Teach a toddler to sew...

There's probably an Early Years list of all the things a four year old should be able to do...In fact there is and I haven't read it. But if I was in charge of writing such things, I think this would be on it...It's a pre-cursor to tying your shoelaces and really works on the fine motor skills. Plus it requires concentration which is never a bad thing! This is a cheaper version of the precut threading cards you can buy...My next experiment is to cut out random photo's from magazines, back them onto card and get Sam to thread away...A Boris Johnson one would make me giggle!

You will need:
A hole punch
Sturdy card
A blunt darning needle
Yarn scraps


How to:
This is pretty self-explanatory but hey ho... I got Sam to trace around my hand with a pencil onto the card, then we cut it out. Sam then set to with the hole punch and made lots of holes.
Then, tie one end of a length of yarn through a hole, thread the needle and away they go!

Tip: Tie a small knot to secure the needle (prevents slippage) and never cut more yarn than the distance from your child's hand to their shoulder...seems to cut down on the tangles!

Cover yourself up!

My poor old machine...It comes up against a lot of abuse...The spool holder is repaired with a cocktail stick and I have been woefully neglegent with the oiling of it all. After nearly 7 years of hard graft I thought it about time to treat it to a proper cover. This is how it goes...

You will need:
The old cover (or newspaper to create a pattern if no longer about)
Material (about square metre should do it)
Enough elastic tape (at least half a cm width) to go around the base)
Bias binding tape in a contrast colour
All the usual notions.

Read on for instructions...

Quick fix: Pirate wrapping...

There is simply too much potential here for dodgy puns about pirates actually rapping...This was a panic over a present for a 4year old's pirate party -no wrapping paper but some brown parcel paper, kids markers and kitchen string. You get the idea...x

Heartbombing Fun!!

So yep, plucked up the courage to sneak around a supermarket and leave a few hearty presents. I cannot believe how nervous I was...as a teenager I was far to nerdy and good to shoplift, and I couldn't play poker as I get nervous when lying, so sneaking about was really tricky...even though I wasn't doing anything wrong!!

Anyhow, hearts were successfully left in the Valentine's display of chocolates, in some cupcake boxes in the bakery section, tucked into a card and attached to the trolley.

It's pretty addictive and I might abandon crocheted carrots next time...Keep your eyes peeled Hitchin!

Have you ever enacted quiet sneaky kindness? I'd love to hear what you did! x

Loopy crochet flowers...

I think these are really cute, and with a bit of pressing with an iron at the end, would smarten up a Mother's Day card, gift tag or brooch pin...

You will need:
Odds and ends of yarn/ crochet cotton;
Size 3.00mm hook;
Darning needle;
Scissors.


Read on for step-by-step images and instructions...

Sheepish Yarn Bombing Day 2 - Share Your Heart

Sheepish Yarn Bombing Day 2 - Share Your Heart


This is a lovely idea and one I'll be having a go at -I'll let you know where they end up!

Share you pics at #sheepishheartbomb

Making a week...

This week has been about the making -I still can't get the balance right between actually producing stuff and blogging/etsy-ing and doing the research you need to get going! That, and I had to remake the little kitty cats made earlier in January as good old Royal Mail has them 'somewhere' over the Atlantic...grrr.

So this is what I got up to...More on certain projects later but happily I have completed some and have some happy ideas underway x

One: a lovely bakery visit (Hitchin) starts things off well -French bread that actually tastes French! If you're in the area, pop in and give it a try;

Two: my lovely friend Sarah passed on nearly 90 Craft magazines that her Grandmother had given her -it was a fabulous surprise and will keep me going craftwise, probably indefinitely!

Three: I learnt to 'ripple' (hurrah!) in crochet, and made my first practise piece into a cushion;

Four: Daffies galore -I have a sneaky idea for spring flowers in tins;

Five: I checked out 'Staffy b' in Baldock which is a covetable interiors shop where they sale substantial offcut bundles for £5...

Six: and then I made some lavender bags out of the bits!

Seven: I'm trying to use up the random tiny balls of wool I have left from other projects and so I've decided the make up lots of diddy circles. Seems to be a quick way of trying out different colour combinations quickly...I feel a reference cushion coming on!

Eight: Sam and I (and Hattie but she was asleep so it doesn't really count) joined the library...Scandalous I know that it's taken this long, but Sam thought it was amazing, and I made him a book bag for the job;

Nine: Today was a pirate party...and 5 mins before we were due to leave, I realised we had no wrapping paper...Jim's idea was ace -brown paper and a quick treasure map doodle!

What were you up to last week? More importantly, in a week of pancakes and love hearts, what will you be getting up to?

How to Make...Crochet Girl's Purse

This purse accompanied the shopping lists and used up lots of odds and ends of wool that I had knocking about. Took about an hour and was a quick, satisfying make, working in circles. Other colourways would work really well too -pick whatever you have knocking around your yarn stash.

You will need:
A variety of scraps and one base colour (here I used the cream), in DK or cotton;
A 3.00mm hook;
Darning needle;
Scissors




Read on for instructions!