French Knots

Merry Christmas

Watching my children's eyes sparkle in the candle light of the Christingle Service this evening I saw the spirit and magic of Christmas.

 
Wishing you a very Merry Christmas, thank you for your comments and company this year.xx

Hello

 
My snugly new beret has been keeping me cosy during the latest cold spell, though generally I wear it outside! The weeks have slipped away as we have been visited by the lurgy with The Baby Brother, My Little Helper and Mr FK all succumbing, we girls are made of sterner stuff! With the whirlwind end of term - parties, Christmas Disco, Carol Concerts and so on - I can hardly believe it's only a few sleeps till Christmas.

 
As I sorted through my scraps of Christmas fabric they were begging to be made into little patchwork trees, so ignoring the 'to do' list for a while I enjoyed playing for a while. Often sewing is dictated by presents to be made or orders to be fulfilled, which is wonderful but it's lovely just to sew for fun.

Many years ago I started an embroidered Christmas stocking, 5 or maybe 6 years ago. The embroiderey didn't take long but then it languished in the UFO pile, once I got down to it the construction of the stocking took.....oh at least half an hour!

 
I'm really pleased with it, but I'm sure the children would be gutted to hang such a paltry little stocking up on Christmas Eve!

I'm coming to the end of my 365 project, some days it's been hard to find a picture in the general gloom and greyness of winter days but it's made me open my eyes to what's around me and notice more.

 
This was the ice on the inside of my car window the other morning, which I stopped to admire rather than just huffing and scrapping it off in a rush to get out and about.

 
A little cowboy, treasure that My Little Helper dug up on the allotment this summer.

 
and shadows, so pleasing and ephemeral.

Motivation from disappointment!

After having a stall at a Christmas Fair this week and rather disappointing sales, or lack of them!, I found some motivation to take some photos ready for a revamp of my much neglected etsy shop. So I've got out the duster and given it a bit of a spring clean and am part way through listing brooches, necklaces draught excluders, mini rucksacks,Christmas wreaths, patchwork Christmas trees and tutus.

Do you want a sneaky peak??

 
   
 
 
 
 
Brooches are £8.50 and are made from snippets of treasured cottons, recycled jeans and backed with a lovely old wool blanket.

 
Crocheted necklaces are my new favourite thing to make, gathering buttons, beads and shells, playing with colour combinations and putting them together.

 
 
 
 
Necklaces are £10 each.

If you feel like doing a bit of Christmas shopping just drop me an email.

Right better get back to listing before The Baby Brother wakes up from his nap.....

Simple Advent Calendar

With December approaching I have been putting my list of family activities together ready for my simple advent calendar to start the countdown to Christmas Day

 
I am recycling my little envelopes from last year, each decorated with a sweet festive picture. I'll print off the list of crafts and treats and put one in each envelope, with the more time consuming ones planned for the weekend.

 
I'm going to hang the ribbon across the window again, which makes a super start to our Christmas decorating.

The activities for this year are

Find the Christmas Cd's and have a Christmas dance

Christmas crafting! Make paper chains

Make gift tags with old Christmas cards

Visit Father Christmas

Write our Christmas cards

Put the wreath on the front door

Make paper snowflakes and decorate the window

Make place cards and napkin holders for the Christmas dinner table

Make Christmas bookmarks

Read Christmas books & drink hot chocolate

Decorate the Christmas tree

Have a Chocolate fondue

Go ice skating

Stories in front of the tree

Make a Christmas collage

Bake a cake

Give Presents to teachers

Colour Christmas themed colouring pages

Wrap a present for your brother or sister

Print & do a winter maze

Make mince pies

Stay up late and watch a Christmas film

Make reindeer food

Put a carrot out for Rudolph

 
Ho Ho Ho, not long now! 

London Views

We had a touristy time in London seeing the sights and museums

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
A different sort of caravan trip, not beaches and peace but hustle and bustle, tubes and buses. At £150 for eight nights for 5 people I can't think of a more frugal way to see London!

Lest we forget

 

Wips

 
My sewing table is covered with half made things, cut out parts waiting to be sewn together, bits of fabric that look pleasing together..............leaving me about a six inch square bit of table to work on!

So I'm trying to get some projects completed, which is satisfying as the 'done' pile grows.

 
 So my pile of pillowcases, tea towels and shirts is transforming into brooches,door stops, lavender Sweet Hearts and presents for my Christmas box. Creating something lovely out of jumble sale finds, the perfect way to spend nap time.

Apple Picking

 
These glorious sunny days are such a gift, I am storing the indian summer in my heart for the grey days ahead. This weekend I couldn't enjoy the sunny weather as I had the lurgy so plans for allotment digging were put on hold.

Last weekend we picked our apples, the biggest crop we've ever had. The children joined in catching the apples as Mr FK picked them from the laden branches and we all peeled and chopped the bruised or damaged ones. I then used every pan we have to stew them and filled the freezer with apple picking goodness for the winter months.

 
There is something so satisfying about food for free, no effort required apart from Mr FK balancing precariously on a flimsy branch to reach those last few tantalising apples!

 

Edited to add - For those of you having kittens, he's not on the roof of our house! We have a brick workshop at the bottom of the garden, same size as a garage.

Autumn Days

 
We squeezed in a weekend away at Carsington Water in the caravan, left home in the pouring rain on Friday and got home in another downpour on Sunday - but in between it was glorious sunshine. We walked from the campsite around the reservoir enjoying watching the boats, someone found it a bit hard going and his legs were tired......

 
What a hard life!

 
We have gathered most of our crops from the allotment, our single pumpkin is now on the kitchen window sill ripening and My Little Helper has plans for it on Halloween. Still some leeks in the ground for later in the year.We've also been planning all the extra things we want to grow next year - more fruit and veg, more flowers for cutting and a herb patch are all on the list. Well we'll see what next year brings, I've covered the parts I cleared this year with old carpets to try and keep them weed free for the spring.

 
Such wonderful colours, they remind me of the gorgeous wool felt I bought from Treefall

 
wonderfully thick yet soft. 

 

I think I might use it to make some more brooches in autumnal shades, such fun playing with pretty fabric and buttons!

 

 

Haberdashery haul

On Sunday Amanda Makes and I went to vintage fashion and textile heaven! The Fair at the Armitage Centre in Manchester always has a brilliant selection of sellers with goodies to suit all budgets and tastes.

We were fairly restrained I think considering the goodies on offer, by the second stall we were both squeaking with excitement and the prospect of a few child free hours of browsing the wonderful array was blissful!

So what came home with me

pretty buttons, buckle and thimbles all from the 10p box- yes I know 10p each!!

Crochet thread in lovely soft colours, embroidery silks to join the box full I have upstairs

vintage bias binding - 10p!

and a small selection of the arm load of tiny lace panels and doilies I scooped up for.....yes...you guessed it 10p each! Such lacey lovliness, how I love the 10p man and his boxes of delight!

And then I picked up a few more buttons

The Baby brother likes them too! some pretty beads and sparkly broken necklaces

pardon...not many buttons....well I did get these too....

you can never have too many buttons! I have enjoyed sorting them into jars, red, blue, yellow, white, Pretty. Yes pretty, you know the most lovely ones that will only be used on the most special projects...if at all!!