Next Big Thing/Mini trend i probably missed?

Ok. I realise I am not the most fashion conscious person on the planet and i tend to go with whatever i love regardless but it just happens that both worlds seem to have collided of late.

   so what could it be? well, FOXES, of course!

As I await the arrival of our own Fox number 5, I have been looking around at various cutie things. I am also trying to prepare for that jolly (crazy) event known as Christmas. As I don't really believe my kids will accept a baby brother as their main gift I have been trying to get everything prepared well in advance. I have alas become somewhat side tracked by my new found joy in Pinterest. Where I have been gathering my Foxy findings. Here are a few of my favourites....

Find these foxy earrings and necklace at Accessorize

The lovely Carrie Lewis does it again with this Fox necklace found here

Asda are getting in on it with this girls jumper dress which my daughter is pretty chuffed with!

You can have a lovely Donna Wilson cushion to show off on your couch from here

some lovely printable Fox bookmarks Here

have a fox join you for tea?? As found Here

A beautiful fox print as found on tumblr.com

Have a made to order crochet Fox from etsy found here

 

here

and these too!

decorate your tree with loads of these

and fill your home with these thanks to this tutorial

some other things to do your self include this Lego Fox,

 

and a bit of Foxy origami??

and these are just some lovely things to look at that i couldn't actually locate but are great inspiration.

cheers Angie xx

guitar hero crochet scarf

over christmas i was given a whole stack of truly inspiring craft books. of these books world of geek craft has taken my interest, alot! 

i have alot of men in my life. brothers, sons, husband, bestfriend, etc. lots. men who are important and interesting and funny. well, to me anyway. and as a crafter i've found it challenging to turn my favourite things (crochet & sewing) into gifts that they would truly appreciate.  i am always on the lookout for new and exciting projects.

 so this brill book has opened up a whole world of cool (not only girly) craft that i hope the lovely men in my life will be proud of. 

my 1st forage is something i located whilst blog hopping.

 a guitar hero crocheted scarf. on craftster.

i was blown away.

i was quite desperate to make it but who for....? thankfully my older brother stepped forward to take the bullet. so here is my own homage to geek chic and guitar heros all over the place.

my Guitar hero 3 - muse knights of cydonia crocheted scarf

the scarf is around 300chain then hdc all the way down the side repeated until you have your desired width.  

then light and dark grey for the background details. i made sure i could fit 4 notes into each 'bar' but you can chose what fits you and the song best.

 

 after some seriously obscure searches i found a proper selection of notescores at scorehero . from this link simply select which difficulty level you want and then pick the track you love.  i tried to follow the score as faithfully as possible. i decided that each 'bar' could fit 4 notes and adapted the original score to suit.  each note is a magic circle with 7 sc then ss into 1st and cast off. i then sewed in the spare threads leaving me with just dots in red, blue, orange, green and yellow.

 having done what felt like a million of these i made chains to the various sizes needed. using a tapestry needle and the black wool i sewed each in place. chain 1st then dot over. 

And that left me with this...

its the closest thing to cool i'll ever get.

cheers angie xx

cupcake crochet blanket

Last year was pretty insane. the first half i was laid up with my broken cocyx. a brief holiday swanning round lancashire and yorkshire. then crafting like mad getting things like this amazing (if i do say so myself) cupcake crochet blanket finished for my friends' daughters birthday. i was so chuffed she comissioned me to make it. I didn't have time to share it last year but i thought you might like a peek now.

my friend aimie chose the colours she wanted. 

I always get excited about using beautiful wool!

I made each cupcake seperately from a pattern by twinkie chan found here 

then when i thought i'd made enough i laid them out,

to see how they looked.

 

then realised i definately needed more....

after what seemed like forever,

my labour of love was complete.

and here it is on the lucky ladies bed!!!

Its a one of a kind special throw just for Ingrid. 

happy birthday

cheers angie xxx

crochet Christmas puddings

 

Alot has been going on in the fox household over the last few months which i will be sure to share very soon. including weddings in london, manchester contemporary craft fair, time exploring Edinburgh and a rather amazing crochet cupcake throw. all exciting stuff i know.
but right now i thought you might like to try a
 quick crochet pattern i put together for christmas puddings. totally inspired by &made's christmas puddings and twinkie chans cupcake garland on rock and roll brides blog.

you'll need

a small amount of double knit  wool in dark brown, cream and red
a small peice of green felt
a tapestry needle
sharpe needle and thread.

in brown
Ch 3 and sl st to first ch to form loop.
Row 1: Ch 2 (acts as your first dc), work 8 more dc into loop. Turn. (9 sts)
Row 2: (Ch 3, tr) in same st, (2 tr) each in next 8 dc. Turn. (18 sts)
Row 3: (Ch 2, dc) in same st, 1 dc in next st. [(2 dc), 1 dc] 8 times. Don’t break off  leave 6inches for sewing together


using twinkie chans cupcake topping -
in cream
ch 3 and sl st to first ch to form loop.
Row 1: Ch 3 (acts as your first dc), work 5 more dc into loop. Turn. (6 sts)
Row 2: (Ch 3, dc) in same st, (2 dc) each in next 5 dc. Turn. (12 sts)
Row 3: (Ch 3, dc) in same st, 1 dc in next st. [(2 dc), 1 dc] 5 times. (18 sts). Don’t break off.
Rotate your completed half-circle clockwise. On the straight edge of this half-circle, you will be working a row of 4 scallops. Imagine breaking the straight edge into 4 quadrants. (Fig.1)

Row 1: Ch 1, (4 dc) into first 1/8, sl st into 2/8. (4 dc) into 3/8, sl st into 4/8. (4 dc) into 5/8, sl st into 6/8. (4 dc) into 7/8, sl st into 2nd ch of the main piece. leave 6inches for sewing.

 turn the icing/frosting right way up and lay over the brown pudding body, using your six inches extra wool and a tapestry needle weave/sew together as pictured.

cut out 2 'holly leaves' from your green felt,

using sharpe needle and thread sew to top of icing/frosting


make a berry to be sewn over leaves
berry in red wool,
Round 1: Ch 2. Work 6 sc into 1 st ch. Sl st to first sc to join.
Round 2: Ch 1,  sc to end. Sl st to first sc to join. cast off leaving 6inches and turn inside out.
stitch over holly leaves. using end wool as needed

to make a christmas tree decoration chain 10 in any colour you like and weave into back of christmas pudding.

or make loads and attach to a chain. i left the space of about 3inches inbetween each pudding but its entirely up to you and what your using it for, where you want to hang it??? for a miniture garland follow instructions but use a 4ply wool and a 2.5 hook. they would look great on cards, as a brooch, or where ever takes your fancy.

merry christmas
xxx

quilting inspiration

When i was a fresh newly wed in '96 i had dreams of making my very own patchwork quilt. we had very close friends who were real all american quilters and were ready to help, and later push, me to get my quilt done. it has served us well for the last 15years, it is indeed still a lovely quilt (photos will follow soon). but lately i have found myself yearning for something new and beautiful. something that i will not find toy cars in the corners of, thanks to a few frayed seams that the kids love 'posting' into.  That won't therefore nearly knock me out when i shake it out to make the bed! 

so i find myself searching for the perfect quilt, one that will still be loved in 15years. As i take this journey (its not over yet, i don't like to rush) i have found these snipets of inspiration...

    I realise this is not a quilt but jen talbot's  bird silohette  is certainly inspiring and definately the way forward!

made from cut out bird silouettes from various paper scources.

the beauty is in the detail.

 

 see kate sew 

has caught my eye with this fresh bird quilt too

  

.

also made up of a variety of fabric sillouettes.

i love the oranges...

 

this

pottery barn kids quilt 

may be a bit cutesy but i love the trees

 and check out the two birds in the corner.

it just needs the right colours...

 

 Anthropologie are of course leading the way with their   heir loom throw

i really want to be crocheting fun like this. 

 and their  oh to deam duvet  set

is almost worth begging the money out of my husband.

 this is one of my favourites i think...

 

of course i'm not sure it would look quite so lovely in my bedroom with all the washing waiting to be put away??

so moving on...

jenn bell's jellyfish adds something new to the whole mix.

this modern leaf cushion  made from upcycling t-shirts is also brill.

there i so much more out there i will have to keep looking till inspiration hits and sticks.

I can't keep changing my mind you know!!!

cheers angie xx

hart + sew: doll suitcase

hart + sew: doll suitcase:

forget caravans vintage suitcases are the way forward!

i really wish my home was this cute...

 and tidy...

i think i need a bit more storage though...