country crafts

Hello!

Our new country home town has more events, festivals, shows than we would ever have thought possible for a town of less than two thousand people. One event recently saw the local crafters - the "needles and natter" group - coming out to present some of their works.

 

Lots of "standard" country wares - face washers with crocheted edging, knitted baby booties, crocheted toys. Also among them was a tablecloth work-in-progress by Diane Workman - a collection of doileys that she is handsewing together to make a tablecloth. I have had things like this pinned for some time, with a plan to eventually doing something similar, but never had I considered handsewing! This is truly a labour of love, and even as a work in progress, on its oversized quilting hoop, looked just gorgeous. Makes my fingers itchy! Must get crafting... xo 

Crafty goodness - I have been sewing!

Hellooooo! Some crafty goodness today - I have been sewing!

This dress was simple, just a few rectangles sewn together, strapless, and then some casing for the elastic in the back, whip a belt around the middle, voila! Popped this together a few weeks ago for a surpringly hot day, but haven't had the opportunity to photograph it. I wish I had a better photo of this dress (a full length one may have been helpful, right?), but I don't. So instead, I'll ask you to imagine the dress that then just falls to just below my knees and has the same trim on the bottom as it has on the top.

Oh, I did take another photo with my tripod one day at the park, but as I am behind my two boys, it just looks as though I am completely naked. Bother.

On other news I am attempting to make a wee cot quilt for Little Pickle. I have no idea how it's done, having only made one for the Gherkin, some years ago, but am giving it a bash anyway. Given that the boys have only just started going to sleep on their own (perhaps a very happy and unanticipated consequence of sharing a bedroom?) we have decided to delay Little Pickle's shift from a cot to a big boy bed for as long as we can. My little man is definitely not going to outgrow the cot anytime soon! So, it's time I made him some special bedding for his cot, at least. I am determined to use fabric from my stash only, but we'll see how that turns out. Photos of the work in progress next time.
Life in the country seems to suit us so far - we are catching (and returning safely) tadpoles, picking flowers, finding bugs, splashing in puddles, admiring the local birdlife, getting up close and personal with moss and mushrooms, watching storms (yes, we have had a bit of rain) and we are slowly starting to recognise some local faces.
I hope you are well and happy? Until next time, have fun xx

crafty adventures... (aka back in the saddle!)

Hooray! the life of an attention deficit crafter has returned! It may not always be classic/"true" crafting, but at least it gets some creativity and handiwork going again.

And what fun we have had over the past few days in our new home... together the boys and I have:
* made (and eaten) apple necklaces (thanks kidspot for the idea) - hint: dental floss works really well as the "string"
* started on my second ever quilt, borrowing inspiration from this book (ooh! and I bought my first rotary cutter.... heavens above, there's no going back to the old scissors!)
* made a brilliant dinosaur tail (even if I do say so myself... I guess I could post a tutorial but it was really easy...) using the fabric the gherkin and I spray painted with a squirty bottle a couple of weeks ago
* created so many caves  (which the gherkin calls cages - Daddy: "what did you do today?", Gherkin: "mummy made a cage") from fabric, furniture, cardboard boxes etc etc etc
* made bibs, bibs and more bibs for the Little Pickle in our lives...

Good to be back. I will post on the quilt soon - I need to do some more sewing, and then I will provide a progress report. I am doing all the piecing at the moment (like the lingo??? --- I have actually been reading this book, not just looking at the pretty pictures!), and no doubt will then have to pop in somewhere to ask how to do binding, though it does seem to have pretty good instructions in the book itself....

Chat soon lovelies! Have fun, xo