Attic24

Felt Minecraft

At the beginning of the week, Little Lady asked me if I could help her make a felt toy. These days I don't attempt to instigate creativity with the Little People, although every so often I will make a suggestion for drawing/colouring/hama beads etc if they are kicking around bored and restless. I tend to wait until they are keen enough to suggest something themselves and then I try hard to accommodate any requests that are forthcoming re creative activity. Even if deep down my immediate response is "Not-on-your-nelly" I try and suppress whatever negativity sits there within myself (oh the mess, this is so not the right time, lets wait till the weekend, I'm too busy, it's too complicated, it won't work, go find something else to do etc etc), and beam out a "Yes-lets-do-it!!" response. I was actually pretty delighted with the request to stitch a felt toy. We have felt. And I love stitching. I was happy to make time to help out. We went straight to the laptop and I started to search for pretty, cute toy patterns that we might attempt to make. I got a wee bit giddy at the sheer volume of cute little felt creations out there, oh the possibilities! So much fun!

But Little Lady had her own ideas, and to put it bluntly, she completely poo-pooed my own cutesome suggestions in favour of her own thing. She told me that she wanted more than anything to stitch a felt Enderman. Ohhhhhhhh-kaaaaaaaayyyyyy...............E-n-d-e-r-m-a-n. I spelt it out and googled it to see what she was on about and felt ridiculously disappointed. It is all black! And it really is more than a teensy bit weird!! For those of you who don't know what an Enderman is, it's a character from the popular Minecraft game. And for those of you who don't know what Minecraft is, you can find a reasonable explanation here. Needless to say, I live with three enthusiastic Little Minecrafters here at number 24.

So let me show you what an Enderman looks like.....go here to see. Although I was initially doubtful about this project, the very good thing about recreating Minecraft characters is that they are made up of squares/blocks, so the construction is reassuringly simple. We found what we were looking for here (just in case you ever have a burning need to make yourself an Enderman)

We had to go shopping for black felt as surprise-surprise my felt box contains only rainbow colours. But the Trip To Purchase Supplies became an excitement in itself, and the Little People loved going to the stack of felt squares, and then the huge rack of cotton threads to pick out what was needed,  it was joyful!

Once all the pattern pieces were cut, I taught Little Lady how to start off, and how to make neat little whip stitches. She is a fast learner and took to it straight away.

For the eyes, I decided not to attempt stitching them, but to use the magical ingredient Vilene Bondaweb instead. It's an easy to use iron-on adhesive for fabric and is totally amazing. I've used it such a lot in my 25+ years of stitching and can highly recommend it.

It didn't take Little Lady long to make her Enderman head and she was soon whizzing away with her black seams with no help from me whatsoever.

Meanwhile, Little B had started to feel left out and was keeping on and on (and on) to make his own felt toy. He wanted to make a Creeper he said, a green Creeper please Mummy. Yes, another Minecraft character of course. So we took a second trip to the shop and I gave Little B 55 pence to buy a small sheet of creeper-green felt. He helped me cut out the square pieces and again we used Bondaweb to attach the black facial features.

To be honest I thought the stitching was going to be a nightmare as he was so insistant that he do it himself. But I found that so long as I guided him with where to put the needle for each stitch, he could managed perfectly well.....

....he really did good! It was a bit intense and his attention span and ability to sit still was pretty short (he is only four mind you), but I found that he had his own rhythm. He would do maybe five concentrated minutes of stitching, then he would literally jump up and race around the room to let off steam. He would come back to start again sometime later when he was ready, and gradually over the course of the day we made good progress.

Little Lady however was the total opposite and her concentration and staying power was impressive. She sat for many hours in the Big Chair and stitched and stitched and stitched. All day she stitched.

By bedtime she had made and stuffed one head, one body, two arms and two legs. That's an awful lot of stitches!

The next morning I helped her to stitch the body parts together.....

....then she set about making a grass block accessory for her Enderman.

With quite a bit of help, Little B eventually finished his Creeper head on the second day and he is soooo pleased with it. We've yet to make the body and legs but honestly I don't think he's too bothered about that now, he just seems to love that he stitched something and is ridiculously proud of it.

And Ta-dah!!!!!!!!!! Here is Little Lady's Enderman, complete with grass block! It is strangely endearing (in all it's blackness), and best of all she absolutely loves it.

It has been everywhere with her, carted around in a rucksack if we go out, and tucked up in bed with her at night. It's been a really happy, creative project for us, and I am now waiting patiently (but hopefully) to see if she asks to make something else. I'm secretly wishing for something a bit cuter and more colourful to follow, but am trying not to influence her. Well not too much anyhow, but I love the look of this Super-Cute book, and I might possibly be onto a winner with this felt guinea pig ornament......

 

♥...more little snippets from the Attic...♥

Raindrops

Michaelmas Daisies

Mini Ripple Doll Blanket :: Ta-dah!

Caravan Dreams

This week, I've mostly been obsessing about all things Caravan related. I've spent a disgusting amount of time on the internet soaking up some amazing caravanny inspiration and making one or two caravanny purchases. I am currently awaiting delivery of some Mod Podge (to carry out inner cupboard and door makeovers with wrapping paper/wallpaper, inspired by this and this), plus some amazing sticky back plastic that I found on ebay (see here). Oh and I'm bidding (with fingers and toes crossed) on a sweet little 1970's cutlery tray to house my most extravagant Connievan purchase (see here). My oh my, I am having SO much fun!!

On Wednesday afternoon I spent a truly pleasurable few hours with Connievan, it was great being able to walk down the road to her with Little B (she's about a mile away). I made us a little packed lunch so that we could eat when we got there, and I took down the two cushions that I made last month. It was a sweet moment when I put the cushions in place, they look amazing with the crochet blankets look.....

The colours match incredibly well to say that I made them without actually seeing the blankets.

The blankets have been in the 'van all winter (forgot to fetch them out), and thankfully they are absolutely fine. Connie has a wee bit of a damp issue on one of her side panels, but it's kind of inside the panel itself if you see what I mean and doesn't affect the interior at all. In fact, she is remarkably warm, dry and cosy for a twenty year old gal.

As soon as I arrived I opened up all the windows to let some air breeze through and spent a bit of time cleaning around the kitchen area. Then it was time to begin with a little bit of prettifying, yipppeeeee! I stuck up some lovely little hen hooks that I bought last year using a magical "No More Nails" type of adhesive, wow, what great stuff that is! I had plans to put up lots of little pictures that I've been collecting too, but forgot to bring the blutack with me, so that will wait till next time.

I also did a little bit of outside prettifying too.....remember me telling you I'd bought some flowery stickers? Well...........take a look................

♥

Ta-dah!! I put a few around the door, plus some on the front and back. I couldn't go too mental with it as J has already been raising his eyebrows at  the whole idea of me sticking things on Connievan. So I had to be restrained, but they do look so sweet. A bit silly maybe, but I don't much care, they make me happy and that's what counts.

Now then, are you familiar with the Little Grey Rabbit books? They're the sweetest, most adorable books written in the  1930's by Alison Uttley and illustrated by Margaret Tempest. I LOVED them as a child, and the top two books on that pile there are from my own childhood collection, published in the early 1960's. The others were bought for me from a car boot sale by my mother in law for 50p each, and were published in the '80's.

The characters and the stories are enchanting (I re-read them regularly even now as an adult), but it's the illustrations that really make my heart squeeze.

Oh sooooo incredibly sweet, don't you think? That wonderful patchwork quilt calls out to me every time!

Little Grey Rabbit lives in the cutest woodland cottage. It's furnished simply, with brick floors, green painted windows, buttery yellow walls and THE MOST ADORABLE blue and white gingham curtains.

For some reason I have always loved these curtains. So it'll come as no surprise to you if I tell you that I am making blue and white gingham curtains for Connievan. Yeah, you already saw that coming didn't you?

I bought a great long length of gingham fabric from Ebay last year and made a start with them, but didn't get too far at the time. I'm determined to get them finished this week though, as we're taking Connie out on a trip next week.

Would you like to see where I'm at with my curtain revamp?

Squeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had the nifty idea of combining blue and white checks with a little bit of red floral and a dash of ric rac. Do you like?

The floral fabric just runs as a band across the bottom, to add an extra bit of va-va-voom to the whole effect. I confess I am quite madly in love with them. It's proving to be a tough ol' job though. I'm keeping the original curtains as they are lined and in good shape, and am *simply* stitching the gingham panels on top. It's not easy. I tried to do the first one with the machine, but the curtain fabric was too thick (it's a thick velvet) and it all went pear shaped. So I painstakingly unpicked the dreadful machine stitching and began the whole thing again by hand.

It's laborious work, and probably my least favourite type of sewing. Little invisible hemming stitches, hundreds and hundreds of them. Thousands probably.

I sat last night in the Big Chair by the bay window and managed to do one whole curtain. Only nine more to go then. But as I sit and stitch, my mind wanders off into Caravan Dreamland. I start to think of fairy lights and paper lanterns and pretty floral bunting and dotty tablecloths and stripy picnic rugs and granny square blankets and piles of squishy patchwork cushions.....it's so happy and colourful and cosy and carefree in Caravan Dreamland!

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ps I've got a Caravan Dream board over on Pinterest if you want to go have a peek

I also found a couple of fabulous websites yesterday whilst getting lost in Pinterest, they are full of lovely caravanny things.....

http://getcampie.com/

http://littlevintagetrailer.com

pps one last thing....you can read my original post about Connievan here. I'll take some more pics of her interior soon to show you. I love her SO much! ♥

xx

Edit to add :: Thanks for the pincushion love, I made it a few years ago using the Anna Maria Horner pattern here.

 

 

 

 

 

Chat

Hello my Lovelies, thanks for dropping by. Shall we have a little catch up, a little chat about the goings on around here of late?

Let's start with the weather.....we've had some very welcome sunlight streaming in to number 24 the past few days. It made me really rather ludicrously happy to see my beloved BB so beautifully lit up yesterday morning. I am hoping with all my heart that May is going to perk up a bit and behave in a fitting Spring-like manner (unlike April). Yes, I think you could say my Hopes are High.

I try not to allow myself to be so affected by the weather, but I really do seem to be that way. Writing my blog and living in this house has made me so much more aware of the weather than I ever have been before, the seasons too. I am fascinated by it all, by the way the light changes depending on what is happening in the sky and the time of year.

Yesterday was a holiday day, and it was pretty relaxed here with a mixture of full on family time and some much appreciated quiet time too. J took the Little Peeps out early to go crag climbing, so I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast by myself. Ok, well not entirely, as I had Little B at home. He was certainly making his presence felt, determined to be in on my cosy moment. Sweet boy, I love him dearly, but on occasion I do find his persistent attention seeking rather testing. He also has a wickedly fast and startling grab and I tell you that croissant was whipped off my plate in an instant. I hardly saw it happen, it was all a speedy blur of little hand and flaky pastry.

In amongst the busy-ness of family yesterday, I did surprisingly manage to find a bit of time to sit quietly at my desk and do some serious crochet. I say "serious" because it was crochet of the most concentrated kind, the sort that involves trying to follow new patterns. I'm looking for a pattern to use for an idea I have, a new blankety idea. I'm wanting to make one-colour squares to assemble into a patchwork type blanket design, but I wanted something a bit different to ordinary granny squares or target squares. Something pretty but not too complex. Something light but not to lacey.

I did try working a bit on my own design, but I confess it was a complete failure. I am way too embarrassed to show you how badly my blocks turned out, trust me, they are appalling. And besides, once I started searching on Ravelry for afghan blocks, I realised there was already so much out there that the right thing will most certainly present itself. No need to bust the ol' brain making up my own.

I've not photographed the half dozen or so blocks that I've already tried out and abandoned (too complicated, too holey, too boring, too impossible to complete cos of silly gobbledeegook abbreviated pattern writing)...but this one above, well this one I was rather pleased with. I found it amidst a whole treasure trove of block patterns on a new-to-me website called Yarncrazy.com . The patterns are written by a talented lady called Chris Simon, and I really love her style. This is the central part of a larger block called Double-Framed Lace, you can download it for free here. I also love many of her other designs, in particular Butterfly Garden and Cygnus. Lovely, lovely. I'm going to try making them up to see which I prefer........can't quite believe I'm already planning my next blanket when my ripple is still a WiP, but hey, it's all good.

Today I also started another little hooky something, I think all that one-colour sampling yesterday (in soft grey no less) had me running for my colourful stash to whip up some groovy stripes.

I've had this polystyrene wreath sitting in my cupboard since last year, I originally bought it to deck with Jolly Holly at Christmas but ran out of time in the end. So now I've decided to have a go at making it a stripy jacket and smothering it in roses so that it can become a May Rose wreath. I did some googling this morning to see what other crochet wreaths are out there in the world, there are some beauties! Go have a look here and here, aren't they lovely?

Hey....did you by any chance spot my new fabric Project Bag?? Complete with beautifully inserted zip??

Here it is look, I made it one evening last week after Little B had gone to bed (loving these long, light evenings). It measures roughly 12" x 9", nice and big to hold a few balls of yarn and a project-in-progress.

I'm sooooooooooo hugely pleased with it, partly cos it's so useful and good to use (a hooky project is always packed and ready to Grab-and-Go), but mainly cos I managed to make it so successfully without hitch and without bad language. I tell you, me and zips, we are Best Buddies these days.

See what I mean?? See how artfully I inserted that zip? 

And check out the inside....it's fully lined, and even has a contrasting Inner Pocket. I followed a really great step-by-step tutorial that was recommended to me by one of my lovely readers (THANK YOU lovely reader, I'm so sorry I cannot find your comment/email, but please shout out to me so I can thank you properly). The tute can be found here, I think I will definitely be making more of these. I'd love to try making a patchwork one, kind of like my Homespun cushions but in zipper bag form.

Right, it's 9.19pm and I'm going to have a little go at hooking up a Cygnus square now. I fancy a little bit of creative brain-strain before bed. See you soon ♥

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 Edit to add :: if you fancy having a go at Chris Simon's patterns, please note they are written in US terms. So where it says dc, this will translate to a Treble Crochet for us UK hookers. A bit of extra brain-strain, but worth it.

 

 

Homespun Cushions part II

I've had such a fabulous time this week playing with my fabrics, I've been in creative heaven. It's such a long time since I worked with fabrics, I had forgotten how thrillingly fast it all is compared to the slow plod-plod-plod of crochet. The fact that I have designed and made not one but two complete articles within a week has made me all puffed up with pride. I did it! I really made it happen and I am quite ridiculously proud of my efforts. Especially the zip thing. Wow. Me and zips, we worked out ok together, who would've thought it?

I had a huge amount of fun making my second cover. I did it slightly differently to the first one in that each 2.5 inch strip is actually pieced from two fabrics. So 16 pieces altogether instead of just 8. It made it more fun putting them together (more fabric = more fun, right?), although I have to say that I gave very little thought to what I was doing. This cushion kind of threw itself together on the floor with very little hassle and it felt right to go with the random approach.

The whole zip thing went terrifically well second time round, mostly thanks to the wonderful tips and advice that I received following my last post ((thank you lovely stitchers of the world for taking me in hand)).

So I did things a little bit differently. As advised by the super talented Hen I still used a smaller zip (14" zip for a 15.5" cover), but I stitched the seam closed at each end first, leaving a 14 inch gap for the zipper to perfectly fit into. So no holes (yaaay!). However, I did not follow Hen's advise re hand basting (sorry Hen), I just could not bring myself to be that thorough. Especially when I was told by a few of you that I could use sticky tape instead. Oh My. That was the BEST advice! I simply stuck the zip in place with tape and stitched away pin-free, it was bloomin' marvelous!

I remembered to add a little extra embellishment with ribbons this time, with rather lovely results. The fabric puckered a little as I think the tension on my machine is a smidge too tight, but oh I am not bothered about that really. I am no perfectionist, I prefer to embrace the Homespun look. Overall I am really very, very happy with how it turned out.

Mmmmmmmmmm!! I love my new cushions, they make very yummy additions to my sofa. I am surprised (and yet not really) at how my fabric choices match up so well with my yarn choices. I do have a very consistent, recognisable palette that I work time and time again, they are just My Colours I guess.

I'll be taking both these cushions to live in Connievan, but I will most certainly be making some more to stay here in the Attic. They already seem so at home here and I know I'll miss them as soon as they've gone.

I did want to say a little something about the fabrics I've used, but there isn't actually a lot I can tell you. I've been buying these fabrics little by little over a good many years and I haven't a clue what they are called or which designer designed them. I do know that the spotty ones in the bottom cushion are Kaffe Fassett, but other than that I really don't know. Some Amy Butler in there possibly? Anyone know?

The backing fabric I bought years ago, and sadly the little online shop I got them from no longer exists. All I can tell you is that they are European designs (Dutch I think?) and that I adore them.

I cannot imagine living in a house without homemade cushions, I really love making them and I really love seeing them about the place. They are an essential part of our home, well loved and well used. Looking forward to many more in my future.

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Cut and Stitch

I am becoming an expert at utilising the incy-wincy windows of opportunity in my days ie the little snatches of time that do not require me to housekeep/cook/look after offspring. I am learning to act fast when these windows open and get busy very quickly. It means that the chosen activity takes on a bit of a frantic, frenzied feel to it as I am compelled to work at speed. It's exhilarating and frustrating in equal measures.

Take today for example. An after lunch window created by Little B being away in the Land of Nod. I had a sudden and overwhelming impulse to be creative with fabric, to cut and stitch and make something lovely. The frustrating thing is that my kit is not easily accessible, so the simple act of creating with fabric becomes rather complicated. But today I felt so determined, I really would not let anything stand in my way. I crawled into the attic eaves to pull out my box of fabrics (above) and the crate containing my sewing machine paraphernalia. I set up a temporary workstation at the end of my bed, using the ironing board as dual purpose ironing/cutting/sewing table.

I manged to locate my cutting mat, clever ruler thingy and rotary cutter, scissors, thread and bobbins and I was all set.

I spent a very happy hour playing with fabrics, pulling out crisply folded fat quarters, steam ironing them and gliding my cutter up and down to create 2.5 inch strips.

A bit of trimming, some happy fun arranging the strips and playing about with the colours, ooooo just look how vibrant this is going to be, my heart is all skippy and excited and then BANG. Window slams shut. It's all over.

Little B awakes from his nap all warm and cuddly and scrumptious and in need of big cuddles. My sewing window is no longer open. Sigh.

6pm and dinner is finished, I've cleared away and cleaned up the kitchen. Little B is having some time with Daddy, the Little People are playing out in the street on their scooters and....ah ha!!! I see the window has unexpectedly re-opened for me, and I guess I've maybe got just 30 minutes before it closes again. So I rush upstairs, quickly set up my sewing machine and there begins some frantic piecing and stitching of colourful strips.

Pheewwwww. That was fun!

Tomorrow I'm hoping to snatch some more time to conquer my irrational fear of zips. This stripy, patchy article needs a zip and I am going to Make It Happen. Can't wait to show you!!

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Quietly Creating

Yesterday afternoon, a sweet, blissful, peaceful, Window of Opportunity unexpectedly opened up for me. A time in amongst the usual hectic bustle and noise of family life where everything hushed down and was suddenly still and quiet for a while. Both Little People were out enjoying play/lunch with their respective friends, and Little B (after a 5am start) had fallen asleep on the sofa.

I didn't hesitate. Knew exactly what I would do with my quiet little snippet of Me-time. I would make myself a cup of tea and sit quietly at the table to create. Needle and thread, buttons and bells, stitchy, stitchy.

I decided to add a little ceremony to the proceedings and went upstairs to fetch the candle down from my bedside. For obvious reasons, it's not possible to have lit candles on the table normally, but when it's safe (ie when Little B is off in the Land of Nod) I can indulge. As I was stitching, I found I was talking to myself inside my head, do you know what I mean? I was chatting to myself about my new dotty candles, bought on impulse from Cath Kidston just before Christmas. I thought about how long I had wanted these candles, how many times I had resisted buying them as they are of course a complete indulgence. Expensive and unnecessary. Leave them in the shop, step away. And yet, on balance, the pleasure they are giving me is absolutely unbelievable, and worth every penny. I chop them in half to make them shorter/safer in my little enamel candle holder, so they work out at 50p each. They are so worth it.

That incredibly pretty floral mug you can see there is also from Cath Kidston and was a Christmas present from a sweet and thoughtful friend. It's fabulous. It holds a very large quantity of tea, perfect for accompanying afternoon creative sessions.

Every so often, I would take a breather from the stitching and nip over to the sofa to check on Little B. Soooooooooooooooooooo cute. He had been sitting on the sofa watching Postman Pat, and had literally fallen asleep and toppled over to lay himself down amongst cushions and blankets. He looked adorable, all pink flushed cheeks and dear little fingers and toes.

I think I must've had about ninety minutes of sweet afternoon me-time, enough to complete all my stitching. I spent a little time last night and first thing this morning crocheting the band that runs along the top and strings all the pennants together, and the finished bunting is now sitting on the table. Yes, it's finished!!! The light here today is very poor though, it's dreary, wet and gloomy so not sure I'll be able to photograph it just yet. But a ta-dah will be coming very soon, I can't wait to share it with you.

I'm also working on my Year End Review posts to share with you over the next few days, such fun! It's something I always really love spending time on at the end of the year, it fills me with happiness to see so many visual, joyful memories coming together in one place.

Have a fabulous day, whatever you're up to and whatever the weather, thanks so much for stopping by. See you soon!

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Mother and Daughter sewing

When I was a girl, I was very lucky to have parents who Made Things. I guess I took it somewhat for granted that I was growing up in a very creative family environment, it just seemed so "normal" for us to make things all the time. My Mum has been a huge influence in my life in this respect and even though we have very different personalities, I've certainly inherited her passion for all things Handmade.

My Mum used to do a lot of sewing throughout my childhood and I vividly remember her owning a supremely cranky and disobedient sewing machine called Jones. Oh my, that machine (now deceased) really did bring out the worst in her and one of the only times I can remember her using a seriously Bad Word was when Jones chewed up her sewing.

Sewing is something I absolutely love to do too, although crochet has rather taken over in recent years. But sewing was my first love (although colouring-in and paper crafts in general have always featured heavily in my life), and it's one of the things I was/am really really really excited about doing with my own children.

So have you heard of Clothkits???

If you have, you will know what a fabulous little company this is, and if it's new to you, well you are in for a treat. Clothkits have been around since the 70's, and I did indeed make my very own cloth kit doll with my Mum many moons ago, although sadly I've no idea what became of her. The original version of the rag doll is still available to buy, but rather brilliantly the talented Jane Foster has redesigned the dolls and clothes and the results are rather super.

The other wonderful thing about the Clothkit folk is that they do seem to have extremely good taste when it comes to styling and selecting products. The catalogue (some pages shown above) is beautiful to look at, and oh-my-goodness, the Haberdashery section is the stuff of my dreams. Brightly coloured buttons, ribbons and trims get me all in a fizz, there is rather a lot of yumminess to be had here. And did I mention the fabric?? Oh, and the gifts?? Lots of yearning I'm afraid.

So let me introduce you to Kiki doll. There she is look, sitting cosily with the Granny Stripe blanket, isn't she lovely? I bought her in Kit Form for Little Lady last Christmas, and we sat and stitched her together on New Years Day, almost a year ago now. I remember it as if it were yesterday, it was a wonderful, wonderful day!

I'm sure I took some pictures at the time Kiki was made but they seem to have mysteriously disappeared...anyhow, the doll comes printed out on a large piece of cloth, and one basically cuts out head/body x2, legs x4 and arms x4 then proceeds to sew the pieces together, stuff them and assemble them into doll form. I would say it was reasonably easy to do....Little Lady was 5 at the time and I allowed her to very carefully guide the fabric through the sewing machine while I operated the foot peddle at very slow speed. Some things were a bit tricky (stitching the stuffed arms into the body was a bit faffy) but all in all, it went swimingly.

Sorry about exposing you in your underwear Kiki, but I need to show the lovely people of Blogland how you look without your dress!! You can see how the arms and legs are stitched into the body, like I say it was a reasonably simple sewing project.

When Kiki was made, Little Lady was absolutely on cloud nine with the joy of it all. The whole process of creating something special for herself to own and treasure did seem to genuinely thrill her. She kept jumping about and saying she couldn't beliiiiiiiiiiiieeeve that she had actually used a sewing machine and made herself a toy! Precious, it really was.

For a while, Kiki went everywhere with Little Lady, they played, ate and slept together. But gradually other toys took over and Kiki was left to sit on the Shelf of Precious Things in her bedroom. She sat there for rather a long time, until recently that is. Yes, in recent weeks, Kiki has been Rediscovered, and Little Lady has taken her on as her long lost daughter. She has been pushed around in a little pushchair, fed biscuits, danced around the room, tucked up in bed at night.

We reminisced about the day Kiki was "born", and Little Lady said that as Kiki was almost going to be one years old, could we perhaps make her a Birthday Present?

She asked for some pyjamas  and also for Kiki to have her very own blanket to snuggle under. Pyjamas, yes of course I'll order the kit and we'll make them together, and a blanket you say?? Oh yes, blanket-making is a Speciality of the House don't you know!!!

So last week I began making Kiki her very own baby ripple blankie. I'm using Stylecraft acrylic  yarn (current blanket-making yarn of choice) :: Little Lady actually chose the colours and worked out the entire colour sequence for me too, she is quite a clever little cookie with these things it seems.

I finished it last night, adding a red border to Little Lady's exact specifications....want to see?

Ta-dah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Such a sweet little blankie, I worked the colour stripes in single rows, as well as making the ripples smaller than usual (ie using the Neat Ripple pattern, instead of multiples of 14 I did multiples of 10, which means only 2 tr's in between the increase and decrease stitches instead of 4, if that makes any sense to you whatsoever).

I am especially chuffed with the finishing off, I've never edged a ripple before and it's made the world of difference I think. On a whim I added these little chain tassels in the corners too, although I did have to run this idea by my Quality Control Department for approval.

Ahhhh, here is Kiki taking a little rest under her blankie look. I think she likes it.

Even though Kiki is nearly a year old now, the whole experience of making her has very firmly lodged in my memory as one of those things I will Never Forget.

And it seems that maybe just maybe Little Lady might feel the same.

Cos a few days ago she handed me a little note to read. She had written it one night in her notebook before she went to sleep.....

My heart nearly imploded with love and gratitude.

Too sweet for words ♥

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Overexcitability

I have to tell you I am suffering at the moment, reeeeaaaaaallly suffering. Yes, I have been struck down with a most severe case of Overexcitability and it is so bad that I am quite beside myself. I can't sleep properly, I am all over the place with the giddy-jitters and my mind is bursting with so much inspiration and so many creative possibilities presenting themselves to me at the moment.

Of course, this is not a new experience for me, no-no-no, it's all too familiar. I often suffer from this affliction, and it just today occurred to me that it could possibly be seasonal (see this post from this time last year? See how remarkably close the dates are?? Uncanny or what??)

So let us chat a little about the Root Cause of my current Overexcitable condition shall we? Well it's been brewing for a while you understand, but finally came to a head yesterday when I left the house at 9.30am, and drove myself across the hills to Harrogate to visit the Knitting and Stitching Show. It was quite a spontaneous and last minute decision to go, but I am so glad I made the effort. It was sooooo exciting! I only took one photograph at the show (the above amazing stitched vase of flowers), cos I was quite honestly too busy rushing around hither and thither working myself up into an Overexcited frenzy.

After a medicinal cappuccino and a danish pastry had been consumed, my first stop was my favourite button stand to replenish my stock of deliciously coloured plastic buttons.

I spent a lovely time here selecting from the colour themed pick-and-mix tubs, filling my little bags with same-size buttons, chatting to the other customers as we took turns making our selections, swapping places when necessary, admiring each others choices. It was a lot of fun, and I love-love-love my buttons.

Second stop was to be fabric. Now then....I had it in the back of my mind that I might possibly be able to buy some rather nice fabric at the show, but had not really entirely planned it you understand. The whole business of buying fabric and Building a Stash scares me a little, it always seems so frivolous and extravagant, and there is often a lot of associated Guilt involved.

But you see, I've had it in me to make a Patchwork Quilt for the Longest Time now, I really, really, really have desperately wanted to do it for years. You may remember me chatting to you about it earlier in the year, and showing you my modest stash back then. You may also remember my patchwork chair seat cover, and how I managed to end up with a whole stack of extra fabric squares now waiting patiently to be assembled into Quilt Formation.

 

So yesterday, with this quilt idea in the back of my mind, I ended up going a little bit crazy and went off on a bit of a spontaneous fabric-buying splurge. I visited four different fabric sellers and in a frenzy of Overexcitable buying I ended up with the above fat quarters. Sixteen in total, a mixture of Kaffe Fasset, Amy Butler, Heather Bailey and Anna-Maria Horner.

What do you think?? Aren't they LUSH????

Oh I have been fondling and smooching these little stacks of fabricky gorgeousness like you wouldn't believe, I am very much smitten.....

.....and once they were added to my other fabrics, I realised with complete joy that after many years I have now assembled the Perfect Stash to make a quilt with. And I am so excited.

SO VERY EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But deary-deary me folks, that is not all. That is not the end of my Overexcitability I'm afraid. No, there was one other thing that Got me yesterday :: my third stop at the show was the amazing "Decopatch" stand. I wish that I'd had the thought to take some photographs at this stand, it was completely brilliant, and hugely inspiring, I just could not resist it's colourful charms. Already buzzing from my button and fabric purchases, I kind of just went with the flow here and indulged my creative Overexcitability to the max.

So what is Decopatch?? Well it's basically a form of decoupage, where one uses specially dyed thin tissue papers with a special glossy glue, and proceeds to cover all manner of household objects.

The blurb describes it as the "exciting new 'paint without paint' papercraft technique. It's a funky addictive papercraft that's amazingly simple to use, a modern twist on the traditional decoupage.  All you need is the paper, the object that you're going to cover and the special glue varnish.  Simply cut or tear your paper into small pieces - we've found postage stamp or a bit bigger works well - paint a coat of the glue-varnish onto your object, stick the paper on and pop anopther coat on the top and hey presto, you're a decopatcher! And you'll find projects everywhere, you can cover practically anything: old furniture, glass, wood, stone, cardboard, the possibilities are endless!"

Ahhhhhh just LOOK at the papers I bought!!! Aren't they amazing?!

 

Can you just imagine me in a complete state of Overexcitement here, gathering these pretty papers together, jigging from foot to foot, almost hyperventilating with pleasure :o). Well yes, you know me well by now, I'm sure you can imagine it very well indeed.

 

So now I am about to become not only a Patchwork Quilter, but also a Decopatcher too. I bought these wooden LOVE letters as my starting project and plan on doing that tomorrow. I am hugely excited by it I have to tell you.

By the way, I've discovered today that there's lots of stuff on the www to do with this amazing craft...a couple of good sites/stockists I've found are here and here, should you find yourself as Overexcitable as me and be tempted to give it a go.

Well, after all that dizzy show-n-tell I really need to go have a cup of tea and try to calm myself down a bit now. Deep breaths, reeeeelax.

Have yourselves a lovely, creative, fun, inspiring, happy day my lovelies.....

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Cloud Nine

Hellooooo!!! Monday afternoon already, yikes where do the hours and days disappear to?
Did you enjoy a lovely weekend? Ah, we did, it was a really happy weekend here at Attic24. Lots of pottery weekendy stuff like baking buns, sitting in the sun drinking coffee, losing myself blissfully  in magazine Wonderland (the latest CL mag, such bliss!), and of course indulging my affair with BigBlankie, affectionately known as BB. 
We also had out of the ordinary weekendy stuff in the form of the towns Annual Gala, which involved a street procession and a large, noisy  fairground in the park (Dodgems, carrousels, hook-a-duck, candyfloss, goldfish-in-bags). Yes, we now have two new small Golden coloured, rather nervous fishy residents at Attic24. Say no more.
The Gala day was rounded off at 10pm with a big firework display, and amazingly the Little People managed to stay up until this time buzzing with energy and excitement (no doubt fuelled by all the sugar from the candyfloss). It was a lovely, if full-on day.

So I've been up here in the Attic today, enjoying the peace and quiet. Having a little tidy up, re-aquainting myself with my little sewing corner, looking through my coloured sewing threads and stroking my brightly coloured cotton fabrics. You know, gently contemplating the business of cutting and piecing, stitching and creating.

Following on from my last post on Friday night where I tentatively offered up my textiles for inspection and consumption, my life has suddenly taken quite a turn. To be quite frank, I didn't really think things through very well there, it was all quite spontaneous and very slapdash wasn't it?
Find a few little pieces of work lying around.
Photograph them.
Stick them on the blog and offer them for sale.
Wait a week or two, then if they don't sell, try them on Etsy.
Nothing to lose.

But what actually happened was so unexpected, that I have had that feeling all weekend of floating on a cloud. Thank you all SO VERY MUCH for the tremendous response to my work. It has been the very best antidote to the rather odd low feelings I've been suffering from of late. And I thank you enormously :: its rather nice up here on Cloud Nine!

So yeah, what actually happened was that all seven pictures sold over night within 10 hours of being in cyberspace. And there have been many, many more of you all wishing to give a happy home to some Attic24 Stitchy Goodness.

I'm in the process of working my way through your emails, so if you did wish to purchase a little Stitchy Picture and have emailed me, you will be hearing from me very soon. I think I'm going to be a busy bee making lots of new stitchy pictures, and I am more than happy with that.

This is my trusty, beloved Bernina, I thought you might like to see her. She's a solid old metal thing and I love her dearly. I bought her in 1992 after I graduated from college, with money very generously given to me by my Grandparents (I was so poverty-stricken in those days, I could hardly afford to buy food, let alone a bit of Swedish machinery). I am eternally grateful for their generosity. It was my Mum who actually found this Bernina for me through a small  local dealer In  Dorset, I am her third owner. I also have the original case and instruction booklet for her too, she is roughly 50 years old. She has no fancy stitch patterns, just does straight stitch and zigzag. But ooohhhh she loves free-motion embroidery very very much!

I found some of my little designs yesterday look, drawn out on scraps of paper as and when ideas and images have sprung to mind. It's how all my  pictures start out, as simple line drawings in black pen. I use these drawings like "patterns" to help me cut and assemble the collage of fabrics which make up my little pictures.
When I am drawing them, I never know quite how they are going to turn out, how the colours will work. That bit comes when I begin snipping and piecing the fabric itself, when I start playing with colour, hopping from foot to foot having heebie jeebies over it all.

So I shall love you and leave you for today, I've got quite a lot to be getting on with up here on The Cloud.
Oh, I've just had a thought...if you'd like to see a little more of my textile work, there are a couple of archive Attic posts here and here.
See you tomorrow my lovelies

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PS I'll be sharing my trip to Bruges with you soon I promise, I've not forgotten xx

Stitchy Goodness

 

As you know, I've been harbouring this little dream of opening an Etsy Shop and beginning to sell some of my stitchy creations again. Can you remember when I stitched the Attic24 banner and opened up shop?? It was waaaay back last year before Christmas.
Since then I've just not quite found a way to get new things made, although I have so many designs and ideas and scraps of paper with little drawings made on them. The will is there for sure.
Then earlier in the week I came across this little collection of textile pieces that I made some years ago :: such a surprise to find them again, to remember them, and discover how much I still feel about them, if you get that.

And I figured that maybe it might be a lovely idea to offer them for sale, kind of as a way for me to make my tentative steps towards setting up shop. A Little Shop of colourful Stitchy Goodness.

I have to tell you I am nervous! uh--huh. I mean, truthfully, I love these little pictures very much, they are so very me, and made with love and delight in every tiny stitch. Yet I would also love for them to find new homes! For each picture to be loved and cherished. Soppy so-and-so that I am.

You want to take a look?

 

I made this series of textile pictures originally with an idea to reproduce them as greetings card images. 

There are seven altogether that I am offering for sale and I am selling them unmounted and unframed, just as they are. They can easily be popped into a frame to hang on the wall though, I think the Ikea RIBBA frames are excellent and there is a square one with a mount that would be just right.

They are appliqued with pure cotton fabrics (some hand painted), and embroidered by hand and machine. 

They are quite dinky and measure 12.5cm (5 inches) square.

Do you like them?

I remember really, really having fun creating the designs and making them come to life with colour and stitch. I love working on this small scale, snipping the teeny tiny bits of fabric and stitching the teeny tiny stitches.

This above piece I made for a magazine article I wrote on applique, it measures 11 x 14cm. 

 

You know you can click on the images to pop them up in a larger window....great to see the stitch detail....

....I especially love the the two seasidey ones, there's something so universally appealing about little harbours with cottages and boats.

So :: the details.

I'm selling each piece of work as seen (unmounted and unframed).

And I'm asking £38 for each, with free postage and packaging world wide. I don't know about you, but it niggles me having to pay P&P when buying things online, so I am more than happy to pay it for you by way of a Thankyou :o).

For US peeps, with the current exchange rate, this equals approx $62.

If you are interested in giving a home to a little bit of Attic24 Stitchy Goodness, please do email me and we can have a chatty about paypal stuff.

My email address is ::

[email protected]

I hope you don't mind me launching this at you, only I figured I'd love to offer them exclusively on the blog first before I put them into the Etsy Ocean.

I think I'll keep them here at Attic24 for a week or two, then into the shoplet they will go.

XXXXXXXXXX ALL PICTURES NOW SOLD ** THANK YOU** XXXXXXXXXX

Thanks so much for stopping by...have a fantabulous weekend one and all. 

Me and BB are going to spend a considerable amount of time snuggling and smooching on the sofa this weekend. I am quite beside myself.

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edited to add :: please don't in any way feel bad if you are not in a position to give a home to one of these pictures right now, I SO understand. But I'm hoping that I'll be able to go on to make some more bits and pieces, including some smaller ones at a lower price. Thanks again for all the support and enthusiasm you show for my creations, it means so much.xx