Dotty Locket's Birthday

So my lovely Dorothy is now 11 - incredible!

And she's off to big school next week!!!

When asked what she wanted for her birthday she said

"Um, books please!..............................................then if you need any other ideas I'd quite like some books ......................and if anyone else asks then books would be good! ............................. how about books? And if you're really not sure what to get then I'd love some books!"

What a sensible girl!

Can't think who she takes after!

Her wish was my command

a jolly good stash of books from various members of the family and more books bought with birthday tokens from friends - should keep her quiet for a while (hopefully!) and then I get to read them all!

She also got some artsy crafty things from us, beautiful clothes from Granny and Grandpa Dog (and a book!)

(one of Dot's new dresses and a new dress for Daisy too - doesn't mum and dad's garden look lovely?)

and lovely cooking things from Granny and Grandpa Biscuit


including this gorgeous cookery book as recommended by Clare - the recipes are fab!

as well as an MP3 player full of great music (that I REALLY want for myself) from Ally and co and lots of other lovely things from family and friends.


One of her absolute treasures is this Phoenix Trader Recipe Box from my friend Jane - Dot has been busily transferring her favourite recipes onto cards to put in it. She's becoming a really good cook.

So far she has received 5 home made presents.

(Fred looking rather strange here!)

The best being this gorgeous collaged picture by Daisy and Fred made out of old Country Living magazines (I really enjoyed helping them with this and Dot was banished to the kitchen to cook us scones and cakes so she didn't see what we were up to!)

I made her this butterfly from the Melly and Me pattern Blossom - such a fun thing to make

and then kitted her out with new things for school:
a patchwork pencil case with my very first inserted zippy pocket (wonky but functional!)


a co-ordinating wallet for her dinner money, bus pass, library ticket etc


and the piece de resistance.................................... a new school bag


(because she was worried that her old one would be too "bright and cheerful" for secondary school with her all black uniform!)


I loved sourcing the fabrics for this one and putting it together even if it did take 8 hours and still needs "tweaking" with some decorative red buttons for the front flap and a few more rows of top-stitching to make it super-strong (once I've replaced all the snapped sewing machine needles!)

(it's not really wonky - well not that much anyway! - it's just the way the flap has been put over)

It's fully reversible so she can have a "bright and cheerful" side too and has a gazillion different pockets (more zips - thanks to this tutorial over at U-handbag)


and pencil holders etc (the Russian doll bit in the next photo)


It has an extra wide strap but it can easily be folded over to make it narrower and it is nice and thick so it shouldn't cut into her shoulders - no matter how many books she puts in it!

Hopefully it will be sober enough to be "suitable" for secondary school but funky enough to pass muster with her peers (who will probably have designer labels instead of homemade!)

I've never found it easy to fit in with "the crowd" and I know Dot feels "different" too sometimes - what I would like her to be able to feel is "original" and "individual" instead.

I still need to make her a matching pencil roll and a P.E. bag - hopefully using this tutorial, and at the same time I am pootling away with some more mini-quilts. I started this one

originally for Sally-Ann who sent me this gorgeous Camper-van quilt. This caravan was going to be my "alternative camper-van" and is from this fantastic book by Anni Downs of Hatched and Patched. But the more I thought about it the more I realised that as the owner of the fabulous Daisy, Sally-Ann would probably prefer a real camper van quilt so I have started something different for her. So if any of my remaining mini-quilt-swapees fancy a flower-power caravan quilt then just let me know - it will look a lot nicer when it is finished I promise! (and I'll even iron it too!!!)

And if you've got to the end of this mammoth post then you clearly deserve a medal - so go and ask Trashy who she has put in charge of medal-making cos I haven't got any!

Holiday highs and lows

Well another week of the summer holidays is nearly over - especially as Mr Locket has tomorrow off work - although I won't be having much fun as I have to have a tooth taken out in the morning :(

It has been a week of highs and lows - as any of you with children will, I'm sure, appreciate! Lesley thought it was incredibly funny when one morning, at a low point, I went and hid in the tent in the garden so I could phone her in peace - unfortunately it didn't work!

My favourite high point was going to see Mamma Mia on Tuesday - I managed to tag along with my friend and her family and I loved it. I laughed and laughed and laughed and was so close to bursting into song several times - fortunately I stopped myself in time!

And I'm really pleased that I managed to send Gina her mini-quilt, sewn by me but designed and drawn by Daisy Locket who had complete artistic control over the colours and fabrics


If you go to Gina's blog you will see why this quilt was specially for her.

Another high point has been making things with the Ladybirds.

Yesterday Clare blogged about the new patterns she had bought from this etsy shop so I had a chat with her and ended up ordering two of them for myself - this one and this one.

The little Ladybirds and I set about making them together - I did all the sewing while they did the stuffing and designed how they wanted them to look, what colour hair they would have and what gazillionty outfits they needed. They also chose their names and wrote little passages about them Ric-Rac style.

So may I please introduce you to

Millie-May(Dorothy's), B-Boy (Fred's) and Mimi (Daisy's)
currently dressed in their pyjamas as "Lucy" (that's what the dolls call me - so cheeky) hasn't made them anything else to wear yet

And here they are in complete bed-wear

and now tucked up under their brand new blankets.

All their clothes have been made from some recent cast offs from the Little Lockets - so far I have used a t-shirt, a dress, a rugby shirt, a hooded sweatshirt for Boy's blanket with a pocket from a pair of shorts and a cotton knit jumper for Millie-May's blanket. Mimi's blanket has been made using some of the gorgeous flannel that Michaela sent me because apparently ducks are Mimi's "favourite"!

The children have really enjoyed making these dolls and have many more plans for their clothes and accessories - I'm sure you can all imagine how tricky it has been to sew three at once and keep them all happy but I have had lots of fun. Just don't look too closely as these are made to "home standards" where speed has been more important than quality.

Another good thing that I have done this week is relocate the quilt wall to the sitting room so I can look at them even more often and finally get a decent photograph

but now my camera is messing about so the photo isn't that decent after all!

So I think the highs have out-weighed the lows but I wish there was a magic spell that would stop brothers and sisters from arguing!

I hope you have all had a good week.

Lucy x

Gorgeous Gifts and a Giveaway

Hello again everyone! Thanks for all your lovely comments on my last post - they were all greatly appreciated. Ironically that rather pathetic post was also my 200th so in true bloggy fashion I will be having a giveaway but more of that later.

Far more exciting news (as far as I'm concerned!) is this wonderful parcel of goodness that arrived today from Val at Dottycookie.

I was dashing out of the door to take Dorothy to some Manga art classes at our local library when the postie arrived so I had to grab my parcel and run - which meant I couldn't squeak as loudly as I wanted when I opened my beautiful quilt

isn't it amazing?

and in her note Val said "I have cheated a little bit with the extras" - too right she did!

The parcel was full to bursting with all these amazing goodies for me (and I promise to share the chocolate with Mr Locket but he can keep his hands off my fabric and trimmings!) I think I am most excited about the little hedgehog button - it is amazingly neat and intricate - I'm going to have to design a picture around it I think!

And then there were individual parcels for the little Lockets too! Val had made some of her gorgeous crocheted and beaded hairbands for the girls - which they have been wearing ever since - and this lovely pencil case with pens in for Fred. They were really delighted.

Thank you Val - you have been incredibly generous and your parcel made us all very happy!

So moving on to my 200th post giveaway. I have decided to follow Jodie's excellent example and do a "retrospective giveaway" so anyone who commented on my last post has been entered in the pot for a chance to win some crafty supplies - sorry it's not a handmade something but you all know why that is!

So I put everyone's names in a pot and let the littlest Locket do the picking - well that's what I was going to do but the little Lockets started arguing about who was going to choose so I got Mr Locket to do it instead - and out came

THIMBLEANNA

So Anna I will check and see if I still have your address and will get your parcel sent out in the next couple of days - I hope you find the things useful!

Lucy x

I KNEW housework was bad for you!

The other day Mr Locket bought me this book


but before you all take up arms against him in honour of Women's Rights I must point out that I did persuade him that I really really wanted it and if I am totally honest he does far more housework than me (on top of his very stressful fulltime job)

Our house is such a tip and I really don't do enough to keep it nice so I'm at the stage when any helpful advice would be very gratefully received. I also find it easier to do things if I can "read myself" into the mood - so reading about cleaning would make me want to clean (hopefully!!!)

At the start of the first chapter about decluttering there was this questionnaire thingy
Has she been here????

And what does she mean "three of these boxes"? I ticked them ALL and some of them more than once!!!

I think my house may have given up on screaming and just accepted resounding defeat!

Anyway, always up for a challenge I decided to follow Missus Turner's advice and start with the hall - the smallest mess you'd think - so why did it take me a full hour to clear the clutter and give it a quick clean?

Here's why..................


this is just the childrens' clutter (there was plenty more including a still packed suitcase of the children's clothes from our two nights away in May!)


and these are the shoes that no longer fit or are in pieces but were still in the shoe box - also note the odd ones......... I always knew this family was "hopping mad"!!!!!! (really, really bad pun, I am hanging my head in shame here)

But look how nice looks now

- flowers and herbs from my garden, unpainted patches courtesy of Mr Locket who ran out of paint (only about 8 months ago!)

and the long view

which almost shows you my lovely 1920s bannisters that were covered with panels when we moved in; and leads me to the main feature of my hall.....................

THE QUILT WALL!!!!

so here are some photos of the wall as requested - in fact there are three because it is impossible to photograph all the quilts clearly in one shot - I may have to relocate "the wall" so I can get some better photos

(view as you come in the front door)

(view from the kitchen doorway)

(as I come down the stairs each morning - how lucky am I?)

Anyway, back to the reason for my title. That hour of frenetic housework was clearly very bad for me as I woke up this morning feeling really yuk - headache, sore throat, earache, achey arms a weird hollowed out feeling inside and a total lack of interest in sewing(!) - all housewifely duties must clearly be suspended forthwith.

So I will leave you today with my first courgettes from the allotment


and if you were impressed with the productivity of my strawberry plants take a look at my friend Alison's
She had already picked 4 punnets worth and these were only the very best and ripest strawberries - her plants were still laden!

I picked about another 3lbs or more but they didn't look anything like these - more jam and scones need making I reckon.

Getting things done

I posted off four mini quilts and two PIFs on Friday so that has made quite a dent in my to-do-list and as three of the minis have safely arrived with their new recipients I can show you them here.

The first was for Kate


- the central stitchery was taken from the gorgeous Tilda book "Sew Pretty Homestyle" (can't wait for the new Christmas one that is out next month hopefully!)

The second was for Anne and was built up round the lovely fabric Lina sent me with her mini quilt

and the third was for my mad friend Trashy


I thought this Bronwyn Hayes design from her "Sunshine in your pocket" book was suitably silly!!!

The fourth quilt was for my official swap-partner, Leanne (yes, I'll admit it, I was very late!!!) But as she is all the way over in Australia I'm not expecting it to arrive just yet! Leanne was also one of my bloggy-versary "you don't have to pay-it-forward" PIF-fers so she will get a double dose of gifts in her parcel!

In other news, I have been trying to catch up a bit at the allotment and have finally managed to get my pumpkins planted and some other general work done - so here is a late June allotment photo for you (really it's here for me so I can chart how it is going over the year!)


And my final crafty bit of news is that I have learnt how to ripple! Lovely Lesley explained it to me and look - I can do it!


I now have a particularly annoying song going through my head to the tune of "I can boogie"

"Yes Sir, I can ripple,
I can ripple all night long,
I can ripple, ripple ripple,
all night looooooooooooong!"

and on that embarrasing note I shall leave you for today!

Busy, busy, busy

So I made my scary lists on Saturday afternoon and instead of making the task seem more manageable it just brought home how much I have to do!!!! Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggghhhhhh!


This is my "design wall" (tongue very firmly in cheek here!) complete with my very neatly categorised crafting commitments. The baby clothes pinned up are for a "Betty Bunny" that needs to be done by the weekend and in the fireplace you can see some of my very neatly folded and colour coded fabric!!!

My job list includes

• 11 Pay It Forward gifts
• 1 Russian Doll Swap gift for Emma
  
• 1 reversible messenger bag
  
• 1 appliqued patchwork fleece blanket like this
  
• 1 Janet Bolton style picture for my friend's birthday - it was in April!
  
• 2 Dilbert dinosaurs
• 4 Betty Bunnies
• 2 Pocket & Floss Bunnies
• 1 Magoo
• 2 large owls
• 2 small dolls like these
  
• and 14 mini quilts

Yesterday I practically glued myself to my work table and ended up with a very sore back but I managed to get some things done and I now have 2 dolls stitched ready for turning and stuffing, one Pocket and Floss Bunny stitched and turned ready for stuffing, one Betty Bunny stitched, turned, stuffed and ready for sewing together (although if I'm honest I had already done most of the sewing on these - I just hadn't considered how long it takes to turn things through!)

and a finished Magoo called Magnus


only this one is a midi-Magoo, reduced to 75% on my scanner because he needs to be posted to Canada.

To give you an idea of size here he is with his very much bigger sister Maggie

I'm really pleased with how he has turned out - he is such a cheeky monkey! And isn't it funny how much more "boy-like" he looks than Maggie - and I don't think it is just because of the colours.

On the quilt front, I am at the point of binding on Leanne's, Trashy's and Kate's, three-quarters of the way through finishing the top of Rachel's and I've just made the top of Anne's - and I'm really pleased with how it is going so here is a sneak peek for you........

I know it looks very plain but Anne kindly took me up on the offer of a cream and white quilt built around the lovely embroidered fabric that Lina sent me with my mini quilt - it actually looks really effective in a very simple way!!!

Return of the Little Locket and More Minis

So, yes, she came back - and Mr Locket and I were very very pleased to see her!

So were the other little Lockets

(don't worry, I'm not going to go all "perfect family" on you - it wasn't long before they were all arguing!)

and her bedroom looked fantastic by the time I had finished with it - such a shame about the rest of the house though!

Dorothy has the smallest room in the house and it really is tiny but it is my favourite of all our rooms and I keep telling her that I am having it for a sewing room when she goes to University! I mean, who wouldn't love a room that has built in bookshelves like this..............

Dorothy is an incredible reader and has probably read more of the classic childrens' literature - Little Women, Heidi, Black Beauty, The Secret Garden, What Katy Did Next etc by the age of 10 than I have ever read - and the modern literature she reads is really impressive too. I just love lying on her bed looking up at her books and reading all the titles.

In mini-quilt swap news I can now show you the 9 of mine that have safely arrived at their new homes

Top Row: Annie, Lesley, Michaela
2nd Row: Katy, Lina, Est
3rd Row: Lissa, Jodie, Val

I now have 4 more in progress including this one for Kate

and this one for Trashy


which only leaves another 10 to start from scratch!

I spent a while this afternoon writing scarily complicated tables of all the things I need to make - commisions, mini-quilts, PIF gifts, presents and my Russian Doll Swap - I am now feeling rather panicked! I'm not quite sure how I am going to get it all done! And then there's the chaos and mess masquerading as our house and our jungle-like front and back gardens - not to mention the allotment - and at some point I really need to get a job - anyone got any good ideas?????