Birthday Preparations

Once again, things have been busy around these parts. There has been much crafting (mainly crochet) in the evenings when the Little Lady is asleep. There has also been preparation for the Little Lady's third birthday next week - agh can't believe I will have a 3 year old! She's having a little party with her friends and I'm currently in the process of (trying) to make a cake for her. I've never done the whole party cake thing, where you cover it in roll-out icing and make it look all pretty, so I'm excited to have a go at that. The tricky part is the actual cake, as Little P has food allergies - dairy and egg - pretty standard in a cake mix! I've made cakes before for her, but they always turn out pretty flat, but there was one Victoria sponge type thing I made once which was great... only trouble is I didn't bookmark the recipe and I am trawling the net trying to re-find it! If it all goes to plan and the cake works, I will show it off here, if it's a complete failure I'll just let the vaults of time swallow it up and forget about it. One 'trial' cake is already out on the lawn for the birds... it was definitely not the recipe I tried before!
Little P is super excited about her birthday this year, finally old enough to appreciate it and understand. It's all about princesses with her at the moment - completely the opposite of me and how I was as a child. She's so imaginative as keeps playing with her imaginary princess friends in the house - this morning they were all at a Royal Ball, and it was so busy we had to queue to get a ticket!
So needless to say, I have a few princess related presents for her birthday - not that I'm trying to fuel the obsession! I also thought it would be nice to make her a little something, as I don't seem to have made her a toy for quite some time. Princess? no... she has enough of them... but maybe a Tinkerbell? I had a look for some patterns on Ravelry and decided to give this one a go as I thought it was sweet (not necessarily the most Tink-like but super cuddly)

I used Sirdar Snuggly Baby Bamboo, which is still one of my favourites for toy making as it's soft and has a very neat finish. I changed the pattern slightly - firstly the skirt 'leaves' weren't working out for me so I adapted it to make my own skirt. Also the wings seemed too 'floppy' and I fancied something a bit more decorative, so I searched for a pattern for some small wings and found these.

I'm quite happy with her, she is cute and I'm sure Little P will love her. I personally am not a big fan of the 'fringe' and if I were to do it again I'd definitely do her hair slightly different, but this is a great little pattern and it's super-easy.

I have also made another softie for Little P's friend, who had his second birthday last week. The Little Man loves Monsters University, especially Mike Wazowski, so I thought I'd give one of them a go...

This little chap was fun to make (although his fingers and toes tool a while to work!) and I'm pleased with him - he's probably one of the more intricate amigurumis I have made - he even has surface stitches for lips and an eyelid! And felt detailing for mouth and eye. He even has pipe cleaners in his legs so they can bend nicely. I like this little chap and was sad to see him leave my table - although I have been informed that he was well received by the Birthday Boy! yay!

In my last post I mentioned a 'blog swap' with Maddy of From Twelve To Two Fifteen, and showed off my stash of yarn I ordered especially for it.... well there has been progress, in the form of a small pile of granny squares. I love this pattern (Summer Garden Granny by Attic24) and it works up so quickly. I am also loving the yarn and the colours and can't wait to make the pile grow and grow!

You may also remember my empty frames waiting for prints to arrive.... well shortly after that post they turned up. Both on the same day too, to make it doubly exciting. Both were bought through Etsy from artists which I very much admire.
First up is a little 5x5 print from an artist called Geninne Zlatkis - I have a couple of her books and love her stamping, so it's great to have one of her watercolour prints up on my wall. It came all the way from Mexico (a country I love) and features cacti (which I very much love) so needless to say I do indeed love it. I also kind of want to frame the packaging it came in - the outer envelope and inner paper bag are both hand-stamped with some of those famous Geninne stamps which are so beautiful...

Love it! The second one was from an artist called RiverLuna from San Francisco (another place I love) and is another watercolour print. It's so pretty, I love it up on my wall, and my little collection is looking good.

I have my old California licence plate up too, and hope to get a picture sometime soon, when light is better. A little bit of 'me' space full of things I love.

I'm now going to head off and maybe crochet some more squares, and I can confirm the cake attempt no.2 is out of the oven and looks good, phew! So until next time...

What a Difference a Day Makes

In typical British fashion, I'm going to kick off with the weather - what an absolutely glorious Spring day! We've had a very mild Winter here in these parts, not really any frosts or anything as yet. And we've also been lucky enough to escape most of the deluge of rain that has battered our country... so it seems very strange that Spring might be on it's way without having a real Winter. I told Little P we could play in the snow, and get the sledge out... no such luck as yet, but to be honest I'm glad about that. I hate cold weather. Give me hot weather and clear sunny skies any day. California dreamin' at the moment!
Today, was an absolutely lovely day here. Considering it's early March, I found myself sitting in the garden, hook in hand, crocheting away with a t-shirt on. And I even have small 'tan lines' on my arms to prove it! I still doubt the weather though - I think Winter will suddenly hit us just as all the plants have budded up and then destroy all nature's good work. But hey, I'll enjoy the good stuff whilst it is here!
It felt so good to feel the warmth of the sun on my skin whilst I crocheted away. And to see tiny snippets of life bursting up around the garden was lovely. I also made the most of the opportunity to get outside with my camera and snap some of my recent makes.
First up is the ongoing blanket project - the 'As We Go Stripy Blanket' (pattern here). It's a slow burner, but then was always intended to be - a relaxed evening project, perfect for watching TV and getting on with. It is intended for my Little P when complete, and she has already had the work in progress out several times to snuggle under.

I do love how it working up... The colours compliment each other lovely, and I'm loving testing out new stitches...

This will definitely be on the back burner at the moment though, as I have some more 'important' projects on the horizon. A couple of bits of amigurumi which must be kept under wraps right now, but here's a little green hand saying 'hi!'

The most exciting thing coming up for me is a 'blog swap' with the oh-so-talented Maddy - the creative mastermind behind From Twelve to Two Fifteen. A while back we decided on making something for each other (or more likely each other's children!) and blogging all about it at the same time. Maddy makes super amazing patchwork quilts using funky fabrics and modern geometrical patterns... ticks all my boxes! She has already shown a sneak peak of what she has been working on here - take a look at those chevrons! So exciting!
In return, Maddy will receive a crocheted gift from me, and she told me she would quite like another granny square blanket in a bright, cheerful colour scheme... also ticks all my boxes. I decided that for such a special occasion I would order some new yarn (don't need much excuse!) I have wanted to make a blanket using 'nicer' wool for a while now, so I ordered a bundle of merino based wools - Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran, topped up with a few colours of RICO Design Essentials Soft Merino Aran. The two yarns actually look and feel very similar, so I'm sure they will work well together...

Look at that squishiness...

I'm so excited to get started!

On the non-woolly front, there has been stamp carving by the bucket-load. I will get round to taking some pictures and showing my adventures in stamping, but you can always take a look at my Instagram feed. I ordered some rubber from Hong Kong a while back, and it took an age to arrive (serves me right for ordering just as everything stops for Chinese New Year!) It was pretty good value (even with the enormous shipping bill) and looked great too...

I had some extra large A4 sized sheets and some smaller ones - I was particularly looking forward to using the orange sandwich block. First impressions were that they weren't quite as thick as I'd hoped - the previous ones I bought were super thick and yummy blocks. I started by trying the blue block - it wasn't quite what I had hoped for though. It was quite tough and a bit crumbly. I moved onto the orange sandwich block - this carved better but was still not a patch on the previous ones I tried. So I was a little disappointed - the lesson I took from that cheap was not always cheerful. If I'm going to bother to order premium Japanese rubber blocks, then I will make sure I order the proper ones!

I have also bought a couple of other little bits and bobs to brighten up my space. I've started a mini 'gallery' on my bedroom wall - a few prints here and there. The first one that has arrived and is framed is one by an artist called Eloise Renouf. I love her work and it was hard to choose just one, but I'm so chuffed with it hanging on my wall...

The empty little frame to the right is waiting for a small print from Mexico from the amazing Gennine Zlatkis.  More on that when it arrives!

I'm also rediscovering my love of plants, especially cacti and succulents, and I'm gradually creeping them back into the home...

I found this little beauty in a local garden centre - I love the wooden tray, and the 3 little pots, and plan to fill them with some succulents I am currently propagating. Until then, this little cactus can rest there! I also found a Lithops (living stone) which I have wanted for ages, so picked him up and brought him to a good home. He must be liking it as I can see a new pair of leaves emerging in there...

My Dad was having a clear out and found this old Californian vehicle licence plate he didn't want - guess who had it and cleaned it up?! Fits perfectly in a space on my gallery wall!

I'm still California dreamin'. But now it is time to do some real dreaming, in bed! Goodnight all, until next time...