Spooky Goings On... How To Make a Wreath

It's October and nearly time for Halloween. It seems to be getting bigger and bigger each year, though we sadly don't get any trick our treaters down our street. I thought I'd make a wreath with this lovely  spooky fabric, bright orange with black pumpkins and black with sparkly silver cobwebs. I also picked up some orange ribbon with black bats.

I had some black pipe cleaners in with my felting stash so borrowed them for this project too and some small wire clippers so I could clip the pipe cleaners in half to use as wires to connect the fabric to the wreath base.

I scrunched up a strip of orange and black fabric and tightly wrapped a pipe cleaner around it.

The wreath base I used has 2 concentric circles, so I connected my little wrapped 'bows' each circle, packing them in quite tightly.

To sit on my wreath and add the spookiness, I wanted a big spider. I made 2 pom poms, tied them together and trimmed the bigger one to make it flatter underneath. I used my glue gun to stick 4 long pipe cleaners to be my spiders 8 legs and 2 large googly eyes. I used yarn to tie the spider to the wreath and hid the knot under the fabric 'bows'.

A long piece of ribbon tied to the frame as a hanging loop and a few more pieces to make bows. I'm really pleased with how it's turned out.

It's actually quite heavy, the frame I used was 14 inches, so quite big.

I thought as I'm talking Halloween, I'd show you these lovely pumpkins and gourds, all different shapes and colours, they make good decorations.

Anyone else making any halloween preparations?

Take care
xxx

The Fair has come to Town

It's that time of year again, Hull fair has arrived for the week, well arrived for last week, it's actually all packed up now. I've written on here about the fair before and it's rather interesting history and royal charter here.

We didn't go, but Imogen went a couple of times with her friends and Adam and Holly took the children.

Apparently little Zack was quite taken with the rides and didn't want to get off when the ride finished! He's grinning away in this photo, sitting next to big sister Izzy.

I've been doing a bit of sewing. I thought I'd have a go at making a simple bag for Zack to keep his stacking cups in, one of his favourite things is to put them in, take them out, put them, then out again... you get the drift. I bought the spiderman fabric in a pack of fat quarters in Hobbycraft.

I thought a drawstring bag was the way to go, but I didn't want to just sew 2 pieces of fabric together as I'm trying to learn more about sewing. I decided to make a drawstring bag with a squared bottom

I lined it too. Much easier than I imagined it to be and that means there'll be a few people getting little lined drawstring bags for Christmas!

Holds all of Zackary's cups and he loves undoing it and pulling it tight again. I tied all the cords together to keep them nice and short and not dangerous to little ones. He is never left on his own, but you can't be too careful.

My wonderful husband has brought me a cup of tea upstairs, so I can stay in bed and do some blog reading.

Take care
xxx

Birthday Lap Quilt and Slimmer of the Month

I've noticed there are a few of us out here in blogland following the Slimming World plan to lose weight and adapt to a healthier lifestyle. I thought I'd share with you my latest success as I joined Slimming World at the end of April and have been following the food plan since then

I go to a lovely group with really supportive people and I have to say a rather wonderful consultant who always fills me with inspiration each week. This was my third slimmer of the month award, I'm getting a wardrobe full of certificates!

Thank you for all the kind wishes for my parents. Mum's home from hospital and trying to take it easy while also caring for my Dad, if you ask them, they say they're 'muddling through', it's not easy, but they're coping.

On a lighter note, it's Dad's birthday today so I thought I'd show you the lap quilt I've made for him.

It's brushed cotton so lovely and soft. I bought the fabric in a pack from Hobbycraft and thought it would make a lovely lap quilt for my dad when it gets cooler. I sandwiched a layer of light wadding in it so it's not too heavy. It was posted at the beginning of the week so arrived in plenty of time for Dad's birthday today and he says he loves it. We also sent him the full box set of The Detectorists, a lovely gentle humoured series set in the English countryside that I know he'll enjoy.

Take care
xxx

Lunch Out with an Unexpected Guest

Our routine has changed, we were having our little grandson Zackary for 3 days a week, but now that mum and dad are both working full time, little Zack has been enrolled and started going to nursery and we now have him twice a week. Poor little Zack is not impressed with nursery and makes his poor dad feel awful in the mornings when he drops him off by screaming his little lungs away, though is usually playing happily when mum comes at the end of the day to pick him up, little rascal. It has made him very clingy though, when we're doing our babysitting duties, Zack doesn't like either me or Andrew to leave the room and is wanting extra cuddles (which I have no problem providing at all).

It's a long day for such a small person, from 8 till 6pm, so when Zack has his days with us we try to go out for a while in the afternoons to break it up a bit for him. We had some lunch out the other day, a nice cup of tea

and a healthy salad with a baked potato, simple and very tasty.

Zackary enjoyed sitting outside, watching people come and go.

We were being watched while we ate by this little robin red breast, perched on a chair looking for scraps.

When the person next to us left their table, he swooped straight in there, picking about to see what he could find.

Quite a tame little fellow, I caught this picture just after he'd been on the floor between Andrew and Zack, an unexpected guest picking at Zack's dropped pieces of food. He seems to be on a good thing here and we'll be looking out for him next time we go.

It's funny as it's only an extra day a week, but we seem to have more time and it's been nice to spend some of it outside in the garden when the weather was a bit warmer. I found a comfy seat with a cup of tea, good book and some hexis I'm working on.

The book is Into the Water by Paula Hawkins. I really enjoyed her other book, The Girl on a Train, and this one is just as gripping and written in a similar way, from different peoples perspectives.

Little hexis waiting to be made into something glorious....

I wasn't the only one enjoying the new free time, Gary stretched out and caught some ZZZZZs

I had to show you little Alfie too, what a face he was pulling at me here, another one who likes lots of extra cuddles!

Take care

xxx

Over 25 Years in the Making!

Hasn't it turned really cold, time to start wearing bed socks on a night time, blanket over my knees in an evening, bit surprised by the snow during the week! We're planning to put the tree up next weekend and Imogen has started  opening her advent calendar (Imogen has a chocolate one and we bought Izzy a lego one). I think I've finished my Christmas present shopping and I just need to get some more paper and do the wrapping up. The television is full of Christmas adverts and Imogen has been doing Christmas parties at work.... there's no escaping it, Christmas is just around the corner...

I finished Izzy's bunting, I quite enjoyed sitting and hand stitching her name on it. Just needs to be wrapped up now.

I've sewn pompom ribbon down the sides of the first and last pieces, but it's hard to see from the photo.

I've also started sewing together some decorations I've die cut from felt, this one's from some sparkly red felt I had.

I should explain the reason for the title of this post. I started making my son (who is now 29) this little latch hook dinosaur rug when he was only a toddler. I don't know what happened, he was probably too old for it when I picked it up after leaving it for a while. Anyway, it's been aired out and finished off and as Adam is perhaps a bit too old for it now, I shall give to to my grandson, Adam's son instead so it may have taken over 25 years to finish off, but will at least be going to a good home now!

Are you getting in the Christmas spirit or has it crept up on you too (doesn't seem that long since last Christmas)?


Take care
xxx

Scottie Dogs Christmas Prep

Here we are again, I seem to be just managing a post a week at the moment. It's so lovely to see I have a new follower too, hello.

I've been trying to have a bit of a tidy up and declutter this week in preparation for the Christmas decorations going up next month. I found some things that are no longer used, needed or wanted, so put them on eBay. I'm not sure if they'll sell or not, they have a week and will be donated to a local charity shop if they don't go. I do try to be ruthless, but I'm an old sentimentalist at heart so I'm not very good at it. I decided it was time to say goodbye to one of my craft totes/bags, it's just a small one that I often have sitting next to me on the sofa with some ongoing project or another in it (as well as my other paraphernalia such as notebooks, pens, crochet hooks, tissues and my phone). I added it to the charity pile when Andy commented 'oh, are you getting rid of that', so that made me wonder if he thought I shouldn't, oh no, will I regret it once it's gone. I was very good and let it go... am I the only one who has trouble letting things go, forming attachments to 'things'?

I found this blanket in one of my cupboards. it had an awful lot of ends that needed sewing in. It seemed a shame to leave it languishing in there, taking up precious storage space. Out it came and I spent a hour or 2 sewing and weaving in all the ends.

I'm glad I spent the time doing it, I'm really pleased with it now and know a little girl who will enjoy wrapping herself up in it on chilly afternoons.

I've also been making some other preparations for Christmas. I need to make some pretty bunting with blue in it, also for a special little girl. I found some fabric in my stash with pretty blue flowers and little paisley patterns.

It's all cut out and waiting to be stitched up.

I've made this sweet little scottie dog for Christmas too. I cut 2 dogs out in felt and stitched them together with a blanket stitch. Gently stuffed them and also put in a small muslin bag that I stitched and filled with lavender. This little chappie smells quite divine and is just the thing to hang in a wardrobe or on a hook somewhere.

I think I shall make some more in different colours.

Thank you for popping by and please stop and say hello.

Take care
xxx

Bunting in the Garden

I haven't felt like doing much today as one of my teeth is playing me up. One of my canines is a baby tooth that never fell out when I was young, I think it's lasted very well, but is perhaps coming to the end of it's life? I clench my teeth very hard (and unconsciously) when I sleep at night so wear a guard over my bottom teeth to try and save them from wear and tear from the crunching (ouch, sounds horrible). I have been very lucky and only experienced toothache for the first time a couple of years ago and then had to have one of my back teeth removed as it'd cracked from the constant pressure. I went from being terrified of having an injection in my mouth and a tooth removed to being desperate for it to happen (anyone who's had toothache will relate to that I'm sure). I digress... really I was just having a moan about my tooth hurting.

I popped into the garden for a bit, it's very grey out there and we've had some rain on and off (the conservatory has the airers up with washing drying on them). I took a quick picture of the bunting I put up on our small pergola.

I made it from some oilcloth offcuts, some cotton tape and a highly technical piece of card from a cereal box.

There was quite a mishmash of cloth to look at and it all needed to be smoothed out so I could find pieces to fit my template.

I had a collection of a few different pieces, this patchwork style one had some pretty patterns in it

With it being oilcloth, there was no hemming or fraying to worry about. I cut my bunting out with pinking shears to give it a more interesting edge.

My piles waiting to be sewn onto the tape.

I still have quite a few bits cut out so I can make some more bunting for the fence to brighten it up a bit.

While I was out there, I had a quick check on our little apple tree. I planted the seeds from an apple core about 3 or 4 months ago not really expecting anything.

One of the seeds grew and just went from strength to strength.

So this afternoon I repotted it to give it some more growing room. I shall be watching it with interest.

That's me about done for this afternoon. Imogen is in a play tonight so I'm going to pop a couple of painkillers, get gussied up and off we go. We shall be dreadfully early as Imogen needs to be there about an hour and a half before it starts, so I think we'll drop her off then wander around the area for a while. She's very nervous because her knee still isn't 100% so she probably won't be able to take part fully in the dancing (they're performing Chicago) and she worked so hard on them. Imogen is playing Mama, the prison warden, so even if she doesn't dance, we'll enjoy her singing.


Take care
xxx