Today I appreciate buttons - and small things that make me exceptionally happy. I've got a good collection of buttons in all manner of varieties - antique buttons, ancient buttons, plastic buttons, wood buttons, coconut shell buttons, polymer buttons, glass buttons - and they add such a burst of personality to projects. It's the final finishing touch that makes it a Stacey-made-this thingamajig.

This is a little patchwork cushion cover made from a small pile of some of my favourite fabrics. I've appliqued a raised heart in the middle (it has extra wadding in the middle to make it poof) made from strips of lovely contrasting fabrics. I haven't yet decided what's going on the back - although linen takes my fancy.


The buttons are the finishing touch. I've got to go through and remove any errant threads, and then I plan to stitch them on using hot pink embroidery thread.

Because I can. It's the small things that matter.

This is for my lovely friend Anne. I'm sorry it didn't get to you in time for your birthday. xx

Egad, how did it suddenly become Friday? I've just realised that I've missed Wednesday WIPs. 

A little while ago my dearest friend Anne sent me a box of treasures, and I think now's a good time to share them with you.

Ooh, the second post in one day: my, aren't you spoilt. I've got quite a few things to tell you, and I just couldn't wait to share more yarny updates. Look away now if you're currently experience yarn overload!

I've finally caught up with the Noni Knitalong. This week: sleeve ruffles.

Ruffles.
















I'm not a ruffle-y person. Ruffles, I think, are best kept on aprons and doilies. Knitted ruffles? Ick. But the Ella Coat really does look lovely with a ruffley edge ... so I've decided to throw caution to the wind and stick to the KAL script.
















The point of this particular KAL is that we're given tweaks and interesting alternative options as we knit-along with the designer, Nora. You can see some the pattern tweaks on her blog. This week's tweak was to choose whether you wanted to stick to the ruffle from the original pattern which created a softer, slightly more subdued ruffle, or opt for the super-duper-ruffle-explosion-extravaganza she recommends for the revised pattern.

Guess which one I chose.

I had already intended to knit the ruffles (I had originally accidentally typed 'fuffles' there, but now that I think about it, it seems rather fitting) in a deep red/yellow/burgundy striped yarn which you may remember from this post. As you can see above, that yarn has been swiftly replaced by some rather attractive lavender-coloured Rowan Romance I picked up at the Creative Stitches show I went to two weeks ago.
















Here you can see the transition from sleeve (knitted in 'blackberry heather' colourway) to the lavender/dusty pink ruffle. I un-picked the first two rows of the sleeve and re-knitted them with an additional strand of pink mohair (pre-strung with size 8/0 czech glass beads) which I carried on through the body of the ruffle. The beads are an assortment of lilacs and purples, and you can really only see the darker ones in the picture above.
















The colours go together really well, and you can see the beads a bit better in this picture. Now, I just need to be brave enough to wear something pink and ruffley out of the house! I originally made purple owl buttons for this coat, but I think I'm going to reconsider my purpley choice and opt for something to break all these purple hues. Green pea pods, perhaps?

I know, I know - I've been a bad blogger. But I promise it's not because I'm lazy,  but because I'm oh-so-busy trying to keep up with knit-a-longs, designing my new website portfolio and making. There will be so many pictures for you very soon. I promise.

In the meantime, lookee here:


I was featured over at the South African Food and Wine Blog Directory! The lovely Jeanne interviewed me a little while ago and it went up on the 'spotlight' section of the directory on Friday. It's a quick glimpse into my foodie aspirations and favourite meals whilst stuck out here in London Town away from the deliciousness of my family's various kitchens.

In other news, I've been a-making. I know I mentioned it earlier, but now I'll be a bit more specific. I'm setting up an Etsy shop, and I'm making buttons. I love buttons. I delight in buttons. I have an enormous collection of buttons from around the world which I use in all of my projects. But, somehow, normal buttons are just not enough. I wanted buttons with personality, a bit of pizazz, so - I made 'em. And then I realised, but other people will want them too! What will they do when they need a good 'ol button with a heap of dazzle? Why, they can get them direct from Bakercourt, that's what! So: watch this space. Links, pictures, and whatnots coming very soon.

The baby shower cookies were oh-so cute but they took a very long time to make. This was probably because I had never iced cookies before but I think it helped to plan out the cookies in advance and choose which colours and decorations I'd need before I started. I used pastel shades of blue and yellow with white. I also knew I'd need some sugarpaste decorates for the onesies and baby prams, so that seems like a good place to start.