And the end of 2011...

This Christmas I got everyone matching Pj's and made slippers! 

I gave them all different colour trims but kept them all a Christmassy red! I was so excited about matching slippers!! My mam had the don of all slippers and had pom poms on the toes!

Other than the slippers and a hat for my uncle I didn't make many presents! I didn't have enough time! lol

Anyways... like i said before I'm treating myself to my very first present! Knitting my Aran cardi. :) I'm three days in and I'm about half way through the back pattern. Its different for me cause I've never followed a pattern before I'm actually loving it! its easier than making up a pattern on the go! 

I just want it made now! 

So my next project after this Cardi is...

MY KNITTING MACHINE! 

Yay, I'll finally have time to figure it out!

I have so many plans for when I can actually work it out!!

OOooohhhh, Excited...

Happy New year my lovely friends! Enjoy and be good! :)

xxx

Christmas Time...

So Christmas has been and gone and it has been one mad rush after another! With three stalls over 15 separate presents to make and trying to keep my sanity it has been a very busy Christmas but one of the best so far!

Although I was glad there was no snow, cause I can't stand snow!! Esmé (my beautiful little princess) kept asking for snow so I introduced her to the snow ball fight with Pom Pom snowballs. :)

 So I made loads of Pom Poms and we spent ages chucking them at each other! Esmé was interested for like five seconds then the rest of the time Hubby and I pelted them at each other! Was well worth the time and effort going into it.

So since not having time to make anything for myself I have come across the most beautiful Aran cardi pattern. Taking a break from mass producing things so I can make myself a little present!

That is the start of the back. Overly excited to finishing it!! EEEE...

Sorry that was my excitement! Also I have a niece due VERY soon... I may need to knit some cardis for her too!!

Something new I have planned is to get my knitting machine out and working! Blankets and machine knit jumpers and things to come! 

For now i'll just get back to making my aran knit. :)

Love! xxx

Cornerstone City Church Fashion Show!

Last night was so much fun! My church had a fashion show to raise money for their 'Earthworks' charity. 

A few local companies were asked to have a little stall which had something for everyone! Even candyfloss! Also a great friend of mine Paisley Lane had her stall there too. But buy the time I'd got to her stall everything I wanted was already bought! 

There was about 500 men and women there last night and the atmosphere was something else. I was just pleased to be a part of it! 

These are my heatpacks that I've started to sell.

My Little House had a brand new addition this time! 'Gina's Homemade Fudge'. This is my mother who makes the most amazing fudge I've ever tasted and when she offered to make some for my stall I was worried that it wouldn't sell because its food and I've never sold food before. But it was my best seller to be honest!! From now on every Little House stall will have homemade fudge! (I'll need to watch my waistline with all of the free samples!)

SO... It was a huge success and I had fun! 

I am taking a big break from crafting for my sanity! So I tried to give myself a week off but I got up this morning and opened up a craft book and wrote a to-do list! 

What can I say, old habits and all that!

This is a book my Granny got me from a car boot... Everything is outdated but the ideas are amazing!

Have a look at my facebook and 'Like' it... if you like it!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Little-House/105549322855917

I did mention my friend Paisley Lane... Have a look at her page too. :)

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Paisley-Lane/208807405818622

Loads of love!!! xxx

My first Little House stall.

So this weekend I had a stall for the very first time and I'm pleased to say it went really well.

There are a lot of things that I need to get used to. I love giving my things away because I normally know where there going but with selling my little babies I found it hard to let them go. Which is so silly when I hope to make a living out of this!! lol


Anyways! Its given me a real excitement about making again!! I have been making non stop, I actually have about 5 things on the go at the moment... A bunch of them are Christmas stuff!! I have an ever growing list of Christmas gifts!! Oh AND I've got a new cousin and a niece on the way, so more baby stuff to make now...

I'm busy and Loving it!!

All my love! xxx

Nothing at full price please!

I am drawn to a good deal!

It actually hurts me to pay full price for things, even most of my wonderfully wooly wool was on sale when I adopted them. So because of my thriftiness I have come across the best thing ever!

EBAY!!

It's not the best thing for my bank account but whilst looking for a bargain it's great!! A long with my second hand shop for furniture, I'm a very happy bunny!

This is just something I get excited about!!

For a glimpse at what I'm making at the mo, I've attempted knitted dishcloths. They are a pleasure to knit and I can see myself making many in the near future.

Also little house had been asked to have a stall at another upcoming event, which will be told at a later date!!

I thought I'd just give you a little look into my mad mind at the mo!!

Hope your all crafty and thrifty!

All my love... Xxx

Awkward!

I had a really awkward conversation recently about my little house work!

To give you some background about who I am and what I do... I am a full time wife and a full time mam and knitting is something I love and what I do as my passion, so as the story goes..

I was a bridesmaid at one of my best friends wedding! It was such a beautiful day! Our little girl was a flower girl.              

Because I am married to an English man I was sat at a table with the rest of the English people who were invited to the wedding...

So as you do with people you don't know you ask what people do, as in professions. Anna was also at this table (another best friend of mine and also a Brit) so I was surrounded with people who had 'real' jobs! lol

When it came to my turn to profess my job I just replied... 'Housewife' because that what I am and proud of it! But Anna who is one of my main cheerleaders stated, 'That's not all she does, she makes things too!'

So I started to explain that I make things out of wool, to which this lovely posh English lady told me that her friend is the main wool designer for D&G... I almost laughed out loud when she asked was that something I did... 'Am, not really... I make things like cup jumpers!'

There was a good bit of silence then! It was awkward but really funny!

People just went back to drinking their drinks and not looking me in the eyes!





These were the favors at my friends wedding, they were so beautiful!


All my love... xxx

Our Mission!!

Hubby and I have a love for all things vintage! When I say all things I mean furniture and tableware specifically! It started from us being skint and needing furniture.

It then turned into a little not so secret love affair. :)

We've found that the secret is not knowing where to go or when you go, its who you know! We've found that stalking a good second hand shop isn't enough you need to make friends with the people who work there! THAT'S how you get the deals!

I've found that these lovely ladies hide things that they think I'd like, and I've yet to pay the asking price, which makes me even happier!!

So far we've rescued a red sofa that just needs a little love (£30), 

a foot stool which I LOVE (£5),

Our kitchen table (£50),

Our lovely new rocking chair (£20) Do not judge the fabric, it has yet to be given its make over!

And another lovely chair which was made in the 70's (£10)

You just can't be afraid of doing a little work or a lot of work in some cases.

It makes me all warm inside that we've been adopting OAP furniture! They have a loving smoke and pet free home they can settle into. The only thing they need to watch out for is a rather hyper strong minded two year old!

She really loves the new/old rocking chair! I almost don't want her to touch my new toy!

Anyways beyond my own childish tendency's, secondhand furniture shopping is my secret lover. (Don't tell the wool!)  

All my love... xxx

Bedlam!

So Little House will be having it's first stall at the end of august! It's our first stall and I am so excited!

The only thing I'm finding hard is making the same thing over and over again! With wool I can't make things in batch, I have to knit things over and over again. It kind like having the same meal for a whole week. By the end of a week of knitting the same pattern over and over I just lose motivation!

This week for example I've been knitting hats, hats... and more hats! I now know this pattern off by heart!!!

This week I've knit 5 or 6 (I've actually lost count) and I need to make 10 in this newborn size.


Anyways, I'm getting so really exciting about my first stall! Its giving me ideas that I'll hopefully be able to create into reality! I'm trying to think of ideas using my second love, after wool... 

Buttons!!


I just love buttons! 




All my love... xxx

My biggest crafting secret!

I was trying to imagine what things I do when crafting that makes it easier to work for a long period of time and not go mad! 

 It came to me in a flash of loveliness!!

TEA!

Oh yes, stopping in the middle of a project and having a cuppa and taking yourself away from being in the middle of it helps me see where to go next. This means I am able to work for a long time and not loose my mind! 


I've found if I just stop and look at what I'm doing I will go back to working my way through without a real break. Add in a cup of tea (with some lovely biscuits to dunk with) and it gives me a good 10 mins out of my cluttered head!


Then you are refreshed and ready to go again... So there you have it my crafting secret... Tea (A beautiful cup always helps!)


This is where my cup cozy idea came from... My cup just looked cozyless. 


All my love... xxx

The Christmas Rush!

Yes, believe it or not my planning for Christmas has begun! A lot of the crafters I've talked to and even on the forums people are planning there

Starting from August 1st I only have,

 5 Months...

21 weeks...

145 days...

Not that I'm counting or anything! (or freaking out!)

I have an ever growing list of things that I'm going to try to attack and conquer!! I have finished all other things, but to be fair I could still be more organised! (I have birthdays to sort out between now and then.) They may have to be store bought presents and I hope they forgive me! lol

I'm going to be making these pom pom garlands into Christmas garlands, I'll be using them instead of tinsel! 

The exciting bit is .... SHOPPING! More wool and some fabric... but more importantly MORE WOOL!! :)

(Ohhhh more wool!)

Anyways!

I am excited to be trying things that I've only ever dreamed of! I'm getting to dig through the most fun places to find some second hand goodies that I can clean up and find a new home for...

Sometimes tho I feel like I get really attached to my little babies (projects) and find them hard to give away! Hopefully I'm not the only crafty person that feels that way, otherwise I may need to seek medical help!!

This is my BEAUTIFUL model showing off some of my hand made clips which I will also be adding some Christmas wonder to. 

Anyways... (again) I think you will be getting a real insight into my mind and how crazy its going to be over these next 5 months (21 week and 145 days!!)

All my love... xxx

I love wool!

I really love wool!!


Most of the crafters I've met, find a pattern that they decide to fulfill and then choose a wool to suit. Which is the most sensible way to choose your wool... 
But... I do the complete opposite!

I go on a trip to my faithful wool shop and just see what calls to me... Sometimes there is a beautiful 400g of Aran wool but i have to put it on my wish list for when my arch enemy Mrs Purse is more flush! I will never leave empty handed tho, there is always a ball of wool to fit into my price range.

Although I have skipped lunch in the aid of some balls of wool in the past, they were worth it!
I get more satisfaction out of an unused ball of wool sitting in my wool sanctuary (my hot press) than some of my finished projects. 
Which shows how sad I really am! 

I have currently found the purpose for some of my lovey grey speckled Aran wool... Cup Cozys!!

Little House.. xxx

Orphaned Knitting needles.

In all of my thrifting experiences I have come across a lot of Orphaned knitting needles! Poor little things are just looking for warm home! I really don't mind re-homing these poor old needles because I find them easier than these newer plastic trendy needles we are sold now-a-days...

Okay so that statement makes me sound much older than what I am but I find that statement true none the less! 

Thinking about it 90% of my needles are vintage and when I find a new pair of needles I try and find a pattern in that gauge of needle just for fun...

Oh jeepers that sounds very sad of me, but its true!! lol

I have yet to find any orphaned crochet needles to be honest... With crochet being my first language it makes me a little happy that all the crochet needles are tucked up at home with their parents. I don't have any 'vintage' crochet needles, all my needles are all new born babies...

They will be vintage one day for sure! (and hopefully well worn!)

All my love.... Little House xxxx