I Love a Bargain!

Whilst browsing on ebay recently I came across a Janet Granger kit for a stair carpet. Even better, the design matched a rug I had previously made but hadn't decided where it should go. Indecision over - the rug will be going into the entrance hall at 48 The Laurels and a beautiful matching carpet will grace the stairway. Only thing is, the Laurels is a five storey townhouse so it won't be just one stair carpet I need but a total of nine separate pieces! It's just as well I enjoy cross stitching! Here's the rug I've already made...


It's design name is Carole (Jade) and if you've never done any of Janet's kits before, here a link to her website. I have made three carpets, two firescreens and two Christmas stockings all from her kits and would highly recommend them. And of course, once you have the chart you can easily change colours etc. to make even more rugs for your houses!

Needle Felting Again!

I've been needlefelting again - I hope you're not getting bored with it!

I had an idea of making a 12th scale hobby horse for the nursery of The Laurels with a needle felted head. As a child I adored horses but we couldn't afford riding lessons never mind a pony so I had to content myself with reading about horses, watching horses, drawing horses...do you get the picture? In fact, horses are about the only animal I can draw reasonably well so that was a great help while felting this ....

I think I'll call him 'Blaze' because of the stripe down his face. His halter is made from tiny pieces of red leather and I have to thank my Dad for patiently cutting up a piece of dowelling and drilling holes in all the pieces to give me a supply of wheels, thanks Dad, you're the best xx

Autumn Harvest

Earlier in the year I told you about my wee vegetable patch. I had planned to follow this up on the blog but never got round to. Anyway, for such a small patch it was very productive. We had courgettes, carrots, peas, broad beans and best of all loads and loads of lovely cherry tomatoes, so many that we were giving bags of them away to family, friends and neighbours! I still had loads leftover so the domestic goddess in me (haha!!) decided that the store cupboard should be filled with lovely chutneys for those cold winter months ..... don't they look lovely?

This is only a few of the jars. I think I have made too much so will be giving it away to folk. I've made 5 x Green Tomato Chutney ('cos loads weren't ripe enough to eat!), 7 x Apple, Pear & Tomato Chutney, 5 x Chilli Jam (altho' it's more like a jelly, but 'jam' it said on the recipe!) and with those marvellous Seville oranges from a tin (yes I know it's cheating but I always forget to buy Seville oranges in January!) six large jars of marmalade, which is all mine as I'm the only one in the house who likes it...yum!!

'Witch' Craft this week?

Sorry about the title!!! Yep, I'm off on a tangent again - raggy dolls this time!

These legs were as far as I got with my Hallowe'en doll last year.

As she will be a good bit bigger than the others I will need to design a new pattern for her body and head and then the fun can begin! These are the fabrics I'll be using....

and I'll look for some buttons, trimmings, etc. tomorrow when I'm out.

I don't have a clue yet how my witchy raggy doll will turn out but I'll definitely enjoy bringing her to life. Back soon x

Here's Oliver and Vinny!

I've been bursting to share this with you for sooo long but I've had to contain myself, so in a time long ago before the mini-mojo went AWOL, I started a little project!

This is Oliver and Vinny... aren't they adorable?

They are Maltese Terriers owned by a friend in the US. After I had made a few needlefelted miniatures for her she asked if I could try my hand at replicating her wee dogs. Maltese terriers have long silky coats but hers are kept clipped and she was having difficulty finding ones that looked like her little dogs. My needlefelting has always been the 'stab-it-and-see-how-it-turns-out' technique so it was quite different to work to a photo but here's the result...

The dogs are built onto wire frames using merino wool, the longer hair on them is alpaca, they have little black eyes, black silk noses and, like the real Oliver and Vinny, have fetching neckwear! I've been asked if I can make a cat next so best get busy x

My New Tote Bag!

You know I've been flitting about from craft to craft and so today's post is about another new obsession! I recently mentioned that I would like to try making handbags (real ones!). I confess to having a penchant for lovely bags. I had read the blog of the talented Lisa Lam, checked out her website and read several reviews of her new book before ordering it (I like to be thorough..lol!) and so, inspired, I delved into my fabric stash.

My old sewing machine came out of retirement, was dusted down, oiled and set to work for the first time in years. At this point I should mention that there has always been a love/hate relationship with my sewing machine. I love to sew and it hates to oblige! Quite often it wins and I just sit and sew by hand! Not so on this occasion - it purred away without a snarl and I was able to produce...this!

It's only a tote bag but I absolutely love it and I'm sure I'll be trying out some of the more complex designs from the book in the future.

It seems a good way of using up some of the fabric I have so I also made a couple of smaller tote bags for my friend's grand-daughters for them to take with them to their first ever visit to Miniatura. The picture on the front came from a Christmas card I'd held onto. The design is Snowy Houses and the artist is Sally Swannell.

For anyone wanting to try making bags I can highly recommend Lisa Lam's book, 'The Bag Making Bible: The Complete Guide to Sewing and Customizing Your Own Unique Bags'

It's the little things that remind us...

Whilst knitting away recently I remembered that my sister said there was a bag of wool at home, did I want it? Assuming that it was wool that my Mum had bought but never got round to using I accepted it. It was put aside and has lain in a bag until today.....

When I opened the bag I found that my Mum had started to knit herself a cardigan and there it was still on her needles. My Mum died last year far too young and seeing her unfinished work really caught me by surprise.

The wool is lovely and the colour matches a dress I bought recently so the sensible thing would be to knit a really pretty shrug or cardi but I can't quite bring myself to unwind my Mum's work. I know Mum would tell me not to be silly and just to get on with it but for now that little piece of knitting will stay just as it is...

Knitting Revival!

Still no sign of the mini-mojo but I've not been idle. My son was going to buy a new hat. You've probably seen the youngsters wearing them - the slouchy ones, reminds you of Papa Smurf? Anyway, he seemed quite happy to part with £35 - yes, thirty five pounds! - for a woolly bunnet until I said that I could knit one for much less.

"Yes, but this one is bamboo!" he points out,
"Yes, I can buy bamboo yarn too!" I reply.
"Well can you make one, then?" he asks,
"No problem" says I and off I go to Google bamboo yarns.....

Hmmmm, not as many as I thought! But determined not to give up I headed for local craft store and found two balls of bamboo yarn in the colour he had requested. Home again, rummage for knitting needles as it has been sooooo long since I last used them et voila...

Papa Smurf!!! Sorry, I mean my dearest son modelling his sock hat! And for less than £5 (not including my labour!) It's also reminded me how much I enjoy knitting so I think there will be more on my needles soon, especially as he would now like more hats in other colours!

Anyone for crochet?

My mini mojo seems to have deserted me so for now my blog seems now to be more about Allsorts and less about all things Miniature. Nevertheless, there's been loads of crafting going on here. I've been teaching myself how to crochet. I could crochet an edging around things but following a pattern and using 'proper' crochet stitches had always baffled me. I had been looking for a knitting pattern for a shrug and the only ones I could find were crocheted so what else can a girl do but to join the crochet brigade. Here's my first effort, don't laugh - it's a scarf!

I'm quite pleased with it but, between you and me, I think I'll continue with my hunt for a knitting pattern!

Nooo! Let's get Autumn by first!

Hi everyone and an especially warm welcome to my new followers, glad you're here!

Now, today I picked my mail off the mat only to find my first Christmas catalogue among it - it's September, for goodness sake! The sun is shining today, my washing is blowing in the wind and Christmas is the last thing on my mind! Mind you I did enjoy flicking through it whilst having a cuppa but I know I'm not going to be ordering anything just yet so it'll be consigned to the 'get-to-someday' pile, and then when I think the pile needs tidying up it'll probably end up in the recycling. Do companies have to push the festive season on us earlier each year? Or maybe I should be auditioning for a spot on Grumpy Old Women!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone, wherever you are xx

"Sisters! There were never such devoted sisters...."

Our wee craft group (and I mean wee - there's two of us!) recently started again and I was looking for something to take along. As I've been in a sewing mood recently, I brought out my unfinished raggy dolls to see what actually needed to be done to finish them. As usual with me, it was not a lot! So after some finishing touches may I introduce you, a little out of season, to 'Christmas Rosie'....

and her sister, 'Raggy Ruby' ...

There is still a pair of legs sticking out of my work-in-progress box wearing black cotton stockings festooned with orange stars - looks like that young lady will be a Hallowe'en witchlet! Although 'witch' Hallowe'en is anyone's guess x

Dreaming about Autumn

Thank goodness the weekend is upon us and the stresses of the past week can be forgotten!

Now that we're in September I've noticed that the weather has turned decidedly cooler here in the west of Scotland. There's a nip in the air when I leave for work in the morning followed by some watery sunshine and cool nights. The trees are changing colour and it's now, more than at any other time of the year, that I want to stay at home, to cook, to bake, to make things for the house - start settling down for winter, in other words. Does anyone else feel like that?

I know that it may seem to some too early to think about Autumn but it's my favourite time of year. I've started planning what crafts I want to do over the coming months and as well as miniatures, I want to make some more bears and dolls, try my hand at making handbags (real life size as I'm a handbag junkie!) and have a go at quilt making to try to use up some of my fabric stash. Wouldn't it be nice to give up work over the winter months?

So it looks like I'll be busy and, of course, I'll be sharing it all with you and drawing inspiration from your fabulous blogs. I can't wait....x

Is it too early to hibernate?

This week at work has been the pits and I would like some duvet days please! I work in the health service and I never cease to be amazed at the appalling attitude of patients towards staff. Could I ask all my lovely followers to think twice before kicking off at receptionists and secretaries? We are short-staffed, under-paid, feel under-valued and are most definitely caught in a hard place between the medical staff and patients!

Rant over...normal service will be resumed tomorrow! x

The Falkirk Fair

Ooh 70 followers today - I like round numbers! Welcome all!

Ok, an update about my weekend past. In general I have stopped going to fairs in Scotland because they are quite poor. However, every August there is a fair practically on my doorstep and as it combines bears and dolls with dolls houses and miniatures I always make a point of going. I came back with a solitary item, this ...

A 24th scale sink unit for Mulberry Cottage

(I had made one myself but felt it wasn't quite right!)

I also had a really good look at some dolls. I don't usually put dolls in my houses or scenes because the ones in my price range can sometimes look downright scary but I have my eye on a particular little girl for the Laurels nursery from Bellabelle Dolls so I'd better start saving the pennies!