A little crafting going on around here...

I wanted to once again thank you for the very thoughtful comments on my last post. It was not an easy post to write, it involved a few tears and some reservations about it being too personal. I do this blog to journal about my 'making' and try to keep my emotions out of it, but as 'making' is such a big part of my life it is difficult not to mention other things that interact to it. The weather is holding out for us here in the UK so I thought I would share with you a few activities I have been doing whilst making the most of the last days of summer. A little outdoor crafting, or as my youngest says 'What a mess Mommy' Can you spy my Lotty Rabbit? I am sure you all know who made her... the very talented and one of my favourite bloggers Little Cotton Rabbits. I am trying to get a few pin cushions, fabric pins and lavender hearts in some Cath Kidston and Liberty fabric made up, they all involve pretty buttons so my special stash of mixed buttons, vintage and old have come out. Or as a friend likes to tease me...Tat and old.
My youngest is settling into his school and is just so cute in his uniform with his little chubby legs popping out of his shorts, he is only in school in the mornings at the moment so in the afternoons we are making the most of our time together only a few more days and he is full time. We did a little baking, pea nut butter cookies from the very brilliant BILL GRANGER book. Have you seen his lifestyle cookery programme, its on most Sunday mornings here in the UK. It is fab!!! I adore the way its shot, the beach lifestyle (there's a surprise) and the simplicity of his cooking. OK I also think he is gorgeous!
Most summers since giving up work I invest in a cookery book, to try new ideas out, last year it was 'Apples for Jam' again another wonderful look to the book with great pictures although a little fluffy in the wording for me. I invested (or so I thought) in her other cookery book and as I learnt to cook in Greece I thought it would be a great for me, I was sadly disappointed and have not made a single recipe from it. The year before that it was our very own Nigella Lawson 'How to be a Domesticated Goddess' well it turned me into one, not to mention the extra weight I put on, I think every recipe is sinful. Oh enough witter about cooking...just try the cookies, if you like pea nut butter you will love these and talk about simple. A great tip from him is to use an ice cream scoop to get the perfect sized and even shaped cookies, simple but what a tip, as a big cookie maker its a gem for me.

The granny squares are coming along a treat I must have over thirty now and can do them with my eyes closed, well nearly. I am so pleased I took the time to learn to do this, I know I am a bit behind on this and most people have already got great quilts made in blog land , but if it was not for the wonderful Simple Sparrow I would not have taken the time. I was so inspired to read her postings about how she learnt to do it I persisted and it paid off. Go check it out she has lovely colours going in her squares, plus a lovely blog...oh to live by the sea.
Continuing with making the most of the child's play...look what we made yesterday. Yes I have a lovely Cath Kidston cow boy tent, but we wanted something straight away, so with a bit of string and my Greek bedspread my little poppet and I came up with this. Given some thought I am sure something really cool could be made here, maybe I will work on that for next year. I am thinking big quilt with pockets for the stones. I think this idea is inspired by soule mamas beach rugs, she made some at the beginning of the year with little pockets to weight down the corners so as not to get caught with a gust of wind. I think in the UK this is a very good idea...It made the perfect place for youngest to take a nap out of the sunshine, but still be outdoors after all the activity at school and then playing with Mommy.
Talking of the little guy and an even littler one, here they are, do you like his tank top? Yep that's another finished project. He looks adorable in it and cheap to make, so soft! The piggies are now rather big, they are going through a bit of a power struggle at the moment and are grumpy. They went to stay at a kind neighbour for a couple of days when I was away as my usual sitter was unavailable, she put them in with her piggies (pleased to say they are all girls) which I would have been far to scared to try and they have not really been the same since, Lola is very skittish now and gives lots of warning nips although never to the children. I am trying to sit with them each night and give them cuddles to see if I can get them back to being the best of friends, they have even started to sleep in different parts of their home. If anyone has any words of wisdom about them please feel free to leave advice. As for Archie (THE BIG) bunny, he is adorable and just follows me around like a little puppy at the moment, I think he misses the children too. One of the school gate Moms said she was going to get a dog now her babes had started school as she needed something to fill her time with, funny how we are all dealing with this stage in our lives.

PS Trying to contact Foxgoves in the breeze...if your reading please drop me a contact.