Growing up!

Little bear is growing up so fast! He loves dressing up and playing the parts of different characters that he knows. He loves cooking too. He cannot eat dairy or soya, so I have to put a bit more time into planning his meals. He told me I was "the best mummy in the world" after I had tried and succeeded to make him dairy free chocolate! I have had a lot if success with recipes from one particular blog that I follow. Now that things have eased up at work for I while I hope to get the recipes on the blog so that I have a catalogue of those we like.
We have been enjoying the odd days of sunshine that have come our way. Little bear loves any opportunity to run around the garden in his undies! Actually he loves watching his reflection in the door as his dances in his undies! Poser or what?!

Knitted Easter bunny

Finally, I have learnt to knit! After the last couple of months crocheting gifts for next Christmas ( I know it's a bit early, but why not put the long nights to good use?), I decided it was time to learn to knit. Properly. I have always wanted to make a little bunny or teddy bear for my boys but never sat down to learn. I am so pleased with the results, it turned out so much better than I expected.
I was supposed to give it to little bear for an Easter gift, but a soon as I had finished stitching the face I couldn't wait to give it to him! He loves it too! I suppose I will just have to make another one for Easter : )

3 Quilts for 3 boys!

Well after a busy Christmas holiday, lots of flu, playing in snow, and having no heating or hot water, I have finally got round to posting my quilts that I completed in time for Christmas!  These 3 took up so much of my time that I didn't make as many gifts as I usually do, but is was soooo worth it to see the look on my boys faces on Christmas morning.  I was worried that they wouldn't bother much with them. I was WRONG!  I cannot get them up to bed as they sit snuggled up on the sofa in the evening!

Here is the 'Playing with horses' for Baby Bear.  I have shown it before, so technically I only made 2 quilts before the holidays.  As he got it on Christmas day it still counts!

For Buttons I decided to try my hand a a different technique.  I used the `stack and slash' cutting method to make a wonky quilt.  This suits me down to the ground as I tend to cut wonky anyway!  I used some fabric that I had purchased last year after I took him to London, so the quilt is about our special trip that we had.  He absolutely loves it!  The bright colours suit his funny personality!

It is backed in a deep purple fabric with purple border.  I made my own tape to make the border, and finished by hand stitching it on.  I have to admit I had been avoiding doing it for months but once I had made the top and just had a go it was easy!  Not as scary as I had thought.  he hand stitching was quite relaxing in fact whilst watching TV.

Well, Big Bears quilt was a whole different kettle of fish!  I had been saving up his T-shirts for years.  Some are from our trip to Africa when he was 11, some from Air cadet events, and others just remind me of him.  I wont lie to you, this thing was hard work!  Getting the thing under my machine was exhausting.  The hours of ironing on interfacing so that the T-shirts fabric doesn't pull was dull.  But I actually cried when I had finished, not just from the blood, sweat, and tears, but from how proud I was of the end result!

The whole point for learning to sew was to learn techniques and acquire skills to complete this project.  It had been something I had been thinking about for 10 years, when I realised my 1st baby was growing up and I suppose I just wanted to save some of it.  Now, none of these shirts are his baby clothes.  They are from his early teenage years 11-16.  Now he has gone off to college and I only see him in the holidays I needed something to show for all of those years of 'sweat, blood, and tears'!  

Being a mum is full of ups and downs, lots of imperfections, mistakes pulled apart and fixed back together, tons of love, tons of tears, and hours of boring ironing!  That is what this quilt illustrates for me.  And... in the end being so proud of how it turned out.  Just as I am my Son x

Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree..

How lovely are your branches! This must be the best Christmas tree we have had for years! It is the perfect shape. I really will be sad when we have to take it down, the living room will look so bare. I will have to get something to keep the fairy lights on all year round!

After all the Christmas crafting I've been doing, I'm already planning my next project! I got a lovely layer cake of fabric for a gift, so can't wait to turn it into another quilt! After completing 3 quilts, one for each of the boys, I think I need one for me! I will be posting pictures of the finished quilts when I can get a nice bright day sometime!

Dinosaur garden!

After an exhausting day shopping, visiting family, and watching Button in his first rugby match ( which led to him getting a bloody nose that he was extremely proud of! ) I desperately needed to entertain little bear so I could make a meal! The weather was fine for a change, but he was so tired that he didn't want to play outside. That was until I decided to make a dinosaur garden!

We had visited the library and got Gardening with Children by Kim Wilde ( yes the 80's pop singer). It has some great ideas on how to incorporate children's play into your garden.
We had an empty barrel that the husband had intended to grow lettuce in but never did. After adding pine cones, stones, and shells, along with some twigs of rosemary, we had our dinosaur garden! Little bear played in it until tea time, which was just what I needed.

If the rosemary doesn't take I will plant something more permanent. He really enjoyed placing the stones and twigs in sections then hiding each if his dinosaurs in the make-shift forest! He was so sweet pretending that they were having acorns and conkers for their tea until T-Rex came and ate them up!

Isn't he just too cute?

So little time!

In between this...

and this...

and this...

and this...

and this...

and this...

...I have very little time left!  Cannot believe I have taken on all of these projects for my home decor when I must get started on the holiday gifts!  It is September already, the new term is crazy at School and I am getting more and more frustrated as I don't have enough hours in the day.  I really could do with one of those watch things that Hermione had in the Harry Potter stories where she was able to fit in extra lesson, that would be my idea of heaven!

From top to bottom:

Willow Crochet Doily blanket - I just had to make one, it is so pretty!

Cross stitch dove - for me!

Cranberry muffins - for the boys 

Wild Olive inspired zippered pouch - for me! - had to organise my thread before starting new projects!

Cross stitch bee - What Delilah Did pattern - this is for me and it is taking ages!

Crochet draught excluder - started a tapestry one and got fed up so am quickly using all my scrap cotton yarn and will stitch it together and stuff it!

Doing lots for me by the looks of it doesn't it, but hey my house needs pretty things in it too!

Autumn walk

What a surprise we had when we found these community project sculptures dotted throughout our favourite walk in Ellsemere!

The Sssh is my favourite. Found in the woodland clearing, it gave us a great opportunity to encourage the boys to listen to the sounds of the woods!