Knitted Fairies 1

Some time ago I was introduced by my friend Ann, to a book called Knitted Fairies by Fiona McDonald, and I decided that I just had to try creating some. These two were knitted as a pair.
 I found that the parts knitted up quickly, but it took ages to sew them all together, especially  adding the little ears and forming the hands.

I did not always stay completely true to the fairies in the book but took bits and pieces from several depending on the materials I had. This fairies hair was made from feather boa trim.

I did not make the eyes as the book instructed but printed the ones from the book onto fabric and carefully cut them out and glued them in place. I will show you the other ones I have made in another blog.  After having another look at the book I am tempted to make some more but I really just do not have the time!

Owlivia Update

We think that 3 out of 4 of Owlivias eggs have hatched, though it may only be 2. The first chick hatched 1 week before the others and is now large enough to sit next to her.  He or she can be seen trying to nibble on the numerous mice bodies.  We were worried that the difference in size might mean he/she would pick on the smaller ones to compete for food but this is a good year for mice and there is plenty to eat.

The young chick can also stretch his/her wings now that there is more space available.

Hexagon Bug - 7

I made and sewed on a row of light brown hexagons inside my border to hide any gaps along the edge of the background fabric.  I  used  light brown so that there would not be a strong line around the edge.

I tacked and then appliqued the border onto the background fabric.

I am going to applique the outer edge of the border onto this beige fabric and mitre the edges.  This might take some time!

Owlivia our Barn Owl

Some photographs of Owlivia from our live cam sitting on four eggs.
You can see the story of our barn owl at WWW.highwoodlife.com, under wildlife.

The eggs should hatch any time soon and if you visit the site you can what happens.  It is nature so anything can happen!

We asked our family and friends to name her!

 Sometimes it is as if she knows we are looking at her.
















 Owlivia turns the eggs to make sure they are kept constantly warm.

Garden Clearance

I have not had a lot of time to sew in the last couple of weeks because we had a family friend to stay  over to help cut down and clear some of our wilderness.  After four days of hard work we have achieved a lot but still have a great deal to do.   The bonfire was burning continiously but we still have a mountain to burn.  We do now have a good log pile for the log burner we hope to buy soon.

We found this beautiful birds nest.

The area near the vegetable garden is now becoming more open but most of these trees still need to come down.

I have started to reclaim my sleeper steps which were hidden with weeds and nettles but cannot go further until the trees have been cropped.

 Half of the old wall had already fallen down and the rest is now exposed.  We will use it hopefully as part of the foundations of our new garage (We need planning first!).

 

The hazel trees have been cropped and will be removed when the digger comes to dig out the foundations for our new kitchen and patio.

New Potting Shed

We bought a second hand potting shed from the garden centre up the road and had to find somewhere for it to live.  The area behind the wall is a goat shed and it was quite a job to remove years of ivy.

We were short of time because the builder, Brendon wanted to come and lay a slab quite quickly.

The shed was a faded old brown colour and needed painting and so we chose Cuprinole slate grey for the outside and Seagrass for the inside.  I forgot to take a before photograph but it took a very long time to paint!

The shed came with shelves which I also painted slate grey and as soon as it was finished it was filled with my old potting shed things.

Sewing Space

In order not to go mad I had to claim a space for myself to sew and to have all of my things around me.  We will be in this position for many months until we can renovate Bijans workshop and I will have a great new space.  I decided to move everything down to the end of the cottage and I even have a comfy chair and two tables, so plenty of space. 

I do have so much stuff though and there is more upstairs in a cubboard.

I do live in terror of the cats climbing up and the whole lots falling on top of them. Its like having small children!

I love my all of my many books!

I went to one of those £1 shops and bought these great plastic boxes with lids and have really sorted out all of those thousands of items I seem to need.  I love the fact that I can now see what I have.  These cheap boxes are great because they have handles.