'Nan' Rules rule !

Here  in the long thin house... When I am allowed out of fairy land... I like to indulge in a spot of crochet.

I haven't been 'hooking' for long and i think i chronicled my early attempts on this very blog, but it  has led me to an appreciation of all thing 'Nan/Granny'. My Children do not understand this, when I recently offered to crochet a blanket for my soon to be here Granchild ( who we have found out since I first announced the news is a Girl ! ) I was told " I don't like crochet it looks like something Nan would have". Exactly ! How can the ways of Nan be underestimated ? I firmly believe that more Nan attitude would be a good thing. The make do and mend attitude of our Parents and Theirs before is to be applauded in todays consumer led society, I for one am really glad to see the re-emergence of crafty ways, mending ,making  do, recycling, and while I'm as guilty as the next person of buying  designer vintage 'style' products my greatest pleasure is finding that same style/type of item in a charity shop or bootsale, usually for a lot less money ! the same goes for designer mass made goods, give me handmade or vintage any day, the web is full of amazingly talented crafts people, and you get something unique and lovingly made,not factory made by people who'd rather be at home !

Anyhoo getting down from my horse of extreme stature ! where was I ...  Crochet baby blanket... Well I crocheted one any way, as I enjoyed doing it, and well, I am 'Nan' so it's my job to introduce my Grandaughter to thrifty, crafty ways at every opportunity, even if she is too young to realise yet ! The blanket was met with a rather different reaction than I had expected..."oh it's lovely ! ..... can you crochet baby dresses too, they are so cute" !

I feel my 'Nan' vibes are working !

speak soon

Mim xx

Away with the Fairies!

Nothing for months then two posts in as many days ! I hear you cry ! I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed it and couldn't wait to do it again ! All things in moderation is motto I struggle with !

As I mentioned a while back I have become a little obsessed with this Instagram thingy. For those of you who do not know what it is, it is a place where you can post your own photos and people can leave comments and likes on them, They can also choose to follow you and you can do the same too. The result being that it becomes a little community, I love my IG family, they are a lovely bunch of funny and  talented people, who always seem to be on hand when you need them.

Around October last year I posted a photo on IG (Instagram) of a Fairy I was making for my Christmas tree, I had made one a while ago, but wanted to make another one in a slightly different style. By the time I had finished her I had had lots of lovely comments and had been asked if I made them to order, to which I said yes, this resulted in the lead up to Christmas being spent frantically sewing away in my sewing room...re-named Fairy land... to meet the IG orders !

I make them from upcycled fabric,vintage crocheted doilies , lace, ribbon, buttons and beads and each madebymim Fairy has a little embroidered heart tattoo, as i think all Fairies should have one !  I had a few remarks saying they looked very 'Marie Antoinette-ish' hence when naming them it seemed obvious to give them French sounding names, so there is Bibi, Didi,Coco,Frou Frou and Fifi to name a few !





Things in Fairy land have slowed a little since Christmas, which has given me time to experiment, having had such a great time making the little Christmas Fairies, I thought I'd give making a bigger version a go.

So now I am making Rag doll Fairies too, they are much bigger, nearly 2 foot tall ! and I have re opened my Etsy shop to sell them in.. madebymimuk... where I will be adding them as I make them,  the larger Rag doll Faries and the smaller Fairies too,which although they have been called Christmas Fairies are not just for Christmas ! The French style Rococo Fairies have been joined by Regency Fairies... A bit Pride and Predjudice... or as my Husband said , "it's all a bit Eyre-e Fairy around here !" there are even plans in the pipeline for boy Fairies too!





So while in between collecting ideas for our teashop/craftspace on Pinterest and looking for houses, schools and business premises in Devon I'm to be found in my sewing room, away with the Fairies ...and I love it !



Speak soon,

Mim xx

New year New Plans

Well they are not really new, but they are really happening!

Since my last post a lot has changed in the long thin house..of which I shall not bore you with the details.... but the result is We are moving to Devon !!



Our 1st Granchild is due in March and we have decided to move closer to our Daughter who just happens to be living in the part of the country we have always wanted to live in  !

The second plan and probably our most ambitious is that we are hoping to open a Teashop/ craft space in or near Exeter !!

I am very excited to be combining two of my most favourite things ... cake and craft , and hopefully get to meet new friends along the way !

Well this is just a quick update to let you all know that I am still here and what plans are afoot, and I will be keeping a record of our journey from Essex to Devon and everything in between. Hopefully you will share in our adventure and in years to come I an look back and think why didn't we do this before !

Next time i want to show you what I have been up to craft wise since we last spoke and how it has led me to a brand new crafty project, all I will say for now is it's magic !



Speak soon

Mim xx

Time flies.....

Well how did that happen? I just read my last blog and even I didn't realise it had been so long ! So much has happened !

Firstly a Sunny update, in my last blog things were not going to plan with the fixing of Sunny and things came to a head when the deadline of the festival we needed her for was a week away and she still wasn't going ! So the decision was made to 'do up Myfanwy" instead as she was working mechanically but had no interior whatsoever and needed an MOT . We were due to leave on Wednesday, so a week before  we were due to leave  we started to take out Sunny's interior ready to put it in Myfanwy , who needed a bit of attention before we could re-fit her as she had no coverings on any of her panels, or flooring or cab mats !

[caption id="attachment_382" align="aligncenter" width="225"] a very sorry looking Myfanwy[/caption]

She had been owned by a young chap who thought it would be a good idea to cover her in pictures cut from surf magazines !

[caption id="attachment_383" align="aligncenter" width="300"] covering the window surrounds

covering side panels

laying flooring

sprucing up the cab with new seat covers and door panels[/caption]

She was booked in for an MOT on the Thursday before we left, which she failed ! Luckily we have a friend who does welding or we would have been sleeping in the car ! But this couldn't be done until the Monday, which mean't that we had Friday ,Saturday and Sunday to get the interior finished, leaving Tuesday for shopping and packing ...I like a challenge !

Saturday and Sunday were spent making curtains and covering the seat cushions while Husband tried to re-jig the interior which didn't fit straight in as the vans were slightly different inside

but she was beginning to take shape. Monday saw her away all day being welded, so we couldn't work on her interior but I made her a cover for her spare wheel

Then it was off to be re-MOT'd on Tuesday...SHE PASSED !Yay,

So now it was all hands to the pump ! We .....

[caption id="attachment_389" align="aligncenter" width="300"] curtain fabric[/caption]

hung the curtains,

[caption id="attachment_390" align="aligncenter" width="300"] seat cushion covering[/caption]

replaced her seat cushions

[caption id="attachment_391" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Myfanwys new pop roof cover, crocheted bunting and mini lampshade lights[/caption]

and just generally cosied her up !

Tuesday evening she was ready to roll

We had an awesome festival and Myfanwy did us proud



 

 

 



 

 

 

 



 

 

[caption id="attachment_393" align="aligncenter" width="225"] festival mode[/caption]

So it all came right in the end. As for Sunny, well she is looking a little worse for ware at the moment, but the good news is she is off to live in Devon with number 2 daughter who's partner is a carpenter and they are going to re-build her a new interior and give her some TLC, with a new baby on the way she will be perfect for little family getaways !

Things they are a changing part 2 !

Well little did I know when I named my last blog just how changed things were going to be ! Middle daughter, Number 3 child or should I say 25 yr old young lady is going to be a Mummy ! A very unexpected announcement but a good one, All parties are happy and the couple have plans to move to Devon so all is good .

Things in the long thin house have slowed to a virtual stop since the start of wimbledon , but the sorting of the sewing room is coming along, VW Camper fixing is not going according to plan, but that was to be expected.  Hopefully my next blog will show Sunny in all her glory !

enjoy your weekend,

speak soon x

Things they are a changing!

Things are certainly changing in the long thin house ! Pumpkin decided she would rather have the attic room as her bedroom which in turn freed up a slightly larger room which I will now use as my sewing room and the smaller room shall now be a guest room (for very small guests!), now I do have some snaps of the chaos that is still ensuing, but please forgive the quality, as we speak a new camera is winging it's way to the long thin house so be amazed when future pics are perfectly exposed and professionally posed ( out of focus more like !) .
Crafting has carried on as usual amid the carrying of boxes between aforementioned rooms, and crochet is still my craft of choice at the mo, I have been experimenting with different granny square patterns, I have even crocheted a camera strap in anticipation of the above mentioned arrival although Husband doesn't seem to keen on the thought of wearing it ! Can't understand why ;) and I have started my first blanket, hopefully it will be finished in time for our trip to Oxfordshire in Sunny the VW camper fingers crossed she will be in full working order by then! ( but that's a whole other story! ) My collection of toy sewing machines seems to be much larger than I thought, so new shelving is on the cards and it's going to take a while to get everything how I like it, but it will be great to have a cutting table an a separate machine table in the same room ! And when the mundane bit of moving rooms is done I shall keep you posted with the best bit , putting it all back together to look pretty!
Speak soon x.

Make cushions while the rain falls!

Flaming June! Well what a to do, June has seen our household entering the domain of another Teenager, although I maintain she has been a practising teen for the last 5yrs! It has seen a trip to the Harry Potter film studio tour, for said Teenagers treat, funny how somethings' remain 'cool'.It has been the month where the garden has gone from lush to lush with knobs on( for lush you can substitute wild!)June was also the month that my lovely Husband ( he will probably read this ! ) gave me a 1930's Art Deco ruby eternity ring! Which i have been hankering after for many a year! It has also been a month of crochet, sometimes frantic, finishing egg cosies for the Bicycle Bazaar that fell foul of the weather, but mostly enjoyable, bags, granny squares, and my first ever circular cushion ! Oh and there was something about a jubilee and apparently more rain than than you can wiggle a crochet hook at, not that I am complaining, bring on the rain as long rainy days = crafting days I'll be humming ( singing would upset the animals! ) And to think it's only 13 days in, wonder what will happen in the rest of the month!
Speak soon.
x