Yummy, yummy, in my tummy!

My beautiful baby received a teapot and mini cake plate for Christmas which, of course, my older girl is infatuated with! To wean her away from using up all the batteries in the house, I decided to finally get round to making her a girlie tea party set.

I must admit that I've been holding off posting pictures as I have got a bit obsessive about these gorgeous little things and kept wanting to wait until I had just finished one more, no- one more, no- darn it!

So, here is the selection I've been working on since last week, all yummy and pretty healthy too. Now, this weeks selection will be indulgent and as greedy as I can make it! I plan to have finished the feast for next week and am looking forward to setting it all out "Teddy Bear's Picnic" style for next week





All these patterns-except the teabag- came from "Tasty Crochet" by Rose Langlitz. They really were simple to follow with virtually no errors so far. Rose also has a wonderful blog at tastycrochet.blogspot.com which is worth looking at.


My little teabag was very easy to knock up. Here is the pattern


Hook size 3 using white cotton


Make 2
1- Ch 11
2- Skip first loop and SC to the end, turn
3- Ch 1, skip first loop and crochet to the end, turn
4- Repeat row 3 for five rows (or until square shaped)
5- Fasten off and weave ends toward the centre of one of the sides to make to string.
6- Cut piece of beige felt slightly smaller than squares and pop in between the 2 squares.
7- SC around the edges, 2 SC in each corner and join with slip stitch.

8- Cut small rectangle of felt and stitch "T" and edge around half the rectangle.
9- Fold rectangle in half, running string through the centre and stitch closed.
10- Tie a knot under tea tab to finish.

Week 3 decoration- Felt Snowflake

I've had fun with my little needle recently and am finally getting better at blanket stitch. This snowflake was stuffed with a bit of cotton wool from my baby's change basket as Hubbie has been "tidying" again and has put my stuffing in the loft... I am not really allowed in the loft after the last time I dropped things through the hatch! Last time, it was a lantern which broke the wooden lid of our nice laundry basket. I will sneak up next week or I could be waiting a while.

Week 2 decoration- Embroidered Tree

Sorry about the poor picture quality. It was another very gloomy day and I wanted to take a picture before I unpicked this bad, bad attempt and went at it again with more of a plan in mind!

I love how it turned out in the end. Random swirly backstitch with tiny silver beads threaded on for sparkle.
I edged in black to keep the focus on the design.

That's so much better and in my Christmas drawer all tucked up tight!

That's a lot of hats!

I loved making these Chunky hats by Alexa Riether. The pattern was a bit tricky at first to understand but once I had a few plays with it, it went beautifully. The first hat was made with Mega Chunky wool and came up slightly bigger around my head- which means it will fit my pal perfectly! It feels very comfy but the bulky wool does hide the pattern detail.

I had another go the next day using 2 strands of DK wool from my stash hoping to show off the pattern more clearly. The hat fits beautifully and only needed a few rows taken off to fit my little head. (I think I'll keep this one for myself...)

First time Crochet.

My newly crocheting sister is eager to learn how to make Granny squares but worries that they will be beyond her skills. Well, look what I've dug up. It's my first attempt at a Granny Square! I came across this the other day in my wool stash and had to post it! I remember reading through the crochet codes as if I was in the Matrix. It was such a headache to stumble through sc, dc, ch 1 and so on. I always find it helps to read through a whole row of instructions first and try to visualise what is happening to the piece.

Also, check out Snipsnaphappy's Blog where she has made "The Happy Hooker's Backwards Project" which is a blanket made from lots of little squares of only 3 rounds each- very quick and simple to make in spare minutes.

I think we will be doing some phone-crochet lessons soon!

Just like Mother makes...

I felt I had to include this little tradition started by my Mum. Making gift tags out of Christmas cards always seemed a bit too thrifty for me but, as I get older, there is something very satisfying about reusing these beautiful cards and saving a few bob too. I especially love reusing the handmade cards made by my sister for those extra special gifts.

Like Mum, I use gold thread but I decided not to use my pinking shears as I can't bear to blunt those expensive blades. I picked up a set of eight different edged scissors from Hobbycraft and they did an ok job. Not great at cutting a clean edge, but fun and labelled with patterns for easy use.

By the way, is "OK" a shortening of two words (acronym)? I have no idea!

Week 1 decoration- Sewing Machine Heart

So here is the first little decoration! This was just a bit of fun and knocked up in an evening.

1. Cut two hearts out with pinking shears.

2. Backstitch around the edge by hand or on a sewing machine (like me), leaving a space for binding tape.

3. Fill with Lavender and close gap with binding tape in place.

Finishing off was never my strong point in the past but I enjoyed stitching on tiny grey beads in the centre of each dark star which made it a bit more special. By leaving long tales, I was able to stitch ends in neatly. Lovely!