Loveliest owl made by a new follower of my blog :-)

Sewphie from Threadhead is officially the first person I don't know who is following my blog - congratulations, a surprise gift will be sent to you to say thank you for welcoming me into the world of blogging. and making me feel like I'm not just talking to myself.... and of course my friend Rachel at Rainbowvintagehome. I just checked out Sewphie's blog and thought I'd post a pic of her lovely owl, which has a PDF pattern you can follow if you are up to the challenge.

Abney and Teal's new bed

Thank goodness I had Abney in my handbag today as I had to entertain Ellis for an hour in a soulless surgery waiting room with no toys in it while waiting for my appointment.

Abney actually belongs to Ellis's friend and he nabbed him one day (soon to be returned), and Teal was found in a charity shop. I made the bed for Christmas for Ellis - an old mattress and some lovely little blankets made from odds and ends.

Duvet cover toddler trousers

Here's the second pair of trousers from Dana's make-it pattern. Made from a duvet cover I got from a Bristol freecycle event. Thankfully, Ellis isn't fussy yet about what he wears. :-)

First pair of two and a half year old trousers

Here's Ellis's first pair of trousers using the new pattern I found online. The lining worked well, so he's all snuggly and warm. They're a bit long, but they're fine turned up for now. I'd definitely recommend this pattern, they were so easy to make. Th is picture features a lovely woolen hat my mum made for Ellis, thanks mum x

The Owl and the Pussycat

I made this little puppet Owl and Pussycat when I was on a course at my local children's centre - the idea was to make objects to accompany a nursery rhyme. The pussycat is made out of the pocket of a jacket that was a bit too small for me. And the owl is made from a tatty old glove that had been left on a wall! The lining inside the boat is a bit of machine knitted wool I made when I tried out a machine knitting course. I wish I'd got on well with machine knitting as the fabric is so beautiful and flimsy, but working the knitting machine was a nightmare. I made a little five pound note and a jar full of honey, but they've since got lost in Ellis's toyland!

Vintage green velour sofa - gorgeous!

We're so happy! We found a beautiful sofa on Ebay for £100. The photo on Ebay wasn't great so we thought we'd go check it out before we bid, and I'm so glad we paid a visit as it turned out to be a great buy, and no one else bid on it. Iridescent moss green (the photo I've taken doesn't do it justice either!), and the start of transforming our lounge into a special little hovel for us to get cosy in.

Here's another pocket I made in my pocket obsession, this time for remote controls. It's a tweed fabric that holds itself well on the velour.

Ghostie

Somehow I got hold of a dressing gown for Ellis before he was born, a fluffy white dressing gown I think it was passed on with a bag of clothes that were never used. I mean, honestly, what baby wears a dressing gown - and especially a white fluffy one! So I turned the dressing gown into a ghostie. I kind of just cut the dressing gown up, scrunched it a bit, sewed it here and there, and Ghostie was born. Ellis and I played with Ghostie today, which basically involved me saying "wheeee splat" and hitting Ghostie's head into whatever object was in range, and Ellis creasing up with laughter. What I love about him is that he's got such an expressive face considering he's just got two eyes and that's it!

Humpty Dumpty softie

Ellis started an obsession with Humpty Dumpty after seeing him in the First ladybird Book Of Nursery. Rhymes.

My husband bought the Second Ladybird book at the Tobacco Factory market book stall one Sunday. I have to admit I was a bit dubious as to whether Ellis would like them, but I was so wrong, as I often am with my husband's intuition on things! He loved the book so much that I ended up buying the rest of the series on Ebay. And now he knows all of the nursery rhymes so we sing them together. I have to avoid some which are violent, like one about beating a horse. But the illustrations are lovely and I've enjoyed making up tunes for the ones I don't know the tunes for - like "Here am I Little Jumping Joan", and "To Market to market...", and also "I saw a ship a sailing...".  And Ellis loves "Sing a Song of Sixpence" which I used to love when I was little.

So anyway, as Ellis's obsession with Humpty (or Dumpy as he first called him!) grew, I knew I had to make a Humpty for him. And here he is with trousers that match Ellis's.

Toy storage pockets

I tried to persuade Ellis to eat his marmite on toast today by saying he'd grow up to be really tall - "so I can reach the chocolates and sweeties" he said! So, here's another thing that's really easy to make - toy storage pockets. I made one set when I was pregnant and another when Ellis was around one and a half after I discovered some lovely teatowels in Paperchase in the January sales. The other individual storage pockets are in our bathroom - I made these when I was pregnant as well, as I knew I'd soon have to hide things from prying hands. Ellis is now getting tall enough to reach the toothpaste sometimes - one of his favourite steals!

Handmade Beegu

My husband Errol discovered a book called Beegu in a charity shop, and loved the illustrations. He bought it before Ellis was born, and when I saw it I knew I'd have to make a a Beegu one day. Here he is, made out of fleece and hand stitched with a blanket stitch around the edges. It's such a sad story with a beautiful ending. Ellis sleeps with Beegu every night, so he gets lots of love.

Cot storage pockets

I've got a thing about storage pockets. I made these when I was pregnant to store toys on the side of the cot. It was really easy to do - just fold a piece of thick fabric in half and sew up the sides, and the middle. Then sew some ribbon on and tie to the cot!

Hand sewn baby chicks

Another Christmas present I made for Ellis. The little chicks were made from a gorgeous little bird pattern I found online. I crocheted the nest from bits of left over wool then ironed on some glittery stuff that melts when you iron it. I can't remember what it's called but it's lovely! The mummy bird was from a pattern that my friend Rachel lent me from her sewing magazine. The little egg was made by covering a plastic egg shaped container (not sure where I got this from, it was just lying around the house) with pva glue then covering it with strips of fabric. It worked great.

Woolen Hot Air Balloon

This felt hot air balloon was one of Ellis's presents for his second christmas. It's made from a child's hat that's been felted in the washing machine and turned inside out. I crocheted the ropes and hand-sewed a little basket. Thank you Rachel for the amazing hat donation for this little project.

Little blanket

This is a little blanket I made when I was pregnant, for impromptu picnics and sitting around in parks. It's got little water lilie hand sewn on it. It was so easy to make.

Wedding favors

Hooray I have started a blog, my one New Year's resolution I hope I can keep! Got a whole host of craft things I've made which started in pregnancy and have continued as my little boy "grew" to inspire me. 

But, before I get started on things for him I'm going to go backwards a bit to my wedding day as I'd like to share some pics of the wedding favours I made.

These hand sewn favours (90 in all - one for each guest!) took a couple of months to make. I basically made them while relaxing watching TV in the evenings or whenever I had a spare moment. I had a basket full of different colour felts and threads, a big needle, a scissors and some stuffing. I made all sorts of shapes - clouds, penguins, smiley faces, hearts, fried eggs, little chicks etc. I wondered what to do about the fact that the guests would abviously be male and female, and how to ensure that male guests wouldn't get something too girly. In the end, I stuck a little sticker on the back saying something like - "Handmade favour for your sock drawer, feel free to swop me with someone elses if you fancy".

My friend Caroline took photos of the favors at the place we got married, Ashton Court Mansion in Bristol which is a lovely venue. Thanks Caroline!