A day off with hubby

Yesterday we went to Whitstable, just the two of us.  It was our first day alone together doing something just for the sake of it in over four years.

It was one of those kind of days where everything falls into place and the universe seemed to be telling us, "you deserve a good day".  The sun shone, the skies were a constant blue, there was always a chair to be found in the shade, or a cafe when we needed a drink, the perfect place for lunch, the perfect parking spot in the cheapest carpark.

We took with us one gremlin and two bunnies all packaged up and ready for Toy Society drops.  It was hubby's first hands-on experience of toy dropping and we had a great time surreptitiously leaving them around Whitstable.

One on the steps on the beach by the Neptune pub...

One on a bench on the beach looking out to sea...

 And one by the church on the High Street, see if you can spot it!...

We had Kent apple juice and scones, we mooched around the shops without hurrying, stopped to buy toffee crumble in the old fashioned sweet shop, and strolled through the fish market.

We walked along the seafront, all the way from the oyster company restaurant on the beach to the end of the beach huts, something we can never too with little legs in tow!

It was the perfect day out from the stresses of reality.  Thanks Whitstable xx

Oh, and in case it all seems too romantic, we did stop at John Lewis on the way home to buy a new hoover!  Well, we have been married seven years... :)

Two bunnies and a gremlin

The last time hubby and spent any time alone together that didn't involve shopping, DIY, childcare or housework was at least two years ago.  So today we are taking some time out.  We're off to Whitstable, one of our favourite places, to mooch about, walk and meander in a way you just can't with a pre-schooler in tow.

We won't be completely alone all day though, we have three companions joining us for the trip ready to be dropped off in Whitstable.

Two bunnies made using the patterns from the wonderful Revoluzzza blog...

And another gremlin (I just love gremlins!) made using the pattern from the Curious Creatures for Immature Adults book...

These will all be dropped today as part of the Toy Society project, more on this tomorrow.  Have a lovely Thursday!

x

Bargains and Destash blanket

Despite feeling completely hideous this morning (whenever I begin to believe I am feeling better the hormones turn against me, grrr) I managed to have a sunshiney bargainy morning at the local car boot sale with my hubby, mummy and little one.

In fact the little one did rather well for herself, we couldn't believe our luck when we found two girls selling off their vast collection of Polly Pocket toys.  We picked up a house, complete with dolls and magnetic furniture, plus a camper van which folds out into some form of disco mansion extravaganza, complete with camping couple and a little dog.

£2 in total! Unbelievable bargain!  In fact, we even sneaked back when Lillia wasn't looking and snapped up a Polly Pocket water park with its own blow up pool to put away for Christmas. 

I came away with, amongst other things, a gorgeous enamel bracelet...

It is set with shiny stones all the way round, the enamel is cream and the inside is gold and it is just so funky, I love it.  I can't wait for somebody to comment on it and ask where I bought it so I can reply "Oh this? It was 50p at a boot sale"!

Work is underway on the completion of my destash blanket...

After some consideration I decided to edge each of the large granny squares in a lovely creamy aran wool I have left over from the ripple scarf.  I then intend to sew them together and finish it all off with some form of edging in the same creamy wool.  I enjoy working on things that just take shape as you go, it makes it all the more exciting to have no idea where you're heading!

So tonight I am going to bed ridiculously early.  I will be popping on a chick flick, taking my cup of tea to bed and will settle down here to crochet the evening away...

I do hope you have all enjoyed a lovely sunny weekend :)

x

PS.

I just spotted on the Toy Society website this drop using my matryoshka doll tutorial (link on the right)!  It's so exciting to see that my tutorial actually works, and especially exciting that more dolls are being dropped all round the world! 

My tutorial is on Feltorama!

Thanks to the lovely April over at Feltorama my Matryoshka doll tutorial will reach new eyes!  

So head on over there to see my felty tutorial on display (yes I realise I am ridiculously late in sharing this information) and take the opportunity to check out the hundreds of mouthwatering tutorials she has over there.  My favourite of the moment is this tutorial from tangarangblog for a felt circus elephant, one of these will definitely be made for my next Toy Society drop!

What are you still doing here?  Go!  Feltorama!  Now!

x

Second Toy Society drop!

We dropped our second toy for the Toy Society this morning! 

It was hard to get a decent photo as the light was pretty bad and we were in a rush to get away before we were spotted.

 We left Borisova on the back of the children's toilet cubicle in Bexleyheath mall in Kent, UK.

Bye bye Borisova!  I hope you find a good home...

Borisova

My first Toy Society experience

Today Lillia and I took Julia, one of my handmade matryoshka dolls, to Bluewater in Kent for our first Toy Society drop!

 I first came across the Toy Society back in October last year.  The idea is that you make or buy a toy, then package it up and leave it in a public place for somebody to find.  You put a note in with the toy so that the finder knows what is going on.  I can imagine how I would feel if I found one, it would restore my faith in human nature, so I have wanted to do this for a long time but time just always seems against me.  Last night though I packaged up Julia, cut out the note to go with her, popped her in a bag and got her all ready for her journey out into the world.

Then this morning hubby, Lillia and I drove to Bluewater for a spot of shopping and while we were there we found just the right spot.  I had been thinking of leaving her in the baby change area but then we came across a family toilet cubicle, one of those big enough to house both parents, buggies, bears and screaming children.

And it was there that we left Julia. 

You might notice that I have altered her mouth slightly.  She was looking far too stern before so I made her look a little more  friendly.

I do hope she has found a good home!

Doll crazy

Not even my bright and cheery dish brush could disguise the dull and drizzly weather here today.  My third day stuck at home with bone crunching arthritis.  Best thing to do though is keep moving as much as possible, soooooo....

Meet Ivana...

And Gertruda...

And also Borisova...

And, er, Julia...

And, lastly, Biata...

They are joining Roza and Sashka and I am not quite sure what to do with them all!  I have just really got a kick out of making them and seeing them all take on slightly different personalities, very addictive. 

Roza is going to Lillia as she fell in love with her.  Biata is going to make her way to a friend of mine working away from home and in need of a friend to keep her company.  As for the others?  I think one will be destined for a Toy Society drop, and of course I am sure more then a couple will be donated to Craft Hope, when donations are accepted again in two weeks time.  Every little counts after all.

I do love my new friends!  But right now the felt, the thread and the sewing machine are being packed away as in about twenty minutes we have family arriving for the weekend: four adults, one teenager, a pre-schooler and, of course, 7 new friends in our tiny two bed cottage for two nights and two days!  Eeek!

Have a good weekend all :)

xx

Rainy days and Mondays...

Today was wet, rainy, a bit more wet, autumnal and, mostly, wet.

It is very hard to feel down though; this is my favourite month, my favourite season and my favourite kind of day. A day of blankets and boots and the smell of clean washing drying on radiators turned on for the first time since early spring.

A day for wearing a warm pink fleece and stomping in puddles...

A day for stopping to admire the colours of autumn...

(This amazing plant is in my driveway. No idea what it is, must ask my mum, mums always know...)

A day for new friends...

This is "Star". The Black Apple doll I made in preparation for my first Toy Society drop, but which Lillia fell in love with and adopted (I am so weak!) So work on Star #2 is underway ready for our first drop next week.

Her face and arms are hemp fabric, her stockings are organic cotton, her hair is felt and her body is an old vintage fabric I was given. The face is painted on with acrylic paint, first time I have used acrylic, first time I have painted eyes..think I need some practice!

A day for staying in and getting creative...

And for getting ready for Halloween!

A day for staying warm and dry inside whilst silly mummy prances about with her camera in the rain...

A perfect day :)

xx

On toys and being immature

The Amazon Mathematic Principal states that “If you are treating yourself to a book from Amazon that doesn’t cost enough to qualify for free Super Saver delivery then you can add a second book to your purchase to qualify and that second book will be determined “free” even though technically you are paying twice the amount you would have had you just paid the postage in the first place...”

Which is how it came about that I received a delivery of two rather delicious books yesterday. The first is "Stitch and Bitch: The Happy Hooker" by Debbie Stoller which, aside from having the World’s Second Best Book Title (we’ll come to the first best in a minute), is going to my number one tool in mastering the art of crochet…



I have dug out some garish acrylic wool from the loft, and dusted off a crochet hook that I didn’t know I even had (or why) and I am beginning to learn the basics. My sister had already taught me a few basic stitches and I had foolishly thought I would now just knock up a few granny squares, stitch them together and have a gorgeously colourful and kitsch blanket to snuggle by teatime. Turns out I’m not much of a natural though, hence the new book.


The second book and current holder of the World’s Best Book Title…er..title is…

Yes, that’s right – "Plush-o-rama: Curious Creatures for Immature Adults". The moment the wrapping came off Lillia had quite literally grabbed it from me. She then spent twenty minutes leafing through its pages laughing hysterically at the array of ridiculous multi-limbed creatures and making a verbal list of all the ones she wished to have made for her.


And make them I will. But there was another reason why I had ordered this lovely crazy book. Two reasons actually: First to teach me a bit of wild abandonment. As the introduction says "..welcome to the new plush frontier where it's perfectly acceptable to be a bit quirky, where uabashed originality is highly encouraged, and 'not-quite-right' is the norm"." I am hoping that some of this attitude will rub off on me.

Secondly I bought it having read about The Toy Society. Have you heard of it? It started as a street art project in Australia and is now spreading its love rapidly throughout the world. The basic premise is that you make a lovely little toy, you wrap it, add a tag saying “Take me home, I’m yours”, then leave it in a public place for somebody to find, take home and love. You include a little letter with your toy explaining what the Toy Society is and with details of how to report the toy as being found if the finder wishes to do so.

The whole thing is just so utterly sweet and has that pay-it-forward kind of vibe that I love. Just reading the notes from “finders” brought a tear to my eye. But then I cry at anything - TV adverts, news stories about rescued animals, losing my lipgloss…anything.

I believe it was the fictional Jerry Maguire who once said “We live in a cynical world, a cynical, cynical world…” I for one cannot deny being of the cynical persuasion, but I still see a lot of goodness in the world and if this little project helps to spread a little more of that goodness then I want to join in.

Watch this space!