• crafts - swaps

    Sock Monkey

    I spent the weekend making this cute sock monkey from a pattern in Sock and Glove by Miyako Kanamori. I had loads of fun making him, (it’s definitely a he) and I’ve called him Alfie. He’s made out of a very special sock from M&S and will be winging his way across the Atlantic to my swap partner shortly. In other news, this afternoon I got engaged!

  • swaps

    Lovely swap package received

    Today I received a parcel from Kristin as part of the coaster swap hosted by Amy. I almost couldn’t open the parcel as the packaging was so pretty! They are made with embroidery and wool felt and the design is so striking. Thanks Kristin!

  • crafts - swaps

    Tired :(

    This week feels veerrry long, probably as my weekend was so short. I needed a break from the Dear Baby Jane blocks (A7 Dad’s Plaid looks hard!) so I tried my hand at making a Dotee doll. These are very popular at the moment and it was quick and fun to make. I signed up to a swap to make a local Dotee doll, so used the union flag on the body.

  • crafts - swaps

    Frustration.

    I made the mistake of looking through the flickr pool of the coaster swap I joined and I really wish I hadn’t! My carefully chosen fabrics suddenly seemed uninspired and dull. So I spent the last few days making these: log cabin coasters I had never tried making a log cabin patchwork before and enjoyed choosing the fabrics and sewing them together. I was feeling proud of my effort until I washed them and they fell apart… I’m not sure what happened but I’m glad I did wash them before sending them off to my swap partner. I’ll be taking…

  • swaps

    Coaster swap – finished

    I finished my coasters for the coaster swap hosted by Amy over the weekend. They are made from my favourite Cath Kidston fabrics naturally. They’ve also been through the wash as I forgot to pre-wash the fabric. I have used Cowboy Cream for the front and each coaster has a different fabric on the back. I hope my partner likes them.

  • Cath Kidston - Orla Kiely

    A little handmade fun

    I couldn’t resist making the lavender baby tutorial I saw over at molly chicken yesterday. I think I still have a lot to learn about which fabrics go well together but I love it! I’ve used some Orla Kiely and Michael Miller fabrics for the body and stuffed it with some dried lavender I picked up in Totnes, Devon, before Christmas. It smells beautiful and I’m going to make a few for some friends.

  • crafts - swaps

    Another swap

    I have signed up for a great swap, hosted by Amy over at Ibby Bee. I will make four coasters for my partner, JunieMoon, and receive four coasters from someone else in the swap group. I’ve never made coasters before and I spent today looking through my craft books for some inspiration. More inspiration can be found in the coaster swap flickr group! The photograph is completely unrelated to the swap but I also spent some time making some delicious gingerbread to eat whilst reading!

  • crafts - swaps

    Button fairies

    I signed up for the Button Fairy swap on Swap-bot before Christmas and the deadline really came up quickly! I found the fairy faces online somewhere and stuck them on to some card stock to strengthen them. Then I threaded a selection of buttons from my stash along some plastic coated wire. As most of the button holes were so small I used 2mm wire. I think they’re cute!