The Ripple Revolution.

Well since my last slightly strange post I’ve found my mojo and really been cracking on so I have a few pictures for you all to see.

My MIL has gone through a phase of knitting blankets for my boys playroom, there are currently 5 and I have now asked her to stop for fear of not being able to move in there. However the last one she brought over on Friday she had backed with ‘Cars’ fabric, also giving me the leftover. Nathan asked me straight away for a new cushion and a new pouch bless him. Yesterday he had a rare daytime nap and I stupidly decided I would knock out the cushion. This was when I discovered that whatever my mum had done on my sewing machine previously had altered everything and something that should of taken me a few minutes to sew took me an hour by the time I had unpicked, rewound the bobbin, rethreaded the cotton and then messed about with the tension. I am now a firm believer that a sewing machine should only be used by it’s owner. It’s like a lovely pair of slippers. It moulds to the owner therefore this week I have the difficult task of telling her if she wants to sew she needs to bring her machine over. Am I being harsh? It feels like it but I really don’t get very much time so when I decided to do something it frustrates the hell out of me if I can’t get it done. This isn’t the first time my machine has been unwilling after my mum has used it! Anyway here’s the cushion!

What do you think? Nathan loved it and Ethan smiled, maybe he like the colour?!

I had a look on Attic 24’s blog this week too to get some inspiration and to see the beautiful photography that Lucy always has displayed in her posts. I saw her lovely ripple blanket and using her pattern I decided to make a lovely bright cushion for my front room. Here it is with the first few ripples:

I’m really enjoying this and can see my house being filled with lots of lovely ripples. The colours I’m using are really vibrant but they aren’t showing too well in the pictures as the weather is so miserable so there is limited light! Here is where I am up to now:

I’m amazed at how easy it all just flows. I’ve used a lovely pink, blue, orange, bright yellow, teal, deep purple and a pale yellow and now I’m going to start with the pink again. The wool I am using is a double knit that I picked up from the Creative Stitches show I went to at Olympia. I have place an order for some more wool and will blog about that when it arrives as it really will need a post of it’s own!

I’ve also made great headway with my Union Jack swap and will be sewing the final parts in place tomorrow hopefully and will also post about this on another occasion so as to not ruin the surprise!

Have a great weekend you lovely bunch and thanks so much for your visit. If you have time please leave a comment, I’d love to know what you think.

 

Love always

 

Lisa xxxx

Ramblings….

Wow it feels like ages since I’ve visited my blog and decided to write something. Sometimes I really want to write a new post but I really don’t want to bore you lovely people that visit for a read. Then I thought if I don’t come back soon that’ll be the end of something that could be so good!

I’m in a funny old place at the moment. I seem to be full of good intentions yet seem to be getting nothing finished. I have about 6 WIP but so many more things I want to start. I’ve decided to be strict with myself though and I’m not starting anything new until I’ve ticked at least one off the list. I need to organise and utilise my time a lot better. Nathan has pretty much dropped his daytime nap now, maybe having one a week but I do encourage him to have a bit of quiet time so that I can sit and get something small done. This isn’t working too well at the moment as I just seem to sit and watch him. His imagination and the way he plays now is just mind blowing. His counting and alphabet are amazing and I experience proud fuzzy feelings of warmth every single day.

Ethan, our not so little baby, had his 9 month health check yesterday. I didn’t particularly enjoy the visit. The lady that came didn’t seem interested in him, in fact she just went through her tick list and when I struck up conversation she gave me a customary smile and moved on to the next point. Oh well, no more visits until he turns 2. I was also told that he has too much milk? He only has 3 small milk feeds a day and 3 main meals plus a snack. He weighs 23lb and in 75cm long. He’s a long cuddly/chubby baby just like his brother was at that age. It drives me nuts trying to justify any aspect of our life especially when she can see he is healthy and I have no issues.

My husband Kenny has just officially been made an Instructor at the martial arts academy that he has trained at for nearly 4 years. This was never the intention but he is a natural leader and strives to be the best at whatever he puts his mind too. He’s actually taking his first class as I type. It’s a very proud moment!

This feels like a funny old post, maybe its because I’m tired? Maybe its because I feel like there is so much I need to do at the moment? Or maybe it’s just because it is?

I’m going to sign off here as nothing is getting finished all the while I type thanks for taking the time to visit and I hope I haven’t bored you…..

Twitter Inspiration

My second blog post in a week! Blimey I don’t think that’s ever happened. I’ve been think the last few days though about the people I have met through Twitter. I scoffed when I first heard about it but as soon as I joined I was hooked.

There are so many wonderful people out there and I am truly grateful to anyone who joins in my ramblings, rants or questions. There are however, three individuals who each inspire me for entirely different reasons. In no particular order they are:

Kelli aka (@MrsDG on Twitter) She has an amazing blog that can be found here. It documents the tales of her amazingly busy life as a mummy to four children, whilst also running her own business, growing their food and a zillion other things. She has provided me with countless recipes which really are truly lovely. She is also extremely talented and has made my two boys a beautiful embroidery each. She also makes some of her childrens clothes. Like I said, amazing.

Stacy (@SoStacySews on Twitter) She is what we would class as a “beginner” (That’s her and I by the way) She is by far a beginner and I was fortunate enough to receive a beautiful gift from her as part of a swap that we both took part in. Her blog can be found here and she is very good at providing regular updates with her makes and organisation adventures. She is truly a wonderful person and always makes me smile with her tweets and comments.

Lastly but by no means least is Rachael (@sewrayme on Twitter) She is truly an inspiration and it’s amazing to follow her story from when she first began sewing to where she is now. Every day (pretty much anyway) she posts more glorious pictures of her makes and I have been lucky enough to order some from her as presents for relatives (and myself of course). You can see her wonderful makes and read her blog here.

Anyway I’ve not done a post like this before but I really wanted to share with you all these wonderful people. There are many more that have had a positive impact on my life but I don’t want to bombard you all. Maybe in another post……

Time is going fast….

I thought I’d end a lovely day with updating my blog and sharing a couple of makes that I have made this week. I decided this morning that I would try to make another small purse in one of the many fabrics I have acquired. Nathan, our two and a half year old has recently cut out his daytime sleep so after reading him 9 stories, yes 9 I decided it was time to try and be a little bit proactive for me! He was happy to bring some of his toys out to the kitchen table where I set up shop and he loves the sewing machine. He also loves the off cuts of fabric and keeps them as his wiggly worms. The downside to him taking an interest in my sewing is the endless barrage of questions and conversations that he wants me to have with him! I have learnt the hard way today that anything that requires my attention and brain needs to be prepped but finished in the evening! I did however manage to get this made today. It’s a small coin purse in elephant fabric lined with a vibrant plain pink.

What do you think? I couldn’t decide whether to list it in my new shop www.etsy.com/shop/sewsofthandmade or keep it for myself. I’ve decided to keep this one for myself and make an additional one for the shop. This is a bit deep so I would rather make one that looks as close to perfect as handmade gets 🙂

At the beginning of the week (I think) I also made Nathan a small pouch for his buggy. Whenever we go out he feels the need to take a lot of small toys with him which always results in them being dropped and lost so I decided to make a small bag for him. He chose the fabric and supervised the making of and he absolutely loves it. It’s not quite used for what I intended as he likes to cuddle it but he is getting better lol. Here is the picture of it. I’m going to make some of these bags for my shop as they are just wonderful for taking little bits and pieces out and about.

I can’t believe we’re into April already. The time that seems to be ever slipping through my fingers like sand is scary to me, my husband Kenny, says that it’s because we are busy people. I never really think we are or that I am with the boys until I have a look over my week and see what I have made and achieved. I’ve also finished a crochet round cushion but don’t have the insert and haven’t made one today. Coupled with looking after my two young boys and doing everything else that every single parent out there does it’s no wonder I’m in a constant state of happy exhaustion (ok not always)!

I’m going to sign off now as I need to find something new to make. As always thanks for taking the time to stop by and I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Lisa xx

Swaps and makes

Well it’s been a busy few days in my house I can telly you! Nathan is waking up earlier for some reason so I’ve cut out his daytime sleep but it hasn’t helped, instead of his usual 7-7:30 wake up its 6! I get up at 6 to get on with a few bits so this is a bit of a nightmare at the moment. Never mind though, hopefully it’ll right itself soon!

Anyway, not sure if you remember I previously wrote about a swap that Kelli @MrsDG and I were doing? Well her beautiful embroideries arrived on Monday. How amazingly talented in this lady?! Both my boys loved them and my husband was in awe! Here’s Nathans.

And Ethans:

I’m just blown away by these and have started hunting for the ‘perfect’ frame for them! Nathan said cushion as soon as he saw it but there’s no way they’re getting their mucky paws on them 😉

I have also been very busy myself. I have made no bones about the fact that zips terrify me and have been putting off trying to install one for months. There is so much I want to make that uses zips it was crazy. However yesterday Rachael from @sewrayme made some beautiful purses that inspired me to bite the bullet and give it a go.

I had a look on You Tube and found a short clip. As I was watching it the penny completely dropped and I had this made within half an hour!

I know it’s out of focus but you have to appreciate that I was extremely excited at the time! I’m going to be selling these so will definitely need to take better pictures! Here’s the inside. Its red with white spots!

What do you think? I have also been very busy crocheting a round cushion cover for my front room and last night finished one half. Please excuse my PJ’s.

I’m so excited about getting this finished and will be starting the other half this evening. I have also been lucky enough to receive my Heartswap gift from @SoStacySews but I’ve rambled on enough for the time being so I will give that a post all by itself over the weekend!

Until next time, thanks for reading, thank you to all those that leave comments and Happy Crafting 🙂

Crafting frenzy!

I was going to wait until the weekend to blog again but I will have lots more to say by then so thought I’d squeeze a quick post in now. I received some great news today which I will share on Saturday. I will also post about my visit to the Stitch and Craft show at Olympia which I am visiting on Friday.

I have been overtaken with my crochet. My mum asked me a couple of weeks ago to make her a hat for next winter. That translated in my mums world is can I have it now please?! I told her I wouldn’t do it until I felt more confident but I took the wool and hook with me when we went to Amsterdam last week.

I started by creating the chain and joining it to make the round.

I then began to follow the pattern It’s taken out of my favourite book at the moment, Cute and Easy Crochet and it really is. In no time at all I was tackling Cluster stitch in amongst the double crochet and half treble! I couldn’t believe how quickly it all came together!

I’m not sure if you can see properly the different stitches but I was this far along after just a couple of hours! I then carried on one evening and managed to finish it off! This is the top of the finished hat. What do you think?

 

That was it. Finished. In total it took me about 4 hours I think and whats nice is there is no finishing off! Needless to say my mum loves it and the colour, although not my choice really does suit her. I’m thinking of buying myself a darker wool and making myself a hat! Whilst travelling I had to put the crochet and hook loose in my handbag which I didn’t like so I knocked up a small fabric bag to put in my bag! Not bad for my first ever attempt and I admit I was too lazy to refer to a book which is why there were mistakes made. It is only for me though and I do love it!

The fabric is Tanya Whelan and is so pretty!

 

I have to dash now as Nathan needs taking to Pre-School Have a great afternoon and I hope you like my makes!

 

Lisa xx

 

Crochet Crafting

So it’s been a while since I last blogged but time seems to of run away with me again. I have been very busy though and have a few crafty makes to share!

Way back when I was a small girl, my grandparents used to take me camping. I decided in my young wisdom that I needed protecting from the cold nights and decided to make myself a blanket. I can’t remember who it was but I collared somebody into teaching me how to crochet. I started making a small blanket but didn’t seem to know when to stop so I crocheted and crocheted and crocheted until this was finished!

After I had finished this I just sort of went into my teenage years, crochet wasn’t cool and to be fair things amongst my friends haven’t really changed. You could say I lead two lives. Although they are now merging with an “I don’t care what you think attitude” to anyone that has a negative opinion on hat I am doing and hoping to achieve.

Anyway! I decided to dig out a hook (ok so I treated myself to a new one) and have another go at Crocheting. This was mainly due to the amazing elephant that Emma Lemonade had created for my son. So inspirational. So I started and decided that I would try a lovely little cosy home for my iphone. What do you think? Not bad for my first attempt!

Then I started to go full steam ahead, pulling out books and trying a few things and I accidentally (something else went wrong) made a flower which I thought could be made into a brooch. I had amazing feedback and these little beauties were born!

I have already sold 2 which I am so excited about and they were posted off today! I also have a purple and a green that I am going to try. I’m so happy with how these have come out that I am wearing mine with pride!

If any of you lovely people are interested in buying one either for yourselves or as a present they are priced at £4.50 each plus p&p. Please email me at lisarye@hotmail.co.uk if you would like one made for you 🙂

As always thank you for reading and have an amazing rest of your week!

Lisa x

Sewing and more books!

Wow what a funny old week! I returned from the gym on Monday morning to find that our eldest son had a full blown cold. Strange as when he went to bed on the Sunday evening he was perfectly fine. It turns out this cold is some sort of viral infection that has completely knocked him for six. I’ve even had to take him to the doctor to get him antibiotics for an ear infection. I’m hoping he’s turned the corner now as he finally asked for some food this morning and proceeded to eat two weetabix. It’s the most he has eaten in seven days. That said he has only eaten three bites of cheese on toast for lunch! Anyway enough about that. Due to this though I haven’t been getting as much done as I would of liked as I have been so tired.

I have been making great progress on a current swap I am doing and really can’t wait for that Ta Dah moment! I love how it is looking and really hope Kelli does too! I’ve also tacked the petals down for my Patch! cushion cover. This is now ready to be sewn together which I will be doing this week. Here is how it is looking so far!

I think I like the arrangement as it is but will have a play around before I actually sew it together. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated?

I have also brought a couple of books to add to my collection. I decided it would be easier if I have a few hand sewing projects on the go as well that I can pick up and take around with me.

I intend on having a look through these this evening. The problem I have is that the more books I look through, the longer my list gets so these will be the las books that I get for some time. I now have my own library!

I’m off to have a little sleep now whilst the little ones have theirs! Have a great afternoon and as always thanks for taking the time to read 🙂

Lisa xx

 

A friend in need…..

This isn’t a craft related post in any way shape or form. This is to show everyone what lovely friends I have.

Our next door neighbours and very good friends Gem and Stu have two children. Reece who is 4 and Lincoln who is just 8 months. They are a lovely family and Gem is always trying to help everyone, normally taking on more than she can comfortably manage but thats just her nature. Over the last few months her baby boy Lincoln has been very very poorly. Nothing serious just illness after illness. She’s a stubborn proud woman that will soldier on never accepting help, I think through fear of someone seeing this as a weakness. Anyway a couple of weeks ago Lincoln had an ear infection in both ears, tonsillitis and a urine infection. He was also overcoming bronchitis. I popped some coffee over to Gem on the Thursday afternoon and she looked exhausted. I’m not talking tired, or a bit worn out. She looked like she hadn’t slept for DAYS. I’ve never in 8 years seen her looking like this so I went back home trying to think what I could do to help. She would never let me look after him as she would see it as her role. I pondered this for a while and then decided I would make their dinner so it was one less thing for her to have to think about. I decided to make them chicken in a white wine sauce. When I took the meal over to her she looked absolutely dumbfounded and completely emotional. Later on her husband contacted me to thank me for such a lovely gesture. I said to Kenny (my lovely husband) that it was only a bit of dinner and he looked at me and said that to me it was but to them I had taken the time to do something special to help them. I continued cooking for them for the next few days, Beef Stew, Tandoori salmon and homemade steak and ale pie. By now Lincoln was on the mend and she was able to get some sleep again. It was a little joke that I was their meals on wheels fairy 🙂

Anyway a few days later my door was being hammered down at 7:15 am! To say I was less than pleased to see the delivery driver was an understatement! However when I saw the little package he had handed me I was truly touched. I received this lovely box…

I opened the box very carefully not know what I was going to find inside. Imagine my delight when I saw these!

How beautiful are these orchids! There was also a box of chocolates as well although they haven’t lasted anywhere near as long as the flowers have! I am so grateful to them for this gift and never in my wildest dreams did I think I would receive them as I was cooking. The thing is I love cooking so it really wasn’t a hardship! Seeing how happy it made them has definitely spurred me on to help other friends in this way should the need arise. It just goes to show that it really is the little things that make the difference. What I found really sad though was not one of their other friends did anything at all to even try to take some pressure off, some didn’t even ask how they were doing and how Lincoln was. At least I can say hand on heart that when our friends were in need we were there for them, and we always will be.

This has turned into a bit of a soppy post. The next one will be showing my new sewing project-the cushion from Patch!

Have a great week……xx

My first craft swap begins…..

I’m not quite sure where the time goes but I have been very busy doing a few things. The world of Twitter was all very new to me until just before Christmas, and now there’s no stopping me! I don’t know where I’d be without my daily fix of crafty tales and inspirational pictures! I’ve also been talking to some amazing people as well, one of them being a lady called Kellie AKA MrsDG. I’m not sure how the conversation started as my memory is awful sine having my two children! Anyway the topic of a swap came up. We started to discuss a few optiond and it was decided that I would cross stitch this for her:

The pattern

The greeny colours will be changed for red so the colour scheme will be cream, white, red and gold! In return Kellie has offered to make an embroidery that I can frame for each of my little boys to have in their playroom. How lovely is that! I have also been coerced into signing up to a heart swap with Popular Craft magazine which I have just submitted (god help me)!

I have been lucky enough to be given some amazing advice and tips from so many lovely people, a special mention to Rachael @sewrayme and Stacy @SoStacySews. Both have been great!

My mum has recently returned from a holiday in Egypt and on visiting my house declared that she ‘needed’ a Kindle cover apparently the one she asked me to buy her for christmas now has suntan oil on! (think she just wanted an excuse). Anyway I picked these fabrics for her:

 

 
These are just loosely pinned. I have sewn them together today and included the wadding but I’m really struggling with the tab on the top so am off to look for tutorials on the best way to do this. I will post a picture once hers and mine are completely finished!

Other news in the Rye household is that I decided last Friday night that Nathan, our 2 year old would try without nappies on the Saturday. We got up in the morning and to say the day was stressful and wet is an understatement. By Sunday there was a definite improvement and one week on he’s now asking to go to the toilet. We still have the occasional accident but what a big boy! Our 6 month old has started to turn over frequently now and it looks as though although he’s been a bit relaxed about this he’s now keen and raring to go!

Must dash now as need to find myself some help on that tab before I start my fourth attempt!!!

Thanks for reading………..xx