Winter wool coat

The majority of the sewing I seem to do these days is kind of rushed and simple - a quick pair of pants for the kids or a shirt for one of them made out of an old shirt of mine. So it was quite nice for a change to slow down a bit and do something 'properly' following a pattern and all that jazz. Basting and pressing and clipping and topstitching, and all that jazz.



This coat was made for someone else, little Campbel from Lil Knight Lights. Stacey was after a nice warm winter coat for Cam and couldn't find one that she liked so asked if I would sew one up for her.

I was pleased with how it all came together, and that curved yoke wasn't as tricky as I thought it might have been, I will definately be making one for Isla for next year. The pattern goes up to size 6, so I may just be making a few.





I used this pattern purchased from Etsy. I changed it a bit by adding a hood, changing how the buttons fastened, and adding extra length to the arms as Stacey wanted rolled up cuffs.



I also added a little pocket to the inside for holding treasures.



The apple picking fabric is a vintage cotton that I have had for ages, I love it so much, it has been used for many projects, there's only a few scraps left now.



As you can see it fitted Isla perfectly! Kind of tempting to keep it :)
But no, it has been sent on it's merry way, and Stacey, you must send me a picture of Cam wearing it :)

Christmas Eve

Oh there's been a lot of counting down the sleeps around these parts. It's getting all rather exciting really, I'll be surprised if they settle well to sleep tonight! We're heading off on Christmas morning to spend time with family out of town, we'll be away a few days, and yes, it's all very exciting. Liam talks about it, oh, about one hundred times a day.



The advent calendar has really helped both kids get a feel for the passing of time and the counting down to this special day. They love taking turns opening the little window and discovering what's hiding behind.



We've also been celebrating advent by lighting candles every night at dinner time. One the first week, two the second week, and so on. The kids have enjoyed it so much. The first night while the candle was lit I sang them 'Away in a manger', as this was the first Christmas carol that came to mind. We have sung it every night since and the children are starting to know the words, it is hilarious, they take it very seriousy, we have taken a video of it which will be so fun to look back on in a few years time.



On Christmas morning we will light the orange candle also, to remind us of the birth of Jesus, the Light of the World.



And here is the nativity set that I mentioned I'd bought and have been meaning to show you, isn't it just so cute! I bought it off Felt, it is made by this clever lady. The manger is empty at the moment but on Christmas morning baby Jesus will be found asleep in the hay.



And the Christmas tree we made after seeing them here, there is a tutorial if you feel like doing some last minute crafting :)



I hope your Christmas preparations are going well and you have a lovely day tomorrow.
Merry Christmas all!
xx
Hanna

Lovely parcels in the mail

We recieved a very fun parcel in the mail today, all the way from Japan!
Diane from Monkey Magic sent us some wonderful goodies. We decided to do a little swapsie, just for fun. We're still collecting up a few more bits and pieces and then we'll be sending off our parcel, on a little trip to Japan. Such fun, I do love sending and receiving mail. Not including bills of course :)




The kids enjoyed the sweet treats, thankyou Keita :)





And look at the rest of the goodies! Eeeee, love the fabrics!



Nursery rhyme/fairy tale calendar - so CUTE. And sweet little wooden gift tags.



And Japanese craft books! I'd love to visit Japan one day, but I'd have to take a whole extra suitcase with me for the all craft books I'd want to take home.



Ahhh, I just want to start sewing, right now!






Thankyou so much Diane for your sweetness and kindness xx

Lovely mail

We arrived home from our trip away to this oh so lovely mail waiting for us. An unexpected parcel of treasures from Jessicah (her blog Spinning a Yarn). What a lovely thing to come home to, thanks so much Jessicah!








Some neat old Play School books with heaps of activities to do with the kids - I love this sort of thing. A big pile of embroidery threads in every colour that you can imagine. Some of her very own beautiful yarn. Some lollies and some seeds for our garden. And all tied up with a silk scarf that Ilsa is quite fond of.



Right away, right after the lollies were opened of course, the bean seeds were planted. With the help of my little planting friend, she is a very careful and diligent seed planter, which is proving to be helpful indeed with all the seed planting busyness at this time of the year. The sweet peas and zucchini will follow suit shortly, as soon as I decide on a good spot for them. Jessica included a copy of 'Jack and the Beanstalk' to go with our bean seeds, Liam is quite fascinated with the story. I wonder if our seeds will grow right up to the sky and through the clouds too!




And a close up of that yarn, so lovely. (She sells her lovely yarns here by the way).

This moment

Inspired by SouleMama

In her words - {this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.
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{ok, so I know there are two here, but I couldn't decide which one I liked best!}

Wishing you a happy weekend!

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{digging for potatoes}

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{two peas in a pod}

Gorgeous wool

Look what arrived in the post this week, a beautiful gift from Kerrie of Busy Gnomes, from her very own sheep! I tend to get quite excited about wool these days, and this, well it's just beautiful. So soft, and I love the natural colours. I kind of just want to set it out on my table as a little centrepiece so I can just admire it for a while. Thankyou so much Kerrie for your sweet kindness.

When I look at this wool it reminds me of my maternal grandmother, who passed away too young. She had her own coloured sheep and she spun wool, and dyed it, and felted it, and knitted it and had big wooden looms that turned it into rugs and blankets. And now that I'm getting right into knitting and appreciating wool, I so so wish she was still here, so I could sit and talk to her about wool, and look at her beautiful wool, and show her what I'm making, and ask her for advice and knit things from her handspun wool, and even learn how to use the spinning wheel myself! or even those big scary wooden looms! That would be just fabulous.

But anyway, I shall be thinking of her as I sit and knit this. And now I'm dreaming of what I shall turn it into. Any suggestions? There is 100 grams of each colour. I'm thinking perhaps I could combine the two for a striped vest for Liam?