making felty baby mobiles...

my first foray into felt baby mobiles...which took me FOREVER to finish!  this owl mobile was started in april before baby ben was born and i didn't finish it until august when the little one was 3 months old, oops!  had some definite learning curves on the way, firstly threading ribbon through stuffed shapes is really tough! resorted to embroidery thread which was much easier to get through the stuffing and i think looks nicer, the little shapes also swing and twist better too.  secondly, i need to get a nice balance between the detail and the amount of sewing required....it probably doesn't help that i'm a slow sewer but it did take a (really long!) while to stitch all the little details on (the owls are double sided so you don't get a plain back when they twist).  i've spotted other designs which are just the silhouette shapes like the hearts so that might be a quicker way to go....thinking of making a garland for myself, maybe hearts, or leaves...not sure yet.  aaaand,a football themed effort, hmmm.....!

   

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i will always love you marks and sparks whilst you make amazing biscuit tins...

custard cream tin from marks and spencers

the morning started with the usual hubbub of waterloo, this time via marks and sparks (that's marks and spencer to those unfamiliar with the friendly name!) to collect something healthy(ish) for lunch....actually if i remember right it was very healthy and delicious...a quinoa, blueberry and mango salad...anyway i digress.  whilst queuing to pay for the healthy salad i spotted a wall of these amazing biscuit tins and just had to leave the queue and collect one.  maybe you can tell from the picture - the front of the tin is raised so it is literally like a giant custard cream.  wonderful.  this is my third biscuit tin from marks and they are all charming.  so thanks for putting a smile on my face and please please please keep making these wonderful nostalgia tins as i need such beauties to store my writing paper, ribbons and threads in.  thank you.

loooove this fashion shoot of the dirty disco...

so my friends are in this pretty awesome band called the dirty disco, you should check them out as they are doing some exciting things, including the release of their new single white room (on itunes, have a listen).  they recently conducted this photoshoot with diego indraccolo and i absolutely love the photos of the guys.  adam (above) could so be a model right?  styling is by kay korsh.

apple necklace giveaway on my facebook page!

super super easy to enter - just come over to my facebook and add a comment there!

punting picnics, vintage VWs and bumper cars!

ah, more photos!  following the april-may update here are some snapshots from june and july....so far my summer has been absolutely wonderful and i've spent it with some very special people:

had an amazing picnic to celebrate jon's birthday at the cherwell boathouse in oxford

tested out the caquelon with some chocolate fondue

had a wonderful weekend at the fab volksfest in bristol, so many adorable vintage vw's, will post more soon!

tested out my bumper car skills at the volksfest, and even if i do say so myself, i thought i was pretty good!

caught up with wonderful old friends

relaxed under the london eye with more wonderful friends post a chocolate making extravaganza

lost a Frisbee in the river and watched the boys knee deep trying to fish it out

watched the 'tidal' waves drenching people at thorpe park and rested after a scary ride on stealth

tested out dennis' canon 500d on my beautiful sleepy kitty

and then tested out the camera on my beautiful boy

ate THE most amazing pieminster pale and drunk delicious golden raven ale at the raven in bath

spent the day with very special friends wandering along the bath canal and nibbling cheese as the sun went down 

and a few more of those links:


- cherwell boat house, great for a picnic and a punt!
- bristol folkfest
- the raven of bath

whilst i've been away...

so i've been a busy bee these last few months, practising a bit of living in the now and being a 'yes' woman...as a result there are an awful lot of photos to share (also i'm doing a 360 photo project, i told you about that right?)...here's a few of the things we've been up to and my favourite photos from the last few months - starting off with april and may and i'll update on june and july in a separate post!

spent a night in our favourite hotel - the hoxton hotel - and discovered hidden art gallerys around shoreditch

completed our first crossword whilst demolishing tea and poached eggs

spotted a beautiful carousel in a puddle which looked like a gateway to an alternate world whilst taking a rainy stroll along the southbank at waterloo

shared voucher food to say goodbye to a dear friend who is starting an exciting journey in far away countries

had the most amazing easter banquet in the gentle shire

twittered with a sweet little canary, my gran's shy companion

received a beautiful canvas from the very talented ychee

enjoyed a beautiful late spring evening whilst listening to drumming and eating jelly belly beans to celebrate a very special dad's 50th birthday

watched my brother drink some outrageously disgusting drinks (why do boys insist on giving each other 'cement mixers'?!

ate battered halloumi and mushy peas at the most delicious vegetarian restaurant in brighton, terre a terre

heard some beautiful guitar playing at a friends house gathering from kimwei (www.kimwei.com)

was entranced by the lovely fionn regan at the moles club in bath

drove by beautiful fields of bright yellow rapeseed on the way down to the westcountry

and arrived at the wedding of a very lovely couple at a beautiful sustainable farm - crasken - in cornwall and camped in a bluebell tip field!

- and some links to help tell the story - the beautiful canvas is by my friend ychee

- if you are wondering what 'cement mixers' are check this out! 

- terre a terre is an amazing vegetarian restaurant and

- kimwei's beautiful guitar playing can be heard here