Folksy Friday - Winter Woollies

As the weather is beginning to get a little colder lately my Folksy Friday theme this week is Winter woollies. 

Fir Tree Knitwear

100% wool socks featuring a lovely reindeer design

Quilting Demon

These mitts with a decorative felt flower are made from up cycled sweaters

thistledown&HOPE

This hot water bottle cover is my favourite from the thistledown&HOPE shop (I do love duck egg blue)

Roses Workshop

Hand knitted ear warmer made with British wool

More Tea, Vicar?

This infinity scarf is available in 6 colours

It was difficult trying to make a selection this week as I do like my woolens to keep the chill off. 

Thank you for stopping by.

Have a great weekend 

Making Bonding Squares

Yesterday one of my friends social media posts was about a hospital running out of bonding squares and they were asking for knitters and crocheters to make some. I have knitted tiny hats and mittens for premature babies in the past but I've never heard of bonding squares before. They are 5 inch squares, made in pairs then one is placed with the baby and the other is given to the parent.

I thought they were an ideal way to use up spare wool and I made five pairs last night.

Information and the address to post the squares to can be found here

Marbury Country Park

At the weekend we nipped over to Marbury Country Park. It's a lovely place to visit especially at this time of the year and as it is local I have been many times though it has changed considerably since I was a child.  

I was surprised at how quiet the park was considering the weather wasn't too bad. The park is extremely busy during Summer and there is always some kind of activity on the mere. 

Marbury Park was originally the site of a grand family estate until it was sold in the 1930's. The hall then had a number of uses including a country club (the open air pool is still there and in use) and during the Second World War, a military camp and prisoner of war camp. The last hall was demolished in 1968 though stonework and steps which formed the raised terraces in the formal gardens still remain. The walled garden now houses a garden centre.

The first ghost story I ever heard (passed on by my lovely cousins) was about the Marbury Lady. The version I was told is that she could be seen in the park on a horse but I think this is where stories have been a bit mixed up. There is a legend of a ghost horse, The Marbury Dun, but I think they are separate stories. Anyway, I've been there lots of times at night during my youth and never seen a thing.

Our main reason for going was to try and encourage Opie to walk.

This photo shows how he behaves when we take him out. He stiffens his body and backs up,very reluctant to move at all (Never have I seen a dog to be so pleased to return back home, he runs around and rolls about like crazy). We know that he's not too keen on pavements but discovered he likes to walk through leaves. Opie actually seemed be enjoying himself. We'll have to take him back while there are still plenty of leaves on the ground.

The photo of Marbury Hall is from The Friends of Anderton and Marbury

Folksy Friday - Christmas Cards

This is my first Folksy Friday post and my chosen theme is Christmas greeting cards. There are so many different styles available, all tastes are catered for. These are just a few of my favourites.

sally and the freckles

I love the cuteness and humour on Sally's cards

Artwork By Angie

This card set has a traditional British look to them.

Dog As Pony

A great craft theme card

Stephanie Short Stationary

These personalised colour in cards are ideal for keeping children busy on the lead up to Christmas

Poppins And Co

I don't think that I could chose a favourite from this set of hand drawn animal cards

I hope something caught your eye from this small selection.

A Busy Few Days

Recently I made the decision to plunge in to the world of selling online. Its something my friends and family have been encouraging me to do for years and it is something I've thought about but that is as far as it got, just thinking.

I made this Boston terrier plush last month which was inspired by vintage plush toys with disproportionately long limbs. Not seeing anything like it around and knowing how many people love this breed of dog I thought that maybe it would be a good thing to begin with.

I've made a few variations since making my first one

 and some Christmas decorations.

Coming up with a name for a shop was more difficult than I thought it would be. I didn't want to use any words such as felt, crochet, knitted, etc as then I'd be tying myself down to one specific product. I tried using the children's and pets names but nothing sounded right. Next I tried an online anagram generator and popped my name in. Using one of the results, I knocked off a couple of letters, added a Y and that is how I found the name, Molly Moochins. Everyone seems to like it  (I searched google and social media sites to make sure no one had used it)

I was ready to make a seller account so signed up on Etsy. Everything was going fine until I got to the verification stage where I had to photograph a driving licence or passport. This is where I got stuck because I have neither. I contacted customer services and if you have ever tried to get in touch, you will know that they don't rush. It took four days to get a response regarding verification but they accepted a utility bill and birth certificate as proof instead.

Next I made a shop on Folksy and made accounts under the Molly Moochins name on Twitter and Instagram. (My eyes have been killing me the past couple of days by constantly looking at screens) I'm not sure about making a page on Facebook yet. I keep my account private, just as a way to keep in touch with my family.

These are the places I can be found -

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/MollyMoochins

https://folksy.com/shops/MollyMoochins

https://twitter.com/MollyMoochins

https://www.instagram.com/mollymoochins

If anyone reading has experience selling online I would be grateful for any advice you could give me. I've been reading lots of tips but I'm sure I've probably missed something.