Random Acts of Kindness

My creative space today is all over the place. A bit of this, a bit of that. I spent the morning going through my teaching resources and a few other boxes that haven't been opened in quite a while, oh, and DO I HAVE SOMETHING TO SHOW YOU... but it will have to wait till tomorrow. Don't be too upset - there is a reason for that, and I'm about to let you in on it! :)

You see a little while ago, Nin decided to host a fabric scrap swap. Now, as you know, I love getting packages in the mail, and the idea of getting to play with someone else's fabric? Yes please! But I haven't really sewn that many things yet, so even though I have a little fabric waiting to be cut, I didn't have anything I could swap. well I left a message on Nin's blog, letting her know that if she ever decided to do another swap down the track, that I would love to have a go. Enter Roz.

How blown away would you be if someone saw a comment you had made like that and decided to send you a package of scraps, JUST BECAUSE??? I still am amazed by it (and I know some of the reason behind the gesture - but I am still plain gob-smacked!). So here is the scrumptious package of goodies that arrived in the post today.

Kid in a candy store???

Look at all the fabric unpacked! Woo Hoo!!! I have already had a play in it and have started thinking of what I can make with it. Further suggestions greatfully accepted. :)

Scrap Happy

Some silk silver. I confess, I had to google to try and figure out what to do with it. If you have ever worked with it before - PLEASE let me know! :)

I have a few plans for these pretties already. :) Perhaps something a little inspired from The Attic. Stay tuned.

 Hope you have all had a wonderfully creative day. If you are feeling like a sponge for inspiration, head over to Our Creative Spaces.

S xox

Little Sprinkles of Love...

I had plans for Valentines day... lots of plans. But. Not. Much. Happened. I guess that is the way it is sometimes. When you have small children and you don't plan it all out in advance as much as you should have. I was also going to do a Valentines Day related post each day leading up to it... um, maybe next year? Never mind. It was a thoroughly enjoyable day anyway - even if I didn't end up decorating this year.

Here is a little sample of what we did.

The boys and I made Choc Vanilla cupcakes. My two boys love baking. They had such fun sprinkling the hearts on top. The colour intensity of the hearts actually increased the longer they were sitting on the cupcakes (presumably from absorbing moisture out of the frosting).

My gorgeous boys also picked their Mummy some pretty red flowers (with a little help from Daddy and the secceteurs) to make our table look brighter for dinner. They each came in toting flowers. Such sweetness! :) Makes me want to scoop them up in my arms and just snuggle. (I did have some scrumptious hugs with them, but the snuggling had to wait - I was cooking pancakes after all!)

We had pancakes with home made berry compote, whipped cream, and Maple Syrup. Mmmm! There's nothing quite like it! I don't know about you, but I'd eat pancakes every couple of weeks if they were better for me! ;) I included a little note for my man... I think it's important to affirm them regularly. I wish I did it more. And since my hubby's love language is words of affirmation - I should have more incentive. How often do you tell the man in your life what he means to you? That you appreciate the fact that he gets up to go to work EVERY work day - even if there are some days that he'd rather stay home and play. That you love watching him interact with your children. That when he is patient with you (even when you are being silly about something) it softens your heart. And especially when they share their feelings, thoughts and dreams.

The there's the little man in the house who asked me to make him some of these when he saw the ones I had done for his little cousins. These are the same size as the ones I used on the gift for my SIL for her b'day.

A little more fun we had in the kitchen. We actually baked them the day before Valentine's Day, but didn't decorate them till the next day. It's not the way I wanted to decorate them - but the icing wouldn't co-operate, so we just added pretty sprinkles to some of them.

There it is. That's it. Little sprinkles of love. Takes a little planning, but not a whole lot to actually do it - and it's so much fun!!! I think we might be having more days around here that are sprinkled with love. How about you?


S xxx

For more creative fun see what other peeps are doing.

The Sunflower Starfish Baby Beanie

I want to say thank you all for your encouraging comments for both my baby beanie, and the Valentines headbands.

Since some of you were interested in the pattern, I thought I'd post it for you now before I get distracted with something else! ;)

Without further ado, I give you...

The Sunflower Starfish Baby Beanie

Fits from birth to 3 months approx.
Materials:
4 ply baby yarn (I used Cleckheaton Cocoon, that I had in my stash)
3.5mm Double Pointed Needles (The yarn wrapper says 3.25mm, but I tend to knit tightly with 4ply)
Stitch marker
Tapestry needle for sewing up the top of beanie

Cast on 100 stitches. I like the long tail method for this.
Place the stitches evenly over 3 of the DPN's and add stitch marker. (I place the first stitch on the last needle, and the last on the first, thereby crossing the threads and making a loop (you could also use circular needles if they are short enough).
Work 10 rows of 2x1 rib
Work 20 rows of knit stitch (stst)
Begin decreases
Knit 8 stitches K2tog
Knit 1 row
Knit 7 stitches K2tog
Knit 1 row
Knit 6 stitches K2tog
Knit 1 row
Knit 5 stitches K2tog
Knit 1 row
Knit 4 stitches K2tog
Knit 1 row
Knit 3 stitches K2tog
Knit 1 row
Knit 2 stitches K2tog
Knit 1 row
Knit 1 stitches K2tog
Knit 1 row
Knit 2 stitches together till the end of row

Thread tapestry needle and stitch through remaining loops, fastening off after 2 rounds (I like to know it's going to be secure).

(P.S. This is the first time I've ever written a beanie pattern - so if you find any glitches, please let me know.)

Simple, easy Valentines head bands.

I found a link for some cute crochet hearts earlier this week. They are really very cute, and I wanted desperately to make some (see that is what happens when you have boys... you crave the odd girly thing), so I figured I could make some cute embellishments to go on headbands. Then while shopping in Woolworths, I found what I thought would be the perfect head bands to attach them to - one white and one red. Cheering!

I whipped up the hearts using 4 ply yarn (doubled for the larger heart on the head band and with a 4.5mm /G hook) and simply attached them by stitching them through the top layer of the head band while keeping to the back stitches of the hearts. I could have used hot glue I guess - but I'm not particularly confident with the stuff (that's hubby's forte).

Since the pattern also has a larger sized heart, I wanted to give it a go too, so when I was wrapping my SIL's B'day pressie last night, I thought "Ahh, I know! I'll add a heart!" I would have used a peacock feather if I'd had one - but hey, we're keeping with the Valentines theme here! :) Here's how it turned out...

Yes I have joined the hessian (burlap to my US friends) lovers group! Actually, I already loved it, I just needed some to play with! I also added a few seed beads onto wire and made a small heart shape for added dimension.

Happy Birthday BJ - you are amazing!!! 

Have a beautiful day!


S xxx

Linking up here today.

A bun warmer for my little bun.

I've finished it! (Well, to be precise, I finished it on Sunday night) The little bit of knitting that I have done for the little bitty bun that I am in the process of baking. :) The lighting is rubbish today, and I wish I had taken the time to photograph it yesterday. Alas. I also haven't blocked it. And Sarah, if you are reading this, the stitches aren't quite as even as I would like (Or you might think)... but it will keep baby's head warm! :)

This isn't the first baby beanie I have knitted, but it is one of the first where I decided to make my own pattern. Now my only problem is to figure out what kind of embellishment I should put on it. A flower? A sail boat? Grrr. Here's where YOU, my loyal readers can help out. What would YOU put on it for a girl or a boy? Pleeease, someone give me some inspiration! :)

Should I post the pattern? Would you like it? It wasn't too hard to knit up, and if you can juggle DPN's, it should be a piece of cake. Mmmm. Cake. Must make some I think...

Enjoy your day!


S xxx

My creative space - on the sticks

I actually get to show you SOMETHING that I'm working on right now... There are 3 other complete projects that I am longing to share, but the weather hasn't been cooperative for taking pictures (outsides ones), or my timing has been all wrong... so I'll have to leave you hanging on those ones (you can actually see a peek of one of the projects in the photo...).

It's raining today, so snuggling up with some yarn is completely appealing to me... after lunch I will hopefully get to it. Both boys will should be asleep then, so I will have some time to myself for a hour or so.

I started this one the weekend... and have already frogged it three times. I think  I had forgotten how to knit with DPN's... does anyone else find them a pain to work with? Give me a hook PLEASE!!! LOL Then there was the little placenta brain problem that made me cast on the wrong number of stitches (smacks hand on forehead), and while knitting and watching Grand Designs, I... um... started knitting in the opposite direction (after twisting a stitch - How did I not notice that??? I ask you. lol) Anyway... we are on the way. Hope to have this one finished by next week (I'm a slow knitter, I admit it.).

Hope your day is abundantly creative!


S xxx

See what other people are creating today over at Our Creative Spaces.

Choc-chip cookies

There are choc-chip cookies... and then there are choc-chip cookies. They are not all the same. (So perhaps I am a little biased in my opinion.) I have tried a few different recipes over the years, and when I found one that I thought wasn't bad, then I started messing with it! This is my version of of the recipe...

Choc-chip Cookies

Ingredients:
115g butter
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 3/4 cups self-raising flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
120g dark chocolate - chopped
60g milk chocolate - chopped

Method:

Cream together butter, sugars and vanilla.
Add lightly beaten egg gradually, beating well after each addition.
Mix in sifted flour and salt.
Add chocolate pieces and mix well.
Roll teaspoons full of a mixture into small balls and place on a baking paper lined tray far enough apart that they won't touch as they spread.
Bake in a moderate oven for approximately 10 minutes.

Bon appetit!