What to put in a toddler's advent calendar?

I finally found an advent calendar for Leah which I didn't have to put together from a kit and wasn't over £30.
I actually found it at our local Church Christmas bazaar for £3!

I had to come up with some ideas to fill it with as I didn't really want to give her sweets or chocolates each day.

I looked on Ravelry for some small toy knits which wouldn't be too time consuming and would be loved by Leah.

The first I found was a pattern for an Amigurimi Pocket Bunny which was a bit fiddly, but pretty cute. Leah keep moaning that iIidn't make it a tail!

The second I have made so far is for a holiday mouse by Fuzzy mitten (this can be found via the link to Ravelry or via her blog). This was a really quick knit and knitted up in just a few hours. As it is knitted straight it wasn't as fiddly and as she uses bobbles rather than knitting arms and legs there is much less sewing!

I think he's pretty darn cute :o)

We're going to finish off the Christmas shopping today so we're going to head into town early(ish) to beat the lunchtime rush!

To have or not to have, that is the question

I am due to have the swine flu vaccine on Friday and am still in tow minds whether to have it or not. If I wasn't pregnant and was offered it I wouldn't really hesitate, but being 31 weeks pregnant now I don't know what to do for the best.

At the moment I feel that the risks and complications of getting swine flu in the third trimester outweigh the risks of the vaccine BUT as it is a new vaccine and had been produced pretty quickly I don't know how I should feel about having it.

I spoke to my midwife yesterday who handed me a leaflet printed by the Government - who want all pregnant women to have the vaccine - so I didn't expect them to say not to have it.

I really am in a bit of a pickle and don't quite know what to do! Any views or experiences with receiving the vaccine would be greatly appreciated!

Little Alfie has a new home

I have just checked my e-mails and have sold little Alfie via Folksy, I am sooooo pleased! He will be packaged up and sent very soon.

Here's Bertie Bunny..

Finally I got around to taking the photos of Bertie, who is now for sale. He is made from British Herdwick Aran Yarn and is stuffed with polyester filling meeting the European Safety and Cleanliness standards.

He will sell for £11 plus P&P. If you are interested just e-mail me or leave a message and I will get back to you.

Leah likes him so I have had to hide the little fella to stop her hugging him all the time!


Here he is sitting on the sofa...

... and relaxing in the sunshine!

Hello girls!

It was my Dad's birthday yesterday so my sister and I bought him two new chickens. The one on the left is a cuckoo maran and the one on the right is a light Sussex. They are settling in ok, except the other chooks won't let them near them yet!

Luckily there hasn't been too much hen pecking!

They have yet to lay their first eggs, but I'm sure it won't be too long.

Next bunny almost here!

The newest addition to my Etsy shop is almost here, just the arms and jumper to finish. It is a little larger than normal due to the yarn I used - a British Herdwick aran, but is still very cute.
He will sell for £11 plus P&P.

Pictures to follow soon!

Don't forget if you want a custom made bunny in time for Christmas please e-mail me at

hetty24tigger@yahoo.com

Some yummy goodies on their way (soon)

I saw a lovely post on Lizzie Jane's blog about her soap making and I really couldn't resist. Her daughter has a lovely etsy shop with an amazing amount of bath goodies which I just had to have. Luckily she ships to the UK too!

I ordered some delicious items as you can see :o)

This one is a vegan Jasmine soap (can't wait for this)

a Frankinscence and myrhh soap bar, just in time for Christmas,

and finally some little strawberry and kiwi bears for Leah to have in her bath (she loves to get clean).

I would recommend popping by as she has a 20% sale until 31st October and everything is beautifully made!

The first of my Christmas bunnies

I wanted to introduce you to the first of my Christmas bunnies which are for sale. This little fellow is called Alfie and is knitted from Sirdar Snuggly DK, so is very soft and cuddly. I made his jumper using some Christmas motifs I found in a knitting magazine from a few years back. The bunny itself is from my own design.

He is looking for a home and is £9 plus P&P, depending on which country you live in. I will only charge for postage and packing materials, nothing more!

I made his little tail from Sirdar Snuggly Snowflake and it is very soft and cute! If you are interested please e-mail me or leave a message on this post.

Thanks everyone for dropping by!

An evening walk to the beach

We didn't get out if the house much yesterday, mainly due to cleaning, washing and ironing (what joy!) so once dinner was on, I though Leah would like a little trip to the beach.

Armed with her bucket and spade we set off hand in hand to the seafront - just at the end of the road!

She always loves it there, filling her bucket with shingle and trying to make a sandcastle (that is never going to work, is it?)

She had fun anyway and I enjoyed watching her playing with the shells.

She even ran up the hill on the way home, I wish I had that much energy. No chance with a growing baby inside me !

A giveaway on a wonderful blog

Denise at The Knitting Den is having a giveaway in honour of her birthday and Breast Cancer Awareness month.

The giveaway is for a beautiful pink scarf in true Breast Cancer Awareness fashion. The time and effort she has put into this is wonderful.

Just pop along and add a comment and you will be entered into the draw. Good luck!

Some yummy baking

This morning Leah and I were watching a new CBeebies programme called 'I can cook' and on there they made some yummy Melting Moments (you can download the PDF from the recipes)

I had all the ingredients in the cupboard so I decided that Leah and I should make some, for something different to do.



here she is creaming the butter and sugar together.....

.... and beating the egg....

.and licking her fingers after rolling in oats and getting ready to bake!

The finished article - VERY tasty!!

Christmas orders

I will shortly be starting on some Christmas themed bunnies, so if you would like to pre-order one or have one custom made, please do not be afraid to e-mail me or to leave a comment under this post.

All the bunnies for sale will be posted on my blog with the price for each :o)

Off on another adventure...

This weekend we are venturing north west to a lovely part of England called Shropshire. We have never been before and are all really looking forward to it.
We are staying on a farm and I can't wait! Look out for lots of animal pictures on our return :o)

On another note I had an appointment yesterday with the VBAC midwife at the hospital, to discuss whether or not I will have to have another C-section this time around or can just go for a more 'normal' birth.

Luckily I can go for my own option of a more natural birth, but will have to be booked in for a C-section if I go overdue (again) as I'm not permitted to be induced for a second time. I'm apprehensive about either option, but I'm sure it will be fine - eek!

Leah also had a session at a pre-school this morning and I have decided that it will be the one for her, it was so nice and friendly. I have filled out her application form and now just have to wait to see when a place is available. I know she will settle in really well and unfortunately won't miss me one little bit!

A giveaway very soon!

As Autumn is very nearly upon us I am thinking of doing a little giveaway to celebrate the changing of the season.

Although I love the Summer, I do like to look forward to Autumn with it's chilly mornings and darker nights (not to mention that it means my birthday is nearer too!)

I am not sure quite what it will be yet, but keep dropping by and you will find out really soon :o)

Some more goodies!

At the weekend we popped into town to get some jeans for Richard, and as we were passing I had to look in the local wool shop.

I spied this at a reduced price, so whipped some up to make a Christmas scarf for my Mum. I didn't really have a pattern in mine, but after searching Ravelry, I came across this So Called Scarf.

The pattern is really easy to memorise and the effect isn't too bad, although I think it would look better in a smoother yarn.

Here is my WIP,

and a close up of the pattern from the side view. Not too bad I think?

What a lovely package !?!

My lovely package of yarn arrived yesterday destined to be turned into some little rabbits for Christmas. My favourite is the Sublime Merino Angora DK, it is just so soft and will make lovely fluffy bunnies.

I have also been thinking about Christmas gifts (I know it's early, but if I don't start thinking about it I will never ger around to making anything.)


I bought this beautiful soft yarn to make my sister Cecile, which I made for myself last winter. She finds wool itchy like me, so this Merino wool shouldn't bother her at all as it is so soft and I don't find it irritating at all (I can't wear normal wool either for the same reason).

I think she will like the colour and she is always on at me to make her a beanie!


I also have plenty of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran in my stash, so I'm planning to make Mum (and myself) a pair of Fetching wrist warmers. The pattern says that it only takes one ball, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed as I only have one in the dusty pink I want to use. I do have 5 balls of purple, so I know I can get some more from that!

A jumper for baby 'B'

With the thought of a new arrival on the horizon and an ever growing stash, I thought I would put it to good use and make somethings with all the yarn I have.

The first is this Fred sweater which I think is beautiful. I'm using a really soft yarn so I hope baby will apppreciate it once he/she is born (we decided not to find out!)

What a busy weekend!

We had a busy but enjoyable weekend this week. First we went to the Essex Country Show at Barleylands Farm in Billericay.

It turned out really warm and we had a great day. It was just a shame we didn't get to see it all in one day.

Sunday Richard and I did a boot sale to raise some much needed holiday funds and to make a bit of room for our new arrival who is due early February next year. We made a good profit and I actually enjoyed myself.

This year I gave myself a treat and held an owl. She was a European Eagle owl and weighs about 9lb (without feathers) so I was told. She had the most beautiful orange eyes and I even stroked her chest - but very carefully!

Here are a few pics from Saturday.

Leah and I enjoyed a ride on the carousel and she smiled the whole time!

There were lots of draught horses pulling traditional ploughs in the field, so here are a few of my favourites.

This one was called Ben and he even turned to the camera when I called him!

Cornwall part four - Lanhydrock

While we are away we always try to visit some National Trust houses and gardens, so this year we weny to Lanhydrock near Bodmin.

It really was a great house to visit and you could look in almost 50 rooms! That is a lot to see.

I'll leave you with some pictures.

Cornwall 2009 - Part three, St. Ives

Here we are are in St. Ives, one of our favourite places. We always visit at least once! If you can see the board in the photo advertising Ghost Walks, well we took part on one of those quite a few years ago and it was really good, but not very scary! More a tour around the back streets in the dark.

We had a nice lunch in the Seafood cafe and it was yummy! I had a really tasty fish stew with some delicious bread.

There were rib rides taking place from the harbour, so we took a photo of the people on their way out. rather them than me, I'm sure they got wet!

We took a walk along the harbour wall - I wonder what they can see? (see later pictures)

This is the view across the water to the other side of the harbour......

......and this is the other view where you can see Porthminster beach. it looks beautiful.

This is what they spied, a cheeky seal. I wonder if it is the same one I blogged about last year??

Cornwall part two - the cider farm and the beach

We visited the local cider farm to taste all the jams and chutneys and to see the animals.

There is 'Stumpy' the highland cow,

some cute pigmy goats,

and some pigglies!

In the afternoon we went to Porthtowan beach as Leah was dying to get into the sea. She just loved it!

What a shame the tide was coming in - as the beach is much more beautiful when you can see the glorious sands. This isn't too bad a view anyway.