.

Handm@de Oxford...

2009-08-25T09:00:00.002+01:00

Hey there...just a quick note to let you all know about Handmade Oxford...it will be taking place on November 29th.

I will be there with Johnny and my sweetest little assistant Milo.

You should come too...if you're close by that is.

xxx

Crafting 25/365

2009-08-25T08:01:00.002+01:00

...eyeless, armless, weaponless, work in progress ninjas...

Crafting 24/365...

2009-08-24T15:56:00.002+01:00

...throwing star ninjas...

Crafting 23/365...

2009-08-24T15:46:00.004+01:00

...ninja earrings...

Crafting 22/365...

2009-08-24T14:00:00.003+01:00

...ninja keyrings...

Books and Bread...

2009-08-22T10:14:00.007+01:00

I got some wonderful new books for my birthday (some as gifts from others and some as gifts from myself!)

'Totally Simple Food' by Jill Dupleix

'Apples for Jam' by Tessa Kiros

'Handmade' by Ros Badger and Elspeth Thompson
'The Creative Family' by Amanda Blake Soule (not pictured as it is currently residing on my bedside table)
I'm loving them all...so much wonderful inspiration, some of which can be seen below.

I made this white milk loaf from 'Apples for Jam' (I've wanted this book for such a very long time)...and for pretty much the first time in my bread making attempts it actually came out pretty well.

It was a little sweet because it has honey in it, so it was super delicious with jam (and I hate to admit it, chocolate spread) but next time I may experiment with skipping the honey, or only adding a very small amount.

Growing...

2009-08-21T10:03:00.000+01:00

...herbs in pots...

I painted these pots at my mums shop on my last trip home and she kindly brought them up with her for my surprise birthday visit. The herbs I planted at the beginning of the year were transferred outside and have either been eaten by giant slugs or just not made it!

...my little green monster...

who just wants to sit or stand (or a combination of the two) all the time! He's growing up so quickly...he learns something new every day...amazing!

Crafting 21/365...

2009-08-21T09:54:00.000+01:00

...slowly developing little houses embroidery...

I have to admit I've completely lost track of where I am with crafting 365 now! I've still got a few days to put up a few things to photograph...but I've also lost ALOT of days!!

Excuses for absences....

2009-08-14T10:42:00.000+01:00

Oh I have been a very naughty absent blogger the past week, and as for crafting 365...well I am failing terribly!

So what is my excuse? It was my birthday on Tuesday, and just as I had finished putting Milo down for his morning nap on Monday, there was a knock on the door, I was expecting the postman but when I opened the door I discovered two very lovely little girls (my nieces) my mum and my sister!! They had driven all the way down from Norfolk to surprise me!! It was a good job I was in!

Then of course Tuesday itself was full of birthday loveliness provided by my super wonderful boys and my first night out without the smallest of them since he was born!!

As for the other 5/6 days I missed, well...I was just slack I guess!!

So today I shall be updating a few of my crafting 365 days, but not all of them I'm afraid to say, and tomorrow I am off to Cambridge for the weekend, so more blogging shall no doubt be missed, but I will try my hardest to achieve some crafting on those days.

Happy Friday xxx

Crafting 20/365...

2009-08-07T09:37:00.000+01:00

...lace buttons....

I made these lace buttons last night with some ivory sculpey that my lovely mum sent down for me. I thought they looked a little too subtle like this, so I played around with adding some paint to them.

I tried different colours, but think that I prefer the pale beige ones the best. They'll be available for sale in here and here (hopefully) this afternoon.

Crafting 19/365...

2009-08-06T14:43:00.000+01:00

...yellow and blue ninjas...

Crafting 18/365

2009-08-05T10:43:00.000+01:00

...buttons...

...and ninjas...

Crafting 17/365

2009-08-04T09:45:00.000+01:00

...watermelon beads....

...kiwi beads...

Crafting 16/365...

2009-08-03T12:06:00.000+01:00

...more 'Twilight' themed apple buttons...

A few more of the apple buttons I started making last week, these ones are for the custom order, however I have some of the others listed in my etsy store. xx

Exciting times....

2009-08-03T09:54:00.000+01:00

Happy Monday. I have a couple of exciting things to share with you all this morning (well exciting for me anyway!).

Firstly I am featured in this months 'Make Jewellery Magazine'. There are lots of lovely projects using polymer clay beads, which is great.

Secondly, the lovely El and Bex have offered to sell my work in their beautiful little shop. I'm going down on Thursday to set up a little space. I've never sold my goods in real life before only ever online, so I'm super excited!

Things in general are going really well at the moment, how could they not be, when I have such a gorgeous good luck charm!

Crafting 15/365...

2009-08-02T11:01:00.001+01:00

...more ninjas...

Crafting 14/365

2009-08-01T15:23:00.001+01:00

...Ninjas...

Another custom order and a few extra flower ninja keyrings for the shop. xx

Crafting 13/365...

2009-07-31T15:47:00.000+01:00

...apple buttons....

So when I said there would be less fruity crafting, I forgot that one of my custom orders actually involved apples!!

I've been asked to make some buttons for a hoodie that is Twilight themed, I must admit that I had never heard of the books, let alone read them before now, but I've found lots of information and images online.

These are just some ideas I've been playing with.

Happy weekend xx

Crafting 12/365...

2009-07-30T12:11:00.000+01:00

...watermelon beads...

As you can probably tell I'm on a bit of a fruity tip at the moment!! But I've got a few bits of custom work to do over the next few days so there will be a bit more variety, promise!

Crafting 11/365...

2009-07-29T10:14:00.001+01:00

...magnets for promos...

These little magnets in bags are promos for this. I forgot to take photos of them before bagging them all up though, apologies. xx

Organising and helpful little hands...

2009-07-29T09:31:00.000+01:00

So I haven't really done so well with my crafting 365, I'm only 2 weeks in and have already lost 4 days!! I will try harder, promise!

I've mostly been organising and tidying my many crafty bits and pieces, to create an area that is easier to work in when I have such limited time.

This morning we've mostly been putting beads into saleable sets. I say we as I've had a little helper sat upon my knee, when I say helper I really mean distractor and chaos creator! Those little hands were very cute, until he swept a whole load of beads off the table and onto the floor. Oh how he laughed!! I have enough of a problem keeping the beads off the floor when using my own clumsy hands!

All that hard work really wore him out though...

Crafting 10/365

2009-07-29T09:26:00.000+01:00

...citrus beads...

Crafting 9/365

2009-07-28T21:08:00.000+01:00

...kiwi beads...

Crafting 8/365

2009-07-28T21:01:00.000+01:00

...grapefruit and lemon beads...

Baking and a Birthday...

2009-07-22T12:57:00.000+01:00

...I may have been a bit rubbish at keeping up with my crafting 365 the last couple of days but that's because we've been a bit busy here. My poor little boy had his second round of jabs on Monday, he was super brave and it was much less emotional for me second time around, but he was still a grumpy babe for the rest of the day. When he wasn't sleeping (in my arms, wouldn't stay down in his cot) he was screaming! It wasn't much fun, but I know how important it is for him to have them and it's only one day.

Over the weekend I made some crumbles with some fruit which otherwise would have ended up in the bin. Unfortunately we have great intentions and buy ourselves loads of fruit, but so rarely do we manage to consume it all before it turns. So to save waste I've started to try and put it to good (although not as healthy) use.

Then as it is Johnny's birthday today, yesterday I knocked up a cheesecake. I say knocked up as though it was the easiest thing in the world! It wasn't!! I've never made a cheesecake before and it's Johnny's favourite thing, so I dug out a Nigella recipe for chocolate cheesecake and headed out to get the ingredients super early. Milo went down for his afternoon nap and I got on with the baking, all was going well until I got the part that said 'add the sour cream', err what sour cream? Somehow I had managed to completely miss that part of the ingredient list!! As Milo was sound asleep there was little I could do but put everything to one side and wait. At 4 o'clock we headed out to quickly grab the sour cream, well the shops of Cheltenham obviously don't feel that it is important stock to have, because after trying all the nearest and slightly further afield shops I ended up miles (well sort of) away at waitrose, who did supply me with what I needed. Having thought we were only popping out Milo was safely snuggled against me in his sling when it started to rain and got heavier and heavier!!! So we returned home an hour later soaked to the skin!!

With the cheesecake finally assembled it appeared from the oven just as Johnny returned from work, so birthday surprise slightly ruined but hey ho.

However, although it looks like a rather unappetising quiche, it tastes lovely, and I'm glad I went to all that effort so my lovely boy could have his favourite dessert for pre-birthday and also birthday celebrations.

Crafting 7/365...

2009-07-22T10:20:00.000+01:00

...little houses embroidery....

...again, and I've been rubbish and missed 2 days or 3?!! Not a great start but I will get better I promise. x

Crafting 6/365

2009-07-19T09:17:00.001+01:00

...little houses embroidery...

I imagine this will probably appear quite a few times before it is complete! But it's a perfect craft to pick up a put down as and when the little one decides he needs me!

Crafting 5/365

2009-07-18T11:20:00.000+01:00

...failed banana canes for beads...

Ok so these did not turn out as planned at all! But it still counts right? I still crafted!

Crafting 4/365...

2009-07-17T09:38:00.000+01:00

...miniature ninjas...These are like the ninjas I made for earrings, but just simple companions. They will be available in my shop sometime soon, but at today is just to dark and cloudy to take any good pictures.

Crafting 3/365...

2009-07-16T12:56:00.000+01:00

...strawberry beads...

Dragon Fruit...

2009-07-15T12:44:00.000+01:00

...whilst shopping at the weekend I came across a lovely looking dragon fruit. I am ashamed to say I have never tried one before! It was so beautiful I couldn't resist it!

We ate it last night and whilst looking at all those little black seeds I wondered to myself 'can you grow a dragon fruit?'. Johnny had already googled said fruit and informed me it was a cactus, so this morning I googled it again and discovered that yes indeed you can grow it from those lovely seeds.

So I picked some out from last nights remains and they are now planted and waiting to grow!! How exciting!

Click here to read the very helpful forum discussion in which I discovered the wonders of growing these little plants.

Crafting 2/365...

2009-07-15T09:52:00.000+01:00

...rainbow love heart beads...

Crafting 365...

2009-07-14T12:19:00.000+01:00

...so I've decided, I'm going to do it! I'm going to take the crafting 365 challenge! I'm going to do something crafty every single day for a whole year and document it here and on flickr.

OK so it may be a little foolish to think I can achieve something crafty every day whilst helping a little one grow from a 3 month old to a year and 3 month old, but I'm up for it! You may have to witness some very slow growing craft projects!

Here we go then....

crafting 1/365

lemon slice beads, made yesterday, I figure it'll be easier for me to work one day behind, giving me time to photograph the crafts etc...

You can see others taking part and those who have already gone through all 365 days on the crafting 365 flickr group.

A trip to the seaside...

2009-07-10T10:17:00.000+01:00

My absence this time was due to a lovely trip to the seaside to visit my mum, sister and nieces. We had a wonderful time and despite a few amazing storms the weather was pretty good too.

Weybourne Beach, Norfolk

All the travelling, attention and fresh sea air has very much tired out my little boy mind!! I don't think he's slept this much since those first early jaundiced days!

Happy Friday to all, I hope that your weekend is full of sunshine. xx

My Big Bummed Babe...

2009-07-02T11:25:00.000+01:00

After a disapointing start with cloth nappies (I just didn't do enough research and purchased some really bad ones before Milo was born) I decided to give them another go. I got myself some bargain motherease from, ebay a selection of wraps and we're up and running, so far very successfully, no leaks!

However we are experiencing one rather big problem! Nothing will fit over that bum of his!! We've gone up a vest size and that's fine but unfortunately even the next size up trousers just are not going over that nappy!

So this afternoon I will most definitely have to stitch up some super sized trousers for my little boy, in preparation for our trip to the seaside at the weekend, where I am truly hoping it will be just a little bit cooler than it is here...please!

P.S. I do appreciate that with the pink background and all in the above pictures may hint a little towards girlyness, but I assure you Milo doesn't mind...he even has a pink sleeping bag!

A quilt for my niece (part 2)

2009-07-01T10:06:00.000+01:00

So here are some pictures of that quilt I need to magically finish by Friday (I'm pretty sure, if not certain, that that is not going to happen now!).

I do like the fabrics and the log cabin design I went for but am wondering if it isn't just a little bit too girly!

Delicious Fabrics...

2009-06-30T10:21:00.000+01:00

OK so I am fully aware of the fact that I am struggling to find to time in amongst looking after Milo to do pretty much anything at all, let alone anything crafty, but that didn't stop me recently acquiring these lovely fabrics...

I just can't stop looking at this delicious jelly roll from moda and hoping that soon I will be able to transform it in to a beautiful quilt for Milo. OK so there may be a little pink in there but I'm sure Milo won't mind.

and this lovely piece of fabric depicting lovely scenes from what I imagine to be children's stories. Again another quilt for Milo I think, I plan to cut out the pictures and then piece them together again with some different coloured edgings, but not sure just yet as really don't want to waste those lovely strips of measuring tape. I'm sure I'll have plenty of time to think about it mind, as I doubt either quilt will be made for a very long time. I'm still working on the one I started for my niece's birthday which is less than a week away now! Hmmm maybe it can be a christmas gift instead!

Lilley Stitches...

2009-06-29T12:45:00.000+01:00

Sorry I have been such an absent blogger of late, I do intend to be better, promise.

I've just popped in to let you know, I have finally set up my new shop!

xxx

A quilt for my niece...

2009-05-21T18:12:00.000+01:00

A couple of years ago now I made a little quilt for my youngest nieces 1st birthday, she's far too big for it now, but apparently uses it for her dolls (one of whom she's recently renamed Milo in honor of her new baby cousin!), anyway, it's my eldest niece's 7th birthday coming up so thought I'd make her a quilt for that occasion.
I'm not entirely sure that little girls really appreciate quilts as gifts but I know she proudly shows off any handmade gifts I have given her in the past. Also being the mother of a newborn allows me little spare time so perhaps it is a little ambitious a project right now, but it's what I decided I wanted to do!! I bought myself a rotary blade and a quilters ruler yesterday as I am so so rubbish at cutting in a straight line, I've picked out the fabric and I've even cut it into strips (I'm going to do log cabin stylie I thinks)...now I just need to set up my sewing machine and find time in between nappy changes and feeding to actually do some sewing!
The kari-me sling I purchased weeks and weeks ago, finally arrived today...so at least I now have hands! Milo loves it...he's currently laying fast asleep inside it, he's the most contented he's been in days!

I know I said I wasn't going to go all baby like on this blog but I can't help but share a the first picture I've managed to get of him smiling!

A mobile for Milo...

2009-05-19T10:43:00.000+01:00

Milo has really begun to focus on objects the last week or so...he's so inquisitive, his favourite place to stare is most definitely any one of our many book cases. However, although he will happily lay there chatting away to himself, I was concerned that he had nothing particularly interesting to stare at (except of course the ceiling) when he's lying in his moses basket.

We never really got particularly prepared for his arrival in the sense of creating a nursery for him and never purchased a mobile, so there was only one thing for it, to make one of course.

It is incredibly simple, but then is was quite hastily made in snatched moments here and there! It was also very difficult to photograph, unfortunately you can see our terribly messy house in the background, but I did just have a baby (which is of course my excuse for everything at the moment!). Having said that he is in fact 6 weeks old today! It's gone so quickly and yet feels like forever! He sits on my lap as I type, looking up at me with bright eyes and smiles...bliss!

A piece of cake...

2009-05-13T16:13:00.000+01:00

...is most certainly not anything like how looking after myself and my precious little one has been these last 5 weeks!

Looking after Milo hasn't really been all that tough in itself (he is an incredibly good baby really) looking after myself has been far more challenging!! I've been (and still am) really unwell with one thing and another over these past weeks...the problem with being unwell when you're looking after a newborn is that you just don't have the time to get better...you can't just go to bed for a couple of days and fix yourself up...as a result everything just seems so much worse.

However Milo is sleeping soundly (a rare daytime occurrence, but I shouldn't complain as he sleeps so well at night now) and I accidentally found myself down the cake aisle in Marks and Spencers this afternoon (and may have got a little carried away) so I have a few precious moments to myself to enjoy a cup of coffee and much much cake!

Three pieces of cake may seem a little glutinous, but I'm not going to lie to you I probably will be going back for seconds!

Of course it is all worth it, especially when Milo gave us he first (definitely not wind) smiles yesterday and I get to kiss his super soft, sweet smelling head, every day!

Little fingers and toes...

2009-04-22T19:41:00.000+01:00

I'm going to try not to become all about posting photos of my lovely new babe, but to be fair it is about the only thing going on in my life at the moment! So until life begins to settle down and I find time for more crafting (will there ever be time again?!) here are some more pictures of my newest favourite person.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Introducing....

2009-04-18T16:36:00.000+01:00

Milo Darwin Thom Patterson-Brown

He was born quite unexpectedly and quickly on the 7th April at 8.54am weighing 7lb 3oz.

We are all very well, healthy and happy, if not a little tired! I'll probably be absent or sporadic in posting over the next few weeks as we continue to become accustomed to each other and enjoy these first few special moments.

More pictures here.

xxx

Still growing...

2009-03-26T12:45:00.000Z

I don't know if I'm really getting all that much bigger anymore...but I certainly feel it!! I've only put on a pound this week...so I can't be getting that much fatter!! However as the end approaches I'm starting to feel more and more impatient! I know I should be sitting back and enjoying the last few weeks of solitude...relaxing and preparing...but I want this all done with now!! There are only 2 weeks and 6 days left until my due date, so really not very long at all...of course it could be longer, there's no saying he's going to come on time, but then again he could come tomorrow!! Patience has never been my strength!

It's one of those, rain, sunshine, rain, sunshine, rain, spring days here, and I so desperately want to get out for a walk, but I'm too concerned I'll get stuck in one of the rain bits! We have this horrible plastic roof on our kitchen, so when it rains it's so loud and it feels like you're in a caravan or a tent...I love it...perfect for doing very little but curling up on the sofa and reading a book.

All my brain seems able to process or show any interest in at the minute are pregnancy and birth books, I just cannot get into any fiction at the moment. So currently I'm reading 'birth skills' by Juju Sundin. I got it out of the library on Monday and I'm really enjoying it, I've found the things she talks about and the ways of blocking the pain make complete sense to me. It's really interesting, however I guess the proof will be in the testing so I'll let you know how I get on!

Starting to rest and prepare...

2009-03-23T10:44:00.000Z

As my due date draws nearer, I'm starting to finally realise what is happening! Yes it's true in approximately 3 weeks and 2 days I will be having a baby a real life little person to look after! As a result I probably won't be around that much over the following few weeks...I do seem to have a renewed energy recently, but it's more focused on cleaning and tidying and doing selfish things for myself! I may also be slower to respond to messages, I'll still be about checking in and reading other's blogs, I just may be a little more laid back and slow!

There are so many different feelings and emotions you go through when you are pregnant...it truly is as many will tell you a 'rollercoaster', if I tried to list them all it would take all day...but I'm happy to say that at the moment the main feeling I have is one of a calm, thoughtful, relaxful state.

I have a few pictures to share with you of yet another baby blanket!

It's still a work in progress, that like most things I'm working on slowly and thoughtfully. I'm using Rowan Calmer yarn (the website is down and the moment so I can't post a link) which is 90% cotton and 10% polyester, it's not the softest yarn in the world but it's quite thick and chunky (although that may partly be down to the stitch I'm using).

The stripey hoodie I posted about last week is so so close to completion now...all that's left is for me to stitch on some buttons. I'll post pictures of it in all it's glory when it is truly finished.

Happy Monday xxx

Growing...

2009-03-19T10:50:00.000Z

Herbs from seeds...

Beautiful flowers in pots left by the previous occupiers of out little house...

Me...

Making more baby things...

2009-03-18T13:00:00.000Z

...and doing very little else.

I have become so incredibly lazy the last few days. I know it's down to being pregnant and all that jazz, but I still feel very very guilty about it. Johnny is lovely and tries to encourage me to do just nothing but sleep, but there is so much to do! Granted if the baby were to decide to make an appearance today he would have clothes to wear (all washed and folded and put away in size order!), a bed to sleep in (again all washed and ready to be made up), transportation (both in the form of wheels and seat - but not yet sling), nappies to wear, toys to play with (if he so desired), and a million other things he probably doesn't need. My hospital bag is packed (almost) due to the fact my mum and sister posted me one already made up, I think they were starting to worry I would never get round to sorting it out myself! So in fact there probably isn't all that much to do now...but I feel like there is!! I can't even think of anything off the top of my head, except perhaps little things like a bit of hoovering and clean the bathroom....but I still feel like every moment sat on the sofa watching terrible daytime television and crocheting is a wasted moment!

Well not entirely wasted as this was what I produced from yesterdays sofa lounging...

Approximately half a baby hoodie in red and white stripes...I love the colours and the style of the stripes, although Johnny is calling it the jester hoodie. I got the pattern from this book, that I bought a while ago. I seem to have altered the pattern slightly, unintentionally, but it still seems to be working out OK!

It calls for some duffel style buttons, so I'm planning on making some up out of polymer clay today for it...but I can't decide whether to have stripey red and white, or solid red and white alternately or just plain old red ones...

I have to go out today to post some items, which is wonderful, because it is so beautifully sunny and springlike, and it gives me an excuse to leave the house and enjoy it.

Happy Wednesday xxx

P.S. 4 weeks today til my due date!!

Chocolate and Baby Blankets...

2009-03-15T10:16:00.000Z

I'm still working on a baby blanket a started a million years ago (well maybe not that long ago, but all the way back here anyway), I knitted up the squares, but well they are not the squarest of squares so I begun to edge them in crochet and then kind of forgot about them! That is until yesterday when Johnny said I was absolutely not allowed to begin on anything else for the baby until that blue blanket was finished! He can be such a meany sometimes. So anyway I continue to edge those squares I did.

All was going well until I discovered that I hadn't started out with white and two shades of blue, but an off-white creamy colour and 2 shades of blue!!! I was distraught but Johnny pulled me through my anguish and attempted to tell me it didn't matter...I'm still not sure it doesn't look a bit silly as the original creamy yarn used in the main blocks looks slightly yellow when positioned next to the more recently purchased white which lines the dark blue, but hey ho, these silly mistakes seem to happen more and more in my pregnant state!

They're still not attached to each other but they are ready to be!! Now only to decide how to do it and in what colour...that could well take another 3 months at least!!

On a completely unrelated note I made the most ridiculously chocolately chocolate cookies on Friday, they are amazing, but the fact that we still have some of the 12 I baked left just goes to show you how intensly chocolately they are!

They are from this book I picked up at a bargain price many years ago, I have made these triple chocolate cookies before but think I forgot how insanely rich they really are! The recipe calls for 90g of milk chocolate 90g of white chocolate and 300g of dark chocolate!!! I didn't even use that much, as I couldn't find any white chocolate that wasn't nestle I used 150g of milk chocolate and as 300g of dark chocolate just seemed crazy I only used 200g!

I indulged in them still warm with some hot chocolate and family tree investigating on Friday afternoon, and lovely it was indeed!

Happy Sunday all...I'm probably going to go and sleep a lot...after weeks of complete inability to sleep due to kicking, overheating and being purely uncomfortable, my body seems to have developed an ability to ignore all these things and has decided all I really need to do is sleep, it could sleep all day and all night if I let it. xxx

Little Blue Houses by the Sea

2009-03-13T10:28:00.000Z

Just a quick hello today to share with you my latest embroidery hoop...

Little Blue Houses by the Sea

I sketched out the idea whilst waiting for Johnny at the dentists and stitched it up yesterday.

I spent most of my teenage years by the sea, and since all of my grown-up life has been lived so far away from it I miss it terribly.

Happy Friday!!! The weekend is here!!!

Some Zesty Baby Treats...

2009-03-11T10:53:00.000Z

After the massive closing down sale of my favourite place to by yarn, a couple of months ago, I now have quite a large quantity of lovely expensive rowan yarn to use up. One of my favourite finds was a bag (10 balls in total) of the wonderful milk cotton in, the colour I have just discovered is called, "fruit salad" (I think I love it even more now!). I also have to share with you the fact that those 10 balls of yarn cost a grand total of £11.50!!

Despite the fact that Johnny has some horrible aversion to orange as a colour, I have crocheted both a baby blanket and a baby hat, with the above yarn and I still have more than 5 balls left!!

I used a stitch I hadn't done before, with the blanket..it's very simple double crochet chain double crochet, putting double crochet into the gap where the chain below is, and I think it works really well as a baby blanket because it's nice and light. Then I just did a few rows of double crochet around the edge.

The hat I managed to knock up pretty quickly and easily (whilst delighting in watching Heston cook up incredible wonders!)...working completely out of my head...in about 20 minutes! The only pattern I had for a baby hat in crochet was done flat and then stitched together rather than in rounds, which seemed a bit silly to me, so I just used the basis of my oversized beanies, but made it much much smaller!!

I'm not really quite sure how big a new born baby's head is exactly and some of the hats I've bought for him look scarily huge, but I think I've got it close to right! We'll just have to wait and see I guess...5 weeks today!!

Happy Wednesday xx

Getting Ready...

2009-03-10T09:05:00.000Z

Here are some shots of my preparations for my new shop...

And some more shots of my finished Little Multi-Coloured Houses embroidery hoop....

I've backed the hoop with some little houses fabric I've had forever in fear of using it because I love it so much!!

That's all for today...I must return to washing all the many many baby things I have been given...not quite sure how many sheets a baby needs...but I'm pretty sure I now most certainly have enough!! I've also been awake most of the night, the baby has taken to head butting me in the ribs, which wakes me up in quite a panic, so hopefully I'll be able to get a little more sleep before attempting any crafting today!

Buttons and Beanies...

2009-03-09T11:05:00.000Z

Most of yesterday was spent, not sorting out the baby's room as planned, but instead, stitching up some oversized beanies to add to the stock for the new shop.

I intended on selling them last year, as I made up a couple for myself and kept getting asked where I got them from, but it just never really happened. So hopefully they'll still be successful this time round.

The buttons are for a custom order I received yesterday...the smaller ones I am going to make into hair clips.

Unfortunately I'm stuck in the house this morning whilst I await the delivery of our pushchair, which I missed on Friday, if I wasn't waiting I probably wouldn't have any desire to leave the house, but the fact that I'm stuck makes me feel like I really need to go into town and run some errands!!

I'll leave you with a little picture of me modelling the above mentioned beanies!

Little Multi-Coloured Houses...

2009-03-08T09:03:00.001Z

Hello...

My trip to the hospital was all fine...our little one is measuring almost bang of target for his dates and is estimated to weigh almost 5lb already, which is wonderful...he is however still breech and the sonographer didn't seem too convinced that he's going to manage to find his way into the right position in time. Which is a bit of a worry, but I'm not going to give up on jumping around on my ball thing and getting down on all fours in an attempt to encourage him!!

I didn't post yesterday as I was kept very busy all day building a wardrobe! Exciting indeed! But it had to be done as we do really have far too many clothes...I guess it's one of the problems in working for a fashion retailer...but it's done now and today we get to build the cot and make a lovely little home for our baby!

I did squeeze a little crafting into the day and stitched up these little houses...

They are a variation on the ones I did here...but in different colours as Johnny keeps on insisting I do. I actually very much like them indeed.

They are a little bit crumpled in these photos but will be making their way into an embroidery hoop and once up and running into my new shop. I hope to have enough time this week to build up lots of stock so that I can get it open by next weekend...fingers crossed.

Happy Sunday I hope you all have lovely relaxing days. xx

Lilley Stitches....

2009-03-06T11:12:00.000Z

Hello...
I just wanted to quickly share with you some stitching I did for the banner and avatar for my new shop.

I'm off into the lovely sunshine to make my way to the hospital for my last scan....that means the last time I see the baby until he is really here in the flesh!!

New Buttons and Beads...

2009-03-05T11:41:00.000Z

Today I am mostly cleaning and tidying...not quite sure how it happened but I just woke up with an urge to do it...and haven't stopped...well not until now. I thought I'd take a quick break, sip on some raspberry leaf tea and share with you some pictures of the beads and buttons I made yesterday.

I needed some black and white buttons to go inside the black and white corsages I have been making so thought I might as well knock out a whole batch of them. Unfortunately I seemed to have had my pregnant brain on yesterday, and not until I removed them from the oven did I notice that I managed to forget to put holes in the black with white heart buttons....making not very useful buttons at all. Not really sure what will become of them now...any ideas?

So I best get back to my nesting/spring cleaning before I lose interest in the venture!!

Happy Thursday x

Some completed corsages...

2009-03-04T10:28:00.001Z

An update on yesterdays flowers...some of them at least...have now become corsages, ready to adorn a coat, a bag, a scarf...well anything you like really.

And, although not ready and open just yet I'm also in the process of setting up my new shop, LilleyStitches, I'm very excited about this new venture indeed.

I don't feel like I need to sacrifice my time spent on my other shops either because my making of buttons, beads, ninjas and the like mostly happens during the day when my beloved is at work whereas crochet and embroidery very much tends to be a sat on the sofa in the evening kind of endeavour.

And on that note I am off to make some buttons. xx

Flowers...

2009-03-03T10:08:00.000Z

After a bit of a panicked trip to the hospital yesterday morning (everything was OK in the end) and a very bad nights sleep, I really didn't feel up to much, so I spent most (well maybe all) of the rest of the day under a blanket on the sofa doing some crochet.

And I whipped up these little lovelies...

I'm going to turn them all into corsages, in various colour combinations. After much pondering on the subject I also think I'm going to open a new etsy shop. I love all the colourfulness and silliness of the polymer clay objects I produce, but also really want to be able to produce nice high quality pieces of embroidery and crochet, although I do still do this at the moment, I'm not sure it really fits in with the rest of the items in my store. I find it quite difficult to get items to sit well amongst each other and think perhaps it's time to open a different more sophisticated (maybe) store as well.

I know it's going to be difficult to run and promote 2 separate stores, especially as I'm already selling on Folksy and dawanda as well, but I think it will be worth it in the end.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see!

Happy Tuesday xx

Baby things....

2009-03-02T19:06:00.000Z

As I have no craftiness of my own to share today and we went and purchased our pram yesterday I can't help but think about baby things...so I thought I'd share with you some of my favourites on etsy at the moment.

Set of Three Sweater Balls

By handmadepretties

algiers, 1932
By tollipop

The Adam

By BabyThingsByJessica

Happy Monday xxx

Cupcakes...

2009-03-01T09:11:00.000Z

I'm so glad that Bethany from CherryRiot got in touch with me last week about some custom work she wanted, because what she wanted was cupcakes. It's been such a long time since I made cupcakes of the pretend variety and I really really enjoyed it and I just love seeing them all lined up together.

I made a few extras for myself which I will be turning into rings and broaches and adding to my shop this afternoon.

Other than that I think a lazy Sunday will probably be on the cards, maybe including a little bit of pram shopping and baby room organizing.

Happy lazy Sundays to you all xx

A New Rug...

2009-02-28T09:08:00.000Z

I'm a very very very happy girl indeed as yesterday my lovely man bought for me this lovely rug...
It came from Habitat and I had lusted over it for quite some time, well since I was promised a new rug for our lounge at christmas time. I couldn't decide on it for a while because it was little on the expensive side, but after too many evenings of lying on the cold floorboards in an attempt to get comfortable we finally decided to get it. Johnny even had to carry it the whole way home for me!

Here is a picture of it in situ, although the light in our lounge really is terrible...

And to prove that I didn't spend all day admiring my new rug here are some pictures of the little embroidery sampler you can see down there...

I've just been playing around with different types of stitches, as all I ever seem to do it the regular old back stitch, and as I have a whole book full of different types I thought I'd give it a go.

Happy Weekend xxx

Spring...

2009-02-27T11:33:00.001Z

So it seems that spring is really starting to try and show his face around these parts...

This lovely treasury in which I was featured turned up on the front page this morning...

Curated by LazyGiraffe you can see it in all it's glory here, lots of lovely sunny items and the majority of which are UK sellers.

The sun is shinning very brightly here today indeed and I can wait to get outside and go for a walk.

A lovely surprise of daffodils has appeared on our roof terrace and have sprouted out of the plant pots that were left here by the previous occupiers of our little house. They make me very happy and as I have to walk past the window that looks out onto them on my way to the utility room it makes doing the laundry all that much nicer.

Carrying on in the spring theme, I took to producing some springlike green items yesterday, here are some pictures for you...

Stripey Buttons...

2009-02-26T10:49:00.000Z

Just a quick post today, after yesterdays essay, to show off the stripey buttons I made yesterday...

As always there are available for sale in my etsy shop and will hopefully be listed in Folksy and Dawanda this afternoon.

A Trip to London....

2009-02-25T08:07:00.000Z

As I mentioned last week I took my niece on her first visit to the bright lights of London this weekend. She LOVED it!! And so did me and Johnny. It was the first time I had taken her away before and got to spend a whole 3 days in her company. She lives in a little town in Norfolk, so it really was quite a cultural change to what she's used to..

I could go on and on and on about what a wonderful time we all had, but I'll try not to ramble on too much! We didn't get to do all the things I had planned but we still managed to fit quite a lot in considering we were only there for 2 and a half days. I lent Bethany my old camera and I'm afraid to say that her pictures are a million times better than my own, but I don't have any copies of hers to show you, so it's my, not that great ones, I'll be sharing with you today. What particularly amazed me about the quality of Bethany's photographs is that they were all taken from the height/perspective of a 6 year old, who most of the time couldn't even see over the walls and barriers and therefore had to try and position the camera in between holes and crooks to get a good view!

So the first day we went to The Tower of London Bethany wanted to see the crown jewels and Tower Bridge. As it was half term that was lots and lots of queueing to be done but fortunately most of the queues moved along quite quickly.

A quick note...if you do plan on going when they ask you if you would like to gift aid the ticket, say yes, it only takes a few seconds and you get given a free 12 month pass!

I enjoyed it because I find it so completely amazing when you consider the age of some of the buildings and you really consider all the many many historic events that have taken place there, it was reasonably expensive, but as everything else we planned to do over the weekend was free I didn't mind paying, I think maybe if you were on your own or with older children learning more of the history would be great, but we still enjoyed it.

Johnny came down on Friday night after work, we went out for dinner and then retired to our hotel...to rest ready for our busy following day.

Saturday...

We went to The Natural History Museum and the The Science Museum, both of which were two of my favourite places when I was a child and I wasn't remotely disappointed on visiting as a grown up. I really could go on forever about how wonderful both museums are, how wonderfully set out they are and how amazing all the staff were, but I'll just show you some pictures instead.

We didn't actually go and see the dinosaurs until Sunday because the queue was so so long on Saturday but we arrived at opening on Sunday and walked straight through which was great.

We also took a trip to Oxford Street and more importantly Hamleys on Saturday evening...my plan was to take Bethany to see Buckingham Palace, however Johnny didn't really want to go, so offered this choice to Bethany "would you like to go to Buckingham Palace, or would you like to go to the biggest toy shop in the world?". Well I think you can probably guess what her response was!

After Hamleys we took a stroll down Carnaby Street had dinner and went down to Piccadilly Circus to get the tube back, so although I didn't get to show Bethany Buckingham Palace, Cleopatra's Needle or the Tate Modern, we still did quite a lot and enjoyed every single second of it.

Sorry if I did end up rambling quite a lot, I just truly did have a wonderful wonderful time!

Delicious new supplies...

2009-02-18T18:58:00.001Z

After a horribly unsuccessful search through Cheltenham high street and supermarkets for some lovely new cake decorating supplies I was about to give up all hope when Waitrose called out to me on my lunch break yesterday. I made quite a trek up there but was not to be disappointed and managed to pick up all these lovelies...

And not only that, but also waiting for me when I returned home from my proper last day of work were these lovely tapes, from crafting bug...

All of which, an upcoming baking marathon and a weekend away, are making me a very very happy girl this Wednesday. xx

Happy Valentines...

2009-02-14T09:07:00.000Z

These little ninjas have a little message for you...

I made this lot up yesterday, I've been meaning to make more ninjas of differing colours for some time, and my plan is to make batches of each colour individually, so with valentines lingering I went for red first! Not sure what today's colour will be....will let you know tomorrow!!

For now here are some more pictures of the luscious red companions.

As always they will be for sale in all three of my shops (etsy folksy dawanda) at some point today.

Happy Valentines xxx

Oz Bushfire Appeal...

2009-02-13T09:27:00.000Z

I just wanted to share with you this shop that has been set up over on etsy to raise money for the Australian Red Cross in order to help with the bush fire tragedies. Many many esty sellers have donated items, all of which have free shipping anywhere in the world. New items seem to be added constantly, but by the looks of it they don't last too long, so you better get over there and have a look!! I've donated a Ninja Keyring, which hasn't been listed yet (I don't think anyway), but have yet to buy anything, I can't decide what to buy!!

So here are a few of my favourites..

LET'S PLAY Zippered Pencil Case

By Rabbit and the Duck

Button flower bouquet - sherbet brights
By Button Bower Bird

Magic Jellies and Gone to Earth.

By Magic Jelly

Like I say there are plenty more wonderful things on there and it gets updated really regularly, so you should go on over and take a peek.

Happy Friday xxx

9 Weeks to go!!!

2009-02-12T09:59:00.000Z

Yep that's right I became 31 weeks pregnant yesterday!!! Who'd of thought it...and everyone tells you "oh it flies by"....it doesn't! It has been a long old 31 weeks that's for sure, but now I'm down to single figures to go, it seems that it might actually be achievable! And I'm getting increasingly worried about not being even remotely ready for another person to come live in this house with us! My sister asked me if I had packed my hospital bag yesterday, when my answer was "I don't even have a bag to use yet let alone any thing to put in it" she gently reminded me that she went into labour at 32 weeks with her first! So off to the shops I go today, but before I do I would like to share a few pictures with you....

Here I am, bump in all it's squirming wiggling glory...

And some pictures of the very first quilt my Mum has ever made, as a gift for her very first Grandson, the brief that Johnny has for the baby's room is colourful, so she stuck to the rules...

I love it very much indeed and absolutely cannot wait for it to be proudly shown off in the baby's room, when we get round to creating this room! On that note I best get on with preparations. Happy Thursday xxx

New Ninjas...

2009-02-11T10:46:00.001Z

I was pretty lazy most of yesterday, I did venture out into the very soggy, wet slush, to purchase some craft supplies and a few baby bits from charity shops, but after that I mostly did nothing!! So by the evening I was feeling pretty guilty and set my mind on some new ninjas for the shops.

I made a ninja keyring a while back, and it sold pretty quickly, then the customer who bought the first asked me to make her another for a friend, so I thought it was about time I made up some more.

Here they are...

And then something completely new that I've never made (well not with ninjas anyway).

Earrings...

They'll be for sale in all three of my shops later on today and hope to make some more ninjas of varying types later on today. xx

New Buttons...

2009-02-10T08:48:00.000Z

I spent most of yesterday rephotographing and restitching buttons to cards, but I did manage to make a few new buttons, which are available in all three of my shops now (etsy Dawanda and Folksy).

Valentine inspired love heart buttons (bit late I know!)

And...Giant bright coloured buttons (these are my favourite thing I've made in a while)

It snowed here again last night (when will it end!) but the sun is shining now so hopefully it will clear up soon so that I am no longer a prisoner in my home! xx

Baking...

2009-02-09T09:16:00.000Z

So I did have a go at making macarons...it was not very successful. After reading up about them I never thought it was the kind of thing you make incredibly well on your first go...but still mine really were a big old disaster. I wasn't going to show pictures as I was so embarrassed by their outcome, but what the hell...you can all laugh at my failure!

They were pretty simple flavourwise, as it was my first go and all, just vanilla with vanilla butter cream, using fresh vanilla.Having spent most of yesterday afternoon researching these little things, I can tell you there are not even close to being a beautiful as any you might bring up on a quick internet search!!! But are they edible? Well they're not entirely inedible! If anything they are a little too sweet, but on the plus side they are not chewy like you might imagine failed macarons to be!

I may give them a try again in a few days/weeks after the misery of my failure has dimmed into a distant memory!

So I had a whole load of vanilla butter cream to use up and a need to re-establish to myself that I could bake (even if only a little) so I whipped up some vanilla cupcakes.They were delicious and perfect...as a result there were very few left to photograph in the daylight of this morning!

Other lazy Sunday activities included indulging in my favourite T.V. guilty pleasure of the moment Lark Rise to Candleford. It is very much perfect Sunday afternoon comfort viewing. Johnny insists he hates it, but spent the whole episode carefully poised between the kitchen and the lounge so he could keep an eye on the dinner and the T.V!

So Monday activities mostly include, sorting through my stock and rephotographing everything!! Quite a task, but compared to making macarons, an easy one! xx

Snow...

2009-02-08T09:10:00.000Z

As anyone in Britain will know...we had a little bit of snow this week. Although it was quite a lot for us it really wasn't all that much, but did cause quite a lot of chaos, as it always does.

I still had to trudge to work in the slushy icy mess everyday, which wasn't much fun, but wasn't the end of the world. I did fall over on Friday, which was a bit rubbish....I got very very wet and had to trudge back home to get changed! But the most important thing is that the baby seems perfectly happy despite being knocked about once again (think he may be born with bruises!)

Unfortunately I made the mistake most mornings of thinking "I'll take photos on my lunch break" well there never was any snow left by lunchtime, certainly not any you'd really want to take photos of. As a result my photos are pretty boring shots of my journey to work on Friday (before I fell over that is!), but I thought I'd share them none the less.

Happy Sunday...I think I'm going to have a go at making some of these lovelies today...wish me luck!!! xx

Back Again....

2009-02-07T08:07:00.000Z

After another unexpected absence (well longer than intended anyway) I am back, and I have now finished work and gone on my maternity leave so fully intend to be a good girl and post everyday!

I had a lovely time in Portugal with my family, it was great to spend some time with my nieces before I get too big fat or distracted with my own baby to play so much.

The weather wasn't fantastic, it rained quite a lot, but although it wasn't all that warm either it was a whole lot warmer than it is back here!!!

As you can see above the lemon tree in my Dads garden grows the most amazingly over sized lemons!!

Although to be completely honest most of where we stayed and what we saw was very much orientated towards British tourists, we did go to a couple of a beautiful more typically Portuguese towns.

Oh and we went to the Marine Zoo which was great...partly because there were hardly any other people there at all!!

My favourite of all, the manatee.

It was lovely to have a break, but returning to none so lovely British weather of the last few days was quite a contrast!!

Happy Saturday all xxx

Distractions (part 2)

2009-01-21T08:56:00.000Z

I know that Christmas is pretty much a distant fuzzy memory by now, but I have yet to share with you some of the wonderful gifts I have received which have been distracting me from the world of blogging and internet life in general.

Probably one of my favourites by far was Cherry Cake and Ginger Beer by Jane Brocket, it came from my Mum.

I have yet to adventure in to actually creating any of these wonderful treats, but I've enjoyed reading the history of these receipes and their origins within classic childrens literature so much. There is even a receipe for Turkish Delight in here! I absolutely cannot wait to try that one out (it was sorely missed as the one thing my Mum forgot to stock up on for Christmas).

Johnny got me Mother and Baby Health: The A-Z of Pregnancy, Birth and Beyond, which I have really enjoyed dipping in and out of each night before I go to sleep.

I expect it will be a wonderful referrence book for the future as our baby actually arrives and we are confronted with all the health worries and anxieties that no doubt come hand in hand with having a new baby around.

I also got Doris Lessing Stories from my step brother.

We studied The Fifth Child during our degree and I adored it, so cannot wait to start this collection of stories.

And last but most definitely not least My Booky Wook from the incredibly charming Russel Brand. As I so throughly enjoyed the last series of Ponderland, which had me in stitches every episode, Johnny went a bit Russel Brand crazy for my Christmas gifts and not only got me the autobiography but also two DVD's of his stand up shows. All of which have been wonderful!

So there you have it an incredibly eclectic collection of books as Christmas gifts but all of which I love so very very much.

PS....I'm off to Portugal tomorrow until next Friday, so have take care and I'll be back in just over a week. xx

Valentine Ninjas...

2009-01-20T19:43:00.001Z

I had to share these photos with a batch of Valentine Ninjas I knocked up a week or so ago, with the help of my lovely man.

Now available in my shop.

xxx

Distractions (part 1)

2009-01-18T09:29:00.000Z

I have been a terrible blogger and overall internet partaker of recent days/weeks. I will mostly blame this on reaching the third trimester of my pregnancy...but really the main reason I have been wondering is probably down to the many many distractions I have at the moment.

The first is of course the preparation for the arrival of our little one...this may not yet be for 3 months...but I still feel like there is so so so much to do! I'm generally waiting until my maternity leave starts to work on the really big things...such as turning our incredibly disorganised and messy dressing room into a beautiful nursery, but I can't help feeling the need to knit, crochet and sew many little treasures for him and go out and spend a silly amount of money of clothing for him!
The little yarn concession in the big department store in town is closing down...this is probably the worst news ever for me....but does bring one very big positive...everything in there is 70% off!!! It's crazy how much yarn I now have stashed down the side of our sofa! I haven't forgotten the little blue patchwork blanket I started what now seems like months ago...but I have also started (but oh so nearly finished) another...

I used Rowan Cashsoft Chunky and a pattern from this lovely book, which I purchased when it first came out. I love Erika Knight's books beyond any other crochet books available without a shadow of a doubt.

I've literally got half of the edging to finish and I have run out of yarn!!! I'm sure I'll be able to get hold of another it will just very doubtfully be 70% off!

I also purchased this lovely crochet book with some adorable patterns in it.

If that's not enough there are the many books, DVDs and other little Christmas treasures to tempt me away from business (not to mention my newly purchased Wii!). All of which I promise to blog about in time!

Paper Flowers

2009-01-09T11:26:00.000Z

UPDATE....I found the link for the tutorial for these lovely flowers....
http://foldingtrees.com/2008/11/kusudama-tutorial-part-1/#more-1383

After such good intentions to return to the world of blogging and all things internet based on Sunday, I was struck down by a horrible sickness bug on Monday, which made me pretty much incapable of anything! Which is why it's taken me up until now to actually write a proper post with pictures to share and everything!

I made these paper flowers during the festive season, and they sat amongst the branches of our Christmas tree until he came down (a little late) on Tuesday.

They are now sitting on the shelf which houses our embarrassing amount of computer games, of which only a few can be glimpsed in this photo. Rather frustratingly I can't find the link for the site which I got the instructions from now. Even more annoying as I intend on making more and clustering them together in a big ball. I'll keep looking and hopefully will be able to add it to this post in the future.

I was really proud of how they turned out and they were actually surprisingly simple to put together.

They look really lovely on the shelf...almost as lovely as they did on the Christmas tree.

I think my nesting instinct is starting to kick in already, as I spent the whole of yesterday rearranging, tidying and cleaning our lounge, and I had a dream last night that the baby came early and we weren't even slightly ready, we had NOTHING! No where for him to sleep, nothing for him to wear and no way of going out to buy anything because we had no pram or sling! On the plus side of the dream, I didn't even need to go into hospital because the labour was so quick and painless!

Only 14 weeks left now and only 4 weeks left of work! Which in theory will give me plenty of time to prepare for his real arrival!

A Festive Absence

2009-01-04T10:37:00.000Z

Oh dear...

I got a little lost in amongst all the festivities and took an unannounced and unexpected break. I didn't' mean to disappear without wishing everyone Merry Christmases and Happy New Years, it just sort of happened.

I've had a very lazy couple of weeks (despite still working in my day job). I managed to get home to my family for Christmas which was absolutely wonderful. Everyone got to feel the baby move which is no real surprise as I'm not so sure he actually sleeps at all and is constant fluttering in my belly! Despite this I am still lucky enough to be very small. I still have one pair of normal jeans that fit me! I got lots of wonderful gifts and ate lots and lots of lovely food.

For New Year I was asleep on the sofa by 11.30 and Johnny had to wake me at 11.55 to get ready to wish me a Happy New Year! Oh well it was lovely none the less.

So it is time to me get back to work, which mostly involves replying to emails and lots of crafting, of which I'm sure I'll photo's of for you tomorrow (the crafting that is not the emails!).

Happy New Year to all. xxx

Wonderful Books for Wonderful Girls

2008-12-20T17:19:00.000Z

Here are some of wonderful books I purchased as gifts for my two wonderful nieces...

The eldest of the two is six and just beginning to experience the joys of reading alone. Johnny got her Fox in Socks by Dr Seuss for her birthday, which she loved and resulted in much rhyme making of our own. I've always tried to get them books as they have so many toys already, I loved books (well I still very much do!) as a kid and I really want them to feel the same way. So Bethany is six and I'm pretty sure that was probably around the time that I read a whole book all on my own, I remember it well and how proud I was, the book was Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach. I went on to work my way through all of Roald Dahl's books right up until I was a grown up and read his adult short stories (which are amazing by the way) Johnny also has many fond memories of his books so we thought this would be an ideal starting point for her. I used amazon's age guides to assist in working out which ones would be best, I really don't want to give her something so difficult it puts her off. I also got here the Where's Wally Solid Gold Collection for some silly fun.

Nicole is only 2 and a half, but, as most little sisters do, copies everything Bethany does! She might not have the patience to sit through a story, she tends to attempt a conversation with Bethany in loud whispers, as if we won't notice, but she likes to open a book up on her lap and pretend she's reading aloud. Plus I figured it would be really nice to get her something that Bethany could attempt to read for her. I'm a bit of a creature of habit and once I find an author/illustrator that I (and of course they) like I tend to buy all of their books. So as usual Oliver Jeffers' new book has appeared in the pile of Christmas presents. I absolutely adore his pictures and the stories are so simple yet so beautiful.

I've been very good and haven't read it yet...I'm waiting for the pleasure of reading it two very special girls on Christmas day!

It's so strange to think that next year I'll be buying gifts for my own little one!

Mince Pies...

2008-12-16T17:52:00.000Z

I LOVE mince pies...I reckon I could eat about a hundred of them before feeling sick! I love them even more with a tiny smidge of brandy butter sneaked in under the lid, melting into the filling....mmmmmmm.

So a couple of years ago I attempted my own mincemeat, before this I'd always just bought a jar and the pastry which kind of took away the whole point of making them myself! I took the recipe from a magazine and had it safely stored in my precious notebook of recipes...which seems to have disappeared somewhere between my many moves the last couple of years. So this year I took the recipe from Nigella's "How to be a domestic goddess" (which I managed to pick up in a charity shop for £2, what a bargain!). The recipe uses apple as a substitute for suet, she also has a recipe using suet but I thought I'd give this one a go. It does seem to be missing something but I'm not sure if it's the suet or whether I was a bit skimpy on the brandy. The pies themselves are still delicious but I'm not sure whether I'll use the recipe again.

I used puff pastry, rolled it out with icing sugar and glazed it with milk and a little bit of brandy. I bought the pastry...I always buy the pastry, I don't think that I've ever attempted to make it myself! It just seems so silly when you can buy it so easily! Maybe next year!

So it's feeling ever so festive here this evening....if only I had some mulled wine to accompany those pies...

Oh Christmas Tree...

2008-12-16T11:36:00.000Z

When I got back from work on Sunday there was the sweetest (and quite tiny) Christmas tree waiting for me, still wrapped up and crying out to be decorated!

So here he is. I can't really get any great pictures because of the light, but I can assure you that it looks fantastic, very traditional. And every single decoration that adorns his branches was hand made by myself of Johnny which makes it even more special.

Last time we were up visiting my Mum we painted this in her shop.

I hope that it's a tradition we keep up adding a new one to our collection each year...obviously next year there will be little fingers helping us to paint one!

I also made these little stars from some decopatch...

Johnny made some paper chains...

It's made me a very happy girl, I've never had my own REAL Christmas tree before it smells wonderful and looks fabulous, all the gifts are wrapped and carefully placed under it's branches...I am so very very excited now!

Last day for US shipping...

2008-12-09T09:31:00.000Z

Just a quick note to let you know that today is the last day I can accept US orders in the shop and guarantee them in time for Christmas. Because of this I'm offering FREE shipping on all orders in store for today only (that's on all orders, even if you aren't in the US)! I'll refund the amount through paypal.

That's all for now....Happy Tuesday xxx

Some wonderful things in the post...

2008-12-07T08:55:00.000Z

I've been such a terrible blogger this week, my unexplained absence is mostly down to attempting to go back to work, but finding it to be so incredibly difficult. The problem is, I'm actually not any better than I was 2 weeks ago, but I want so much to go back, if they can't find out what's wrong with me then I may just feel this way through the whole pregnancy and if that's the case then I definitely can't stay at home the whole time, 2 weeks was sending me insane! But at the same time I make myself so panicked about the prospect of falling over somewhere dangerous that I just make myself feel even worse. To top it all off I developed some kind of eye infection yesterday, my right eye is so swollen I can hardly see out of it!

Anyway....some nice things, whilst spending all that time couped up at home attempting to recover, but not making any progress, I spent quite a lot of time (and money) on internet (well etsy mostly) shopping. Here are some of the lovelies I received...

Some wonderful treats from Belle and Boo,

She's having a 25% off sale on all her prints at the moment and also has some great offers on stocking fillers which is what I went for. The quality of everything is lovely right down to the super beautiful packaging. I want so so much to get a print for the baby's room, but Johnny is convinced they are too girly. I disagree, this is the one I would choose but no still too girly apparently. Hey ho...maybe I'll just have to get some for the craft room, once I get round to actually turning into a craft room from a junk room!

I also purchased these lovely christmas cards from The Black Apple

Again they were so beautifully packaged, and the cards themselves are lovely. They are really big, which is great because I only really tend to send christmas cards to people I don't see very often so lots of room is good to fill them in on lots of news and gossip.

I had so many lovely things arrive for me in the post the last couple of weeks but as most of them are christmas presents and I'm not sure about who does and doesn't read my blog, I must keep them hidden away, for now at least. Which is a massive shame, as I would love to share the names of all the wonderful etsy sellers I have encountered.

Happy Sunday all...I'm going to attempt a full day at work! Wish me luck! xx

Becoming a Ninja factory...

2008-12-03T09:54:00.000Z

That's certainly what my front room felt like yesterday as I spread out all my newly purchased supplies and begun making a mammoth amount of ninjas! I even went out in the rain especially to buy those supplies! It was not at all nice...and I'm absolutely certain that cars were deliberately speeding up to go super fast through those many puddles that soaked me from head to toe! I thought people were supposed to be nicer to pregnant women, obviously not me! Anyway it was all worth it as this is what I returned home with...

And here is just some what I produced...

I absolutely adore seeing them all lined up like that! Once they've been photographed they all live on a shelf in our lounge, all the rest of my crafts are neatly put away in boxes, but the ninjas get pride of place on full display until they sell and travel away to distant lands!

Talking of which, got some parcels to pack up. Have a lovely Wednesday xx

A Baby Blue Blanket...

2008-12-02T13:14:00.000Z

As promised...here are some pictures of the (still very much in progress) baby blanket I've been knitting. I'm by no means an expert knitter, but I do really enjoy doing it as, a result this blanket will be incredibly simple, but well loved I hope.

I've been using Rowan Milk Cotton, I'm not really sure what inspired someone to make a yarn out of milk protein, but it is so so beautifully soft and light. I think it will make a really lovely summer blanket once it's finished, which is good because the chances of me finishing it before the summer are probably quite slim!

I'll keep you updated on the progress, now I must return to the making of many many more ninjas!!!

Errr...yet more ninjas...

2008-12-01T09:21:00.000Z

Sorry to be so predictable...I will try to be more varied in the future I promise. But I did make some more ninjas yesterday and these are super special festive ones...with their own candy canes and everything!

I also made some new colourful ones...including a brand new colour altogether...purple!

Otherwise it really was just a lazy Sunday as promised...mostly just knitting. A blanket for the baby, I'll show you pictures tomorrow!

Happy 1st of Dec, I don't have an advent calender but I wish I did! And don't forget...today is the last day for...

Buy one, get one FREE in the shop

So pop along today if there was anything you had in mind for Christmas gifts!

xxx

Why more ninjas of course...

2008-11-30T09:28:00.000Z

Seeing as the buy one get one free sale in my shop has quite depleted my stock of ninjas quite substantially, yesterday I made a few more...

Not as many as I'd have liked as I'm running very short on polymer clay, I didn't make it to the craft shop yesterday and unfortunately it's closed today, however I'm going to do my best to create what I can with what I have left though!

I also made this little man, who I love...

He doesn't have a weapon as I was a little bit worried that if were going to thrown around in handbags and pockets amongst a whole load of keys the sword/nunchucks/throwing star might not do all that much to defend him in the end! But I'm quite happy about his simplicity. I'll see how in fares in the shop, but hopefully I'll be making more in the future.

I hope that everyone has had a lovely weekend...think I'm going to have a lovely lazy Sunday here.

The postman did not come yesterday...

2008-11-29T08:21:00.000Z

He did not bring me my black apple christmas cards, or my moo stickers and he most certainly did not bring me amelia's magazine. I know that is nearing christmas and I must learn to be patient with the postman...he probably is very busy, but one of the few things to do when you are stuck at home poorly sick is order things on the internet and wait for them to arrive. Plus I've been so busy internet shopping that I've kinda gotten used to a package (at least) everyday!

I suppose there is a plus side to all of this I did manage to produce these...

Something that probably wouldn't have happened had my lovely magazine arrived.

Anyhow enough of my moaning...I must be off got lots of parcels to post...hopefully the postman will be nicer and quicker with those than he has been with mine!

Don't forget it's buy one get one FREE in my shop all weekend.