Ruby's Button Tin

Saturday and Sunday ... soon be Monday

The weekend goes so quickly, and it's back to work before you know it.  But before then there's still more crafty work to pack in.  I finished a few half completed pieces of felt food yesterday.  I forget how much I like work with felt, having done so much knitting & needlepoint lately. 

The colours are so vivid, and not fraying means it such an easy medium to sew with.  I'm now completing some Jaffa Cakes!!  (Mmmm, wish I had the real thing to hand, but I'm trying to cut back on snacking.  My tum is starting to resemble Pooh Bear's.) 

In the evening when the light got too bad for sewing (my poor old eyes don't cope well with artificial lighting when it comes to stitching tiny, weeny stitches) I swapped to a few more purl & plain rows.  The scarf is growing .... row by row. 

I did that while watching 'X Factor'.  Cringe-tastic!!  The self delusion of some people who auditioned is extraordinary.  They're so convinced they're going to be a star, and look crushed when the blindingly obvious ('you've got a terrible singing voice') is explained to them. 
You can tell autumn's on the way when the TV schedule changes and the big shows like this crank into gear.  I'll watch for a week or two.  It might be car-crash TV ... but it's my guilty secret!

Just a few more softies ...

I thought I'd just add a few more softies, for no other reason than they're softies!  Softies are cute and funny and - oh, I don't know.  Do you really need a logical sounding reason for posting pictures of fake doughnuts and felty jam tarts!!  There's a recession on and we need every reason to smile we can get. 

 

The return of the softies

I've been clearing up the chaotic area around my desk and came across lots of softies.  Lately I've spent so much time doing patchwork and needlepoint that I'd forgotten how much fun softie making is.  So I gathered up this selection of cakes and took their picture, to remind me. 

Sewing took a back seat yesterday though.  I'd got my bike fixed in the week so took myself off for a couple of hours cycling.  There's a great cyclepath in Bristol which runs under the suspension bridge and along by the river.  It's a lovely relaxing ride, and the countryside looks beautiful.  I don't know whether it's the weather (!) this year, but Spring is so lush and green, much more so than usual.  There're still bluebells out and everything's blossoming and sprouting and flourishing.  Makes you feel good (and makes me think of Cold Comfort Farm - when the sukebind's in flower). 

Popped up to the allotment later in the day and -wow! - after a few days of not going up there, it'd gone crazy.  The grass is almost growing before my eyes.  I began weeding with a vengeance, and - sunshine permitting - will be carrying on again today. 

So softie making will have to wait yet again ...

  

Little houses

I spent last night watching the first two episodes of Kirstie's Homemade Homes, which was great fun.  I love her enthusiasm for make do and mend, trawling through rec yards and markets for second hand goodies and her championing of British craftspeople.  It was very sweet to see how thrilled she was with making a simple envelope cushion.  Bless!  I also loved the little knitted house featured at the start of the programme and before/after the ad breaks.  Would really like to knit one, so I came up with a very, very much simplified version. 

It's embroidered with flowers and slightly padded with polyester filling.  Not sure it has any practical use, but I enjoyed making it.  I like the idea of making bunting with lots of litle houses of differently coloured wool.

This knitted house joins a couple of others I've made in felt, one a Christmas decoration with red/green/silver and the other just another non-practical piece of enjoyable sewing.

I'm going to knit another house or two, and improve the design.  Maybe make that bunting too. 

 

Veggie burger anyone?

Who knows why you get the urge to make what you make? Well, I decided it was time to make a burger - a veggie one of course! A sesame seed bun, burger, square of highly processed cheese and a big splat of tomato sauce.

Anyone for cake?

Are you getting 5 a day?

It's been raining so much this week I haven't spent more than an hour on the allotment.  I did manage to pop over yesterday early evening, only to find that The Evil Slugs have been feasting on my poor little plants.  Tender leaves are either more full of holes than a piece of cheese, or have been munched until there's nothing left but a stalk.  I'm loathe to use slug pullets, but I might have to. 

Anyway, on to craftier matters ... are you getting 5 a day?  Pieces of fruit I mean. 

I've been making strawberries for a while, but the apple slices are new.

There's also been some baking going on ...

These gingerbread men look pretty pleased with themselves.  The colour doesn't show up too well in my dodgy photo, but the felt is a wonderful spicy shade, perfect for gingerbread.