red and white

I know it's only 20th November but Christmas has been happening here for the last few weeks. The rest of this post is brought to you by the colours red and white:Still madly preparing for handm@de Oxford on 29th Nov. Will you be coming along?

a little bit of black and white was also quite intrigued by the arrival of the tree:

I'm still here, and have WIP

Looks like I went dark for a while there. I'm still here - just busy preparing for my upcoming craft fair and showcase so been spending less time with hands on the keyboard and more time with a needle in my hands.
Today, I've been sewing some festive red and white Christmas decorations: and a few more of these cheeky little monsters:

busy weekend

It's been a busy sewing weekend. 13 new monda monsters have been made - they just need stuffing and gusseting (is that even a word?) - enough to keep me going for the next few evenings anyway. A number of new birds have flown in too - I managed to snap them whilst the light was still ok I don't know about you, but I could do with another weekend.
I'm off to put on my PJ's - I have fresh linen on the bed and today the winter duvet went on too (it was so chilly last night). Hot chocolate anyone?

light painting

This evening when I got home from work, I switched on the TV and found myself watching Blue Peter (wow, this programme has changed a lot over the years). There was a feature on it about light painting - something I didn't know about before today. I found a 2 minute tutorial on YouTube and had to give it a go

I have to say it's not as easy as it looks but it is great fun though - give it a go, I'd love to see what you come up with. These are my (and Mr Monda's) efforts:

a squiggle

a flower

a Christmas tree

It's also 20 years of Wallace and Gromit today. This is the google home page by way of celebration:

monda loves... Milomade

Evie from Milomade contacted me a while ago to ask if I'd take part in her blog feature '20 questions'. My feature is up so please do go over here are take a peek. Evie's done a great job - I almost look like a real designer! I looked at my workspace and had to double take - probably because it's never usually this clutter free!

I was very happy to take part because I've been reading Evie's blog for a while and I think she creates some fantastic repurposed items - I've chosen just a few of my faves to share with you here:

Silver button pendant

button charm bracelet

This silver ring used to be a fork

I also thought I'd share this pic of the spooky moon that is sitting up there in the sky tonight. The stuff of horror/vampire films. ooooOOOOOOoooooo!

pics of pifs

now that my PIF gifts are safely received by their recipients, I can share the pics:
I'm on a bird sewing production line at the moment - all birds are cut and waiting patiently to be sewn. They make pretty scraps:

It's still October but...

I've listed a few of my scrappy tree Christmas decorations in my etsy and folksy shops today. I'll also be listing some of my birds soon too.This weekend I've also been working on a couple of PIF gifts for Mrs Locket and Dotty Designs. I'll share these once they have arrived with their recipients.

As most people reading this will know, the clocks in the UK went back last night (they probably also went back in some other countries too right?). How great is that - a whole extra hour of sleepy goodness, and as a result I seem to have had quite a productive day. The bad thing about this of course is that it gets darker earlier - and taking pictures is more difficult with less natural light.

This week I was also featured on Cuteable - a whole post all of my own. Sweet. Thanks Lyndsey.

glove love

There really is still hope for all the single gloves out there. phew.



if you have any single gloves hanging around looking for a life partner, you can donate it and help it find love. You can also purchase a newly matched couple too. How sweet.

ducks, pups and chairs

check out this fab fabric (can you say fab fabric?)

You can get it online here. If I could think of something to do with it then I'd have already purchased some - especially at £3.99 per half metre!

china

I've recently been collecting fine bone china It might seem a bizarre thing for a 33 year old but I have reason. Next year, me and Mr Monda are getting married, and have decided that we'd like an old fashioned afternoon tea as part of our celebration. It will be quite a modest affair really but will be quite beautiful with an ecclectic mix of old fine bone china. I've found some lovely pieces and feel like I almost have a new addiction for pretty china. It's understandable that people used to have this saved in cupboards and sideboards for special occasions. I think it's massively underrated and I'll no doubt be using some of the lovely pieces after our wedding too (I can't believe I am writing 'our wedding' - it makes it all seem very real).

I've not had much time for creativity this week, I've been sewing a few more birds but really need to get my butt into gear and get a 'to do' list on the go. I've been doing some drawing and have some ideas for some new softies that will hopefully emerge in the coming few weeks.

birds of a sweater

A little something I've been doing in the last few (chilly) evenings. I made some of these hanging birds last Christmas also, and they proved quite popular so I'm making a whole lot more for my upcoming fairs this year (and a few for my shops too).

This weekend I've also updated both my etsy shop and my folksy shop. Some prices in etsy are reduced (exchange rate check) and have added some of my stitched postcards into my folksy shop

shoes, lasers and green tomato chutney

I've been doing a spot of internet window shopping today, and came across some shoes that must be mine. It's a shame for my feet that they are not in stock in my size, but my bank account is happy about this - they are £80! They are lovely though aren't they.

Today I also had my 6 weekly laser zapping session. PCOS causes a hormone imbalance - increased testosterone and this results in excess hair growth. Some people can deal with this but it really depresses me, so I opted to pay for laser treatment to reduce and elimate the hair.
The lovely lady who does the treatment whacked up the intensity of the laser beam today, and I definitely knew about it. It's only a momentary burning sensation but I was just on the right side of yelping out loud, whilst tyring to have a conversation with her about the recession. The things us ladies have to go through just to look and feel normal.

As a couple of people have requested it, here is my recipe for Green Tomato Chutney:

1kg green tomatoes
2 medium sized apples
500g soft brown sugar
500ml malt vinegar
2cm root ginger
125g raisins
300g onions or shallots (I used white onions)
1 tsp salt
1 tablespoon of mustard seeds (I used the white ones, not sure what it would be like if you used the black ones)

1. Wash and chop the tomatoes into small pieces. 1kg is a lot of tomatoes, so I gave mine a quick blast in the food processor
2. Peel the ginger, and bash it with a rolling pin - but don't break it up
3. Peel apples, and chop onions to roughly similar size to tomatoes - again, I blasted mine in the food processor
4. Put all the ingredients in a deep cooking pot or jam pan, stir with a wooden spoon and bring to the boil, stirring constantly.
5. Once boiling, turn down heat and simmer for at least an hour, stirring occasionally.
6. Prepare glass jars by washing, drying and then heating in a 200 degree oven for approx 20 mins
7. The chutney is done when it has a jam like consistency. Depending how liquid it is, you may need to cook it for up to another 30 minutes
8. Before decanting into Jars remove the ginger. Decant chutney into the warm glass jars and cover each jar with a disc of greaseproof of wax paper whilst still hot
9. Leave for at least a week before eating. 3-4 weeks is best :o)

I tried and tested the chutney today - I had it with some pate on toast and it was dee-lish.

Canvas Bags

Last night I went to see Tim Minchin - a very clever, funny and talented guy.
I've just checked You Tube to find a funny to share with you. This one will require you to crank up the sound a bit, but it will be well worth it (there are also other versions on YT but this one was closest to the one we saw last night). I love the Michael Jackson moment towards the end. Genuis.
I just won't believe it if you tell me you're not hooked on this tune. You'll probably sing it when you go to the supermarket from now on.
Enjoy.

for the love of tomatoes

Anyone who knows me, knows that I LOVE tomatoes.
I've been busy using up the last of the tomatoes from the greenhouse - the ones that were just not going to ripen before the plants started to rot. I've been a fan of green tomato chutney since my mum made it when we were kids. This one wasn't my mums recipe though, just one I found online that suited the ingredients I had to hand. It's been maturing for a couple of weeks now and I'm having to resist opening it and having it with some nice strong cheddar and soft fresh bread. I'm salivating.

I do actually have one tomato plant left which I planted out in the garden late. I've moved it to the greenhouse now but I'm not sure if the tomatoes will ripen - we've had some warm days but some pretty chilly nights of late. I might need to make a few more jars of chutney.
I'm finding more and more that I enjoy the process of growing, eating and preserving foods. Last week I treated myself to a Maslin Pan, a confectioners thermometer, and the WI book of preserves. Mr Monda just groaned when he saw the book, in a 'you're becoming an old woman' kind of way. Oh well.

Last week I also made myself a little button necklace to go with the outfit I was wearing. I didn't own any purple accessories so I raided my stash and made a long necklace from buttons, felt balls, and a length of black waxed string. My friend also liked it, so I made one for her in oranges and yellows - very autumnal

trying a bit of hookery

Way back in May this year, me and my sis went off to do a crochet course. Prior to this, I'd tried teach myself to crochet on several occasions by looking in books at pictures which never really made any sense to me. I also tried to get my mum to show me how to do it, but alas the hookery eluded me still.
On the 4 hr crochet course I'm pleased to say I learned to do the basics, but since then, despite my best intentions, I didn't get around to trying it again.
Over the last week or so, I thought the time was right to try again, and had a very basic project in mind. I was amazed that I had remembered how to do it - it's like riding a bike I supposeMy finished effort is not perfect by any means, but I'm pleased with the result. This is basic level stuff, but I feel confident to try different things now - follow a pattern perhaps!

I'm also finding that I have a new found love of Grey (Gray) at the moment too. I've never really thought much of grey as a colour, but I'm finding myself quite attracted to greys hues of late:
1. Components (C365: day 49), 2. Natural Gray Black Wool Handspun Yarn, 3. Grey as buttons, 4. grey undertones [spun], 5. gray, olive wool, 6. this tile rug rocks it in gray, 7. Brooch, 8. Collection of gray, 9. skein of grey handspun