Needlefelted Toadstool Cottage

I made this little needlefelted cottage on Monday.

It is made out of a toilet paper roll. I am sure there are many ways to create one of these, but if you would like to follow my example this is what I did...

Make a template/pattern of the toilet roll, so basically measure the height and circumference of the roll and create a rectangle to those dimensions on paper.

Design your cottage, include windows, a door, anything you fancy, by drawing on the pattern with pencil. Cut out the windows, I just cut one side and the top of the door, so it didn't fall out!

Wrap this pattern around your toilet roll and mark your windows etc with pencil. Cut these out. (Refer above paragraph re the door). Cut a piece of felt material the same size as the rectangle pattern and repeat.

It is so much easier to deal with a flat piece of material, so I then set about decorating the outside of my cottage in this way. I used felt material for the windows, and cut out circles (I actually used craft circle punches, to create another template in card, so all the windows would be the same size). I used tacky glue to attach them to the base felt - you could stitch these if you prefer. I used the same process for the door. As I wanted a different coloured door, I cut out the door on my felt base - but NOT on the toilet roll, as you need something to attach the door to.

I then needlefelted my design onto the felt. Vines, toadstools, a little orange butterfly, a bird complete with nest and eggs.

Once I was happy with the look of my cottage. I wrapped the base around the toilet roll and stuck it all in place with tacky glue, making sure the edges (windows, top and bottom and door) were well glued.

I needle felted the red roof and added white spots using needle felting. If you prefer you could easily make a cone top with a pretty piece of scrapbooking paper or card. Glue around the top of the toilet paper roll and adhere the roof.

To light the little cottage, simply slip a LED battery tea light candle under the tube, and turn on...

Alpaca Yarn

Sorry I haven't posted for a while.  Very busy at work but in my spare time I have been knitting.
For my latest projects I have used alpaca wool from a local alpaca farm in West Melton, Canterbury.
I totally love knitting with this yarn. It is so lovely and soft.
My son is very impressed with his jersey (probably because the wool sat in the cupboard for a year before I started it - opps!) and wears it whenever he can.
Hopefully my daughter will actually wear the top I made her.

Fimo Buttons - First Attempt!

This week I finished a little 3/4 sleeved cardigan for myself.
The pattern instructed each buttonhole to be made by casting off 5 stitches and casting on 5 stitches in the following row.
I thought to myself these are going to be huge! But dutifully followed the instructions as it was the first time I had made this particular pattern.
Once sewn up I found a button that would fit perfectly and also realised that having to buy seven more matching ones could become quite expensive.
Out came the fimo (or "du-kit") in this particular case and I attempted to make my own matching buttons.  I used black du-kit and pink and blue glitter to match the stripes in the cardigan.
At first I tried to mix the glitter into the fimo, but quickly realised it was a waste of glitter.
I ended up rolling the fimo out flat and sprinkling the glitter on top. The size of button I needed was the same size as one of those old camera film containers, so I used that to push discs out of the fimo.
To make the buttonholes I found a very clever idea whilst trawling through the Internet. Tape two toothpicks together with a spacer in between them. (Because my buttons were so big, I found a pen that was the perfect width.)
I thought I would have to drill holes for the button holes once the clay had baked, but found that the toothpick holes stayed and were the perfect size for needle thread.
I am happy with the result,  although next time I will definitely make the buttons thinner.

Needle Felted Teddy Bears

With the weather outside a bit chilly, I have tried to stay inside as much as I can lately. After the kids swimming (indoor!) lessons yesterday I finished off this little fellow. The colour is a blend of reds and little bit of white merino wool. I just love how he turned out.

After getting extremely wet watching a very muddy game of soccer and a splashy game of netball this morning I am now working on another one. This bear is a blend of blues, greens and white merino & silk fibres. The pattern that has formed over his body reminds me of photos you see of the earth taken from space. I better finish his legs and get them attached.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend everyone.

Lego Display

Hello everyone,

If you have a little boy (or girl) that is mad about lego, then you will understand how much they can accumulate.

My eldest boy (Age 8) is actually pretty good - now - (after a few vacuuming mishaps!) at keeping his lego off the floor. He keeps his very precious Ninjago dragons etc all made up on top of his drawers and the other unmade pieces are all on a big table (with a raised edge) in his bedroom.

A couple of weekends ago I was looking at the table and wondered how on earth he could find a particular piece when there was just so much of it. I have attempted to get him organised in the past, eg containers for colours, but it just didn't seem to work.

He also has a number of characters from the various mini figure series so I decided I just had to do something about them.

I had a frame at home which had a big crack in the glass - I threw out the glass and decided to use this to display at least some of his lego figures.

I painted the back board black - it did take several coats until I was happy with it.

Each item from the mini figure series comes with it's own stand - a piece of black lego with four bumps (sorry - I don't know the technical term). I decided to use these and just glued them onto the back board of the frame.

I used "Quick Grip" glue. A glue I use for some of my miniatures, it works a treat. Two weeks later, they are all still intact so they should stay that way.

Once the glue is dry, the lego figures can then be pushed onto the piece of lego stuck to the board.

If you are going to do this, remember to keep the rows a good distance apart so the child can still pull the mini figure off the display so they can play with it.

Reuben keeps his favourite characters on this board (not all are from the mini series), I think it looks great hanging up in his room.

You could probably do this with any type of lego piece, but I think the stands that come with the mini series are ideal.

Miniature knitted elephants

These are bigger than the bunnies, but considering they are elephants they are still reasonably little!

They are one and a half inches tall (excluding the hat!). 

I have so far completed a Sailor Boy and a Girl in a pretty dress. I am tempted to make some more. The light grey definitely shows up the best in photos.

 

Happy New Year 2016

Hi everyone,

Welcome to the new year. I had a lovely break away with the kids and my family at Mt Cook National Park before spending a couple of nights away with my husband catching up with friends in Queenstown.

                                                                                 Mt Cook is in the background of the second photo.

 Of course, I had to take something crafty to do with me. I finished this shawlette sitting in the sun looking at the snow. The yarn is just divine, 50% merino & 50% silk, hand dyed by the very talented Hannah from Red Riding Hood Yarns (www.redridinghoodyarns.co.nz). It feels lovely, really luscious, and the colour is divine. I already had the beads in my stash, I think they actually match this wool better than the original project I purchased them for!


I found the pattern on Ravelry, It is called Annis by Susanna IC. It is a free download pattern and was so easy to follow. You start with the lace edging, so after casting on a heap of stitches and completing the lace, the shape of the shawl is created by using short row shaping, in simple stockinette stitch. I think the pattern was designed for 2ply, but I used 4ply and I think it turned out just as well.

If you are planning to take the project away for some holiday crafting, I suggest you start it at home first and complete the lace edge, then it is an easy pick up and put down project.