Wild flowers in the kitchen.

I love flowers and gardens. These flowers look lovely, yet they grow on their own in an abandoned garden. It is a private garden so don't worry, I don't go picking flowers from public places... but there is someone who picks flowers from my front yard! 

I just can't enjoy a single flower if I leave it in the plant. I hope to catch the thief and explain to him that it takes time to wait for a flower to grow, money to buy the bulbs and a lot of dedication even if it is a very small front yard, around one square metre. They are my flowers after all. 

Today I took Raquel to school in the rain. Both our umbrellas broke so we had to go all the way under the broken umbrellas, sheltering ourselves as best as we could. Then took the car to the mechanic, went to have a coffee at a restaurant with a play area so little one could play while we sat. Then I knitted a bonnet but still have to attach the ribbons to it. I will be able to sell it as soon as it is ready. In the afternoon I cooked some kosksu, a traditional Maltese recipe (pasta bead soup) and it tasted really great. Dinner is ready too... baked fish, caponata and baked potatoes with rosemary and fennel seeds. I know all the traditional recipes by heart. The herbs are smelling so nice! I had some frozen basil and fresh mint and marjoram. I can't grow basil right now because it is too cold. The mint plant was dying because I forgot to water it. Hope it does not die.. maybe new sprouts will grow if I water it regularly soon!

It's time to continue my next project now... another bonnet for baby! 

Thanks for looking :)

My hand made items for sale

I have relisted some items on internet. Here are the links:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/390386144047?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649#ht_500wt_949

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/390386147107?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649#ht_500wt_949

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/390386145306?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649#ht_500wt_949

Thanks for looking!

A Sunday spent with the family.

We spend most Sundays surrounded by my family. Sometimes my brother and sister come, but my father and his sisters, my aunts are always there! We enjoy the day cooking, talking, watching television and knitting or crocheting together. The children play in the back yard and the dog sits beside the heater. I thank God for all of this! It was a cold day today! We have stayed inside all the time but enjoyed each others' company just the same.

Thanks to my brother, my computer is working again. It is very old though and he's been warning me soon it will only be good to be thrown away! I'm hoping it lasts a bit longer as I am not working now and don't feel like spending a lot but who can live without this blessed machine nowadays. It is very important to me as I keep contact with the rest of the world through it. It's a meeting place, a shopping centre, a place to display my crafts... a whole world of entertainement!

This photo is of my first baby... lol... Sam will always be a baby! No matter how old he gets he still keeps asking for cuddles. Miguel likes him a lot and feeds him everyday, not that the dog is unable to feed by itself, but it likes being treated like a baby! I wonder why some people are afraid of dogs. It's more likely to be hurt by other people than by a dog. He is still happy to see you after spending a day waiting for you to come back from work or from a day out! Some children found Sam nine in 1998. It was a stray dog, full of fleas and ticks. It was only a few weeks old and could hardly walk. No one would take him home as all mothers refused to allow their children to keep it. I thought I would find him a home... yes of course mine! I took it inside, spent a whole evening washing it and with my mother's help we removed all the tiny creatures from it's wounded body. It had patches of fur missing because some 20 fleas were drinking its blood on one spot! The wounds healed within a few days... and the dog which I thought was grey turned whiter and whiter as I washed it again and again! Sam gives us lots of love. The house has never been empty with it around. We celebrate it's birthday in July :)

<center><a href="http://thepinkslippers.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i386.photobucket.com/albums/oo310/shabbycreations2/blogbadge-8.png"
border="0" /></a><center></center></center> Is one of the blogs I like and follow. I admire this mother of eight! She must be a great woman! I will stop complaining of tiredness. I only have two children.

A day full of fun!

Today we have been out all day at the indoor play area. The children enjoyed jumping around at the play area while I could watch and relax for an hour. We went to have a meal and a coffee later with friends. We really had a good time. I even took my knitting and crochet with me and managed to finish a bun holder to sell. Now I will give the children a bath. They love bathing so much especially with the heaters on. It's very cold today and even the dog tries to cuddle up. We don't have heating inside our house so when we turn on a heater everyone goes near it to get warm!

Ponchos, hand crocheted in double knitting yarn. All proceedings for charity!

I'm still learning how to use this blog and today I found out why my posts appear without a title! Simply because I had not noticed the empty space at the top of the screen! It must be the rush of the day. Little one is always buzzing around looking for naughty things to do... like dropping crisps and trying to sweep the floor :) He's so funny! I can not stop following him though while I'm a the computer as it's easy for him to get hurt. The playpen became quite useless as he can climb out of it like spider man! Raquel is quiet now but we're insisting on her to take care of her things rather than let them lie around. It's not an easy job but she's learning. Children grow so fast and learn so quickly... all it takes is motivation!

I can't stop thanking God for what we have and who we are.  Today I met a friend of mine who has been to Africa. I was amazed by the stories she related from her first hand experience. God bless all children and all the volunteers who give their precious time for them.

I appeal to all those who can help a voluntary organisation to help by sending a donation if they cannot spare time. I am not able to give help to poor children as mine still need so much attention. Maybe one day when they grow up I'll be able to visit a poor country and give some of my time too. At the moment I am potting some plants to sell through a bazaar for Kenya. A friend of mine also crocheted ponchos and my aunt is trying to sell them through her shop. Prices vary according to sizes. If you are interested please leave a message. Other colours are available on request. I can list them on ebay for you when they are ready.

This is one of my daughter's bags. It used to be a shirt! Recycling is better than using new material as it saves money and you can be proud you did not waste an unwanted or damaged thing! My little princess was really happy with this bag! We used it to carry food, clothes or toys sometimes. Everyone liked it especially because her name was written on it :) Now I'm knitting her a dress, trying to finish a blanket and planning to do some favours for her First Holy Communion. Still have to decide what to do and I will have a look at all the old and new patterns I have at home! A huge pile that takes hours to examine. In the meantime the children can play around me. I thank God for all the blessings he gave me. Of course I am very busy but I am happy.

This week we are staying at home. Raquel and I are both unwell. Can't wait until we go out again as I don't like staying indoors too much but on the other hand I thank God that it's only a cough and it will be over in a few days!

In the meantime I can teach her how to read, how to knit and spend more time with her. We can bake a cake together roo :) Raquel loves cooking and eating too!

My favourite cake is the marble cake, using olive oil instead of margarine. It's yummy and no one ever notices it does not contain butter or margarine! 

Another crocheted item, very delicately crafted indeed! It's a ballet crochet bun holder. I sold this on ebay but I plan to make some more! I would have liked to do some crochet or knitting today but I'm feeling like lazying around today. After all it's Sunday and I should rest a bit. Tomorrow I've got plenty to do. Clothes to put in their places, washing and the worst job of all... trying to keep the house in order. With two little ones around it looks like Tasmania has been visiting!

Scarves and cold weather go together! It is very rare to be this cold in Malta. It's rare that I go out wearing scarves, but this year I do go back and fetch one when I open the door. The north winds are so cold! My children are keeping their hats and scarves on too which is unusual! We all love to be warm! 

The cold weather, wind and rain won't keep us inside today. We have already been to visit friends this morning and now we're going to get a haircut. I made an appointment for all of us! We need it badly as I often forget to make the phone call to the hairdresser. 

Wish everyone a nice and warm day! 

Cakes are my passion! But they do take a lot of time and patience to make! I don't do them for sale but when my children's birthdays come I always try to do my best to impress them. Of course I don't allow them to choose a complicated thing. A simple round or square cake can be cut in many shapes and easily covered  with this sugar paste icing. You just roll it with a rolling pin. Anyone who wishes to do a similar one don't give up! It is simple and impresses the kids!

Raquel helping with sugar paste icing!

Birthday cake ready!

Today I have been to the mother and child group organised by the parish church. It is so much fun for both children and parents! The children can play, draw, sing and meet their peers while we can have some tea or coffee... not in peace though as the children's laughter and screams brighten the day! It's a pity many women do not come as they think their children are too little or because they say they are too busy to come! I'd rather see my children happy than do one hour of house work. I do all the necessary work later. Its' not the end of the world after all!




At the moment there's a lot going on in the Maltese islands. We are preparing for a very big festivity. It's carnival time and all the Maltese would be looking at the shops for carnival costumes for their children. Even adults dress up sometimes. I like to buy costumes online but sometimes the sizes are tricky. Like a couple of years ago I bought this lovely costume which said it would fit a 4 year old... but it did not! That's where golden hands come in handy! I went to a crafts shop and bought a yellow stretchy fabric. I added it to the sleeves and pants and no one could tell it was not part of the costume! There is Raquel posing for photos on one of the carnival floats. They are awesome!!! They are all hand made with papier mache! At night they are lit up and they're simply beautiful!

Raquel posing on the carnival float!

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One of the floats in Floriana, near the capital city Valletta. There were so many. I wonder what this year's floats will look like! I only hope the weather is good!

I crocheted this lovely dress from lilac yarn and used different yarn for trimmings at the edges. It sure looks cute!

 This doll's dress is in eyelash yarn bought from Turkey. The hat is crocheted but the dress is hand knitted. I made ones in blue, red and pink too. They all sold out, some of them even landed in Australia! All my clients were satisfied with the items. Very often I do insure the postage as some clients like the dolls so much they claim they haven't received their item just to get a second one for free... one even tried to cheat on me for the third time in a row on the same item! She must have liked the dolls so much :)

These are the dolls I am selling.

I have knitted and crocheted a lot of things but I also like paper crafts. Sometimes friends do like my home made greeting cards. This is one I would like to show. It was carefully made with coloured tissue papers as I could not find the colours I wanted in papers. Sometimes I use old magazines and used wrapping papers too! 


The background paper was one I found in my mother's crafts file. She was learning how to do these cards. I would have loved to continue showing her how to make such things but unfortunately she lost her battle with cancer. My father gave me all her crafts items. I gave her friends some of the crafts items, mostly the beading items. I kept the papers and hope when she watches from the sky she sees the beautiful cards and blesses the people who receive them.

Today it was a cold damp day! It reminded me of some of the items I had knitted for my newborn two years ago. I started taking photos of all the things I make and save them. I cannot keep everything I make so I keep the photos. The first is a hat knitted in very soft and thick yarn. I gave it away to the poor as soon as my son grew out of it. The other is a part of an outfit I knitted for my baby when I was still pregnant. He looked so comfortable in it! I will keep this outfit for his children to wear!

I was inspired by this blogger. I like this blog!

Hi! My name is Eleanor Pace. I have started to think about having my own blog a long time ago. Now I decided to make it real at last. A friend of mine visited me today and showed me a few blogs. I really liked the things other people were writing and showing, especially hand-made things, knitted items and activities carried out with children. I will try to post at least once a week as I'm very busy with my two children. I try to keep them busy and happy. Before I became a stay at home mum I was teaching in a primary state school. I loved my job but decided to have a break to raise my own children. I could not think of leaving the children in play schools. I know that they do a good job, but I still believe that children need their mothers a lot in the early years most of all.

My family comes first in my life, and next come my hobbies. I love making clothes for my children and for dolls too! Knitting and crochet are my favourite activities in winter. In summer it is too hot for yarn crafts in Malta. I spend most of summer time doing paper crafts and visiting beaches on my lovely island of Malta.

Here is one of the dolls I gave as a Christmas gift to a dear friend who lives abroad. I have sold many others too.