Mugs, samplers and Nikki

I sent away a couple of my Quirky house photos to have them put on a couple of mugs.
Here they are on my mini dresser.

                                
                                            Close up

 

and whilst they are OK I think they should have had a brighter sheen to them as the photos that were downloaded were nice and clear and bright. So a bit of a disappointment really.

Anyway I did manage to finish off this little cross stitch sampler this week.

The aida was white but I wanted a more 'antiquey' looking colour, so it was soaked in some cold tea for a while. Unfortunately the photo shows it a pale brown, whereas, in real life it's a deeper, rich brown. That is Head Honcho with Nikke and me with a blue chicken!

At last the flowers are starting to pop up. Nikki takes a keen interest in the garden, after all there are bees and butterflies to chase, passing cars and bikes to bark at, bits of unkown yuk to nibble on. Here she is having a rest inbetween activities.

But she would like to remind you to take the time to slow down and smell the flowers!

This weeks linky parties are:
finecraftguild.com/linky-party-67/
handmadeharbour.blogspot.
usscrafty.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/submarine-sunday-32.html
Monday
the-chicken-chick.
thededicatedhouse.
Friday
michellestastycreations.

Have a cuppa cross stitch. Muddy pawsteps from Jazz!

I hope that you are getting some share of the sun, if you are, we need some up here so pass it on!!

The poly tunnel has been slowly filled with plants and seeds of various descriptions with some experiments going on. I have cut one of those shoe bag tidies that hang over doors, in half and part filled them with strawberry plants. (in the soil I mixed a bit of gel retention crystals so they don't dry out to quickly)  A bamboo stick was threaded through the re-sewn hem, a bit of wire fixed either end of the stick and then hoisted over the railings of the roof of the poly tunnel, thus freeing up space on the floor and also bamboozling the ninja slugs. I am hoping this will work as I love scrummy strawberries.

Not been crafting much this week so will show this little cross stitch that was done a few years ago but I still love it.

  Tea tastes better served in a posh bone china cup....but I always have a mug and save the cup for special times. Need me tea, otherwise I collapse in a hopeless heap!

 Nikki was having a snooze and doing a good imitation of Aleksander the Meerkat....and wondering if she  there is a vacancy for a body double. (If anybody out there is an agent she would consider going into the advertising industry!! haha )                                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                                                    

 Totally unaware of what Jazz was getting upto in the kitchen.

Jazz was saying 'what me guv, weren't me, honest'  All innocent about these very muddy footprints all over the kitchen floor!

But how can you be angry with those eyes looking at you.

This weeks linky parties are;#
Sunday;
handmadeharbour.blogspot
craftsalamode.com
Monday;
.the-chicken-chick.com/
dianarambles.
Tuesday;
thediydreamer.
Wednesday;
finecraftguild.
lavendergardencottage.
thededicatedhouse
Thursday;
craftionary.
Friday;
craftsalamode.com
finecraftguild.com/linky-party-67/

Veggie Patch sign and little Jazz

Do we plant seeds or not? Well, I've planted some potatoes and onion sets and in the greenhouse have put some peas in pots, and that is that! Itching to plant all the other veggie seeds but to early and cold, probably May will be the best time and as we have such long daylight hours up here in Scotland, they usually catch up.

In  anticipation of all this, we have built a fence around the veggie patch out of re-claimed wood and having a rummage, found this picture that I painted many years ago on the back of a cupboard door. This is going to be screwed onto the fence, so everybody knows what is going on behind the fence!!

I just painted the wording on this week. We used to have it ontop on the kitchen cabinets for some years. I was practising painting on almost anything that didn't move in those days!

                                              Close up

A sweet little birdie perched on the flower pots, and a trowel ready for action.

On other news my daughter has just got this little darling.

Little Jazz a cocker spaniel. How cute is he.... and such a lovable little doggie. Him and Nikki get on really well together, although Nikkie was a bit wary of him at first but soon sucumbed to his charms. (although she was a bit indignant that he had the audacity to go in her bed and inspect her toys!!) haha.

This weeks linky parties are;
Sunday;
 handmadeharbour.blogspot.
sewmanyways.blogspot.
 submarine-sunday-28.
Monday;
he-chicken-chick.com/
thededicatedhouse.blogspot
Tuesday;
thediydreamer.
Wednesday;
 finecraftguild.com/party-64/
lavendergardencottage.blogspot.
thebusybhive.blogspot
Thursday;
thebusybhive.blogspot.
craftionary.

Wee Scottish Houses.

Here we are again another 2 weeks flashing by. This time I have two little wooden houses to show you all. The first is the 'wee house on the cliff'

The £ coin is to give a scale to how big this wee house is.


Side view and you can see there is a loooong drop into the sea!

The sailing boat is already to set sail for a fishing trip.

 Next is the 'wee house in the wood

                                       

Nestling in amongst the trees, with the light shining in the top window, the owner must be getting ready for some shut eye!

The trees are made from stiffened fabric with a matchstick sandwiched inbetween.

                                              Both together

They are rather addictive to make.....good job we have lots of wood so I can whittle away to my hearts content!!

This weeks linky parties are;
Saturday;
michellestastycreations.
submarine-sunday-26.
Sunday;
handmadeharbour.blogspot.
sewmanyways.blog 
Monday;
the-chicken-chick
thededicatedhouse
Tuesday;
thediydreamer
Wednesday;
lavendergardencottage.blogspot.
finecraftguild.
Thursday;
thebusybhive.blogspot
Friday;
 craftionary.net

Little Scottish Harbour and more tea cup coasters.

Hello everyone from a very cold Scotland. We don't have any snow but the wind is so cold it cuts through me like butter. So different from a couple of weeks ago when it was almost spring like.....come back sun we miss you! I have trays of seedlings slowly growing on the window sills and I want to plant them up in the poly tunnel but I fear it will be too cold for the little things to survive. I just hope they don't get to leggy and fall over!

I have at last finished a little wooden Scottish Harbour. Wood rescued from the fire. The harbour measures approx 17" long by 2 and quarter inches tall. And nestling on top of a nice curvey piece of wood are a row of darling little cottages.

All the little houses were tiny bits of wood with the roof shaped and chimneys added.

                                              Some close ups.

                                     Little sailing boat made from some balsa wood.
Can you see the little street lamps? They are a whittled down matchsticks with a paper clay ball painted white on the top.

                                        The tree trunks are thickish wire sandwiched between two pieces of green paper.

You can almost hear the waves crashing against the harbour wall! It now sits on the bathroom windowsill and makes me smile. I have done another harbour scene but will let you see that another time.

Also this week I have been making some more tea cup coasters.

This time with different coloured 'rims'

This weeks linky parties are;
Sunday;
handmadeharbour.blogspot
the-chicken-chick.
Tuesday;
thediydreamer
hewellcraftedhome
Wednesday;
finecraftguild.
Thursday;
thebusybhive.blogspot.
craftionary.net/2013/04/friday-link-party-59.html

Friday;
hededicatedhouse.

Teacup Coasters, Teapot Tess and crochet.

This last couple of weeks I have been finishing off some of the unfinished projects that have been around for ages, so made my mind over and fixed them!

First up here are some tea/coffee cup coasters.

                                                         sold

A little collection.....

                                                   Now all sold.
 Made from linen and cotton. Place a teabag or two and send to a friend, who can then use it as a coaster while they sip there tea (or coffee) and think of you!

And here is little Teapot Tess....

you guessed it another sock monkey lol. She has teapots and teacups as decoration.

With her best friend Gertie. They like to chat and whisper secrets. (although Gertie's leg looks rather elongated in this photo they are both the same length!

                                               Having a cuddle together.

The lace that I unpicked from this embroidered tablecloth which is here was waiting for me to do something with.So at last got the iron out and re-shaped it and it's now ready to go...

Now added to my little dresser.

                                                    Close UP

I stuck it down with double sided sellotape. I do have quite a bit more of the crochet....hmm where to put it!
(the dresser was originally a display unit for my jugs, somehow or other a lot of red bits have crept it.....can't think how. lol.

Making some progress on some wooden bits I'm putting together and hopefully will be able to show next time.

Linky parties are here;
Sunday;
handmadeharbour.blogspot.
#michellestastycreations
Monday;
the-chicken-chick.
thededicatedhouse
Tuesday;
thededicatedhouse.blogspot.
thediydreamer.
Wednesday;
thewellcraftedhome
Thursday;
thebusybhive.blogspot.
finecraftguild.
craftionary

Not much going on....labels and a card.

It's been a slow couple of weeks. Not got my crafting mo-jo going at all :0(
I seem to have taken 2 steps forward and 6 back so a lot of frustration with things being binned or put away in disgust!

I did make these tho that came out OK. Little linen tags or labels for that extra special gift.

And a card for my m.i.l. and that's about it. I wont show the failures as they are long gone!!

Last but not least, Nikki ,looking so sweet after she has done a puddle on the floor haha.

This fortnight's linky parties are;
Saturday;
michellestastycreations.
Sunday;
handmadeharbour.
Monday;
the-chicken-chick.
thededicatedhouse.blogspot.
Tuesday;
thediydreamer.
Wednesday;
flusterbuster.
Thursday;
thebusybhive.
finecraftguild
Friday;
craftionary.net/
dianarambles.com

Framed Embroidery & more coats for Nikki. 2 happy bunnies

 Here we are again. My fortnightly update....

I have my embroidery sampler framed at last. It is a plain wooden frame so it doesn't detract from the picture. The before photo is here  with the embroidery finished. It is now up on the wall.

We have not had any snow to speak of just a dusting, but the wind is very cold and it has been wet. Nikki needs some waterpoofs as her other coats were getting quite wet from our walks and runs on the grass.

Another recyled outfit! The brown fabric is an old bean bag that was past it's best and so was useful for the waterproofing. There was a discarded furry, soft ,water bottle cover that was no longer needed and that is underneath. Very cosy. Finished off with some green bias binding. A friend said she needed some leg warmers to complete the outfit, but I think that is a step too far. lol

All ready to go! Her little tail going nineteen to the dozen. She has worn it quite a bit and it certainly does the job properly. No more wet tummy. She is putting on weight around her middle (bit like me) so this coat is a bit bigger than the others. I did make her two coats with the bean bag plasticy material, the other one has red binding and an old woollen blanket for reverse. Fastened together with velcro. A good way to upcycle discarded materials.

These little rabbits are the last of the fluffies. Only 2 left now from this particular yarn. One happy chappy with his red heart jumper and matching scarf.....

.....and his little friend Daphne who sports a pink jumper with a white heart and matching scarf. They both are approx 8£ tall.I you would like to purchase one just email me.


This week linky parties are;
Sunday
handmadeharbour.blogspot.
Monday
the-chicken-chick.
thededicatedhouse.blogspot.
Tuesday
thediydreamer.com/from-dream-to-reality
Wednesday
finecraftguild.com/linky-party-52/
Thursday
craftionary.net
Friday
dianarambles.com

Nikki Modelling her coats.

My little girl has certainly been keeping me on my toes. I've lost a 1lb in a week running after her!!

Can you guess what this is?

It look like a swanky fire side rug don't you think? But no animal was hurt in the making of this as it's fake fur. My daughter made Nikki a little going out coat to keep her cosy when she does the rounds of our hamlet. The fur is the reverse of this little red number.

Her she is modelling it, her little tail is wagging so furiously that it's a blur! Of course she shares my love of things red. (and pink) haha. The coat fastens underneath with velcro and around the front. She did have a shop bought one but she kept stepping out of it and didn't like the way it went over her head like a polo neck. (she also had a halter lead which was too big so she has a lead for now) She has her name down for puppy lessons next month so we both will learn what's what with dog training.

Waiting patiently so she can go for a walk. Out and about she saw two huge horses going for a canter with their owners and hardly miffed, was also interested in a couple of chickens but looked at them with distain!

As I thought she needed even a warmer coat to cope with the cold I made her one out of a bit of discarded blue fur, which was thicker.  Another fireside rug....

                                                  Reverse side....

I had a nice homemade pink brooch which I wear but I thought it looked really nice on this piece of fabric, which has green frogs running up it. (In real life it's a bright pink)

Another modelling picture, taken outside Pets@home where she has a micro chip inserted. What was a 5 min job took about 20 mins due to everybody wanting to hold or stroke her!

I used the pattern that my dd made but lengthened it a little bit. I ran out of pink bias binding so had to add a little bit of red to finish it off. I think she is going to have an outfit for everyday soon, made out of scraps of fabric. Maybe even a quirky house mini quilt cover lol.
As my time is taken up such a lot with Nikki I will be posting every two weeks from now on.





This weeks linky parties are;
Sunday;
handmadeharbour.blogspot.
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/
Monday;
thededicatedhouse.blogspot.
Tuesday;
thediydreamer.
Wednesday;
thewellcraftedhome.
inecraftguild.com/party-51/

 Thursday;
lavendergardencottage.blogspot
michellestastycreations.bi-weekly-link-party
Friday;
craftionary.net/
thebusybhive.blogspot.
dianarambles

Little puppy and cupboard.

Not to much to report this week as I have been adopted by this little puppy.

Nikki who is 3/4 chihuahua and 1/4 jack russell. Potty training at the moment, takes me back to babies! She seems to be catching on tho and is pretty intelligent so we hope she will settle down well.

In between running around after her, this is my project that I'm working on. I forgot to take a proper before photo.

Here is is without the shelves, drawers and back. Probably will be painting it creamy colour as it's a small room and I don't want it to be overbearing in there.

And last but not least, is little Stripey Sam

who is for sale. (sold now) He's wearing his winter warmers just in time for the snow!!

Forgot to add the wine book that somebody wanted for home made wines. The one I use has very simple recipes and with no added chemicals.
'A drop o'wine' The Mollie Harris Book of Country Wine. I don't think it's being printed anymore but there might be one on Ebay or Amazon.

This weeks linky parties are;
Sunday;
sewmanyways.
Monday;
the-chicken-chick.com/
watchoutmartha.
Tuesday;

thediydreamer.
Wednesday;
hewellcraftedhome.
avendergardencottage
Friday;
craftionary.

Yet another quilt for daughter!

I have a confession to make, the recent quilt I made for my daughter which is here (and the other one here) never got to her house as after it was finished.... I had an eureka moment!!

When she got married 15 years ago, at the reception I went around with a sheet and asked the guests to sign their names onto it, afterwards the names were all embroidered (approx 100) and a crochet edging was added, and thus a tablecloth was born.

 

It was bought out on anniversary occasions a couple of times and then popped back in a drawer and forgot about.
So the eureka moment was, why don't I make her a quilt with this as a backing. Daughter thought it was a great idea as the embroidered cloth would be used instead of laying in a drawer doing nothing.

So off I went again, with the same pattern (she still wanted a pale colour) with a pop of colour in the middle.

 The first time using the walking foot and extension table. I have to confess that when I was sewing it together first time it cobbled up something horrid so it all had to be undone. I think it was because I had nearly run out of spray glue and so used it sparingly, which didn't hold the 3 layers together properly. Anyhow got some more glue and made sure it was all stuck down and away I went again. (I didn't use a walking foot with the other quilts and it didn't cobble) This one is a bit bigger than the others.

I was really pleased how it turned out. Lots of happy memories and some of the children on there are now married with kids of their own!

Bit of fancy embroidery. I got it finished in time for their lst anniversary!

Daughter also wanted it to look more puffy with an eiderdown effect, so, instead of an all over quilting I just sewed around the square blocks and put a few love hearts in the banding. The binding was lots of different red fabric joined together, as I'd run out of anything else suitable.

This one DID go home with her! One very happy daughter, who, I'm sure will make full use of it. It will be nice to snuggle into as we are expecting a very cold spell soon. In the warmer weather it could be used as a throw for the bottom of the bed. As for the crochet that was around the edges. It was carefully unpicked and now in a drawer waiting for another suitable project to come along.

And all done in front of my cosy log fire. Hmmm need a cuppa now and perhaps a biccy or.....cake would be nice....decisions, decisions lol.

This weeks linky parties;
Sunday;
flamingotoes
navywifeypeters.blogspot.
handmadeharbour.blogspot
the-chicken-chick
watchoutmartha.
sewingbarefoot.blogspot.
Tuesday;
thewellcraftedhome.
thediydreamer
Wednesday;
finecraftguild.
Thursday;
michellestastycreations.