weekend

I love this time of year, berries ripen, everything looks so green and healthy and it's a lovely feeling to be outside in the warm weather. I managed to make this little mosaic this weekend as a Christmas present (for someone who won't be reading this, so it still will be a surprise) but it seems quite at home in my garden, I might have to make one for myself too. It's made from broken ceramics, the wings were a beautiful vintage bud vase that sadly got broken recently.

We are chemical free as much as possible in our garden and that means that sometimes things don't look so picture perfect as the season progresses, but I'm sure it means that it all tastes better!

dear santa

I started writing to Santa in 1984 when I was five years old. Over the years I wrote many more letters, each year saving the replies that he sent (thanks NZ post). Miss E has also been writing to Santa and this year all the post offices have special "Santa mail" boxes to post the special letters in. So what was on her list, Lego and a fairy. I was just glad she wasn't asking for a horse! I'm looking forward to her reply from Santa arriving in our letterbox.

advent

A work in progress, it was the last day of November when I decided to make an advent calendar for miss E. I was given a beautiful felt table runner a few years ago, it never made it to the table but I've had it decorating one of our doors ever since. It seemed like the perfect backdrop for 24 little bags of treats. I made the bags out of some festive looking tea towels, they are without numbers this year but hopefully by the time Christmas rolls around next year I'll have some numbers on them. I popped some natural sweets in them and a few little notes with special treats written down, like making play dough, going to the park, feeding the ducks and other things I know she loves to do. The patience of a three year old is limited and while I wasn't looking a few extra bags got opened up this morning, Christmas is getting closer!

hooked

Be still my heart, I snapped this shot on the way to preschool this morning. That's miss E walking along with crochet hook in hand and some yarn, trying her hand at some crochet like mummy. I'm left handed and she is right, so I'm finding it hard to show her how to crochet. She is very keen to learn so I'll have to find a right handed crocheter to teach her. I taught myself to crochet when I was twenty using a mirror held up to a book to reverse the image, that was 10 years ago now. Now there are some great books out there for left handed people learning to crochet with excellent diagrams. I felt such a connection to crochet once I mastered the basics (and many scarves later!) and I really hope that she will continue to have an interest in the craft. Maybe she has given me the perfect idea for a stocking filler, a special hook and some yarn.

a winner

The winner is........... Ellen! Thanks again to everyone who placed a comment.

button up

I got this lovely card in the mail from the Moriah College, thanking me for the buttons I sent for their Holocaust Button Collection that I posted about here. They aren't too far off their aim of 1.5 million buttons which is pretty amazing considering this is a school of only 30 odd pupils. So search those drawers and send some buttons in.

There is still time to enter my little Christmas giveaway, just leave a comment here, I'll draw a name on Friday evening.

getting cozy

I've been making quite a few of these apple cozys (is the plural of cozy, cozys?) as part of a present for the teachers at miss E's preschool. The pattern is generously provided free at Ravelry and is by Theresa Grant. A quick internet search revealed a knit version here . Although they seem more of a novelty than anything really useful, I've found the one I made myself really handy. I often pop an apple into my handbag when I'm heading out with the kids so I have a healthy snack at hand for them but I had found that it was often a bit battered against all the things in my bag by the time I would get it out for them. Now with my adorable apple cosy I find it in perfect condition! The best part is how fast they are to make, mine are made with a soy and cotton blend and a bamboo and cotton blend yarns finished off with vintage mother of pearl buttons.