Hassop Station

Well this past weekend has been really exciting! Last week was my daughter's birthday - 6th :). We took her to Birmingham last weekend to the Christmas markets and to treat her. It was great, she chose her present really carefully and decided upon Disney's Frozen princess castle which was really good for the money - we had seen another one that was well over a hundred pounds and quite frankly, it wasn't great. It didn't contain any of the Frozen characters and was just an empty shell! The Christmas market was amazing! All the sights and smells - the mulled wine smelt lovely :) There were some really unusual present ideas, jewellery, ornaments, food... so we walked round there and then visited Waterstones.. Wow that was a brill shop, it looked like it used to be an old church so was amazing when you first walked in and saw the impressive spiral staircase! It had a fantastic choice of books too, ha ha!

In the evening we went to Frankie and Benny's which is daughter's favourite eatery! She had pasta and sauce then a huge ice cream sundae with chocolate sauce, yummy... Crafty news... I've been busily working on my mice..

And they were all completed and ready for my first Christmas stall!

Made quite a few sales so am very happy there :) At the weekend we took our dog out for a walk to Hassop station and of course, had to have a cake and a drink there! We had a cherry and chocolate brownie which was really tasty and the station looked great with all the fairy lights and decorations.. We walked a fair distance and the views were fantastic.. all in all we feeling very festive now and ready for Christmas yippeee!

(image above from Hassop Station's website)

Friday Night with Friends

Hello there, Well last night was my first evening joining in with Gone Stitchin's Friday night with friends sign up... here's progress so far ..

I'm working on Jane Greenoff's Tiny Red Sampler for a Christmas present. I've made a small amount of progress but would really like to complete it in the next couple of weeks. So last night was great stitching with tea and chocolate and catching up on last few episodes of Lost on dvd (yes I know that series was ages ago but only just got round to watching them hehe). My shop items are progressing well. Currently making two mini mice and other small items. On a bit of a deadline as I've booked myself to have a stall at my daughter's school for their Christmas fair... am nervous but really excited too... finger's crossed to get some sales.

Halloween Half Term

Well we all had a lovely family time off for the week last week ... We visited Crich Tramway Museum twice in the hols in the evenings for their wonderful Starlight/Halloween events..

Dr Who (David Tennant lookalike) was there along with a cyber man and Dalek which DD absolutely loved even though she's never seen the TV programmes... DD was dressed up as a Corpse Bride complete with 'stitches' on her face and white gothic dress. The whole event was very well organised and was brill :) :) We did some baking and made Homebird & Belle's Pumpkin Cupcakes (www.homebirdandbelle.co.uk) which were a great success and devoured in a few days :)

Lots of board games time was had and plenty of Lego! It was brill, ah well back to school today and Monday ... See you soon

Fallen off the centre of the Earth....

No I haven't.. Ha ha ha :) Just thought I'd pop by and update you on a few of my Etsy makes...

This is a lovely little Christmas Milford mole that I made recently, mainly handstitched with top quality fabrics. She would make a lovely ornament over the festive period and here are a few more items...

Lovely little lavender sachets :) The middle picture shows what the back of the sachet's look like and last but not least...

A handmade, blank notebook with Tilda papers for the cover all made by me. Recently we went on our holibobs to the West coast of Scotland. It was soooo lovely. Here are a few photos to show you, I particularly love Highland Coos and this one just looked so cute...

Creative updates...

Hello folks, I've been really busy behind the scenes, trying to sort my Etsy shop out, making improvements here and there - mainly the way I take photographs... What do you think?

I'm really pleased with the constructive feedback I've received from Etsy local community, they are so helpful and supportive. Afterall I'm only a novice at this and learning all the time :) Below is a sneak peak of the creative exploits that I'm up to today ...

Currently, I'm reading a really great book that I can't put down... It's called the Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. I started reading it after seeing lots of great reviews online. I'm also reading the mag/book that you can see in the photo. I love Country Living styles...

And finally here is a pic of the lavender in our garden which I just had to share... It's in full flower now and smelling gorgeous... TTFN

Introducing...

Miss Tilly Mouse... she is available to purchase in my shop in a few minutes... she has her own mini fabric bucket containing cute accessories like my full size ones in the shop... hope you like :)

Phase 1 & 2...

Hello there, Just thought I'd pop in for a bit to show you my latest Milford Mousey that I'm working on... Phase 1 - Shape..

Phase 2 - Padding..

Can't wait to show you a few stages on ... clothing as I have something special to reveal.. See you soon x.

Hungover Noodles

Did anybody watch Jamie Oliver's money saving meal ideas a couple of days ago? Well I did and thought it was great... it inspired me to make this quick and easy dish.. Just trying to load the link and am having problems so I'll tell you where to find it .... It's Jamie Oliver's money saving ideas website and the recipe is Hungover Noodles so yum :) Thought I'd share with you as I thoroughly recommend trying it, it was sooo tasty and different :) TTFN

Miniature Milford Mouse

Just thought I'd introduce you to a new country character.... she's a miniature version of the original Milford Mouse :) ... she's available now in my shop (top right hand corner of blog) catch her before she's scuttles off to a new home!!

May Half Term Hols

We had a lovely break, mainly staying home due to the heavy deluge of rain we kept getting. We did loads of crafts including DD painting models ... love her colour choice :)

I can't believe how fast she is growing up, I know everyone says it but it's so true... I feel like blink and I'll miss another stage! She seems so grown up now she's been at school for nearly a full year already! I'll leave you with a recent trip to Monsal Head we did and please note the lovely hat my mum knitted for me :) and ignore the fact that my hood is inside out!!! It was a really windy day!!

Woodland Winter (in Spring!)

I've been working slowly, but surely on Woodland Winter cross stitch, filling in some of the tree sections...

I'm trying to get the third section finished soon so I can move on the bottom half of the picture. I'm loving sewing it though, it's great to see it emerge with all the lovely wintery colours. Tonight I got out some great dusky pink fabric and my freebie Oliver & S Lazy Days skirt pattern and set too making my DD a summery skirt...

I really like using this pattern because it's so quick! It only takes me 45 minutes from start to finish to whip up... I couldn't even get to the shops to buy a skirt in that time :) Anyhoo, I've put it in her room as a surprise for her in the morning ... :) We all loving this school half term break, lots of family time with walking, crafting and games :)

Molly and Castles

Well, the Easter holidays whizzed by in a blur!!! Great fun with a nice mix of family time and trips out. We went to Hassop Station one day for a nice cake and walk, which we discovered a new walking route and path heading back towards Bakewell. Then Easter weekend we had OH parent's come to visit and we went out for a long walk up the hills with our dogs, then out for a nice meal to our local pub. Easter Sunday was spent with my mum and dad round for lunch and tea. We had lamb joint with all the trimmings and blackberry cheesecake, yum :) A big special day out was then planned where we went to...... Warwick Castle! It was a lovely day very nice and sunny and we could spend a relaxed amble exploring the castle and up the 520 steep steps to the top of the castle, they were very windy spiral ones...

Next to tell you... I've finished my secret project... meet.... Molly the Mole! but unfortunately my photos are playing up! If you would like to see her she is in my Etsy shop KSewingBoutique - up on the right hand corner of this blog... Anyhooo, TTFN off to do some knitting and drink a cup of tea xxx.

Hitchhiker

Well we went to the NEC Hobbycrafts exhibition in March and it was so great. DD took part in a Jumping Clay workshop and made an Easter Bunny, she did so well and the man who showed her what to do was so great with all the kids and explained things so well...

I was very good with my purchases... I bought 5 Lynette Anderson fabric fat quarters, some gorgeous Rowan wool pack and bits and bobs of buttons and cross stitch hangers :) I received some money for my birthday so I purchased some lovely Mirasol Hacho wool from my LYS in Matlock

The colours are gorgeous and all handspun... So with the yarn I'm working on a great pattern by Martina Behm to make a Hitchhiker shawl, it's brill for beginners like me as it's largely garter stitch...

I've also been making some lip balm in coconut and beeswax, love making these as they seem to stay on your lips longer and so smooth with no chemicals etc..

Anyway, TTFN off to enjoy the sun and do a bit of stitching..