Making the Seasons :: November

I've been so excited to write this blog post and share with you my latest find which came to me (as most great discoveries do) via a round about blog trail I found myself on a few weeks ago. You know how it is - you start investigating a new blog or two, then before you know it you are off on your very own little blog-hop, zipping about following links and making all sorts of wonderful discoveries along the way.

This is how I happened to find out about craftpod {www.craftpod.co.uk}, have you heard of it? For those of you who haven't come across Craftpod, it's a quarterly, creative subscription box inspired by nature and the seasons. The lady behind these crafty boxes is called Jo and as soon as I browsed through the beautiful images of her past boxes I was completely smitten. Being hugely inspired and influenced by nature and the seasons myself, I recognised a kindred spirit in Jo, and I immediately decided to treat myself to her Autumn Box. You know, to further feed my current Autumn Obsession.

Craftpod boxes are such neat little things. As you can see in the above picture, everything is packed into a slimline cardboard box (about half the size of an A4 sheet of paper) designed especially to fit right through your letterbox. 

If you pre-order a box at the very start of the season, the contents will be a surprise. However, as I was quite late to the Craftpod subscription party I came in at the end of the Autumn season when boxes had already started to be delivered. That meant that I was able to see pictures of exactly what would be in my box, and let me tell you I swoooooooned. So much creative Autumnal goodness! Either way, if you have a good look at all the past boxes (Craftpod began in Winter 2015, so there is quite a lot to look at) you will have a good idea of the style and the type of craft involved. There is nearly always something to stitch, but there are other creative projects too - baking or printing for example. Each box contains two projects, along with some extra seasonal goodies.

The quality of everything inside a Craftpod box is top notch, and Jo goes to a lot of trouble to source all the bits and bobs. She uses UK designers and makers where possible (the wooden embroidery hoops are handmade in the UK) and the materials are all natural and eco friendly too (100% pure wool felt and stuffing, 100% cotton threads, printing on recycled paper etc). I was truly delighted by what I found inside my Autumn box and couldn't wait to get started. 

I saved my box for a few days so that I could open it on Saturday morning. I was still wearing my pyjamas, had a steaming mug of fresh coffee to hand and wasted no time getting started on the first stitching project. 

This is a gorgeous printed fabric by Maggie Magoo Designs, oh those toadstools pulled at my heart strings like you wouldn't believe, just the perfect little dash of Autumn colour and whimsy.  

Jo's stitching instructions were brilliant, and the embroidery was kept simple but very effective. 

I was about five stitches into my first toadstool when I was joined in the Big Chair by Little B, also still in his pyjamas. He started dropping subtle little hints at first, indicating that I could perhaps let him have a teensy weensy go with the stitching. This was very quickly chased up by outright begging, so what was I to do? Of course, any Little Person who shows an interest in something creative should be wholeheartedly encouraged, so I gave up my precious hoop and let him stitch it for a bit. He did so well! I was very proud of his precision needle work, and happy that he loved doing it, but at the same time my own fingers were positively itching to take over. I had a major itch to stitch!

Eventually I got my hoop back and I went to town with all those stitches, remembering just how much I love to work with needle and thread. French Knots have to be the most satisfying stitches in the entire universe, I absolutely loved making those red spots. There is something so calming and soothing about the rhythmic nature of stitching, and then there is the sound of it too. You know, that exact moment when the needle kind of pulls through the surface of the taut fabric, making an insanely satisfying little popping sound (like popping bubble wrap, I know you know what I mean?!)

I hadn't meant to stitch so obsessively - I thought this hoop might be something that I picked up and put down a few times during the course of the weekend, but in reality I found it impossible to leave alone. I stitched until it was all finished....and then I felt really sad that it was all over. Boohoo!! I want to hatch more stitchy toadstools!!

But just look at it, isn't it the loveliest thing? 

And the colours are very much in keeping with the general seasonal over-the-top-ness that is happening all over my fireplace right now. I love it. Love love love love love it.

The following day, Sunday, I decided to investigate the second stitchy project which was these adorable little felt owls. As I mentioned before, Jo's felt is 100% pure wool, as is the stuffing which looks and feels beautiful.

The printed instruction sheet was easy to follow, and there were paper pattern pieces which were hand drawn to scale. I found that with very careful placement, I was able to squeeze three little owls out of the felt included in the box, so an extra one to make into a brooch (there is a brooch pin included in the kit).

I didn't find these quite as enjoyable to make as the toadstool hoop - the thread was very very fine and the needle was teeeny-weeny, so I found it a little bit fiddly. But I ate chocolate and drank the very lovely Red Berry and Hibiscus Canton Tea, and kept my mind focused on the finished product.....

....which was worth all those minuscule stitches.

Once I'd finished stitching my owls, I decided that I liked Jo's idea of giving them their own twig to roost on. I had a very clear picture of what I wanted to do, so I trundled over to Amazon and ordered up a few essential crafting supplies. 

Yesterday I took delivery of the following :

A bag of wool felt offcuts

A Mini Hot Melt Glue Gun

Some sharp little scissors as mine all seem to be missing at the moment. 

I had this twig you see, the perfect little perch for my owls. I picked up a few of these twigs on my Riverside Wanderings walk as I thought they were just lovely with their attached cones. 

I had an idea that my fir cone twig might need a few felt leaves, just to add an extra little bit of craftiness....

.....and you know, it was the most fun thing making this happen. Who knew the fun of hot glue? It's so fast! One little blobett of clear hot sticky glue and you can stick anything to anything in an instant! A mini hot glue gun is the most amazing bit of kit and I now want to stick all the things. Allll the things. 

So sweet - I love how this project turned out. It actually came out better than how I saw it in my Creative Mind, which made me bounce up and down with happiness.  I may have freaked out the kitty a little bit, she doesn't cope well with me bouncing. 

I intend to make more of these - the bag of felt offcuts I bought had some lovely colours and many of the pieces will be just big enough to cut out a few owls. I mean, I've got these extra fir cone twigs to use, and yeah, my hot glue gun needs me. I wonder if it would be OK to gift these to friends? Is it acceptable to gift a twig with some stitched felt hot-glued to it?

I perched my owls on my mantel, but truthfully there is an awful lot going on across there now and the poor things looked a bit swamped by the pumpkins and everything else. So I think I'm going to take them down to my studio - I have a hankering to see them perched against my gorgeous blue wall.

Since I discovered Craftpod I've been emailing back and forth with Jo who is based down in Bristol. She is the nicest person (that's a picture of her gorgeous crafting room up above), and her passion for seasonal crafting struck up an idea in my mind. I thought - wouldn't it be marvelous if I could persuade one or two like-minded people to craft along with me, kind of like a virtual Seasonal Craft-A-Long. I immediately thought of my lovely friend Gillian who writes a beautiful blog called Tales from a Happy House.

I know Gillian likes stitching and crafting for the home, and I know she likes celebrating the seasons too. So I had a feeling she would fall in love with the idea of a joint Craft-A-Long, and luckily my feeling was right. She jumped on board with me, full of enthusiasm, and over the weekend it was the most wonderful thing to know that we were both crafting away on identical projects even though we live at opposite ends of the country. I loved the whole shared experience very much. 

So we've hatched a plan, don't you know. You'll notice the title of this post is "Making the Seasons :: November" - Gillian and I have pledged to each work on a small creative project every month, directly inspired by the seasons. Sometimes it'll be a Craftpod thing, sometimes it'll be our own ideas. There are no restrictions on what medium it should be (baking counts!) and I am so so excited by this idea! We even have our own hashtag over on Instagram, it's #makingtheseasons and we would both love it if you'd think about joining in with us. Please do? Share on your blog if you have one, or on Instagram with the #makingtheseasons hashtag so we can build a beautiful gallery of seasonal creativity. Even if you don't do any sharing on social media, I would love it if you'd still join in with us. I think it's a lovely thing to do - it can be as simple as making a few pompoms to hang up at Christmas, or as elaborate as embroidering a picture.

A few additional things to tell you about Craftpod - this is not a sponsored post, just to be clear about that. I purchased my box as a normal customer without really knowing anything about this little company or the lovely lady who makes it happen. I don't think Jo really knew what had hit her when I started bombarding her with over excited emails telling her how much she had inspired me.

Craftpod boxes happen four times a year :: September (Autumn), November (Winter), March (Spring) and June (Summer).

The boxes open for pre-orders during the first week of those months, and start to post out at the end of those months.

The Autumn Craftpod which I've shared with you today has now sold out, but the Winter Craftpod is open for pre-orders. 

You won't know what's going to be in your box until Jo has posted out all the pre-orders, so if you want to wait until the following month to see the contents before you decide if it's for you then you can do so.

You can follow Jo over on Instagram { @craftpod_ } where she posts some seriously beautiful and inspirational seasonal stuff. 

And lastly.....please don't feel I am trying to sell these to you! I'd LOVE it if you were to feel inspired to join in with our Making The Seasons craft-along, but it can be any project you like, as small as you like. Just feel free to join in the creative fun. 

You can read Gillian's November Making the Seasons post here - more from us both in December.

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Comments

[Winwick Mum]

That box definitely had yours and Gillian's names all over it! They're really lovely projects; I like that you get two in the box as well :) xx

[Linne]

Thanks once again, Lucy! I've visited Gillian's Happy Home and I am going to join in the fun! I am saving for something rather big, so Craftpod isn't on the menu; however, I will include a linkie to the site once I have made something and posted about it. And to your and Gillian's blogs. Now to decide what to make . . .

[Kathryn]

There’s a lovely book called Making Winter that you should buy, if you haven’t already. It even has crochet projects in it. I just gifted one to my sister for her birthday and she loved it too

[Jo Kneale]

How do things like this happen? It must be the zeitgeist! Poor Jo won't know what's hit her. I ordered my winter box today and THEN found out you'd recommended what sounded to me like a brilliant idea. Count me (and the daughter) in!

[Kay]

Those dear little owls on that twig! I love them!
Dear Lucy, I adore your work and I thank you for sharing so much on your blog! xx

[carolyn mary jackson]

Thankyou lucy once again, a wonderful post, I certainly hope to join in even though the seasons are different between us. I hope to learn how to use Instagram, I have a photo i did sometime ago with 10 little owls sitting on it.would love to put it up for you to see. Really look fwd to your blog and check each day just in case I miss something. Carolyn NZ

[Susan Smith]

Ooh, that was exciting reading, with both you & Gillians post appearing on my sidebar together, two of my oldest blog findings when I started this caper. Love your newest idea & I'd truly like to join in through my blog, but, whoops, my seasons would be out of sinc. Is that OK? I'll email Gillian, so that I get an idea if I can join in even though thousands of miles away. Thanks for sharing, have a lovely weekend & take care.

[Kristen Arold-Bender]

Love the monthly idea. Just ordered the winter box-looks too fun to pass up😀I find the simple little things give me so much joy too! I can always imagine your little bursts of joy you describe about the pleasures you get from things found in nature, a new color combo, the feel of yarn through your fingers or your big TaDas!! I have also been known to squeal with delight over many of the little crafty moments in my life.

[Jackie Jukes]

WOW, I wished I didn't live so far away as I would have made a pumpkin or Sweet potato pie.
I love all of your projects and have just completed a harmony blanket which I have called Aspects of life. Now working on a Christmas wreath but trying to figure out how to make jingle bells. Keep up with crafting
Jackie xx

[cheryl]

not only would the owls be an acceptable gift - they would be a wonderful gift! they are adorable on those twigs with the cones! thank you for sharing about craftpod - I may have just found what I want for Christmas! I hope to join in with your craft-along in any case. thanks!

[Lin Tarrant]

Sounds like a brilliant idea - I am going to go and have a look! Love your owls. xx

[Annette Goswell]

Totally fallen in love with this concept and had to treat myself. I will have to work out how to join instagram so I can see all the ideas. Thank you for your inspiration

[Angela-Southern USA]

Both adorable projects!!! I have a twig, (tiny tree really) with all these curly branches. I could not pass it up when I came across it while hiking. I've since installed it in a tall coral color tin pitcher that I change with the seasons what decks it's branches. I love it! Right now it has leaves, acorns and a crow (crocheted), next month it will have a couple of owls and snowflakes.Have fun seasonal crafting!xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[Katie B]

Oh Luce I hooted (!!) with laughter, such a witty post - a twig with an owl for a gift sounds wonderful to me.
Good to see those embroidery skills back in action - the old magic's still there! Very impressive French knots!!
Much love from your stichy pal,
Katie B x x

[Esther Albors]

Once again, Lucy, a wonderful post. There are so many goodies here, my brain is dizzy!

[Tinke]

Love to hear this, more creative explosions to come <3 All that little stuff on your mantle piece, I so envy you. I found my little cuttings of my striped grass plant this morning all over my administration. Done by my cat Girl. The only place she leaves alone is my showcase closet because the glass doors prevent my cats from ravaging through my precious artwork. Argh. Your kitty is well behaved.

[CJ]

Gorgeous Lucy, both projects, and beautifully seasonal. And a great idea to have a craft along project. You have reminded me of a little December stitching thing I have tucked away somewhere (I won't use the C-word quite yet). Your mantel is looking gorgeous, all autumnal and golden. Nicely done. I shall go and read Gillian's post now. CJ xx

[Edwina]

Brilliant, once again you have inspired this old lady Lucy! I shall hop over to look at Craftpod now, I think it an ideal solution to those times when I want to do something, but don't know what. Something different maybe, definitely something seasonal as like you, I am well into seasonality, and love nature-y things, lucky to have a large garden with lots of different trees and shrubs etc., for picking at. Thank you dear Lucy.

[sarah Cooper]

Just ordered the Winter box and am ridiculously excited! What a lovely way to keep in touch with the seasons! Thank you

[Carol]

Love this post Lucy. You seem to be 'branching' out - sorry, couldn't resist that!

[Margaret Simpson]

Love, love, love your beautiful owls Lucy. You mantle is a work of art. By the way, if someone gifted me an owl on a twig I would be over the moon!!!
🦉🦋🇦🇺

[Tammy]

Craftpods look like loads of fun! I'm always amazed at how some people can come up with such wonderful ideas! I can do the crafty stuff, but only after I've seen it.. My brain just doesn't think up the stuff on it's own.. lol.. I think it would be awesome to be gifted a "crafty twig"!! Who wouldn't be thrilled with tiny pine cones and little felted owls and leaves? Please share any other little owls who hatch at the Attic! You're always inspiring so I can't wait to see more!

[Sierra]

How fun! A new little crafting project brought right to your mailbox!

[Kate]

Your mantel display is just glorious! I love creative people who inspire us all. And you do inspire me. Love the little owls and must check out Craftpod. Even though it is bedtime here in the states, I feel like starting a new craft right this second. And yes, I would love two little owls on a twig gifted to me.

[Catriona Mason]

Orderd tonight after reading your blog. Thanks, Lucy. Catriona