Feeling felty

Busy day yesterday, I managed to get most of the bits I needed to do in the evening (see last post). The article for the local magazine actually took up most of the evening. So lunches got made just before mid-night. I curled up in to my pre-heated bed ( the joy of an electric blanket) and crashed out Zzzzz...only to be woken up by my youngest child, this pattern continued through the night. Oh my and I need to be productive today, get the coffee on, its not a tea day. Loved Sarah's idea about the mouse, sadly my little man wants furry trousers and a jacket, has asked for a full fur mouse head to be made but I might be able to get away with just ears, especially if I can convince him to wear a hat, this is a good plan, thanks Sarah. Note to self: Do not ask your child to get involved with the idea of his fancy dress outfit!
So today's post is about my felt stuff...I am trying to teach this to myself and I need more time to work it all out and this is sadly lacking, yer you know the score!
This is what I need, the basic product to work with... These are my tools for the job...
This is the the book to teach me...
This little ball appeals to me and looks about my capabilities...
This is what I have made so far plus a few balls, still waiting to be decorated (probably under the sofa after been played with by my children)
This little acorn idea (OK out of season now but it lives on my notice board as I like it) came from Soulmama's blog. She made a hole pile of them, I had never seen felting up until then and it took me a long time to work out how she had made them, I then saw a demonstration at a craft fair and the penny dropped and I knew I HAD TO just make one, the acorn was found at the back of the telly, a left over from a nature walk. Am I giving the impression that my house is a bit messy, this is blog world my house can be perfect if only in my imagination...dream on Suzie!

Second note to myself: do not eat Honey toast whilst typing blog...sticky keys...

Have a good day I am of to get busy with a pile of fake fur and pink felt.

Quickie

I usually sit here at the beginning of the day and not the end of it. Its been such a busy day. Yet I still have more work to do, uniforms to press, lunches to make, article to write for a local magazine, dressing up outfit to design and some more cakes to decorate after another mass baking session with the children, they are on a cup cake frenzy! Its going to be a late one tonight...

So I make no excuse for a short posting, but I shall leave you with some more handbag love. I made this on a workshop about my sewing machine, I had no idea that I would actually make something I would like and use. I thought it was going to just be a course on 'if you press this this happens etc...' So I was pretty impressed I can tell you.

Its world book day on the 1st March and our little local school are having a dress up day, animal characters out of a book, my child wants to go as the mouse in Narnia! Mmmmm so after a bit of fabric shopping today, Oh that was hard work, NOT! I actually ended up buying a snuggly sofa throw. It is going to be a bit basic due to the lack of time I have have, but, I could not bring myself to buy an outfit, goes against the grain to much!

So I need to have the plan in mind before I go to bed as I will only have a short time tomorrow to put it together, I have thought about fury trousers, a sleeveless jacket slip (so he is not too hot) a pair of ears and a tail. Mmmm I wish I had more time I would love to run with this idea...

Traditional Sunday Roast

Recipe for disaster...Its a very British thing to have a Sunday Roast one I remember form my childhood, over cooked meat and veg. This said it was still a time for us all to sit together and I remember watching Sunday afternoon Doris Day films with my Mum running backwards and forwards to the kitchen. The sound of football as the men in our house watched the Sunday match. I love Sundays they are the best day of the week, I love the lazy feel of them. SO I try and keep some kind of tradition going. Hopefully with a more updated way of cooking the dinner. I had a couple of hours free in the afternoon as my children had a trip to the pictures, I started the ironing, the iron did not work... So I thought I would just get on with the dinner. As I was on my own I thought I would make a real effort, Roast Chicken a ham, roast potatoes and Yorkshire puds, I even made the gravy in a tin. (Sorry if your reading this and your a veggie). All was going well, so I thought I would make some cakes. I have given up chocolate for lent so I thought I want something sweet and the boys love cake. Seemed like a good plan.
I got inspired a few days ago by a post from Small fox She had a real cute picture of a frosted cupcake. So I saw a little gadget in the pound shop and gave it a go. Not bad results, they looked good enough for my older son to question if I had really made them as they looked to proper for me!!!Bless him. OK why the disaster, well all was going well, then the boys returned home and just wanted to be with Mommy and well, it went pair shaped, over half the cakes got burnt, I forgot my veggies and they resembled a mush. Getting all the food on the table and keeping the children from eating the cakes and staying away from the cooker was all a bit of a trauma. To top it all my dinner was luke warm and the only thing my youngest would eat was the Yorkshire puds, at least they had turned out well. Masses of washing up to follow. Oh the joys of tradition. Will I do it again? Is it Sunday in seven days? of course I will.

We ended the day with some bedtime reading, Oh bliss...

PS...to continue with the disaster bit, I was sat knitting in the evening watching a drama on the TV and half way through knitting the sleeve of my cardigan I thought I had done it all wrong, I unpicked the lot, when I started to redo it I realised I had read the wrong part of the instructions and I was correct in the first place...Oh Bum!!!

Dinner time

Dinner time, yer right...Mummy is busy working on the kitchen table...Talking of work areas pop over to see the Heather Bailey blog, can you imagine a studio like this, OH its just one of the nicest work areas I have seen. Go take a peek, its worth it, its a little different from my humble offering. Had a quality craft night on Friday, I managed to select, quilt and bind together the 'Tree' sign and even made a little label for the back so we can remember that the idea and the art work was by Mr. Creative himself, my oldest son.
On Saturday I got a new computer chair on sale for £10.00, its only a kitchen chair but it replaces a stool. (I say stool it started of as a kitchen chair but with the passing of wear and time the back broke off, not wanting to throw wood away we used it for the computer but as I am spending more time sitting here its a good plan to get a better one.
In the evening I managed to knit another side of my cardigan whilst watching a film and drinking a rather nice G&T, so its all coming together nicely. Although I have a huge pile of altering to do, if I do not get on with it I want be wearing them as they are all winter clothes.

Inspiration

As it is the weekend I just wanted a quick post today so I thought I would share with you the moment capture on film that the inspiration came for Restaurant Thursday and the name of my small business 'Tree Cafe'. The Teddie Bears picnic under the tree... If you read back on a previous post (last Thursday) it will all make sense. This is how my little boy came up with the name.

Have a great weekend I am off to get some stuff done so I have something to show and tell on Monday. If I continue to sit here reading blogs I will not get anything done...

Can you HELP...please!

My favourite's on AOL went down and I have lost a number of saved blog and web sites and a number of podcast addies.
I am slowly getting some back (and discovering some new ones on the way) I can not find two I used to listen to regularly.
Sister Dianne's pod cast address, I can hear her in my head saying 'until the next time craft on' Also one I think it was called Creative Mom. She is a busy Mom and records her shows in the car while her babe has the afternoon nap and its just chat about what she gets up to and her creative view point.
Please if you can help me I would be a much happier person. Thank You

A seed was sewn...

WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING
This post is split in two parts. Part ONE: emotional wittering Part TWO: Lovely photos of WIP.
Its up to you which one, or if you dare both, take time over. The choice is yours as I know time is precious...

Oh Gosh! What a week its been filled with lots of company and been quite busy. Hard to believe that this time last week I was walking in the country, taking a dip in the pool and watching my happy children play, Oh my I was just so chilled. I came home and hit the post holiday blues, the minute we arrived home as soon as the car was unpacked we went out again and so it continued through the week. The big treat was spending time with my friend and her kids, the kids especially enjoyed it. You know that real great friendship when you don't care what you or your house looks like and you can totally be yourself with someone...even if they do think your a little mad! Well I went from that kind of company to competitive Mum syndrome and working Mums who make no bones about the fact that they think I am a little 'simple' because I choose to stay at home with my kids. The politics of groups are just so fascinating.
At one stage in my life I used to feel I had to be a part of it and now I just sit back and watch it all go on. I would like to say it does not bother me but I guess it does depending on if I am feeling a bit vulnerable or not. Through various groups, school etc... I know quite a lot of people all with very different backgrounds. I feel lucky to have them in my life. Variety is the spice of life. That said I am at my happiest when I am in the company of one close friend that I can totally chill with. I have been like that all my life, always surrounded by lots of people and without that one close friend I feel very lonely.
My oldest child is just the same and sometimes it just breaks my heart. At the moment he is going through a 'three is a crowd' thing. Its knocking his confidence as he is to young to understand the dynamics of this kind of situation.
So with all this playground politics (both for the children and the Mums), and having to say goodbye to my friend again, I retreat into my world of my hobbies. The Restaurant Thursday continued through all of yesterday. My child wanted a sign to show the restaurant was open so we drew some pictures and played about with felt (such a good medium to use with children, also cheap) and as you can see by the photos the sign came together. We are all really pleased with this. The next sage is to back and bind it.
Also the jacket got a bit of a makeover and was worn on the school run this morning, I love these buttons, mind you they cost more than the jacket, they are from Rowan. The poncho did not shrink to well and is going for another spin in the machine today with something heavy to see if it can help it along.

Oh my word..you made it to the end, I think this post proves that we all craft for a reason, to leave a bit of history behind, to take our mind of sadness, to retreat into when it all goes a bit mad or simply to fill a need in us that we can not explain but boy, it makes us HAPPY!

Restaurant Thursday

Restaurant Thursday-What am I on about now? This morning I was pulled out of bed by my oldest child and taken into the kitchen and he had laid out the table like a restaurant. He called it the 'Tree Restaurant'. I once asked him to name my business (I used to make and sell greeting cards) at the time we were sat under a tree having a teddy bears picnic, hence the name Tree Cafe, I loved it even had business cards and post it pads made, then suddenly we had the Knit cafe and the Craft Cafe, so I was worried people might think I had copied them. Anyway what a joy breakfast was, we had such a laugh, I was the waiter and the cook. ALL of breakfast was eaten. He wrote a little plan of the week just to remind me that it was indeed Restaurant Thursday.

I thought I should give a quick round up of whats going on, the POM POM scarf is finished. My word, it took a lot of Pom Poms. I thought he looked like the Hungry Caterpillar, so please excuse my sense of fun with the picture...
I have been doing a little thrift shopping, I got some great vintage books for my youngest, I wanted to say we seemed to have a lot of books with badgers and rabbits as we have a thing about them in this house, BUT, we also have a thing for cows and foxes as well...
A wool poncho, to be felted, it was a few pound so I really hope it works, if it does it will be good value as its a good shape, if not I shall have to put it down to experience, like the last one I tried to felt...
So watch out for more corsages, which will be great as I got this jacket in the charity shop for a few pounds, its immaculate, I wanted to really play about with it, there is a jacket in Romantic Home Sewing by Christina Strutt that I liked. I thought it would be ideal to alter. When I got it home it was such a good fit I thought instead of really changing it I would just put some nice buttons on it and make a cream and red corsage for it. It looks great with a pair of jeans and plain white Tee, which is quite a boring outfit for me but I thought it would be a change.

Yesterday I managed to sew up my youngest boys trousers and sewed his applique 'T' shirt (see previous post). He wore them all afternoon and also in the garden, now its very wet here and there is a lot of mud happening in our garden, he was so happy digging in the mud and adding yet more water to it that I could not stop him to change his trousers, so no photo as they went straight into the wash!!!

corners of my home

OK, so it is not quite my home, but I think its a nice home, with a little bit of decorating, paint, wall paper, you know put my stamp on it... I have always loved dolls houses and my Dad made me a beautiful one for me to play with (he also made me a copy of our home when I was a child, it even included the same family car) I wanted to fill it with vintage styled furniture. Instead he went on to make me lots of cute little bits of furniture. We moved house and it was really just to big to leave out as a folly so it was packed away. So this Christmas my youngest was treated to this beauty. He filled it with all the furniture my dad had made for my house (sadly still packed away) and it sits on my library draws in the living room. These draws are my favourite piece of furniture.
As you know I have been away and on my return I always go and look at my photo wall and was surprised to find that along with my photo's this little house really warmed my heart and gave me that 'I am pleased to be home' feeling.
As for a real picture of my home and keeping it in the family. This hangs by the front door, sadly I did not make it. My Mother in Law stitched it and I remember it hanging in her house, I just loved the fruit, the colours are so gentle. Sadly with her passing it was one of the lovely handmade things we inherited.
I do not have a very close family and it always amazes me how sentimental I am about these things, but, to have such works of art hand crafted with love by someone who is no longer with us, well I think its one of the reasons we make things!

In good company

Why the header 'In good company' ? One of the reasons for starting my blog was my knitting friend was moving away, now she is not just a knitting partner but her kids also are my kids friends and we have gone through some of the baby years together and it is this women that taught me to knit. Many have said they would but she actually did it!!! Yes it's her fault;-)
So with her going I had no one to share my show and tell with and the blog was something I had been thinking about doing for a long time so I thought I would start up 'Suzie Sews' in her absence. Anyway my friend and her great kids are up for a visit. This is why I am writing this post in the evening and not the day time!
So last night I was not feeling so good so I did not get a lot done, I managed to cut out the trousers for my little man, and start the applique on his Tshirt to match them. It all needs to be sewn up... After a long evening of not feeling great I eventually went to bed and once curled up I started to feel a little better so not one to miss an opportunity, I picked up my pins and got some knitting done. That's the back done and I have done a few rows of the front... Now as you know I love my flower corsages and felting the sweaters form thrift shopping buys. Both my friend and her little girl have been given different corsages. Of course it never entered my head to make her little chap one. Anyway he asked would I make one for him, I looked at him for a moment and then he said he wanted a star one. What a great idea, I would never have thought of that. So we went into my sewing room (shared playroom) and he selected what colours he wanted and he even selected his own buttons.
So as the children tore the house to bits my Friend and I sat there with a few cups of tea and I happily sewed his star button badge. He was as pleased as punch and I enjoyed the craft time, nothing better than crafting with mates.
To end the day we had a mega Pancake session, lots of chocolate sauce, bananas, sugar and lemon, yummy. Yes we did toss our pancakes much to the children's squeals of delight. Oh boy the sugar rush was something to be seen!!!

Happy New Year

Yesterday was an exciting day for my children, they had a day in the city to watch the Chinese New Year parade. They really enjoyed it and in keeping with the day they had we ended up with a family meal of Crispy Duck pancakes and some rather nice bubbly for Mommy. So back to my week away and some of the things I got up to whilst the babes slept. I managed to nearly finish my mittens, I tried to get the stripes to match but gave up and thought it better to just go with the flow. I need to rummage through my button collection to find two small buttons to hold the flaps, I can not make my mind up to either go for something a bit eye catching or simple clear buttons?
This is my next project for me, its a cardigan in a rather attractive heather colour. Its on size '8' pins. Huge! especially as I have been used to knitting with 3.25-4mm on the last four projects. I needed to see some quick results and a knit I can do around the kids...
This is my NEW bag I fell in love with it but did not buy it as I use a bag I adore all the time so thought it would be an impulse buy. Anyway I eventually went back to buy it and I am so pleased I did, it makes me SMILE!
Sorry for this poor photo the light is poor and I needed to use the flash so its not such a good shot, but you get the idea, a gift for me from me!!! Its a Miffy mug, I love this cute little bunny, and a pen to go with it.
You must go and read French Knots comment on yesterdays post. It made me laugh out loud, the reality of a treat night for Mommy!!! Thanks for that, Mmmm a treat might help shake those post Holiday blues...

Hello again...

It is the last day of the school holiday's today and as a family we had just the best week. No school or nursery runs, no shopping (except nice stuff) no housework, lots of chilling out, country walks and joint crafting time. What is our secret? I have a little bolt hole that I escape to once in a while with the kids and its just fab, best of all there is a swimming pool. So here is a photos of the half term craft box...
Spot the pom poms, they just keep on growing, you need quite a lot to make a scarf look anything part way OK. Lots of goodies got produced.. The weather forecast said snow and as we had once been snowed in here, so I took extra stuff with us, sadly just a splattering of snow and quite a lot of rain. Never mind we still had a great time, lots of wet welly walks and endless mugs of Hot Chocolate and marshmallows to warm our tummies and hands up. Oh off the kids go again...
I took quite a few arty type pictures. I love the textures in this shot.
A team work project to celebrate Valentines day, between us we made lots of hearts. We even decorated heart shaped cookies, this was a particular favourite with my youngest. Due to them all been eaten up rather quickly no photo was taken of them...take it from me...yum yum!
So it was with a heavy heart we said goodbye to our beloved cottage and returned home, to be greeted by a pile of post (only one bill) an invite to my friend's opening of her photography exhibition with a G & T reception, which was happening as we read the invite. So we all jumped in the car and rushed off. It was very good, such a talented person. As an extra treat she had booked a table in a local restaurant to continue the event so all us girls went out. A great time was had by all, back home in time to start my unpacking and washing and continue with the post opening session... More goodies, a selection of FQ's. The heart one was for Valentines day, Mmmm! bit late for that now. The rest I have an Easter project in mind.
Feeling low today as its back to it tomorrow.

School is out

Yippee...school is out and my children are now officially on holiday. The craft box is almost ready. I love to have a box full of craft stuff, colouring books, glue, pom poms etc. that they can dip into to get their creativity flowing. So I am going to have a short blog break, please do come back to me and I promise to show and tell all the projects I have been working on throughout the week, I might even get to finish one or two. This 'Art work' was from the Christmas craft box. Pinch pots, it took a couple of sittings, first they made the pots and coloured in the wooden dolls. Once the pots were dry we painted them them I varnished them. They sit on our kitchen window ledge and the boys often ask for them to be passed down to play with them. I wounder what they will create this week. Have a really good week, craft lots and always have a 'cuppa' on the go.

FINISHED

Here is the coat plus matching mittens and a shy boy... Here is the back, my older child said he looked liked a little pixie!
This is what I finished off last night, another block for my quilt, this was by far my favourite one to do.
This is my half term 'quick knit' project. I bought a pair of these gloves with the mitten bit at Christmas. They started to fall apart and I wanted to prove to myself I could do a better job. I have cheated a bit and bought self striping wool.
The snow is falling today and we have had a weather warning about only going out if we need to!So it looks like more snow is on its way. Better get the sledge out.

Corner of my home

Today I bring you a peek into my work area. We are talking storage jars. Oh my, how I love those little pots, I have them all over the house, different types, different sizes. For today though its just my sewing table, filled with buttons, brooch backs, labels and a small selection of ribbon. To the left of this area are my sewing books, to the right are a few piles of fabric. Next to that at floor level are my two stacker's of patch work fabric. This is the front one, which also holds more ribbon:-)
I am in the middle of redesigning my labels, Here are just a few bits and bobs I have collected to get the ideas flowing.
I guess my last picture of the day is a corner of my home. Its my NEW Momiji, I just love these, so cute, great colours and very tactile.
Oh the mittens are finished and the coat (including mitts) are being worn to Nursery today, so hopefully I should get a picture for you tomorrow. My POM POM pile is getting too large for display now so I need to think about sewing it all together! Have a great day...

Because it 'FELT' like fun

So here is the sweater I got form the charity shop last Friday. I washed it on a 60 wash and and it felted great. I sat last night and cut off the sleeves and dipped into my button collection and just had a bit of fun. (Whilst watching ER!) I drew out some shapes and just played around a bit.
The sofa became my work room and I made a bit of a mess!
But in the words of my youngest child 'Look Mummy you made Flowers'. Today I hope to be able to back them with some felt and a pin...Da Dah...more corsages.
This morning whilst I sat with the children at breakfast I made the string that holds the mittens together. Photographed outside as its yet another sunny (although COLD) morning. The mittens go with a cardi. I have made for my youngest, Oh boy did that seem to take for ever. I need to block it so once done I will show you the result.

Thank you Guys for all your comments I am very touched. You make it worth while putting the effort in. Thanks.