Mirror with vintage doilies

I've been working on redoing my workspace,

painting walls, new storage units, etc 

but with Christmas coming, 

I have had very little time for crafts.

But I did manage to make this quick

project for my wall.

 

This is made from an inexpensive Ikea

mirror and some vintage doilies I

bought at a garage sale ages ago.

Marie Claire Idees.....inspiration

I'm always thrilled when I can find this magazine

since it is so difficult to find here.

I love these yarn related projects

especially the chandelier.

This lovely wreath is made with cotton cord, 

buttons, cloth, snaps and other

sewing supplies.

These pots look wonderful decked out in

their knitted covers.

I can only imagine how nice it would

be to sit outside on these chairs 

sipping hot chocolate.

How lucky are the birds that live in this house!

Last but certainly not least

check out this chandelier.

I may have to adapt this idea to 

my bedroom light.

Making a few Christmas Ornaments

I've noticed some really cute ornament patterns
this year and I've finally found some time
to make a few.
All of them are from free patterns.

First up is this pretty star that I
made for my friend Star
(also known as Coltpixy).
This one actually took a bit of work
but I'm really happy how it turned out.



The hexagon is a  variation of Priscilla Hewitt's
sunburst granny square.
 I used this great tutorial from Daniela Herbertz
to turn a hexagon into a star.

Aren't the mushrooms cute!
And they are easy to make:
pattern is from Drops 0-723
Drops are posting a free pattern
each day leading up to Xmas.

I've been seeing a lot of cute trees
and the good thing is that you
really don't need a pattern for these
since they are so simple.



The bauble is from the
very talented Lucy from Attic24.
I've never made anything from her site before
but I now know why everyone loves her patterns.
Here is the link
which includes step-by-step instructions
to guide you (including pictures).



This little gem I bought from the

talented Woolly Fabulous.

I love how she combines thrifted materials
with zippers....Brilliant!

A necklace of flowers

Well.... it started out as a necklace.

But the flowers didn't want to lay flat,

they wanted to twist and turn as real flowers often do.

So I decided to turn it into a mini garland.
That way they can be used
to decorate a doll house,
or be draped over a window,
or circle the neck of a beloved bear.
I'll see what my 2 year old niece decides to do
when she receives it for Xmas.

Details:
I used this great free pattern:
http://www.brigitte.de/wohnen/selbermachen/haekeln-blumenkette-1021662/2.html
although I did use a different flower.
The pattern is in German but
there are pictures to help you.

I used a pretty, soft sock yarn which is probably
why the necklace wanted to twist.
I'd like to make this again but in a worsted weight.
It's a lovely pattern and
written so that the leaves, stems
and the base of the petals
are all worked continuously.
I think it would make a lovely
embellishment.

I'm in love with the monkey

This little guy has been finished for quite a while.

He's been keeping me company while I finished up a few other projects.

I must say that....

"I've grown accustomed to his face

He almost makes the day begin
I've grown accustomed to the tune he whistles night and noon
His smiles, his frowns, his ups, his downs
Are second nature to me now
Like breathing out and breathing in
I was serenely independent and content before we met
Surely I could always be that way again and yet
I've grown accustomed to his looks, accustomed to his voice
Accustomed to his face"

My Grandma used to play 'My Fair Lady' on 

her record player when I came to visit 

because she knew I loved it so much.
I would stand in front of the mirror,
and twirl and twirl to the music,
(I was around 5 years old).

I adapted this little guy from this great free pattern.
I wanted him to be a lot smaller so I
used a fingering weight yarn and
went down a hook size.
I also changed his body shape.