Ta-Daah! :o)

Goodness me, over a month has gone by without any sign of a post from me!

Is anyone still there?

If you are still about -HELLOOOO!! hope you're fine and dandy, and the world is ok with you :o)

I've been a busy bee.

I've had a birthday! A lovely day was spent shopping, thrifting and crafting. I do have some thrify finds to show you, but I want to make them over first so's I can show you the before's and afters.

My son had a 15th birthday too. Goodness they grow up so fast. I'm now officially the shortest in my little family of five as well!

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Do you remember the quilt that me and my eldest were making for her Teaching Assistant?

Well, it's finished and handed over!

 

We made a label to sew on the back too. We called the quilt 'Bloom' as thats what the TA has helped our eldest do since she'd been at that school, and we used some fabric from one of my daughters old toddler dresses in the roses as well.  The lady in question cried when we gave it to her!

Oh it was so lovely to see her appreciate it. (I don't just mean cos' she cried lol)

I think Teaching Assistants are mostly amazing people and they don't get no where near enough credit for all they do either!

As you can see by the photos, we had some beautiful sunshine here during May didn't we?

Oh, I do miss it now!  I went walking in the rain last night with my two daughters, (we're getting thin n' fit :o)  and I had to wear thick clothes and my woolly hat as it was so cold - I was walking fast too!

I have lots to show you, but I'm (again!) going to try to post more regularly with smaller posts, so as this is the first of many over the next few weeks, I shall keep todays short and sweet! :o)

You take care now, and I'll speak soon.

Love Donna xx

Thrifts, makes and a spot of bovver :)

Well, Good afternoon lovely bloggy friends! 
How are you this fine, sunny but chilly Monday?  Hmm?  World treating you ok is it?

Most things are ok here at Little Tiny Towers!   Things are settling down after the stress of Christmas and the New Year.... Takes a while though doesn't it?
I've still been knitting away. Persevering as it were LOL

The only thing I've actually finished is a new knitted pouch that I keep in my handbag at all times with my eldest daughters emergency medication in and a syringe to administer it..

I have previously always had crocheted ones, as I prefer the yarny feel than fabric.

I must say though, I think I prefer my knitted one...

I think I have a kinda love/hate relationship with knitting (Goodness I keep on about it don't I? LOL)

I mean I love, love, love the fabric that stocking stitch produces. I love looking at the little tiny stitches (no pun intended) that the needles produce. But I find the 'getting there' bit tedious in the extreme!!

Honestly, it took me hours to produce that pouch above!

If I'd had a hook in my hand, it would have been about 20 minutes!

Still, as I say, I'm carrying on, and hoping I get faster ;0)

~~**~~

Now, I thought you may like to hear this conversation I had with my darling husband..

It may ring a few bells with a few of you ;O)

Just picture this.....

There's me coming in the front door with my hands full of thrifty finds..

The Mr says to me "What on earth have you got there?"

Me "Oh just look at these two beautiful lamps I got in the charity shop! They were only £2.99".

The Mr " £2.99? What the pair?"

Me " No, each, aren't they just gorgeous?"

The Mr " What on earth did you buy that old crap for? You'll electricute yourself!"

Me "They're not crap, they're reproduction lamps, and they've even been safety checked!"

The Mr "Where? Let me have a look at them".

Me " Can't you just see why I had to get them? Little Miss will love them and one of them will be ideal for her bedroom!"

At this point he takes them off me, and puts them on the dining room table...

He then plugs 'em in and hey presto they work....

The Mr "Reproduction you say?"

Me "Yep, aren't they gorgous" (again)

"Look at the lines and the simple way the leaves are standing, and those lovely pink roses"

The Mr "Well, if you like that type of thing.."

Me "Oh I do! You know I do"

The Mr " Reproduction? Well, you'd think they would just reproduce the good bits. Why on earth have they reproduced that crappy coloured lead as well? !!"

Honestly folks, what could I say? He is kinda right, but how do I explain what I love about them?

Or do you all agree with him ? LOL

(Just so's you know, the little Miss loved them too :o))

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Unfortunately we only have views of houses round here, but the sun rise the other morning was so beautiful I just had to show you. ..

***~~~***

OOoo, I forgot....I'm half way through knitting a tea cozy now... LOL :o)

I'll show you when I'm finished.. :o)

***~~~***

As you may remember, I've been planning a new Etsy shop.

Well, I actually got around to opening one yesterday. I've yet to stack the shelves though, as I haven't finished photographing them, but here's the first brooch I made....

It was my practice one...

I've made a few more now which should be in my new shop later in the week..

I've had a real problem starting my new blog though. I wanted to make a new blog to log all my makes, and new shop inventry etc., but for some reason I'm having a spot of bovver with blogger. He won't let me design the blog? It's just all going weird. I've done a practise post, so it'll let me post, but not let me decorate. Oh well, maybe I'll have to put some stuff on here for now.

We'll have to see....

Anyway, that's it for me this week lovely people. 

I hope you all have a fab week, and the sun shines for you all.

I'll be back in the week to tell you all when I've stacked my new shelves!!!

Have a great week, and take care all,

 Love Donna xx

P.s. Don't forget to do your snow dances this week! I am so missing our real cold weather and the snow!! 



Huge Hook ...

Well.  Thankyou kindly for all your comments on my last post about work experience.
It was really interesting to read all your thoughts and experiences to do with the subject.
~~~~~~~~~

I also had a couple of emails and comments on my large crochet hook and using all the yarns, so i just really wanted to do this little post to show you all how easy it is to make your own big hook, and hook away all your favourite odd balls of yarn.

Both the hooks below I made.

The smaller of the two is 12mm wide. It was made from a wooden knitting needle out of the charity shop.

It's my most favourite hook :o)

I use it for my rag crochet mainly, but also for when I make what I call my 'tweeded' crochet with about six different yarns.

Below is my 12mm favourite, a 15mm shop bought plastic jobby, and in the middle is the beginings of my new 25mm large hook.

I've cut the 9" section off of one of the poles of our beach windbreaks :o)

Then got the stanley knife (a blade like a craft knife/scalpel, only stronger and sturdier for 'sharpening' the stick! -for my lovely  readers outside the UK)

See how they all measure up?

Then see, this is the begining where I mark the stick cross ways where my pokey bit of hook is going to be, and where I'm going to wittle the throat.

So you sharpen the pokey bit first (I know all part s of the crochet hook have got names, but I forget!)

You cut crossways, then scrape the wood away to the cut notch..

And you just keep doing that till you get to the size of the actual hook you want.

See above is the basic shape.

Then you get the sandpaper out.

As rough as you can handle it to begin with.

To shape the 'hook' part, you wrap the sandpaper round a kebab skewer, or a knitting needle and sand away.

Then you cut a bit, then sand a bit...See...

See the difference the sand paper makes?

And Voila!  See, a beautifully sanded crochet hook, just the size you need to make a nice fat yarn rug/pad.

I wax my hooks with a candle at the end, and rub the wax in really well with my warm hands to get a nice smooth edge to my hook.

You don't have to do this, but I think it makes the hook nicer.

And if you use a scented candle like my ginger and orange one above (the green thing -don't ask me why ginger and orange is green......) it makes it smell lovely too.

Oh, and the wax doesn't come off on the yarn if you rub it in well and leave about 24 hrs before use. :o)

Above is the little practice rug I made with my new hook, just to see how many yarns I could get on and how fat and cosy it would be.

Let me tell you now, IT IS SUMPTUOUS!

I used 18 yarns all at once on the hook.

And if you pop them all in one of those supermarket big 'green' bags, they don't get tangled up together.

(Well knot much anyway ;o)  )

But you will want to make loads of things once you see and feel how lovely it is.

Believe me, you won't be leaving all those odd balls of mohair and strange yarns in the bottom of the basket at the charity/thrift shops anymore once you see what you can make!  ;o)

Have fun lovely people.

Hope you all have a fantastic week.

And please, please, stop the rain dancing ladies ;o)

Take care everyone,

Love Donna x



Ta-daah's and a bit of thrifty cooking...

Well, Good Afternoon lovely people :0)

How are you this windy, grey Friday?

I thought I would try and fit in a quick blog post before the rush of the school run..

This is just a few Ta-Daah moments that I keep forgetting to pop on here.

I am taking part in the monthly make with Annie the Felt Fairy , but I so

keep on forgetting to post my makes. Do you get like that?

I kinda get in this making mode, and make, n make, n make, then forget to pop them on here, or even in my shop!

i just have 'em all stacked up until one of my clan say "Mum/wife (;0)) are you actually going to DO anything with these? " LOL

Well, here they are (as long as bloggers playing )

This is a lovely mixed mohair crocheted brooch, with a little vintage 'clear with gold dots on' button in the middle. The back was felted and had a brooch pin sewed on.

Next up...

remember my bunting that was blocking on my ironing board in my last post?

Well, 

Taa..Daaaah.....

I finally managed to make a chain and put it up.

Took me ages to get this photo, as I had to get it at an angle where you couldn't see how badly my windows need washing... LOL  :0)

And for once, the sun was shining...

**

Next is my Rag crocheted bag that I made in early January.

I've been using it a month, and it just gets better, and more cosy :0)

Not sure that the colours look very pretty in these photos, so you'll have to take my word that they go in the 'real world! LOL

And below is a picture of the button closure..

I made this button from some embroidery off of one of my girls 'toddler' dresses!

They used to sometimes have matching dresses when they were very young, and being the hoarder that I am, I've kept it all and I get all the 'good usable bits' off of them all for my crafting..

I'm pleased I don't know exactly who's dress it came from, so it reminds me of both :0)

Below is a picture of my latest thrifty book find.

OOOoooo...., this book is scrummy!

It's got all the recipes in from all the books that you used to read as a child..

You know, all the delicious foods that used to be in them, the picnic food, the midnight feasts, all that type of thing..

Enid Blyton, Roald Dahl...

It's even got recipes from my favourite books..The Little House on the Prairie series..

MMMmmmm...I've got to try 'em :0)

Well, that's all the photos that I could get on here today.
It's not actually this afternoon before the school run anymore, it's early evening!

So have a lovely weekend everyone.
Don't forget I won't be around next week, (hospital)  but hopefully I'll speak to  you all next weekend.
Send hopeful wishes our way on Tuesday!

Take care and wrap up warm,

Love Donna xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx