Latest craze

One of my friends got me interested in beaded jewellery and now I am hooked. It is great fun and I can do it in the garden while the girls are playing. I have been making a few things, trying out techniques and buying quite a few beads and findings. It is a bit dangerous because bits and pieces only cost around 99p but it all starts to add up... sewing seems a lot cheaper to me...but the downside is that it is best done inside. So beading for outside and sunny weather and sewing for inside and bad weather (or when I can find a free moment ;-))

A few more things I have made

I have discovered new sewing feet. I have used my zipper foot before but made piping yesterday, I think that I could get addicted. Today I tried my rolled hem foot for the first time, I can see that it will come in very useful but I need more practise. I made the apron dress from Everyday Chaos again, K. just loved her old dress and when I got pink, rainbow fabric I just had to make an other one (picture will follow, finished the dress after she went to bed).
We are off to Germany in a week and I have been busy making some bags to take with me:

I have been busy

Apart from building tens, painting faces, dancing to silly German children's songs, doing puppet shows, eating ice cream and playing a lot in the garden, I have been busy sewing.
Some of my friends are expecting or already had babies and I have been busy making baby quilts. It was such fun and I got a bit carried away, the last one had crinkly bits, tags, pockets and different textures...The first one was made following a tutorial by V and Co and went to a little boy, I hope he likes it.

And of course there have been loads of bags again...I think this one might need a little make-over..

Finished Projects

My cousin recommended the books by Tone Finnanger and since they have arrived, I have been hooked. The projects are so beautiful, lots of bunnies, geese and witches. It is such a lovely book that it would be enough to just sit back and flip through the pages ... but it gets even better when you start sewing. Every project I have made so far has turned out brilliantly and I can only put that down to the superb instructions. I would love to use her lovely fabrics as well, but I could not justify buying new fabric, when I have a big stash at home.


My first project was the small hare. I love the way you sew before you cut , that way you get a very small seam allowance. C immediately adopted it, I think because it looks very similar to her "Hasi". Which led me to project number two, the wall hanging. The purple bunny is supposed to look like "Hasi", at least C. thinks so.











Then I made the tea cosy and was so excited by the way it turned out, that I gave it to my friend before I took a picture.
The last two projects were the little geese, they are so easy and quick to make, that I will certainly make more, they make cute little gifts.

Also Franziska, vielen Dank fuer die tolle Empfehlung.

Easy heart garland

I found this tutorial yesterday (the colours on Rae's garland are just so beautiful) and had to try it out straight away. I was so pleased with the result, that I had to make an other one straight away. This method is so easy, I can already see variations: flowers, christmas trees, stars, butterflies...oh autumn leaves would be lovely, too. There could be a garland for every season.






It hangs up in our play room/ conservatory. It is quite hard to decorate this room, because I don't want to drill into the frames and sellotape is not strong enough for most decorations...but this felt garland is just perfect. Mmmh, I might make more and hang them along the ceiling...

K. really wanted a chef's outfit, too. After I made two for my friends children, I thought it was time to make her one. I thought it would be lovely if she could choose her fabric...big mistake. You might not see it on the picture but the pink is neon pink. This outfit could glow in the dark. But I have to admit, she toned it down a bit with the choice of dark purple. C. loves it and even though I am biased... she looks awfully cute in it...especially the two bottom teeth, she is so proud of them.

Latest additions

Over the weekend we extended our collection of felt food. I took K. shopping to the art and craft shop, which is always very exciting, because we find lots of interesting things that we have to try out. Unfortunately the snow had delayed any deliveries, so they were out of white and baby pink felt, but we found lots of other useful colours. After a quick stop at the fabric shop next door we took our treasures home.
I can never figure out if the two shops belong together or if it is coincidence that they are next door to each other - it is very handy, so I won't complain. Needless to say that I found lovely fabric, which was on sale for £4 a metre, I could not resist.
K. went next door to play and C. went upstairs to have her nap and I went straight to work. I made chocolate chip cookies, cupcakes, a slice of cake, doughnuts and a bag of chips.
I altered the slice of cake a bit. Instead of adding the same top as the bottom, I drew some wobbly lines around the shape (as if icing runs down the cake) and sew that onto the side with my machine, the rest I did by hand following the tutorial. As you can see, it needs some cream on top but that will have to wait until the shop has white felt again.
I must have done something wrong with my doughnuts, they look a bit slim.
The bag of chips contains only two chips at the moment but is already a great hit.
C. loves the cookies, she loves to pretend to eat them and makes munching sounds.
It is such fun and so rewarding, especially when the girls can't wait to get their hands on the food to play with it.
My husband is very close to stopping all this fun because the pieces that we have to pick up at the end of the day are getting a bit much, but a few more won't hurt. Anyway he is travelling for a few days soon, I am sure I can sneak some more food in during that time.