Happy birthday

When you think that life can't get any worse you have another birthday and somebody gives you this as a present.

Happy birthday, Phil.

You can find Phil here. Now you know he's got a sense of humour!

Colour of 2012

Tangerine Tango

This is one way to brighten up a miserable Sunday afternoon in December. Let's take a closer look at the Colour of 2012. In Pantone's own words,
 
Provocative Tangerine Tango, an enticing juicy orange, is a vivacious and appealing refresher to enliven anyone’s outlook this spring.
 
I've got to say it's mouthwatering in its appeal. A hint of tangerine with neutrals is probably the way I'd go. I don't really want to look as if I've been tangoed.
 
As usual the sellers at Etsy have a fantastic range of items if you want to try this out before spring. 

 

Enjoy!

Double century

Thanks to the lovely people at Folksy I've reached 100 followers in my 100th post. Special thanks to Hippywitch, Ritzy Swish and Charlotte from Orange Blossom Felt.

Charlotte is in Spain teaching English at the moment. I'll feature her shop in the new year. Let's look at the other lovely ladies in the meantime.

Lorraine, from Hippywitch, loves to make things. She can sew, crochet, knit. Her cross stitch pieces are lovely. If you're still stuck for that certain individual Christmas decoration you'll find lots to chose from. You can see more of Lorraine's work on Hippywitch Crafts blog and at her Etsy shop.

I love this little mushroom house.
The sunny yellow door and turquoise curtains are appliqued to the house and then all the detail is carefully stitched. The fairy lights are lit around the roof too!








This pretty double heart hanging has cross stitch hearts in red on a white aida fabric for a two tone finish.





Ritzy Swish's work spans the realms of textiles products, textiles art and mixed media. She's environmentally conscious and has expanded into recycled fabrics. Check out her great blog

I love this circular drawstring wash bag. Made from turquoise cotton, with red and white feature fabric with coordinating red lining. It has four internal compartments to stand bottles.

 

In this piece an Indian silk panel has been combined with indigo denim. Pieces of patterned Indian silk have been appliquéd by free machining to form the decorative panel.

Have a great weekend!

Pantone Colour of the Year 2012

Tangerine Tango


As a way of celebrating my 100th blog post I'm looking forward to next year. What better way to celebrate than by having a closer look at the Pantone colour of 2012.

2012? I can hardly believe it's weeks away. I'm really excited by it.

As befitting a launch of such an important event Pantone have described Tangerine Tango PANTONE 17-1463 as a spirited reddish orange, continues to provide the energy boost we need to recharge and move forward.

The press release says,
“Sophisticated but at the same time dramatic and seductive, Tangerine Tango is an orange with a lot of depth to it,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. “Reminiscent of the radiant shadings of a sunset, Tangerine Tango marries the vivaciousness and adrenaline rush of red with the friendliness and warmth of yellow, to form a high-visibility, magnetic hue that emanates heat and energy.”

Catable?

My thoughts on dressing up pets have changed over the years. Our first cat Mickey (after the mouse) liked to be dressed up and pushed around in a pram. He looked good in a baby bonnet and could really carry off a frilly dress.

I'm a grown up now and Mickey went to cat heaven a long time ago. I hadn't thought of him for a long time until I read Marilyn's blog and I found this,

Simply gorgeous from Getting stitched on the farm.

Now do you think Dizzy would oblige? Or perhaps Posie? Oh, heck I might just have to 'borrow' a lamb from my friend Jan!

I've bin wheelie busy!

I love a challenge so when I was asked to make baby toys I said, 'Yes, please!'

This was the brief;
1x green wheelie bin
1x learner driver L plate
1x dumbbell/weight
1x traffic cone
with rattles or bells

Now, when I said I love a challenge, I'm somebody who has never, ever tackled aruga amiga amigurumi. So where to start?

For lots of reasons this week I'm loving Etsy. You can find just about anything. I found a pattern for dumbbells in my first search. Bought, paid for and completed in one night. How's that for service? Thank you, Celina from Simply Collectible

Next the L plate. It turned out larger than I planned but it is a good compact, pillow size. Something to cwtch up to.

Two down!

The next two presented much more of a challenge. Just where to start? There is a free pattern for traffic cones somewhere but it didn't work out for me. So I found a basic cone shape, fine. For the base I made a circle. You know, one of those flat circles where if you put the increases in the same place all the way round you actually end up with an octagon type flat circle. I made two for a firmer base and stitched the corners for support.

Weally? A wheelie bin? Celina has a great Oscar in a garbage can pattern but there's something quintessentially British about a wheelie bin. At least I had the basic shape. I started with a square and using Celina's back post idea for dents I marked the corners. It was straight crochet until I reached a sensible height. Made another square but slightly bigger for the top and decided to join it to the bin on one side so that it flipped back.

All of them have rattles. All finished. Mission achieved!

Have a great weekend!

Treasury Sunday

I haven't done one of these for a long time so here are two. Just like buses!

There are so many gorgeous handmade items available for Christmas that I can't see me trawling around the high street shops. After a shopping trip on Friday and experiencing appalling customer service I've decided to take the handmade pledge.

Here are two collections of gift ideas for bunny mummies and cat lovers. Chosen to appeal to different tastes I hope there's something here for everyone. Lots of my favourite people have been included. You know who you are!





Have a great week!