Funky eyelash yarn toilet roll cover! Suits all styles!

I just finished knitting this gorgeous dress for the doll! It looks gorgeous... almost makes me want to keep it for myself. It would be lovely in my aunt's summer house! It's on sale right now but if it does not sell I'll be happy to keep this one. It's original as I made up the pattern from my fantasy. The hat and the scarf make it so chic!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=390392961990#ht_500wt_949

Carnival costumes and celebrations in Malta

Here are my little ones all dressed up for carnival festivities! The little one is dressed as a spider, a very naughty one and has to be held by princess Snow White to be captured in a photo!

I want the camera please! 

A walk by the beach on such a lovely winter day! It looked like Spring was around  on Friday. We're back to winter today :(

Our Visit to Gozo. The Light House!

A walk to the light house... what a fantastic view of Gozo! This island, just a few minutes away from the main island is full of natural beauty. It is fun to visit and we try to go as often as we can. This time we went to the light house to take a few photos. Miguel was sleeping so I took Raquel to the top of the hill to see the light house. We enjoyed taking photos of each other. She took some photos of me, wearing the red scarf and hat I knitted. She wore the aran hat and the pink scarf which my mum had knitted when she was two. We treasure this scar. She has a matching hat which I found this week at last. I really looked everywhere for the matching hat but only found it when I finally decided to pull the drawer out. And we found the white scarf too! The carpenter must have left too much space behind the drawers that we could not notice the scarf and hat were hiding there. Next time I know where to look for them :)

A long long time ago I could even knit some dolls and pay attention to their details! I am putting this old photo in my blog because these are two of my favourite dolls. It took me a whole week of knitting after coming home from work. If I try to do one now it will take me months... so I gave up on dolls and try to concentrate on my little treasures... my children!

Will try to upload the carnival photos soon!

Trying to sell online! Toilet roll cover and doll :)

Another doll's dress finished, hat ready, details in place... looks gorgeous! Will sell this one too on a site. It is hard to find time to read about etsy shops but it interests me a lot. Will not have much time to write and post next week. I am planning to do some spring cleaning and to organise my son's second birthday party. Will have to remember to buy candles, balloons and whatever I can remember for the party. The worst of all is that this week it is carnival week so we will go out almost every day!

Well, I have to find time to keep little one occupied... right now he looks pretty sleepy... must I clean, knit more items to sell, hang the clothes, do the beds? Where do I start from while he sleeps... the most difficult task to perform while he is awake is washing the floor so that is the best thing to do while he is tired. He must be tired after walking along all the Birzebbuga coast! We left the buggy at home today and jogged, walked or ran all the way!!
Good day to all my readers and Happy Carnival to all the children around the world who will be celebrating this weekend! Enjoy it!

http://visitmalta.com/carnival?l=1

I have been really busy knitting and oops! Forgot to take pictures of the lovely socks I made. I sold them to my aunts so I am sure they won't mind if I took a photo of the socks when I visit! I am knitting more pairs but with the house work and minding the children it's hard to finish off the things I start. I am knitting two scarves now, one for my son and one for my niece. One is almost finished and the other is less than half way. Today I sold one of the dolls. I am so happy... as if I won the lottery :)










How did you spend Valentine's day? I made my husband a lovely card for valentine's day. We spent the day at home as he was working a night shift that night. He  said we can celebrate it on another day. My aunts offered to baby sit on a day we choose so we can go on a romantic meal. I hardly ever go out without them. I won't be swallowing my meals just for once!

Scenes like these drive some mothers crazy but they are quite normal and necessary for the child!


 I tend to eat my meals like a dog in a hurry! That's because my little one makes such a disaster during meals. Miguel tries to climb on the table and grab someone else's drinks and food. We're working hard on it but it's not easy. He also learnt to climb into the high chair but I tell him off as I am sure he can fall any time. Moreover he cannot get down and tries to jump off as if he was sky diving! He's really afraid of nothing. Raquel is becoming a little more educated and has got some manners mastered now. At least she knows that at a restaurant she must not put her hands inside the plates and eat like a monkey :) Children go through that phase and it is quite natural for them. It helps them psychologically to enjoy their meal. Exploring is fundamental for the children to discover what the food feels like. Many parents don't like it. I don't like it but I do accept that behaviour even though I feel like fainting when I see the food flying to the floor.

Raquel is back from school now and I have to have a look at what she is doing. She's doing her home work. In Malta everyone gets home work from five years upwards. God helps the teacher if she fails to give them some, even after an outing! She would get bad reports from parents. I think that play time is important for the children but since the system is what it is we have to comply. Therefore she has to do home work and even extra work when she gets things wrong. We leave play time for Saturday and Sunday but sometimes I give her 30 mins study time so she does not fall back. It's tough but it is for her own good after all. I am trying not to over-do it. Hope I am doing the right thing.

Wish you all a good day, afternoon or night wherever you are. May God bless you!

This weekend we have been enjoying each other's company. As it was St. Paul's feast, Raquel was not at school and we decided to go out. First the decision was to go to Mellieha, then we ended up in Gozo to our favourite restaurant. Later we took Raquel to see the light house. Miguel slept in the car and given that the place is not very safe for toddlers Simon stayed in the car with him. The road is steep and uphill and the edges are not guarded with a fence. After that we went to the playing field at Munxar where I met a friend I had not seen for around a year. Our children played together and had a lot of fun while I could sit and watch sometimes... until little one woke up and started running around. Unfortunately efforts to make these playing fields safe were useless as they are situated on a main road and nobody put a gate on any of the entrances of the play area. A child might just run out at any time so you have to be extra careful with toddlers. The best playing fields are those which can be closed completely like in Sliema and Naxxar. The children don't know it is dangerous so we have to take care. It is not easy as sometimes their behaviour is unpredictable.

Yesterday we spent the day cooking rabbit stew, pancakes and watching TV. I am very sorry for what is happening in Greece. The common people always have to pay for BIG mistakes which they did not commit. Poverty in Europe is a shame and that is where they are heading to... what a pity. It is a beautiful country which I must take my kids to visit when they are a bit older. I think if Zeus was real he would be throwing lightening arrows to the people in power!

How to make a simple paper party bag!

This is a simple idea of how to make party bags. They cost much less than the ready-made plastic ones and it's much fun to make for the birthday princess/prince!

1.  Take an A4 paper and use masking tape to reinforce the handle piece. Stick it from side to side. 

2. Glue the edges and fold unequally, leaving a 1cm gap. Fold the gap inwards.  Also glue and fold the bottom part to make the bag more secure. It will keep the toys and sweets from running out through the bottom!

3. With my special scissors I cut the handles. Fold the paper bag just below the masking tape. Make  half an oval shape.

4. When the party bag is finished you can ask your child to decorate them as she wishes. I never heard Raquel saying she's tired of putting stickers but it happened today!

It is eco-friendly too!

Sunday 5th February

We have been out all day on Sunday. We celebrated dad's and my brother's birthday but as usual I keep forgetting... sorry brother... I forgot your gift :) Hope to see you soon again on Sunday or any day if you wish to come here. The cake was great but the meal was not well cooked. A little monster decided to turn off the oven for me and the chicken was only half cooked! What a pity!

I have spent many hours knitting this week. I have made these two hats, a pair of socks and will make another pair soon! 

Finally I got these two items ready and for sale on ebay. They are lovely and took hours to make but it seems that no one appreciates or all the world has gone poor! No bids for days puts you off trying to do something to help your own financial situation :( Thank God we are not that low but it would have been nice to be able to sell. It's such a satisfaction to be able to earn something! I can't make them at a lower price, they are the cheapest I can put them. Postage costs are something I cannot avoid.

Flying high!

My little ones a few weeks ago had fun riding this helicopter! They are such a handful but they have given us so much love and happiness! Who knows what they are thinking while they are playing? They look happy and that is what matters most!

Things I make for my little ones.

Here is my little prince wearing a sweater I knitted for him in double knitting yarn. We went to take some photos in the playing field. He likes it there. He can run in his comfortable warm clothes!

Now I am knitting this dress for Raquel! It looks quite big. Hope it fits well. The problem is that I used different wool and needles than the pattern... so the hope is that the finished project is not out of proportion. At the moment I am knitting a pair of bed socks, a couple of hats... I start a thing and then I continue another... I must start to finish them all off one after the other. 

I do sell some items online but I am not selling these items. I notice that on some sites people stress that their items come from a pet free home. Well what's the problem with the pets? Mine does not sleep in the wardrobes and does no damage to the clothes or toys. Ok maybe you can find a pet-hair somewhere sometimes on my clothes but it never killed anybody! So why worry if the seller has pets at home?

Today I did not work much as I was busy making a cake for my dad's and brother's birthday. We also went to the mechanic to check our car speedometer as it looks like it's showing the wrong numbers... we're hardly moving and it shows we are going fast! We'll get it fixed on Monday morning he said. Then we went to a birthday party... it was such a busy day and time flew so quickly! I had a good time talking to a friend while waiting for Raquel to come out of the party too. I thank God all the time for my family, my friends and even for the problems I have... because they are things I can handle. God bless all those who read my posts. May you have peace in your heart. That leads to happiness. Worry is a waste of time and jealousy is madness. So I take life one day at a time and try to enjoy each minute.

Hand knitted jacket for a little princess.

Raquel's jacket finally fits! I made this jacket from a pattern but used a different yarn type! The result was a bigger jacket which had to wait in the wardrobe a couple of years at least! It looks gorgeous on her... I have some more yarn... maybe I'll knit her pyjamas in this fur-like yarn. It cost me around 6 euros worth of yarn and 3 for the pattern. I'm so proud of the things I make. I owe it all to my grandma Maria and to my aunts who helped me learn how to knit even though I was left handed. It was very hard at first but now I can do whatever I want... or almost. There are a few difficult patterns which I did not manage to make and I will not try them right now. I just can't concentrate on something with two little tots running and spinning around like bumble bees :)