Christmas is coming!

If you only buy one book before Christmas (yes I can hear your collective groans, but it is on its way whether you like it or not!) to inspire you in your crafting then it has to be this one!

I had never heard of the authoress, Tone Finnanger before hand, although the snails in my previous post are designed by her. I was browsing on Amazon for some inspiration for homemade gifts and came across her books. Well, I have never oohed and aahhed so much. Each page you turn over is total bliss, from the page layouts, the designs and the colours etc. I simply couldn't put it down and read it from cover to cover and then some.

These angels and pixie dolls are adorable and look relatively simple to make. She even has a list of stockists at the back of the book to help you locate the same gorgeous fabrics that she had used.

Most days I just open it randomly and drool over what I find there like these wonderful Babushka dolls:

These sweet little hearts:


And these adorable boots to hang on the tree, or wherever.

I cannot decide what to make first! What a fantastically talented lady she is and I wish that I was on her Christmas List!

Dev X

p.s. Just an observation but I was wondering if my blog is interesting enough? Why, well my number counter shows that 68 people visited me after my last post but I only received 8 comments and that seems to be the norm f0r most of my posts. I obviously love hearing from my "regulars" but what about the rest?

Autumn Sunflowers

It's official, Autumn arrived at 12.30 on Friday morning, I stepped out of the office and there it was, a split second in time when all the elements came together in an instant. The sun was shining, but lacked any real warmth, a pile of golden leaves swirled around the car park in the breeze which carried a faint smell of damp and decay and bonfires. It was a fleeting moment and then it was gone, blown away but imprinted in my mind.

The drive home appeared normal, and it may have been my imagination but... was there was tiny change in the colours of the leaf canopy? Almost invisible when looked at face on, but from the corner of the eye a slight fading perhaps? A hazy sunshine, the caw caw of a rook loud and unatural and slightly disconcerting. He obviously knows.

At home the garden is still verdant from all the recent and continuing rain. But there are signs, red rosehips, crab apples, seed heads and elderflowers that seem to have ripened overnight! An then there is this:-

Majestic is the only way to describe it. 7 foot 2 inches of pure summer sunshine, but peel away the centre buds and the seeds are formed and starting to ripen.

Isabel has fed and nutured this beauty for weeks now from pushing the seed into a damp pot of earth, to the planting in rich soil and the magic ingredient, (which is a carefully guarded secret!) She has watched it grow as high as herself and then overtake her on it's way to the blue, blue sky above.

The seeds will eventually be shared between the chickens and the doves and all the wild birds that visit the garden. A few will be saved for next years plants and then the main stem will be chopped and composted and it will gradually rot back into the soil from whence it came, a full circle of life and death as nature intended.

Here our thought are now turning to Halloween and all that entails. The lovely Heidi has arranged a vintage swap so if you are interested then contact her. I am also toying with the idea of my first blog giveaway as well, not sure what to actually give away and when to do it, but watch this space anyway!

Dev X

Rainy Days

Well, as the summer is almost non-existant in this part of the world at the moment, it has spurred me on to get some serious crafting done. It is actually rather nice to sew when the wind is howling and the rain is lashing on the roof of my garden room. Outside maybe horrible but inside it is warm and cosy and I have the radio for company. I began by going through my bags and boxes and pulled out a few projects that have been on-going for a while now. A strange sort of fever overtook me and before I knew it I had plugged in the machine and was off at a rate of knots that have eluded me for a while now! So here for your perusal are some of those items that have languished in them there bags:

This is my little fairy doll, her name is Pansy. She is made from scraps of pretty cotton fabric and felt. Her wings are made from vilene and she has some old fashioned beads on her belt.

On the shelf next to her are these adorable little snails. The pattern was sent to me by my dear friend Iris. Check out her blog and see her designs.


I purchased this Sarah Lawrence book after a fellow crafter brought it to our class a couple of weeks ago. I thought that the brooches were so much fun and I have a large selection of beads. I bought the faces direct from Sarah's website, www.craftynotions.com. She also has an article in the June/July edition of Stitch Magazine that is published by the Embroiderers Guild.

I love these ribbon girls and will have a go at them next, but below is the one I made using beads.

Lastly, having made Isabel a bag a while ago, I had this fabric and decided to make one for myself. It isn't quite finished yet but I wam pleased with it so far.

Finally, on the subject of bags. You may have caught a glimpse of this in the picture above.. yes it is the next design in the Tesco/Kidston range..I know, fab isn't it and who knew that there were more to come?! I couldn't believe my eyes when I went into my local store and saw it. And, guess what..there are at least another 2 coming in October.!!!!!!!!!! Yippeeeee!

How can you choose between them, they are all so bloomin gorgeous!!

Furthermore, LK Bennett have brought out this little stunner, which I absolutely love and it is free with this months Instyle Magazine..Yep it's free and fab and just the right size for my knitting. I am in bag heaven at the moment..who else shares my passion?

I will end on this happy note and advise you to go to Tesco now, this minute, 24 hour shopping darlings, because numbers of each design are limited and when they are gone, they are gone, so don't tell yourself that you will get it next week, because the chances are I will have bought them all up! Dev X

Stormy Weather

I woke this morning around 4.30 am, the rain was coming in through the open window and splashing onto my face. Now, several hours later, and nothing much has changed. The wind is roaring in the trees and making the washing line outside my window hum a magical tune. The rain continues in a misty, cloudy sort of way, you know the kind that penetrates right through to the skin. Luckily for me my canine friend Hamish hates the cold and the rain, thus saving me a trip around the lane.

Having said that, usually I find a walk in the rain very pleasant. I love the smell of the wet vegetation and the only sound being the raindrops on the tree canopy above. Today though I am tired and feeling the need for hot chocolate and magazines and snuggling under a blanket on the sofa. The first roast dinner in ages because it has been so hot recently and catching up on all my favourite blogs of course.


The photos are just general ones and the sky is most certainly not blue. My camera is broken two weeks after the guarantee ran out...how does that happen?! I was told that it is not worth repairing and I would be better of putting the approx repair costs of £100 to a new one. What is that all about I ask myself? Boo Hoo and Aaargh in similar amounts..so frustrating.