More nesting less making!

I haven't posted for a few weeks, the reason is that the madhouse has been more mad than usual. As well as clearing up from Christmas and putting  the house back in order, my dad has been building a big new wardrobe and storge space in our bedroom. This has been followed by moving everything up stairs around then around, then around again. I have been able to have a big clear out though and sort out all the children s clothes. and with less than 4 weeks till baby number 4 arrives i have only just got round to the task of bringing out all the baby things and setting it all up. I have now finally been through everything and brought the very few bits and pieces that i needed. All to do now is finish the mammoth loads of washing and ironing that this has created.

With all this goig on i havn't had that much time for making. I have started a stripy blanket that was a crochet along from last year, but the website that did it have now put full instructions together, so its now my main at home project and is alot bigger than it should be as it will adorn my bed next winter ( hopefully!)

This is the start of it, If anybody else wanted to start it as well, you can find the instructions on http://notyouraveragecrochet.com/as-we-go-stripey-blanket/

There are a few other websites that have links as well and its also on Ravelry.

I have also started a challenge for myself, now that i have started selling my hats, i am going to do a hat a week. People keep asking me if i can do this or that so by making up a hat a week i should have a good selection for people to see and choose from, also it will double as stock as i plan to start attending fairs this year. 

So my first hat is .....

The hungry caterpillar!!

I did nearly finish a new little jumper for Fred but unfortunately it will now be way to small as i started it months ago (oops!) but i will stitch it together and i am sure next winter it will fit the newbie!

Best be off now xxx

Baby Star Afghan Ta-dah!

This week the tree came down and i decided that i needed to get ready for baby number four,s arrival in just six weeks (hopefully unless i go overdue!) So i made the most of the chaos of packing away the decorations to bring down the baby things. It was really nice actually to have something so near to look forward to. usually when the decorations come down everything feels i little miserable and depressing, i miss the twinkly lights, bright colors and clutter that come with Christmas. This year though i have thrown myself into washing baby clothes and putting up the crib and generally getting everything together.

With no big projects on the go i decided to start a blanket for baby, i have more blankets than i will ever need , but i wanted him to have a special one just for him, like i have done with the others so i decided on the Baby Star Blanket http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/beths-little-star-afghan that i got from this address. Its been a really cosy, easy project that's been really comforting to do as my part of the world has been hit by storms for the last week, so with the kids still at home and nothing better to do than let them play with there new toys and we all ate more chocolate than we probably should, i could get comfy on the couch and get to work on it.

I love the colors it really brightened things up after taking the tree down and the fact that this is what i was looking out on most days

Even the kids were imerced in crafting with there new makey makey box full of craft supplies from Father Christmas

Yes they took over most of my kitchen, so it was just as well i stayed in the lounge so i didn't end up stressing at the mess they made, but i have to say they did do a great job of tiding up after themselves.

And so Ta-dah!  the blanket got finished

One little mistake, i used some yarn that i had in my box and they were not full balls, but i thought its ok i am only doing 4 rows in each color and didn't take into account that the outside rows are bigger than the inside rows....duh so i had to do a 3 and 2 row, but it still looks good and its plenty big enough.

off to work on a row for my stripy CAL blanket

Bye xxx 

Christmas 2013

A little late but after a hectic few weeks getting ready for Christmas i have been relaxing and having much needed PJ days while the kids have been enjoying the new toys that Santa left.

The day before Christmas eve was spent baking with the kids we made a tropical fruit cake this year, which to be honest was not one of my best cakes, as i had gotten the recipe off the internet and i followed it to the letter, which was probably ok for whoever wrote it but for me it was far to over cooked and dry, so i have tweaked the recipe for next year. We make two dozen of the best mince pies ever, this years added extra to the pastry was orange and lemon rind which was so light and tasty.

We made tones of ginger bread people and angels and bells and snowmen and...the list goes on, again i used a different recipe to normal but they turned out far better that in the past. We had some much fun that i forgot to take pictures and after the last week everything is all gone and has been thoroughly enjoyed.

Christmas Day we had my parents round for Dinner and i cooked a Smoked Salmon terrine for starter, Slow cooker lamb with a port and cranberry stuffing and a port glaze and for pudding my absolute favorite Irish Chocolate Cheese Cake and a Chocolate Bomb. Dinner a success and enjoyed by all, the only downside was that i had a cold and could not taste a thing!!! very disappointing.

Here are some pics from the day

Our gorgeous real tree.

Elfy Guy just before he left

Santas been and this picture dosn't show them all!

Irish Chocolate Cheese Cake

Chocolate Ice cream Bombe

Chilling out and starting my new Wasgij

I couldn't let the holidays pass without a few stiches so whilst i watched the christmas telly i made this swaddle cocoon and hat for the new baby.

Bye x

New year, new projects!!!

My head is usually crowed with a million and one things i would to make and do, but now that i have started to achieve a few of these things i have started to think i should be a little more orgaizied.
 Instead of having large quantity of various types of wool all getting tangled up together, i am going to catalogue what i have and ear mark it for different projects and then i can go out and buy more!!!
Yes this new year is definatley the time to start getting more efficient, with baby number 4 not far off, my time for crafting in going to diminish even further so what time i do have i want to spend crafting rather than untangling yarn and hunting to the bottom of pop up laundry baskets (my current storage unit of choice)full of wool.
I am lucky that i have a large desk built under my stairs which has acted as an office over the years that i have worked from home. however now all i need for my job is a small laptop and a phone and i don't have paper work as we are a paperless company, so the vast majority of the desk i use to store my every growing collection of crafting tools and bits and bobs and of course my trusty sewing machine.What i feel is a desk make overcoming on, like the gorgeous colorful work spaces i see on others blogs and in crafting magazines. I think i am going to have to give it some thought.

Also its time to make a start on new projects. Obviously with the new baby i have some baby projects to do such as a Star afgan and some more snuggle cocoons and this baby has to have an assortment of hats!!! I just made a mini sock monkey hat while i was at soft play with the kids.

After the Granny CAL that i finished earlier this year i have been itching to do another so i have joined up for BAM CAL 2014 (block a month crochet along) http://www.ravelry.com/groups/2014-crochet-block-a-month-cal here is the link if you are interested.

Also i found an amazing stripey blanket that was done as a crochet along last year and i have printed the pattern and will give that a go to.

So i have plenty to see me through the winter and also now that i am busy selling my makings, i want to add some new patterns.

Lots to do, i am itching to start as we speak

Snowflake Blanket Ta-dah!

I can't believe we are only 4 days away from Christmas! where has the time gone. Its been a whirl of Christmas party's (for the kids, not me i haven't been out once!), Christmas nativity plays and carol concerts. On top of all the present buying and wrapping. But i finally got to the end of it all and the kids finished school yesterday so for me that signals the start of Christmas. I sat last night with my lap top and a pen and paper writing out lists of all the ingredients i need to make lots of yummy food for Christmas, this is one of my favorite bits as before the kids came along i loved trying new recipes and spending time creating wonderful foodie things, but now i am lucky if i have time to bake a batch of fairy cakes with the kids, so Christmas  is the one of the few times i indulge in making the most of the time and baking and cooking to my hearts content. So armed with that list i will set off with the kids to shop for everything i need and want for the Christmas food shop.

I had planned this year to make lots of lovely homemade pressies but as i decided to start selling my makings, i was pleasantly surprised by how popular my hats were and the orders i have received have kept me very busy, so much so that i have only managed one present over the last few months.
This was my Snowflake blanket, that i decided to make for my parents. I saw the pattern for this square when i was doing the CAL on Knotyournanascrochet website. It was number 79 out of 99 and as soon as i saw it i felt that it would make a great Christmas blanket, but that was back in the summer so i stored ot away for another day. Then in November with the nights getting colder and darker and all my big projects finished the idea returned and i decided it would make a great pressie and that as it needed to be finished for Christmas i could do one sqaure a day and be finished in plenty of time.

I decided to use red and blue alternating with white for the center and edges, but then i remembered some green i had been given and also used that.

I spent lots of time snuggled up on the couch getting the squares done, but didn't manage to stick to one a day and ended up getting a bit behind, December started and i knew i need to get a move on. Finally all the squares were done and the last week i have been putting it all together and edging it.

So here it is, i love it and i know my parents will too!!!

Better get ready for the shopping now! Bye xxx

Decorations

My name is Emma and i am a Pintrest Addict!!!!!

I can't help it i love going on there and it gives me so many ideas.

A few years ago i bought these Candy jars from a garage sale for 50p each.

 They have been in the back of the cupboard ever since!

 I added some Candy canes, marshmallows and Snowman Chocolates and tied some ribbon around them and ta-dah! looks great in my newly decorated dining room.

 Next on the agenda, Paper chains and giant tissue pom poms!

I love these, i think i will be making them for all occasions from now on!

The kids had to decorate jars and fill them with sweets for a tombola at the School Christmas Fair, we had great fun with it.

And finally the tree is up a real tree, the lights are on and i am more excited than the kids!

I like my tree to be full of colorful lights and different decorations collected and made over the years.

Bye xxx

Advent calendars

After my manic nesting faze (and a bit in between!) i started on the exciting task of decorating the house for Christmas. Each year i seem to have more and more ideas about things i want to do. This year i started a few weeks ago gathering together supplies for the different projects.

My First project this year was to make Advent calenders for the kids. Last year i brought the kids Christmas Playmobile calendars, but for the price of them i was a bit disappointed with the tiny fiddly little bits and pieces that were in it. I also had one i had brought that hangs on the wall, but all you an fit into it is a small chocolate or sweet. So i came up with the idea to make my own this year. I decided that instead for just using sweets and chocolates i would like a small present for each day so i started weeks ago buying little bits every time i went shopping. Most items cost under 50p each, its amazing what you can find in all the bargain shops for little money. I had to make sure though that i got the same pr a good equivalent for each child other wise it would cause arguments, and i decided that Fred was to little for most of the things so this year he will just have a normal chocie one.

I managed to get 24 each in total, well lets face it they won't be interested on Christmas day! I managed to get the little Star Wars figures  and Moshi Monsters, and Lallaloopsie figures that are normally £1.99 each for 39-49 p each, i got some books for 49p each and packets of chocolate coins for 59-69p each, dip daps 19p and lots of little things ranging from 8p to 59p the most i spent was 99p on a mini hot water bottle for warming there hands.

Once i had everything i had to decide the best way to put them in a calender. If i did a wall hanging type one with slots they would be far to big and take up too much room so i decided to wrap each present and put them in a bag.

So i started the mammoth task of deciding which pressie for which day and wrapping them up. I tried to rope my husband in with this and he said he would after his tea. However it took him over an hour to eat! I could see him watching my progress, clearly trying to push things out so he didn't have to wrap, by the time he finished he only did two pressies. I can't complain though he usually helps with anything i need.

So Wrap and number each pressie with marker pen.

Till i was left with two large piles. I had brought two felt Santa Sacks for £1.49, so they were idea for storing the pressies in and also as they will be empty on Christmas eve they can put them out for Father Christmas.

Bye x