New Year Productivity

Happy 2015 everyone! Our New Years Eve celebrations consisted of eating roast chicken, sitting by the log stove and watching Lord of the Ring...such party animals we are!

As the snow melted away yesterday morning we started the new year very productively. Rice pudding for breakfast (I use a variation of this very simple and tasty recipe - half the milk and half the sugar, everything else the same - and for all those nay-sayers who would never consider using basmati rice to make pudding, don't knock it 'til you've tried it!)

The last few finishing touches were added to this little blanket that I've been making for I don't know how long. It's small but perfect for putting on your lap on a cold day when you're trying not to put the heating on before dark - super warm!

My littles' Learning Journeys are as up to date as it is possible for them to be, washing is done, studio tidied, fire set, tea prepped... all those little every day things that sometimes it's just so satisfying to get done and dusted. A lovely, clean start to what promises to be an event filled and exciting year - weddings of friends and family coming up in the next few months, the prospect of really getting stuck into our house hunt and hopefully buying within the next 6 months and everything else that comes with a move away - job hunting anyone?! 

But alongside all of these big, life changing happenings, I hope to have many small moments of happiness and peace (and crafting!) in between. These small, reflective moments are, after all, the things that make the world keep spinning and remind us of what it really is to be alive in this world of ours. Thanks for letting me remember this here in this little online space. Wishing you the very happiest and most hopeful start to the year.

S. x

Christmas in Norham

I'm making up for the quiet spot in September and October (too much work and not enough crafting = only one blog post a month!) by posting two days in a row! But with festive spirit in the air and a most beautiful walk this morning on the beach who can blame me for wanting to share in this space?

Ma's gorgeous Christmas cake, advent windows in the village, classic games (Rail Baron - at least two evening's worth of game and very good fun), an old and lovable dog, a beautiful frost this morning and a lovely stroll on a very misty beach!

Looking forward to cracking on with a few old and new crafty projects when I get home in a couple of days!
S. x

Reveal...

Happy Christmas everyone!

A quick whizz through photos of crafty gifts given this year...

 

Much quilting and patchwork and applique took place this year - so much fun! Like collage with fabric. I'll definitely be doing more in the future.

More details to follow for most projects but from top to bottom the photos show:
:: Mini-quilts - one for Ma and one for my sister Emily
:: Stockings! One for each of the smalls - initialed for clarity and filled with the same thing (to avoid arguments!)
:: A quilted peg bag for Ma (and no, I didn't forget the whole, it's on the other side!)
:: Cards - I made two sets of these, one each for Sam's Mum and Gran
:: Embroidered Benjamin - for Annie, Sam's sister, who drew this lovely little chap and several other cartoons.

(There was also chocolate, another quilt and a few other bits and bobs which somehow escaped the camera)

Hope you're all having a wonderful day!
S. x

Yesterday...

A mass Crafting-for-Christmas session took place here yesterday (and will (in between tree buying, decorating and wrapping gifts for the littles' Christmas party next week) take place again today with and luck!)

So, here are a few sneaky peaks of some of the gifting taking place this year...

No prizes for guessing what the last photo is of! But as the recipients are unlikely to read the blog I think it's safe to give such an obvious hint. The finished articles will be revealed after the big day. There are a few other projects started off too but I'll post them when they're completed.

One more piece of crafting occurred this week that I can share...an emergency Christmas jumper for our Christmas Jumper charity day!

A few small bits of festive fabric, some 3D fabric paint in Christmassy gold, a bit of felt, a quick stitch or two and some safety pins to hold it all together and I managed to save myself some money (and my conscience!) not having to buy a real Christmas jumper at the last minute.

Happy Christmas (shopping/crafting/cooking etc) to you all.
S. x

Two bags and plenty of cards

Last weekend the Christmas crafting began with a bulk load of cards. This year I've been testing out my printing skills. They leave something to be desired (more practice needed for sure!) as looking at the completed product the scale and the composition is entirely wrong. Still, I think they look pretty and it was good fun using the lino cutting tool - like carving with a chisel but oh so much easier and quicker!

 As well getting started with the Yuletide stuff I also made two new IPad mini bags for work (We finally got another two, hooray, one each! What luxury!) I made mine last weekend, adding a pocket to the old design to make it easier to carry pens and post-its around too. This weekend I made the last of them, a further improvement/addition for mark three - a little camera pocket on he inside. This one, in brightest pink, is for Kelly - I always try to make a neater job of things when i know it's for someone else.

(The bright pink fabric by the way is actually a DIY cut and sew dress pattern for a little girl I bought ages ago from the wonderful Clothkits as is was heavily reduced - knew it would come in useful one day.)

Next weekend, or indeed some free evening or other this week (wishful thinking with assessments due and twilight courses to attend!) I will really get cracking with the gift making! So looking forward to some major craftiness over the next few weeks. :)

Enjoy your week everyone.
S. x

November...Already!

Such a cliche I know but this year has disappeared so quickly! Only two months left of 2014 and with dark evenings, a birthday and of course Christmas not far away my mind and my hands are itching to get stuck into some proper crafting.

Over the half term I finally made some puppets for school - one for each of our key worker groups. They were made up as I went along so by no means are they perfect but the littles seem to like them so I'm satisfied.

And this little creature...

...taken from a drawing by my lovely niece, copied almost exactly (I just altered the mouth as I thought buttons didn't quite work there) ready for her seventh birthday next weekend. Seven! Already!

I hope he is loved (as I know he will be) by the girl who is never happier than when she has a cuddly toy to play with.

Happy November everyone.
S. x

Closing in and wrapping up

Autumn is most definitely (and suddenly) here, both the good and the bad. Colder, wetter and windier weather brings a classroom (and a house for that matter) that feels like walking into a fridge and will not be heated until after the half term holiday... brrr! Soggy leaves everywhere, snotty noses of littles and their teachers and the dark hours getting longer by the day.

But with this weather comes the pleasure of wrapping up warm in layers of wool and heading out up the hill straight after work while the light still holds. Feeling toasty and warm all over except for your face and hands as the wind blows you around at the summit is such a great feeling. I love wearing lots of layers, it's one of my favourite things about Autumn and Winter. It's a safe and comfortable feeling, a closing down and a return to introversion and introspection that suits me down to the ground.

Crafting will hopefully begin again soon too - a few birthday gifts are about due to begin and then of course it'll be Christmas prep time before I know it! For now, I'm happy messing around on instagram...

Enjoy your own Autumn loveliness friends!
S. x