Art and Penguins

My Nan would be proud. I was never allowed to sit about being idle, instead I was given socks to darn, onions to chop, recipes to write out, and any other little chores to keep my hands busy. Despite all the moaning and complaining I used to do, I am now completely unable to sit still for more than about 3 seconds unless I am making, sewing, knitting or crocheting! And after this weeks monumental craftathon, I'm pretty sure I would get a nod of approval from wherever Nan is hanging out now.

I started my week with a bit of garden art.  I'm not entirely sure why - when I came across my old painting easel in the garage -  I was inspired to stick it in the garden! Possibly because I have almost completely filled my house with junk, and it is now spilling out into the world?

Art is art I guess, whatever the medium! And I won't have to weed it...

 Look at this marvel of modern engineering! I became somewhat irate and uttered some Bad Words while untangling the jumble of cotton reels in my sewing box. 

 I whipped up this organiser contraption with a bit of MDF and a bunch of nails purloined from the Husband's man cave, an old velvet cushion cover and some upholstery trim.

Luckily all the cotton reels hide how wonky the nails are...
Speaking of modern engineering, my Singer sewing machine used to belong to my Nan. She bought it in 1950 and taught my mother to sew on it. I then learned to sew on the same machine when I was a child. When Nan got very old and couldn't sew any more because of arthritis and bad eyesight, she gave it to me.
Nan died about six years ago at the age of 94. Her sewing machine just keeps going! It sews beautifully, weighs a ton, and sounds a bit like a helicopter, and I treasure it.

This is one of  the many sewing projects I have been tackling this week. I'm copying a dress owned by my friend Kate, don't you love those colours! I will post a pic when it's finished.

The dining table is closed until further notice. It miraculously morphed into a sewing table, while dinners balance precariously on laps... 

Here's Cleo sewing a birthday present for our friend and neighbour Hugo, who is turning 6 this week. Isn't it marvelous that MY daughter is now learning to sew on that amazing old machine!!

This is what she will be wearing to Hugo's Polar themed party, we took her old black sweatshirt and made it so much betterer!! I want a sweatshirt like that!

It's been raining a whole lot lately. I love the rain, I would be happy if it rained All The Time. I just feel so peaceful and content when it's raining.

Although the rain does tend to make my hair a bit frizzy...

Anyway, thanks for checking out my website... (WEBsite? Geddit?)

Hope you have a groovy weekend!
Lots of love

xxx

Is This Gorgeous Creature Related to Me?

My 17 year old daughter Diva, photographed by her best friend Peter.

Cleo trying out her 10th birthday present. It just got a whole lot noisier in our house!

Spencer comforts a startled cat, because of the noise. See above.

Full Moon, Foot Cosies, and Friday Morning

This huge yellow moon rose a couple of nights ago, as opposed to the other smaller one which was taking the night off ...

Oddly, my son has become very interested in wolves recently. I am suspicious...

My latest woolly obsession is slippers, and everyone I know will probably end up with a pair, whether they want them or not! My Awesome Friend Fiona has the dinkiest feet in the entire universe, which begged immediate slipper creation when she stayed with us for the weekend.

You get the idea when you see them next to my 9 year old daughter's giant hooves!

I sort of made up the pattern, but once I have figured out the size adjustments, I will write it up and post as a tutorial.

I am currently half way through a truly humungous pair for The Husband using brown and cream yarn, they look very manly! My son Spencer has requested a grey pair with wolf claws. Hmmmmmm......

Finally, here is a brief summary of Friday morning at our house...

"Go away.......it's too early...........don't wanna go to school.........five more minutes....."

Hope your Little Monsters bounced out of bed with a bit more enthusiasm than mine this morning!

Have a happy Friday, and a great weekend xxxx

The Good Life

 Having got up at 4.30 to see The Lovely Husband off on a business trip and feed the yowling animals, I decided there wasn't much point in going back to bed, especially as I could see it was going to be a cracking good sunrise followed by a beautiful day. So I pottered around in the garden and took a few photos in the morning light. Okay a lot of photos. For those of you not much interested in gardens, scroll through quickly, there are some crafty bits at the end...

 A miniature climbing rose I have recently planted, so pretty!

 The neighbours having breakfast...

 My 'cuttings nursery'...

 My husband has a thing for gnomes. And rugby...

 Everything is sprouting!

And now for a few crafty bits that have come into being recently.

 The Ultimate Potplant for The Husband's office desk. No watering required, and doubles as a missile when people bother him...

 This is the sharp end of a ferret, which my son requested, for reasons known only to himself and possibly others from his home planet...

 Some knitted fruit, which look slightly healthier than those bananas. I was so thrilled when I found the pattern book in the library that I actually made Noises Out Loud....would you believe the banana pattern has a ZIP-UP-SKIN?!!

 That's a normal-sized egg, from one of my normal-sized chooks. And that little mini-chook took me a WHOLE EVENING to knit, sew and assemble!

 I had visions of making lots, but now I'm not so sure...

 Finally, I have to share with you this Splendid Chap, made for me by my Lovely Friend Tracey as a thank you for making her daughter an owl bag.

Isn't he wonderful? Making tea is so much more fun when it's kept warm under a cheerful chicken!!

I hope the sun is smiling down on you today too.

xxxxx

Happy New Year's Crafting!

Here we are with a whole brand new year ahead of us, full of promise and potential for crafting and creating...it's so exciting! I'm bursting with bright ideas and inspiration, and my sketchbook is filling up with lists and doodles and designs.

I have to share two of my favourite makings over Christmas. The first is some mini-bunting I crocheted for my very special friend Kate, and I'm thrilled to see it hung over her kitchen window.

We share a healthy obsession with bunting, and think it should adorn just about everything!

And this is a mohair shawl I crocheted for my Grandmother's 95th birthday. Over the years she has crocheted hundreds of blankets for her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren - in fact I still have the blanket she made for me when I was five, as well as a new one she made for me last year! I thought it was about time someone crocheted a special blanket for her.

I have this dear woman to thank for teaching me many life skills, including knitting and crochet!

During the brief spells of dry weather I have been tarting up my garden, adding a bit of colour amongst all the green. I am a bit addicted to geraniums, so lots of those are going in!

Are hanging baskets a sign of impending old age?

I had to have that wine-red geranium!

I hadn't realized how long my teenager has been away until I found all this growing on her car! I had better clean it up (she hates spiders), and take it for a run (the car not the spider) before she gets home...

Finally, a fun game I've decided to play every month or two is "What's On My Bedside Table?" I really do keep a lot of useful junk on that handy surface, and it seems to be quite a good way to see what my creative wee self is up to at any given time.

At the moment the immediate object to hand is my new 2012 diary, in which I am frantically jotting birthdays, school dates, things to do, ideas and general scribblings.

A few books I am reading, including The Big Book of Top Gear..., two coffee mugs with bits of crochet, a bottle of Anais Anais perfume, some toys belonging to various children, a crocheted scarf, and a bowl of Things-That-Belong-Elsewhere....

It will be interesting to see what's cluttering the table next time!

Happy New Year and Happy Crafting!

Dominique xxx