Mavis and Nikki

Let me introduce you to Mavis and Nikki this time in doll form, rather than as an embroidery or painting. She is sporting red, stripey stockings and on her feet a pair of fairisle boots and a matching hat . With her faithful doggie Nikki by her side she is all ready for a walk in the park.

Do you like her wild, auburn hair?

                                                             Woof woof!

Here they are together. I used bits and pieces to make them. Nikki/boots/hat are made out of an old jumper, the coat is felt and her hair is some cushion tassels with her body being made from a piece of sheeting! Who said crafting has to cost £££'s!

Back view....hmmm....I wouldn't mind a jacket like that and I will keep an eye out for some stripey tights!

                                                            Little buttons keep his legs on!

This is the real Nikki enjoying herself with her new woodland friends. Those teddies are super big, just the right size to sit on a cosy lap.

 I'm sorry to all those on Google+ that have left me a comment, that I've been unable to reply due to not belonging to that particular site.

This week linky parties are;
Sunday;
usscrafty.blogspot.co.uk
handmadeharbour.blogspot.
Monday;
thededicatedhouse.blogspot.
Wednesday;
thewellcraftedhome.blogspot
thediydreamer
lavendergardencottage
ivyandelephants.blogspot.
Thursday;
myfashionforwardblog
craftsalamode.com
dianarambles.

You say Tomato and I say Tomartoe!

We have tomatoes growing out of our ears. It's funny, but I can't eat them unless cooked, and hidden in a meal, which is a shame, cos they look so delicious.

 A brief summary is that the Latah seed purchased from The Real Seed Company are the best, although the wonkiest shapes. Second in came a Tumbling Tom which was purchased for 99p from a local garden centre. Thirdly was the Lidles seeds.

 I don't know if I pruned the Lidles back to far, but there were only a few toms on them, so probably the lack of fruit was made by me as they were very lush and bushy when they were growing. The good thing is that they arn't ripe yet so the glut is a bit smaller than if they had ripened same time as the others.

Here is a very small sample and  you can see the funny shapes of the Latah variety. Friends that I gave some to commented how flavoursome they were. (A bonus is that as they are not a hybrid, the seeds can be saved and you get the same tomatoes next year, so theoretically you never need to buy tomato seeds again) The other two contestants were perfectly formed, round shaped, so beloved of supermarkets! With the leftovers of which there are many and still cropping, I made a sort of tomato and chilli relish/dip, just throwing in stuff and reducing it right down till all the juice had gone. I was told it taste good. (I dont like relish so couldn't taste as I was going along to see if it was OK!)

And here is a cross stitch of tomatoes that I stitched a while ago just to keep in with the theme!

                                 
                                                    Close ups

This hangs on the kitchen wall in all it's tomatoiness haha. I have been crafting other stuff but it's not ready to show and tell yet. At the moment she is looking alright and she will be ready for her modelling career next time I post.

Here is pin up Nikki on her favourite walk in the forest. You do have to be careful who you come across, the fairy tale was true, bears do live in the wood, but they had already eaten the porridge!!

This weeks linky parties are:
Sunday;
handmadeharbour.blogspot.
/www.usscrafty.blogspot.
Monday;
the-chicken-chick.com/
Tuesday;
thediydreamer.
thededicatedhouse.blogspot.
Wednesday;
lavendergardencottage.blogspot.
ivyandelephants.blogspot.
Thursday;
myfashionforwardblog
Friday;
craftsalamode what-to-do-weekends-33.
dianarambles.

Redwork embroidery and a lovely parcel of goodies.

There still hasn't been much movement on the crafting front, although I did manage to finish these 3 redwork embroideries, a series of Mrs. Harris & Nikki.

                                            Here is Mrs. Harris and Nikki feeding the hens.

                                         Wheeeee, free wheeling down the hill!

                                        Fresh apples for an apple pie.

I am intending to turn these into pdf files as mentioned earlier, but time has once again run away and it's not been done. Lots of rough sketches for more Mrs. Harris & Nikki. These were worked in running stitch and a little chain and satin stitch, she stands approx 8" tall from her wellies to her hat and is worked on a buff coloured polycotton fabric.

 I am considering selling these three embroideries if you are interested, my email is in the sidebar.
 (I also am working on an applique with her hanging out a patch work quilt and am getting out my paints to do a painting of them, so watch this space!)

This week I am a winner...yay! Paper and String were having a giveaway and here is the package I received. Exciting eh.

and this is what I chose....4 bundles of felt and a large packet of fancy buttons.

Lush or what. I was allowed to choose £10 of goodies from her shop and what a shop!

Here is the link http://paper-and-string.blogspot.co.uk/ go and have a looksie, lots of lovely, yumminess lurking in there.

To end this post here is a photo of Nikki doing what she does best, posing!

Sheep are not for chasing, but for sitting on. haha. See you in a fortnight, take care.

This weeks linky parties are;
Sunday;
handmadeharbour.blogspot.
submarine-sunday-42.
dianarambles.com/
the-chicken-chick.com/
Monday;
thededicatedhouse.blogspot.
Tuesday;
thewellcraftedhome.blogspot.
thediydreamer.
Wednesday;
lavendergardencottage.blogspot.
Thursday;
myfashionforwardblog
Friday;
craftsalamode.com
dianarambles.com/

Gardens, plants and Nikki

This week is all about the garden, I have sunburn to prove we have had sun. Not as much as England but enough to be able to sit out and have an ice lolly and read a book. Lovely.

The polytunnel was a sauna, everytime I went in my glasses steamed up. haha.

 The red blob on the left hand side is the only ripe tomato so far, lots of green ones tho.
The corn is an experiment to see if they produce corn. There are some tassels showing, think I will have to google to see what to do! The seat at the end is where I have a cuppa and give Nikki a brush. My grape vine has got 3 bundles of grapes, how big they will get we'll have to wait and see. Probably not enough to make a bottle of wine!

Huge amount of gooseberries. Quite small but they are ripe, never had so many on 2 small bushes, already made a cake with a few. Gives the cake a slightly tart flavour. DH doen't like goosegogs, so I don't tell him what's lurking in my cakes!

Here is Nikki showing of 2 of the rather large caulis that were in the polytunnel, we also picked some large heads of broccoli, yummy. The sun was so bright that Nikki had to borrow a pair of sunglasses...haha.

Here she is pretending to be a hen and hoping I wouldn't notice! Why she likes the hens oats I don't know, but she doesn't lay any eggs!!

Front garden, the bamboo sticks are for the runner beans as there was nowhere else to put them, but they look pretty with the red flowers climbing up.

another view.

Around the back again and next to the poly tunnel, to what is a field, but slowly turning a part of it into some semblance of a garden (hopefully anyway) The grass on this part has layers and layers of stones underneath so it makes it very difficult to dig. We wondered if it was a courtyard in the old days.  This summer house has only been a year in the making and still hasn't got all the glass in, one day we might even be able to sit there!

Well, that's your lot for this week. I have been doing a bit of crafting but some of it turned out wrong. But this is something I am pleased with and here is a peek....guess what Mrs.Harris (she's had a name change!) and Nikki are doing? Part of the set of what I hope will be a redwork embroidery pdf.

This weeks linky parties are;
Sunday;
handmadeharbour.blogspot.
usscrafty.blogspot.submarine-sunday
Monday,
the-chicken-chick.com/
Tuesday;
thededicatedhouse.
thediydreamer.
Wednesday
ivyandelephants.blogspot.
finecraftguild.
thewellcraftedhome.blogspot.
avendergardencottage.blogspot.
Thursday;
craftsalamode.

framed Sunshine Sampler

Just quickly popping in to show you the quirky houses Sunshine Sampler all framed up. The frame does need a bit of touching up but hey the battered look fits right in here!

.....and for those that wanted to know which cottage is mine. It's the white one with the 2 red doors
Party link;
finecraftguild.
thededicatedhouse.blogspot.
lavendergardencottage.blogspot.
dianarambles.com

Re-cycling books. Mavis and Nikki go for a walk.Nikki's towels

This crafty make is a present from my daughter. We have a Zutter punch (which I can't figure out how to work it properly and all the holes go in the wrong places) so dd has taken it over.

These books have been laying around for ages, they are the sort, that, once read, they are then confined to deepest darkest cupboard which is a shame. So, to give them a new lease of life she made me these, after carefully cutting the boards and removing the insides she went to work pimping them up!

Now, I am getting old, and a lot of the quotes in the little blue book could quite well refer to me! haha  'Hazards of a handyman' we can relate to as we have had a few mishaps while hammering or sawing over the years!!

Inside, the top one has plain paper in it so I can make sketches and notes and the little one has lined paper for joting down shopping lists or bits and pieces. I think they are great fun and are going to come in very handy. She is going to be making some more out of old annuals. (not valuable ones I hasten to say!)

As for me I have made a little embroidery for a cushion. Mavis and Nikki going for a walk. It is running stitch in red thread.

I call this a self portrait haha. If you look closely you can see some quirky houses on the handbag. Must find me some stripey stockings!

Here it is turned into a cushion. I have to say it's one of my favourites.

 I have in mind to do a series of line drawings of Mavis and Nikki in various poses which I think would make a nice transfer set to use as cushions/pictures/embroidery or included in a quilt. Do you think people would be interested in buying them as PDF files, either singly or as a set? I would love to hear your opinions.

And just for Nikki, as she has been mostly good this week, some jazzed up towels.

Carefully folded so that you can't see the ingrained dirt from past exploits. (No, she doesn't appreciate her personalised towels!)

This weeks linky parties are:-
Sunday.
handmadeharbour.
craftsalamode.
dianarambles.com
Monday;
the-chicken-chick.com
Tuesday;
thediydreamer.
Wednesday;
lavendergardencottage.blogspot.
ivyandelephants.blogspot.
Thursday;
myfashionforwardblog.
Friday;
craftsalamode.

Sunshine Sampler and pea pods.

Gosh, am I suprised at the amount of peas we have had so far this year. This is just a very small amount (half the peas ended in my tummy as I was podding them!) Last year we made some pea pod wine (put in the bottles in January) so here's hoping that it is soon ready to drink, and if indeed, it's drinkable! This lot were grown in the poly tunnel, starting off in winter. Last year when I grew them outside, they weren't ripe until late summer. So nice to have an early crop for a change.

Eat the peas, turn the pods into wine and then pop them onto the compost heap!

I did manage to finish off my 'Sunshine Sampler'. I was just going to photo it in the frame and the batteries ran out.

16 squares in all with little funky, quirky houses in each square. Guess which one is my little cottage!
The saying says 'Walk on the sunny side of the street' and each little embroidery has a sun to brighten the day.
                                                  Close ups.

                    

                                                         

                                                    

These are all hand embroidered with tiny bits of material (see, never throw anything away haha) Some of the trees are felt others are embroidered and  yet others are fabric. Do you like the teeny tiny robin sitting on the fork in the veggie garden?

Each square took an evening to do although some were a bit quicker than others. The background fabric is linen. It has a red frame all ready and waiting.But I have a confession, what did I do....yep, measured once and cut once!! So its a wee bit short on the frame, but only by a couple of centimeters, although still very annoying and I have already mentally kicked myself very hard!

Think it might hang either in my kitchen or in the hallway.....or might put it with my other little squares sampler

whilst I'm having a think do pop over and see the wonderful blogs in these linky parties.

Sunday.
handmadeharbour.blogspot.
Monday;
.the-chicken-chick.
Tuesday;
thediydreamer.
Wednesday;
ivyandelephants.blogspot
lavendergardencottage.
finecraftguild.com/party-72/
thededicatedhouse.blogspot.
Thursday;
sparklesandastove.
Friday;
craftsalamode.com

Tour around garden and start of mini sampler

Would you like to come on a tour around the veggie patch? Off we go then.

 You might remember the veggie patch sign that I blogged about, it is now fixed to the gate that leads into the allotment. (I have run out of the blue paint to match the fence, so it's either going to be left like it is, or, painted some other random colour)

The gate still needs to be fastened as it's only propped up, and it needs a bit more refining around the ages!

 And yes it was a clear blue sky and sunny, which, by midday, was overcast and dismal and then the rain came, what a disappointment. (This was Saturday)

Nikki getting in on the photo...guarding the vegtables! HH cut out the pointy finger which is attached to the fence, just in case you miss the gate. haha.

As we open the gate (which was made from old floorboards as is the planking fence, all hobbled together. Pinched from HH's wood pile) this is the start of, hopefully, some lovely veggies...if they grow!

 The stuff that is starting to sprout are potatoes, lettuce, onions, leeks, turnips, carrots and kohl. With peas and beans that were grown on in the poly tunnel.

In the background are raspberries and blackcurrants. The apple trees have lots of blossom this year but I wonder if we are just too exposed for the apples to grow to any size (but hope spring eternal!!)

I would like the pathways to be gravelled over at sometime to stop the weeds sprouting like triffids.

The poly tunnel is once more coming into it's own and the peas that were sown in winter in there, are now nearly ready to eat. (Love peas straight out the pod) Strawberries are starting to ripen...yummy and the grape vine has 3 small minute bunches growing, now that will be interesting to see if they grow to proper size. Lots of other things starting to come along, we didn't have much bother from slugs or snails but cabbage butterflies were a pain, with caterpillars all over the brassicas which were picked off by hand everyday. Yuk.

On the crafting front I have started to embroider a little house sampler.
Here is the start...

There are 14 squares altogether and maybe, just maybe, they will be finished for next time.

This weeks linky parties are;
Sunday;
handmadeharbour.blogspot
Monday;
the-chicken-chick.
thededicatedhouse.
Tuesday;
thediydream 
Wednesday;
ivyandelephants.
lavender garden cottage.
Friday;
finecraftguild.
dianarambles.
myfashionforwardblog.

Mugs, samplers and Nikki

craftsalamode.what-to-do-weekends-21

I sent away a couple of my Quirky house photos to have them put on a couple of mugs.
Here they are on my mini dresser.

                            
                                            Close up

 

and whilst they are OK I think they should have had a brighter sheen to them as the photos that were downloaded were nice and clear and bright. So a bit of a disappointment really.

Anyway I did manage to finish off this little cross stitch sampler this week.

The aida was white but I wanted a more 'antiquey' looking colour, so it was soaked in some cold tea for a while. Unfortunately the photo shows it a pale brown, whereas, in real life it's a deeper, rich brown. That is Head Honcho with Nikke and me with a blue chicken!

At last the flowers are starting to pop up. Nikki takes a keen interest in the garden, after all there are bees and butterflies to chase, passing cars and bikes to bark at, bits of unkown yuk to nibble on. Here she is having a rest inbetween activities.

But she would like to remind you to take the time to slow down and smell the flowers!

This weeks linky parties are:
finecraftguild.com/linky-party-67/
handmadeharbour.blogspot.
usscrafty.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/submarine-sunday-32.html
Monday
the-chicken-chick.
thededicatedhouse.
Wednesday;
lavendergardencottage.blogspot.
thediydreamer.
Friday
michellestastycreations.
dianarambles-linky-party-34.
thededicatedhouse.
craftionary.net

Have a cuppa cross stitch. Muddy pawsteps from Jazz!

I hope that you are getting some share of the sun, if you are, we need some up here so pass it on!!

The poly tunnel has been slowly filled with plants and seeds of various descriptions with some experiments going on. I have cut one of those shoe bag tidies that hang over doors, in half and part filled them with strawberry plants. (in the soil I mixed a bit of gel retention crystals so they don't dry out to quickly)  A bamboo stick was threaded through the re-sewn hem, a bit of wire fixed either end of the stick and then hoisted over the railings of the roof of the poly tunnel, thus freeing up space on the floor and also bamboozling the ninja slugs. I am hoping this will work as I love scrummy strawberries.

Not been crafting much this week so will show this little cross stitch that was done a few years ago but I still love it.

  Tea tastes better served in a posh bone china cup....but I always have a mug and save the cup for special times. Need me tea, otherwise I collapse in a hopeless heap!

 Nikki was having a snooze and doing a good imitation of Aleksander the Meerkat....and wondering if she  there is a vacancy for a body double. (If anybody out there is an agent she would consider going into the advertising industry!! haha )                                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                                                    

 Totally unaware of what Jazz was getting upto in the kitchen.

Jazz was saying 'what me guv, weren't me, honest'  All innocent about these very muddy footprints all over the kitchen floor!

But how can you be angry with those eyes looking at you.

This weeks linky parties are;#
Sunday;
handmadeharbour.blogspot
craftsalamode.com
Monday;
.the-chicken-chick.com/
dianarambles.
Tuesday;
thediydreamer.
Wednesday;
finecraftguild.
lavendergardencottage.
thededicatedhouse
Thursday;
craftionary.
Friday;
craftsalamode.com
finecraftguild.com/linky-party-67/