Christmas Movies

As I am in the Christmas mood, I just gotta share one of my favourite Christmas Movies: A Christmas Story, not many people have seen it and it's a shame, it's for all of us out there who have never had a perfect christmas, if you get the chance watch it in full, here is the trailer:

p.s. I'm planning a little Christmas Giveaway and will post about it tomorrow!

~ ♥ Back Soon ♥ ~

Cooking ~ me?

There is something about this weather that makes me want to cook. It's bloomin' freezing up here in Northumberland and it's snowing like mad ~ this was my garden this morning.


It looks beautiful and I love it when I can watch it falling in front of the old lamp post in the street (from my sofa, through the window with the fire roaring I might add!) and it feels like you could be in Narnia, but it's a bugger when you have to actually go anywhere, the roads are a nightmare and work and kids schools are 25 miles away! This morning the Police are stopping people trying to get on the A1 asking if their journey is really necessary! I find it quite funny how the news is dominated by it all, as up here snow is not such a novelty. When I was living in Durham we had snow in June more than once!

Anyhoo, all this cold makes me want to cook. Well it's no big secret that I'm not much cop in the Kitchen, I muddle through. I can cook a roast, make lasagne from the jars, and heat up Aunt Bessies yorkies ~ my kids wonder why they don't get a Christmas Card from this Aunt Bessie as she features in our life a lot! But I try; I have all the cookbooks but just never find time to get stuck in, well this week I did, I got my cupcakes book out and had a go
(you notice I didn't cook a hearty stew, no I made cakes ~ is it any wonder I'm fat?!?!) :

And it worked a treat, I was a bit heavy handed with the icing dusting but they were beautiful and went in a flash, lemon butterfly cakes!

This book was about £2 from Asda in the sale last year and there are just loads of treats in here, these are a few of my favourites:

Get these; button cookies, two of my favourite things together:

If you want any of these recipes let me know and I'll copy em out; is that allowed ~ if It's not then I won't but message me anyhow ;)

Oh and I wanted to show you this, my local Ethel Austin is selling these metal signs, lots of different ones all with a vintage feel, they have a pink 'Keep Calm and Eat a Cupcake Sign' for example, this one is A5 size and was £5, they have larger ones for £10:

Keep Warm and Carry On!

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More Christmas Makes

Well I have been knitting for England this last week or so, knocking up scarves and facecloths like a good un ~ they are all gifts for Christmas or Birthdays so I feel like I am making a little progress. It's rather rude of people to have birthdays in December I think (I have 8 and a Wedding Anniversary)~ although some of the best people do; mine is 1 week before Christmas (imagine how much that annoys everyone) and my best friend's is New Years Eve.

Anyhoo, here is the finished cream scarf - it's chunky and toasty and I could keep it but I don't have time to make another, my boy was quite taken with it he gets excited at my little makes and tries everything on.

Still on the subject of makes for Christmas are these beaded snowflakes.


I made these from my stash of beads, I got some lovely crackle glaze beads and mixed em up with what I had and I think they turned out quite nice, very traditional colours. Actually I just noticed looking at them in the photo they look like skewered grapes!

I added one to the middle of my rag wreath.

I got this idea from Jacqui over at Bunny Mummy, she kindly did a tutorial and she is having a rag wreath giveaway (ends 28th Nov) so pop over and have a look ~ (thanks Jacqui) it's miles better than my feeble attempt.

I used some green gingham, some Christmas fabric I picked up earlier in the year at the charity shop (I think it was supposed to be a table cloth but it was a queer size), and some red gingham ribbon from my stash. I didn't have any garden wire but I found some size 8 jewellery wire and I used that instead. If I sneeze near it, it looses it's shape so next one will have to be stronger wire, but it will do for my first attempt I think.

In the spirit of Christmas I think I will have to do a little Christmas Giveaway, I'll have a think of what to add and will post it soon.

~ ♥ Back Soon ♥ ~

*****Emergency Broadcast*****

Just had to share this, just got a text from my lovely friend (thank you xx) to tell me that Cath Kidston site has 15% off for today only, so if you were after some Christmas Gifts today might be the day to get em:


That's it, short and sweet!

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Completed Scarf and Christmas Excitement

Well, I finished my scarf here it is, it's not easy to photograph a long scarf but here we go:

I am a good way through the cream one and it's lovely, there is fluff on everything I wear whilst knitting it.

I think this might make a nice pressie for my Niece who is 19, lovely Linda from Hookin' with LaaLaa pointed out that there are similar scarves to this currenly in Accessorize for about £20.

I ordered some new labels to sew into my handmade makes, I don't want all of my family to know about my blog, not sure why really, but it's my little place and many of them are not 'into' the same things I am and I am not ready to expose myself to them all yet, does that make sense or am I coming across as a bit of a paranoid nutter?

Anyhoo the labels I have are Kandipandi ones so these ones are mainly for family makes, this is them; they are from Woven Labels UK and I have spent a couple of hours this morning sewing them into my little makes that I plan to give for Christmas.

I'm getting right into the swing of Christmas now.
I have booked a day off work just to go into town to do my shopping and see Fenwicks Christmas Window Display, this is a North East thing you can see last year's photos here, they really go all out and you can hardly get near for little kids faces pressed up against the glass, magical!

Still on the subject of Christmas the fabulous Annie the Felt Fairy put me onto these little beauties in Wilkinson, I'm not a dog person as such (I'm badly allergic to em :( ) but I do love doggie bits and bobs:

80p each - you can't fall out with the price. They are rather CK esque without the CK price. They had some other nice bits in too I picked these up:

And whilst scouring the Charity Shops I got some of my Christmas Cards, I had bought a load in the Barnardos sale last January but I can't fine em anywhere, I am convinced that they will turn up now I have bought these.

I was scouring the charity shops for something bright to wear next friday at work, its a charity day for Brake - from their site 'Brake exists to stop the 6 deaths and 62 serious injuries that happen on UK roads every day and to care for families bereaved and seriously injured in road crashes. '
Unfortunatley in the business in which I work; several of our colleagues have been injured or killed so we are doing our bit. The shameful thing is when I opened my wardrobe I had nothing bright to wear so went on the hunt, I have not found anything yet, I will have to think of something by Friday.

~ ♥ Back Soon ♥ ~

Winter Nights

I had a relaxing hour on Sunday just reading my new magazines with a cuppa (one of my favourite things to do) ~ please ignore the chunky chocolate cookies they are a figment of your imagination!

There were lots of lovely things to see, I scan them quickly at first then pour over them in depth at my leisure for the next few weeks or so, they travel round the house with me.

On scanning the knitting magazine I came across a couple of bits that jumped out at me. I have been buying this magazine monthly now for a few months, I am a novice knitter but want to do more and this magazine has been a great help, there is always at least one thing every month that I need to knit.

I thought this was quite quirky a knitted wreath :
But this was something that I was drawn to immediately:

How cost and toasty and soft does that look? With the weather the way it is I wanted one of these to wear all the time until Summer comes again.

It’s quite a simple pattern, even for me, it does involve cable knitting and if you are not scared of that then it’s a doddle.

I couldn’t help it so I ordered the wool immediately and it arrived today ~ yey ~ just look how lovely and soft it is.
The thing is, I couldn’t wait until the wool arrived so I knitted this on smaller needles with the wool I used for the wrist warmers, (as one keen eyed knitter noticed it was Sirdar Crofter Chunky). It’s not quite finished so here is a sneaky peak.

I can’t wait to make my chunky cream one; I will get right to it as soon as I finish some Christmas makes (it’s 5 weeks on Saturday ~ flippin heck!).

On the subject of Christmas, this arrived yesterday

ohhh there are lots of lovelies I want from here but mostly these:

~ ♥ Back Soon ♥ ~

Uncommon Crochet

I blogged about this book a while back Uncommon Crochet, and picked it up earlier this week to find a simple make for some string that I picked up from B&M Bargains this week (4 balls for £1).

I made this little container, isn't it sweet ~ I think these might make nice little gift boxes for Christmas or birthdays for smaller bits of jewellery and this used about 1/3 of a ball of string - so apart from my time it cost me about 33p (and sore fingers).

When finished it was the exact right size to hold a ball of string, my husband was staring at me and finally exclaimed - "tell me you haven't just made a box out of string to hold string?!?!", he is very observant :)

I have been making some wrist warmers too, I am rather proud of these, I made them from scratch using my own pattern (that I made up as I went along :) ) and I am rather pleased with how they turned out, the yarn is quite autumnal too, I have a few balls left so might attempt a matching scarf.

Em, still not Christmas makes are they? Well the boxes are I guess, well kind of, by proxy... mmm must get cracking...

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Crochet Hook Rolls

This is an idea I adapted from the Crayon Rolls that I have seen around it's a crochet hook roll. This was mega simple to make I simply took the dimensions of my hooks and added a bit at the bottom and the top, just enough so that the measurement on the hook was not obscured. This is my little drawing from my little black book that I carry everywhere with me, it's full of ideas and little sketches and pattern instructions:

Please forgive the imperial meaurements as a Q.S. everything at work is in metric but for sewing and knitting I always work in imperial.

And here is what came of it:

This brown one is my favourite - I just love brown and pink together.

These were so quick and easy to make the bit that took the longest was sewing in all the ends of the cotton, now back to tackle the Chrismas makes ... eek, I am running out of time!

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Lest We Forget x

Armistice Day (also known as Remembrance Day) is on November 11 and commemorates the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front, which took effect at eleven o'clock in the morning—the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" of 1918.

Every year at the eleventh hour on the eleventh day of the eleventh month we remember the end of the First World War and all who gave their lives then and since.

photo credit

THE EXHORTATION

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

When you go home tell them of us and say -For your tomorrow we gave our today

~ ♥ LEST WE FORGET ♥ ~

A day off and a little Shopping

I have taken the plunge and despite being run ragged at work I have booked an ad hoc day's annual leave, as I was in desperate need of a day off!!
I intended to quickly take something back to the shops and post a couple of parcels off as I had an appointment in the afternoon and I intended to craft for the rest of the day for Christmas but the charity shops called me in.

My local charity shop has just recieved a bit of a craft haul donation this week which I quickly snapped up:

My favourite was the Fiskars pinking shears almost brand new for 50p, I have been looking for some reasonable pinking shears for ages. In addition to these beauties was an assortment of vintage buttons, needles,trim, zipper foot, bias maker and bits and bobs - the whole lot came to £2.75, I am a happy bunny.

I came across this little tea set for 2 for £2 so snaffled that up too, they wrapped it in so much tissue paper that it will last me forever!

Ain't the little flowers sweet?

I spied this bracelet under the counter and fell for that too, 80p - its from Tunisia apparently

Then on to Evans and had a quick shuffle through the sale racks and bought floor lenght black sleveless maxi dress (£15 was £35) and I love it but ... in November - mmm I haven't thought this through have I?

Ooohh and this morning, my soaps turned up, there were a few more that are pressies so I didn't photo them as the recipents might see em here. The smell from the box was devine.

I have spent a good hour sorting and wrapping my Secret Santa Swap goodies and I am starting to feel all excited about Christmas now.

~ ♥ Back Soon ♥ ~