Pentagram Wreath

Just a quick post to show you the wreath that I made for Yule. I used some beautiful yellow/orange willow, five wands for each side. Cable ties and twine hold it together. It adds a nice splash of colour.

Winter Solstice

This year the Solstice has brought some freezing temperatures.When I went out with the dogs first thing, hoping to catch a glimpse of the lunar eclipse, and being disappointed due to cloud cover, it was a chilly -10. The winter Solstice has been marked and celebrated by humans for as long a they have existed on Earth. The significance of the return of the sun,longer days and the promise of spring is deeply rooted in us all. We all rely on the sun for our food and wellbeing. Its the absolute life source of our planet.
The ancient traditions celebrated in paganism allows us to find some real meaning in Yuletide celebrations. The dark days of winter are a time for us to renew ourselves and make plans for brighter days.
I am taking a break from crafting for the next couple of weeks to concentrate on making the holidays as relaxing as possible for my family. But I will also be thinking of the direction Pixie Pegs might take in 2011. Solstice greetings from Pixie Peg Crafts.xxx

Creative Genes

A week rarely goes by when my Mum doesnt come visiting bearing knitted gifts for the family, including our two Greyhounds.

This week was no exception and with more very cold weather on the cards Jodie and Peter were very glad to receive these knitted snoods which can be pulled up over their ears.The snods have a specially customed holes in them for their leads to go through. They have had some good wear out of the knitted coats Mum made for them in the Autumn and are always having them admired around the village.
Margaret is an accomplished knitter, following in the footsteps of her own Mother, Ada, who also loved to knit for others. We are lucky to have fantastic hats ,scarves, gloves jumpers and my favourite, bed socks knit for us with love and personal attention.Today is my Mum Margarets 63rd Birthday. Happy Birthday Mum. We all love your knitting.

Hexham Christmas Market

Today I had a stall at the Hexham Christmas Market,and Robyn and I were busy setting up the stall at 8am. The weather was kind, and very mild compared to recent days and weeks, most of the snow having thawed in the last couple of days. I was just outside the Abbey and a steady stream of shoppers were entertained by choirs, bands and dancers. As the morning wore on I managed to relax and actually enjoy the occasion. My Mum and Dad came to help and Mum as well as being an excellent sales woman, solved a tricky problem we were having with wind blowing things around on the stall, with the aid of a table cloth and some sellotape.

Having lost some confidence in the wreaths I had been making, I was greatly heartened to completely sell out of wreaths. The willow and Alder wreaths were particularly popular, as were the twisted Hazel ones. I have learnt a great deal from today and hope to return to the christmas market next year. I have several orders to fulfill this week and will try to sell some wreaths from the house too.

Winter Wreath

Today I've been experimental with my wreath making and have come up with an interesting winter wreath for our front door. Some fir branches vaguely in the shape of a snow flake and a shiny mirror snow flake in the centre, finished with white organza ribbon. We've had snow on the ground here for two weeks now and it has been bitterley cold every day. I'm sure my wreath will look seasonal for a few weeks to come.




This morning I went to one of my favourite shops, Rosarama Beads in Crawcrook. It would be possible to spend hours in there and still feel you hadnt looked at everything. The shop has a friendly atmosphere and the owner is always onhand with help and advice. I love it!

Christmas Market Countdown

The days seem to be flying by and its less than a week untill the Hexham Christmas market. I am getting quite nervous now and just hope I can get a good number of wreaths made this week. I collected some branches on our walk this morning and bought a bag of spagnum moss at Tom and Joes Nursery this afternoon, We also bought our christmas tree, but it will stay out in the back yard for at least another week. Its a friendly place and we enjoyed a complimentary sherry the whilst choosing the tree.



From the map you can see I am on the end of a row of stalls on Beaumont street, Hexham....not sure if its a good spot or not. Santa and his reindeers are going to be in the park so there should be a steady flow of passers by. There will also be the Farmers Market in the market square so heres hoping for decent weather.Please pop by and see me if your in Hexham on Saturday.

Wreaths...what Wreaths?

The kids have spent only one day at school this week due to all the snow and ice we have experienced. I had planned to make loads of wreaths this week for the Hexham market and to sell outside the house, but as everything is blanketed in snow I haven't managed. I did make one pine cone wreath and have plodded on with various felt decorations. I enjoyed making a couple of Christmas tree Pixie Pegs as well.

The snow has been unbelievable this week and not knowing if school is going to be open from one day to the next is very disconcerting, especially if you have to decide whether to let your child travel by bus to school on icy roads. It annoys me that teachers have had so much criticism this week for closing schools and having days off....well why don't those people who obviously think teaching is such a skive come and have a go at it. In my experience, teachers work extremely hard to the detriment of their own well being and family life to do a job that is very under valued. The education system is not a child care system as many parents seem to think.

I have reserected the advent calendar I made last year and filled each envelope with a photo from the year gone by. It's a nice way to remember the events of the past 12 months.


We've had some lovely snowy walks and lots of sledging this week as you would imagine. Even in -10 conditions this morning the Greyhounds Jodie and Peter enjoyed the snow. The river Tyne was covered in ice today for the first time all week.

Snow Time

The last few days have been dominated by a dramatic start to winter. We have had the most snow I can remember. Today the roads were pretty much impassable except in a 4x4 and the local schools closed following a heavy snowfall overnight on top of the 4 or 5 inches we already had. There was even a snow and lightening storm at dawn which was quite eerie. Some folk were determined to get out in their cars and spent ages digging cars out of drifts. The kids have enjoyed more sledging today and are hoping for a repeat performance tomorrow. I am trying hard to fit in some crafting for the Hexham Christmas market in less than 2 weeks in between drying out snowy clothes and foot wear. This week I'm supposed to be making wreaths. Hopefully I'll get cracking on these soon.

Little Russian Doll

I've had a busy couple of weeks since I last posted on the blog. I spent a week teaching year five at Ovingham Middle School and this week have been making felt items for my Hexham Christmas market stall and preparing for Robyns birthday. She is eleven years old today and turning into a young lady who I'm very proud of. She has surprised me by going to school wearing a birthday cupcake badge I made her......I forgot to take a photo. Hopefully I'll remember to take one later on. Robyn helped me with the details on this Russian doll decoration. She has a good eye for things. We've had a lot of snow over the last couple of days which is unusual for this early in the winter. Lee and I enjoyed a snowy walk in the woods with the dogs this morning. Time now to bake a Birthday cake.

Greyhound badges...work in progress.

I am currently working on some felt Greyhound badges for the retired greyhound trust,Pelaw Grange branch. Hope to get them finished in the next couple of days. I set up a little shop outside our house on Saturday to sell some wreaths and also to raise awareness of the fact that I will have wreaths for sale there through out december.

Bespoke Dog Badges

A have recently taken a few orders from pet owners who would like custom made felt dog badges. A Dachshund and a Weimaraner being amongst the more unusual.

New Shelf

My work desk has been a bit crowded lately, lots of boxes stacked up on top of one another, taking up all the room. So I got really excited when a sturdy shelf was erected above the desk a couple of evenings ago. Now I have more work space and can retreive things from the boxes more easily. Hope I can keep it tidy!

Twisted Christmas

I have been busy making wreaths and Christmas decorations this week ready for the Wylam Christmas card and craft sale, which took place yesterday morning. It was a pretty successful occasion despite being relegated to upstairs and most of the crowds remaining firmly downstairs. In my panic to get everything set up and the car loaded I forgot to take the camera for a picture of the stall. Never mind....I have finally managed to take some photos of the new stuff I made for it.


I absolutely love these twisted Hazel heart wreaths. My husband shapes and welds the frames which makes their construction quite simple. You have to listen to what every branch wants to do....they wont be forced, and why should they,they are so beautiful. I sold two at the sale and have an order for another.
I have also made several Christmas tree decorations from felt, I especially love the toadstools and the reindeer.

Christmas Puddings

What a blog slacker I have been lately....I've been busy doing supply teaching, settling in a new Greyhound, running and generally looking after the family amongst other things. Anyway enough excuses.....
Heres a xmas pud garland I have made for a friend and valued customer Liz. I hope she likes it. She is a prolific cook and asked especially for the pudding design.
I am having a stall at the Wylam charity Christmas fair next Saturday morning so I'll be busy perparing for that this week.

Release The Bats

With the summer holidays and two weeks of supply work at Ovingham Middle School I have been neglecting the blog. Still, today I have managed to update my Etsy shop with some bat hair clips for Halloween. They were very easy to make and look quite witchy. I just used the glue gun to attach the 3mm black felt bat to the matching hair clip.

Friday The 13th

Seems like a good day to show a couple of the bits i've started making for Halloween.

Resting And Making Plans

With the school holidays in full swing I haven't had much time to make things. Our mornings consist of a slow start and a long walk with the dog

There are various fields around the village that we are keeping an eye on for combine harvester and tractor action. The damp weather of the last few days has made sightings rare. But last Saturday evening we had a good look at the combine parked in a nearby field.
I have started planning what I might make for the Christmas crafts markets I'll attend. Lets hope this forward thinking can translate into actual action so theres no last minute panic. I've also started some work on a few Halloween items.

Greyhound Necklace

Today we joined friends of North East Greyhound Rescue on their monthly walk. This is always an enjoyable morning. I love seeing happy hounds and chatting to the other Greyhound owners who share a passion for this special breed. I have donated a few of my felt Greyhound badges previously for the raffle and fundraising and today gave a necklace I made .The rescue has asked me to make some more to sell and I am happy to do this and donate the proceeds to the good work of the rescue. Greyhounds make wonderful pets. They are relaxed and placid animals whose relationship with man goes back to the early ages. Their website is
http://www.greyhoundrescue.net/

40th Birthday Badge

My friend and neighbour Clare Render turns 40 tomorrow. She is a twin and is having a party with her sister Rachel in her home town of Liverpool. Unfortunately we cant make it, so I have made Clare a funky badge to wear at her party. I hope she likes it.

New Baby Garland

I have had a busy week working on three different commissions. The christening garland, a Jack Russell badge for my friend Judys'neice and a garland for a new baby called Poppy. I have enjoyed custom making these items. As you can see the babys name lent itself easily to a floral design.

Christening Garland

My friends Claire and Steve asked me to make a garland for their neice who is to be christened at the weekend. Her name is Phoebe which means the sun, so I decided a sunflower theme would be fitting.I have used almost completely pure wool felt and a few pearl beads. My friend Angela has asked me to make a similar garland for her friends new baby called Poppy.

Mushroom Necklace

This afternoon I made this sweet mushroom necklace. I used 3mm felt for the base and added thinner felt on top for the detail. I had some waxed cotton lying around so glue gunned it using a small piece of felt to attach it. I think its quite cheery.

Baby Bunting

My neighbours and dog walking friends Kate and Mark became the proud parents of twins a couple of weeks ago. I decided to make them some bunting to decorate the nursery. I recycled some terry towling nappies, a little unusual and it has taken me a while to decide if it was any good. I have embelished each flag with a pastel coloured heart shaped button. I neglected to take a decent picture of it when I hung it up temporarily, and had begun ironing it and neatly folding it before I remembered I should probably take a photo. Oh well. So heres a small snap to give you an idea of what it looks like.

Pine Cone Wreath

Here is the pine cone wreath I made a couple of days ago. Its on a steel frame and is robust enough to go outside. I used a glue gun to stick the pine cones together and to the frame. i used organza ribbon to finish it. It is for sale in my ETSY shop.

Wylam Summer Fair

This weekend has been a bit hectic...I had a stall at Wylam Summer fair and ran the 3 mile fun run too.The stall was pretty successful and i sold several wreaths, lots of badges and hair clips. I was pretty stressed setting things out. This was my home turf and I was feeling a bit insecure. Thankfully feedback was good and I sold quite a lot of stuff.I was particularly pleased with a large pine cone wreath I made.
I decided to put myself under even more pressure by taking part in the annual fun run. Last year I was last. This year however after a years worth of consistent training I wasn't and managed to knock 4 minutes off last years time. I probably could have gone faster, but it was a hot day. Since I took up running a year ago I have dropped 2 dress sizes and gained a great deal of emotional strength and stability. That is more than enough. My husband Lee won the race in a new v40 record time. Robyn was first 9-11 girl. Thanks to my mum Margaret who did a great job working on the stall while I was running and to all the lovely people who bought something.