Come into the garden….

Our first few days of sunshine have made me start thinking of how much I like my garden

Of how it looked when we arrived

and how it looks now

All the fun We have shared with friends

and Family

and of course the myriad of furry and feathered friends that have made it such a nice place to be

it’s ever changing flora and fauna

and how much

I shall miss it………………..

Speak soon,

Mim xx

Caution Works in Progress !

With the rather chilly start to our British summer and our house move taking longer than we hoped My current WIPS  have a far better chance of being finished than if the sun was shinning and we were busy moving in to a new house !

My most recent project, which was started before finishing the project before..and the one before that….  is this

It is a rather old and battered Ikea rattan footstool which needed cheering up, this is the before shot

I used a pattern by the super talented Inverleith , you can find her blog at  http://inverleith.blogspot.co.uk/ , I found her pattern on Ravelry and tweaked it to fit this particular footstool.

Now it is finished I am returning to Chillis’ Emo blanket, thus named for its sombre colours, and the particular Teenage phase that is flavour of the month in the long thin house !

My other WIPS are exactly that and shall remain so until the Emo blanket is finished as I am determined to finish one thing at a time and not start anything else !

Although The Baby does need more granny sandals…

where’s my white wool …………

Speak soon,

Mim xx

A little bit of this and that

Now the sun has started to shine my Crocheting seems to have taken on more spring like hues

Even Crochet for Baby Ramona has turned from blankets to summery sandals

Things here at the long thin house are in a bit of a limbo, lots of things packed into boxes waiting for moving day…whenever that is !

I’m not very good at empty spaces, and now bootsale season has started again the shelves aren’t looking as bare as they should !

Speak soon

Mim xx

The shape of things to come …..

It seems that I am not very good at this blogging malarkey,I am full of good intentions – and ideas for my posts – but not very good at putting fingers to keyboard !

Things at the long thin house have been a bit hectic, which is no excuse, but has led me to re evaluate my blogging strategy.

I know I would miss blogging if I stopped completely but I feel a change is needed to make me blog more, so from now on I shall be trying a new style of blogging, please let me know what you think, and thank you for coming along for the ride, it may be a little bit bumpy to start but hopefully it will settle down soon.

I shall start with a short catch up of the things that have happened here in the long thin house while I have been away.

My first Grandchild Ramona s. Broadley was born.

There has been lots of sewing.

Plenty of crochet (more of this  to come! )

and also some of this…

…Packing !!

speak soon xx

I Heart Hearts

Valentines day is not a big thing in the long thin house, it usually involves a homemade card, possibly chocolate of some description, (which is not that different from most other days) occasionally flowers, Tulips are my favourite followed by Daffodils and then Roses, and sometimes but not very often a glass of fizz (not cola !) with dinner. I think it is another Anniversary that is more fuelled by sales than sentiment, but the one thing I do like is a nice Heart ! whether it be a twiggy one, a glittery one , a pebble shaped one found on beach or an edible one I love them all !

Happy Valentines Day,

Speak soon,

Mim xx

 

‘Nan’ Rules rule !

Here  in the long thin house… When I am allowed out of fairy land… I like to indulge in a spot of crochet.

I haven’t been ‘hooking’ for long and i think i chronicled my early attempts on this very blog, but it  has led me to an appreciation of all thing ‘Nan/Granny’. My Children do not understand this, when I recently offered to crochet a blanket for my soon to be here Granchild ( who we have found out since I first announced the news is a Girl ! ) I was told ” I don’t like crochet it looks like something Nan would have”. Exactly ! How can the ways of Nan be underestimated ? I firmly believe that more Nan attitude would be a good thing. The make do and mend attitude of our Parents and Theirs before is to be applauded in todays consumer led society, I for one am really glad to see the re-emergence of crafty ways, mending ,making  do, recycling, and while I’m as guilty as the next person of buying  designer vintage ‘style’ products my greatest pleasure is finding that same style/type of item in a charity shop or bootsale, usually for a lot less money ! the same goes for designer mass made goods, give me handmade or vintage any day, the web is full of amazingly talented crafts people, and you get something unique and lovingly made,not factory made by people who’d rather be at home !

Anyhoo getting down from my horse of extreme stature ! where was I …  Crochet baby blanket… Well I crocheted one any way, as I enjoyed doing it, and well, I am ‘Nan’ so it’s my job to introduce my Grandaughter to thrifty, crafty ways at every opportunity, even if she is too young to realise yet ! The blanket was met with a rather different reaction than I had expected…”oh it’s lovely ! ….. can you crochet baby dresses too, they are so cute” !

I feel my ‘Nan’ vibes are working !

speak soon

Mim xx

Away with the Fairies!

Nothing for months then two posts in as many days ! I hear you cry ! I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed it and couldn’t wait to do it again ! All things in moderation is motto I struggle with !

As I mentioned a while back I have become a little obsessed with this Instagram thingy. For those of you who do not know what it is, it is a place where you can post your own photos and people can leave comments and likes on them, They can also choose to follow you and you can do the same too. The result being that it becomes a little community, I love my IG family, they are a lovely bunch of funny and  talented people, who always seem to be on hand when you need them.

Around October last year I posted a photo on IG (Instagram) of a Fairy I was making for my Christmas tree, I had made one a while ago, but wanted to make another one in a slightly different style. By the time I had finished her I had had lots of lovely comments and had been asked if I made them to order, to which I said yes, this resulted in the lead up to Christmas being spent frantically sewing away in my sewing room…re-named Fairy land… to meet the IG orders !

I make them from upcycled fabric,vintage crocheted doilies , lace, ribbon, buttons and beads and each madebymim Fairy has a little embroidered heart tattoo, as i think all Fairies should have one !  I had a few remarks saying they looked very ‘Marie Antoinette-ish’ hence when naming them it seemed obvious to give them French sounding names, so there is Bibi, Didi,Coco,Frou Frou and Fifi to name a few !

Things in Fairy land have slowed a little since Christmas, which has given me time to experiment, having had such a great time making the little Christmas Fairies, I thought I’d give making a bigger version a go.

So now I am making Rag doll Fairies too, they are much bigger, nearly 2 foot tall ! and I have re opened my Etsy shop to sell them in.. madebymimuk… where I will be adding them as I make them,  the larger Rag doll Faries and the smaller Fairies too,which although they have been called Christmas Fairies are not just for Christmas ! The French style Rococo Fairies have been joined by Regency Fairies… A bit Pride and Predjudice… or as my Husband said , “it’s all a bit Eyre-e Fairy around here !” there are even plans in the pipeline for boy Fairies too!

So while in between collecting ideas for our teashop/craftspace on Pinterest and looking for houses, schools and business premises in Devon I’m to be found in my sewing room, away with the Fairies …and I love it !

Speak soon,

Mim xx