Cushions

I dusted down my sewing machine yesterday to make some new cushions in preparation for the grey sofa we have ordered from IKEA.  Our new extension is still a work in progress furniture wise but once the sofa arrives in a couple of weeks I think it will start to come together.

The grey fabric in the above photo is from the matching sofa footstool, hence the colour of the new sofa too.  I wanted a contrasting colour for the throw cushions and was pleased to find this bolt of mustard fabric in our local Red Cross Shop for only a couple of pounds.

My sewing skills are pretty basic, so I stuck to a simple pillowcase closure.

hmmm...maybe should have ironed the fabric first...

Friday Fancies



A House in a Tree - Source [exchangesconnect]

Berry Ice cream lolly - Source [Uno De Dos]

Toilet Roll Art - Source [fubiz]

Pod Hotel, Switzerland - source [POD House]

Thursday Thrifting

Thursday; my day off work, my day of putting a bit of order back into our lives, replenishing the bare cupboards, catching up with friends, drinking too much coffee and visiting my local charity shop.

A small catch today, but no less satisfying.  I'm sure I will think of a use for this 'small fryer' (50p)  ?....

...and this Pyrex dish (20p) - I can feel a new collectors bug coming on......

Boy Slippers

I needed a quick crochet fix last night, so broke out the chunky wool and rattled out a pair of slippers for my littlest, who always seems to have cold feet.  Because our house has mainly wooden floorin,g I sewed a couple of leather patches on the sole to stop slippage.

 Thank you AyanaRed for the lovely and really easy to follow pattern (here) ♥

Wholemeal Cheese Scones

A sick child and a husband unexpectantly called into work put pay to my plans for my Saturday morning of thrifting and shopping for wool, so I did some baking instead....

We are big fans of 'The Great British Bake-off' , so the latest 'Sport Relief celebrity Bake-off' last week was a bit of a bonus. On one of the episodes I was impressed with Paul Hollywood's wholemeal scones - they seemed to rise really well given they were made with wholemeal flour, I found the recipe (here) on the BBC website and gave then a go.

Pretty tasty, if maybe a little on the heavy side - they rose well and were promptly eaten...

Friday Fancies

A few things taking my fancy this week:-

leaf-it Sticky Memo Notes - source[thefutureperfect]

Heat Sensitive Tiles - source [moving color]

Edible Jelly Typography - source [Amazon]

500 Pencil Display case - source [Felissimo]

Timber & Stone

A trip West today to visit the 'Timber & Stone' Gallery to buy  some locally-made additions for our freshly completed new room.

The 'Vegetarian Antlers' caught my eye as well as these beautiful elm blocks.

We finished off our trip with a walk around Glen Tanar Estate and a visit to the Fairy Lochan...

and then home to warm our frozen toes and hang our new antlers..

Boy Leg Warmers

My eldest son is a chip off the old block when it comes to his home comforts and his need to feel cosy and warm whilst at home.  He always takes an interest in what I am working on crochet wise, and so during the Christmas holidays when he learnt I was making some leg-warmers a request was made - how could I refuse?

And to give him his due, he has worn them non-stop  (and for a while only one whilst the second was being made) claiming that they keep his ankles cosy in the morning.  As mentioned in a previous post, I wanted to crochet a rib effect pair so using a slight variation on the half double crochet stitch (brilliant tutorial here) a rib was indeed achieved.

They were pretty easy to make - crochet a rectangle wide enough to wrap around the lower leg and then sew up the seam to make a tube - bear in mind that the leg warmer will stretch, so make it a bit smaller as you'll want them snug. This pair of leg warmers seemed to take an age to make, probably due to the fine yarn and size 3mm hook I used- son number 2 has now requested a pair (not to be left out) so I think this time I  will use a thicker yarn and bigger hook, and then eventually maybe I'll get round to making my own pair...

Friday Fancies

A new feature for Friday - a little bit of what I've fancied around Cyberworld this week.....

CupCakes - source [ Diary of a ladybird]

Paper taxidermy - source [Etsy]

vintage linoleum staircase - source [CapeRace]

Kiwi Coconut Smoothie Shooters- source [Food and Whine]

Breakfast Bento Box - source [Hotel Americano]

Chalkboard organiser - source [Etsy]

Mirror House - source [MLRP]

♥Happy Friday♥

Thursday Treats

Two little treats in my shopping trolley today - and yes, I know it's probably indecently early for both, but there's nothing like a little treat  to celebrate making it (almost) through the first week after the holidays in one piece!

and then a stroke of good luck on the way home when I popped into our local charity shop...

..a beautiful enamel coffee pot - I love the unusual retro shape of this one, and it also comes complete with some kind of percolator system inside...

A few nice omens for the end of the week - bring on the weekend!!

Back to Life

Today is officially the last day of our 2 week Christmas holiday - back to school/work/life tomorrow, and as much as I am dreading it, in reality as a family we work best when in a routine and all this lazing around has left me feeling lethargic and sluggish.

 After 2 weeks of over eating, I am trying to start as I mean to go on with lots of healthy recipes and snacks for the boys.  Each day the boys are required to take a 'healthy' snack to school to have at morning playtime.  Most of the time I give them a slice of banana loaf, a muffin or a bag of plain popcorn, but when in a rush and the baking tins are empty I often give them a a bought granola/biscuit bar ('Natures Valley' I think).  These bars don't come cheap, so I thought I'd make my own.

I used a favourite oaty biscuit (cookie) recipe and packed the mixture tightly into a square tray before baking and then sliced them into bars.

Transportation is often a problem when sending home baking into school.  I usually put the item into a small paper bag, but as I didn't have any to hand I wrapped the bars in greaseproof paper and sealed with a sticker - all ready to pop into their school bags - one less thing to think about in the morning.

Happy New Crochet Projects

Happy New Year!

My crochet hook is red hot right now, and as usual I have about 3 projects on the go - my focus as usual, all over the place....thought I would share what's inspiring me right now

[source here]

Our new room is crying out for a crochet footstool.

[source here]

...and I'm thinking of yarn bombing a few branches we collected from the woods during the holidays - a modern sculpture for the corner of a room?

[source here]

I have also mastered the art of the perfect ribbed crochet stitch thanks to these magnificent instructions, and am in the process of making a pair of legwarmers (always have a mental stumbling block when you have to make 2 of something - got the first one finished)

[source here]

I could go on and on...as you can probably tell I have been spending far too much time on Pinterest (here's a link to my Pinterest Crochet ♥ board if anyone is interested!) - better get on with a bit more of that legwarmer!