Mousy Brown's House-Creating, crafting and collecting. Enjoying Life.

Joining in.

I was feeling like I needed a challenge, something a bit different, something to kick start my fingers (and brain) and as if by magic I discovered Kate's Creative Jumpstart course, Blair's Granny Square Sampler Project and Rachel's Handstitched Class and just like that I am sorted for the Summer....

"Start the Week Stash Busting" - Week Two - Made it!

It's Monday again, and after a brief pause to say thank you to all of you who joined me stash busting last week, I have a very foot orientated post for you this week...

My contribution to stash busting is the pair of socks above, started a frighteningly long time ago, they have remain half a pair for well over a year (its that second sock syndrome striking again!  Have any of you tried this technique/book?  I'd love to know what you thought if you have?).  They were knitted using a ball of Fortissima Colori socka color (Colour 6) which is a yarn I have used before in other shades and can recommend as all our other pairs are still going strong.  The pattern was a simple free one that is given away with opal sock yarn purchases and to my mind it seems to do the trick!

Socks do seem to be a good way to use up yarn that you already have and Julie linked to this great pattern in last weeks comments, for those of you who have various odds and ends of sock yarns that you want to use up. (Thank you for that link Julie, they really do look great!)  Sticking with feet, I also read this post at NZ Green Buttons which I thought might be a good way to use up some thicker yarn...which in turn reminded me of knitting Duffers - another quick and easy way to make up something useful and beautiful with an odd ball of wool....

I do have a confession to make...I have somehow, despite my best intentions, ended up with MORE yarn on the way this week after being tempted by Dawn's offer last week.  Any suggestions for how to discover a bit of restraint would be gladly accepted (please leave ideas in the comments!)

I'm looking forward to seeing how you have been de-stashing this week (and also what!)...after Cheryl's tasty idea last week, so please link to your posts or Flickr or Ravelry and share all the good ideas!

Springtime in Paris....

As I hinted here, I am off for a few days away this week and as you might of guessed from the title of this post, Paris is where I am heading.  Valarie invited me to join her to celebrate this exciting book and now I am all packed and ready to go, I just have to decide which project to take with me to keep my hands busy at the airport (and my mind off the terror I feel at the idea of flying!)  The crochet is a Critron shawl and the blue/green knitting is the start of a stripe study shawl...which do you think I should choose?

I'll be back next week with photo's and tales to tell but while I am away I would love it if you would check out this link to Kiva, who are a...

"non-profit organization with a mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty. Leveraging the internet and a worldwide network of microfinance institutions, Kiva lets individuals lend as little as $25 to help create opportunity around the world."

I am on my second loan and love the fact that I am able to help, in a very real way, to create opportunities for individuals to find a way out of poverty.  The link above offers a free trial while funding lasts and I would love it if you would go and take a look and find out more!

A sunny new space for creativity.

It seems a very long time ago I first mentioned simplifying and moving my craft room.  Inspired by something I spotted on Pinterest I decided that our spare room was a perfect place to re-locate and while I was doing it I would sort out a bit of the clutter that I had been collecting.

This side of the room is all organised and laid out so I can find anything I need...no more hours spent searching for the pattern I want to try or the thread I know I have.  Can you see how I have put all my books in themes and then put the materials associated with them next on the shelf?  That sewing section is looking pretty tempting at the moment, all bathed in sunshine and glowing happily!

My sewing machine has it's own little table and can just be pushed to the back if we have guests...maybe I'll lend them our room instead as what could be nicer than sleeping in with all that crafty inspiration?

The other side of the room, my fabrics and my desk were all equally beautifully displayed but unfortunately, before I could take photo's, I started making a few different things and now it looks like this....

So maybe I'm not as reformed as I thought I was?  At least I can shut the door and nobody can see! 

Ddyd gwyl Dewi Sant! (St David's Day)...

A  day of sunshine, the first daffodils, birds singing and blue skies. This year, with World Book day taking place too, it is a day of dressing up (George from George's Marvellous Medicine), stories at school and a good excuse to sit and celebrate both in the garden with a cup of coffee and a good book...why don't you come and join me wherever you are?

Another gift for my Mum (and Dad).

I hinted ,back here, that I was cooking something else up to send to my Mum for her birthday.  Well it arrived and was dispatched off to Spain as a gift for her and my Dad (they are both February babies) and now I can show you....

365 A view from my eyes by A photo a day starting 1 Feb 2011. | Make

Your Own Book

I am so pleased with how it turned out and have to say that using Blurb was a joy.  I simply imported my Flickr set into their book maker and within a couple of hours it was all ready to print.  The service was really quick and the book itself is beautiful quality.  I had another copy printed for us to keep as a  reminder of last year and am inspired now to create all kinds of other books as a way of getting some of our digital photos in solid form...can you believe we haven't printed anything for five years now?  That's quite a bit of catching up I need to do!

Simplifying...

I decided to tidy up, move rooms, simplify.  I think I may have created a monster.  It will all be worth it when it's finished though....it will won't it???

Alabama Stitching

I have to start with an apology...I lied about showing you more handmade birthday gifts, so look away now if you have had enough!

This weekend I finally made something that has been on my "to do" list for nearly TWO whole years...I have picked up this book so many times and done my usual panic about following instructions and put it back down without starting....I don't know what came over me on Saturday  but I decided to quit being so silly and to get going in my own way, using the pictures as inspiration and the resulting headband is just about my favourite make ever!  This one was made as a gift for my Mother's birthday but I love it so much the fabric is already cut out for me to make one for me too.

In the package to my Mum, along with the headband, I have also included some gratitude beads that I learned to make over at Creative Kismet when I took part in Regina's creative e-course....it took me ages to get around to making those as well.....I sense a theme here! 

The third something special I want to make for my Mum won't be ready in time, so she will have to be a bit patient (I will fill you in on that one later on in the week) 

The knitting is going well and I have two finished items to show you soon but the light has been so awful (I don't think it got light at all yesterday) that I have postponed that post until I can get some nice sunshine to take the photos.  The birthday yarn is not doing so wonderfully, Snap decided to kill it on Saturday while we were out and I am not sure I can save enough of it to make anything (except maybe a fairy hat!) Why, why, why does she always choose my most expensive/precious/special/beautiful/newest yarn to destroy?  Ok she has only done it once before but still that was a special skein too...maybe she just has particularly good taste in wool?  Ideas for very small knitting projects in the comments please.....

Amanda Soule's Mama's Bag.

Ever since I bought Amanda Soule's Handmade Home: Simple Ways to Repurpose Old Materials into New Family Treasures (on the 18th April 2009 Amazon just informed me - really? that long ago, oh my!) I have wanted to try making the vintage fabric  'Mama's bag'.  It is a little more elegant than my usual style but still utilises beautiful old fabrics and I thought the smaller size of it might discourage the clutter that I usually manage to gather in my pillowcase bags...you really don't want to know, let me just say a bit like Mary Poppins I can usually magic whatever you need out of the depths of my bag, in ANY situation...

Last Thursday I decided to stop dithering and get started and less than an hour later I was the proud owner of a Mama's bag of my own.  I used a piece of a vintage curtain I bought 20 years ago and have never found a window to fit, a piece of checked cotton that was given to me by a friend and the handles are made from a favourite shirt of mine that I have sadly had to accept is beyond repair.  The ribbon was grosgrain bought to wrap presents many Christmases ago and then sneakily rescued from the rubbish pile when nobody was looking.  It might have cost next to nothing to make but to me it is so much more beautiful (and certainly more meaningful) than any designer handbag I could buy.

And the contents?  Well at the moment (and I am aware this is likely to change!) I have my knitting (I'll be back with details soon) with it's cute little sheep marker (a gift from a very special friend, along with some other goodies I will also show you soon), my purse - a special purchase from Melissa at Tiny Happy, which I love and my journal which I am slowly filling with inspiration and ideas....and you know what? it seems to be enough....for now!

Holiday Album - Beach fun and Garden Camping,

The summer days are passing in a happy haze, ticking activities off our list...sandcastles,

rounders and cricket,

sleep!

Garden Camping....

.....campfires,

and reading every day.

We are living in the moment, no where to be, no time scales to worry about and the result is pure and unadulterated happiness.  Makes me wonder why we save all this joy for these precious few summer weeks?  Think I am going to try and think of ways of capturing some of these sunshine days for when we go back to school.....first step is to work out a way to stop all the worlds clocks, how do you rate my chances?