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

An unexpected pleasure.

Saturday was supposed to be spent with my friend, charity shop (thrift) shopping in Shrewsbury a lovely old town in Shropshire.  It was a treat to make up for the day we missed in september.  Unfortunately, on friday complications with cars meant that our day out became a trip to Manchester, to visit a garage, followed by a shopping trip into the city.  Anyone who knows me, will be aware that a busy saturday in the run up to Christmas, spent shopping in a city centre is just about as close to hell as I can imagine.  I went for the company and time spent with a friend but was surprised to find I enjoyed the rest of the trip too!

We visited the Manchester craft and design centre, which was having a winter extravaganza with live music and a snow machine.  We treated ourselves to some handmade goodies from the maker's studios and lunched on soup and cherry chocolate muffins.

We visited the christmas markets, walking under the giant ferris wheel, enjoying the smell of chestnuts and mulled wine.

 

We wondered home, the crisp evening air reddening our cheeks, our arms laden with pretty paper bags full of handmade gifts, enjoying the bustle, the chatting, the lights.

Enjoying the day for what it was - a very delightful if unexpected pleasure!

 

Just a quick note to point out a little list I am starting - up there, top right - it shows links to projects that I think will make great gift ideas, just click to see some fantastic crafty ways to have a more creative Christmas! This list can't cover all the wonderful ideas that are out there but is just a small sample of what I have seen - please don't get upset if I have forgotten your favorites - leave a comment with a link and then we can all enjoy them! Thanks x

Christmas Gnome Hats.

Back in January I was reading this post on the wonderful SouleMama blog and followed the link to the adorable free knitting pattern pdf.  With no recipient in mind, just because it was so, so cute (and really because I wondered if I could work out how to make one for me!) I downloaded the file and printed off a copy for my knitting library.  Then in September, when I needed a pattern for a hat I forgot about this gnome pattern and used the Knitalong version instead.  Finally, last week, I re-discovered the Hello Yarn pattern again and with Christmas gifting firmly in my sights, knitting began. A simple, and speedy pattern to complete, these hats are now finished and ready to be carefully wrapped and sent.

 

This one across country, to my cousin, for her little boy:

and this one to Sweden, for the baby daughter, of my best friend from school.

Although I loved the bobbles in the pattern, the yarn I used shed hairs a lot and I worried that the little ones might chew and swallow them.  In the hat for my friend I popped the bobble on top and left the ear flaps unadorned.  In the version for my cousin, I decided to make i-cord and tie in a knot on top,because I liked the effect so much, I decided to repeat it on the ear flaps too.  The knots on the ear flaps can be untied and the cord used to keep the hat on if preferred.
I think these make gorgeous Christmas gifts and can recommend the pattern to anyone else who wants to have a go.  Would anyone be interested in how I did the i-cord?  If you are, just leave a comment and if enough people are keen I will do a post with instructions.

Happy Thanksgiving!

To any of you, wherever you may be, who are celebrating Thanksgiving at the moment, I would like to send you good wishes and blessings from here in North Wales.  May you have a wonderful time full of joy, peace and gratitude. x

Advent Calendar 2009.

In the spirit of making a Handmade Christmas, I am starting with a handmade advent calendar.

I bought a pile of little brown self-seal envelopes from ebay and had a wonderful afternoon playing around with fonts on microsoft word to create the dates.  Some I printed on to ordinary paper, others I printed onto some brown parcel wrap, that I cut to A4 size and fed into the printer.  I also used my stamps and ink to print some dates and mark each envelope with a 'J' (for the big one) or 'S' (for the little one), one each for every day.  I filled the envelopes with chocolate coins, collectors cards (different favourites for each boy), small collectibles I have thrifted and other small cost - high enjoyment factor items.  I have tried to balance days they get sweets with the days they get gifts and they both get the same sort of thing on any one day.  The final day they get a special gift from here as a reminder of the true meaning of the celebrations. Something I'm glad to say they seem to appreciate each year, as much as all the other more conventional gifts.

The little christmas tree hanger in the middle picture is one of two I found in a quilting shop and I intend to hang the envelopes off them using ribbon and small wooden pegs.  Like many things homemade, this calender is better suited to the recipient, uses less packaging, is recyclable (and at the same time is re-cycling!) and hopefully shows the love and care that has gone into its construction.  I'll try and post some photos once they are on display and before they are consumed but for now they are hidden away to be hung up by the elves on the last night of November!

Flooded with beauty.

As I drove my little boy home from school today under glowering skies, I stopped to take some photos of the stunning lakes that have appeared where usually there are fields.
 

As I admired natures change of landscape, my heart went out to those who have lost so much in these engulfing waters over the last few days.

I counted my blessings that I am able to stand in awe and admire, rather than run in fear at the power. Gaining so much from experiencing this beauty, rather than the loss that so many others have had to endure.

 

 

Handmade Christmas.

 

As I mentioned yesterday, this year homemade gifts are featuring heavily on our Christmas lists.  We always try to make some of our gifts, decorations and wrappings but this year we are planning to make or thrift as much as we can.  In the coming weeks I will try and post about some of the ideas we are attempting, others will obviously have to wait until the presents have been opened and there are no surprises to spoil!  I will be sharing a selection of ideas for easy ways to make 'something from nothing', hopefully saving money, the planet and my sanity along the way!  I am off now to finish knitting a hat, that I hope to show you later this week, have a lovely day!

PS. The photo above is of the handmade Christmas wreath I made last year.  Each year, early in December two friends and I get together for a morning of coffee, chatting and Christmas creativity.  This year our get together is booked for the first week of the  month and I will share some photo's of the results and hints of how we made them as soon as I can after that.

My first Quilt.

Quilting and patchwork have always filled me with a complex mix of emotions - complete terror and panic on the one hand, admiration and desire on the other.

Earlier this year I took park in a one day Project Linus quilting day with a local group.  It is a fantastic charity and the workshop was full of wonderful women making quilts to give away.  The friendly, helpful atmosphere and the starters quilting pack I was given, allowed me to complete my first quilt in a fairly professional manner (looked ok to me anyway!) but did nothing to dissipate my fear of doing it alone! 

 

Today I have jumped that final hurdle and completed my 'first' solo quilt!  It is far from perfect and has had some moments of panic but despite that (or maybe because of that) I absolutely love it!

It is one of a pair I have planned for my boys for Christmas (a largely homemade affair this year).  This is for my older son and features a panel in the centre I embroidered with his first words when he was a baby.  I used a vintage sheet and once it was decorated made it into a duvet cover for his cot duvet.  When my second son was born four years later I cut the duvet cover down the sides and used the reverse side to do the same memory embroidery for him.

I have made a border of various patches from old PJ's and check trousers, with some gingham I had in my stash.  The backing is a vintage american print 'boxcar rally' which I used for various items in his nursery when he was little.  I did a random freehand quilting around the embroidery which doesn't follow any rules but I like it alot.  It is filled with some organic bamboo batting and I think it will drape nicely when it is used. 

Pressure is now on to complete his younger brother's version in the next four weeks!  Eugh - it's taken 38 years to make my first quilt, do you think I'm being a bit hopeful?

 

Happiness is .....Walking the dog.

 

 

Garden growing bigger!

 
Have a happy weekend! 

A crafty day off.

 

I don't know if you feel the same but I never like to send my children back to school, when they have been ill, until they have had one normal day at home.  My little one has been off for nearly a fortnight with what may or may not have been swine flu. The Doctor felt he was obviously getting better and didn't need treating but suggested that it could take some time for him to feel back to normal.  I have kept him at home, snuggled and warm, waiting for him to bounce back.  Yesterday , for the first time, he complained about being bored (that hinted at getting better) so today was the day where we had a trial at normality!  We got up at the normal time for school, waved his big brother off to the school bus, we showered and dressed (well before lunch time!) and walked our dog through the fields.  I had also promised we could do some craft together. So I was over the moon to find this post from Enchanted Mama which inspired an afternoon of creativity.

We measured and cut and planned and stitched and at the end of the afternoon we had completed a mini book each.  We are both so pleased with the results and have lots of plans to make more as gifts.

Why don't you visit the link above, join in the fun and make some too?