A gingerbread man for the festive season

I love gingerbread men, both the edible and the decorative ones! This one I made to serve as a Christmas decoration, from pieces of felt sewn together with feston stitch, some beads, thread and ribbon. 

hmmm I think I should soon plan to bake some real ones...

Upcycling Christmas bulbs

We had a box in the attic with very ordinary silvery Christmas bulbs that we no longer used. I decided to upcycle them, make them more special by adding decorations with woolen thread and small beads. Then I put them in homemade paper boxes that I had also decorated. The bulbs were sold for charity. I still think of them sometimes and hope they make a Christmas tree beautiful somewhere!

Pockets on a string

I was looking for something useful I could make from the patches I got practising crocheting and using up my yarnscraps. At the same time I found myself inspired by the dangerous pockets project, by Paula MacGregor and this poem by Sharon Owens :

Dangerous Coats

Someone clever once said
Women were not allowed pockets
In case they carried leaflets
To spread sedition
Which means unrest
To you & me
A grandiose word
For commonsense
Fairness
Kindness
Equality
So ladies, start sewing
Dangerous coats
Made of pockets & sedition

It is true, womens garments often don't have useful pockets and to carry a handbag just isn't handy all 

the time. So I thought, what about pockets on a string? Little bags for phone, keys, card, a bit of money, so you have the little things you need close at hand, but also freedom of movement!

Making these pockets, I can try out different techniques, different materials (some recycled fabric and yarn leftovers), adding haberdashery, tassels, and so on, which I think is a lot of fun!!