flea market finds

we made it out this week...

both girls are free from chickenpox and were allowed out back into the wider community - hooray!


First stop was the charity shops, I needed a fix, and it was my lucky day.
I've been on the look out for some fabrics to use as a base for some new work, I was thinking of table cloths etc. I got lucky - a sweet linen table cloth with hand embroidered flowers on and two white pillowcases with machine embroidered flowers. My heart skipped a beat - two finds in one shop!
I then took a peek in the button box - oh joy - lots of little white and clear buttons, just what I needed, my little button jar was looking so empty and sad.


Whilst paying for these treasures I glanced around and spotted a little woven basket hanging up and screaming my name - my first thought was it was perfect for the girls to play shops / harvest our crops ( I know - I'm getting ahead of myself here!) But on closer inspection I realised it was a DKNY , missing most of it's beads but still as cute as pie. It was a snip at just £1.95.
I did hand it over to the girls, but we are on a strict agreement that we will all share it. And I will get a turn!


When I got home and took a closer look at my linen treasures I did my usual, 'these are too good to cut up, how can I make this into something else - it's just too lovely as it is.... ' so at the moment they are in a pile whilst I think about what to do with them, along with many other previous finds.....

I should say hello, it's the first time I've played along with this though I've been looking in, play along at Her Library Adventures. I notice most of you are Australian and use the term 'op' shop - can someone tell me what does this mean? We have charity shops and car boot sales here in the UK where we can find old gems - but no 'oppies'

happy hunting x

made with love

When my first daughter was 6 months old I returned to work part-time.

I decided to set myself a project I could do during my lunch break. I decided upon a rather ambitious crochet cot blanket, whilst I enjoyed crocheting I wasn't (and still aren't) an expert so it was a challenge, especially as I had no pattern and thought I'd just make it up as I went along.

As time went on and I realised just how slow the process is, the little lady grew out of her cot.
I was then pregnant again and too exhausted to crochet.


Fast forward to now, the 6 month old baby is now 4 and a half. The blanket still isn't cot size and it's a bit wonky. I now have a 2 year old I'd also like to make a blanket for.

So I've hatched a plan.
Stop work on the first blanket - start on the second one and once that's at a reasonable size go back and add to the first one, then go back and add to the second one... you get the idea... this process will no doubt continue for the next 15 years or so, by then the blankets may be single bed size - or if not - ready to pass on to future grandchildren.



But I love doing them, and the girls have found it makes the perfect picnic blanket for their friends.....

happy crocheting x

mother's day 'card'

I made one of these garlands for my Mum for Mother's day, it's a garland-card of sorts.
She loves hearts, and paper and dangly things - just like me, so this way she can hang it up in her workroom and enjoy it for longer - the bottom heart has a blank side to write a message to your loved one.

I thought someone else might like one too, so I made some extras which I'll be adding to my etsy shop any day now.

Wishing you love on what has been a lovely spring day here - hooray!
x

a new challenge

Just in case life isn't busy enough I've thrown us all a new challenge...
we now have a new allotment, or should I say 2 (half ones that is).

It's long been a dream of mine and now that the girls are a little bigger
I thought I'd just inquire about one, but they were going fast so the lady
at the council suggested I act quickly, I just missed out on a whole plot
so she suggested I take both of the remaining half ones, so I did - now we have
lots and lots of digging to do, seeds to plant and a whole new
subject to learn.



I did some growing of a few things last year and I'm
obviously a glutton for punishment / up for a challenge so let us see what we
can produce this year... I'll keep you up to date with
our successes and failures

happy digging x

fruit filled flapjack - mmmmm

whilst housebound with a chickenpox child we managed to fill our days junk modeling, sewing and baking.....
we saw these on the children's show 'i can cook' and thought we'd give them a go....
the result was scrummy, fresh fruit sandwiched in between layers of flapjack - just delicious, sadly wasn't around for long....

I love cooking with the girls even though they manage to get the ingredients in places I didn't know existed, the delight on their faces when they first taste their own creation is so precious... it makes the clean up so worth while.

happy baking x

our newest friends

meet our newest friends....
'olive' and 'rosie' - the crochet cats I made with the help of my 4 year old, she's very proud of the tails she made and the eyes she chose, aren't they adorable?

we're a crafty bunch and have decided to share our creations with you, it seems a shame to keep them to ourselves.....
i hope you like what you see.

have a happy day x