Friday Randomly Sharing

The books I just took our of the library (been reserved for a while so excited) and Nessa knitted in Fyberspates

• This week I loved this article... 

Science tells you how to make the most of your strong will. It totally makes sense now why that chocolate bar (yes all of it, looks SO good in the evening!)

• I have been travelling with work quite a bit, and was wondering whether...

I could be sleeping in a replicate of Van Gogh's bedroom (in Chicago)?

I am just wondering whether my work will pay for me to stay in Central London in this Tree House Room/Hotel if I have a late night at work (because it would totally make these extra hours worth it!)

• I will be reading... 

Harry Potter no 8 due out this summer!!!!! OMG! I may actually be pre-ordering it now!

• I will be sewing

A similar version of this version of the Magellan top. 

How cute is the mini-Briar? Not sure it is Baby MiH's style though...

The Fold Line January sewing pattern round up - I love the Tulip skirt

• Not a lot of new knitting patterns, but ...

I love hand knitted hats - and Tanis'collection is beautiful! 

Jog-less when knitting in the round trick - oh yes!

• Cooking... 

Oh this vegan creamy soup would be ideal, for like: right now... It is so cold, I just want to be at home all the time, and drink soup all day. 

A new cookbook totally up my street (due out in May though...)

• A trick for quilting.. 

I love quilting with triangles - but technique sucks - here is a how to that will help me (and you!)

• Last minute V-Day stuff... 

I have done nothing for V-Day! But I might be able to sneak in a couple of these crochet hearts around the house (free pattern of course)... 

Hello February! Depressing January is finished. Actually it went very quickly for me. I am back at work - and it is good to have my routine back on track and feeling a bit independent. However it has also been hard to be back where I used to go, working with the people I used to know, not knowing who I am anymore. My work used to excite me, working with all sorts of people (albeit mostly men - thank you glass ceiling), managing to push through ideas. But now I am back in the same culture with the same people, working on the same issues - when I have been on a steep learning curve about everything (except work). I will not make a rash decision about this - it is easy to come back, reactivate my network (not so easy to tell them why I was gone for so long though) and do what is expected of you (without thinking too much about it). I know it is not a long term solution, but a stable medium-term solution.

And I am comforted after talking to friends and colleagues who seem to go through a sort of mid-life crisis in a major way, and are more lost than I am. To be fair, I have read a few magazines in the last week (a business travelling delight) and found that everyone is talking about the fact that women should be happy and why we are not. So no wonder my friends are feeling fragile. They have a full life, and have been going at it for the last 10 years, the career, the husband (still there or not anymore), the kids etc. and now they are in therapy (not all my friends but some). At least they have a way of dealing with this period. I will keep drinking my green juice, go back to healthy eating, crafting and reading about creating meaningful moments and surrounding myself with meaningful objects (and keep my matching underwear in check).

I carried on with my (future) clutter free home, and kept a sixth of my clothes - and oh it felt good - soooo gooood, and it feels amazing in the morning as well. It has also energised me for craft projects. I can see what I like to wear now, the finishing I prefer. It is a great experience. And I cannot wait to start with my kitchen - and get rid of it all. Now Mr MiH is really scared. He can see I am on a roll, and that this little machine is not slowing down.

Except when I am knitting of course. I may have over committed myself recently and be quite upset about it (hence not a little post to go on about last week). It feels like my craft time ( ie dedicated to projects for myself or my family) is non-existent. I find it highly frustrating but being it all down to my own decisions, there is not a lot I can do - just suck it up and get on with it. Mr MiH asked whether there was a lesson to be learnt here, I just looked in anger at his smug face, because he is right there is a lesson, but stating the obvious is not helping right now. I made a schedule to allocate time to my projects, so hopefully these can be shared here soon.

Depressing January is gone, welcome cold February! And travelling. We will be in the Netherlands this weekend - did I tell you that Mr MiH used to work there - and to France for our annual skiing trip (with in situ babysitting facilities, of the best kind, aka my parents!). Exciting times! Who is excited about February?

This photo was taken during the same one day of snow we had in January. I maximised on the opportunity, and took as many pictures as I could - in case I needed them for the blog because you never know when a picture of snow is needed.

Oh well, hello December! I was glad to see the back of October, November had its fair share of challenging time, especially Little Baby MiH's birthday, and I am hoping that December will see us getting into our new normal. Of course there is nothing normal about December. We are gearing up at home or at work for Christmas celebrations, but in our household there are also Baby MiH's birthday and mine. And this year I decided to celebrate both. Baby MiH will have his party, with all his friends, and I will actually do something for mine. Not sure what, but I will. 

There will be a lot to be organised at home, in addition to Baby MiH advent activity calendar (an activity a day, some are as simple as drinking hot chocolate on the sofa). But I have a few things finished to share, including Pokiha (finally), Baby MiH's mittens (unlikely to ever be featured as Baby MiH keeps wanting to keep them in his pocket). I also sewed a top, it is a muslin version, and would really want to make a final version for the celebrations. I also started a new jumper, so I am hoping to make some progress on this over the course of the month. 

I am hoping to have a couple of guest bloggers lined up. My friend Debs will be sharing her #followyourpassion story - I am so excited about it! - and Carla will be telling us more about the way she blogs. Hopefully there will be a few tips and inspiration for you as well as for me. 

Finally Christmas would not be Christmas without (handmade) presents. Do you find it much easier to make handmade presents for women than men? Plenty of ideas of women, nearly none for men, except socks and scarves... Any ideas are welcomed, I would like to make everyone something, but I do not want to waste energy on presents that will be kept in a dark corner of a cupboard. 

Good riddance October! I am glad to see the back of you. Not that November does not have its challenges - Little Baby MiH's birthday is going to be tough. And I am sure as we get more information about what happened, I may grow angrier. 

I have not planned the November posts. However I do have two finishes to show here (I already showed them on IG and facebook), but I need some time to take some proper pictures and also tweak them a bit. I am doing a test knit for Libby that should be finished by mid-November - so once I decided on my yarn I will get on with it. I have also plans for my natural dyed fabric. I am definitely filling my time with crafting projects, so maybe November will be quite full in the end. 

I have also found that being healthy is helping managing my emotions. It is not stopping me crying every day, but it gives me the energy to keep going when Baby MiH is around. I obviously started my healthy path a few months ago - but only now I have found how much it helps with the nights and keeping a clear head. In true French style, I have been offered pills by my family. I have decided to stick to my guns, and refuse all of this and find another path. I am hoping to share a bit more here. 

A year ago we made a trip to Thorpe Forest and playing green tourists. I took this picture there. I am hoping to find calm and serenity again one day. 

Hello October! Everything seems to start to slow down at the MiH house. Every project requires weeks of preparation before being ready to share (and I am not even talking about knitting). We are slowly hibernating, and that is fine. I like to take things slowly, especially as I know it will all be over next month when I go back to work. So one month of slowness is fine by me. 

I love October, not sure about November, and adore December. The colours are magnificient, you get some sunny days and beautiful natural light. I love planning for chunkier knits, hats, mittens and throws. All of these are on my to-do list, and I may have some spare projects if I got bored. 

I am hoping to finish my double moss cardigan - and just move on to something else! I have started to follow Rebecca's tutorial on natural dyeing  - I am on the final stage of getting the fabric ready - so there may be some progress to share this month on that front. The boys need beanie hats and scarves - I know one of them will love wearing both, the other is yet to be convinced that anything on his head is a good idea, I am hoping he will get used to the idea (like soon!). 

I have also asked some guest bloggers to help me out - Charlie of Offset Warehouse will tell us all about running her own ethical online fabric shop, and Cecile will share a tutorial on making an Autumn wreath (I cannot tell you how excited I am she said yes). 

I do have some finish projects for you too. And I will finally share with you what I did with this embroidery work. 

More knitting, more sewing, more inspiration... I hope you will join me and enjoy October as much as I will!

The picture was taken yesterday when Little Baby MiH and I were on a walk. 

* Don't forget to enter my current giveaway here*

It is September and I was in school for such a long time that it still feels like it is the start of my new year – and my kids are not even going to school yet! Forget about 1 January, 1 September is where the real deal is when it comes to start afresh. So it is no coincidence that I decided to resume blogging today. 

We have been busy at MiH - enjoying the holidays, spending with family in France, spending time as a family at Camp Bestival. Our usual routine is starting again this week - although in the back of my mind I know that in two months’ time I am about to change all that and go back to work. But let's not even go there.

I also needed some time away from the blog to decide what I was going to do in this space. I have been finding that many bloggers I have been following have been blogging less and less – favouring Instagram to share their projects – and I am just very slow at finishing projects, so I have never felt I had enough content to post on the blog. This is in partly due to the babies, but also because my craft process is just slow.

For a while I was asking myself whether it was even worth resuming the blog. And then at the end of July I decided that it was worth the effort, but that it had to be more in line with me. I wanted this blog to move forward and reflect the new ways I am exploring to get to the lifestyle I really aspire too. And it would be interesting to share some aspects with you - a lot of crafting, respectful and ethical craft brands but also ethical fashion and better food.

I will put new recipe books to the test. Did you know that on average people use only 3 recipes of their recipe books? When I read this I was quite scared, and then I just had to admit that it was the truth –the dust on my cooking books is a testament of this. So it was time to try more recipes from a book and give an honest review that hopefully will be helpful. And as a lot of my IG friends know, I started with Deliciously Ella.

I have also lined up some guest bloggers to help me out. This month Rebecca will be sharing with us how to dye with avocado skins – the vegan way, so cool. I will also be talking to Pauline from Pauline Alice about living from your passion – very inspiring stuff.

The content of the blog is not radically changing – so please do not unfollow me yet! Made in Home is back – and I hope you will enjoy the new content. 

Beautiful Inspiration | Inspired by LES TEMPS SONT DURS POUR LES REVEURS

It is not a blog but a tumblr that I wanted to share with you. On Pinterest there are many pictures from Tumblrs, and I usually like one picture not all. On this tumblr I love them all!

There is no need to comment, or read an article, but just sitting in front of your screen and soak up the inspiration.

For more inspiration, go to les temps sont durs pour les rêveurs

I was clearly inspired by Christmas… what else? 

On the road again..

We are off again! 

I have scheduled posts (and a giveaway!) so the blog will still be running (well that is the intention)! I will also able to see all your lovely comments (and respond). 

Normal activity will resume in a week's time! Have a wonderful week!

About me

I have been nominated by a few bloggers and I am really sorry it has taken me so long to reply. I was waiting for my 100th post (which is the last post)... It is a bit of landmark for a blog. 

So thank you Alicia, Adrianne, Natalie and Celine. 

Here are 11 random things about me!

1. I am very good at de-cluttering. I used to be able to fit my life in my Peugeot 106, and loved it. I only bought 'proper' furniture when I was 30.
2. I don't have pets but would love to have a dog. 
3. I love spending time in libraries -slightly difficult with a baby now
4. I only started living with my husband when we got married - not by choice, but it made mariage more special. 
5. I used to speak quite good German but that was a bit of time ago now. 
6. I love my camera - but don't feel I know how to use it properly still.
7. I have too many several email addresses (6 I think)
8. I got married in the Church my great-parents got married in (not the same priest)
10. I am addicted to Gossip Girl (perfect for long feeds)
11. I worked in Vietnam for 3 months - as a summer intern

Here are 11 questions I picked from all of those asked,

1. Where do you dream of living one day?
I love living near London, but would love to be an expat again. 

2. What is your favourite book?
It is between the Harry Potter books or Twilight - not sure I can decide. Just started Beautiful creatures, it may start a new addiction.

3. Black or milk chocolate?
Milk chocolate any time. 

4. Who is your favourite famous person? 
Aung San  Suu Kyi 

5. What is your favourite colour?
Blue

6. What would be your dream holiday? 
Our honeymoon was pretty much a dream holiday so I am hoping for more of those

7. What is the weirdest thing you have eaten? 
I suppose snails and frog legs - but that is not really weird for me

8. Do you have a hobby room or craft on your kitchen table?
It happens to be both at the moment. The nursery is also my sewing room, and I expanded on the dining table so that I can make crafty things in the evenings. 

9. What is your favourite thing about blogging?
Meeting a community of like-minded people, and making me finish projects. 

10. What is the weirdest search terms for your blog?
Squirrel cross stitch - because I never cross-stitched a squirrel

11. What would be your karaoke song?
Any French 80s tune would do, as Baby MiH knows too well. 


Most of the blogs I follow have already been nominated for awards unfortunately. But if you have not, I nominate you and answer the 11 questions I have replied to! 

Bring on November!

The heating is on again (well at least at my house), I am desperate to capture all the lovely shades of the trees, and although it is Halloween today, everyone is only thinking about one thing Christmas! It can only mean one thing - it is time to be done with October and move to November. Here is this month's roundup - it is a bumper edition. 

• The ones you could do yourself!

Rachael at LOTS tells you how to make your very own DIY Leaf stencilled Vase with gilded pine cones! I think this can be easily adapted to whatever pattern you want so one to bookmark or a cool project for the kids. Everyone has got a boring vase somewhere in the back of the cupboard... time to get it out! 


I love jewellery and I found it really frustrating that everything is in boxes, I tend to always wear the same jewellery. A pair & a spare has got a solution though, a porcelain jewellery stand! Love the use of the egg cups! I must admit I do like this one because of the colour scheme she chose (blue and white - definitely me!). 

• The ones with sewing tips

I read this blogspot and thought even I can do this - easy. I have not tried it (when you are the size of a whale like I am all you want are your jogpants, black if at all possible). Anyway Tilly and the buttons had a post on how to make an elasticated skirt and it looks so sweet with the block colour tights, that you too have to check it out! 


The Coletterie has great basic tutorial - totally adpated to my level (and you could use the tips as well for the elasticated skirt you are about to make hmmm hmmm). This month is the basic hand stitches tutorial - explaining the obscure names sometimes found on pattern. Whipstitch anyone? 


You may also need the blind hem tutorial posted to no big dill - which is full of pictures, so you cannot go wrong (still working on that skirt??). 

• The one that will go against my de-stashing drive. 

No comment, you just have to see the Echino by Etsuko Furuya, Fall 2012, Cherry Sampler. Actually I do have a comment, is it me or this is very similar (save the little birdies) to the Marimekko Lumimarja?   

• The freebie one

I don't have an iPhone - shock horror, how do I survive - well with a blackberry, and my phone is never on. But if I had an iPhone (or someone was to make me use theirs, wink wink Mr MiH) I would add one of these free iPhone backgrounds. It is designer and free - what more do you want? Oh an iPhone, no I did not find a post offering free iPhones.. 

• The ones that will inspire me to knit more

Eskimimi is one of my favourite knitter, and when she decided to embellish her Puffin Apple Hat, I knew I had to share this with you. We have all followed a pattern, and it looks ok, but something is missing - here is some serious inspiration!

I am thinking sheep, I am thinking that if Blair from Atlantic-Pacific can get away with it, so can I (well not now and maybe not that many, but soon.. ), or do can Baby MiH (when do they start talking again, and saying no to silly jumpers?). 

• The ones for quilters

You have to check out the Cross-Stitched Quilt block tutorial at Pile O Fabric - the blocks are perfect for some projects I have in mind for Christmas.. 

And to be honest you are going to lack inspiration after following the new seasonal blog hop organised by Kirsty at Quiet Play and Blossom Heart Quilts. 

A new book is going to hit the shelves soon a Quilting Life, a handmade home by Sherri of Quilting Life - and you need a Christmas present.. 

Now that you are all up to date with the October projects, let's bring on November!