Hold the door, please!

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A very good friend of mine celebrated her birthday this week and I thought long and hard about what I could give her. In the end I settled on making her a door stop. There’s usually a fierce wind blowing here in Cambridgeshire and doors bang all day every day. Gesine loves the colour orange and a little while ago I saw a rust coloured fabric that made me think of her. I bought half a meter thinking I would make her a bag. I didn’t. It was on my mind for ages but somehow it just didn’t happen. Luckily I remembered the fabric and was able to use it for the door stop.

I added the rose simply “because I can”. I love these fabric roses and was thinking of making three in different sizes and then let them tumble over the edge of the doorstop. Sadly I ran out of time (she says hanging her head in shame) as this was one of these last-minute gifts that I’m so well-known for. I really need to get more organised, embrace the Elizabethness in me.

Off I go then, to make more door stops and baby booties for the Christmas fairs that loom somewhere in the future and have a tendency to creep up on me. Please, stop laughing…I will be organised this year, honestly.

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What’s in a name?

eli

I wonder if I’m the only Elisabeth who doesn’t fit with the above description. For years I have been trying to be more organised, writing lists that I promptly lose, stacking papers in the order they should be dealt with, writing birthdays in my calendar….but I’ve still got a very long way to go. I do have a hidden talent, though. I’m ace at packing suitcases. That’s organised, isn’t it? Maybe I should start treating life as a suitcase?

Poised, me? Ha ha ha!

Confident I am not but I’m definitely better than I was when I was younger. I have found that both ups and downs can be great confidence boosters. Being mobbed by my boss and his mother, my failed Latin exam, fighting cancer, moving to a foreign country, the love of my family and friends and especially Master, travelling on my own and my crafting have all been boosting my confidence over the years. The biggest confidence booster, though, has been becoming a mum. I love it and I can feel like a lioness whenever I look at Little Miss Bossy-Boots.

Now I’m one of these lucky girls who has been blessed with two names. Look at this:

Please, call me Marie!

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I’m knitting

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Hello! Isn’t that cute? No, I’m not trying to tell you anything but that I’ve been knitting.

The village we live in isn’t a big one but it has, at least for the next few weeks, two Swiss ladies living in it. Sadly, the lovely Christa is moving to Japan in July and I will be once again the only Swiss person in the village (she moved here about a year ago). A  little while ago she knocked on my door and asked whether I could help her with her knitting. When Christa was still in school she knitted a pair of baby booties which were worn by both her little girls. She wanted to knit some more of these booties as gifts but did not have a pattern and wasn’t able to find one. I had a good look at her booties and with the help of my mum, who had a similar pattern, designed these little booties. I’m quite proud of them as I don’t knit very often and only needed about three attempts to come up with this pattern. At the moment I’m writing up the pattern for them so that Christa can knit them at a later stage. Once that is done I might put the pattern up on Ravelry.

Here’s a view from the side. They are knitted with two needles and have a seam on the bottom and at the back of the booties. They are incredibly easy and quick to knit and could easily be made in one hour. I will definitely make a few to sell at the Christmas Fayre (thinking ahead!) or to have ready for little gifts, maybe with a hat.

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Holding tight

eli # #

Hi there. I know I have been gone for a very long time but I’ve had a big personal sorrow to deal with which meant I had to travel to Switzerland from one day to the next. I’m back now, though, and I have some lovely ideas for the next few crafting sessions. However, before I get going I would love to show you what I made before travelling home:

For ages I’ve been thinking that I really need to get a new pin cushion, one that I can put on my wrist so that it’s always with me. I sew sitting on an office chair with wheels with my ironing board set up right behind me at the right height to iron sitting down. All the cutting, pinning, planning etc. is done on the ironing board, then I swivel round and sew on my machine and forget to bring my pin cushion. Doh. I have to stop the machine, swivel round again, get the pin cushion and continue (I like to take the pins out while sewing, rather than afterwards. Don’t know why. Answers on a postcard, please). Gone is the hunt for the pin cushion because now it will go with me wherever I go! Even downstairs when I make myself a nice cup of tea and get a cinnamon swirl out of the tin. Mmmh…

I’m so in love with this pin cushion I’m going to make a few more and maybe even write up a tutorial for them. It’s great to use up some favourite scraps. Anyone interested?

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cosy

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The cushion cover from Vic’s cushion cover swap finally arrived! I have to admit that I was rather worried as it took an awfully long time to arrive. At first I thought it might be because of the bank holiday but when another week passed I was afraid that my cushion cover was lost in the post. So when the doorbell rang today I expected anything but a lovely package from Australia. But there it was!

Christina knitted this fabulous cushion from 100% wool and it is just so soft and warm and the colours are gorgeous (you could almost think she’s seen my bedroom which is held in exactly the same colours).

I still haven’t bought a big enough cushion, this one is one size smaller than it should be (14″ x 14″ instead of 16″ x 16″) but I couldn’t wait to use it. It’s on my bed and it’s so nice to lean against while reading a good book (Keeper of the Bride by Tess Gerritsen). Oh, and the back is just as lovely with its floral fabric and vintage buttons.

While the swap was going on, Vic posted the links to the finished cushions and I went to look at them, of course. They were all really nice but I did have a few favourites and this was one of them! I’m a very lucky girl. And a very happy one.

No, Christina, I don’t like it….I love it!

Categories: Cushion Swap1 Comment

number 2

eli

This is a post for dog owners. So if you don’t have a dog feel free to go make a cup of tea and come back some other day for a crafty post.

Today I was really excited because this arrived in the post:

It’s a Dicky Bag, the “No.1 Answer to Dog’s No.2’s” according to the box. I’m one of these people who have doggy bags in every pocket and bag and always picks up her dog’s poo. Why? Firstly because I hate the sight and smell of dog poo on roads, grass verges and pavements, secondly because I’m Swiss. We Swiss believe suggestions are laws. I always joke about the fact that signs in Switzerland are polite recommendations not to do something rather than a ban.

Anyway, I brought it on my walk this morning to test whether I bought a good thing and let me tell you it’s fantastic. The doggy bags fit into the lid and there’s an air freshener that you put into the bottom of the bag. I put Little Miss Bossy-Boots in the pushchair, put Aron on the lead, attached the Dicky Bag to my bag and went off to the local garden centre to buy a stepping stone. We didn’t get very far before Aron had to go, so I scooped and bagged and knotted and then put my doggy bag in the Dicky Bag. No smell!

Even though there is a bin in front of the garden centre I decided to test the Dicky Bag even further and took it inside with its smelly content. Still no smell! I love it. We’ve had our dog for almost 9 years now and have bought lots of things for him that we thought were going to be really practical. Some are very handy and are used on an almost daily basis, some very quickly ended up in the second hand shop. The Dicky Bag will definitely stay with us.

PS I know, I know, it’s pink. I didn’t mean to get the pink one, it just happened. They do them in lots of different colours.

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A Flag and some Bunting

eli

I haven’t forgotten about my blog but somehow life has gotten in the way of sitting down and writing about it. Again.

Last Monday was Little Miss Bossy-Boots birthday and we have been busy building a big climbing frame in the garden. Well…when I say we I have to admit that it was mostly Master with  a lot of help from Uncle Bear (his brother Brendan) and a little from our neighbour Phil. Meanwhile I have been sewing a flag and some bunting to decorate the fort bit with. Oh yes, the climbing frame consists of a fort with pink (!) slide, bench and table and sand pit, monkey bars and two swings and a trapeze. Luckily we have a nice big garden with enough space for such a big contraption. I can tell you it has already been used a lot. The newest trick is to hang face down off the trapeze. I cannot wait for Master to see this. He will freak!

Yesterday we had 11 children over for a little party. That was when the bunting was supposed to be going up. It didn’t… as I haven’t quite finished it. I loved making it, though, and can see quite a bit of bunting making in my future. It’s a great way of using up bigger scraps as well. Having the climbing frame in the garden meant that all the mums could sit down and have a cup of tea while the children were using up a lot of energy. Bliss!

By the way, the other side of the flag has Little Miss Bossy-Boots’ name appliquéd on it and she loves it. The name “Fort Belle” was chosen by Master and my mother embroidered most of the flowers on the flag (mine are the really wonky ones – it wasn’t a good day for embroidery for me).

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An Australian Adventure

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Yeah, I’ve finished the cushion cover for the cushion cover swap! I know I promised you a reveal yesterday but I wasn’t able to finish the cover till after Little Miss Bossy-Boots had gone to bed and didn’t want to take pictures in the dark. Here it is though:

I really love it. It came out just the way I imagined it. I used one of Master’s shirts which still looked perfect except for the collar. I know that quite a few shirty cushion covers have been floating about blogland and thought I’d try my hand at making one. I love to recycle and use lots of repurposed materials when I’m crafting. Using a shirt to make a cushion cover means you don’t need to think about zips or envelopes and the buttons are a fun detail on the back of the cushion cover.

The cushion cover looks a bit floppy because I don’t have a form that is big enough. My cushions are all sorts of shapes and sizes and I will have to go and buy a suitable form when my cushion arrives.

The flower is constructed out of 18 petals in three different sizes and a vintage button from my button box.

The flower is set inside a frame sewn from the same shirt material while the panel is a white cotton sateen. As the shirt material is quite thin I lined the entire cushion cover to give it a bit more body and to make sure it lasts a little bit longer.

I really hope that the girl who is receiving this cushion cover likes it. It’s a fairly classic looking cushion and I just might make one for myself next time one of Master’s shirts isn’t up to being worn as a shirt anymore.

Tomorrow this cushion cover is off to Australia. Bon voyage!

Categories: Cushion Swap, Home Projects8 Comments