A little bit of this, a little bit of that...

Happy Halloween everyone! I hop you have been out with your kids and managed to scare the neighbours into giving the kids some chocolate for you to eat when they're in bed put away and keep for them for another day so they won't be sick.

My kids are at a little post trick-or-treat party in their friends' house so I thought I'd take advantage of the peace and quiet to share some pics from my weekend with you! No sewing, not a bit (eek!) but thanks to everyone's suggestions for where my mojo might have been hiding. I've come to the conclusion that it has emigrated to a less busy and stressed climate but I think it might be on the way back after a weekend of chilling out with my family and meeting some friends.

So what did I do? Well, a lot of this:

And a little bit of that:

I have the back done on my cardi and am half way up one side (sitting by my dad's roaring fire is very conducive to knitting). Its not brilliant, my tension is way too loose but I am enjoying it and hopefully it will be wearable at the end. The yarn is a cotton/bamboo mix and just divine to knit with.

The crochet is half a motif from this floating wrap pattern:

                                                                      Source: crochetbyfaye.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest

Well, its supposed to be a half circle, I know its not but hoping that it will be ok when I put them all together and join them.

When I was pulling those projects out to take some pics right beside the patio doors today to get the best of what little light there was, I found these little cuties at the bottom of my knitting bag. Some crochet coasters I made a while back - must make some more. The pattern is from The Yvestown Blog. As you can see, consistency of tension is not my strong point! I'm not sure what the yarn is, its definitely some type of wool as I know I could only make 2 before I started feeling itchy (I'm slightly allergic to wool - not dreadful but I couldn't knit a full garment with it which is awful, as I love working with natural yarns but have had to stop.)

I also got to meet up with my friend Fi of Patchwork Delights fame and we managed to chat about quilting despite the active participation of our kids in the conversation :-)  Fi has started to sell 100% Egyptian cotton thread which she has sourced in Greece and I picked up two spools from her to try out.

Aren't they gorgeous? And at €5 for 1000yds, great value! She has some lovely colours available so if you're interested, pop over to her Etsy supplies page Threads2000 and have a look.

I also popped into IKEA to pick up some fabric on our way home. I got two 3metre bolts primarily for use as backing fabric for kids quilts - and am really pleased with these.

I've used other prints in the same fabric quality and they are perfect for quilt backing. And at a great price - €6.99 per bolt. Fantastic!

All in all, a great weekend! Hope yours was too - enjoy the spooky celebrations :-)

Fabric Splurge!

I love love love fabric! So, I was super excited today when no less than 3 packages arrived from the US for me! I ordered a heap of new fabrics and some old favourites last week and couldn't wait to get them home and have a proper look.

I ordered layer cakes for the first time - It's a Hoot by MoMo which I've seen a lot of in blogland and is a gorgeous collection of fabrics (I can think of so many things to make from it) and Origins by Basic Grey which I bought just because I love the colours and fabrics in it - it doesn't match anything in my house and I can't think of what I'll do with the quilt I'll make from it but its all MINE!!! I got a Hideaway charm pack too, love this line, its really cute!

I also ordered some fresh yardage for my baby blankets and bunting. Aren't these lovely blues and greens? I love the snails!

And I was SO excited to get my hands of some of Ann Kelle's new line Ready Set Go (the trains and the cars) which is extra special being organic cotton. I also love the 2D zoo, the teal, navy and green is so vibrant, and the dino print is perfect for a baby boy's blanket. I found the Amy Schimler owls in a blue colourway and couldn't resist!

I also got some gorgeous fabrics for the baby girls! More Amy Schimler owls, some Alexander Henry Willow on green and I love the Riley Blake umbrella tops in vibrant pinks.

I managed to find more yardage in the cute cats too - this fabric is getting very hard to find! I also got some pretty Riley Blake fabrics from the Quite Contrary and Sweet Divinity ranges - these are very fresh and I am really happy with them :-)

So its been a big week for supplies shopping here. I spent Saturday afternoon flitting around between my 3 local craft shops picking up essentials and spent a pile of money on thread. My kids love looking at thread displays in shops and seeing all the colour shades, and when I lined up my new thread purchases this evening my little boy was over like a shot to have a good look. Aren't the colours pretty?

Time to get sewing again, now that I'm restocked and ready to go!