Thursday Happies :0)

climbing Hydrangea and Valerian from my garden

Hello Lovelies ,
Thursday is usually a work day for me so this week I enjoyed the novelty of being out and about yesterday .
In fact I REALLY enjoyed it . It turned out to be one of those days where you seem to find lovely things around every corner and everybody seems happy to see you .
I think getting a day off after a hectic few work days made me extra happy so that just made me see all the good things around me .Plus it was another lovely sunny day, which always helps :0)

Something I have to do every day, that I'm not too fond of, is the washing . My wash basket is NEVER empty ! With three growing boys , not to mention Mr BM and I , it's a constant chore.
But yesterday I even smiled when I put the washing on ...and loved looking at it on the line once it had finished ....why ?   well this was my kind of washing .......

Fabric !!  Thursday was market day and I couldn't resist and few modest material purchases, like this pretty...

and this .....

and this ........

Just a meter of each ...the most expensive was £2.50 .  I know it's not very "make do and mend " and I even felt a little naughty purchasing "virgin" fabric for the first time in ages ...but I told myself  at least it was helping local traders and it was so nice to stand in the sunshine and have a friendly chat with the stall holders.
I didn't turn my back on the charity shops though . No, I even bought some fabric there too.....a vintage sheet no less .........

It's rather faded , but I think that's part of the charm and I loved the "doodle " pattern ..........

I am really happy with all this fabric goodness ..........
so here's a slightly odd , holding the camera , trying to get a nice picture , and avoid a wrinkly neck , shot :0).....

Yummy .
Whilst I was pegging out this haul I noticed the peg bag a made a few years back is starting to look pretty faded and grubby........

I had only just started to regain my interest in making when I tried this , I just used some fabric left over from baby makes . I'm really happy with the design...very sturdy and practical ...but not too pretty ...

Never mind ,I've got some great fabric to make it's replacement :0)



I'll leave you with my other thrifty purchases of the day ......a hand thrown jug for £1.50....

And this Laura Ashley cushion ......

I bought this (also for £1.50) mainly because it has a gorgeous curled feather pad inside that I could use for a future project , crochet or sewing .The trouble is I quite like the existing cover , in a sort of late eighties / early nineties , frilly sort of way :0)  I'll have to think about this one .

Have a great weekend
Jacquie x

Crochet Hexagon Tutorial ...Part 2

Hello Lovelies,
Here we go with part two of my crochet hexagon tutorial. This part follows directly on from part one HERE


Once again it is written in U.S. terms

So , to frame the cute hexagon you made in part one I designed this pattern......

It starts with a chain round as this helps maintain the shape of the, oh so pretty,  interior hexagon .

Round 5(chain round)

Attach a new colour with a slip stitch in any 2 chain space.Chain 3 .......

Slip stitch into space between 3rd D.C. and S.C............

Chain 2 and slip stitch into space after S.C...........

Continue around in same pattern ( 3 chains over 3D.C. and 2 chains over 1S.C. )

Once you get all the way around slip stitch through first chain 3

It should look like this............

Round 6
Chain 3 and make 3 D.C. all into first 3 chain loop of round 5 (counts as 4 D.C. )........

Make 3 D.C. into 2 chain loop of round 5......

Make 4 D.C. into next 3 chain loop and CHAIN 1 ( makes point of hexagon ).......

Continue around. Each of the six sides is made up of 11 D.C. ( 4/3/4 ) with 1 chain at the corner....

Once you have gone all the way around slip stitch into first D.C. and finish off..........

Hurray ! you have completed a Hexagon motif :0)......these may be sewn together when you have enough for your chosen project ....

However ..... I'm a big fan of the join as you go method . So I've taken some pictures of this method to help you give it a try . Lucy has described this beautifully HERE  but I'll try and show you on this hexagon.

So...after you have completed your first motif as described above , subsequent motifs are  joined at round 6.
In the example below I was joining to 2 hexagons so I made 4 sides as I explained then I started the 5th side like this .....

Insert hook through corner of motif you wish to join to as shown...........

Yarn over hook and pull loop to front of work.....

Slip stitch .......

Make 4 D.C. and slip stitch through joining motif in the same way . 3 D.C.. .Slip stitch through motif . 4 D.C.

At the corner slip stitch through first motif then slip stitch through second (I'm about to joint  to the  red hexagon  in this image )

Make final side in same way as 5th. and slip stitch into first D.C. to finish off....

I did find this technique rather tricky the first time I tried it but with a little patience it does get easier . The finished join should look like this .......

Here's what my blanket looks like today..........

Not a deal of progress ,I've been too busy playing with other projects :0)  You can see I have made some more hexagons ready to join and I've been very good and sewn all their ends in securely already !

Do please let me know if any of this is unclear or I have made any mistakes .

ENJOY :0)

Jacquie x

Thank you , Thank you

Hello Lovelies ,
 Wow, you have really blown me away with all your sweet comments on my stripy bunny . I can't tell you how grateful I am and how much it adds to my enjoyment of the whole crafting experience :0)
I've had a hectic start to the week , work every day , and it has really cheered me up to come home to so many lovely little messages .
I'm hoping to post part 2 of my hexagon tutorial tonight or possibly tomorrow . In the mean time I'll leave you with a cat made of daisies ....

Made by the Famous Five (my 3 boys and their 2 girl cousins ....one of whom loved her bunny ...phew ! ) I love it when these guys get together ,they get on so well .
Jacquie x

Recycled Sewing

Hello Lovelies , Hope you had a good weekend .
Thank you for all your comments on my last post. A few of you asked about the names of some of the flowers so I have now added them under each picture . Should have done this before but I was rushing to take the boys out .

Anyway back to my latest project , would you like to see what I've been up to ?

Oooops , too late ....


only joking here she is ....

Well , what else could it be but a bunny :0)
What do you think ?? I thought the stripy fabric ( that I salvaged from an old jacket of the boys ) lent it's self to lovely long limbs and I'd spotted some long legged bunnies similar to these ages ago so that was a little bit of inspiration that had lodged in my brain.

I used an old T.shirt for the pink of the ears and attached the limbs using some rather nice mother of pearl buttons I had in my stash....

I am really pleased how this worked out as the limbs are quite poseable instead of being fixed in one position.


I used this free online pattern as a basis for my Bunny , though the only piece I didn't alter was the body :0)


Now I'm sure you will agree she needs some clothes. First I made her a pretty dress.....

Maybe some of you recognise this thrifted curtain material that I also used HERE.
 Oh the joy of having a good excuse to make something so pretty and feminine , I Really enjoyed making this dress .I also added flowers around an ear....

I was having so much fun I decided to make her a little crochet jacket too .....

The variegated yarn I had in my stash was perfect for this project
and the pretty flower button was in my Santa swap parcel :0)

Here is the back......

I couldn't forget the cotton tail and a little message for my Niece.

She is eleven and we have also sent her some money for whatever she fancies , but I'm thinking that even today's sophisticated pre teens will still like a cute girly bunnie, hand made with love :0)

Even though I can see lots of bits I would change if I made another ( like slightly shorter arms ) I'm still pleased with the overall effect. My rusty sewing skills have been tested with this project . It's a lot more involved than the Cuddly Russian doll I made for my younger Niece.

For me a lot of the enjoyment and satisfaction of this project comes from the fact I was able to use mostly recycled supplies and turn them into something so pretty without having to go out and spend money . I like the whole " make do and mend " philosophy that our grand parents were masters of.They were "Green" before anyone had thought of that term :0)

I hope you lovelies can find some time for whatever craft makes you happy this week.


Jacquie x

Mid May Already !

Hello Lovelies, Thank you so much for your comments on my tutorial. I've already taken the photos for part two so hopefully I'll be posting that soon.
Well, after wishing for spring, now that it's here the days and weeks are whizzing by far too quickly for my liking. I suppose I must feel like this every year but all the perfect weather we have enjoyed this year has made spring even more beautiful .
There are new flowers appearing in my garden every time I get a second to go out and enjoy it......

Alium

Foxglove

Oriental Poppy

It's been so dry a few spring showers ,to freshen things up, have been very welcome this week.....

Rose

I need to squeeze in more gardening time before the weeds start to take over, but I've had a rush crafty project to finish. I can't show you just yet as it's a birthday prezzie for my niece. But I've been on a mission to use only recycled fabric and stuff from my stash so I'll show you this.....

An old , stained jacket of the boys , doesn't look too inspiring does it . Here is a picture of the WIP....

I've actually completed this project today and on Monday I'll be able to show you the finished project :0)
It's really pretty ...honest !
Have a great weekend
Jacquie x