One of those days.....................

I'm having one of those days when I don't feel all that happy about what I am creating.

I had a plan - one of those "ooooh that would be good" ideas - for making a large basket/container from Lesley's tutorial.

I wanted to combine "pretty-pretty" 30s yo-yo flowers on a cream background with really utilitarian denim with loads of seams and pockets - so that the basket could be reversible.

I've made the basic basket shape - and I am quite happy with the denim side - but I don't know whether to bother with the yo-yos or whether to leave them for a different basket.

It's a good size and will be useful but it doesn't make me feel that buzz of achievement.

Then there's my knitting.


This is meant to be the age 5-6 size but the aran wool has knitted up much larger so it is looking like it might well fit Dorothy (or possibly Mr Locket!)

I picked Patti's brains about it this morning because I definitely can't follow the pattern for the length anymore or it will be a very short and very wide jumper! And when I was talking to the Birthday Girl she very cleverly calculated how many rows I should do based on what the tension should be. Patti had also mentioned trying this but I couldn't get my head around the maths (Mr Locket often comments on my limited mathematical ability)

I'm going to keep knitting and see what happens. Fortunately the pattern is very simple with only a small section of shaping for the neck so it should be do-able - just very, very big!

I have also decided to take Chick-Chick and Barney out of my shop as I am not very confident about them either.


So now I'm going to show you some really amazing sewing. Really incredible in fact

stitched by my Great-Great-Grandmother in 1852 - at only 10 years old!

I can honestly say that I will NEVER be that accurate and patient no matter how long I live. This is truly a work of art - and I just hope she didn't hate every minute of stitching it!

Crafty Little Lockets

A "mummy's showing off post" today

First of all I thought I'd show you a close up of the stitchery on Daisy's friend's birthday present

and the original artworks that it came from (complete with colour instructions!)

Next up is an applehead inspired creation that Dorothy made (before I was even awake) this morning
I just love how she has used the different bits of paper she has collected with the ones Applehead sent her.

Finally, Fred had the honour of bringing home the class pet dog "Elmo" and needs to write a story about what he has done this weekend (I think........!)

So here is his nearly finished picture of Elmo at the Locket Household.

Cute!

And finally, here is what I am working on.

I mentioned the other day that I had come home with bags full of wool from my Mum which included loads of cream Aran. As I was in our local craft shop looking for a few bits to include with a certain someone's birthday present, I thought I would look at their patterns (as the shop is closing down and everything is half-price) and pick the owner's brains about how I could knit a normal pattern in aran wool (as I didn't want to play at cable-ing and fancy stuff)

So this is the gorgeous pattern I bought


I am making the pale green design (in cream aran of course) and am knitting the age 5-6 with the view that if it is too big for Fred then it might fit Daisy! The shop owner suggested knitting a size smaller than I needed as I was using aran wool and bigger needles - but you never know, it might actually fit Dorothy instead!

It is nice to have some "switch off" knitting that I could do in the dark in the cinema or when I was half asleep or something as most of the things I like playing with are either

a. stripey (therefore requiring loads of balls of wool)

b. fiddly (meaning I have to think and read patterns and things like that)

or

c. on stupidly thin dpns with very thin wool and a high risk of losing stitches willy-nilly

Now I've got some straight old boring plain uneventful repetitive knitting - so I can probably start reading at the same time again - as long as Mr Locket is happy to hold the book and turn the pages for me...................!

All the bunnies in the house say "Yeah!"

I thought I would share the handmade bunny population of the Locket Household with you before it increases any further!!!!


Oh, hang on a minute, it has already been increasing.................

First with a birthday present for one of Daisy's school friends (who apparently likes pink best - surprise surprise!)

and then with Baby Bernadette bunny (centre) who will shortly be residing in my Etsy shop (complete with carrot)


and there may be a little lapine something for a certain someone's birthday - but I can't show you any photos for obvious reasons.

Although I can show you the photos I sent to the certain someone of parts of my fabric collection to see which she liked best.

The original brief was "I rather like turquoise" so I thought I ought to check whether her "turquoise" and my "turquoise" co-incided!


First up she got the photo of the "blue collection"

Don't worry - there are loads more in the box.


Then I showed her what I thought was turquoise

happily she agreed (and yes I know I need to iron more!)

so I have been busily playing with various fabric combinations - Dotty Locket doesn't want me to send away what I have made as she would rather like to keep it for herself.

On the subject of bunnies, I thought I would share this photo that I found on my camera

Very Strange Bunny Fred

(photographed by the very strange Daisy - and yes I know I need to hoover!)

Moving on swiftly from the very peculiar Locket children......................

Using this very clever tutorial I made a basket for Daisy's friend to go with her bunny.


Daisy drew the picture of her friend and her favourite animal and I stitched it on a pocket. I decided to put the heavy-weight fabric on the inside and the interfaced pattern fabric on the outside as it was for a child and I am very happy with how it turned out. So thanks Lesley for a great tutorial - I hope the little girl it is for likes it and appreciates getting a handmade birthday present!

And talking of presents - look at what I treated myself to

a stunning print from Syko - her work is so inspiring and I was delighted to be able to buy this picture which was originally part of her interactive project.

Hope you all have a great weekend - I'm off to sit in front of the fire, drink white wine and read my new knitting magazine!

Lucy x

Bunny Swap and a new little character

I was so excited this afternoon because a Postie arrived carrying this..........

My Bunny-Hop-Bunny-Swap parcel from Rachel - all the way from Australia (and the good news is she received hers from me yesterday!)

I grabbed the camera and ripped open the packaging to find a rather indignant bunny.................

he really didn't think that was the best way to travel! Too undignified!

He was much happier when he was able to sit up properly after his long journey

and even happier when he realised that he had a ready-made girlfriend waiting for his arrival.......

(they are holding hands already - how sweet!)

"Pocket" arrived with:

A beautiful card

Some stunning fabric (that I know Rachel will have treasured as she mentioned in her questionnaire how much she liked fabric with bunnies on - thank you for sharing this Rachel!)


and a Rosalie Quinlan pattern for Easter Bunny bags that I can't wait to play with - I feel like it will still be Easter until after the children's Easter holiday which isn't for another week, so I am still enjoying making Easter-y things!


And then Rachel had also included this stunning bag

as a thankyou gift for organising the Valentine's Swap - Thank you so much Rachel - this bag is incredible - the colours, designs, stripes - I LOVE everything!!!

This Bunny Swap has been really good fun - the different characters popping up all over blogland have been adorable! Could everyone involved send me a photo of what you received (if you haven't done so already) and keep letting me know when your parcels safely arrive!

Meanwhile, back in the Locket household, accompanied by a poorly Dorothy (or Dotty Locket as I've started calling her) I have been busily sewing - yup! SEWING! (ok, so I've been knitting too!!!!)

So I am proud to present my new creations...................

Chick-Chick and Barney

(named after Annie's little baby!)

Who are now sitting in my Etsy shop with a "blurb" written specially by Dotty Locket in the style of Ric-Rac (who finally has an Etsy shop!!!! even if she isn't saying so out loud!)


(Chick-Chick is in a bit of disgrace here as he was caught pinching the little lockets' easter eggs)


I have been working on a stripey baby bunny (Baby Bernadette to be precise)


And I have also been working on a birthday present for a certain Someone!

Off to get the Littlest Lockets from school now!

Lucy x

Easter Weekend

We had a lovely day on Sunday at my mum and dad's house where we had the most delicious roast beef and Yorkshire pud followed by these two amazing puddings by my sister-in-law


which once again I felt I ought to try - purely out of politeness of course! Needless to say I am NOT going to WW tomorrow as Dot is still poorly with her sore throat. At least that gives me a week to get myself back on track!

Unfortunately I forgot to photograph before we attacked them - but no, these are not photographs of my portion!!!

Fred and I had great fun sorting out Mum's knitting needles - I have been looking forward to doing this for weeks (what do you mean I have a problem?)


They are now properly grouped and labelled and are patiently waiting for me to make a knitting-neddle-roll to store them in. I also managed to pinch a pair of 3 1/4s as Mum doesn't use them much - so I can start another project again!!!

With Mum's help I have finished my first sock


beautifully modelled by Daisy

and started my second one - blue stripes this time.

I have also knitted another cupcake

and a stripey Easter egg

using the cottons I purchased on Saturday

And today has been spent blitzing the dining/sewing room, sorting all my materials and re-arranging the book shelves so I can get at my craft stuff more easily


So now it's Mr Locket's archaeology books that are half-hidden behind the ironing board rather than my far mor important craft boxes!

(although I did really enjoy putting his books in a nice order!)

My other achievement today has been finishing off this bunny that I "designed" ages ago (I don't know when you can claim to have "designed" your own creation - she is clearly influenced by the Tilda bunnies but I drew her free-hand without looking at any other patterns and changed the ears etc - but that is probably not enough to claim her as my own)

I persuaded Daisy that she wanted to stuff the limbs for me and after she agreed I told her she could have the bunny when it was finished.


I made the dress using a Rosalie Quinlan pattern after I had failed to make one up on my own, but the cardigan is just roughly pieced together out of my head.

Daisy has christened her "Betty Bunny" and wouldn't rest until she was finished!

The little monsters have finally gone to bed so I think it is time I got the knitting out again!

Hope you all had a great Easter weekend!

Lucy xxx

Happy Easter!

My very first but not very good Easter display!

Happy Easter Everyone!

Lots of love from the Lockets xxxxxxx

P.S. We've finally updated over here (the delay is all my fault this time!)

I'm really not a Knitter

Honestly, I'm not.


So can someone please explain this.....................................

which involved a last minute dash to the not-very-local-but-very-very-lovely wool shop over at Ring-a-Rosie before they closed at 5pm. And also involved the kidnapping of a certain Bloggy-friend.

And I didn't buy it because I wanted to - it was because I needed to - I really think I have a problem.

And yesterday I had to buy this

because of the little Easter Bunny in the bottom corner

And look how many Easter Eggs I have knitted from it already

(notice also the fact that the bunny is nowhere to be seen - I think we can safely say I bought the magazine for the mini basket of eggs!)

And I have also knitted this one from Julie's pattern


but I couldn't get the right sized polystyrene egg so it doesn't have a perfect shape.

And then I had to buy this pattern so I could make this for my friend's birthday


(especially as I had bought her a cake stand and some gorgeous cup-cake style ramekin/bowl-y things)

So I simply had to buy more cup-cakey-type colours to knit some for myself didn't I?

and then some gorgeous "iced" button flowers to go on top?


And because we all know that I have finish-itis I decided that the only way for me to knit a second sock was if I did it in a different colour

My excuse (and I'm sticking to it) is that by the time I have knitted a blue sock, the patterning of the first sock wool will be interesting again so I'll enjoy doing that and then when I have finished the second of the first pair of socks I can do the second blue sock - geddit???? And in the meantime I can maintain Locket family tradition by wearing totally odd socks!

And while I was in the wool shop I purchased the solution to my "lack of needles" problem

So I can start new projects to my heart's content!

And what is to blame for this current knitting insanity?


My new book - which is now being read for the second time in a week

Hope you all have a very Happy and Wooly Easter!

Lucy xxx

P.S. Look at these gorgeous clips that I bought from this incredibly talented person's etsy shop (not that I'm biased, not at all........................!)

All wrapped in beautiful gingham!