rose ring pillow

a friend of mine got married recently and i am very proud to present the ring pillow i made for her big day! the couple's one year old walked down the aisle with the ring pillow in her push walker! aw, how adorable is that?

the design is based on the bride's wedding bouquet, which contained esperance roses and oak leaves - a really lovely combination of pinks and brown! i used a creamy white velvet fabric for the pillow and hand stitched the felt flower and leaves, then finished off with a brown and white ribbon to secure the rings. the pillow was filled with wadding and home grown lavender and smelled oh so lovely!

if you want a bespoke ring pillow too, please do get in touch! i would love to create something absolutely unique for your big day! email: kittiwakedesign[at]gmail.com for any queries.

sara

my craft room - post make over

it has been on the to-do-list for ages, but now my craft room has finally got a well deserved make over! loads of wall storage was created with some leftover mdf and a few coats of white paint. im delighted with the result, all my fabrics are now easily accessible and they look pretty good colour coordinated too..!

below are the before pictures. not a pretty sight...



and here are more pictures of what it looks like now!



when we moved into the house, that lovely white tongue and groove wall was hidden behind layers upon layers of outdated wallpaper. a good clean and a lick of paint changed all that though!

above right is my mood board which for some reason has taken on a red/blue theme. not quite sure how that happened, but i like it! as you can see, im also quite partial to a skull or two... or three.. or four...

below is my project basket with the pink/red baby blanket waiting impatiently to get finished...



now, time for some crafting!

sneak peak

here is a sneak preview of a bespoke order i recently finished, inspired by oak leaves and roses. can you guess what it is? lots more pictures to follow soon!

arigna mining experience

earlier this fall, my parents were visiting ireland and we went to the arigna mining experience in co. roscommon.

mining had been an integral part of the area for 400 years until the mines closed down in the 1990s, causing a big blow to the arigna community. the museum was opened in 2003 in an attempt to preserve the history of the mines and is well worth a visit.

there are two parts to the museum; an exhibition space housed in an architecturally interesting building and an underground tour which takes you into the mines. bring warm clothes, it is freezing down there..!

my desktop wallpaper

now, how cute is this!? ive had this komaneko wallpaper for ages and if you want one too, here is the link for it.

crochet baby blanket

im about halfway there on my pink/red zig zag blanket and not entirely surprisingly, i have put it into my project basket and started another project instead... its a crochet bag... with loads of bobbles... and its gorgeous... and i hope ill finish it before it ends up in the project basket aswell..! ill keep you posted.

my dad, the photographer

my dad recently retired but has already started on a new career, this time as a photographer! and i am really proud to announce that his fantastic pictures are now for sale online!

he does mostly wildlife photography and my favourite picture is the puffin above, which was taken in the faroe islands. isnt it such a beautiful photograph?

for more info and lots more pictures, please visit my dad's shop on photoshelter: http://hakan-nordlander.photoshelter.com/

pictures are continuously being added so call back every now and then for more!

north ronaldsay felt

i love to work with felt and when my parents and sister were over in Orkney recently, they bought this gorgeous piece of woolly softness for me. i still havent made up my mind on what to do with it, but as its a pretty big square of felt, i think ill get a good few projects out of it!

if you want some too, you can contact mrs jane donnelly in north ronaldsay, orkney
email: northron.mill@btinternet.com

crochet hand warmers

this pattern has turned out to be very popular in our crochet class! there are 3 pairs made already and i think there could be more coming soon! i love the simplicity of them, they are really quick to make and the pattern is very straightforward.

my gloves are skinnier than the originals as i only did a 1 chain where the pattern tells you to do a 2 chain, but they fit me better this way. i also made an extra row around the thumb area or else the hole would have ended up too small.

the choice of pink was purely coincidental as i happened to have a ball of it in my bag when i decided to start, but it turned out nicely i think! cant wait to wear them now at the christmas markets in november/december. watch this space!



please click here for a link to the pattern

baby gifts

why buy gifts when you can make them yourself? :)

last month i made the name plate for my favourite nephew's first birthday. i used perler beads and although they are very time consuming and fall out of place alot, i love working with them.

myself and a friend made the mobile for a mutual friend and her baby boy. my friend crocheted the bee and the flowers while i made the felt flowers and the hanging device. it was really nice to do a collaboration and i was positively surprised that the mix of materials and techniques worked out so nicely together.

hm... time to start thinking about what gifts to make for christmas now...!

it is sad when good friends move away. but it is also a good time to reflect on all the fun you had together and how a chance meeting can turn into a long lasting friendship.

a really good friend of mine moved back to sweden this summer and i drew this inside a card for her so that she would remember her swedish friends in sligo.

im the one on the left, next to the tower of cookies and with a giant sewing needle in my hand. and yes, those are viking helmets. no real swedish mafia party without viking helmets..!

crafty saturday

ive been working on a few crafty projects today including a bespoke ring pillow (in pink)

a pair of crochet hand warmers (also in pink!)

and a zig zag crochet baby quilt...in...ooo, the suspense...pink!

i feel a theme emerging here...pictures will be up soon!