Special Delivery

I've received some lovely goodies in the post recently. First of all was this lovely grey tabby from Kirsten at Quernus Crafts.

Kirsten and I met through Folksy and we've been corresponding for a few months now: inspiring each other with our crafty makes and just chatting about life in general. When she heard about my lovely cat Alli (see previous post) she sent me this gorgeous wee cat. Isn't he sweet? It was so kind and thoughtful of Kirsten, and much appreciated. Crafters are such lovely people and Kirsten is one of those truly special ones.

As well as the people selling jewellery, toys, art, home decorations, etc. on Folksy, there are also quite a few that sell supplies; and nice Mr Postman brought me a great big fat bundle of felt last week, that I bought from The Felted Rainbow.

This gloriously coloured felt (recycled from plastic bottles!) is great for all sorts of crafts, and with 34 different colours to choose from I'll never be short of the right one! I find that a lot of felt comes in really garish shades, but there were some lovely muted and pastel ones here. A couple of weeks ago I started a new evening class - Bag Making & Embellishments - and I've already used some of the felt in my first bag (more on that in my next blog posting).

And my final lovely delivery were these cute silver charms from Ruby & Dig; aren't they just gorgeous?

They've been added to my ever-growing collection of embellishments: buttons, beads, ribbon, etc. bought over the years and stashed away for the 'right time'. These beautiful charms will add that perfect finishing touch to so many different items: padded hearts for Valentines, cards for Mother's Day, beaded bag charms...

I've already used one on my Folksy Heart Swap (more on that at a later date too!) and it really added that 'special something'.

I love to support fellow Folksters: whether buying handmade gifts direct from the maker, or purchasing materials to help me make my goodies, and you can find some really unusual items that you just wouldn't get in your local high street stores. I just need to make a few more sales in my shop and then I can go shopping again...!

Our Handsome Alli Cat

A lot of crafters - and a few gardeners! - are owned by cats, so today I thought you might be interested in some photos of our lovely cat Alli who passed away a year ago today, at the age of just three.

He was such a handsome cat.

Who could always find a nice spot for a doze.

Getting himself into all sorts of comfy positions.

He loved to play with his toys.

He had his favourites, and they took quite a battering!

He was very quick and athletic, and he had very sharp claws!

But his greatest love was the garden.

With lots of vantage points and hiding spots, perfect to leap out from.

And places to relax in the sun.

He was such a loving and playful character, and we miss him dearly.

Our gorgeous little boy, Alli. xxx

Double Sunshine Award

Last week I received this lovely Sunshine Award from Charlotte of Charlotte Hupfield Ceramics, but never got time to blog about it. And then this week I received the same award from Kate at Glamourpuss Jewellery! The Sunshine Award is awarded to bloggers whose positivity and creativity inspires others in the blog world, so I'm thrilled to receive it. Thanks so much girls!

However, there are rules for accepting the award. You must:

1. Put the logo on your blog or within your post;

2. Pass the award onto 12 bloggers;

3. Link the nominees within your post;

4. Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog;

5. Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award.

I've found it quite hard picking twelve blogs, and some of my favourites have already received this award, but here's the list that I came up with - all blogs that are positive, creative and inspirational, whether through their photos, their words, their crafty makes or their gardens.

So, in no particular order:

Attic24
Uniquely Snowflake
Coco Rose Textiles
Owl Tree Cottage Crafts
Blooming Writer: Gardening in Nova Scotia
Swirly Thoughts
Dung Hoe
Periwinkle
Tweed Thoughts
Linden Grove
Dinky Daisy
The Beauty is in the Detail

I hope you find someone new to follow and be inspired by!

Baby Bunting Arrives in Oz

Regular readers may remember me mentioning some Baby Bunting that I was making for a friend of a friend - to give to her friend who had just had a baby girl. Well it's all finished now and hanging on a nursery wall in Sydney, Australia.

This is the lovely soft DK yarn that I started with, in delicate pastel shades to match the baby's nursery.

I knitted nine flags in all, in shades of light and mid pink with alternating white; with a crocheted edging around each flag in mint green. I then crocheted some letters for the baby's name - CECILIA - also in the mint green yarn; these were then stitched onto the relevant colour flag. The flags were then backed with white felt to secure the stitching further and to make each flag more robust, and then they were all attached together with some more crocheted cord, in the mid pink yarn.

And here's the final bunting hanging on my living room wall.

Angie, who commissioned the bunting, wrote me a lovely email once it had arrived two weeks later (not bad considering it was over the Christmas and New Year period). She thought that the bunting was '...absolutely fabulous. Honestly, it's even more gorgeous than I had expected and I know Ali is going to really love it. I can't wait to give it to her!'

It would be great to see a photo of the bunting in situ, but really I'm just so pleased that Angie loves it - and hopefully Ali and Cecilia will too. It's lovely to think that my work may be gracing the walls of Cecilia's bedroom in Australia for years to come.