WELCOME DINOSOCK

Finally got round to making this little one on Tuesday night - ok I know I said I was having a break for a few days but I just couldn't resist.

So here she is... DINOSOCK!



A nice, quick little one to make but I'm not happy with the way the tail turned out - due to me trying to get it finished before I went to bed - but it will do! I think I spent more time trying to find buttons for the eyes than what it took me to make it. In the end I gave in and used black beads that I bought the other day.



The kids loved her when they seen her yesterday morning - and I can see me making a few more of these as they are quick to do.

MEET PENNY THE PENGUIN

This is my little creation from last night. I'm sorry for the dull photos but once again its not been the brightest days to get any good photos.

So meet PENNY THE PENGUIN!



I followed the pattern from Stray Sock Sewing Too (love that book) and it took under 2 hours to make. Had a few problems finding a white sock so I ended up using a bit of white felt to attach to the front.



The beak I originally made was too small and when I turned it the right way the stitches were visible so I made a larger beak but it ended up a bit too long :)



I'm going to have a few days break I think from making any sock creatures, as my kids especially the youngest wants to make a bag for her collection of Moshi Monsters.

LITTLE ZOO

After we had our dinner last night we all sat down to create sock creatures/animals. So from around 7 last night till about 11 we all sat round the dining room table making things.

Here is Calums (19) first try at making a sock creature. I think he did a fab job!!





Here is Ellies (16)
Ellie got these socks for Christmas and kept them aside especially for making a sock creature.





Its still a work in progress and at this very moment she is finishing the legs off.



This one is the joint attempt by Anthony (42) & Joe (10)
They used a kit with everything inside it for making the Zebra and when I had a look at the instructions I found them quite hard to follow. So I think I will stick to my Stray Sock Sewing books.





I made the Penguin from the book Stray Sock Sewing Too but for some reason I cant upload the photos on this post. So I will post the photos for later.

CHESHIRE CAT

Sorry for not blogging for nearly a week but I've been busy with work, then my eldest was off school on Friday because of the cold weather. So last night I finally sat down to make the 'Cheshire Cat' from the book 'Stray Sock Sewing Too' by Daniel and I'm so chuffed with the result.



Had a bit of trouble with this one though! I used adult socks instead of children's socks and its ended up being over 22 inches long - so it took ages to stuff and used lots of stuffing. I bought the socks from Asda (cant see me using old socks) the other day and when I saw the stripes I knew I wanted to make the Cheshire Cat.



I just love how the cheesy smile gives the cat so much character.


My partner Anthony has his kids staying with us for a few days, and I can see after dinner that there will be some sock creations going on in the house. So WATCH THIS SPACE!!!!

CUPCAKES AND TOOTH FAIRIES

EAT TOO MANY CUPCAKES AND THE TOOTH FAIRY VISITS YOU MORE OFTEN

Yesterday morning my daughters school was shut on safety grounds because of a gas leak, so around 10.30 I had to go pick her up. So with my days plans out of the window we sat down to make a few things with felt. It took her ages to decide what to do and in the end she came up with tooth fairy bags and I made a cupcake pin cushion.



When I'm sewing I constantly put pins on the table and they disappear (damn that needle thief) so I thought I would make myself a small pin cushion to keep everything in a safe place other than the carpet (dangerous place to store them I know).



I had been trawling through the many websites looking for easy to make stuff and seen these the other day. So quick to make and my youngest found them ok.



The tooth gets put in the tooth part on the front and when the tooth fairy takes the tooth they leave the money in the little bag part :)



I'm back at work today after having 4 days off (long weekend) but I'm happy because I've only got 3 shifts then I'm off till the 21st of February. The kids are off school for half term so I booked the holiday so I could spend the time with them. So if the weather is rubbish (which I hope it isn't) I suppose there will be more felt crafting and the likes going on in this house whilst the kids are off.

BITS & PIECES

Cold, damp, foggy day today and the kids didn't want to venture out (and neither did I). So after much deliberation (searching through a few cookery books) my eldest decided to have a go at making puff pastry from scratch which in turn will then be made into Chocolate Palmier - looking forward to tasting them when they are ready.

My youngest decided on making a bag for herself so she could keep her sweets in it! So out came my box with bits of fabric and felt and she decided on the colours she wanted to use. I got my Quikutz out as well and cut a couple of shapes out of felt for her.



The fabric was a green gingham which made it easy for her to follow in a straight line when doing the running stitch. She attached the felt shapes on first before stitching up the bag.



Then using a safety pin with the ribbon attached she threaded the ribbon through and then tied a knot on the end so the ribbon wouldn't come undone.
And here she is with the finished bag full of her sweets - she was really pleased with it. Plus I can see her wanting to make a few more of these as they are so easy to make.



The idea for the bag came from the book 'Made By Me' by Jane Bull. Its a great book for young kids wanting to get into crafting.

HAD A BUZZZZZZY DAY

Whats going on with the weather?? We had snow forecast for today! Don't get me wrong we got some, all of 10 minutes which included hail as well... then low and behold rain for the rest of the day. So me and the youngest have stayed in today making soup... then I had a little play.

Yesterday I went into town on the hunt for socks - yes I know SAD. But could i find any that I thought would be suitable for making things - A BIG FAT NO! I did buy a small black and pink disney pair which are quite cute but tiny (0-3 months size). Looking forward to making something with them :)

BeeHold Beelinda!!!!
Introducing the new addition to the family ha ha.



This one I found a little fiddly to make especially the little antennae. I don't have the smallest of scissors and trying to shape the little things was a tad hard but I got there in the end.



The instructions in the book called for beads to be used for the eyes and by god could i find any!!! Been crafting for quite a few years and have accumulated quite a lot of crafty stash but to my disgust NO BLACK BEADS!!! So I had to turn to my button jars and there were only a few black buttons to choose from. (Note to self - buy black beads and more black buttons of various sizes).



I'm happy with the way she has turned out... Just wish I could have found some better coloured socks to use.



I'm sorry that the photos are not the best. But trying to get good shots when the weather outside is horrible and then the light inside is rubbish - it just means yuk photos.

IM A HAPPY BUNNY

Woooohooooo (stupid big smile on my face) my book arrived this morning from Amazon. And OMG I can't wait to make something from it. There are so many new things to make and new techniques to try I honestly can't wait.... sad I know!!!



This one I definitely will be trying!



And this one!



So on Friday I have a day off and I will be setting out to buy some small baby socks, and some colourful ones to add to the growing collection of my socks.

OK I will admit it now..... I'M ADDICTED!!!!!

PHOTO FRENZY

Here are the pictures as promised of the key holders that my youngest made the other weekend. She was so proud of them that she took them into school to show her teacher. I only had to do a few stitches to start her off and that was it... she was away sewing to her little hearts content. The ideas came from a book that I got her at Christmas called 'Made By Me' by Jane Bull. The instructions are very easy to follow especially for an 8 year old and the photos inside are great.



She doesn't have her own front door key at the moment so I attached mine to one of them. Apart from wanting to make a doll this weekend she also wants to make more of these little key holders.



She also wanted to make a cupcake for her sister but I ended up doing most of it for her. She did the sewing on top of the 'icing' and added the button, but then struggled to do the actual cake part. So that's when I stepped in and helped. But she was happy with the end product and so was her sister.



A FEW MONTHS AGO (in a land far far away)

My partner Anthony wanted to make a Sock Monster and as I had made a few... he was feeling left out. So out came his old socks (clean ones) and he came up with this little creature. Seeing as it was his first try I don't think he did too bad. It has pride of place in our bedroom with the growing collection of sock things/creatures/pets.



This one I made for Anthony as he wanted me to make him something special. I made the heart into a mouth and added a 'i' and 'u' on either side of it. Have to say he was a little chuffed with it!!

OFF TO WORK I GO

No time today for making anything as I'm working. I need to nip into town before I start work to try and buy some calico as my youngest wants to try and make a doll this weekend. She started sewing a few felt bits a couple of weeks ago and made some key holders that turned out great (will remember to post the pictures), and now she wants to tackle a doll - so watch this space it could be interesting.

Big smiley face - I treated myself yesterday and bought off Amazon 'Stray Sock Sewing Too' and I can't wait for it to arrive. It should be here sometime this week - so by the weekend I might have another 'New' addition to the stray sock family that is increasing in size.

Need to get off and get ready for work. So have a great day everyone and blog ya later.