AWOL

Firstly I would like to apologize for having been AWOL for the past month or so!

And in my absence, my blog hit 10,000 hits! How amazing is that?!So am doubly sorry to have been gone so long, but I promise it was for a good reason.....

Me and my lovely hubby have just bought our first house!!!!!

SQUEEE!

I am ridiculously excited and have been up to my eyeballs with stuff to do. We (should) get the keys on Thursday and should be in by the weekend. We are all very excited and nervous here because it is a huge step and we know that we are incredibly lucky to be able to get on the housing ladder at the moment.  

So my craft corner has been packed up unfortunately so at the moment I don't have anything to show for my absence...but I send my swap items for the Sprite Stitch Big Swap so I can show you those soon and I am very excited about those because I think they came out quite well and I have tried something new for one of my items!

So I am here and will be putting piccies up soon xxx

Therapeutic Crafting

A couple of weeks ago I started a fantastic course on confidence.  I think as women and especially Mums, we tend to have confidence in everything and everyone but ourselves.  The brilliant thing about this course is that half of each session is spent making something.  We have all sorts lined up for us. 
At first a few ladies couldn't figure out why the crafts part was there- but it is incredibly therapeutic!! I knit and cross stitch to relax. It is something I can sit with in the evening, in front of the telly and just veg.  
And when you aren't working on a thousand things at once it is very rewarding when you finish something.  
What do you guys think? Do you craft for a reason or because you find it relaxing? 

Applique Handprints

I actually saw this idea on pinterest, and have been wanting to do it for some while and this last couple of months I have had the best excuse. In March it was my Mum's birthday and in April it was my Mother in Law's birthday.  This was the perfect idea as a gift to them from the kids.  I framed these in embroidery hoops and it is the first time that I have done this and I am quite impressed with the results.

The first set were done back in March and I've been wanting to show them off ever since!!  .

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The first two were left with bare frames and the date etc written on, whereas for the second lot I covered the hoops in ribbon. I can't decide which is my favourite way but they both look quite nice. 

Knitted Barbie Outfits

First of all I would like to apologise for my disappearance from blog land for pretty much the whole of April! Between impromptu trips to Suffolk to see family and my latest assignment (not to mention a certain little boy's third birthday) it's all been a bit hectic here!
However I do have some lovely photos for you.  Whiles't on our impromptu trip, my mother in law gave my daughter enough outfits for her Barbie to fill a wardrobe. These have all been knitted following patterns found on Ravelry and using bits and pieces of yarn that she had in her stash.

Purple top and skirt

A girls gotta have undies!

Cute!

Accesories

Accesories

Dungarees

Handy Handbag

If that wasn't enough, this next outfit needs several photos because so much work has gone into it.  Barbie has a beautiful wedding dress with added lace, ribbon and veil!!

Since the mini fashion show that produced these photos, Nanny Buff (as she has been named by my three year old)has actually knitted even more! So there will be more photos to come!

Storage Solutions

At Christmas I was a very spoilt wife. Amongst other things I got a gorgeous box full of lovely smelly Lush bath things. Now these are a real treat for me and I have eaked them out and used them sparingly when I've needed a treat but last week I used my last Bubble Bar. Which was sad but it does mean I now have this empty tin.

Which is going to find a new home with the rest of my "Craft Stuff"! I love putting things like this to use again. I keep all my cross stitch threads in an Irregular Choice shoe box and have bits and bobs in the Radley drawstring bag that the actual bag came in. (That wasn't this Christmas but my hubby does spoil me bless him!!)What do you guys keep your craft stuff in? Or is everyone out there slightly less mishmash than me? 

A Little Cross Stitch Pacman

This is just a quick post that does what is says on the tin. Here is a little cross stitch pacman that I made for my brother's birthday

I got him this pacman alarm clock for his birthday:

 Which he thought was hilarious, he probably finds it less so now that he has to wake up to "WackaWackaWackaWacka" each morning.But I thought that I would make him a little something to go with it and he has been reading a lot more recently so I thought I would make a little book mark for him. 

I got the pattern for the Pacman and ghost from Sprite Stitch and I think it's quite cute! 

Handmade iPad Case

My Uncle turned 40 this month, I'm sure he won't mind me sharing that with you...hmm..anyway..I knew that my Aunt was trying to raise funds from friends and family to get him an iPad so I thought I would make him a case for it. Now this is trickier than it originally sounds because my Aunt is actually a very accomplished seamstress. So my Uncle is going to be used to sewn products actually looking quite good and without the dodgy stitching that normally accompanies my attempts. So I thought for once I would actually follow a tutorial properly instead of trying to do my own thing and I am really proud of the results:

 Unfortunately I haven't got an iPad to model this case, so the photos of it are of it empty. However I have been assured that this is the right size and fits well!

 The lining is red felt and the stitching has come out really neatly.  I have slowed down with the machine and it is turning out a lot more even and straight.

I did originally have a different button and ribbon but unfortunately the dog got hold of them and they are no more.  Luckily I had these in my stash that really suited the fabric.
Also my Uncle is (possibly)and even bigger Terry Pratchett fan than I am and after racking my brains I finally managed to find the perfect quote for the case...

The tutorial that I followed was one that I found at The Cottage Home.  It is a really easy tutorial to follow and has a photo for each stage. Also she has managed to get the tone of the tutorial just right - it gives all the information you need for each step without sounding patronizing.  Also the tutorial works for laptops and tablets as it gives you directions to figure out the dimensions that you need for your case to fit your item.
So Thank You Cottage Mama!