As you might have noticed if you visit with me often, I do rather a lot of knitting but sewing is never part of my days and in truth is something that I find slightly scary. I've never felt that I was much good at it – probably thanks to the disparaging comments of my teacher about the skirt that I made in needlework class (though they were not undeserved – it was an awful skirt and was never worn). I do envy those of you who can effortlessly whip up new outfits from beautiful and unusual fabrics but the intricacies of insetting a zip or hemming on the bias bring me out in a cold sweat. Sewing by hand though is something I can just about  handle (though not something I've done for years and years) and when I saw the achingly sweet little animal kits that Alicia (Posie gets Cozy) created a few years ago I had to buy one. It has sat on a shelf ever since waiting for the perfect moment, and that moment arrived earlier this week.

Cutting into the first piece of pristine felt made me rather nervous – the kit is so beautifully presented and I really didn't want to mess up, but happily I got all of the pieces snipped out safely and I settled down in the intermittent sunshine with my radio and a cup of tea for some quiet and therapeutic stitching.

On the first day I sewed miss Maggie herself and yesterday I worked on her clothes. The fabrics that came with the kit are lovely but I wanted to use some from my stash and so I substituted a dotty blue for her inner ears and used a different fabric for her dress (which is probably a little too heavyweight but I am in love with the pattern). I added a scalloped crochet edging to her cape and also made a little pair of woolly socks (which were not part of the pattern) as it gets a little chilly round here in the winter and warm socks are definitely needed, though they have made her boots a bit of a snug fit.

Working quietly on this little bunny over my two recent Toby free days has been so enjoyable and I feel a bit sad to have finished her. I've kept the pattern pages intact though (tracing the pieces onto baking parchment paper) so I may well make another one in the future. I am really thrilled that she has turned out so well and rather surprised (given my lack of sewing skills) though I shouldn't really be as the pattern is exactly what I would expect from Alicia, well thought out, perfectly explained and very sweet.

Having a finished bunny on my shelf instead of just a kit is making me happy and I'm rather in love with her.

That's item number 2 ticked off my 'holiday at home' list and I've found my two Toby-free sewing days very relaxing – it's definitely been nice to do something that I'd not normally do. As a result I'm all topped up on positive energy and ready to tackle the upcoming Toby-full days 🙂

The last couple of days have been so lovely weather-wise. We've spent almost every waking moment outside and it's been hard to get Toby to come in from the trampoline even after darkness has descended. He's also discovered how fun it is to go hunting for frogs after dark and we've left an old tray filled with water out for them which they seem to really enjoy and it makes them gather in one place so Toby can try to touch them (gently with supervision) and laugh with glee when they hop off. There was also some hedgehog poo in the frogs bath this morning so the night-time visitors to our garden are enjoying a little paddle too!

After the children had gone to school this morning I settled down in the garden for some breakfast (I never seem to have time for mine until they've left the house). As I was sitting there munching my granola and yoghurt I was looking over the veg beds and admiring my new watering can which I treated myself to this week and I pondered that it could benefit from a little yarn-bombing. Which is why it now has a crochet handle, why I am even more pleased with it and why H thinks I have way too much time on my hands.

This afternoon, inbetween a bit of weeding and lots of pegging out washing, I've been knitting up a pair of mittens in lovely wood and water tones.

Unusually for me I'm using double points and am actually liking them for a change. Perhaps it just took finding the right needles to cure me of my aversion to knitting in the round (these are Karbonz from Knitpro and they're lovely to work with). The pattern is a free one from Churchmouse Yarns and Teas and I'm making it in Hazel Knits Artisan sock and Madeline Tosh sock (both from Meadow Yarn). It seems to have become a habit for me to make mittens on the hottest days of the year, perhaps they'll have a bit of extra warmth in them come winter-time.

Well, I'm off to peg out a bit more washing and sit for a few quiet minutes before the children bring chaos back to my little corner of the world. Have a good weekend x

PS: happy Independence Day to all my friends in the USA x