Sunflowers

Today, my day off from work was a day of long walks, sun and contemplation.

I was looking after my little puppy pal, Hayley, and I've been enjoying her company immensely.  

I love having a dog about the house, she wakes me up with her huge amounts of energy and gets me out of the house to experience the early morning sunshine, that I so frequently miss.

Today we went walking through the fields behind the my apartment. The fields line the landscape like a patchwork blanket. Vibrant blocks of colour that spread all the way to the horizon. 

As I was walking towards the fields, I noticed that they had changed colour since my last visit. No longer a dark shade of green, instead a golden ocean awaited our arrival. 

The sunflowers were in full bloom and how magnificent they looked!
So big and so bold! I was happy I had brought my camera along for the walk.

I wasn't the only one enjoying the radiant glow of the flowers. The bees were having a swell time!

I let Hayley run around for a a while and I sat down in the field amongst the flowers. I enjoyed being outside, lapping up the rays from both the sun and the flowers.
Hayley would come and sit with me and stretch out on the grass. It sounds weird but I enjoy having a little chat with her.

I've had a weird week at work, I was tired from performing in the show and my mind was swimming with the events of past few days.

Over the past week I've had close friends lose family members and I've tried to comfort and console them as I see them deal with their heartache and loss.
I've also had a friend give birth to a beautiful baby boy.
Today I found myself amongst the sunflowers contemplating, how strange it was that people had left us so suddenly and new life had greeted us so miraculously fast.

It was good to vocalise my thoughts to the ever faithful dog.
I like how she listens to me, her eyes lift and her ears twitch. On top of her cute characteristics, I find that her silence seems to answer my questions and thoughts.

The sunflowers were glorious and (I know this is deep) but I appreciated the moment as I know they won't be around for too long.

Here's a little quote from one of my favourite movies, Calendar girls. It's about Sunflowers and I think rather special:

"The sunflower...During the course of the day the head of the sunflower tracks the journey of the sun across the sky. 

A satellite dish for sunshine. 

Wherever light is, no matter how weak, these flowers will find it and that's such and admirable thing, and such a lesson in life" 

After a morning in the Sunflower fields Hayley and I headed home. We had a nice drink of water sat out on the balcony. I was thinking about the beautiful Sunflowers in the fields and was pleasantly surprised to see that the Sunflowers on my balcony had also opened up.

How lovely they are!

Inspired by the flowers I got to work on a quick little hooky project, keeping the theme of my morning. Here's what I came up with.

I'll jot the pattern down for you all over the next few days. So we can all have a little trinket to keep the sun shining all year round.
I hope you all have a lovely week. Lets keep it sunny like a Sunflower would!

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The Makery: Foxy Cushion

Hello gorgeous people!

I had a lovely day off from work on Monday, and after a few months of madness a whole day with no plans or obligations was just what the doctor ordered. It was a rather nice feeling waking up and knowing I could spend the day however I pleased. 

I spent the morning pottering about on the balcony. I can not tell you just how much I adore having my very own little outdoor space! I'll have to share some pictures with you soon and show you my plants and flowers are coming along.

After watering, pruning and talking to my plants, I decided to get to work on a very special gift that had been sat on my bookshelf for the past couple of months.

It was a gift from the lovely people at The Makery in Bath. A rather splendid DIY craft kit that contained everything required to make a "foxy cushion"!!

They had very kindly given it to me when I popped into their store for some crafty supplies and a chinwag during my last trip home to England.

As you all know, The Makery is one of my absolute favourite shops to visit when I go home. It's in the centre of Bath and a real gem of a store. It's everything I love.... it's quaint, inviting and has the ultimate homemade and vintage feel to it. I could spend a whole day in there soaking up the crafty atmosphere!
During my last visit home I popped into the store to say a quick "hello" and ended up having a rather special guided tour of their brand spanking new premises. I was shown around the shop, their new craft rooms (available for birthday parties and hen parties), had a browse through their newly published book (which I just ordered) and checked out their new products. Let me tell you.... The team at the Makery had been very busy since my last visit and their hard work had definitely payed off.

Among the new products at The Makery was a collection of "Make away kits". These fabulous kits look like food takeaway boxes (which I think is super cool) and contain everything needed to complete your chosen project.
So far they have 6 fantastic kits available:

• A sock monkey kit
• Make your own bunting kit
• A foxy cushion Kit
• A sewn stag head kit
• A clasp purse kit 
• Make a pair of knickers kit (perfect for a hen party!!!)

On my visit to the shop I was lucky enough to choose which kit I wanted to take home with me. I went for the fox cushion as I was advised it would be good project for someone with limited sewing abilities (definitely me!). 

So..... on Monday I finally got around to giving this project a try!

I opened up the "Make Away Kit! and inside I found:

• A mini sewing kit with enough thread to complete the fox cushion
• Buttons
• Stuffing 
• Some rather gorgeous fabric
• Instructions on how to make the cushion, along with instructions on how to perform the required stitches
• Pattern templates

I got to work following the step by step instructions, cutting out the fabric using the templates provided.

I started off hand sewing the project, but after some VERY messy attempts,  I decided to pop down to my cellar and pick up the sewing machine. :-)

After a little perseverance with my terrible sewing skills, I was finished constructing the main body of the cushion. Not perfect....but also not too bad!

I continued to follow the instruction and used the stuffing provided to fill the cushion.

Finally I positioned the buttons as two eyes and a nose, and sewed them onto my foxy cushion.

Ta- dah!!! All finished! What a perfectly charming little cushion! 

I LOVED making this project!! 

It was great to try something new, as I don't normally work on sewing projects! Yes.. my sewing skills leave a lot to be desired, but it just goes to show what a great kit this is! Suitable for all skill levels! The instructions even gave the option for extra detailing which is perfect for the more advanced sewers among you (I skipped those steps, as I didn't want to get in over my head!).

Very very cute indeed !
Not only are they a treat to make yourself,  but they would also make fantastic and original presents to give to your loved ones.

The Makery also supply some amazing fabrics, buttons and are definitely not short on inspiration. Why not stop by and have a look at their website and if you happen to be in Bath pop into their lovely shop and say a quick "hello!". I'm sure you'll be greeted with a very warm welcome and The Makery will soon become one of your favourite crafty shops just like it is mine (ok.....you get it!!! I'm a big fan!) 

            

I hope your all having a truly scrumptious week?! Until next time.....

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The Dog Collar

Hey Lovelies!

I do hope you are all well?

It seems like each time I come back to my blog I have to start by apologising for being away for so long. I've had a really busy month at work and finding time to do everything I want has seemed near impossible. Things have calmed down a bit (for now) and so I'm relishing the extra free time I have and (of course) filling it with all sorts of crafty goodness. 

I was asked a couple of weeks ago if I would work on a rather special creation for a very special day. 

Some close friends of mine were getting married and wanted their cute little dog to carry their wedding rings down the isle to them at the alter. 

This sounded like a challenge and one that I was more than happy to oblige. 

The colours of the wedding were to be green and white so I got to work covering a simple cardboard trinket bog with pure white ribbon.
I added a little handle and some crocheted edging to the lid, along with overlapping ribbon to cover the main body of the box.

On the inside of the box I made a little cushion for the wedding rings to sit on. I also popped some crocheted trimming around the edge of the cushion,  to hide the join where I had connected it to the box. 

I covered the inside of the lid with bright green felt. 

I crocheted the actual collar using some white mercerised cotton and added some little buckles so that it was easy to adjust and tighten when the time came to putting it on the dog. 

With a nice layer of fabric glue, I added ribbon to the top of the crocheted collar for that extra bit of detail.

 I crocheted little flowers out of green and white embroidery floss.

I added a little sparkle!!!

I love this part of a project, when you can add all of the trimmings and make a creation just that little bit more special. 

For this project it was the little flowers. Adding them to the simple collar and box really transformed it into something rather elegant.  

All finished and ready for the important job of transferring the rings down the isle.

Of course I had to fit the collar to Hayley (the ring bearer), she took to it rather well and did the most amazing job of trotting down the isle with the rings on her back.

It was a beautiful wedding full of love and laughter. A big CONGRATULATIONS to my friends who I'm sure will share a very long and happy marriage with each other. 

What a fun project that was and so different from my usual crocheted items!

If I add this project to the wedding bouquet Dennis and I made a few months ago, we could open a crocheted bridal boutique! 

That would be fun!!!

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