I've been a bit quiet lately as i've been away in Devon. The three of us had a lovely break and have come back refreshed and ready for those winter months ahead. We had such wonderful weather for October so there were lots of trips to the beach and lots of sand castle making - oh i do like to be beside the seaside x
Ava's little friend Gabby turned two at the weekend so with my time spent away from the computer i made this little shift dress for her. Its a simple little dress to make and is great for both summer and layered for winter. I'm hoping to make some more of these in different sizes and finally start selling them on Etsy and Folksy - i'm sure i'll blog about them when i do ! x
This morning i finished off Polly however now that she's all stitched up i'm really not sure about her face. I must admit i did rush doing the embroidery last night and should really have copied the one i did for Molly which was alot cuter but never mind i'm all for a bit of trial and error!!
Yesterday i finally managed to complete a little task which had been on my 'to do list' for some time now. I have been fortunate to have been given lots of sewing threads from family and friends over the years but have never got round to organizing them properly. They have always been stored in boxes and bags and i was always frustrated with myself when i could never find 'that' colour despite having it 'only the other day'. I had been looking out for a wooden cotton reel holder stand like the ones i had seen in so many photo's of beautiful craft rooms but could never find one big enough to hold all those threads - and then yesterday i had a little 'eureka' moment.
About six months ago i had bought a vintage printers drawer for £10 from a local Antiques auction - because i just had to have it but had never found a use for it and so it had lived down the side of a cupboard for the last few months.
And so yesterday after a productive hour (whilst leaving a 2 year old with some calico and felt tip pens) i finally got my threads sorted - i must admit i did fight the urge to organize in colours (maybe i'll come back to it one day) but for now i'm just glad i can finally see all those threads when i need them x
This little treasure arrived on my doorstep this morning and i can't wait to put my feet up with a cuppa and have a good old read. Despite ordering it from Amazon way before its release date in August it has taken this long to arrive (ggrrrrr) Anyway i'm going to wait until i have no interruptions (telephone and mobile turned off!) before i delve again into the wonderful world of Amanda Blake Soule. Since finding her blog a few years back i have been totally hooked - i read her previous book the creative family from cover to cover and couldn't wait for Handmade Home to be released. So despite my unexpected wait - its here - finally and i'm going to enjoy every page x
This weekend we joined in the fun at the artsfest in Birmingham and had a great time. There are so many things to do and see and so many activities for kiddies - just need to get myself organized next year so we can squeeze more in! My favourite was a fantastic giant wire cake where children (and big children) were invited to place comments for special occasions on strips of coloured paper which was then woven into the frame. There was also room to add little beaded tags and fabric rings - and the overall effect was beautiful. We added our own little message for my sister and hubby's wedding anniversary.
I also bought some sweet hand printed paper and cards from some local artists - Ruth Green and Catherine Bowdler - am just loving the cheese and mouse wrapping paper x
After all the girly things i've made recently i felt it was only fair to give some little boys in the world something top get a little messy. The cute fabric was from the Festival of Quilts and the bibs were made for some of my mums friends new grandsons - am loving the blue after all the pink!
Yesterday daddy had the day off work so we headed off on safari - not the Serengeti i'm afraid (maybe one day) but we loved it all the same. Boy do those giraffes and zebras know a thing or two about pattern! To show Ava all those beautiful creatures up close and personal was fantastic and i'm sure as she gets older we'll make a family decision if we feel zoos / animal parks are a nice place to be but just for now it was lovely.
and what better way to finish the day than a trip in a pink carriage x
Last weekend little Ava moved from her cot to a big bed - i tried telling her to stop being naughty and to stop growing up because mummy and daddy felt like it was only last week that we put the cot together. Oh how they grow so quickly - even daddy had a lump in his throat as we dismantled it and put it into storage.
Ava's big new bed is a beautiful Victorian wooden bed which was a little steal from ebay. It was covered in several bad coats of paint and varnish so we had it dipped and sanded it down ready for a fresh coat of paint.
I admit we did ponder over whether to paint it or leave it bare - it seemed so wrong to cover it in paint again but it would never have gone with the rest of the furniture in Avas bedroom had we left it bare.
And so after several coats of white paint - little (but getting bigger) Ava has a lovely new big bed to cuddle up in (and yes daddy has already fallen asleep in it whilst reading Ava her bedtime story)
