Sunday 14 December 2014

My Week...

A little bit late with my highlights from last week, as my work-adventures get in the way of my regular-adventures in the last weeks of festive shenanigans. Luckily I have found time for some crafty-makings - finished a pair of Frankensocks, and some cheery festive baubles for family, as well as working away on my mood-blanket squares. My big adventure this week was a little trip to Manchester to see the Manic Street Preachers playing "The Holy Bible" and it was one of the highlights of the year, not just the week. I owed it to my fifteen year old self  to be there and it didn't disappoint.
So now the decorations are up, my shopping is finished, and the craft fairs are done so I'm planning a quiet run up to the Big Day. 

Sunday 7 December 2014

My Week

The days are passing so quickly and it's suddenly December. I am finally allowing myself to feel festive, and this week has been about buying gifts, spending time with family and being cosy. There has been plenty of crafting - my latest pair of Frankensocks is cast off and all of the pesky ends woven in, and my mood blanket reached the sixty-square milestone.
There are lots of lovely things happening over the next few weeks as we get ready for Christmas, and although I am ever so busy in my little shop I will be making efforts to enjoy festive jumpers and lots of chocolate and good cheer. 

Monday 1 December 2014

Readings - October and November

I always seem to be such a busy bee, and the little smidgens of time that I have to spare fill up quickly with makings, but I've managed to squeeze in these books over October and November...
  • Victoria Coren - "For Richer For Poorer"
  • Patti Smith - "Auguries of Innocence"
  • Julie Arkell - "Home" and "Away" exhibition guides
  • Caitlin Moran - "How to Build a Girl"
  • Karen Joy Fowler - "We are all Completely Beside Ourselves"

Saturday 29 November 2014

My Week

As always I have found the week has passed me by in a whirlwind of adventures, beginning on Sunday with a trip up into the pretty Welsh hills to Ruthin Craft Centre for the beautiful Julie Arkell "Away" exhibition. I have loved her work since the first time I encountered it, feeling drawn in by her very unique style of nostalgia and sentimentality, and her unashamed thriftiness, keeping every little odd-and-end and finding a place for it somewhere. 
My second big adventure of the week was taking the train to Chester with one of my dearest dears for her Birthday shenanigans. There was sock knitting on the train, vintage shopping, dress buying (Cath Kidston sale dress, it would have been rude not to...) much, much tea drinking and cherry scones that were so large that we were somewhat shocked. The other highlights of the week have been flowers from husband "to make our place nice", kittens discovered in a pile, crochet procrastination and postal My Little Pony loveliness from another of my dearies with a sweet Blythe doll postcard. I am truly so very lucky to have so many sweet dearies in my life. 

Wednesday 26 November 2014

My Makings...

I've been a busy little maker-bee this week, full of ideas and inspiration. I had a very fabulous day out with one of my lovely friends for her birthday, so of course I needed a new brooch for the occasion. I quickly whipped up a pretty kilt-pin flower brooch which looks, if I do say so, rather splendid on my tweedy winter coat with my vintage-inspired flower brooch. 
 Embracing the chilly weather, I had a cosy day at home finishing my latest project, an Autumn inspired cushion, to remind me of the changing seasons and keep me feeling warm as the days get colder. 
I am planning some sock knitting time over the next few days, with second-sock syndrome holding me back with my current pair!

Saturday 22 November 2014

My Week

What a delightful week it has been! It started rather well with the Wonderful Wool day, but I have spent the rest of the week battling the dreaded lurgy. Despite that, I have tried my best to have a jolly time, having an appropriate amount of sofa/cat/tea/cake time, as well as a bit of crochet time, working on my Mood Blanket and a shiny-new "make myself feel better" project - a granny square cushion cover in warm autumnal colours. 
I had adventure-tickets this week too - another evening with Mr Mark Thomas, this time in the thoroughly grand Chester Town Hall, and a trip to Manchester for dinner at The Cornerhouse and a visit with my current most favourite band Allo Darlin'. That was at the Deaf Institute, which is worth a look if only for the glorious wallpaper that adorns the place. Allo Darlin' are absolute happiness and anyone that has crept up to me quietly since Thursday will have found me humming songs from their new album "We Come From the Same Place" which has some delightfully catchy little numbers. They were supported by the equally sweet Making Marks, they have sweet little tunes in English and Norwegian, and they are splendid. 
So despite the lurgy, all things considered, it has been a really rather lovely week. 

Friday 21 November 2014

Taking Stock

Following in the footsteps of the always delightful Pip at Meet Me at Mikes, I am taking stock using her lovely list
Making : granny squares - a blanket and a cushion cover
Cooking : nice and easy Easter Biscuits
Drinking : Tea. Always tea
Reading: "The Power of Six" by Pittacus Lore and "We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves" by Karen Joy Fowler
Wanting: tea dresses and vintage brooches
Looking: forward to Pizza Night and hanging out with husband
Playing: "We Come from the Same Place" by Allo Darlin'
Deciding: what sort of edge would suit my Autumn-coloured cushion
Wishing: for a trip to see the Julie Arkell exhibition at Ruthin Craft Centre
Enjoying: cups of tea 
Waiting: patiently for a day of vintage/charity shopping and cake with one of my dearies
Liking: Allo Darlin' and Making Marks 
Wondering: if starting another pair of socks would be wrong when I have two pairs waiting to be finished
Loving: my Autumn fireplace bunting
Pondering: ideas for pretty things to make
Considering: a new hair cut and possibly going back to brunette (eek)
Watching: "Sherlock", "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D" and my my current movie of the moment "Splash"
Hoping: for inspiration
Marvelling: at how much I love my new shoes
Needing: a couple of extra hours in the day...
Smelling: not much of anything, still getting rid of a pesky cold
Wearing: my new shoes and newly finished scarf constantly, and my glasses today
Following: lots of lovely new blogs, but always looking for more!
Noticing: that the weather has suddenly changed from Autumn to Winter
Knowing: that the world is a bit of a scary place, but trying to make my little bit of it nice and cosy
Thinking: that I would rather like to have a go at Nale Binding, and arranging a cuppa with someone who can show me how!
Admiring: Sidmouth_Poppy and bodkincreates on instagram
Sorting: the homestead ready for festive cheer
Buying: lots of woolly tights for winter
Getting: a little bit excited for my birthday and the shenanigan plotting that is happening!
Bookmarking: lots of pretty gifty stuff for my favourite folks!
Disliking: the amount of things to do before I'm ready for Christmas
Opening: my eyes and being inspired
Giggling: at my grown up cats playing like kittens
Feeling: a little bit tired after a night in my dancing shoes (my regular shoes just not doing the regular walking)
Snacking: on Rhubarb and Custard sweeties
Coveting: Cath Kidston frocks for my birthday
Helping: lots of people starting off on their crochet adventures
Hearing: some chatter about Christmas, I think the excitement is starting

Saturday 15 November 2014

my week...

After spending last week in cosy hibernation, this week has been about adventures and lovely times. We ventured to Liverpool to see Mark Thomas, and Manchester to see Thurston Moore, and there was a charity shop adventure that involved the purchase of many quality cassettes for my little car Mavis, and of course there was cake. 
To be honest though, there has been a respectable amount of hibernating happening here too, with kitty-cuddles and tea drinking and some prettifying the house with paper pom-poms.
Today was a most splendid combination of hibernation and adventure, spent teaching crochet at the Wonderful Wool Day in a local chapel surrounded by lovely crafty folks and drinking tea. There were all sorts of amazing things going on, and I was able to have a little look at Nale Binding which is a bit fancy looking! It was a nice little reminder of the sheer amount of fabulous that comes as part of my life as a full-time professional-crafter.

Wednesday 12 November 2014

Makings...

The change of season and the autumny-wintery chill in the air is inspiring my makes this week. My granny squares are ever-more leafy coloured, and my fireplace in newly adorned with a string of crochet flowers and acorns. I found some lovely yarn in my stash and made myself a mossy-green crochet scarf for extra cosiness on my outside adventures. 
When the fire is lit and it's dark earlier and earlier I am happy to be cosy in our little home. 

Saturday 8 November 2014

My Week...

It's been a quiet week. I've been making time to be at home and cosy, putting big adventures temporarily on hold for a much-needed battery-recharge. There was a little bit more baking (more Easter biscuits - I love them), some end-of-season rose picking, and some time for whimsical movies - the highlights being "Splash", "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Saving Mr. Banks". 
 The highlight of my quiet little week was the arrival of my delightful new shoes, the most spiffingly-splendid shoes that have been in my possession for quite some time, as I am usually a devoted wearer of Converse sneakers and Dr Marten boots. But I love my new shoes, and have worn them loyally every day since they landed at my door, with a variety of coloured tights - mustard and navy being a jolly good match - and I think they might be friends for life. 

Friday 7 November 2014

Makings...

This week has been less about adventures and more about hibernation. I have been quietly crafting at home, watching the world go by through my window, mostly the chickens mooching around the garden, and enjoying the leaves changing colour.
My crafty projects are all growing, I have finished my first thirty squares for my mood blanket, each representing the day it was made. 



Making a square every evening gives me an opportunity to think about the day, the things that have been interesting or colour combinations that have caught my eye. Each square is different and yet they all sit so nicely together, complimenting each other. I'm joining as I go along, so I can see a blanket emerging, and I look forward to adding a new square and seeing it grow. 



 My other blankety project is knitted and is going to be cosy. I think that I may have an addiction to making blankets, but I like to have a cosy home.
 My toes will be cosy too in no time, my Frankensocks will soon be done. I think they are rather splendidly jazzy, so many colours and stripes.

Sunday 2 November 2014

A Little Bit of Baking

Today I did a little bit of baking. I am not by nature a baking sort of person, I get a little bit nervous of wasting ingredients and am always utterly convinced that everything will go horribly wrong, and I am most definitely not my positive self or as adventurous at baking as I am at craftiness. In a crafty project I can imagine how something will look and I can put my mind to making it, but no such bravery for baking. But today I put on my most brave face, pulled up my sleeves and made some little biscuits. 
 
They are not terribly fancy, it must be said, but I am terribly proud of my little attempt. They are a basic Easter Biscuit recipe, with a teensy bit of nutmeg and cinnamon on top.
The recipe looks a little bit like this...
4oz of Butter
4oz of sugar
1 egg
8oz of flour
It's nice and simple - mix up the butter and sugar, beat in the egg, add the flour. Once it was sort of a dough I popped it in the fridge for a bit, then rolled it out, cut out my shapes, painted on some milk, sprinkled on some sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon and put them in the oven for about 20mins.
They are pretty tasty, if I do say so myself. I might even put on my brave face for another batch some time soon.

Saturday 1 November 2014

My Week...

It has been a week of delightful adventures, cake and craftiness. There was a trip to the seaside on Sunday, with a visit to Oriel Mostyn, and a splendid mooch along the seafront. I always enjoy the quaintness, and the peachy pastelness of the hotels. There was also a little bit of time for a trip to Chester, and one to Liverpool, for shopping and festive present buying, and regular tea and cake breaks. 
 

On Thursday one of my dearest, sweetest friends visited, and as always it was like we'd never been apart. There was a wander up to the old castle mound in Oswestry, and a visit to two of my favourite tea rooms and the gallery. It was a splendid day and reminded me yet again of the loyalty from my foul-weather friend that I am more grateful for than I have words to explain.
My personal crafty endeavours this week have mostly been the progress of my latest pair of Frankensocks, squares for my mood blanket and a dainty little crocheted flower. The flower pattern came from a book that had belonged to my Great-Grandmother. It was an opportunity to connect with a lady of whom I have only the vaguest recollections, mostly where dots have been joined by the people that knew her, through their stories and anecdotes. I cherish the idea that I sat working through a pattern that she herself may have tried, wondering if she stumbled at the same points, if she would have found my "magic ring" adaptation interesting or if she stuck rigidly to the instructions. I felt a heavy sense of missing out on the chance to spend time with a kindred spirit, but that I am joined to her with the knowledge that she may have taught my gran to knit, and that she in-turn taught me - the passing of skills from generation to generation. 

Wednesday 29 October 2014

Ponderings...

Today has been a pondering day. I have them occasionally with no provocation or explanation. I have wondered about the merits of my life as a full-time crafter, questioned my choices in life and thought about my place in the world. It's been a funny kind of day. I'm not sure that there are conclusions to be found. I try my best to be a good person, to know that I would be the kind of grown up that would make my beloved and dearly missed granny proud. I hope that my little space in the world makes a positive contribution to the world in general. 
I try to fill my little corner of things with craftiness, to make our little house a home. I am trying to fill my time with the people that count, the ones that I feel comfortable with, that make me feel at home. It's not easy, sometimes I get a bit lost, sometimes I forget to listen to the little voice that tells me that I'm in the wrong place with the wrong people, and I've found out from experience that the little voice is usually worth listening to. I guess the conclusion that I'm getting towards is that I need to remember who I am, and surround myself with like-minded people who also understand me. My little place in the world is small, and it needs to be filled carefully. 

I borrowed this image from Freya Ete on Etsy, since I bought the little card on Monday, and it makes me happy. Her shop is beautiful and I love her work. 

Saturday 25 October 2014

My Week...

This week has mostly been about hibernation and hiding from gales and stormy weather. We ventured out to Wolverhampton on Sunday for an evening of entertainment in the shape of Mr Robert Newman, who is always a delight. Other than that little trip to the outside world the week has been spent mostly at home and there has been an abundance of tea and craftiness - I made a string of bunting with vintage embroidered doilies, as well as my daily granny squares (the first 18 are done and joined!) and the start of a brand new pair of Frankensocks. I also gave a little bit of love to my latest fabulous thrifty-find - a pretty polka-dot Cath Kidston bag, which needed a jolly good wash and a wee bit of stitching before it had it's first outing! 
I am pleased (and admittedly a little bit shocked) to see that my dear little Windowsill Garden has produced more pretty flowers, some delicate and utterly delightful pink Delphiniums. Although I am sure to be tempting fate to say it, it would appear that I may have finally  broken my run of terrible plant-growing luck. I am also successfully growing succulents, after a bit of very helpful advice from my favourite gardening enthusiast. 
After a splendidly busy day in my little stall, the week was rounded off nicely this afternoon with tea and a generous slice of Cherry Bakewell at one of my favourite establishments, Fine&Dandy, with my lovely husband and dear friends. 

Saturday 18 October 2014

My Week

This has been a jolly week of nice quiet little moments, and opportunities for adventures. I had an extended visit from a bee in my stall on Saturday, which made me smile and filled me with happiness when I noticed that he only stopped to smell the yellows, as I am myself partial to a little bit of yellow. I supposed that maybe the yellow was the most likely colour for nectary-goodness, and felt a little sorry that the flowers have a button at their centre rather than a sweet little treat. Sunday started with cake for breakfast, a tradition that I feel should be installed with haste, and finished with sock knitting in front of the fire. A perfect end to a chilly day. 
My adventure on Tuesday was a real-life Hobbitty adventure, as I visited Mordor, which is temporarily in the Wolverhampton Art Gallery. I also took myself along to the Tuesday Matinee at the Lighthouse Independent cinema to watch the delightful "What we Did on our Holiday". There is something really rather splendid about going to the movies alone in the afternoon. Thursday was the second of my big adventure days, after spending an afternoon in a cafe knitting with a friend, I found myself in Liverpool enjoying Moroccan food and good company on date night in Kasbah, before popping along to see the lovely Lucy Rose singing her pretty songs as part of the Oxjam shenanigans. It has been a jolly lovely little week.

Friday 17 October 2014

My Makings...

I am making splendid progress with my mood blanket and I have chosen to look upon my "late to the party-ness" as being fashionably late as opposed to a negative and rubbishy late and I am embracing the routine of making a square-a-day. October is most definitely a month for making blankets, not that the time of year ever limits my dedication to blanket-making. I am utterly and unashamedly addicted.
 October is also a month made for my other addiction - cosy hand-knit socks, and my delightful Frankensocks are certainly rather cosy. I kept to my super-strict palette of pinks and greens and cream, and I think they are more than just a little bit spiffing, if I do say so myself.  
The chilly winter weather is perfect for cups of tea, crafting and devouring books. I love the warm and cosy hibernation months.

Saturday 11 October 2014

My Week...

As the autumnal air seems to be here to stay I am choosing to embrace it wholeheartedly and make the very best of it. This week has been chilly but mostly sunshiny, and full of opportunities for tea and craftiness. 
I had a nice little surprise on Sunday, in the chiller cabinet of a supermarket where I found my very own little face looking back at me from the side of an Innocent Smoothie carton. I have been organising knit-alongs and Big Knit hat collections for the last couple of years, and in May a very nice lady came to visit to take my picture, and now I am gracing the packaging - these ones were Blackcurrent, Strawberry and Blackberry, but I am told that I also smile out from other flavours too. It's exciting and a little bit strange it has to be said. 
Monday was a "work in a cafe" day, a pleasant little day of sewing and drinking lots of tea and enjoying a rather lovely lunch. Being self employed has several pretty splendid perks, and this is most definitely one of them. 
I discovered on Tuesday that not only is my Gypsophelia growing nicely, but my Delphiniums are flowering! They are a beautiful and rather regal purple, and I am, as always, amazed to find that I made something grow. Their lovely colours inspired a new project, I am a wee bit late to the party for this one, but I am embarking on a crochet "mood blanket", as seen in the deligtful photographs of many and varied instagramers. I am four squares/days into the project and rather enjoying it. As well as my delphiniums, my squares have been inspired by a grey and rainy day, the colours that I loved most this summer and the new autumn colours outside. I am stitching them together as I go along and hope that I will eventually have a cosy and autobiographical blanket. My other crafty time has been taken up making pompoms for little hats, and my assistant was of my all-time favourite little chaps - my parent's little dog Jock, who kept me company and tried to help by attempting to dispose of the scraps of yarn.

Saturday 4 October 2014

My Week...

As the year continues to fly by, I am busier and busier with my little shop and filling my days with stock making and working on new ideas. The teeny-tiny bit of time I've been keeping for myself has been dedicated to yarny-exploits - I pottered around the car boot sale on Sunday in pursuit of yarny-goodness, and happily filled my little tote bag (covered in unicorns, most delightful) with pretty mustard and pink 4ply and some very splendid sheepy-wool. I also made space in my little bag for some other goodies - Ingrid Bergman's autobiography, a pastel-pink box for storing my cassette tapes (my dear sweet little car, Mavis, has a very retro and somewhat stylish tape player, given that she is a lady of 'a certain age'), and a handy-handbag for outings.  
I found more yarny-goodness on a little charity shop mooch on Tuesday in a rather fetching peachy-pink, and adopted a doily that looked lonely all on it's own in a basket. I came home to two little parcels - a book of poetry by Patti Smith, which I devoured over a cup of tea, and a light-up crochet hook, which was a lovely surprise from my lovely husband. I was gifted a bag of fabric and bits-and-bobs of half-done projects on Wednesday, and found the back of a jumper all knitted up, but sadly that was all there was of it, so with the help of a friend it was unravelled and made into a thoroughly useful ball of foxy-orange yarn.  
 
I have been busy working on a knitted blanket in lovely summery bright colours in the evenings this week, I am knitting strips that I will stitch together. It is a nice and easy project, garter stitch and not too stressful, unlike the little project that I started this evening, which involved the learning and understanding of the "Magic Loop" technique. It was necessary so that I could finally start one of the Knitted Monsters from Rebecca Danger's fabulous book, and I must confess that after getting past the scary learning-something-new bit, I rather like it and it isn't nearly as complicated as I had led myself to believe.

Thursday 2 October 2014

My Readings - September

September has seen me settling into the cosy Autumnal routines of reading under blankets in front of the fire. I have enjoyed the long and sunny summer, but the arrival of chilly weather and the need for woollens always brings a little smile to my face.


My readings for September were -
  • "The Quantity Theory of Insanity" by Will Self
  • "The Vet's Daughter" by Barbara Comyns
  • "I am Number Four" by Pittacus Lore

Saturday 27 September 2014

My Week...

This week has flown by in a whirlwind of crochet, tea and spending nice bits of time with friends. I found a delightful pattern for making little fingerless gloves, perfect for my newly-acquired sheepy-wool which was crying out to be cosy mitts, so I settled in on Saturday evening and crocheted away. I worked my way around my blanket a couple of times on Sunday, and I'm sure that one day soon it will make a very warm little bed cover.
I am utterly thrilled with the progress of my windowsill garden, now flowering away nicely with pretty little white Gypsophilia. The next one that looks ready to bloom is the Delphinium, and I have high hopes for my tiny greenhouse plants. 
I found some lovely charity shop treasures this week, with the thrifty luck on my side for more fabulous sheepy-wool, some pretty coral 4-ply, and crafty books (Amy Butler and Applique). The yarn was put to good use quick-fast, and during an afternoon of excessive amounts of tea I made another pair of cutesy mitts, using strands of both coral yarns together to make a rather splendid blend. This afternoon I enjoyed a rare catch-up with some of my dear friends, and taught their sweet little girl how to crochet, and we made friendship bracelets, because we are best friends - As always my week has been full of tiny moments to treasure, but none more so than a seven-year old telling me that I have a special place in her heart. Such sweetness. 

Saturday 20 September 2014

My Week...

Another splendid week has passed, and there have been many delightful moments to look back on and smile a little happy smile. I spent a jolly evening at a birthday gathering for a friend in the Welsh hills, where I had a bit of time watching the world go by with some of the local livestock who were happily mooching around, and had a little chit-chat with the farm cat, Puss. Sunday was a perfect Sunday of crochet, cats, and mid-morning macarons made in one of my favourite little tea shops and enjoyed at home with a big cup of tea. 
On Monday I ventured to the big city, for theatrical Japanese food preparation at Miyako Teppanyaki followed by Gruff Rhys at the Glee Club. Wednesday was a day of chatting with friends that visited my little shop, talking about crafty adventures, swapping fabric and yarn and crochet tips. I also discovered to my amazement that some tiny seeds that I had planted had actually grown and grown and made little delicate white flowers. As a somewhat unsuccessful gardener I was thrilled and amazed, and am overjoyed to see more and more little flowers unfurling daily. 
Today has been a knitting day. And a knitting day is never a bad day. 

Tuesday 16 September 2014

Makings and Ponderings...

When I'm off on my adventures, I always carry a book and some knitting, for those 'just-in-case' moments that tend to pop up unexpectedly. Several of my adventures have started with train journeys in the last week, so I have had an abundance of knitting opportunities. 
 I rather like knitting in public, there is a pleasantness about it, a higher likelihood that nice people will start up a conversation with me. I've been pondering on the sociability of knitting, after having a nice old chitchat with a sweet little lady on the train last week. It was one of those "what are you making? It's nice to see a young person knitting" kind of chitchats, and I must confess that it warmed my heart a wee bit to be in the company of a kindred-spirit. 
I had a happy-cast-off moment on Sunday, finishing a warm and cosy scarf and enjoying the ever-so-slightly-smug-feeling of being ahead with my Christmas gift making. It's a lovely little feeling. 
I was really quite the busy-bee on Sunday and added another strand of crocheted-joy in our hall, this time it's sweet little line of Sunburst-circles all in pretty pastels. I do so enjoy being busy and making delightful little bits and bobs.

Saturday 13 September 2014

My Week...

It has been a funny old week, one full of thinking, and quietly making things and spending time with family and friends. I've been thinking about how I spend my time, and who I spend it with, and about loyalty and making better choices - as I say, it's been a funny week. So I've been cocooned in our cosy little home, with my serious "thinking-about-things" hat on, and trying to come to useful conclusions. I'm not sure if I'm quite there yet... But aside from all the thoughts and the thinking, there have been some useful bits to my week... I spent Sunday with my lovely husband, and we baked a blackberry pie and spent time in the garden, picking apples and tidying up ready for the long winter ahead. We had a little bit of excitement on Monday, in the shape of a new arrival - a bunny called Clarence, who needed a forever home and has settled into our funny little family quite nicely indeed. He rather likes apples. 
I spent Thursday with a dear sweet friend, catching up, after months apart, over tea and cake, buying nail polish, swapping crafty ideas and swooning in vintage shops. It was a very splendid day, and a reminder to make the time to enjoy good company and be happy. 

Monday 8 September 2014

Makings...

As the Summer is drawing to a close and the Autumnal chill in the air seems to be a more regular visitor, I feel the need to spend as much time as possible cosy at home and crafting. Knitting socks is my comfort-craft of choice (along with making granny squares of course) and no matter how many other crafty projects are happening there is always at least one pair of socks on the needles. 
These ones are lovely Drops Fabel "Pink Dream" yarn, and I think they're pretty splendid if I do say so myself. The moment they were finished I immediately cast on a new pair, these ones are super-thrifty "Frankensocks". They are made from leftover bits of yarn from other pairs of socks, and since I have rather teeny feet there is always quite an abundance of leftover yarn. So these ones are going to be a fancy-pants pair with pinky/greeny stripes. 
 My other thrifty project is to make use of a big bag of vintage quilty hexagons that came to me as an appreciator of vintage floral goodness. I am having a delightful time picking out and putting together patterns and colours and making squishy little puffs. Progress will no doubt be slow on this project, I think it might be a labour of love but eventually it might become a quilt. 


Saturday 6 September 2014

My Week...

As with all good weeks, this one has been full of lovely crafty opportunities and spending time with wonderful friends. On Sunday I discovered some long forgotten goodies at the bottom of my yarn stash, including some delightful Colinette chunky pure wool, which I started whipping-up into a very cosy scarf ready to be gifted at Christmas. I also absolutely had to try out a very pretty crochet heart pattern that I found, it's one of the most spiffy ones that I've made so far, from many, many attempts at hearts! Monday was a "work in a cafe" day, followed by a "tea with little sister date" and it was just splendid. On Tuesday there was vintage and charity shopping accompanied by lots of tea (and possibly a very large piece of cake...) with a dear friend, where the adoption of yet another lost-looking little bird may have occurred. There was also the acquisition of mustard beads and a book on the collections of Victorian folk, which promises to be a very good read. After the shopping portion of the day there was an extended hound-hugging session with my two favourite Greyhounds, Freya and Chester. They are wonderful cuddle-buddies. 

Thursday started off perfectly with gorgeous mail. There is something so exciting about letters, and the tales that are shared. The afternoon was spent on one of my favourite seasonal adventures -  Brambling! It was a real family outing with my sister, my dad and his fluffy little dog. We found lots of Blackberries, and there are big plans for baking this weekend. Friday was a special, really rather important day - it was the nine year anniversary of the arrival of our special little companion Honey, who despite being a grumpy-pants, is the friendliest cat I've ever known. She was a skinny-miss when we found her, and she was very pleased to have a new home after seven months in RSPCA accommodation, her little life being saved by a member of staff who fought for her. I like to think Miss Honey was just waiting for us to come along so she could adopt us, I hope she is pleased with her choice every day. 

Wednesday 3 September 2014

On My Mantle

I like to take quiet moments to have a little wander around the many nook-and-cranny-like spaces of the internet, and I stumbled across a lovely intagrammer called Ada who also has a very pretty blog called Vintage Sheet Addict. Inspired by her post called "On My Mantle" I thought I would share a little peep of my fireplace, and some of the bits-and-bobs and happy critters that live there...


I try to fill our little home with thrifted knick-knacks and handmade loveliness - a lesson I learned at a very young age from visiting my beautiful gran, who had something on every surface, and more books than an average library. I learned about thriftiness and craftiness and the love of reading from her. I hope she would be proud of my crafty adventures.

Tuesday 2 September 2014

My Happy Handmade Hallway

There are often little plans and schemes and plots in my brain, that tick and percolate and quite often drive me to distraction. There is usually some kind of crafty-making at the root of this, and the result is almost always the immediate need to make the thing that is causing such overtaking of my thought process.
 As it happens, the latest make to cause this started innocently enough with my plans for stash-busting good behaviour. As I made little squares and pompoms, without a real plan but as a way of using up the tiniest of bits-and-bobs, it occurred to me that this would be a way of adding extra fanciness to my lovely yellow hallway.
And so, with my super-tall husband playing the part of helper, we started to install some rather delightful (if I do say so myself..) strings of pompoms and mini granny squares. My hope is that they will bring some cheer and sunshine during the winter months, and they already bring a smile to my face every time I come through the front door!

Monday 1 September 2014

My Readings - August

If there's one thing that I like particularly about the summer - and I must admit there are lots of things to like - it's the opportunity to have days out, and how that can often lead to reading in a cafe or a park, or just making the most of sitting outside in the the garden. I have spent lots of time grabbing those opportunities, and that means I have read lots of books in August. I generally like to read lots of books, so I am rather pleased.

So in August I read - 

  • The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
  • Out of the Ordinary and What I Do by Jon Ronson
  • Secret Britain - the Hidden Bits of Our History by Justin Pollard
  • Tamara Drewe by Posy Simmonds

Sunday 31 August 2014

Some Makings

My granny square blanket is growing slowly, it's at a stage where I barely see any progress because it's already so big, but it still has a long way to go! I am hoping to keep going until it is the size of a double bed, so there will be extra cosyness as the winter approaches, and I have decided that the combination of losing stamina and running out of the right colour and shades of yarn will not defeat me!
As usual, the plan is to run down my yarn stash (it's getting somewhat out of hand) but my blanket plan left me with a quandary over lengths that are too short for a round but still have usefulness. I've gathered together all of the odds-and-ends, and I'm making pompoms and mini granny squares. This however may end up becoming a project...
Last week I finished Groot. He's utterly splendid, and has a very fancy pot and bit of grass to sit in. He has his own shelf and seems to be settling in quite nicely.
Thanks to Twinkie Chan for the "Grootorial", it was really fun and easy to follow!

Saturday 30 August 2014

My Week...

Well, as last weeks of summer go, it's been a rather splendid one. It started with a bit of chilly weather on Saturday, which of course meant that I had to bundle up in my work-in-progress blanket as I added more rows to make it extra cosy. Sunday was a delightful day, catching up with a dear old friend and making friends with his lovely lady-friend. There was tea, and cake, yarn shopping and much chatting. Monday was spent in typical rainy day style, with lots of crafty makings, films, tea and time with my other half and our kitty family. 
On Tuesday I took an opportunity to visit Peterborough, and enjoyed having a mooch around the very pretty museum, housed in a Victorian Hospital, and full of interesting bits and bobs, including Butterfly specimens and treasured letters and handmade things from World War One. Wednesday was another cosy day, and I spent the evening in the close company of our oldest kitty. On Thursday we ventured to Shrewsbury for shopping and spent the afternoon watching "Lucy", before I finally gave in and took some rest to clear a particularly unpleasant headache. I spent Friday sewing pretty things for my shop, very quietly as part of headache recovery, but today I have Allo Darlin' for company as I work, choosing their first album as the soundtrack to my morning. Splendid.