WOYWWing & monster making

Hello fellow WOYWWers! Welcome to the monster workshop...

I haven't been able to do much lately as little Tula Belle has had a monstrous cold (I wrote that without intending to be funny - monsters are definitely taking over my brain) which has meant I've been unable to leave her for more than 30 seconds during the day without her crying, unless she falls asleep. Hard work at half term with all three girls home! We even had a thoroughly pointless trip to hospital on Friday night where we got to watch TV for four hours, waiting for the doctor's verdict. Yes - FOUR hours, with three under-fives in a horribly hot waiting room. Luckily the two older ones were angels, and there were lots of toys to keep them occupied, and the TV for Jude. Unlike my lovely girls, I was not in the best of moods, due to lack of sleep and worry over Tula, so by the time the doc re-appeared at 10:30pm, I was about ready to rip his head off. Needless to say, he allowed us to leave shortly after.

Tula is a special little girl as she was born with a slightly odd shaped chest, which means she is likely to have more problems than most babies coping with colds, which is why I wanted her checked out this time, as she hadn't been able to drink all day what with being so congested. Thankfully all was fine and she is slowly on the mend. I keep a separate blog to follow her story, which I occasionally update.

So, as a result, not much progress is being made with any of my projects. In fact, at some point I need to sit down and work out exactly what I need to get going on if I'm to get anything done for Christmas this year. Normally I'd be working out some card designs by now and have at least one pressie finished... this year: nada. zilch. zip. Despite my feelings about the whole Christmas frenzy, our gifts may have to be a little less personal this year than I would like.

scrappy heaven

Anyhow, back to the messy desk! I started making a pile of monsters to stitch onto party bags for Milly's birthday, but now I've finished a batch of the bags, I've realised most of the monsters are too gangly to fit the size of the bags.  Below left is one that's definitely too big, and he doesn't look anywhere near as nice shorter... so I've been playing with the pile of scrap fabric the lovely Dotty Bird flew in recently and trying to make some more squat figures.

I don't seem to be able to make 'cute' monsters: they're all a bit strange... 

This is the one that freaks Jude out the most

One completed scrappy monster!

My inspiration must come from my real-life monsters...

Skip on over to the lovely Julia at Stamping Ground who hosts What's On Your Workdesk Wednesdays and check out all the other busy desks on show.



Happy Wednesday everyone!! Have a lovely week x

Monster fever

I can't stop making monsters!!!

  I'm starting to think I'm only having this party for Mil so I can play monsters all day!

Maybe I've finally found my path in life.

(Jude's slightly worried that some of the monsters are a little too sinister for a 3 year old birthday party - hey, they're MONSTERS!!! - but I have given some of them hats and silly specs to make them a bit friendlier!)

One! Ah ah aaaaaah....

Yup. I've made one whole bag. That's fine if Mil only invites one friend... 

It's taken me a week of five minutes to get this much done. Tula's crying now as I type. Hey ho.

(That was the Count from Sesame Street in case you didn't realise)

Autumn woodland and Monster Plans

We had a lovely walk at the weekend, in lovely Autumn sunshine. The light at this time of year seems to try harder than usual to illuminate the beauty of nature, with long shadows falling across paths and adding contrast to all those jewel-like leaves all a-glow.

Milly will be three in December and whilst I know that's a little way off yet, I'm trying to get myself organised in advance because I know that I will be doing all kinds of Christmas stuff when it does swing round. So, I'm planning a Monster party for her and her nursery friends. Here is a prototype invitation from an idea I found by Sarson on Pinterest. I think I'll be using LOTS of googly eyes!!!

I've also started sewing up some simple little fabric party bags for the children to take home. Already this year Jess has been to two birthday parties and each time come home with a plastic bag full of crappy plastic toys, so I'm keen to do something different. After all, I don't use plastic bags when I shop and if I buy the girls plastic toys they're always second hand; why should it be any different for a party? Plastic is probably one of the biggest environmental disasters in the making, as I've written about before so even if one parent sees my efforts and decides to follow my example, it'll be worth it.

Skitchbook finish!

Wa-hey! I have actually finished something! I can't quite believe it....

 Instead of the beautifully be-ribboned original I used these lovely fabric-covered buttons sliced from a charity shop top bought for 10p!! The same fabric patch is on the front cover. The white material is from an amazingly soft bedsheet I had in my stash which I think came from a Freecycle bundle: it's a super-fine quality cotton that had obviously seen many years use as it had been patched in the centre where it had worn out completely. It adds something quite special to the book as it is easily as soft as the fleece it covers. I'm glad it's been given a new lease of life in a context where it will still be in contact with skin and its' special snuggliness appreciated for many more years. There is something so magical about long-lasting hard-wearing fabric that manages to flourish with repeated use, unlike so many cheap modern alternatives.

Now on to the next project! I realised today (just in time, I hope!) that we're already nearly in October so I've got to get a wriggle on to get the C-word preparations underway... My plan is to get the damn knitted blanket finished for MIL then start some wristwarmers for the Aunties. Got to do something with the million-and-ten patterns I've Pinned!

Mil's birthday is also in December so I've been researching environmentally-friendly party bag gifts. I'll make some little bags and get the girls to decorate them: that way the kids can take something home that's a little bit special and can be re-used. Jess has been to two parties since school started and both times come home with a little plastic bag of throwaway junk which I don't agree with, so if I do something simple and different it might open someone's eyes. Fewer people choose to use plastic bags in shops these days so why doesn't it filter through to every aspect of consumerism?


(sorry about the poorly-lit phone pics: this is the light I often work in so I sometimes get some odd results with thread colours!) Edit: the photos were so bad I took them off and replaced them!! Left this one though :-)