There's Only 26 Sleeps...

My scarf

Hi its P,
It's been a very busy week at Pickle-Lily (again)!
Yes a depressing thought to most adults but I'm very exited - I've been making loads of pressies including a pompon scarf for mum and something else she doesn't know about! The pompon wool knits up really quickly and the scarf is extremely long!

I've also been sewing coasters for family, my favourite is the bumble bee!

Soon the advent calenders will be up and we'll have to drag dad up into the loft to get them, along with a chocolate one which gets bigger as you get closer to Christmas! All this excitment (and squealing on my behalf) has made for a very excited time (except Dad as I may have burst his eardrum with all the squealing).

We also went back to Coldharbour Mill for another fair!

If you've come from Handmade Monday please go see everyone else's beautiful blogs.

Pxxx

PS Mum will be back later in the week.

And the winner is ......

...Picto!

Well done Picto

Congratulations you are the lucky winner!

Hi its P here and I would like to thank everybody who followed our blog and left a comment!
You have won...

A beautiful bag made by Claudia from Annabelle bags, from lovely spotty and floral Laura Ashley fabric


... Issue two of Mollie Makes with knot necklace kit

...a ball of Adriafil Impulso trends

.... half a metre of Japanese shopping fabric

... a little box of Lindor chocolates!

I hope you enjoy them!
After lots of paper folding, I picked out a piece of paper to decide the winner, thanks for entering!

No peeping!

I hope you keep following, today I continued with my project-a knitted pompon scarf for mums Christmas pressie- watch this space; and made a trip to MIU after popping my foot!

Mum and I are off to Coldharbour Mill on Saturday for their Christmas Fair, really excited, I wonder if there will be alpacas again?

This is P signing off xxx

Only 7 to go!

Only seven more followers needed and then Pickle-Lily can draw for the giveaway!

What you can win!

Thank-you for your lovely comments and now to business.
It's been a busy week - as always. Last Tuesday I went to the W.I. where we are making shopping bags out of old t-shirts. They are going to be sold and the money donated to Weston Hospice.

So easy to make

I used my son's old t-shirts as adult ones made ginormous bags that would drag on the ground if filled with shopping. So easy to make - sew across the bottom and cut off the arms and neck to make the handles. There is a demo here .

Ho-ho-ho!

I also returned to the lovely Connies in Weston to make a sock reindeer. Here he is guarding a basket of reindeer food ...

Socket

P has named him Socket - the antlers aren't quite right, they look more like horns so I shall have to rethink them. I met a lovely group of ladies and we had a super evening making our reindeer in a lovely environment. And of course P wants to make one now.

Have a good week - please visit Wendy at 1st Unique Gifts to see what everyone else is up to for Handmade Monday. I am looking forward to Coldharbour Mill Christmas Craft Fair this Saturday and not the hour appointment I have the dentist (again!) later this morning!

Bits and Pieces

Sorry I haven't blogged for a while, but time seemed to slip away so quickly last week, and I can't believe it is Tuesday already!


P's felt flowers

 Pickle-Lily didn't go to Guide camp in the end and ended up in a bright pink glass fibre cast on Friday. She spent the week reading and watching a lot of TV. Over the week-end she discovered, thanks to the lovely Jill at Savvy Sisters she can wet felt, one handed! Since then she has been out in the garden making lots of lovely felt flowers  for her friends as presents. P's plan is to write a tutorial for the blog on how to wet felt with the simplest easiest equipment going, so watch this blog!

P and I dragged the Pickle daddy along to Coldharbour Mill for the day on Saturday. We had such a lovely day, that's where we met Jill, sat next to our friend Sara from Sara's Texture Crafts and admired all her beautiful yarn and tops. We enjoyed the sunshine, made new friends and had a lovely day.

I spent the week making extra things as there is now a stockist of Pickle-Lily products. Sea Breeze in Burnham-on-Sea now stocks some of my mermaids, pirates, felt bags, pencil cases, brooches, hairclips and phone socks. If you are in Burnham pay the shop a visit - it is packed with lots of lovely things. I am now making lots more things to sell on my stall, as well as lots of ideas buzzing around in my head with my fingers itching to make them all! Just never enough hours in the day.

I did make this felt bag on commission for some lovely ladies I met at Cannington, and very soon it will be winging its way to New Zealand!

As well as the knitting and sewing there has been lots of the usual everyday stuff washing, ironing, baking and maybe even some cleaning! So not an exciting week but very busy, just like all the other mums, and I do apologise if I haven't commented on your blog lately I 'will do better'!
Have a good week.
Jo x

Hoodie hunt, Knit Club and other things ...

Sitting at the computer with a mug of steaming tea and two plain choccy biscuits means I can update my blog - before I get back to the great hoodie hunt.

I finished the bag and purse (my first commission) and my customer was really pleased with it, and has now ordered another one for someone else! I hand cut out and sewed on all the letters which took a while as I wanted them perfect.

The rest of the week has been spent looking for P's Guide hoodie, ironing (I was going to post an 'arty' phot of my ironing volcano but it was too depressing!) and making stock. I am doing two fairs this week-end, Cossington on Saturday and Coldharbour Mill on Sunday. Pickle-Lily is away with the Guides at Exeter on Saturday (which is why I am now turning the house upside down looking for the hoodie. The problem is none of us can actually remember when she wore it last, and when something like this happens I have to find it, I won't stop looking until I find it as it will annoy me until it is found.) So Pickle (big brother) and the P's dad have been volunteered to come and support me. I've no idea what to expect so watch this space... P is determined to come on Sunday, despite the early start, as there are supposed to be llamas at Coldharbour and she really wants to meet a llama (actually so do I).
This means I will miss Knit Club on Saturday. I love Knit Club - it is run by the lady who taught Kirstie Allsopp to knit. Suzie is great fun as are all the other ladies who go, and it's a chance to knit, drink tea, eat cake, chat and knit. It really soothes my soul. I love knitting and crafting - that's how Pickle-Lily came about (the stall not the girl!), when I stopped teaching full time, so many people encouraged me to make things and now sell them instead of giving them away. But Knit Club is also about the atmosphere and the friendliness as well. Hark at me wittering! So - I'll miss it tomorrow.
Anyway, tea finished, back to the hoody hunt.... I will find it!

Coldharbour Mill

Beautiful wool

Today P's class went to Coldharbour Mill in Devon to spend the day as a Victorian child applying for a job at the mill. Coldharbour is still a working mill and I bought this beautiful wool in their shop - pure wool £2.50 a skein. The only thing now is what to do with it!!!!
If you ever get the chance to visit we would highly recommend it. The children spent the morning in role with Mr Robson, the mill supervisor being put through their paces to see if they were suitable for a job - 2/6 for a boy. 1/6 for the girls, only 13 hour days with 20 minutes for lunch, and as the mill owner was a Quaker they would get Sundays off to go to church. The whole morning really gave them an idea what life was like for the 80 children employed there.



Some of the fabulous wool!

 In the afternoon we were given a tour around the mill, the children collected little bits of wool in the various stages as they went, and were inspired by the gorgeous colours. The wool is only available from the shop there (they do do mail order) and all the profits go to supporting the charity.
An amazing day - and I shall have to go back to buy more glorious wool!