Regatta race

This is a smaller picture of the Regatta pictures that I have made. Measuring 15x15". This time I have put the sun and clouds in and an extra seagull!

Closer view of the houses...(the colours are better in real life)  SOLD

These are really a delight to make and the commission that I made and sent off last week was really well received. In fact she shed a tear or two.....not I hasten to add, because it was rubbish, but because she was so pleased with it. (That's a good enough response to me!) I can't post a picture of it just yet as she wants to show her friends first, so maybe next week I will show and tell. :0)

From tangle to people!

Well did you guess what the tangle of wool would turn into!? They are to celebrate the wedding of William/Kate and as many figures as possible is being knitted for a charity (Japan relief) and is going to be put onto Ebay to help with funds for the poor people who have lost everything over in Japan. A lovely lady on a forum is arranging everything and I hope that when they are all auctioned it goes for a nice sum.

This is handsome William. (he is as white as a sheet.....nerves!)

 And the Queen (who my daughter thought I was knitting Kim of 'How clean is your house') bloomin cheek. I think she looks very royal.....but then so does Kim with her high heels and pearls!!

Again very pasty looking!


And here are the two together, every bit royalty with all their bling :0D

I'm sure Katie can't wait to be with her prince.
As all different people will be knitting the figures it will be interesting to see the variations.

another tangle of wool

Another tangle of bits has emerged. I think it takes as long to make up as to knit the bits!

Can you guess who they are yet??!!

Brenda the Biker

Brenda has left her bike parked outside and has come in for a cuppa and bun. She has lots of lovely bling on (which is more than I have in my jewellery box!) maybe she will let me borrow some :0D
Although she thinks she's 'hard' she isn't really and loves her pink/yellow bracelet.

She has a fire painted on her 'leather' waistcoat. She will be going to the craft shop with her friends in the very near future.

This pile of wool bits is going to be made up to something marvelous!!!! watch this space

Hopefully this tangle will be made into something more recognizable pretty soon. (or not as the case maybe)

Spotty twins

Hot of the press the McSpotty twins!

I'm clearing my desk for a charity knit that I will be taking part in, to help the Japan relief. More details later.

Cock-a-doodle-doo

As you might be getting a bit fed up with me posting monkeys all the time (never... did I hear you shout!!) here is a painting that hangs in my kitchen. I painted it on an old scrap of hardboard and put a home made hanger on the back. I put some satin varnish over the top to protect him although it's not really needed as it's acrylic paints.
We had a real cock once and he drove us up the wall with his crowing at 3o'clock in the morning, he had to go. (no he didnt end up in the pot!) This one is nice and silent :0D

(copied from a painting book)

Mrs.Twitt

When I saw these socks in the shop couldn't resist them. Covered in little pink owls on a black background. Mrs. Twitt has got a black scarf with a bright pink heart and a flower bracelet.

 This one is going into a craft shop, along with several others, which opens for the season end of this month.

Cheery Cherry Sock Monkey

Been busy busy and in between has a request for a Cheery Cherry. She is now on her travels to the USA. She's looking forward to her new home and new life there and she hopes that she will get a cuppa and buttery crumpet when she arrives after her very long journey!

This little piggy

In our old house we used to have some horrible bare cupboard fronts so to make them a bit more cheery I used some acrylic paints to paint 'Babe'. When we moved we couldn't leave him there so the cupboard front came with us. There is another one painted with a chicken n stuff so will have to unbury that and take a photo. Babe lives in the kitchen propped up against a wall in a corner.

The paint has survived remarkably well, although I did put a coat of varnish on top to protect it from spills etc.as it was in a very busy, messy part of the kitchen and got lots of splashes.

thank you followers

Just noticed that I'm creeping up to 100 followers. I would like to thank them, and also those that have commented on my ramblings over the months that I have been......well, rambling!
In recognition to this, when I get to 100 I will have a giveaway. As I have been the lucky winner of a few myself it will be nice to reciprocate to somebody else.
Teeny Tiny Titch will be the prize, along with his peapod bed.  I  posted a picture of him back in February.

Mr. Ginger Nutts.

A jumble of limbs was sitting on the table and every now and again twitching at me. So inbetween everything else I thought I'd better put this monkey together. The poor soul was really relieved to have been made up and so now let me introduce you to Mr. Ginger Nutts. After a reviving cuppa and a buttery crumpet he has gone over to my Etsy shop!

Made with a really cuddly and slightly furry pair of socks he is a squiggy, cuddly sort of guy.

weather and a cuppa

I havn't strayed to far from the fire all today. It's blowing a gale and is extremely cold, cranked the central heating up and the log fire is roaring but that wind is finding all the gaps and giving us a draft. So with copius cups of tea I just settled down as close to the fire as poss. What else can you do?!

Been busy quilting and marking out a picture to paint/embroider so I don't have anything to show this weekend but here is something from the archives.Draw up your chair and join me in a cuppa tea!

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quilting the quilt.

Here is where I'm upto on the patchwork. I am slowly going around the squares but now I use 2 thimbles (one on each hand) as I couldn't stand the stabbing any more! Thanks to Tamster on MSE for letting me know that there is special quilting thread, otherwise I would have tried to persevere with ordinary cotton which would have led to a lot of frustration with knots/tangles and snapping.

                                                                   
                                                                   close up

I have only done a few squares and it's amazing how it begins to turn a large swath of material into the beginings of an actual quilt! (Its a pity that I couldn't get a close enough photo to show it better). I will be doing the banded strips as well and then the binding which I don't have as yet. Looking forward to it being on my bed......sometime!

Somebody asked where I got my idea for the 'Quirky Village Regatta' painting/embroidery. It was the little houses embroidered on  the above quilt set off the old grey cells to take them a step further and play around with fabrics and I had made some boat cards so combined the two elements. Got loads of ideas for more 'Quirky Village' series! I am excited as I have just got a commission to do a picture for someone using this technique. Hopefully I will do justice to it!

Mickey Monkey

Found another cuddly, soft pair of socks buried underneath the operating table of bodies,legs,arms and hats!
So here he is Mickey Monkey big brother to the twins!

                                                                            Sold
He's got his bag packed with his sweeties and his off to the Etsy shop to join his brothers and sisters!

Twins Wee Jock and Joe.

These little monkeys have just come off the operating table tiny brothers Wee Jock and Wee Joe. They are made with little boy socks and with their matching hats and scarfs they are all dressed ready for a new adventure!

Now in my Etsy shop.

Regatta Sailing race no2

This is the other regatta race that I've been working on. It is slimmer and longer than the first one I made and how it is made up is a bit different, which I thought was going to be quicker, but took longer!! A mixture of painting and hand/machine embroidery.

 And this is some close ups;

                                                                      Seagulls included!!

Hope you like it, I have popped it into my Etsy shop now. I have a plan in my head to make the same sort of picture but with vintage cars. Hope it can translate OK from how I see it to paper!

On other news have started to quilt my patchwork and is coming out nice (I think) as it's hand done it has given me lots of needle pricks in my finger, will try a thimble I think. So lots going on in my little Highland Cottage :0)

update on quilt

Well I have got the backing and wadding on, used a spray on adhesive to attach them all together. The back is a white sheet that I found in c.shop for £1.50. Now I need to get organised with a pattern which will be a simple one maybe squiggles or summat as it will be done by hand as it's too big to go under the machine although I know some people manage to do this I think I will get in too much of a muddle.

                                          Close up.

I also finished my regatta picture that I was doing but for some reason the main picture want download so here's a sneek preview!

I have done it slightly different from my big picture and this is smaller but longer and will be going into my Etsy shop when the glitch has been sorted!

twit twoo blog winner

Hello my lovelies, much to my amazement I am a winner on  www.artfriendzy.blogspot.com and received a lovely quilted mug rug with lots of friendly owls on it.

 Now isnt that great and the handmade owl card too a bonus!

                                            This is the reverse which is a fleece type fabric with gorgeous owls covering it all.

      I know it's a mug rug but I wasn't going to let anybody spill their drink on it, so it has a small pot plant on it and it's on the windowsill which is quite low so all that walk past can see it in all it's glory!

SO thanks again Jan it's lovely.

Painted furniture

This is the only painted furniture that I have left in the house now after drastically reducing big stuff when we downsized to our little cottage. It is one of my favourites so I'm glad there was room for it.

                                                   Close up of drawer.

 

close up of the cupboard front (which I took the wrong way around!)

                                                       


This is the right way round!...the tassel came of something else which matched the painting on the cupboard.

                                                   

                                                           The Top the design is repeated on the other corner

Its got a painted red undercoat, (emulsion) with a cream emulsion on top and then sanded back a bit (a coat of satin varnish to protect it) to make it shabby chic!
The borders are supposed to be a pretend bamboo which you cant really see on the photo, painted in acyrlic paints and the cupboard was free....can't get more money saving than that! :0D

Oh and the inside is also painted red.