Crafty New Year

                                                   *********HaPpY NeW YeAr *********

......i have begun my crafty new year by filling the sewing room with flowering hyacinths.........so heavenly to have the delicious fragrance and see those lovely flowers while i sew..........i have some happy new year crafty makes to show you today............first of all is this little mouse.............called mousie........

..........i bought the tiny bed in york over a year ago and planned to make a little toy to go in it........it was such a small bed i decided it had to be for a mouse, and a very tiny one at that.........and i needed to make a teeny patchwork coverlet for the tiny bed too.............

............i finished sewing this over christmas, i loved adding little stitches and embellishments like applique and buttons and a teeny bow.......i didn't use wadding in this mini-iest of mini quilts, just backed it with a soft cotton fabric and sewed through the two layers...........

.........the little mouse has a flowery nightie to wear and a tiny pillow to sleep on.........i have always loved doll's beds and now i have my little daisy often visiting here i have a good reason to provide tiny beds for playing with....daisy just loves to tuck up her toys tenderly and i often find them 'put to bed' around the house........this little bed must be meant for a princess i think as it has a little crown decoration cut out of the frame.............

 ........... there is something else brightening up my wintry sewing room ..... a new sewing basket....a lovely surprise present............and even brighter..........some colourful new crochet daisy granny squares have been hooked up during the chatting and movie watching times we've had lately...............

                              ............i love the idea of a whole blanket made from daisies...........

 ...............i am trying out some different ways of combining them and joining them before i decide on the actual blanket itself..............lots of inspiration from many of you clever crochet bloggers out there :)....

 .............this is for a cushion...........i like it but think the extra colour round the white daisy petals makes it look more like a normal granny square and less like a daisy if you know what i mean :)..........so i will try it again and see if i can make it work another way..............

..........this is my project in january's crafts beautiful magazine......some of the patterns can be downloaded from the website............there are lots of fresh and inspiring new year makes inside...............

...........and i am just choosing fabrics to begin a new quilt.......i am still quilting the farmer's wife quilt but it will soon be done, and last year i really enjoyed making the blocks for it one by one when i had time between work commissions and other wip's.........so i've decided to start a new collection of quilt blocks and i'll be showing them to you sooooon!!..................thank you for popping in here......wishing the happiest of happy new years to all my lovely readers.........back soon xxxxxooooooooooxxxxxxxxxxx

Calm and Bright

We have had a lovely christmas and i hope you all have too.........it seemed to pass so quickly.......we had a lot of happy times with older and younger members of the family and it was a real pleasure to see the children's shining eyes and rosy cheeks on christmas day...............

 ............i had been sewing right up to christmas and again soon after because i love it soooo much....crafting makes me happy :)...........this is a textile themed drawstring bag for giving hand made gifts in, and then for using to neatly store away crafty items or to take small projects about in.....i will be using one for my new crochet project (more about that soon)...............

...........and this adorable fabric bowl was made by my sweet blog friend teje who is so talented and makes really lovely things for her etsy shop here and whose lovely blog is here...........i saw the fabric bowl on teje's blog and immediately loved it so was very glad she had one in her shop.....it fits in perfectly in my sewing room and i have loved looking at it over christmas :).............teje also sent me a lovely gift................

 ...........this sweet little soft pinwheel star decoration which will be treasured for many christmases to come......

...........here are a few little pictures from our christmas home............a silvery blackbirdie, pretty glass containers and candle holders, a little glimpse of the gorgeous jingle bells bunting which was designed, printed and constructed for me by my daughter rosie......(this is another treat to treasure for the future too)............ and teje's lovely bowl filled with festive fruits.......

..........we had a little christmas tea party here yesterday for various family members............i am thinking i have maybe had enough mince pies now ;)..........

..............a gorgeous greengate cup holding some pretty little tete a tete bulbs was an extra surprise present from my daughter sarah..........

.............one of the things i love most about the time around new year is having bulbs coming into flower, especially hyacinths, narcissi and paperwhites ..........they are so deliciously scented and the pure colours and crisp flowers cheer up even the dullest of days.........we have had a lot of rain here and some very squelchy muddy country walks and breezy seasidey ones............

............still a few days of holiday to go for mr p and we are making the most of it...........i hope you have  had a happy holiday over the past week too..............thank you for reading my blog and for your very sweet comments and emails.............it's wonderful to be in touch with so many other crafters around the world and to share our makes and crafty lives............wishing you all a very Happy New Year and a fabulous, inspired and creative year in 2013................back soon xxxxxxxxxxxooooooooooxxxxxxxxxxxx

Home for Christmas

 Home is where my heart is that's for sure, especially at christmas time......i've been cosying up our home this week ready for the festivities to start at the weekend........lots still to do and despite the many lists and the multiple checking of them i always forget something but it never really matters.............

.........i have managed to find some crafting time too of course, and made this little elfin house cushion....

..........i am so loving these candy colours together too, a mix of some of my recent favourite fabric scraps...

........some little winter elfin homes made from simple life fabrics........love the pink floral with the blue gingham............but i also love so many of the other prints too.....so had to make a couple more........

                           ............snowy and frosty effects thanks to wonderful picmonkey............

 .........i made some little ginger sponge cakes this week, with lemon flavoured icing and finally used the cross stitch effect reindeer and snowflake cake toppers that i bought last year.......we all enjoyed them as well as some mince pies..........and some snow bites.........

 ..........i have a few wreaths around the house, most are quite simple, one is made from red and green jingle bells, bought last year, another is a very bright shiny bauble one.......sometimes a friend of mine makes us a fresh garland for the front door which always looks so pretty.........

..............and some of the hyacinths i planted in various odd containers are flowering now and scenting the air along with the winter candles............

 ..........i am still wrapping presents, and some have still to arrive from online ordering but there is still time....
just about (fingers crossed).........thank you for dropping in to see me here in my little blog home, especially at this busy busy time of year.......it's always so lovely to see you :)................

............i would like to send everyone who reads my blog my warmest wishes for a very happy and peaceful christmas........sending love to all my dear readers and sweet blog friends and wishing you all happy holidays.........back soon (in the bit inbetween) xxxxxxxxxxxxxoooooooooxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Tis The Season...

........to be crafting :)........and one of the crafty things i have loved making recently is a new bunny........

                                                            .............meet little nell............

             .............here she is with the most adorable package of christmas blocks ...............

..............and here she is amongst the christmassy things on the dresser, looking very cheery in her red gingham skirt (with matching ear linings), lots of buttons, a small applique crown patch on her red felt coat to celebrate the rather regal year we've had here in old blighty, and a sweet bow at her waist................

..........as well as crafting little nell, i have been decking the halls with all sorts of greenery from our garden..... we have some sweet little rosehips, still loads of red berries, and so much ivy to pick from......

..................i love using the greengate jugs for flowers and foliage, they look so pretty to me.............

 ...........and the crafty decorations are all in place now........not too many of them this year, i'm finding a more simple and pared down look is creating a peaceful feel.........still loving the red and white though :).....

 ........little nell has now climbed into a brown cardboard box and nestled down in layers of soft tissue paper......because she had a journey to make............

                ...........she has gone off to a new loving home, taking merry wishes with her..................

.......i am sending you all lots of merry wishes too as we get closer and closer to christmas....i hope you are enjoying the countdown of the days, feeling merry and bright and jolly too............thank you so much for visiting me here in my little space............it's wonderful to see you..........back soon xxxxoooxxxoooxxx

Cosy Winter

Winter is really here this week.....it's been sooo cold and the wind has been howling round our old house.....time to keep the heating on, get out the scarves and boots.......light the candles.........and have lots of hot drinks..........

..........and to do some cosy crochet too, inspired by a recent visit to the nearby botanical gardens we love to see, and a tree there filled with bright pinky red berries growing in huge lustrous clusters..............

 ..........i made this winterberry cushion to add some crochet cosiness to our sofa this winter................

 ...........i am now planning another crochet project.......i almost forgot how much i enjoy it with all the sewing i've been doing lately........it may be winter outside but in my studio it's spring.......i've been drawing, stitching, sewing and embroidering some cheery spring themes for magazine commissions this week.....it's birdies and blossom all the way........:)

........i have been doing some xmas shopping too....online and handmade........and some of my gift buying was from chipper nelly here..........the lovely fee made this adorable little box containing.............

.....this little treasure ( might have to get one of my own)......i also received some beautiful swap blocks too which i will show next time, and the presents for my dearies will have to be secret until after xmas.......you can also still enter fee's  gorgeous giveaway over one her chipper nelly blog here.............

........in my cosy winter sewing room this week i am using this delightful pincushion from my long time lovely blog friend debbie whose work has always been my cup of tea........i love her sense of colour and design.....you can find her pretty blog here and her etsy shop here..............

 .........this bright and colourful bookazine has just been published containing plenty of projects by lots of  international cross stitch designers........i have a project in it featuring two cross stitched linen bears ..........

...........and to keep me cosy in the evenings while watching some good dvds and sweet old festive movies, is my farmer's wife quilt steadily being hand quilted.........i am loving sewing it, and as each block is different it makes the quilting so varied and interesting........i wonder what i will do when it's finished, i've been working on it so long i think i'll miss it :0............

...........thank you for dropping in to my cosy bit of blogland today......it's a pleasure to see you and thank you for leaving me such sweet comments and for your emails too......(if i haven't got back to you yet, i will very soon)...........i hope you are enjoying this countdown to christmas and feeling the christmas spirit whether you are in chilly old blighty, somewhere even colder or somewhere much warmer..........enjoy your winter week to the full..................back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx