Applique t-shirt

For my nephew's third birthday present I appliqued a truck design onto a t-shirt. The applique fabric was old t-shirts I picked up at a car boot sale. The truck was a bit wonky but considering how new I am to this applique lark I didn't think it was too bad!! Here's my lovely assistant displaying the front of the t-shirt:

And the back:

 

And a close up of the applique:

And sitting out on the front step before the weather turned cold:

Felting - first attempts

With Christmas on the horizon (albeit distant at the moment!) I've been trying to step up the crafting. We've been eating dinner earlier (before Matilda goes to bed) so that I then have all evening to spend on sewing etc. So, I've made some good progress on Matilda's doll - I've cut out the head and body pieces, sewn them together and embroidered the face (my first go at embroidery went well!).

I've been wanting to try felting for a while and have built up a small collection of wool jumpers, scarves and hats from car boot sales and charity shops. This week I chucked them in the machine on a hot wash and hey presto - felt! Now, what to use it for...

My friend also came round one afternoon to teach me wet felting using some orange and white scraps of wool tops she had. I made some slippers for Matilda (which are a little big so I think I need to felt them further, and they look a bit like clown shoes!). It was great fun, if a little tricky to do with little ones scampering about!

So, without further ado:

Jumpers etc before the wash...

And afterwards...

And a small pair of clown shoes...

Make cider while the sun shines

What a lovely warm day it was yesterday! Once the sun had burnt off the morning mist there were glorious blue skies. We met up with some friends at a car boot sale (after an early start with Matilda) and they invited us back to theirs to help make cider from apples they and various friends had picked. We spent a relaxing afternoon in their garden: sorting apples, trying to work the press, eating delicious beetroot soup and fresh bread, all washed down with freshly pressed apple juice of course! We didn't get far with the cider-making - the press wasn't up to the job. But it was a fun day anyway!

Autumn sunshine

Yesterday we took advantage of the lovely weather with an afternoon stroll in the hills. I carried Matilda up in the sling and we walked back together (with frequent stops to pick up stones/leaves/mud/berries etc etc).

My little hiker

On our recent trip to Cumbria we went for a lovely walk above Ullswater in the Lake District. Sam and I really enjoy walking so it would be great if Matilda loves it too. Well, she seemed to enjoy her first Lake District hike - she slept in the sling for the first part, had fun roaming around during lunch, happily went back in the sling while we descended the steepest parts of the route, then strolled the last bit herself, even using Grandad's walking pole for some of it! So far, so good!

Holiday!

Last week we had a wonderful holiday visiting my parents in Cumbria. What a relaxing week! M had a lovely time with Granny and Grandad, and I enjoyed a week of lie-ins, cakes and home-cooked food. I could've stayed for a lot longer; even Sam was sad to say goodbye at the end of the week. Here are just a few of the highlights:

Watching the gibbons at Trotters' World of Animals...

A two-week old zebra and its mummy...

Walking with Daddy...

Feeding a friendly donkey...

A sunset, viewed from Granny and Grandad's house...

A burst of colour...

Meeting the locals...