Lucy’s Birthday present.

Lucy turned 30 a couple of days ago and I decided to mark the occasion by making her the last of the Halloween boxes from Julia Pretl 

This one is Skeleton Jack and she loved him

A Christmas tree

Mel had the bright idea of giving Mum 70 presents for her Birthday, 23 from each of us and the Kimono as number 70 so one of the gifts I did for Mum was to raid her kit drawer and make this up for her.

The design name escapes me right now but it's from Oak Tree Crafts

Mum's Birthday Present

On June 25 my Mum turned 70 so a special gift was called for.

I found the pattern for this at a sale of craft books at WI house in Chester a couple of years ago and knew I had to get to do at some point for Mum.

Both my girls paid for the beads and I did the work so it came from all of us for her milestone Birthday

I had a few issues with it along the way but Mum loved it which is all the matters

Another couple of beading finishes

I'd had these 2 projects sat half done on my mat for a few months and was fed up of seeing them so as soon the kimono was finished they were at the top of the hit list :)

The star is one based on a triangle design from Ananbel27   I did the same design earlier in the year in black and copper

This little ornament is based on Thread Heaven cover and come's from Halfpennys.

I really enjoyed making this one and may well do some as gifts this year

Egg number 3 at last

This is another one of those posts I've been meaning to do for a while and never quite got round to it!

I finished egg number waaaaaaay back at the start of April but never got round to taking a pic of it until a couple of days ago, I have no idea why that is I've looked at it often enough and thought I must do that and then haven't

Anyway here is egg number 3

It's so small that you have to use size 15's on it to get it to work correctly.   I have to say I think it's my favourite of the set but that probably has something to do with the fact I used one of my favourite delica colours for it

All 3 together

Carrier bead bracelet finish

I started this last year after a friend made a necklace and it was going to be a necklace as well but I decided in the end I would get more use out of a bracelet plus I was getting bored of  making them!

I pulled it out and finished it after the monthly challenge in the facebook group was for carrier beads last month.

I've just noticed that they all look like they are different heights but they aren't it's just the patterns I used.

Bali Bangle

Recently in the Facebook group I'm in there has been a bit of a craze for making Bali Bangles and so I joined in and made one, finished it and have a second one under way as I write that will be finished by the time this post appears!

It only took me a few hours to complete so I'm thinking I'll make some to go to the local museum that has some of my pieces already

I made a fish

A few months ago at one of the beading groups I go to another member had made one and I saw it and commented on how much I liked it.

The following month she brought me the Journal with it in so I could :)  it's really 

 not my normal type of project but it just spoke to me and I had to make one.

So meet Barry.  

If I close his mouth I think he looks very grumpy

So I leave it open.  This one is also a much better pic of his true colour

Why Barry, well I asked Teejay to name him while he was here for Easter but not to call it Geaorge as he'd already named the lizard I made last year that.  His first suggestion was Alfie but Mel's turtle box has that name so next was Barry after a book he loves called Barry, The fish with fingers

Star finish

Back at the start of March I was due to go on a stitching retreat for a week but thanks to the beast from the east it was cancelled :(  No one could get to the house from any direction!

I always take beading with me as well and had planned on making this star while I was away and saw no reason not to make it anyway

I'm really pleased with the way it turned out but it's now up for sale in a local museum so I can see another one in my future if it sells!

Egg number 2 is finished

It took me a while to decide on the dark purple for this egg but I got there in the end and I think it turned out really well

Top half of the egg

Bottom half of the egg

And joined together this time with my scissors for scale

My egg is done

I finished the top half of the egg on Friday morning

And joined it to the bottom half to complete the egg

Hopefully my hand will give you an idea of the size of it

The medium sized egg is now underway

It will be an egg, promise

Katie Dean went and did it again and brought out a pattern that I just could not resist esp. when I got an email offering me a discount on it!

After seeing the amounts needed I had a look to see what I had that I could possibly use and made a start, rather unsurprisingly it's purple.

First you make a few of these

and join them together

then you do rows of peyote, add an inner wall and hey presto you have half an egg

The other half of the egg is well under way so wander back in a day or two and it should be done

Meet Alfie

At long last I can share little Alfie with you all.

Back in December when I did my Christmas gifts posts I mentioned that I'd had a hiccup with Mel's one and it wasn't finished in time.

He was handed over to her and I explained the problems and that I needed to have him back to finish him which Mel did and he was done a few days later.

I finally got to hand him over to Mel yesterday!  Although she lives the closest of the 2 girls we just haven't managed to get together since Christmas until then.

Mel knew he was finished and had seen pics of him and even picked his name and I felt I couldn't post here until he went to his new home.

Alfie is the small turtle box from Julia Pretl and I used a pattern shared to members of Seed Beads and more on Facebook for his head

Posy vase class

Last September I took part in a class at one of the beading groups I go to for a posy vase.

I just about got the base done during the class and had done a couple more rows done before I thought about taking a pic!

So bar those few rows this is how it looked at the end of class last year and when I picked it up again last week.

I've been working on it for the last week or so and it now look like this, I'd say I'm about half way up the shot glass

Beading finish

Mum asked me to make this for her to give to a friend who had a Jack Russell 

Said friend lost her furbaby in early December so it was pushed up the list a little.

Not my cup of tea but it has turned out well and I won't be doing another one!

First beading finish of 2018

I spent Christmas with a friend who is learning to bead so rather than take her an ornament I'd made I took her a kit to teach her a new stitch but I made one as well to show her what to do and here's the result.

It's from an old issue of Jill Oxton Cross Stitch and Beading but I don't the number to hand.

I could count this as my ornament for January but I started it in December so to me that would be a bit if a cheat so I'm not going to