Glasses case

Pattern from 'Sew Darn Cute' by Jenny Ryan

There's something so special about receiving a handmade gift. Being a crafter myself, I know how much time, thought and effort goes into such items. I've made this for my Nanna, for Christmas. She gets such a kick of of me sewing, because she was the one that taught me how to do it.

I borrowed my daughters glasses for these shots and now I have a demand for 2 more cases. Maybe Santa will get me to make one each for them for Christmas.

Recycle/reuse: Trousers

I don't follow many blogs outside of livejournal (I must remedy that) but there is one that I not only read religiously, but I spent a good week reading her back posts too.

ReFashionista! What she can do with the most hideous of clothing is nothing short of amazing!

I keep promising myself that I will waste less and make adjustments or (if one day I'm feeling brave) do a total refashion of a garment.

Today I'm starting small and adjusting some trousers I've slimmed out of. I didn't get much wear out of them before slimming down and it seemed a shame to toss out a perfectly good pair of trousers.

Before

I wanted to take them in at the back seam as to not disturb the front pockets and zip. But first I wanted to save the belt loop that was right on the back seam

Out came my trusty seam ripper

Next I needed to decide how much to take them in....

Have you ever tried to pin a pair of trousers in the back whilst wearing them? Don't! It's painful! I ended up estimating how much to take them in by the thumb test "yes, they need to go in by about 2 thumb lengths...very scientific you understand.

Then I pinned and sewed down the pin line

Then chop off any excess (I recommend you try them on before you chop, if they're too tight you can then unpick and sew again. Sew the belt loop back on and....

ta da! Trousers that fit! Simples

FO catch-up

I've been terrible at updating my blog recently so I thought I'd do a bit of a catch up on the crafty things I've completed.

I didn't do much crafting this Christmas gone. Mainly due to all the illness we've had. I did, however, manage to make a couple of things. I made this costume for Anara. She loves My Little Pony and her favourite character is Rainbow Dash



I saw this tutorial on pinterest and had to make it for her.

It's just missing a cutie mark, which I ordered from the US and is somewhere in the house...it will look awesome when it's got it's cutie mark.

I also made Rheya a sparkly little sister dress. It's a little short on her. I was going to rip it back and make it a little longer, but I'm not really keen on the yarn so I might just leave it.

Sort of action shots (these were taken Christmas Day) It doesn't look too bad here, but it is too short for her.

I made a cowl for the winter (it's been particularly snowy this winter). The pattern I used was the Aspen Neck Cowl

I made 2 ear warmers. Both for friends.

I made this for a friend who specifically asked for it (trying on for size)

This one I made for a friends Birthday. I even got to try out my new label/ribbon

There may be more to show you but they will have to wait for another post. 

Journalling the old fashioned way

It was my Birthday recently and as a consequence I had a little money to spend on myself.

I procrastinated over handbags, sandals for the summer, jewellery and a number of other things that I don't need. In the end I settled upon finally getting myself set up to journal the old fashioned way; paper, pen, ACTUAL photos. To modernise my journal I also purchased some fun washi tape and post-it notes.

One of the things I struggled with, was a way to instantly print a photo to add to my journal. I do own a photo printer but the pictures come out too big (or be a faff to resize). Ideally I wanted something that would print a small sticker so I could just stick it straight into my journal. I did a bit of research and came across Printstagr.am, where you can print your Instagram photos as stickers...perfect! except I can't have them instantly and you have to order a few at a time (252 to be exact). I did order some (of course), I just couldn't resist, but it wasn't the long-term solution I was looking for. Then my husband remembered a gadget it heard about in the past called a Polaroid Pogo. Unfortunately Polaroid don't make these anymore so we searched for second-hand ones. It prints a small print direct from my camera, or PC and can be used as a sticker too. It is perfect for my needs. 

It arrived today and it's brilliant. Easy to use and the picture quality isn't bad. Unfortunately it isn't compatible with my iPhone, major fail on Apple's part in my opinion. For now I am printing directly from my camera, but in future (when I arm myself with a USB to USB cable, I will print from my PC)

Not bad at all

Oil cleansing

For as long as I can remember I have had problem skin. Too oily, too dry, large pores, acne.

I have tried everything to clean pores, clear spots, moisturise dry areas, whilst de-oiling the oily parts. So far nothing has worked and I'm still on this lifelong mission to find something amazing.

I found a link on pinterest for oil cleansing. I'd never heard of it before but it made perfect sense and so I pinned it to try later. A friend of mine noticed that I'd pinned it and (jointly with another friend) bought me the bits I needed, for my Birthday. I was thrilled! I've been meaning to buy the stuff in for a while now, but going out to buy things I need seems to be a road block for me to do anything new...but now I have no excuse.

For anyone who isn't familiar with this technique, here is the link to the original blog post that inspired me.

I'm using equal parts Castor Oil and Sweet Almond Oil. You simply mix them together and store them in a container of your choosing. I'm using an old facewash bottle.

The blog post above states you must use cold pressed Castor Oil...check!

Ok, so I guess it's time to embarrass myself and show you my skin sans foundation...these will be known as "before" 

Here goes...

So basically you put a small amount in your hand and massage it into your face for 1 minute. Then you get a wash cloth nice and hot (but not so hot that you scold yourself) and put it over your face for a minute. By the end of the minute your cloth should have cooled. Then simply wipe (not scrub) the oil from your face. 

Ta da, you are done!

Do this at night only and rinse with plain water each morning.

I've had my first wash with my oil mixture and first impressions are that it doesn't feel even remotely as bad as I thought it would. In fact my skin felt lovely afterwards. I'm used to having tight skin after a wash and trying to calm it with moisturiser, I didn't need to do that this time. 

I will report back after a week...watch this space. 

A new beginning: Weighday

I made the decision today to make my journal a little broader than craft alone. 

There are several aspects of my life that I would like to write about, so rather than having several blogs posted here, there and everywhere, I thought..why not just have one blog that covers everything? 

Therefore my first non-craft related post will be about something that I've battled with for my entire adult life...my weight. I've dieted on and off since I was about 15yrs old, even though I didn't really have a big weight problem until I was around 21 years old (2 years after moving in with my husband, funnily enough). 

I have tried many many diets, but the only one that works for me is Slimming World...I have been successful in the past on Slimming World, once losing over 4 stone...then I had 2 children. 

I rejoined at the beginning of this year and I've been yo-yoing since. Today I am back on plan. My Birthday is out of the way (and I only gained 0.5lb over that 2 week period, so I was pretty pleased about that) and I'm going to attempt to go back to basics and have a green week. I've also bought myself a lovely diet plaque (see below) to spur me on. Watch this space to see how that works out for me. 

Sparkly Little Sister Dress

Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone is almost ready for Christmas, unfortunately we are not. Illness has totally railroaded me, so I have still got quite a bit to do, but both children are finally well again and I can do some last minute bits, included my WIP for this week, which will form part of my eldest's Christmas outfit.

Pattern: Little Sister Dress

Yarn: James C Brett Twinkle

Despite being acrylic, I love love love this yarn. I think it will look amazing when it's done. The photo doesn't do it justice at all. The colour is darker in real life and MUCH sparklier.

If I don't get chance to blog again before Christmas, I hope everyone has an amazing holiday! xxx

Linked with Tami's Amis

Harrogate Knitting and Stitching Show

Every year I attend the Twisted Thread, Knitting and Stitching Show. I would go as far as to say, it is the highlight of my year. This year it almost didn't happen. A lot has been going on in my life and I've, consequently, been very disorganised. But alas, I managed to wrangle some willing people together and our trip was underway.

It was an early start for a Sunday so at the train station we stopped at Starbucks for a pick-me-up and I got to try out my new coffee cozy. If nothing else, it amused the lady behind the counter. 


The show is basically a huge craft market, selling everything from yarn to sewing machines.

This was pretty amazing. A completely knitted village and unsurprisingly there were a few people gathered around it taking many many pictures.


So much detail


Isn't this just darling?






l very nearly bought this kit. You got everything you needed to make these 3 dinosaurs and my youngest daughter is a dinosaur fanatic, but I resisted. 


After the show we called into Costa to replenish out energy. Coffee so immense that it needs two handles to hold it was in order, right Helen?

and of course the loot because I know you are all dying to know what I bought. 

The blue fleece is earmarked to make my youngest a Rainbow Dash costume. I just hope I get around to making it for her before Christmas.

I'm not sure what to do with this fabric, I just really really liked it. Any suggestions? 

One set of these are going to be going on a hat for me


I had wingpan in mind for this gorgeous yarn from 

and finally these cute little charms and bells will hopefully become part of mini wreaths.

Now if I can just pry myself away from the internet, and by internet I mean Pinterest and Ravelry, then I can get on with making the many many things I have queued and pinned.

Have you got a long list of things to make before Christmas? 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Despite my lack of posts, I have been click click clicking away on the old needles, I even dusted off my crochet hooks and gave them some love this past week.

First up...I've been dying to make this jumper for ages. Unfortunately I didn't have enough yarn to make the full jumper (and the yarn was discontinued) so I turned it into a tank top. It was really easy and knitted up so much faster that I expected. I'm already planning a second one (with arms this time).

Pattern: Owls by Kate Davies

Eventually they will have buttons for eyes.

The hubby and I drink a lot of Starbucks, so cup cozies were in order and since I'm getting excited about Christmas they had to be holiday themed. I can't wait to take these for a spin. I've been stuck indoors all week with a poorly small person. A Starbucks will be very much enjoyed as soon as I can break free of all the germs! 

And finally a wreath brooch.

I'd forgotten how much I love to crochet. I can see more crocheted items in my immediate future. Expect lots of holiday themed things between now and Christmas too. I'm a child when it comes to this time of year, who can resist the prettiness of the twinkling lights, the glitter, the sparkle and overall eye candy everywhere? Not me! 

Happy Friday everyone and happy shopping to those trying to grab a bargain during Black Friday. 

Linking with Tami's Amis

WIP Wednesday: Multnomah and Owls

I must admit. I'm no writer and I always struggle with what to say on a WIP Wednesday post. I guess that's why I love instagram so much. I get to show off my work without having to write a load of text alongside it. I'm a great believer in pictures being worth a thousand words. So I'll leave you with pictures of my works in progress.

Pattern: Multnomah

Yarns: Both are unknown unfortunately. The natural yarn was in a bargain bucket at Texere Yarns, but I'm pretty sure it's some kind of wool, the rainbow yarn was a gift from a friend in the U.S, again it feels like wool.

Pattern: Owl Jumper

Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Chunky

I've been admiring this pattern for some time now and I'm very excited about finally giving it a go. 

Linking with Tami's Amis