Serendipity Patch

Spring Decorating

2012-02-23T13:34:00.000Z

Bit of a quiet week. After having loads of ideas I couldn't think where to start and ended up just playing around with piles of fabric and starting some crochet which didn't turn into anything! Hopefully I'll feel more inspired next week.

The fireplace in the dining room has been looking a bit dull since the Christmas decorations were packed away so I decided to brighten it up with a spring display. I picked some corkscrew hazel branches from the garden and popped them in a jug, with some gravel to secure them, then rounded up some "springy" bits and bobs to decorate with.

Together with a few flowers from the garden and the remains of my Valentine's bouquet it looks quite cheerful and fresh! Just need to figure out how to secure the little Easter chicks to the twigs as they keep falling upside down :)

Now I need to do something with the one in the living room as it still has the tea-light holders on it from Christmas!

xxx

Log Cabin Quilt Done!

2012-02-18T11:01:00.002Z

The little quilt is finished and I'm loving how it turned out. I didn't bother with a border to keep it simple. Trying to photograph it was a bit tricky this morning. Too gloomy indoors, too windy in the garden, so it ended up in the summer house with the random beachy things that have ended up in there!

I've got a plan for hanging my little quilts, when I've made a few more. We have a hallway wall that is rather long and dull at the moment and I'm going to get hubby to put up some hooks or something like a peg rail and then I'll peg them on a line along it. It's on his list of "things to do" :)

We lost our 'phone and internet connection all day yesterday and I felt lost! No e-mails, blogs, pinterest. Nothing! At least eldest daughter was home for a few days so there was someone to talk to Thank goodness it's back today.

I'm off to plan my next project.

Quilt Progress

2012-02-15T14:19:00.000Z

I decided on the first layout for the log cabin quilt, though I might have to make some of the others in different fabrics! The back is a cream and blue spriggy fabric that I thought went well and the binding is a lovely soft brushed plaid that gives it a country feel. I've quilted it on the diagonal and once inside each block, and I'm really happy at how it's turned out.

I did try quilting in the ditch up and down and then side to side, but wasn't happy with the way it kept puckering towards the end of each row, so ended up undoing it all and starting again. Thank goodness for seam rippers! My machine is usually pretty good at avoiding that thanks to the dual feed system, so not sure what was going wrong there?

Here's another bit of my room. I would love a bigger workspace really but I'm happy with my sewing space. The machine lives in a Horn sewing cabinet that stays open and the desk next to it gives me a big flat surface to work on. I love that the sewing level is flush with the table, the only slight drawback being that as it's a bit lower than it would otherwise be I can end up with a stiff neck if I sew for too long! Has anyone else got one of these? Do you find it comfortable?

Just need to hand sew the binding on the back now.

xxx

Log Cabin Layout

2012-02-12T11:40:00.001Z

I finished my log cabin blocks and need to decide on a layout for the quilt. It's amazing how different it can look simply by re-arranging them. There must be dozens more variations, but these are some of my favourites. The colour looks a bit off as I had to have the light on in my room, but it's got a nice cosy feel to it. I'll add a border and it will finish up about 30" square. About the right size for a wall hanging.

xxx

Snowy Garden

2012-02-10T14:20:00.002Z

Just a few pictures of the garden and the view from upstairs this morning just as the sun was coming up. It all looked quite magical, until it started melting and turned to slush!

Lottie's in there somewhere!

Hope you have a good weekend.

Little Quilts

2012-02-09T17:32:00.000Z

Having tidied away all my wool for a while, the shelves on the other side of my room have had a big sort out. This rather ugly unit was in our living room at our last house, but it does a good job of storing all my bits and pieces now. Just wish I'd taken the time to paint it white.

The fabric had a tidy, with lots of the bigger bits moving to another shelf unit and I found some new boxes to house all the little scraps and strips etc.

This little quilt top was pieced together a few years ago and I finished it off a couple of days ago. It's from the book "Little Quilts all Through the House" and I've seen loads of variations on the internet. All of them a lot neater than mine, I'm sure!

I've challenged myself to use up a lot of the strips I cut ages ago, so out came some of my books for inspiration. Little quilts really appeal to me as they're quick and easy to make and look lovely displayed on the wall.

Kathleen Tracy has written four wonderful books on the subject and has a lovely Blog. Also check out Hen House and the beautiful quilts she has made if you need any more inspiration!

I've made a start with some log cabin blocks. Hopefully it should look something like this when it's done

Now I need to go and put some more logs on the fire!

Spring Flower Blanket Ta dah!

2012-02-04T10:47:00.001Z

It's finished at last, Yippee!

I've spent the last week joining the squares together and tidying up the ends as I knew I wouldn't get round to it for ages otherwise. It was a great feeling to finish the border and stand back and know it was all done. The sun was getting quite low when I finished, but I took it out the garden for some photos.

I just love the colours. It's so spring like and pretty. Definitely a keeper, this one :)

It seems like it's taken ages, but checking back it has only been a couple of months with not much being done over Christmas, so not too bad.

For the border I did a single round of double crochet, (UK terms) and then a simple shell round of 3 trebles into 1 dc, miss 1 dc, slip stitch, miss 1 dc. I tried a few ways of doing the corners and settled on 3 trebles in the corner stitch and 2 in each of the ones either side, giving 7, which seems to work ok. I couldn't decide what colour to use so I used a different one on each side! Well, why not :)

The wool was a mixture, the same as my last blanket Here, just leaving out some of the brighter colours.

It's quite weighty at 2lbs 11oz / 1.2kg which works out at 24 x 50g balls. At about 4 feet square it's a nice size to snuggle under on the sofa, or lie on the end of a bed.

I've really loved making this one and enjoyed reading all your comments. It's so much more fun making things when you can share them with loads of other people, rather than just hubby saying "nice, what's it for?" !!!!

So, what's next? I've been getting inspired by quilts again and think I'll try and finish some of my old w.i.p.s before starting some new doll quilts. Watch this space.

Hope you have a lovely weekend

xxx

Pheasants in the garden

2012-01-28T17:42:00.001Z

Hello, I hope you're having a good weekend and welcome to my recent followers. I seem to have acquired a few new ones recently, which is lovely.

I've been trying to get some photos of the pheasants that have been hanging out in our garden recently but these two seem a bit shyer than normal and refuse to come any closer to the house, probably because of Lottie, despite the bread I keep throwing out the window! This is the best I could get with my zoom lens.

We usually get them around this time of year. Escapees from the local shoot, they are attracted to the neighbours' gardens who have hens for the food, and they often stick around for months. I've dug out some pic's from previous years as they are so beautiful. It's like having pets without any of the responsibility!

This was a really tame one that would almost feed out of our hands.

This gorgeous green one was my favourite. He would use the guinea pig hutch outside our window as his perch to call for the ladies! There were a few females around and I found one with loads of chicks nesting under the rhubarb one spring. They ended up disappearing into next door's garden but they were so sweet!

Have a good weekend

xxx

Woolly bits and bobs

2012-01-26T14:15:00.000Z

Thank you for all your lovely comments on my last post. I've spent a few days trying out different ideas for joining the squares and decided to stick with the double crochet (U.S. s.cr.) seam on the front but in a colour rather than cream. Of course this meant getting out ALL my balls of wool and dithering about which one to use. I'd almost decided on the Artesano merino in baby pink but then found a ball of Rico essentials merino in a similar shade that seems to work better for joining, being a bit finer, so the seams are a bit flatter. Not a very clear photo but the Rico is on the left.

While I had all my wool out I decided to have a good sort out! All the little odds and ends were chopped up and put in a bird feeder for them take for their nests. How pretty does that look! They'll have the cosiest nests in the neighbourhood :)

Some of the colours I'm not keen on got bagged up for the charity shop and the rest got sorted into colours and put into some new drawers. It feels great not to have it all stuffed in different bags. All the shade charts got put in a new folder to make it easier find what I'm looking for. I do love getting organised :)

Bye for now.

Squares finally finished!

2012-01-22T14:57:00.000Z

So, I finally finished all the squares for my spring flower blanket. I have to say, I was getting a bit bored towards the end, but I spent a couple of days doing nothing much more than crocheting while catching up with Downton Abbey that I never got round to watching before! The weather's been so dismal that it's been good to have something to do indoors, but hopefully I'll be able to get on with the garden soon. Anyway, I hope these pic's add a bit of colour to your January days

So now I need to decide on how to join them. I hadn't really thought that far. Can't decide between simply slip stitching through the back or something similar to my last one with a double crochet seam on the front. Ideas welcome!

xxx

Edited to add

I have had an increasing number of requests for copies of the flower square pattern. While I hate saying no and disappointing anyone I feel I have to point out that it's not my pattern. It comes from the book "200 crochet blocks" by Jan Eaton and is copyright protected. I've checked on Amazon and it's still available at a reasonable price. It's well worth buying if you're just starting out crocheting and want lots of ideas. Sorry!

Farnham Maltings

2012-01-15T14:27:00.000Z

I popped along to the fabric sale at Farnham Maltings this morning, despite the fact that I'd promised myself not to buy any more 'till I've used up a lot of my stash. In the end most of it was more of the darker wintery type that I've got too much of anyway, and I restricted myself to 3 pretty fat quarters at only £1.50 each.

Also got a bargain with a pile of Australian Homespun magazines for £8. That'll keep me occupied for a while!

There was a display of quilts by some local quilting groups. A couple that appealed to me were these two by the same lady, Brenda Ford.

While I was there I bought a ticket for Unravel at the end of February. I read about it last year, but couldn't go because of my broken ankle. Looks like it will be worth a trip if you're into all things "yarny"!

Off to do some more gardening.

xxx

Frosty Morning

2012-01-14T13:28:00.002Z

As you can see, I decided it was time to update my header picture. Hope the hollyhocks brighten your day a bit. The crochet blanket has now gone to live in London with Eldest girl and the shirt quilt went to Youngest girl. I decided just before Christmas to give them away as presents, but still had to finish weaving in the ends which took two days. Not the most exciting of jobs, I'm not going to leave them all to the end in future! I always get quite possessive of things I make, but I'm sure they'll look after them and enjoy them.

The garden looked pretty this morning as the sun started to make everything sparkle, so I grabbed my macro lens and went out to see what I could find. Here's some of my favourites.

Have a good weekend

xxx

Garden dreaming

2012-01-11T11:57:00.000Z

The sun looked like it would make and appearance today so I planned to carry on tidying the veg plot, but it felt so cold and miserable outside the plans changed. We've done about a three quarters of it but the worst beds are still to be done. It looks so grim this time of year, but it won't be long before spring's here and everything will look fresh again!

The only things flowering at the moment are some snowdrops and periwinkle

My day was much improved though by the arrival of the latest Sarah Raven catalogues in the post. Always a feast for the eyes, full of lovely photo's. I've already ordered some lilies and gladioli from other places, but I'm tempted by the purple poppies and lots of the veg. She even makes runner beans sound good. I never used to like them, I think because we had them so much when I was young, but might give them a try this year.

I found these obelisks while browsing through Pinterest and decided they are just what I need for the sweet peas. There's a good article with all the instructions Here and hubby has volunteered to make me some! Think it's probably an excuse to buy some more tools!, but I'm sure they'll work a lot cheaper than the ones sold in the fancy garden centres.

Just need to decide on a colour. I'll probably use Cuprinol Garden Shades, maybe lavender or beaumont blue? Hmmm... decisions..

Giveaway Winner

2012-01-08T13:08:00.000Z

I just realised that I put the 9th rather than the 8th as the date for the draw, oops sorry! but since nobody seemed to notice and I did say Sunday, I got Hubby to pick a slip at random today and the winner is...........

Lorna, a very talented lady who writes an inspiring blog Here

Congratulations I hope you enjoy making something crafty with the fabric and buttons.

Thank you for all your comments. It's always good to explore new blogs. There are such a lot of talented people out there.

I'm slowly getting back into the normal routine now everyone's gone back work and Uni'. The garden is starting to get it's spring tidy on the odd nice day. There is such a lot to do but it makes it more manageable to do one bed at a time.

When the weather's not so good I've been catching up with some of the TV I recorded over Christmas and doing some more crochet. When I laid out the squares made so far it didn't look big enough, so I've decided to make some more so it will be 9x9 blocks (about 4' square) Then it might get a border, we'll see how it goes. Only problem is running out of some of the colours now and some are discontinued but it doesn't matter too much, I'll just add in some others! The colours remind me of spring so it's now offically my "Spring Flower Blanket"

Bye for now

New Year Giveaway

2012-01-02T11:25:00.000Z

Well, as promised I'm back with a little giveaway to celebrate the New Year and my increasing number of followers. I've got one of my rolls of lovely recycled fabrics cut mostly from old shirts in pretty Summery colours. The strips are all 4" wide and various lengths, so you could use them to make a quilt or cushions, bags, whatever you fancy. I'll also add some buttons and a sweet smelling lavender bag.

Just leave a comment on this post if you want to enter and I will draw a winner next Sunday (9th) lunchtime. Open to all and I will post anywhere in the world.

Good luck!

I hope you all had a good break and are feeling ready to tackle 2012. I'm glad last year is over to be honest. There were too many ups and downs, dramas and hospital visits in my family for my liking. I've got a feeling this year is going to be better.

Some years we use the week after Christmas to make a start on tidying the veg plot but due to the dismal weather I haven't ventured much further than a triangle between bed, sofa and kitchen! I've been exploring Pinterest Here a lot and thinking it might be useful for keeping a note of the veg I grow each year. I always forget to note the varieties and think I'll remember but this seems like a neat way to do it.

I dug out all the catalogues and a blank plan for 2012 and got busy with the post-it notes. It's always more fun planning than actually planting and weeding it all!

Also got this sweet little bird house for Christmas which needs fixing up somewhere before the birds start nesting in the spring.

Hopefully I'll be back to more regular blogging once I'm over this lazy lull

Best wishes for 2012

xxx

Happy Christmas

2011-12-25T06:01:00.000Z

Hello, I just popped in to wish each and every one of you a wonderful Christmas.

I love sitting here early in the morning before everyone else wakes up, it's my favourite part of the day.

Thank you for all your lovely comments over the last few months. I've so enjoyed being part of the blogging community. As a little thank you I'll be back in the New Year with a giveaway but in the meantime

SEASON'S GREETINGS!

XXX

Lottie's not impressed!

2011-12-15T09:36:00.000Z

The results of my photo shoot weren't very successful as the model wasn't very happy being made to look silly and kept having a "wardrobe malfunction" every time I stepped back to take a photo! Will try some smaller ones next year :)

My Christmas decorating has been very minimal this year. The new bookcase takes up the room where I used to put the tree so I just bought some twigs with fairy lights on and they are surprisingly pretty at night. With the candles and the fire lit it feels very cosy.

The crochet is progressing slowly, just doing the odd bit here and there, but I'm really happy with the colours.

I spent yesterday sorting out and wrapping presents, and need to think about stocking up on food getting the girl's rooms ready as they'll be back in a couple of days. Can't wait :)

Have a good weekend.

Cranberry Chutney

2011-12-09T11:26:00.001Z

I made some chutney and very nice it is too! Really fruity and tangy and not overly sweet. It will go lovely with all the cold meats and cheeses at Christmas and looks very pretty! I was feeling lazy so I've just photographed my written out recipe. I doubled the quantities to make 6 jars so I expect the girls will be taking some back with them!

Looks yummy!

The vinegar and sugar preserve it so as long as the jars are clean and sterilized it should last for ages. I wash my jars in a hot dishwasher then dry them gently in the oven.

Loving these anemones from the garden at the moment.

Not much crochet happening at the moment. Hopefully I'll get on with it at Christmas.

Have a good weekend.

Winchester Christmas Market

2011-12-06T09:08:00.001Z

I braved the freezing cold yesterday and popped into Winchester to visit the Christmas Market. Well worth a visit, there's dozens of pretty chalets all around the beautiful Cathedral close selling all sorts of lovely goodies and a proper ice rink in the middle. Sadly, due to the cold I had to keep my gloves on, so gave up trying to take photos and it was hard to take them without just getting shots of lots of people! Here's a few, and the Website has lots more.

One thing I couldn't resist was this cute little wreath made of dried oranges and mini pumpkins. The scent coming from the stall was fantastic and it's now making the whole house smell very festive!

I'm off to make some cranberry chutney now. Yum!

Cherry and amaretti fridge cake

2011-12-02T09:23:00.001Z

Thought I'd share a recipe I tore out of a magazine last year. (Sorry, can't remember which one, but could have been Sainsbury's) I made a big batch and packaged some up in pretty bags for presents which went down a treat as it's so scrumptious. The amaretti biscuits and pistachios give it a lovely crunch. I made some more yesterday and quite a bit's disappeared already! This makes enough for a 7" square tin.

Sorry the photo's aren't great. It was so dark yesterday.

100g butter

125g amaretti biscuits

200g white chocolate

4tbsp golden syrup

100g glace cherries

80g pistachio nuts

100g dark chocolate

Put the white cocolate, butter and syrup in a bowl and gently melt over a pan of hot water. Leave to cool slightly.

Meanwhile in another bowl add the crushed biscuits, chopped nuts, chopped cherries and dark chocolate, cut into small pieces.

Mix well together.

Spoon into tin and pop in the fridge to set.

I use pieces of teflon sheet to line tins when baking. Saves faffing about with greasing and things getting stuck!

Cut into pieces and enjoy with your cup of tea or coffee :)

Tea light holder

2011-12-01T08:11:00.001Z

I've been wanting to make some lace covered tea light holders that seem to be popular in blogland recently, but my stash of Bonne Maman jars weren't quite the right shape, so when this little cumberland sauce jar was finished with yesterday I dug out my box of lace and glued a bit on and I'm really chuffed at how pretty it looks. The mother of pearl buttons threaded onto wire was an idea I saw in a shop and think they add a nice touch. Pretty glass beads or buttons would look great too. Simple but effective!!

Now I need to see what half used jars are lurking at the back of the fridge to make some more ;)

A bit of decorating

2011-11-30T12:58:00.001Z

Ok, so I know it's still November, but I felt like decorating the dining room a bit to make it feel more seasonal. I love adding the decorations to the light fitting every year and always feel sad taking them down again. I'm going to look for some bits to leave up all year this time.

The little wooden train comes out every year, This is it's 29th outing! It's lost a wheel and a couple of candles broke off, but I don't care, it means Christmas to me so it's always the first thing to go up!

The fairies on the twigs are from Halinka's Fairies and they're too lovely to put away, so they've been sitting in my workroom all year.

Not much else going on at the moment. Just moved a few baskets and lamps around and re arranged some piles of blankets. The Fortnum's hamper was a lucky find at the local tip a few years ago and is handy for more blankets and cushions.

Really looking forward to the girls coming home again for Christmas. It seems a long time since they last left.
Now I really need to get on with some more present shopping.

xxx

Garden Snippets and a bit of Crochet

2011-11-24T08:58:00.001Z

As you can see, I decided the pink and green colour scheme wasn't working. I don't think I had enough shades of each and have added some other colours to liven it up. This pic' makes them look quite dark but they're lighter and prettier in reality! The apricot "Cashsoft" had a slight acylic sheen which didn't look right next to the wool so I'll save that for something else.

I'm loving these flowers so much I'm going to carry on and make another blanket! but I think I'll alternate them with plainer squares or it might be a bit too much :)

There's some odd things going on in the garden. The mild weather has brought out some of the spring flowers already! We've got snowdrops and anemones starting to flower while some of the summer stuff is still around.

The last dahlia and the first of next year's anemones.

Early snowdrop

Passion flower still going strong and rose on it's third flush

The holly seems to be more loaded with berries though. Is that a sign of a cold winter? Hope not.

I bought some of my pelargoniums indoors and I'm loving these bright pink flowers

Finally, this was our view for a few mornings. Glad it's brightened up again.

New Crochet

2011-11-18T14:11:00.001Z

Well, having said I was going do some quilting I haven't got round to it this week. The weather's been so gloomy I've felt more like curling up on the sofa with some crochet and some rubbish telly! Also got most of my Christmas presents sorted online. Just a few smaller bits and pieces to find now :)

I added a simple cream border to the hexagon blanket that has been sitting around unfinished for ages. Think it finishes it off nicely.

Playing around with my wool I've decided to make my next project in pinks and greens and a pretty apricot I found this morning at my local wool shop. Went through my favourite book and tried a waterlily square which is quite easy to do, but looks a bit more interesting than the flat ones I've done before. I'm going to start with 9 for a cushion cover and see how it goes!

Have a good weekend

xxx

Shirt Quilt Ta-dah!

2011-11-13T09:15:00.001Z

The shirt quilt is finished, but I was waiting for the weather to brighten up to photograph it. It's been so gloomy lately it was quite a shock today when the sun finally came out.

Keeping with the recycled theme I used a well worn old duvet cover for the back which I think goes well with all the manly fabrics. I used a buttery yellow fabric from my stash for the binding which I think brightens it up without being "girly".

Washed and wrinkly :)

It does feel good to actually complete a proper sized quilt. I've done a few smaller wall hanging size ones but this was more awkward to quilt, even with the weight of it supported next to the sewing machine, it's still quite a job! I did find hand sewing the binding on very relaxing though.

While I'm in a quilting mood I've decided to finish one of the tops I made a couple of years ago. In contrast to the masculine feel of the shirt quilt, this one is super girly. I used all my favourite fabrics in pink, green, aqua, yellow and mauve. I've added a border I made for a different quilt which didn't really look right, so I unpicked it all and used it here. The colours aren't quite the same, but I think it looks good. Need to sort out something for the back now.

Looks like stained glass from the back!

Finally, as it's Remembrance Sunday I thought I's share some pic's of a quilt I bought on e-bay a few years ago. Initially I was going to re-use the hexagon part to make cushions or something but I haven't had the heart to cut it up. Two of the shapes have "1940" embroidered on them and I get the feeling it might have been made hastily for a couple getting married in a rush during the war. The fabrics are typically 30s, probably from dresses and children's clothes and perhaps this was something that had been worked on for ages, then suddenly added on to a larger piece of fabric with the initials D and J sewn on at the top. I wonder who they were and if they survived the war?

Prettyfying the Mantelpiece

2011-11-08T09:11:00.003Z

I've been busy this week with a new bit of home improvement. I've always wanted a mirror above the fireplace in our sitting room, but never got round to getting one. I saw one in a local furniture place that was just the right size, but didn't think the bright gold went with the room. A couple of coats of Farrow and Ball "White Tie" from a tester pot I had and a bit of finishing wax and it looks lovely. It's amazing how much prettier the candles look reflected in the mirror. I'm going to find some more and I can't wait to decorate it at Christmas with fairy lights and stuff!

Before painting. A bit too "blingy" for me!

The shirt fabric quilt is nearly finished. I sewed the top together last week then it sat on the floor upstairs for a few days while I gradually pinned it together with the back and batting. Not one of my favourite jobs, especially as Lottie decided it would be good to keep walking over it! Aargghh!! It would be a lot easier with a big table like the one in my dream workroom haha! Here's a couple of pics, I'll show you more when I've done the binding. Can't decide what to use for that yet.

The sun seems to have gone awol recently, but the trees did look glorious last week.

Just wanted to say hello to my new followers. I do enjoy reading all your blogs, even if I don't always leave comments. It's so interesting seeing what people are up to around the world.

Also been trying to join Pinterest but it seems you need to be on facebook which I've managed to avoid for various reasons. Anybody any ideas?

Getting Shirty! A new quilt.

2011-10-31T14:32:00.000Z

Many moons ago, when I first fell in love with quilts and decided to start collecting fabric to make them, I began with old shirts and worn out clothes, firstly from hubby's wardrobe! then charity shops, car boots etc. This built up into quite a big stash which has come in handy over the years, but a few months ago I decided that I had far more than I would ever use and decided to start thinning out the piles and cutting them up to make bundles (like jelly rolls) to maybe sell. I've just about finished but need to sort out an etsy shop, which knowing my lack of technical know-how may take a while!

In the mean-time I've used the smallest bits to make 5" squares and then made lots of 1/2 square triangles.

I played around with the design and have settled on a pinwheel pattern that I'm really happy with. I love the fact that all the fabrics are recycled and well worn, giving it that homely "Little House on the Prairie" look. As it's not too big I'm going to try and finish this one, using one of the girls' bedroom floors to spread out the backing and wadding. Off to start joining the squares.

A couple of pic's of the garden. Was hoping the sun would come out but decided to take them anyway before all the leaves fell off!

Blanket Ta-Dah!

2011-10-25T15:45:00.000+01:00

So I finally finished my latest blanket and I absolutely love it! Well, the ends haven't been woven in yet and I'm not sure whether to do a border yet, but it's good to get it looking like a proper blanket. It's not as big as I'd planned but at about 3 x 3 1/2 feet it's big enough to snuggle under on the sofa or lay on the end of a bed. The cream double crochet joins and edging really give it a lift and lighten the whole colour scheme.

It was very difficult to photograph today. Either too dark or too bright, but I hope it gives an idea of how lovely and soft and cuddly it is. I think I used about 1/2 a ball of each colour, some were very alike so they only got used for 2 or 3 squares rather than 5.

In case you're interested, these are the yarns I used. They are all machine washable 100% wool or merino DK. Some of the colours are now discontinued but there's plenty of similar ones out there.

Going from left to right

Row 1; Artesano Superwash Merino Hot Pink, Baby Green, Baby Pink, Baby Lavender,

Baby Teal.

Row 2; James C Brett Pure Merino PM15, 13, 1, 2.

Row 3; Sublime Extra Fine Merino Alabaster (Joining and border), Limone, Redcurrant, Souffle,

Grape, Blueberry Pie.

Row 4; Debbie Bliss Rialto Pale Blue, Salmon, Raspberry, Buttermilk, Baby Lilac.

Row 5; Rowan Pure Wool Geranium, Tea Rose, Glacier, Gilt.

Row 6; Biggan Design Gentle Green, Lime, Jacaranda.

Patons Dreamtime Lemon

Cascade 220 Superwash Coral (827)

I loved all these yarns, especially the James C Brett ones which I hadn't used before. It is beautifully soft and silky. The Biggan Designs wool comes in a huge range of colours, though I found them a bit bright and felt quite oily. I suppose this must be the natural lanolin. Patons wool was used for the colour, but I'm not keen on this one, being a bit "harsh" and scratchy.

I think my next project will be something smaller! Maybe cushions or perhaps some bunting that I can finish fairly quickly. Now I'd better start weaving in those ends.

Ooh, nearly forgot. There's a great giveaway over on Wink's lovely blog. Pop over now and check it out.

Nearly finished!

2011-10-24T20:19:00.000+01:00

It's taken a bit longer than I thought to put it together, but I'm on the home stretch now, doing the edging. Here's a peek, more pic's tomorrow.

And yes, I know I'm obsessed by sunrises at the moment, but...Wow!

Frosty garden

2011-10-20T09:03:00.000+01:00

We've had a few ground frosts recently now that the nights have turned chilly, but the dahlias are still hanging on. I keep expecting them to be all black and collapsed in the morning, but I guess the frost hasn't reached that high yet!

A couple of pics

and a pretty leaf

There have been lots of lovely sunrises too. This was a couple of days ago

And the view later in the afternoon

I've nearly finished my crochet squares. Hopefully I'll have some pic's in the next couple of days when I start putting it together.

New bookcase

2011-10-16T16:22:00.000+01:00

My latest e-bay find came yesterday and I'm thrilled with it! The chap said it had been in a shop, but I'm not sure if he meant as part of the shop fittings. It's been re-painted a very pale grey, though it looks white and fits the space just right.

I've spent the day sorting out my piles of books and deciding which ones to put in there. All the sewing/ quilting ones have stayed in my workroom, and cookery ones in the kitchen, but the gardening, interiors, crochet, and other random ones have gone in. I made myself get rid of quite a few paperbacks and ones I know I'll never look at again and now I've still got some shelf space to fill :)

Not sure what to use the cupboards for. Maybe storing my spare wool, and I might use a drawer for seeds and catalogues.

I think the keys in the doors need some pretty tassels or something so I'm off to see what I can find!

More Hooky

2011-10-14T13:35:00.000+01:00

I'm confined to the kitchen again today, while the front door and patio doors are done. It's all looking very nice, but of course now the window sills are looking like they need re-painting. I really don't want to start decorating again. How on earth do you do it with a dog in the house that's bound to end up knocking over the paint tin or getting it all over herself? Plus once you start, then the skirting, cornice and doors would all need doing too!

Think I'll stick with the "shabby" look a bit longer :)

I had a hunt through internet land and ordered a ball of the Cascade wool in Coral from Here. I wasn't sure at first if it was a bit bright, but now I absolutely love it. A really pretty creamy orange that adds a bit of "zing". The balls are 100g, so are quite good value at £7.49 and it is beautifully soft and lovely to work with.

Here's where I am today, adding the next rounds.

I've been thinking about colours and why we all have our favourites. The ones that we come back to time and again. I think for me, it's the ones that remind me of flowers, particularly beautiful mixed summer borders. Maybe that's why I never feel happy with dark blues, brown, mustard, etc because you just don't get flowers in those shades. Just a thought!

I'll leave you with a couple of pic's I took this morning from our landing. I never tire of the view from here and when there's a pink sky it's stunning.

A chance to catch up with my crochet

2011-10-12T11:34:00.000+01:00

The window fitters started yesterday and it hasn't been as bad as I thought it might. They were working on the sitting room and my workroom, so I moved a dog gate to the kitchen door and we spent the day in there, with Lottie complaining a bit that she couldn't get out, but mostly happy with her new bed on the floor.

Not being able to do much else, I sat in there with my laptop and crochet and churned out about 70 more little squares, making 5 of each of 24 colours in total. The Cascade wool I ordered months ago was out of stock and still hasn't arrived, which is a shame, as I think it needs some peachy colours to lift it a bit. But I'll carry on without.

Here's the squares ready to have the next round added.

Today we're shut in the sitting room, which is much more comfy, but Lottie's still not happy! I'll be glad when it's all done.

This and That

2011-10-08T14:31:00.002+01:00

The garden has been very neglected recently and is next on my "to do" list, but the dahlias are looking amazing. I haven't been picking many for the house, but as long as they are dead-headed they'll keep going 'till the frosts. I think they seem to have bigger flowers when left on the plant anyway so for now I'm enjoying seeing them from the kitchen. Here's a bit of a flower-fest to brighten up the day!

The bedroom tidying has gone well. Youngest girl didn't want me to change anything or "prettify" it, not really sharing my love of all things flowery, haha! Anyway, I gave it all a thorough clean and just generally got all the stuff off the floor. Both rooms have got big walk in cupboards in the eaves, but I'm going to have a break before I tackle them!

I left the old duvet near the front door ready to throw out and guess who decided it was a great dog bed! Ironic, since she's always turned her nose up at proper dog beds, preferring the sofa, or if no-ones looking, our bed! I decided to cut it up to make some doggie size duvets which she seems to approve of.

Just need to make some covers that I can remove for washing. I've got an old duvet cover that is just the job.

I also made one for the floor in the vain chance she might use that sometimes! I cut the cover off and cut a strip of filling about 1/3 the width and then folded it in 3, like this

Then I re-used the cover, sewing all round and trimming with pinking shears to make a nice comfy bed.

Hopefully it might keep her off our new sofa!

Cath Kidston Love!

2011-10-06T10:18:00.001+01:00

So, yesterday's post is still not showing on the feed. This is getting annoying now. Sometimes it appears straight away, other times after a couple of hours, but this time not at all. I know it's not just me, but no-one seems to have an answer.

Anyway, if you've found this, thank you, and here's hoping the problem gets fixed soon.

The bed looks great now with the new CK duvet cover and lovely new sheet and pillow cases. I really love this Pastel Flowers design. Quite retro but the little blue dots add a nice freshness. The blanket I've had for years and just happens to match the colours, so that's a nice addition. All in all, I'm very happy with this little corner of the house and might even escape here to do a bit of crochet now and then!

The other bedroom is proving a bit more tricky, as there's still a lot of stuff left, despite the amount she took away to uni' so i'm going to have to be a bit more creative with the storage.

We're having our windows replaced next week, so I've got to go round and remove all the stuff from windowsills, and maybe some curtains. It's going to be fun trying to keep Lottie from escaping. Wish me luck!

New bedding

2011-10-05T11:42:00.000+01:00

Just a quick post to say the bedlinen I ordered came today and is now in the washing machine before I put it all on the bed. I was so excited I forgot to take photos, but I will when it's looking all pretty!

I found a Cath Kidston duvet cover in Pastel Flowers on e-bay which looks gorgeous and was a bit of a bargain, like this one.

Also found some plain white bedding at The House of Fraser which is an absolute bargain. Their Linea range is on sale at the moment and I got some 500 count cotton sheets and pillowcases for less than a third of the normal price. It really is fantastic quaility and I'm tempted to get some more before they sell out!

Visit their website Here if you're in the market for some quality bedding at poly-cotton prices.

First bedroom blitzed

2011-10-03T09:45:00.002+01:00

Not sure why I had to pick the hottest week of the year to do this, but I've just got the urge to get on and do some major tidying and sorting out now the girls are away. It's pretty difficult to keep things looking good when they're here and the most that usually gets done is a quick hoover of the bits of carpet that are visible and the odd change of bedding!

Anyway, after all the old computers were removed, tatty shelving units relocated to the garage, and various bits of camping gear put in the shed, I was able to pull everything out and really clean the place properly. It's a quirky shape room, which limits the furniture layout a bit, but I think it looks good now I've re-arranged the bed and made a bit of space. This is one corner.

I'm going to "prettify" the bed with some new bedlinen. Maybe Cath Kidston. I love buying new bedding. It always feels like such a treat!

Having a day off to catch up with the ironing and then it's on to the next bedroom. Hope the weather cools off a bit soon.

Starting the Big Sort Out

2011-09-28T09:41:00.003+01:00

I've been busy the last few days and have decided to have rest and put my feet up today. Might even catch up with Downton Abbey that I haven't had chance to watch yet!

Hubby managed to squeeze everything in his car and went down to Bournemouth on Saturday. I went on Sunday to help clean the flat a bit and put some of the stuff away as it was all a bit daunting. Hopefully she'll stay in this place for a couple of years as I don't think we'd have the energy to move it all again next summer!

Back home I've made a start on sorting out the upstairs which is somewhere I don't go very much when the girls are here! Part of the problem is the lack of an attic, as it was converted to make their rooms, so the landing area gets used as storage for all the boxes and bags and random stuff that hasn't got a home. I should have taken a picture, but you can imagine the mess. Now that most of it has gone I had a thorough clean and moved the chest of drawers up there. Yesterday I went out and bought a cheap bookshelf which I managed to put together myself and Hey Presto! the space is transformed

What you can't see hidden to the right of the dolls house is the boxes that I haven't sorted out yet. Old computers, out-dated cd players, even a huge crate of Lego that seemed too good to give to the charity shop. Given that the girls are 22 and 20 it's about time it all went. It does feel good to have one area sorted. Tomorrow I'm going to start on the bedrooms. Of course they'll still be back in the holidays for a while, but if either of them want to move back, I'm thinking a caravan in the garden might be a good idea!

Empty Nest (again!)

2011-09-23T10:27:00.001+01:00

So, this is what has been going on for the last week or so. An awful lot of sorting, packing, re-packing and quite a few cross words :( while Youngest Girl got ready to go back to uni. We've been bringing the boxes down from her room ready to load into the cars and the dining room was beginning to burst at the seams.

There's still a desk, chair, computer, printer and some other stuff to come! but that can wait 'till tomorrow when hubby's going with most of it. To be fair, she has a lot of art materials and crafty stuff, which take up a lot of room, but it does seem to multiply each year!

She's taken some stuff and gone now, so the house seems very quiet, and I'm on my own again all day for the first time in over a year.

I've decided it's about time the house had a bit of a sort out. Now that there's a bit more space upstairs I'm going to move the chest of drawers there from the sitting room and I'm getting a big dresser unit I found on e-bay on that wall that will take all my books and bits and pieces. Hopefully it will be here soon and I can start re-organizing and de-cluttering, yippeee!

I'm off to put my feet up for a while

Hoping you all have a lovely weekend

My Dolls House

2011-09-15T20:05:00.001+01:00

I always wanted a proper doll's house and having two girls was a good excuse to indulge. The first one I did was a simple kit from The Dolls House Emporium that I put together for eldest girl's 3rd Christmas. As it had to be done in secret in the garage when she had gone to bed it wasn't painted very well, but she loved it anyway!

Several years later I got the bug again and did a bigger one for youngest girl, followed by a better one for eldest girl with a tea shop on the ground floor. I then decided that what I really wanted was one of my own so I had a double fronted one made with a shop that (one day) will be an interiors/ vintage/ quilts type emporium. Here it is after the first undercoat.

After painting, sanding and re-painting all those walls and Georgian windows I sort of lost the will to live! and there it sat in my workroom for a few years while I got on with sewing and Other Things.

Anyway, last year I decided to have another go and made the chimney breasts, did all the flooring, skirting, cornicing and painted the rooms pretty colours. I took out the stairs and put dummy doors at the back which give the illusion of more rooms.

The outside has been painted pale pink and blue, but I still need to do the roofing and think of a name for the shop!

There's still a lot left to do, like fitting lots of lights and "glazing" the windows, but then I can do the fun stuff, like making curtains and painting furniture. One day, when I get bored of sewing, crochet, gardening and everything else, I'll pick it up again. Be warned, don't get hooked on the miniatures hobby unless you've got lots of time, patience, space and deep pockets!!

Grime Busting and some crochet

2011-09-14T17:22:00.003+01:00

One of my favourite things to do in the garden is jet washing the paths, furniture, whatever. There's something very therapeutic about blasting away months of grime in a few minutes. As it was a nice sunny day I decided to do the bench and white table and chairs that have been getting greener all year!

Plugged in and ready to go

Yuk!

Good as new, apart from the missing paint. I'll get round to re-painting them one year.

Something I've been meaning to show you is my dolls house, but I need to look through the pictures as some of them aren't great. I'll leave you with one of a couple of crochet blankets and a patchwork quilt that I bought for the bedrooms. I've put them on a full size blanket so you can an idea of the scale and absolutely amazing skill that these ladies have. The hexagon blanket I bought at "Miniatura" last year. All hand sewn, I'm afraid I can't remember who made it. The crochet ones I found on Etsy (woodlandminiatures) and the mind boggles at the work involved in something that tiny. Even if you don't have a dollshouse I think they would look nice framed on the wall!

Blogger issues

2011-09-12T19:13:00.000+01:00

Hello,

Sorry if you've read my last post and think I'm going a bit mad!! but having looked at my followers blogs I noticed that they were still showing the previous one and hadn't updated yet. As a fairly new blogger I'm not sure if this will resolve itself or do I need to do something to fix it? I have re-posted a couple of times but to no effect. Hoping it sorts itself out overnight!!

xxx

The last of the garden veggies

2011-09-12T13:55:00.001+01:00

It is feeling very Autumnal now, with the veg garden looking very soggy and wind blown! I gave up picking the courgettes a while ago, but for various reasons haven't had the time to pull up the plants and tidy up yet, so there are some whoppers still on the plants.

The onions were pulled and left to dry for a couple of weeks and yesterday I trimmed them all and found a basket in the shed to store them in. I was going to string them up but didn't get round to it this year.

I grew a few squashes that look very cheerful, and are nice and easy to bake in the oven. Next year I'm going to try growing them up sturdy wigwams (like Monty Don on Gardener's World!) as they do take up a lot of room.

The Dahlias are still going strong, though they've taken a battering with all the wind. One of the plants broke off completely which was a shame. I really should stake them, but never get round to it. Here's today's pickings. Had to photograph them outside as it's so dark indoors.

Took the chance yesterday to clean the greenhouse and move all my scented pelargoniums. Hopefully we won't have any frosts yet, but I think they are happier in there anyway and I love opening the door and breathing in the wonderful scent. It has to be one of my favourite places, especially in the evening, and I like to potter about in there after dinner.

One of Hubby's "things" is going mushrooming in the autumn. He's found loads this year, especially porcini/ ceps which are the best apparently! So we've had the dryer going for the last couple of weekends as they are sliced and dried for using in casseroles/ pasta/ sauces etc for the rest of the year. I have to say, I'm not a fan of the mouldy smell blowing round the house for days!! but once dried they are very useful (and expensive if bought in the shops). I ought to use the dryer for other fruit and veg. I might try some apple slices, and I think tomatoes would be good.

I went to London to check out sofas at the weekend and decided on the Snowdrop one from Sofa.com in a neutral herringbone fabric. It'll be a few weeks 'till it comes, but I can't wait and am busy looking for cushions and throws. So exciting!

New sofa

2011-09-06T09:39:00.002+01:00

With the rubbish weather making it feel very autumnal, I've been thinking about the long months spent indoors and decided on a long overdue re-vamp of our living room for a start. When you live with something you tend not to notice how scruffy it's getting until you look at an old photo to remind yourself. This was a few years ago, pre Lottie!

We've got two of these Laura Ashley sofas. The other one has had it and needs chucking out, so I'm going to move the cream one and replace it with a nice new sofa. It needs to be fairly "Lottie proof" though as she spends a lot of time sprawled along the back, watching out of the window! Or jumping about on it when she sees rabbit/cat/squirrel outside :(

I've got a few old blankets that I use as throws, but seem to spend all my time straightening the cushions, so I'm thinking something with a fixed back would be more practical. Like this one from Sofas & Stuff

Or this from Sofa Workshop

Or this one from Sofa.com

Just wondering how comfy they are? but I guess with a few scatter cushions they would be fine. Any comments would be welcome before I go trekking round the showrooms. I can't wait to go and choose fabric and get some new cushions and throws!

I'm off to sort the fire out for tonight. Definitely feels like winter's coming already.

Catching up

2011-09-01T16:58:00.000+01:00

Hello, Just a quick post to say I'm still here.

The ankle op' went well and is healing up nicely now. It already feels more flexible without all that metal and it's always good to have an excuse to put your feet up and take it easy!

Hubby's had the week off and there's been lots of garden tidying and general family stuff, so not much time for blogging or crafting at the moment.

Loving my dahlias this year. I ordered loads of cuttings back in the spring and had forgotten the varieties, so it's quite exciting when they start to flower. They are such brilliant value for money, the more you cut them, the more they flower.

Pyracantha berries. The birds love them, but the bush is covered in lethally sharp thorns.

The apple tree is groaning under the weight this year. Shame the apples aren't all that nice and often maggoty :(

And another pelargonium pic!

Winchester

2011-08-24T17:47:00.000+01:00

Having filled the freezer, got up to date (sort of) with the laundry and packed my bag for hospital I decided to have a bit of "me time" and headed to Winchester for a bit of a mooch.

Didn't feel like doing much walking, but went to the Cathedral first to soak up a bit of the atmosphere.

I love the window on the west front. Apparently it was deliberately destroyed by Cromwell's forces in the civil war and then the glass was later re-used in a random pattern. Really stunning!

Also love the large areas of 13th century mosaic tiles. Some inspiration for quilts there maybe?

Then there's some 12th century wall and ceiling paintings

And of course, Jane Austen's tomb

Leaving through this fantastic door

I then went for a little stroll round the beautiful close at the back. It is always so lovely and quiet here. You wouldn't think it was the middle of a city!

These buildings are part of the Pilgrim's school, I believe

Then back to the shops, and my favourite; Cath Kidston. I don't usually buy much here but always love to have a look. How cute are these prettily painted shelves?

This bed looked very inviting

And this patchwork chair is lovely, but wouldn't last long if you've got a dog like ours that likes to jump all over the furniture :(

Finally, a beautiful crazy patchwork quilt. Sorry it was a bit hard to photograph.

Hopefully next time I go I'll be able to walk around a bit more and show you some other lovely bits of the city.

Flowers after the rain

2011-08-19T11:19:00.000+01:00

Thank heavens the sun's back after some really grim weather. Going out to check the garden this morning I was captivated by the flowers all covered in rain, like a box of jewels sparkling in the sunlight and went to grab my camera before it all dried up. Here's some of my favourites.

A bit more crochet

2011-08-18T13:10:00.000+01:00

I hadn't done any more crochet blocks for a week or two due to Other Things going on, and also still waiting for the Cascade wool which is out of stock and now won't be here for another couple of weeks. I decided to carry on without it and maybe do some blocks with it later. Anyway, after playing around with the ones I had and laying them out in various ways, I just wasn't getting excited about it and felt they were lacking something. After a lot more playing around I've added another granny round to each one and I'm really happy with the result. I know it means more ends to tidy up! but I think it makes the whole thing "pop" now rather than being a bit "ho-hum". I'm still going to join them with cream and think it will look really colourful.

Here's the ones I've done so far. It was really hard to photograph anything today. It's so dark and gloomy.

I saw the specialist about my ankle and I'm going in next week to have it done! The waiting list on the NHS was about 5 months :( but luckily we've got health insurance so I'm going to the rather nice private hospital nearby. Still not looking forward to it though, but at least this time I can buy myself some new nighties and books to take in with me. Last time, the husband one of the other ladies on my ward brought in her lacy baby doll nighty and wondered why she was cross!

Also need to stock up the freezer with some "easy" food that doesn't need me standing in the kitchen for too long.

A move to London

2011-08-14T13:15:00.001+01:00

We spent a tiring day yesterday moving eldest girl to her new place in London. Just about managed to squeeze everything into the car, with a little space left for me in the back! The journey was easier than I thought it might be, thanks to the wonders of sat-nav :) Then after parting with a frightening amount of money she got the keys and we went to unload everything into her new room

In need of a break, we went for a walk round nearby Greenland Dock in search of some lunch and then wandered back, admiring the boats and agreeing that it almost felt like a seaside harbour (if you ignore Canary Wharf across the river!)

I finished the crochet cushion for her room. For a hastily thrown together project I think it turned out ok, and it feels lovely and soft and cuddly and hopefully reminds her of home :)

The house does seem strangely quiet now, but I guess I'll get used to it again.

A busy week

2011-08-09T10:03:00.001+01:00

It's been a bit busy round here this week. There's been a lot of veg' picking and more chutney making. I made another batch using just courgettes, but left it to cook longer and added a bit more chilli. Tastes even better this time. Also loving the sweet peas and dahlias that I pick every morning. Just popped in a jug they really cheer the kitchen up.

Eldest girl has been at home for the last year after finishing uni' and is off to London for a year at Law school. She went flat hunting last week and found a lovely place that's ready to move into this weekend! So there's been a flurry of laundry, list making and digging out of all the STUFF that she'll need again. I'm sure it must be easier with boys, they don't seem to need half as much stuff as girls!

As a quick house warming present I dug out some crochet blocks that I made a couple of years ago and joined them together to make a cushion cover. It was only when I'd finished I remembered that one of them has a red second round, before I'd changed to doing the rest in ivory. Rats!! Of course I should undo it and make another one, but since no-one else even noticed I'm not going to bother. The back is just a big granny square in matching colours. hopefully it will be done by Saturday.

Also hoping to go to the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham this week, if my ankle holds out. It has been quite painful recently and apparently some of the pins are starting to work their way out. I'm going back to hospital to have the metalwork removed soon which I'm not looking forward to, but I guess it will give me time to do some crochet. Here's a (not very good) pic of the x-ray, when it was first done.

Sorry if that's put you off your breakfast, but I find it quite fascinating how "low tech" it is, like bits of meccano!

Courgette chutney

2011-08-04T10:29:00.000+01:00

Faced with another pile of courgettes and French beans that are coming faster than we can eat them, I decided to make some chutney to preserve the taste of summer for the colder months. I've got a few books on preserves and found a recipe for Chunky Courgette Chutney in "Jams and Chutneys" by Thane Prince, which I adapted a bit. I like the way the book is organized with each fruit or veg' having it's own section so you can see a few ideas for the same product together.

Here's the pile of veg ready to go.

In the pan with onions, garlic, ginger, and spices

And then with the sultanas and vinegar.

Yum, looks pretty!

I cooked this for a while and added the sugar and salt and then left it to simmer for about an hour. The book says it needs about 1/2 an hour but it was still very liquid so I left it longer. It could have done with more really, but I didn't want the courgettes to turn to mush. It's actually turned out more like a pickle with the veg still having some "bite" and tastes fantastic. Would be great with cheese or cold meats or with sausage and mash.

Here's the quantities I used.

Courgettes. 800g diced
French beans. 300g chopped
Red onions. 4 diced
Sultanas. 220g
Soft brown sugar. 380g
Cider vinegar. 500ml
Garlic cloves. 4 crushed
Root ginger. 100g chopped
Mustard seeds. 2tsp
Coriander seeds. 1 1/2 tbsp crushed
Mixed peppercorns. 1 tbsp
Chilli flakes. Pinch
Bay leaves. A few
Salt. 1 tbsp
Chopped fennel. 3 tbsp (add near the end of cooking)

Potted into clean jars, ready to store away.

Someone was feeling the heat yesterday! Not very elegant, but she seems to find it comfy!

Love This article in the Daily Mail today. Photos of families at the seaside from the 1920s onwards. Check out the '60s couple near the end of the article with their suits and her pearl necklace! Bit of a difference from the modern pic's.

Wool and jugs of flowers

2011-08-02T10:55:00.001+01:00

Hello, I wanted to start by saying thank you for all the lovely comments I've had so far. I'm really enjoying sharing some of the things that make me happy and exploring the wonderfully talented people out there in blogland. I only wish this had been around years ago when I was first setting up home. Come to think of it, I remember the early 80s as a sea of beige and brown so maybe not :(

The crochet is progressing slowly. I'm still waiting for some wool that's out of stock at the moment, but should hopefully be here in a couple of weeks. Here's the colours I'm using so far.

I love the green M&S cushion , think it looks scrummy with the pink blanket!

I'm waiting for some "Cascade 220" superwash merino in some (hopefully) pretty tangerine/peach colours that seem to be hard to find in other ranges. I came across this range on the Laughing Hens website and was amazed at the range of colours available, over 140 plus some blends. You can check out the full chart

Here.

Also loving the Greengate jugs I treated myself to. Think they're perfect for the bright dahlias and gladiolli from the garden.

Amazing clouds last night when we were enjoying the lovely evening outside.

Bye for now.

Garden bits and pieces

2011-07-30T17:10:00.001+01:00

Summer seems to have returned at last thankfully and I'm enjoying pottering in the garden and soaking up the colours and scents, and continuing to pick the courgettes, peas and beans that are doing well this year. The family are getting a bit fed up with courgettes every day! ( Memo to self; don't plant out ALL the spare plants next year, just in case they don't grow. They always do.) Even when picked tiny, they are so productive and just keep going for months. I missed these two sneaky ones hiding under some leaves.

The hollyhocks have been lovely, but are looking a bit shabby with rust now, but I can live with that. Here's a couple of views of the veg plot. The scarecrow is wearing a shirt "donated" by hubby, and seemed to do the trick of keeping the pigeons off the peas after they had shredded the first lot.

This honeysuckle covers one of the arches and smells absolutely gorgeous.

A corner near the back door. The table is covered with pots of scented pelargoniums and rubbing the leaves of these is just like aromatherapy, wonderful.

The large lavender bush near the back door is alive with busy bees.

Off to pick some more French beans.

Crochet blocks decided.

2011-07-28T09:37:00.002+01:00

I finally decided on a plan for my new blanket. After playing around with loads of blocks I figured that simple is best! If I have to follow a pattern I start to lose interest, so I adapted a plain granny square with a circular centre and came up with this.

It's so simple I can churn them out while watching tv or chatting, but I think the round centre adds a nice softness. Sticking to one colour means only one end to weave in and I should be able to do that when joining them, Yippee!! I've joined a few together to see how they'll look and I absolutely love the result. I think the dinky blocks of colour with lots of cream ( Sublime "Alabaster") is really pretty, like a paint box :)

I've used most of the colours from my last blanket, but I've been on the hunt for some more. Sticking to superwash wool or merino means I can mix them all in the same blanket. Hopefully the ones on order will be what I'm after. They can sometimes be wildly different from how they look on the website. I'll let you know when they arrive.

Planning a new crochet blanket

2011-07-25T14:04:00.001+01:00

I've got the crochet bug again, but can't decide what to do. I had all my books out over the weekend and have been searching around internet land for inspiration and now I'm even more confused. I loved the last blanket I made, but think I want something with a lot less changes of colour and ends to weave in this time!

A striped or ripple blanket would be good, but I don't want to get bored and end up with half a blanket! so blocks it is. I've tried ( and unraveled) loads but none of them seem quite right. Plain granny or simple treble squares are dead easy and quick, but could be a bit dull.

Maybe something like this

Or this is my favourite so far. It's a bit more fiddly, but quite pretty. I've added a cream border and think i'll join all the blocks with a cream double crochet seam on the front which I think looks lovely.

Taken from this book

Hhmmm....decicions.....

Pretty pelargoniums.

Awards

2011-07-21T09:51:00.003+01:00

Ok, so for the Versatile Blogger award I'm supposed to list 7 things about me and pass it on to 7 (or is it 15?) other bloggers. Well I struggled a bit with this and spent ages in blogland trying to find people who hadn't already done it. There are so many wonderful blogs out there I've chickened out and have decided not to pass it on for now, sorry. I've had a think though and here's a few facts about me.

1. I hated History at school and gave it up as soon as I could. Now I'm fascinated with it and love learning how people used to live, what their homes were like etc.

2. I've traced my family tree and got totally hooked on it for a while. Be warned if you start, it's very addictive!

3. I had a glider lesson once, but only realised as we took off that I don't like heights!

4. I'm not a big chocolate fan and don't like cake much.

5. I buy too many magazines of the house/garden/craft variety, but I've never bought a fashion/beauty one.

6. I've seen Take That on their last 3 tours. Brilliant :)

7. I would have loved to be a florist but get hay fever, so probably wouldn't have been a good idea.

For the Liebster award I'm supposed to pass it on to 3 smaller blogs that I love. Again it was hard choosing, but I've picked some that I've recently discovered and love for their wonderful photography and enviable way of life.

You had me at bonjour

Wild acre

Our French garden in the beautiful Dordogne

Don't worry if you don't want to collect the award, I won't be offended :)

What on earth has happened to the summer? It was so cold yesterday I was tempted to put the fire on, and I've got my basket of wool out ready to start some new crochet. Just trying to figure out what to do.

I'll leave you with some flowers from the garden. You can never have too many flowers right?

The best place to be

2011-07-19T11:10:00.003+01:00

Hello.

Firstly I apologize if this post looks a bit different. I was tweeking the design slightly and have somehow lost the colour selector for the post titles and it now it will only post in the same colour as the text. I've tried fixing it but not being a whizz on the computer It'll probably take a while!

Lottie's spent the last few days hiding in her favourite spot under her blanket!

She doesn't "do" rain and doesn't see why she should go out occasionally!

I've been planning a bit of a garden border makeover. The area near to the house has been neglected in recent years and now has hardly anything in it apart from self seeded trees and stuff that the rabbits don't eat (mainly ground elder and bindweed!) Thanks to new neighbours who are finally tackling the pest problem on their land, I feel like a good tidy and re-planting is worth doing, so watch this space. The bit where the bench is will be gravelled so that I can put lots of pots there.

Finally, many thanks to Karen at 4 Lil' Girls (checkout her lovely blog) who has passed on 2 awards.

It's brilliant to receive such nice comments, when I've only just started blogging. Thank you. It's difficult to know who to pass them on to as there are so many gorgeous blogs out there, but I'll have a think and pass them on soon.

Oops!, having posted, the title colour is now back as it was and not as it showed in the preview. Don't know what's going on there!

Lovely day in the garden

2011-07-16T14:39:00.001+01:00

It was such a beautiful day yesterday I decided to make the most of it and took myself off to the garden for a few hours. Feeling in a productive mood I rounded up the dozens of dirty pots and seed trays that always accumulate in the spring and set about washing them. It's something I enjoy on a warm day when I can sit in the shade of our old apple tree playing with some nice cool water, and the green house now looks a whole lot tidier.

Here's some of the things that I'm loving at the moment!

These poppies are amazing. The petals open up like crumpled silk. They seed themselves around everywhere and cross with each other creating new shades each year.

Some fennel and echinops

And a couple from the shade of the tree.

Crochet Blankets

2011-07-14T15:22:00.001+01:00

Well, I wasn't going to post today, but after Lucy's kind comments I dug out some of my finished crochet to show you.

I first picked up a crochet hook a couple of years ago after my youngest daughter went off to uni and I was looking for something to occupy myself. I came across Lucy's blog and was "hooked". It was over 30 years since I'd made a lacy doily thing as a teenager, but after a trip to the local wool shop I picked it up again easily. I went for Rowan Pure Wool DK as it's washable and comes in loads of bright colours.

My first one; a simple Granny square effort, joined in blocks of 4. I've since found out how to do the clusters on the borders where the squares join, but as it's not a very big blanket I'm going to leave it as it is.

The next two are similar. I think I used too many colours in these, just experimenting with all the different ones I could find.

This one isn't finished yet. It needs a border, maybe white or cream?

Finally my favourite. This one was done while stuck at home with a broken ankle and I really love it. I treated myself to some new wool in prettier colours. Sublime extra fine merino; Artesano superwash merino and Debbie Bliss rialto mainly. Also "geranium" in the Rowan. "Dolly mixture" colours maybe! These are more "me" and I'm going to stick with similar ones for my future projects. A couple of shades I've yet to track down are a pretty pale orange/peach and a nice pale leafy green.

My basket of woolly loveliness :)

The vegetable patch

2011-07-13T10:27:00.001+01:00

We are lucky enough to have a pretty large garden. Unfortunately it's hard to keep the local rabbit population out and they devour anything and everything. We decided to fence off a section some years ago for veg and it has worked well with just the occasional baby one squeezing under the gate. Here's a view taken a few years ago. The hens are no more, sadly, having been got by a fox one night.

I love planning what to grow each year and spend hours pouring over the seed catalogues. I've tried most things but some things I find not worth the bother. We have very poor chalky, stony soil, so root crops like carrots and potatoes don't do well. I tend to concentrate on the summer crops like courgettes, peas, french beans and sweetcorn as these are the things we like best, especially different coloured varieties like purple beans and yellow courgettes that you can't get in the shops. A first for me this year was the yellow mangetout pea "Golden sweet" which I love. They are very pretty and rather more delicate than the green ones. They do make very big plants though, so next year I will make the supports a bit more sturdy!

There are also some raspberries, asparagus and rhubarb in one corner, but I'm gradually making more room for flowers. In the spring there were loads of tulips and I've got three beds of dahlias this year which are just starting to flower. In the past I had loads of gorgeous gladioli but I think the harsh winters must have killed them off as they didn't appear last year.

Here's today's harvest.

Now I must get on with some weeding before it gets out of hand!

Three works in progress

2011-07-12T14:34:00.002+01:00

Here are three quilt tops that I've completed but are still waiting to be made into quilts. I don't know about you but I find the process of choosing the fabric; cutting and sewing it all together really enjoyable, but then somehow don't get round to finishing them off. Having a big work table to spread out on would help, but I'm determined to get these done soon. In the meantime they live on an old wooden clothes airer that I picked up on ebay which does a good job as a quilt ladder. I had to take them out the garden today as is so gloomy indoors.

The top one is made of '30s repro fabric that I'd had in my stash for ages. I love that it's become more popular recently and am often on the lookout for more. The colours are so pretty.

The next one is all 1/2 square triangles using lots of my favourite fabrics. This took a while to to do but I really love the result.

The last one was an attempt to use up lots of strips I'd cut up for other projects including some Liberty prints.

It didn't actually make much of a dent in the pile so it looks like I've got more strippy quilts to do!

While I was sewing the squares for this one in January I had a disaster when getting up from the sewing machine my foot got caught in the cable and I fell, breaking my ankle. It was all pretty traumatic and I spent weeks in plaster and a strap on boot after having loads of pins put in to hold the bones together. Thankfully it didn't take long to be able to use my foot pedal again, but I've made sure the cable is safely stuck to the side of table now!

Hopefully I'll be able to show them again when they're made up and quilted.

Bye for now.

Hello

2011-07-11T09:57:00.001+01:00

So I've finally taken the plunge after a couple of years of lurking and reading lots of lovely blogs and decided to start my own so that I can join in the blogging community properly. I hope to share pictures of my quilty projects, crochet blankets, dolls house and things I've collected over the years that you might be interested in. I also love photographing flowers so there'll probably be a lot of that.

I'll start with a couple of pic's of Lottie, who spends most of the time asleep on the sofa!

Some of my garden

And a peek of the summerhouse.

I'm not the most technical person around! so it might take me a while to get used to this, but hopefully it will get easier.