Spotted this week - Girls Autumn Wish list

Girls Autumn Wish list by acraftyhen

Long sleeve floral print dressCotton cardigan / Zara Buttoned Coat With Pockets / Zara Animal Print Backpack / CAMPER WABI, / Donna Wilson for John Lewis Squirrel Bag, 

What a day!It has not stopped raining all day, we got drenched on the morning school run and even more drenched on the afternoon school run! The warm, dry start to the Autumn has gone and we have lit our first log fire. I do love the changing seasons, and I am quite happy to start wearing a chunky knit cardigan and sit in front of a roaring fire eating pumpkin soup! The change in weather is also a good excuse to do a bit of shopping and these are the things I have spotted this week for my daughter. My love of mustard is still going strong. It is such an Autumnal colour. 
I am finding myself doing more and more of my shopping at Zara, especially bits for the kids and I am so in love with this mustard button coat and really wish they would do it in adult sizes! I would also be happy to wear the camper boots aren't they superb! Another clothing range that is becoming a staple in my daughters wardrobe is Little Bird by Jools Oliver for Mothercare. Wonderfully designed, amazing quality and at a good price you can not go wrong and I love the fact that a lot of the collection is suitable for either a boy or girl which makes handing clothes down from one sibling to another so much easier! Now lets talk hats! I found this crochet hat in a gorgeous shop on Folksy called Wild Honey Pie Boutique and I am pleased to say they do adult hats as well which makes me very happy. And the doll, a find on etsy and if you have never visited Blita I urge you to her work is stunning I am rather in love with her Raccoon, one I think to add to the Christmas wish list!

The Mundane but Necessary that Annoyingly Takes Up Head Space!!!

Boy Back To School Coats by acraftyhen on Polyvore

Zara Parka With Inner Vest, / UNIQLO KIDS Light Warm Padded Parka / Home at Fat Face / Field Jacket 85030 Coats & Jackets at Boden / NORI 14 JR down jacket

We are back from our very windy camping holiday and I have just about got on top of the laundry and are packing away the last of our camping gear. Apologies to all of you that were hoping this was a 'Shops Back Open' post. That will, I promise be happening soon.

It really does feel like the countdown to returning to school has begun. The last few days have been filled with hair appointments, shoe shopping and the buying of school uniform. My mind has been a whirl of navy and grey clothes interspersed with images of kids winter coats, like the ones above! I don't know if it is just my children but none of them are keen coat wearers! But seeing as we walk to school and live in one of the wettest places in the UK a coat is a very necessary part of their uniform so I am determined to find the perfect one. It needs to keep them waterproof, warm but also, and probably the most important thing, allow movement so they can play freely. So yes as you can see this dilemma is taking up very valuable time and energy, time and energy that I really want to be channelling into my work, so I really need to find this perfect coat soon!! 

Window Shopping for Fabric

fabric by acraftyhen on Polyvore

September Blue Gold Bud
thevillagehaberdashery.co.uk

The Shape of Spring Line up Petal Pink
fabricrehab.co.uk

Bye bye birdie
misformake.co.uk

Siamese Cats Pink
fabricrehab.co.uk

I buy fabric for lots of different reasons. Often for work, sometimes for a project for myself and family, and just recently I have been buying for dressmaking, something that I am very keen to get started on though haven't quite found the time yet! And sometimes I buy fabric because I just can't resist it! Sometimes I have no idea what I am going to do with the fabric but have an overwhelming sense of needing to have the desired fabric in my stash! And that is probably the reason why my fabric stash never seems to go down!  As well as buying too much fabric I also like to have a good browse on line at all the latest fabrics and there are many good fabric collections around at the moment. So I thought I would show you a few of my favourites. And each one nicely fits into one of my categories of reasons to buy fabric! 
September Blue I can imagine making my daughter something out of it,
Bye bye bird is a lightweight fabric making it perfect for dressmaking,
Siamese Cats is something a little different and would probably be one to sit in my stash for awhile waiting for that perfect project and
The shape of Spring - Line up is a fabric that I can imagine incorporating into my work.
Talking of work, 'A Crafty Hen' is currently closed while a take some time to play with my children, rest my poorly back and also to catch up with some custom orders, but I do hope to be back open very soon.