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  • sewing a backpack

    Sewing a Backpack

    May 26, 2017June 24, 2025 Blog, Sewing Archives
    6 Comments

    Sewing a Backpack One of the things I have discovered about being a parent is the sheer amount of stuff you end up carrying about. When my boys were babies, it was little cups, bibs, nappies, wipes and spare clothes. Now they’re older, there’s not much less stuff,…

    Read More Sewing a BackpackContinue

  • how to sew fabric storage boxes

    How to Sew Storage Boxes

    January 26, 2017June 24, 2025 Blog, Sewing Archives
    11 Comments

    How to Sew Storage Boxes Storage boxes are always useful. I have made a number of fabric storage boxes over the last few years, and I have usually managed to find a use for them within a few days of making them. They’re great for using up fat…

    Read More How to Sew Storage BoxesContinue

  • how to make tracksuit bottoms without a pattern

    How to Make Tracksuit Bottoms

    December 30, 2016June 24, 2025 Blog, Sewing Archives
    1 Comment

    How to Make Tracksuit Bottoms My eldest boy Dominic has got to the stage where if I shut my eyes for a few seconds, when I open them I’ll find that he’s grown several cm. He never gets any wider, just taller! The trousers that a couple of…

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  • easy backpack tutorial

    Easy Backpack Tutorial

    October 4, 2016June 24, 2025 Blog, Sewing Archives
    8 Comments

    An Easy Backpack Tutorial When my boys were tiny, I always had a bag of stuff for them. Little cups with milk or water in, an extra blanket, nappies, wipes, a bib, a change of clothes, spare socks, it was easy to fill a large bag! As they got…

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  • How to Make a Shirt Without a Pattern The full tutorial showing how to make a shirt without a pattern is here on the Minerva Crafts Bloggers' Network. My third little boy, Barnabas, took a fancy to wearing shirts a couple of years ago. I don't know the exact reason but I'm guessing it's also why my second boy, Aidan, won't wear trousers unless they're tracksuit bottoms (apart from his school trousers, which he has no choice about!). As I had never made a shirt before and it was something I wanted to try, I decided to have a go at making a little shirt for Barnabas. Children are an easy shape to make things for and, being small, the things require less fabric. I also wanted to try to make a shirt without a pattern. I thought it would probably be doable as long as I kept things simple. Officially I should probably have taken all his measurements and made the pattern that way, but I did not want to chase him round the house with a tape measure and probably trip over the cat and mangle myself on Lego in the process. So instead I used one of Barnabas' t shirts as a guide for making the pattern. You can read the full tutorial showing how to make a little boy's shirt without a pattern here, including how to make the pattern pieces. Barnabas likes his shirt and I'm very happy with the way it's turned out! It is very simple, nothing fancy. The main part of the shirt is three sections. There are button bands on the front, but they're easy to do and they solve the issue of the front bits needing to be wider than just the back cut in half. The collar has a collar stand so that it sits nicely and doesn't distort the shirt. The collar was the only slightly tricky bit. I made a dress with a collar a few years ago from a pattern and it was a disaster! The instructions were totally confusing and I got into a right muddle. This time I did it my own way. It's turned out okay but I'm going to experiment a bit more next time to see if there is a really easy way to get a nice neat collar. The fabric I used is this superhero print from Minerva Crafts.

    How to Make a Shirt Without a Pattern

    August 20, 2016June 24, 2025 Blog, Sewing Archives
    2 Comments

    How to Make a Shirt Without a Pattern The full tutorial showing how to make a shirt without a pattern is here on the Minerva Crafts Bloggers’ Network. My third little boy, Barnabas, took a fancy to wearing shirts a couple of years ago. I don’t know the…

    Read More How to Make a Shirt Without a PatternContinue

  • easy childs travel pillow neck how to tutorial

    Easy Child’s Travel Pillow Tutorial

    July 21, 2016June 24, 2025 Blog, Sewing Archives
    5 Comments

    Easy Child’s Travel Pillow Tutorial If you make long car journeys with children, you want to know that they are going to be comfortable as well as safe in the back of the car. And if they get so comfortable they fall asleep, that’s even better! The problem…

    Read More Easy Child’s Travel Pillow TutorialContinue

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Wild Blossom Companion: A Gentle Beginning

A free offering of reflections, creative invitations, and journaling prompts to help you slow down, notice the seasons, and find joy in small creative moments.


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Wild Blossom Companion

The Wild Blossom Companion is a gentle, seasonal guide for creative people. You can find out more here.

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Foraged wreath... Years ago, I used to make a wre Foraged wreath...

Years ago, I used to make a wreath from flower foam and Leyland cypress. But my neighbour's cypresses where my garden joined theirs were replaced by a fence, and I eventually realised that flower foam was really just plastic, it's not recyclable or compostable and it doesn't break down properly.

In the past I've made tied wreaths and ones from dried satsumas and slices of orange.

This year I wanted to make a foraged wreath. I've tried before and what I made looked sad. I don't have access to very much willow.

I was inspired by @crochetcrazyhelen to grab some twigs and stuff them in a big pot. My garden yielded all kinds of good stuff, brambles, out of control honeysuckle, dogwood, and ivy. Being a bad gardener pays off surprisingly often!

I decided my pot was too small, so I tried a drum head (my eldest son is drummer @dominic__0036 ), but that was too big. You know what Goldilocks also had? Hair. And probably bobbles. So I bent the brambles and things round in a circle and held them in place with hair bobbles, before tying it together with wool.

I did originally plan to add some berries and seed heads, but I actually like it as it is 💖

#wildblossomlife #foragedwreath #slowdecember #natureinspired #advent #makeityourself
I know for some people, when 1st December arrives I know for some people, when 1st December arrives they want to feel ready for Christmas, to have all their decorations up and the presents at least under control if not completely sorted out.

I don't do it like that. Partly because I don't think I could ever be that organised! I used to mind that I wasn't, but now I don't. Also because I see December as the time to start things moving, not the time to have everything ready straight away. I love the idea of Advent, and I want to enjoy it, without throwing myself straight into Christmas.

Christmas can be brought in gradually. 

One of the songs currently playing inside my head is "People Look East" by Eleanor Farjeon, who incidentally also wrote "Morning has Broken". It's about preparing and making ready.

Feeling in that kind of mood today, I made the Christmas cake. A family recipe dating from 1979, in pounds and ounces, and with instructions to clean the fruit, feels comforting, especially when so much of modern Christmas seems to involve overconsumption of mass produced tat and cakes wrapped up in plastic that taste like playdoh.

These things can make the season feel mildly depressing , like a grey overlay over something that ought to make us feel good. It doesn't have to be like that. A hard no to playdoh flavoured cakes!

I've also gathered some bits to make a foraged wreath (being a terrible gardener has paid off again!), and went for a walk in the last of today's sunshine.

#December #wildblossomlife #advent #christmascake #slowdecember
2 things from today 💖 The first is a tree outs 2 things from today 💖

The first is a tree outside the co op in my village. It is a treat all year round, and it makes me feel a little bit warmer knowing that those berries are going to keep some little birds going this winter.

The second is a ball of yarn I have been making over a few days, from cotton, and tissue paper from a present.

Special things can be found in the ordinary 💖🐦‍⬛🧶

#wildblossomlife #winter #berries #paperyarn #slowingdownabit
This morning my 16 year old peered out of the wind This morning my 16 year old peered out of the window and remarked that it wasn't really light yet! 

It has been a grey, drizzly day. My youngest boy and I went out for a short walk, and I noticed the beautiful holly tree in somebody's garden, all glossy leaves and bright berries.

Before lunch, we made our Advent candle. We've been making our own from beeswax sheets for a few years now. It felt like the perfect thing to do on a gloomy day.

We lit it at dinner time, in amongst the usual mess and homework. 

#wildblossomlife #advent #adventcandle #slowdecember #ordinarydays
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