I haven’t just been reading, oh no. I also picked up a needle and thread and tried some embroidery. Now this is my first attempt (I know I should have done a traditional sampler but I just wasn’t inspired). 
It’s a picture of one of my rats – Wheeler. I tried to do a range of different stitches but found that as I wasn’t doing flowers things like daisy chains and similar didn’t really have a place. Guess I’ll have to make a needle case or similar to try them out. I’m most proud of my broccoli – 1hour to do the French knots! 
Lynne asked me to make this hedgehog for her to give as a graduation present. It was a tad trial and error but i used mohair for the spines and needle felted the hedgehog into that.
Posted 1 year, 1 month ago. Add a comment
Latest sock monster creation.
Posted 1 year, 2 months ago. Add a comment
My Granddad was a big fan of the comic strip ‘Calvin and Hobbes’ by Bill Watterson and the snowmen strips – where Calvin builds various snowmen – were always favourites (see above). Calvin remains part of our family festivities. Perhaps most memorably a number of years ago my sister and my Dad decorated the Christmas Cake with the snowmen bowling (the strip is one snowman usuing the others head a .
This year I made my Dad Calvin inspired snowmen decorations for the tree.
Posted 1 year, 8 months ago. Add a comment
It has been a running joke in the Whalley household over farts in jars (Clair was in on it too) so for Christmas it was decided that we should hand out festive farts. I created a fart in a jar (needlefelted with wire frame) and Clair wrote a poem:
Searching for the prefect gift for you
Some socks? A tie? They wouldn’t do!
Looking in places both near and far
I finally found this fart in a jar
Be sure to keep the lid screwed on tight
Releasing that stench wouldn’t be bright
Made from sauerkraut, baked beans and more
It’ll knock you out – clean on the floor
It needs no water, food or care
Just that little glass jar of air.
It’s only job to remind you of food
That once eaten – will make you quite rude.
As you can see they got a good reaction!
I also made Bob a ‘make your own fart in a jar’. I decorated a jar of sauerkraut with a label on the back that gave the steps:
1. Eat sauerkraut.
2. Place jar beside butt
3. Fart
4. Close lid swiftly!
Posted 1 year, 8 months ago. Add a comment
Clair has ordered a Christmas tree decoration from me for each of her three kids for their first Christmas. For Lottie I made a reindeer wrapped in fairy lights, then Lexie got a polar bear with a bell collar.
This year Minnie got a mouse – Nano. Complete with candy cane and cozy scarf.
Posted 1 year, 9 months ago. Add a comment
As mentioned before I have done a couple of crafty projects recently. I (and Clair) seem to have become obsessed with the humble sock. While she has gone for the socktopus I have placed my support behind the humble monster. Pungey (short for Pungent) is a happy monster who lives in our spare room. On the weekends he enjoys watching tv and discussing what programmes he last saw the various actors in and munching on oreos.
Posted 1 year, 11 months ago. Add a comment
When I went to Stockholm a few years ago I went into a great shop called KALIKÅ it had loads of cool kids toys including Älgdronks. Now the made up versions were a bit outside my budget but they also did kits and instructions so I got myself a pattern and kit for Älgdronk.
As far as I can figure the name is just that of a moose (Älg) stuck onto the shops version of a
gonk (dronk doesn’t see to have an English equivalent).
Anyway despite parting with cash for this gem I never quite got round to sewing it but last weekend Tom had headed off to other pastures for the weekend so I pulled it out and went to work.
The poor thing does seem a little down at having been ignored for so long!
Posted 2 years, 1 month ago. Add a comment
Clair and me both made Adipose (for the post about where we got the pattern
click here). I already mentioned this in my crafty madenss post but here are both together for the first time – mine is on the left. Neither quiet looks like the original but both were made with love! Possibly they were generated from bones, blood and tissue rather than fat
Clair’s rather cleverly actually weighs a pound!
Posted 2 years, 1 month ago. Add a comment
There was also a very handsome Steiff called Gerhardt and a picture of him being loved by his original owner…
