Fibre Friends Christmas Party

Fibre Friends (the knitting/crochet/stitching/crafting group I attend) had their Christmas Party last night.  One of our members suggested we go to a candle making party hosted by Fleur at Bluebell Eco Candles and what an absolutely fabulous night we had!

We began by dressing up in lovely hats and feather boas then got down to the first task of painting designs on our candle glasses.

Here are some of the lovely wax shapes, glitters and paints covering our table!  The wax is soy wax which is non-toxic and environmentally friendly.

We also had a sumptuous feast of sandwiches, scones and a variety of cakes all washed down with tea and coffee.  The three glasses sitting upon the 2nd striped box up are what we're attempting to make.

The glass on the right is my candle filled with the lovely shapes then topped up with hot wax infused with gorgeous Christmassy smelling essential oils.  The one on the left is a candle we all had a hand in making as a present for a friend who was too ill to attend.

Once the wax set we topped our candles with a soft, fluffy wax to look like whipped cream then decorated with glitter and tiny baubles.

This is mine complete within its cellophane wrapper.  I totally forgot to take a picture of it before I wrapped it up!

And finally here is our lovely group of Fibre Friends with our finished whipped "cream" topped fruit trifles, all ready to take home.

Oh and mustn't forget our lovely creations ready for their photo shoot!  :-)

Hats & a Scarf - Yes it's that time of year again!

Well the weather has been getting a little chilly around here and we've had some very blustery weather too so naturally my mind turned to making a few snuggly things to wear outdoors.

First up is this very bright Granny Hat I made for my 22 month old toddler (above) - which she promptly dumped over the side of her buggy while we were shopping and lost...

So then came Mark 2, this one with earflaps and ties in an attempt to keep it on her head!  I made up the pattern myself and ended up having to look at the photos of the first to try and figure out exactly what I did...

The pattern for this hat was in the latest edition of Inside Crochet (I bought a digital edition) and I loved the geometric design created by the post stitches.  I did do the brim of it a little different to the pattern though.

For myself I made a scarf from some lovely King Cole Riot wool my sister bought me for my birthday.  This was another pattern I made up as I went along.  I just chained until I felt the scarf was long enough then did each row in the back loop only to make the ribbed effect.

Finally I got out my loom and made this hat for my 6 year old daughter on one of my looms.  She absolutely loves the big floppy pompom on top.  My loom skills aren't fantastic though, a lot more practice is needed!

So there we are, we've all got something a little cozy for the end of Autumn and the beginning of Winter :-)

Christmas Stockings

I've been busy at the sewing machine instead of busy with a hook for a change.  I saw this lovely tutorial on Pinterest and had to have a go although I extended the toe area of the stocking slightly from the original pattern.

I don't have a massive fabric stash but still managed to make 5 stockings.  Please excuse the sellotape I used to hang them at the fireplace too - really need to find some magnets to hold them up!

From left to right I made:
Black & white stocking for my fella
Blue gingham and birdy stocking for my youngest daughter
Red polka dots & flowers stocking for my sister
Blue gingham and stripes stocking for me
And finally Red polka dots and birdy stocking for my eldest daughter

These were super easy to make too - I managed to do the bulk of the cutting out and sewing while my youngest daughter had her morning nap and finished them off whilst she ate her lunch :-)

Christmas Baubles

 I've just finished three different collections of Christmas baubles, which I hope to sell.

The first shown above is the Christmas Brights Collection.

 Next is the Funky Christmas Collection.

 And lastly the Traditional Christmas Collection.

I had lots of fun experimenting with colours before I decided on the final 3 collections and all my experiments will grace the branches of our tree this year.

I think as I get older I'm getting more colourful :-)

Halloween and Other Stuff

Well I've been rather busy just lately.  Firstly I've made my eldest daughter a Sonic the Hedgehog for her birthday but I ended up giving it to her early.  I used the pattern written by Wolfdreamer Off the Hook.  You can find it here.

I've also been experimenting with my own design of Christmas ornaments.  Above are my test pieces but I'm now working on different themes.  If I manage to make enough in time I may be able to sell some before Christmas!  I'm working on Traditional, Funky and Brights.  Not sure if I'm going to do a 2nd Brights version and a pastels as well....

It was also mine and Mr TMC's 9th Anniversary of getting together this month and I got a lovely bunch of flowers amongst other things.  He's also got me everything I need to build my own website.  Just need to learn how to use Dreamweaver now!

And finally Halloween.  My eldest daughter wants to be a cat this year so I whipped up some kitty ears for her, covering an old headband with the same wool.  I've got to make her the tail yet and fortunately there is so much stuff out there at the moment in animal prints for girls I've been able to buy her leggings and a top to complete her kitty look.  My youngest daughter will be wearing her witches outfit from last year as she's such a small tot it still fits her :-)

Hair Scrunchie

 I made this hair scrunchie by crocheting around a hair band with some King Cole Galaxy DK.

I'd love to open my own Etsy or Folksy shop and think these would be lovely items to sell in all different colours.

 It looks rather sweet in my eldest daughter's hair - all ready for school.

I just wanted to put a picture up of the Happy Flower I made from this pattern over on Lucy's blog Attic24 too.  I made it as a Secret Summer Surprise swap.  Think I will have to make one for myself at some stage - it was so difficult to give away!

Little Monster

In my last post I published a picture of a pair of eyes.

I'm pleased to say they've now been attached to a body!

Here's my little monster!  I've written the pattern myself and he will soon be on his way to his new home at my sister's house.

Here's a view of his hairy back!

I also popped a little lavender pouch inside so he smells really sweet.

I also whipped up a manly phone cozy for my dad's Blackberry.

I used half treble crochet stitches so it was really simple.

And here's a little brooch for my mum :-)

Hope they are all pleased with their little gifts.

Just Lately...

 Just lately I've been working on these few items.  Firstly a pair of eyes for a monster for my big sister.  Not sure why one is looking bigger than the other though as they should be the same!  I've nearly finished the body now too so it's coming along nicely.  I'm writing down the pattern as I go along so hopefully I can easily recreate my little monster.

 I made another cushion cover to go in our caravan using one of the granny squares out of issue 43 of Let's Get Crafting magazine.

 These little booties are for a friend for a Christening.  I used a Bernat pattern for the base of the booties then sort of did my own thing for the tops.

Finally I decided to have a go of some hexagons.  The pattern can be found here on Oneloopshort's blog.  It's super simple to make.  I'm hoping to do a few as and when I can then make up a blanket or such like.  I love the idea of little spots of colour surrounded by crisp, clean white borders :-)

Granny Square Cushion

 I bought a copy of Let's Get Crafting (issue 43) whilst we were on our hols and made the 1st granny square with the free wool provided with the magazine.

 When we returned home I decided instead of the lap blanket the magazine intended the squares for I would make a cushion cover for one of the cushions in our caravan.  I made 3 more squares, bordering them in white. I joined them together, doing a few rounds of white then blue then white again.

I was lucky enough to have plenty of white wool in my Stash and even more fortunate to have a blue which exactly matched the blue provided with the magazine.

I made a stripey buttoned down back for the cushion cover and voila! 

When I get chance I think I will make one of the other granny square designs into another cover for our caravan :-)

Small and Easy Nappy/Diaper Bag Tutorial

I thought it was about time I made a mini nappy bag for my handbag as I'm always stuffing a nappy, wipes and nappy sack into my bag then they always get in the way when I'm trying to get my purse out plus I wanted everything in one place.  This bag can also hold a small fold up changing pad.

I didn't use a fancy sewing machine to make this as you can see from the stitch selection!  I just did a single layer of fabric too - no lining as I wanted as little bulk as possible.

 I started off by cutting some pieces of fabric 30cm x 45cm, 10cm x 30cm and a pocket 14cm x 10cm.

 With the wrong sides facing sew the 2 long edges together.

 Now if you're sensible (unlike me) you can sew your little front pocket (for hold a few nappy sacks) onto the front now (picture for this a little further on) otherwise fold in half and sew down the side and along the bottom, leaving the top open.  Neaten the edges if you want to prevent fraying.

 I folded over the bottom corners and sewed across them about 2.5cm in to create a boxy shape to my bag.

 Turn over your top edge and tack in place against the seam then sew around to neaten it.  It saves having a raw edge just on the inside of your bag and looks a little neater.  It also makes a double layer for attaching press studs for keeping it closed.  Of course you could also use Velcro, poppers or leave a gap in the top of the bag and thread a cord through and drawstring the opening closed.  It's up to you!

 Now here I am attaching the front pocket, which would have been a whole lot easier if I'd done it before sewing the side and bottom seams!  I pressed the edges over before pinning it in place then sewed around, obviously leaving the top open.

And here's the finished bag!  It easily holds a couple of nappies, a small folding changing mat, a packet of wet wipes and of course a few nappy sacks in the pocket :-)

Ireland Bike Fest 2012

Just a few pictures from this year's Bike Fest.

We had typical bank holiday weather but braved the rain.

Loads of brilliant bikes to see and crowds of people meaning I was unable to get as many pictures as I would have liked.  Brilliant live music too added to the atmosphere!

All in all an enjoyable outing :-)

My Summer Bag

 I've been working on this bag for a few weeks now and I'm pleased to say it's finished and getting lots of use already!  I used the tutorial from Lucy at Attic24.

 I also used her pattern for the flowers - she has such lovely projects on her blog.

 Lining the bag was all my own doing.  I cut a circle of fabric just slightly bigger than the bottom of my bag then made a tube big enough to fit inside and sewed them together.  I decided it would be handy to make a phone pocket too.

I also decided to line the handles to stop them stretching with use.  I'm really pleased with the end result.  The weather in Ireland can be a bit iffy but at least my bright bag brings a bit of cheer no matter what :-)