Stanley

Hello everyone, hope all is well with you. Well, what have we been up to here at the Fairyglade....well there has been a birthday, Littlest Fairy has reached the grand old age of 12, and boy is she growing up fast, (and ever so pretty in my opinion!!).

I took her a a small group of her friends to see the new Disney film "Tangled" which was so good, I really recommend it if you get a chance to go.

I have also completed this months "Make", although strictly speaking I actually started this cute little fellow back in December in a vain attempt to give it to LF as part of her xmas presents.

Unfortunately, because of one thing and another, I didn't get it finished in time. So with her birthday pending, I pulled out all the stops and here he is....Meet Stanley...isn't he the cutest?

He is completely hand stitched and I crocheted him a simple green scarf. The coat isn't my handiwork but fits him perfectly and is just right for the cold wet weather that we have been experiencing in our part of the world.

Is that not the cutest face you ever did see? I am really pleased with how he turned out and how simple the instructions were to follow. Oh, I almost forgot, he is fully jointed too. So what do you think....do you like?

Winter Blues

Hello Ladies, sorry for the lack of posts recently but I seem to be stuck with the winter blues at the moment. The lack of daylight and endless rain have taken their toll and I am feeling a little jaded. Where have the blue skies gone and the crisp, bitey wind that makes your nose tingle when you step outside? In my little corner of the world it is damp and grey and wet.

Today, I gave myself a bit of a talking too and decided that I have got to pull myself together and get on with it..whatever IT is? At the weekend I went through my craft boxes and bags and picked out pretty old scraps of linen and lace and sparklies and a few ideas started to form. Today, I started to sew and it felt good to jump back on the wagon so to speak.

I also recently read Annie's blog and decided to join her One a Month Make in an effort to keep me on track. Maybe you would like to have a go as well? Pop over to her blog then, she is offering a Stanley chart when you sign up. Super cute, I already have a few ideas for this little project.

So, I have got a couple of things in the pipeline and am working towards the January deadline. No pictures of my first project yet, but there will be soon. In the meantime, I am a birthday girl tomorrow, I have already had a couple of lovely gifts, and I just need some of the blue skies above and maybe a bunch or two of those below and it will be perfect.

Devx

Happy Birthday...Again!

Happy Birthday Littlest Fairy!!!

This was taken last year, hasn't she grown up? (note the snow in the background..more is forecast for us this week)

So gorgeous and funny and wonderful and sassy and all mine.

The Birthday is still on-going. She had a friend to stay over the weekend and then opened her presents yesterday evening. Today is her official birthday and we all went out for a meal this evening. This coming weekend, it's off to the cinema with girlies and more food afterwards. I don't know whether I am coming or going, who should be where and when? So disorganised this year!

However, I have managed to make a few cuties for the party bags. Remember my last post..... Well with a bit of practice I made a few little flutterbys,

I added a few of these gorgeous buttons...aren't they cute?

Pinned everything out on a soft towel and spritzed with water, then left to dry over night.

And hey presto....the prettiest handbag charms in the glade. Do you like them...and more importantly, are a bunch of 10/11 year olds going to like them too.....finger crossed!

Dev x

Happy Birthday

Hello everyone, I trust that you have had a lovely weekend, I know that I have, despite the fact that I haven't been anywhere in particular. I have had one of those rare lazy sort of weekends, doing a bit of this and a bit of that. No rushing around, just pottering and sewing and reading and crocheting and planning new projects. Such fun, just like when the snow was laying deep and crisp and even, and believe it or not, on the high ground around these parts there are still banks of snow on the lanes and under the hedgerows, I kid you not, honest.

So what have I been up to I hear you ask, or maybe that's just the voices in my head...only kidding..(at least I hope so)! I was a birthday girl a few days ago and had money from the best Mum in the world, so bought yet more new, soft, scrumptious wool, and book vouchers from my bestest friend that paid for two new books. I love the smell of new books don't you? The pages are sort of glossy and shiny and the photography is gorgeous, you can almost reach out and touch the patterns.

Want to see............you know you want to..............

Lovely designs and easy to follow instructions. And then I spotted this one as well.

Now, if you remember my last post, I showed you the gorgeous throw in the new "Art of Crochet" magazine, and you remember I said that it would cost the price of a small continent to collect the whole series. Well this little book was £9.99 and is full to the brim of gorgeous patterns and designs. So, with a rainy day Saturday, some gorgeous new, soft wool (remember the best Mum in the world) and this little book, I had an epiphany...yes I did! I didn't need to sell a kidney, I could use these lovely patterns to make up my own squares..... So here for your delectation...........

Want to see a few more...of course you do..................................!!

Are you starting to get the picture? Can you visualise these gogeous woolly squares as a finished blanket? I know that I can. I am imagining, dark stormy nights, lashing rain, howling winds, but will I be cold, absolutely not. And then in the summer, spread beneath the apple tree for me to sit on and look...well....summery I suppose. What about as a comforter for, say the littlest fairy, when she is feeling a bit poorly and wants to lay on the sofa and just snuggle. Oh yes indeedy, I can imagine this blanket being used for a multitude of usefullness. (I made that up, sounds grand doesn't it)?

Finally, there are these little girls, sitting there looking very pretty and spring like. The pattern arrived on Friday and I can't stop looking at them. I want to make them, and I want to make them now! I don't have the details to hand, but will find them and post the link another time soon.

What do you think, aren't they adorable? Don't you just want a set too?

It has been a very nice birthday all in all!

Dev Xx

P.S. I am almost afraid to say this, so I am going to say it very quickly...here goes.....Does anyone think the new series of Larkrise is just a teeny weeny little bit less exciting than previous ones? It is still, by far, the best thing on the TV at the moment, but I keep waiting for something to happen. I know, I know, such sacrilege, maybe I should just go and lay down in a dark room until I come to my senses! Sorry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

P.P.S. How do I move that Shabbyblogs logo from the header of each post. It is driving me mad. I note some bloggers have positioned it on the top left of their page where it doesn't obscure the title of the post. HELP ME someone!!

Birthday

Hello everyone, phew what another scorcher of a day. I am starting to find it all a bit unbearable now...dare I say that a rainy day would be most welcome!

We have spent a lot of time at the beach over the past few days and have managed to brave the sea to cool down our scorched bodies.

It is hard to capture on a photograph, but this day the sea was a silvery undulating mass, like liquid mercury almost. Very hard to describe, but hypnotic to watch. A bit like the scene in one of the terminator films, where the blobs of mercury like liquid pool together to form the baddy. Spooky!

The whole experience is a delight to the senses. The gentle lap of the waves as the tide goes out and the crashing of the waves as it returns a few hours later.

The shriek of the seagulls on the lookout for a snack. Woe betide if you wave your ice cream in the air!

The smell of the sea, fresh and invogorating. The salty taste in the air, not to mention in your sandwiches, no matter how hard you try and keep them covered.

Deep breaths, deep breaths..much hopping about and back turning against the waves racing towards you, breath taking coldness against warm skin. Of course, there are always the brave few who can run down the hot sand and throw themselves over the oncoming waves...brrrr!!

I spy with my little eye, through the hole in a pretty stone...?

So the title of the post is confusing perhaps? Well it was a dear friends birthday over the weekend and I should have been adding the finishing touches to her present, but instead we got side tracked with the above. Therefore, Saturday afternoon saw us rushing home as the oncoming tide slowly devoured the beach. Last minute adjustments tackled and voila....

.

A simple plain knitted cushion cover becomes a pretty embellished cushion cover. A much admired and aahed over cushion cover and one that looked very comfortable in my garden room, and so very hard to part with cushion cover

And finally, a quick snap of a secret WIP..can you guess what it might be yet?

Dev x