Thursday 18 October 2012

Odds and ends

Thank you for all the lovely comments on the fairy houses - good to know I am not alone in my liking for such fripperies!  Just in case you are thinking of making one yourself, I will just share a tip or two.

In fact, before I made the fairy houses, I had made a couple of elf houses, using the pattern that I printed off from Lauren Brandy's tutorial.  Here they are...



Elves (as I'm sure you know) like greens and reds (perfect for 'the forthcoming season').

Like their fairy friends, they like wonkiness and flowers.  (There's actually a lot of wonk in the walls but you can't see it here - elves clearly like sloping ceilings and floors.)




 As they cannot fly, they do not require a calling bell atop their roof, opting for a simple knocker on the  door.




Anyway, the very observant amongst you will realise that elf cottages are short and squat compared to their fairy equivalents.




I don't know if it is my printer, but the pattern I printed out didn't actually give me the tall, skinny cottage I had originally seen...




To make the fairy cottages I made a new pattern, deciding on a height, drawing a circle with a radius of that height and then using quarter of the circle as the main pattern to which I added a small seam allowance.  I then had to estimate the size for the base - as fairies like 'wonk' it didn't matter too much if it was a wee bit wrong.

I then cut a matching quarter circle  and lopped the bottom half off for the roof pattern.  Hope this helps!



Aside from such stitching nonsense, we had the delight of little Sophia yesterday (she spends the day with us 
each Wednesday - neither Mr U-t-B nor I work that day so we spend the morning going for a walk and playing, then when I go to do my charity shop sorting, Mr U-t-B has the pleasure of his grand-daughter's company all to himself).

 At sixteen months she is into everything!  
Computers...



(just like her Daddy!)




...handbags...





(just like her Mummy?)

...and my glasses!




She's a wise one who has a grasp on the important things in life beyond her years.  Taking her back home at the end of the day, her Dad arrived outside the house just after us, clutching a paperback in his hands.

'Ooh - what's that you're reading?' asks Mr U-t-B of his son.

'The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment,' replies son.

Sophia beams and says, 'Cheeeese!'

If only!




My hearing is not what it used to be.   Sometimes this is just a bit of a nuisance (mostly to others) whilst at other times it can result in giggles.
(See this post for example.)

Did you hear about this?



Coming to the day before yesterday, I awoke to either John Humphrys or James Naughtie talking about the genetically modified mice who are being trained to sniff out TNT.

Only I didn't quite hear it right.

I heard that mice were being trained to sniff out PMT.

It didn't even seem like a strange idea.

I think there are those who'd be keen to have one of these mice themselves...





Lastly, if you were following the Primark Shrunken Jumper Challenge, you may be interested to know I managed to squeeze two more things out of it.

One more elf boot...




And another (smaller) owl...




Daddy and daughter...






Right, better get organised for work now!
I'm down to just afternoons for the next two weeks and two days (with half-term in the middle) which is great, except when I get carried away sewing, blogging or doing the chores, and have to rush off without having eaten a proper lunch!

11 comments:

  1. I have just ordered some lovely felt from eBay so I can have a go at making some of those cute little houses :-) I'm going to make a Christmas village I think ..... I can't wait.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I do love your little houses, I think I will have to make some too.
    Julie xxxxxxx

    ReplyDelete
  3. I've giggled all the way through this post! Thanks, just what I needed! Ada :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Goodness, you can do anything, your elves houses are adorable! I am not surprised at how young the kids are using the computer...Adorable!!

    CArol

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Actually , it was turned off! She just bashes away at the moment and I panic that it will get broken! But I don't think it will be long before she can do something a bit more educational on it!
      x

      Delete
  5. Hahaha, silly me, I didn't comprehend the difference between fairy and elf houses. Thank you for the clarification :)

    Any creature trained to sniff out PMT would have to be paid more danger money than the one sniffing out TNT!!!!!!

    x

    ReplyDelete
  6. Lovely post. I love your Elves' houses especially the colour of the foofs.
    would those mice come back I wonder or once scanned a field allowed to scamper away ? Interesting idea.
    Sophia is gorgeous !

    ReplyDelete
  7. I think you and I must live in the same parallel universe;fairy and elf houses, they are so pretty it seems a shame to stick pins in them. Regarding guessing where you went for your walk, I do feel a bit of a fraud I live about a mile from Ceasers Camp as well, the Fleet side of Beacon Hill....Penny B.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm so glad I'm not the only one in this universe! If you ever go to either The Maltings Market or Tweseldown Artisan's Fair do introduce yourself! Or maybe you are the nice lady I talked to at Tweseldown last month? Off now to plan some more fairy foolishness...
      x

      Delete
  8. lovely cute houses ...love them
    XX Manda XX

    ReplyDelete