Since moving house my sewing machine hasn't been out anywhere near enough. I have so many projects that I keep meaning to complete, but as usual there just aren't enough hours in the day. Or enough space on the singe table that we have in our living room. I know that it's only a matter of time though, and then I'll finally be able to crack own with some of the things I want to make. There must be patterns that I bought over a year ago that I haven't even made a start on yet. And the less said about the cot bed quilt that I started a lifetime ago the better. When Little Miss C first came ... read more
Celebrating the weekend with Weekend Box and Snazaroo
Parenting can be tough at times. Especially if your kids seem to think that you model yourself on that Pinterest and Instagram mum, who always has a new craft activity or similar lined up ready to do at a moment's notice. Reality is that your child is likely to ask to do something, you begrudgingly agree to their crafty ideas and start rummaging in drawers, cupboards and boxes to find everything they need. Half way through the project the child, or children, will suddenly declare that they need something else to complete their masterpiece so you then start plouging through the entire contents ... read more
Bringing Holiday Home at the James Villas Crafternoon
Anyone who knows me will know how much I love crafting. Crochet is my proper addiction, but to be honest I'm not fussy as to what craft I turn my hand to, especially if there's someone there to teach me how to do it right. What might come as a bit of a shock though is the fact that since moving house on 1 July I have only picked up a crochet hook once. Once! That's pretty much unheard of in my life, but it's been the reality of a crazily busy couple of months. I'm hoping that life is about to calm down a bit so that I can pick my crochet hook up again soon. Especially as I had a weak ... read more
Craft Tools That Can Take You From Amateur To Pro
pexels Crafting is becoming something of a popular hobby these days. Many people are turning their back on rank consumerism and enjoying the fruits of their own labor, and instead of splashing out huge amounts of money on new furniture, ornaments, and artwork, they are doing it all themselves. And why not? Regular readers of this blog will know how much I love a good craft project - there is nothing in the world more satisfying than creating something beautiful yourself. You can even start making some money from crafting, too, if you put your mind to it. But make no mistake, if you do ... read more
Advent House for Master C
It seems hard to believe that it's over a year now since I made an Owl Advent Calendar for Little Miss C (and nearly a year to the day since I blogged about it too). Master C wasn't quite ready for an advent calendar last year, but even then I knew that I would need to do something for him this advent, so it was perfect timing when the team at Ocean Loans got in touch asking if I would like to be sent an Advent house from Hobbycraft and a nice gift voucher so that I could decorate it. This was of course back in early October and I was rather proud of myself for getting on to it straight away, ... read more
Crafty Catch Up – Spice of Life and Christmas Cards
Do you know how satisfying it is to actually finish a project? I managed to go to my regular knitting group this morning and it was such a lovely feeling to proudly stand up and do my bit of show and tell with my Spice of Life blanket. This is probably one of the biggest projects that I've ever finished (yes the Attic 24 Ripple is still in progress - my latest aim is to get it done by Christmas!) and I'm really pleased with how it has turned out. The finished result is gorgeous and whilst the first set of shells are a bit pulled in at the edges (I'll call that my learning curve - I went ... read more
Crafty Catch Up – Spice of Life, Halloween and the Start of Christmas
Can you tell that the crochet is completely taking over my life at the moment? If you follow me on Instagram it's probably pretty obvious. It seems that every spare minute is spent with a hook in my hand these days and I'm loving it! I'm onto the final stretch of the main body of the Spice of Life CAL now and I'm already starting to feel a bit sad about the fact that it will be all over soon. The pattern has you repeating the first half of the blanket in different colours for the second half, so there are no more new stitches to learn, but instead it's great practice of what you have ... read more
Crafty Catch Up – Spice of Life CAL and a spot of dress making
I'm still struggling a bit with this new rhythm that my week day life needs to fall into. It doesn't seem to be coming naturally at all, but I'm hopeful that a fit of being organised this Monday is starting to send things more in the right direction. I'm squeezing in crafty moments whenever I can, but again more organisation is needed to maximise these better. There have been a couple of busy weeks here with one things and another socially so hopefully now things are getting quieter more evenings with a crochet hook or a needle and thread can take place - after all what else were chilly ... read more
Several weeks in crafts
Where oh where have the last few weeks vanished to? And possibly more importantly, where oh where has the last My Week in Crafts post banished to??? Over the last month I have been crazily busy with work and a million and one other things. Little Miss C has had a birthday - and I've had to organise a party for 31 children, which was made somewhat harder when the soft play centre hat we had booked cancelled on us due to a flood! There seem to have been loads of school meetings of one sort or another, plus a school summer fair, which as tradition dictates took place in the rain. My mum has ... read more
My week in crafts
Once again it's been all about the crochet here, but a bit of other crafting has managed to sneak in too. For the first time in ages I've actually sat down and made something with Little Miss C and we actually had great fun doing so. Our paper plate Care Bear was a huge success, especially when she took him to school for show and tell. After never showing any interest in anything crafty Master C has also surprised me this week buy asking to join in when LMC was painting paper plates for her Care Bear and then when it was just me and him at home again asking to do some painting. ... read more