Getting handy with sock toys

At the Vintage and Handmade fair last week I was amazed to find that my sock toys once again sold out. This has inspired me to concentrate on making Toesles for the next fair, and I duly went shopping on Wednesday and blew a lump sum on kiddy socks…

Last time I stocked up my sock stash, I also bought a couple of pairs of boys’ gloves, which I was drawn to because of their colourful stripes. I had in mind a dinosaur toy of some description. The above is the result of a couple of hours fiddling last night. I’ll be putting a tutorial on sew make believe sometime soon, if you fancy having a go for yourselves!

(P.S. If you haven’t already, please nip over to the shiny new sew make believe website and have a squizz – it’s just lovely. And there’s a fab relaunch giveaway going on too!)

 

Oh dear…

I’ve fallen off the blog wagon again, hey? I’ve just had rather a hectic week or so, and not much that would actually interest you… This weekend, for example, I went home because my Step-Dad was in hospital having a hip replacement. Ben, my Mum and I had a delicious Chinese takeaway on Friday night, and Ben and I had a glorious walk on Saturday before visiting Pete in the hopsital on Saturday afternoon… But none of that really justifies outfit shots! The above, in fact, is from LAST Saturday, a grocery shopping trip in the rain I’ve not even had time to tell y’all about!

I do, however, have some lovely pics of Cannock Chase bathed in golden spring sunshine to post for you tomorrow, and an outfit shot from last Wednesday for the usual slot later this week. And if you’ve been suffering withdrawal symproms there is always the sew make believe blog to peek at. Recently I’ve blogged projects including:

• My sewing machine cover
• Lots of Coasters
• My pouf
• My patchwork crochet blanket
• My tabletop saver

How was your weekend?

Mine looked like this:

Feeding the ducks

Dress: sent over by Kelsey as part of our swap (details below…); cardi: Dotty P’s; black long-sleeved t-shirt, navy microfleece-lined tights & black knee-high socks: all Primark; pink wellies: can’t remember!

Sunday sewing: pouf tutorial via Design*Sponge

Shooter’s Sandwich (modified with beetroot relish)

You may or may not be aware of the marvelous blogger that is Kelsey of Charming Pumpkin. She began to comment on my blog last summer, and hers quickly became one of my daily hits. I love her quirky style, her cutesy poses and her gorgeous smile!

When she mentioned how much she loves Dotty P’s clothes but hates the price of P&P to America, I had to leave a comment to the effect that I felt the same about Modcloth, and their P&P charges to the UK. I offered to buy a few pieces from Dotty P’s and send over more cheaply, if she’d like to do the same for Modcloth. We started emailing one another, and a beautiful friendship was born!

Before Christmas we decided to do our first over-the-pond swap. Rather than request particular items, we agreed to set a spend limit and buy things we thought the other would like up to that value. We also agreed to include at least one handmade item. We exchange measurements and got to shopping!

My box arrived on Friday morning and it was like Christmas had come all over again! I should have taken some snaps for you of the beautifully wrapped parcels, but to be honest, I couldn’t wait to rip off that packaging and see what was inside! I scored three DIVINE dresses and a whole host of gorgeous jewellery:

Beautiful vintage rose brooch, two pairs of Kelsey-made sweater clips and a delightfully steampunk Kelsey-made necklace.

I’m keeping the remaining two dresses under wraps until I wear them, but I have some great outfits lined up to show them off!