the Nest » cushions

Me’n'My Girl

Emily — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 13:40:06 +0000

We are a few children less, as our three boys have gone on holidays into their grandparents in Galway, so it is only me and my sidekick here

We have had an eventful morning… spent an hour or two lying on the sofa bed reading the same books over and over..

(and just when I was getting into doing the voices and making it all very animated, I was usurped by someone needing to watch The Snowman.

Me: “Sweetpea, will we read “The Paper Caper” again?”

Herself: “No. Me like ‘Nowman now”…)

Then we wandered out to the garden to pick some tomatoes for lunch- our Autumn fruiting raspberries are only coming into fruit outside, but are ripe and delicious in the polytunnel. We picked a bowl for our dessert, and before we got as far as the back door …

Me: “Hey! Where did our raspberries go?”

Herself: “Heh heh heh” (evil cackle)

“We” made egg fried rice with some left-over rice

(Me: “do you want to scoop some coconut oil out for the frying pan?”

Herself: “yes” (and scoops out a spoon. And eats it. Then we have a minor altercation over allowing me to have a spoon of it to fry the rice)

Someone had to test each tomato before I could cut them up

and artfully toss some over the rice

(“Isn’t that pretty?”

“No”)

And then after lunch we decided to be creative and cut up the felted blankets to make cushions and a photo tutorial too (cue: delightful images of mother and daughter measuring and smiling and working completely in harmony)

Well. That daughter of mine!

she is so bloody independent, decisive, impatient (with me!!!!) single minded (where did she get all these traits from, I’d like to know?) determined, creative…

funny and soft and cuddly and warm…

I have to run… Hi ho, hi ho, it’s off to work I go!!!

Beautiful Blankets and Delightful Dolls

Emily — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 19:46:40 +0000

My mother still has a crochet blanket that was made for me when I was a baby- cream with coloured rose flower motifs. It was simply beautiful, in a way that crochet blankets are by their being.

This week I eventually uploaded the photos of the blankets we have in our shop (steep learning curve every time something goes “wrong”!!) as well as one or two doll ones that wouldn’t upload. I still have cushions, corsages and some GORGEOUS wooden toys- a motorhome, 4 x4 Jeep and red sportscar- I’ll try to get them up tonight.

I’m in the middle of finishing a doll for Jenny-from-Kildare, so I’m off to immerse myself in wool and body-parts!! Check out our blankets in the “handmade@theNest” section, simply lovely.

Crochet covers, ribbons and more rain

Emily — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 18:27:31 +0000

It’s one of those funny days-warm sunshine one minute and dark stormy skies with torrential rain the next. Our boys have decamped from the living room to upstairs under a bed, in the middle of an epic game-one of those which lasts for days and every toy and box is used-in the hope of avoiding a baby attack. Baby is here at my feet, opening and closing my ribbon box and taking them out and draping her head and little wooden trolley with them. Very cute!!

I’m trying to work out orders of wooden toys for our shop for Christmas- wooden train sets, pedal-free bicycles, wheelybugs, wooden cash register for all the budding shop owners…. this must be my favourite part of the job!!! My youngest son, almost five, has a list of about twenty “definites” -eeek!!! (hate to disappoint, but…)

Meanwhile, when I sit down later I’ll be back to crochet-I have three crochet workers (a.k.a. crochet slaves) helping me crochet four long bench cushions for Kellys Pub in Galway since the others were STOLEN (you know who you are) Hopefully these ones won’t be as easy to shove under a jumper and walk out… We have a plan, and gorgeous cotton yarn (see previous post), so my hopes are high that these will be just as lovely!!

(I’m here breastfeeding baby as I type, and every few seconds a foot bends up and types a few letters, so if I have any typos, apologies)

I have a pile of post to send off today, cards I have been meaning to write for ages and eventually getting around to it. I’ll put up a picture of the bag I made for Liz, the lady who ‘gave’ us our little fluffy dog, Pebbles. WEEKS later and it is only being posted. TUT TUT.

The little dolly to the front is one of the Waldorf-inspired dolls I’ve been making (in my free time, ha ha ha), Once I have a face embroidered on I’ll post detailed photos. I’m so chuffed with them. I especially love the fluffy nappies!! I’m thinking of having a weekend in October where we showcase all the “handmade” delights rather than drip-feeding them onto the shop site as they come through- oooh, the lovely baby blankets, dolls, cards, cushions, felted mobiles that we will have in our shop for Christmas!!! The anticipation makes up for the rotten weather over the summer (just about).

I was about to say that I was going to head off and have a cup of tea and a slice of the most delectable banana and chocolate bread I made yesterday, but, lo! My three little savages have scoffed it all (we’ll have to work on their definition of “some”) A plain biscuit for me then……..

Naked leaps, crochet and hairy dogs

Emily — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 23:25:32 +0000

There is simply nothing worse than being in the shower and realising when you are thoroughly soaked that you have no shampoo-or soap- or anything bar water for that matter, and you have to take a naked wet leap across the bathroom (can’t find glasses so blind as a bat) to find something to clean yourself with. Toilet cleaner? ah, no, I’ll pass. Body Lotion, goats milk bath soak, Gaia detangler… AHHH!!!! at last, a bar of soap, and YES!! A bottle of shampoo (do they have an expiry date? Oh. They do. Couldn’t see under the inch of dust. After I have washed my hair. Thought it smelled dodgy.)
So I have now a full stocked shower cubicle. Should an entire army ever land on my doorstep, there are enough sweet smelling bottles up there to clean them all. But moving swiftly on….
Inroads have been made into the yarn stocks, and plans are afoot for further cushioned delights for the pub (most of the cushions and a few stool covers we made previously were stolen- I’m swinging between outrage at the theft and being chuffed that someone would like them enough to walk out with one stuffed up their jumper).

I have one doll almost completed, with 2 more sewn and ready to assemble (In the photo, note: evening light denoting the late hour)(and the many cups of tea). I have made little cloth nappies and oooh, the dolls are simply lovely to hold. They are stuffed with sheepswool, as is in the Waldorf tradition, which absorbs the scents that baby is familiar with; these type of dolls are often called “bonding dolls”. I am crocheting little caps that will be their hair, and have made little velvet clothes. My plan is to crochet little vests too, to make them ultra-cute!!

But the hour is late- Again. I have to prepare the porridge oats for breakfast, feed our hairy bundle, a.k.a Pebbles the dog, most of the neighbourhood cats, and a couple of hedgehogs. and then, at last, I think it is time I went to bed…..