I thought these delightful handcrafted corn decorations were rather unique, and would blend with the rather eclectic mix of decorations we have on our tree!
I met the ladies who made them at a local church fair and they obviously derive a lot of pleasure from making them.
Hope they are there next year so I can add to my collection!

Christmas Present Swap!!

I shall be eagerly awaiting the postman this coming week! For the past few years my favourite crafting groups have organised a Secret Santa where we all make a little Christmas decoration and then swap with other members.
Consequently my tree is bedecked with the most gorgeous home made items ( Kirstie would be jealous!) and this year will be no exception!
My contribution this year is a simple hand sewn Christmas pud, which also doubles as a tape measure so can be used throughout the year too!
I have the pleasure of being involved in THREE swaps this year!! Can't wait to see what I get!
Look out for piccies!
Thank you to Juliet K for organising her blog swap and The Craft Shop and Sewing and Quilting Bee for theirs!

Gift in a Jar

I've spent the last hour or so working out the ingredients and filling these jars ready for some Christmas presents for special friends.
I have made something similar before and didn't remember it being so hard to keep the layers separate! The flour so easily trickles through to the layer below.
I eventually decided to put the raisins all in one layer...so they didn't disappear in a fog of flour!
As you can see in my first attempt on the right, its quite messy.... I think the middle one is the best....tomorrow I will do some more putting the flour first I think.
All that is needed to turn the ingredients into scrummy cookies is butter and egg.
I still have to design the label which will include the instructions for making the cookies up.
For any who may have the urge to whip up a last minute pressie I will post all the details very soon.

A whole new world!

Anyone know what this is.......?




To the uninitiated it's a chalk ball!! Up until a few weeks ago I had never heard of such a thing, but the childrens new found pleasure in Wall Climbing has opened up a whole new world!
We have some very old fortifications nearby that have had the underground tunnels opened for various uses, one of which is a fantastic wall climbing room.
Both the children love the challenge of seeing which wall they can complete ( and its not many at the moment!) but on our first visit we were rather intrigued to see fellow climbers with these natty little bags clipped to their belts. We noticed they frequently dipped their hands into the bag...was it a sneaky snack we wondered....or a stash of Kendal Mint cake to make them think they were out there for real climbing some huge rock face? No....it was to hold their chalk balls..which of course we hadn't heard of at that stage!
So, on our next trip to the tunnels we stopped off and purchased our very own chalk ball ( although we are not yet the happy owners of one of those natty bags, so its stored in a tupperware box for the moment!) and immediately felt real pro's!

Children in Need!

Like most schools around the country last Friday was a special day at school for the children to raise money for the Children in Need appeal.
My son was delighted to go to school in his PJ's, although a little disappointed to learn he couldnt just get out of bed and go as he was!!
This year as part of the fundraising we were able to buy these adorable Pudsey Bear cookie cutters for just 20p!
There were some delicious aromas coming out of my kitchen the following day!

A great weekends work!

Don't you just love projects that grow before your eyes! This fab chunky jacket took just a weekend to make, and that was inbetween all the usual family activities too!
It's made using King Cole's "Aero" super chunky yarn, although the pattern was Wendy Pampas yarn. I made a hooded jacket using the Pampas last year, which has washed beautifully. I was told Wendy aren't making Pampas anymore, not sure if thats right, such a shame if so as its a real delight to knit with, even if it does feel like you are knitting with broom handles using 12mm needles!

"Read the Instructions first!!"

.....thats what my husband always tells me....but do I learn? No....only the hard way!

I sat down last night all eager to create my very first Amigurumi creature, only to be thoroughly frustrated with having to continually pull out my work after only a few rounds because I couldnt remember how many stitches I had done! Those of you familiar with the art of Japanese crochet will know that unlike conventional crochet, this is worked in a round, so you never come to the end of the row, thus it is important to know where you STARTED so you know where to STOP for each particular row!
I was so fed up with it I decided to hide it by the side of the sofa ( on top of several other UFO's!) and go to bed. Whilst trying to drop off and trying also not to feel too defeated it occured to me the answer to my problem would be something to mark the first stitch of each row with...which reminded me I had some time ago bought a beautiful set of handmade crochet and knitting markers from a very special online friend of mine! I nodded peacefully off to sleep knowing that in the morning I could start the challenge again...fully armed!

The morning began early (5 a.m!) with a poorly daughter, but the upside was I had lots of crafting time ahead of me as all she really wanted me to do was be with her and soothe her aching head from time to time. So, I set off to find my super duper markers...only to find I had kept them in such a special, safe place, I couldnt remember where! So I sat down with the Amigurumi book again and decided to read the "Introduction" and what a lot of heartache I could have saved myself had I done it earlier "...a row marker is essential...." I finally read!! The author contents herself with a small piece of contrasting yarn and hooks it on the first stitch at the beginning of each row...and hey presto....it works!!! As you can see I managed to complete my very first Amigurumi creature. She is called "Melody and DD is delighted with her....still in her PJ's here and her cuddly quilt, but very pleased to have a new toy to add to her ever growing collection at the end of her bed. She has already placed an "order" for a pink dress and has several other outfits in mind!

I have to say I am rather pleased with myself for actually creating something using a crochet pattern....even if I am not the worlds best at sewing the face on afterwards....Rome wasn't built in a day!