Henrietta and her chicks

Well, Sunday's party came off well, without too much stress on my part.  I was a little tense getting the cake done, but we got there in the end and Miss 2 had a fabulous time being the centre of attention!

I wanted to introduce you to some of our newest family members...

Meet Henrietta and her baby chicks!  Isn't she awesome?  They are handmade by a very clever Aunty Yana for the birthday girl and are already much loved.  I think Henrietta's little family is a Melly & Me pattern, and I absolutely love the fabric combos Yana has selected.  You can see what fabulous creation we scored this time last year here.

More on what I got up to for the party with those fabrics tomorrow!

Show and Tell :: 9

I did so well on the book front this christmas.  I don't know about you, but I just love having books on the shelf, and I reference them all the time when I'm sewing, or thinking about gifts for people.

Simple Sewing for Baby by Lotta Jansdotter.

It is just that.  Simple Sewing.  Nothing fancy in here, no masterpieces, but such a great book with lots of good ideas if you are thinking about a last minute gift that you need to whip up in a couple of hours, or if you are a beginning sewer.. I would recommend it for these instances.

Here are a couple of images of things you can make from the book:

[Psssst:  You can actually get the pattern for this last one for free!!  Click right here.]

That's it for show and tell. I hope you enjoyed it!

Show and Tell :: 8

This is so cute.  a gorgeous linen backpack Ellie received at Christmas, and beautifully handmade by Aunty Yana.

I just love this embroidery.  Red and blue look so beautiful with linen.

Show and Tell :: 6

This is a sweet little toddler tote made for Ellie by Nonna this Christmas.

I love the little embroidered puppy.

And she loves it too, but that didn’t stop her running away during the photo shoot.

We’ve already used it a number of times to cart around food and toys and books.  Such a great gift.

Show and Tell :: 5

Today's brag is this cute handmade Kanzashi flower ring that I received from my clever and crafty sister.

I'm pretty sure she has this book, which looks like it might be worth the buy if you're into fabric folding and sewing.  Such a great idea for little presents throughout the year.

Nice one Jo - looking forward to seeing what you come up with next! xx

Show and Tell :: 4

More linen love I'm afraid.

A beautiful pincushion from Namolio gifted to me.

Handmade.

Completely perfect.

I wish I was this good.

Show and Tell :: 2

I received this beautiful gift from my lovely sister in law for Christmas.

Wondering what it is?  It's a perfectly sewn and hand-embroidered tissue holder!  

I love it, but who wouldn't?  Practical and pretty.   Check out more of Yana's work at White Mouse Creations.

Sweet.

A sweet little pair of feet.

Inside a sweet little pair of handmade, hand felted shoes.

From a much loved and very sweet friend.

Thanks Deanie - we love them and they fit perfect now! xx

Someone Pretty

Hey everyone,

Aren't you glad it's the weekend? I love Fridays so much. And better still I think Ellie might just be on the mend once and for all. Don't hold me to it though, as I will believe it when I see it!

I wanted to share something with you that Ellie received as a birthday present from one very clever Aunty Yana. Her name is Jemima and she is a beautiful hand made doll! Handmade gifts are so ace. Really they are.

Here are a couple of photos of her - she's very pretty, and every last piece of her is handmade, right down to her dress and removable shoes! Her eyes are my favourite: just perfect embroidery. Aunty Yana - you will be pleased to know Jemima is a firm favourite around here...if she makes it onto Percy the push-around, she is a DEFINITE favourite.

Keep watch for Yana's lovely embroidered piece in Kirsty's quilt project (so beautiful) and more pictures here.

Stay tuned for Speed Cleaning Week 2 verdict this weekend....and enjoy yours!!

Someone Gave me...

..this wonderful hand-crocheted lap blanket for my little girl.  While we've been here visiting in Narrandera (rural New South Wales, Australia) Eleanor received this from her Great Grandfather.  It was made by his wife, who has now passed away.  It's a lovely reminder for my daughter of the Great Grandmother she never met, and a special way to warm one tiny little lap!  Thanks Pop, it's beautiful and we will look after it always.

Someone Gave Me: Georgie

Meet Georgie.  Isn't she lovely?  My lovely sister-in-law Yana made her for me as a gift for my first Mothers Day.  Yana is a very neat sewer as you can see!  She knows I love Giraffe's and she also knows that I love this gorgeous two in the bush fabric by timeless treasures. 

Georgie is as perfect as she is patient.  She currently has pride of place on our TV cabinet,  where she quietly and politely sits until a little pair of hands climb up and pull her down to cuddle and play with her (multiple times a day). She is one patient little giraffe and we welcome her to our family.

I'm so pleased that the lovely Yana has just started a blog of her own to show off her clever handmade goodies so head over and take a peek.  I'm sure she will be posting about Georgie at some stage and might even tell you where she got the pattern :o)

Someone gave me

This handmade quilt. Remember my Grandparent quilting team I mentioned a few days ago? Here is some of their handiwork. It was dragged out of the cupboard today because I thought i'd be clever last night and wash Ellie's floor rug so that it was slobber and germ free this morning. Clever me. Why is it that when I wash at night I always forget to hang it out? It happens so often that I am starting to worry about myself. Anyhow, this beauty is out to play today as a result. I'm now off to re-rinse and hang out the other one. Sigh.

Shape by Miller Goodman

Our dear friends Greg and Cat have recently been to the UK and Morocco on a long holiday. As they missed Christmas with us, we all received some lovely gifts when they arrived home!

Here is the gift Ellie received. It's a melamine plate from the Tate Gallery ( oh how I want to go back!) and is designed by Miller Goodman. The plate's artwork is from their childrens book Shape, which after seeing this, I investigated online and would now love to buy for Ellie. It seems to be a lovely interactive book introducing children to the world of shape! You can read and see more of the book here, and purchase from Australian online bookstore store here. I'm sure Amazon has it too.

And what did I get? A Harrods tote of course!! Yippee!!!

Someone gave me: Old Country Roses

How generous. Yesterday, whilst visiting with my Grandad, he gave me a lovely gift. I am so thankful and grateful for it. It may not quite be up your alley, but Old Country Roses china by Royal Albert is rather special to me. My Nanna, who has dementia and is now in nursing home care gradually collected the entire set - dinnerware, teaset, coffee set and servingware. She even had a beautiful gold cutlery set to match. And whenever I see it, in a shop, at someone's house, or in their display cabinet, it reminds me of her.

Because Nanna is no longer able to use it, and Grandad will be relocating to a smaller house soon, he is keen to give part of the set to each of his children and grandchildren. I was moved that he wanted me to have this part, and I will treasure it forever, knowing that it was loved and collected by by one of the most important people in my life.

Aside from it's beauty, there are 3 things I love about this set:

1. It was hers

2. It was given so generously by him

3. It was an extensive collection that didn't just sit in the display cabinet. It was used all the time, and the worn gold trim and tea stains in the pot are evidence of this.

When I don't have little ones underfoot who might accidentally injure it, I intend to follow her example and use it too. Thank you Nanna and Grandad - I love you both lots and lots.

I found something nice

Digging around a few weeks back I found this stowed away for a rainy day to be used for something special or nice. Well, it's been "stowed away" since my 21st (can you believe it!?). Over 10 years. That's way too long. I can't even remember who gave it to me (i'm sorry if it was you!) but I do remember thinking it was a lovely gift. Enough stowing. Time to get this lovely handmade notepad out and start using it. All the paper is handmade, and it's been bound by hand as well. Even the pencil is hand carved. Sweet.

Someone bought me...

This very cute notepad from Kikki K! Love it!! My sweet cousy Kate saw it and just had to buy it for me (she obviously knows about this not so secret love of mine).

So while we're on the topic of stationary love, and Kikki K, here are a few more lovely things from their shop that I wouldn't mind somebody buying...

Felt wrap notebook (A5) - maybe it is possible to make something like this - what do you think?

and these groovy little sticky note recipe tags to replace all those bits of paper in my cookbooks! They even make rolls of little red ribbon just like my blog title. Sigh, so much to choose from, and especially great when you find something on sale. I'll save more of my Kikki K wish list for another post someday...