The Chanel Plan

Once there was a little girl who loved to sew dolls clothes. She had learned from her mother, who liked nothing more than to help Santa out by dressing a doll or two at Christmas. When she was about ten, her Grandma introduced her to an Aladdin's Cave of a shop: a sort of market stall with walls, with offcuts and roll ends and bargains.

It's still the best place in town to buy fur and felt; and I was over there the other day looking for a big piece of black felt. Because that doll dressmaking? It's a hard habit to grow out of and I haven't managed it yet.

I got two new books for Christmas:

One I found in a museum gift shop and it's aimed at girls starting to sew. But of course I was pulled in by the vintage Sindy dolls who feature inside. The other is from Japan and it's the latest release from a series called Doll Coordinate Recipes. The best place I've found for Japanese craft books is Pomadour24 on Etsy. The text is in Japanese, but the pictures are plentiful and easy to follow - and all the patterns in this one are cut from felt, which makes the clothes quick and easy to make up.

I bought some new shades of red and blue because our Madeleines suit bright, clear colours; but I didn't want to use it all up experimenting as I tried out the pattern sizes. So I came up with my Chanel Plan. One big bargain piece of black felt, one of white - and a wardrobe of Chanel inspired monochrome basics. 

And then the snow came on and I decided to whip up a warm cloak fast, so I pulled out a piece of grey. I'm going back to balck today, though: there's a dress pattern I'd like to try next. And some long trousers might be good if this weather is going to keep up....

Happy Sunday!

Life's A Circus - My Monthly Make

..or maybe my circus is a little like life. Some bits are funny. Some bits are dangerous. Some bits you wonder where it's going next, other bits you'd rather not be there for at all. The thing about a circus, for me,  is that I'd rather dip in and out.

And that's lucky, because I started making the felt circus over a year ago now  for the Monthly Make challenge in 2011! The (Not So) Small One and I worked on Auguste the lion and his cage; and then, it seems, the circus left town..

But we picked it up again this week and dug in deep to make the circus tent. The pattern for the complete set (which includes a felt ring-of-fire, clowns, elephants and monkeys) comes from a wonderful Etsy shop called Bugga Bugs. I recommend it! Next on my list, I think, will be the felt nativity set.

But for today - the tent. When everything else is finished, it will all fit inside

Oh, look, there's Auguste now..

and here he is again, standing on the opened up stage as the tent flaps come down

We've had fun with this. Maybe we'll manage the Ring of Fire this week? But at least we have finished the main attraction and it's my Monthly Make (read all about the challenge on Annie's blog here and find a lovely round up of other September makes on the September hostess blog Twinkles, Tutorials and Twirls here) for September. Annie the Felt Fairy - we hope you soon feel much much better! 

Next Sunday is Storytelling Sunday. Yes, it's that time again. I've made a start on my story - October? Halloween Month? In this house that means Fancy Dress. So, if you are interested in a theme, how about Let's Dress up! But, of course, as always stories on any topic at all will be very warmly welcomed. See you there.

We're Off to Join the Circus

When The Small One was a very little girl, she had a t-shirt with the legend "I'm Off To Join The Circus"

printed on the front. It was an excellent kind of a t-shirt, because you could wear it when you were happy (and thought a bit of trapeze sounded fun); and you could wear it when you were sad and thinking about running away from home. It always worked.

We've been thinking about that t-shirt as we've been working on our felt circus. See,  The Small One liked the felt farm so much, she thought she might like a felt something of her very own. And when Jemma suggested a joint project, I said - Genius! and we made a start.





You've already had a peep at the lion in Sian on Safari. He was getting a bit boisterous, so I've made him a cage:

The film is set in the 1930's - it looks like my Buggabugs pattern from Etsy will give us exactly the right look

The Small One is on elephant duty at the moment. It was slow going, to be honest, until I showed her the pictures of Robert Pattinson's animal training act for the new movie Water For Elephants. Mmm..R. Patz modelled entirely from craft felt?  Remember - you heard it here first..

And my caged lion is this month's entry for Annie The Felt Fairy's Monthly Make. The Big Top, The Ring Of Fire, the clown, the monkey? - all in production. At a blog near you soon.

Sian on Safari

I don't do zoos very often. Anymore. Zoos and I don't get on. I'm always telling the story of me and the Very Angry Penguin, so I probably don't need to go over it again (oh, alright. Me. Mr. Angry. My hand. Wrong place, wrong time..). But I have others..

The year before, I'd got lost in London Zoo (or was it Windsor Safari Park? We did both, that school trip). All I know is that turning first left after the candyfloss stand didn't take me where I needed to go. ..But they found me eventually; and I got a big cheer when I got back on the bus, so that was nice.

I think I'm better sticking to felt animals

Next time I tried a Safari Park, my mum turned to me just as we entered the lions' enclosure and said (really - was she joking? I don't think so) "There isn't as much petrol in this car as I'd like". That was the same park (closed, now, funnily enough) which ran the Jungle Extravaganza stage show. Turned out to be a man in a gorilla suit. My sister has had a phobia of fancy dress shops ever since..

So, I've decided I'll stick to my museums and srt galleries. I'm making an exception for Gary the Magnificent, because, as hamsters go, he is pretty cool and -

"Woah, Mum, are you putting this on your blog?" the family has just said. "Because if you are, you need to be honest. You need to tell them the whole story. Sometimes you can manage animals. Sometimes you even like animals. You'd better show them - the monkey.."

So, in the interests of full and frank disclosure, here it is:

We only met the once, but I could tell he liked me..

My March Monthly Make

Today I have for you my Monthly Make.  Annie The Felt Fairy has been busy passing out patterns for anyone who fancied a go at sewing Stanley. And I did, so I grabbed one.

My Stanley looks like a bit of a handbag dog:

The original, of course, was made famous by Cath Kidston. He started out as a pet and became a muse. I saw the real Stanley in one of her shops in London once; but he was curled up fast asleep in his basket and I just couldn't persuade him to part with any Cath secrets at all..

Here he is in front of a layout I made about a trip to a Cath Kidston shop. The story is here

One Farm. Finished.

Just squeezing in there before the end of the month, I've finished the felt farm.

The barn in the background

I love how it turned out and I'll definitely be returning to Bugga Bugs for more patterns (mmm..felt food..) - the instructions are excellent: clear and detailed with plenty of photos.

The barn unfolded to show the inside

And I was able to use up lots of little scraps of felt. The finished farm cube measures just about seven inches square. To be honest, Little E is probably still a bit too little to play with it (it has buttons and elastic holding it together); so it will be going on a high shelf for a while I think. "Mmm," said The Small One when she heard this. "I think I could probably do with a felt farm.."

Psst! Don't forget: Storytelling Sunday next week, the first Sunday in February. Have a think and come up with a tale to tell. No layout, craft project or added extras required. Just you and a few words...

It's A Farm - But You Mustn't Tell

Ssshh! I'm making a felt farm for Little E, but it's a secret..

At the minute the outside still looks like this:

and the animals to go inside still look like a big pile of felt scraps, but I'm sewing as fast as I can. I bought the pattern from Bugga Bugs - an Etsy shop discovered by my scrapping friend Helen, it's now one of my favourite places to browse. When I've finished the farm I think I might move on to The Three Little Pigs, or the Noah's Ark, or some felt food, or..any of it really. The patterns come as PDF's and the instructions are extremely easy to follow. Highly recommended.  

I'm racing to get the farm finished before the end of the month, so that it can become my project for this:

Annie The Felt Fairy's Monthly Make Challenge, which you can read all about here. One project a month - let's give it a go! Annie says she used to do a lot of scrapbooking - maybe if we work on her, we can persuade her back to the fold...

A Christmas Catch All

I'm opening up the doors and letting Christmas in completely at High In The Sky. Over the weekend I sewed two of the three felt ornaments from this years Rosy Little Things kit. The final one - a cross stitched grey mitten - uses waste canvas, and I've come a bit unstuck with it. I know the theory, it's just the practice. I think I need more.

I love the grey, red and white colour scheme (and especially that red felt coat. I'd like a grownup version, please). It seems very fresh this year, like the new Jenni Bowlin line I'm hoping will arrive here soon.

As you can probably tell, I'm having a bit of a fling with felt at the moment. I found these you might like:

• Family Circle easy felt makes. Be sure to click on "next" for the instructions (found via Felt-O-Rama)
• Twisted Felt Garland at Purl Bee. It needs some really long strips of felt - but the necklace or bracelet would be much quicker and cheaper to try!

(See also here, if you missed my felt-y links a couple of weeks ago)

And I've been eyeing up some sturdy shoe-coloured pieces because, as a couple of you suggested on Sunday, those children need a new home. I'm so glad that you enjoyed Christmas Club this week; and I'm delighted that so many of you are thinking of joining in. I'm going to see if I can add a linky thing so that you can add your own posts next week.

But, please. No stress. A simple memory of a treasured moment is more than good enough. Maybe it's happy, maybe it's poignant. Most celebrations in most houses are a mixture of both. And that's why it always bothers me a little when magazines urge us to have our "best Christmas ever". Surely it doesn't have to be that. All many of us hope for is a happy few hours with time for laughter and time for being quiet with people we love. So, when I'm choosing my gifts (and hoping they are the right ones); putting my turkey in the oven (and hoping it comes out nicely cooked); and setting out for a Carol Service (and hoping for the tunes I know the best), I'll be thinking about this:

It came to me as a giveaway gift recently from the lovely Laurie at One Black Bird. If you are getting ready for Thanksgiving or thinking ahead to Christmas, you might like to keep it in mind. And I'll see you back here very soon.

A Few "F"'s For Fursday

From High In The Sky today I am:

• Fantasizing about an hour curled up with a book this afternoon. Instead we are off to the orthodontist (wish us luck)
• Fielding a clutch of questions all beginning with  "At Christmas, when I get my hamster.."
• Finding Folksy easier to navigate than Etsy
• Ferretting through the fashion at a favourite new blog That's Not My Age. For the ahem,(slightly) more mature among us
• Feeling just a little bit foxy in my new cord dress
• Fessing up to feeling slightly tearful, but very thankful, every time I think about the blog hop. Still. Thank you to everyone for your comments and mentions and everything.
• Flying a flag (alright then, a banner) for Kate of Liberty Cottage who is the winner of my blog giveaway. Please get in touch Kate and I'll put it in the post.

Since I finished my little banner, I've been thinking about sewing some more felt. So I've searched out my favourite felty finds and here they are:

• a nice tutorial for felt trees at Allsorts
• Feltorama has lots of makes and links to other felt fans as well as a shop
• Bugs and Fishes for tutorials and felt to buy - her service is excellent
• Or you could try The Felt Fairy - her blog is fun
• Betz White has some lovely tutorials like this Christmas ornament
• And finally Fa La La La Felt - a book on my Christmas list this year I think

Whatever you are up to this Thursday - have a good one!