Getting to grips…

I have been viewing before I buy again – visiting the library in other words.  And yes I will be buying this time!  I love the book I found.  I love everything about it.  The pictures.  The instructions – oh what a give away to the type of book!.  I love the colours and the settings for the photos….. oooooo everything!!  It isn’t a crochet book.  No not this time.  It isn’t a quilting book which I often get just to drool over the colours.  It is a knitting book. ” 25 classic patterns for timeless knitwear”.  Ganseys, Fair Isle, Aran, and Shetland Lace go to make up this book called  ’Country Weekend Knits’ by Madeline Weston.

I picked it out because of the Fair Isle.  Remember my New Year’s resolution to get to grips with Fair isle?    So in between all my crocheting and threading I have been getting to grips…  well trying!

Do you see what I mean about the picrtures?

I haven’t been following one set pattern, no I have used it for inspiration.  Inspiration to experiment and get my tension just right.  The pulling and looping of the wools on the back of my knitting.  But it was this post by do you mind if I knit that started me off.  Trying a little pattern here and one there.  A bit from this and a bit from that.  So I bought a luscious bag of heathery wools from Heath’s Country Store and cast on.

Little patterns to start with…

The odd stitch across the row.  Well I’ve done that before so that was well inside my comfort zone.  And then it grew and grew and I quite liked it!

The tension is improving and I am getting ready now to work some larger patterns.

Yes you could say I’m getting to grips with Fair Isle!

Ready, Steady……

Well hello there!  A whole month has passed by and I’ve been busy, busy, busy.  Click click click, clack clack clack, in and out, and through and pull; busy, busy, busy, BuSy!!!!!  Tomorrow is the day for the Sunshine School Coffee Morning and yesterday afternoon was spent cleaning and altering the lay out of my little home.  Photos were put away, cupboard tops were cleared.  Even the ivories on the old piano had to hide.  In it’s place?  Well in it’s place I have positioned very carefully……

Snowmen and stars.  Very topical!

Dangles and gift tags.

Cards and notelets.

Christmas goodies, from egg cosies to cosy hats, stockings both large and small, and hens.  How Christmassy is that!

Bags and coat hangers, carefully covered by MIL and prettied up with a few flowers.

Things to hug and squeeze.

Things to pretty up that party frock.

And lots and lots of little stocking fillers, plus a few plants…

And finally my special notelets.  The Christmas card that is just a little more.  Left blank for that special Christmas letter.  Designed by me, tweaked by the Son, and kindly printed by Conservatree.  And I love them…

So tomorrow it will be go, gO, GOOOOOO!

Atttiiissssshhhhhooooooooo!

Tissues and Lemsips have been the order for the weekend!  I had one of those tickles on Thursday nad Friday that just wouldn’t go and my voice went way down in my boots!   All husky like!  So after I finished work on Saturday – BiG favour as I don’t do Saturdays – I succumbed to the settee and snuggled down with knitting and hooking.  Finishing off bits for the Sun Shine school.  You know – sewing ends in, stuffing and giving snowmen personalities, hooking leaves for pretty little flowers, finding the right button to go in the middle and yes the pile on the back bed has grown!!

Busy, busy!!!

Time.

Where does it go?  One minute there is space and time to do lots of things and then the next there is no space at all!  Last week I seemed to spend my time catching up.  Catching up with ironing and washing and visiting and quizzing – (Mr A likes to go quizzing!  I go and scribe with the occasional right answer!!).  I didn’t get to do any gardening because when I was here it was raining.  And the rain really came on Thursday!  We had 2.5cm in half an hour!!  Followed by steady rain for quite a while.  Boy did it rain. Manhole covers were lifting, roads were rivers and the water falls created by the cars were amazing!  It also knocked out our phone lines, so when I had the time to write the next post I couldn’t!  Frustrating or what!?  But anyway I am here now and there is time to show you what my 20 minutes have lead to….

Pin cushions.

Two more have been added to these three.

I tend to make five of things at first, to see if they will sell, but this is a great little stash buster so one or two more will probably appear.

This is the first of the snowmen, which are just right for little hands to hold.  I have made another one this weekend, but he can wait for his buddies!

A happy hour was spent sitting beside my Son threading and crocheting these bracelets.  I need to go to Hobbycraft and buy the fastenings!

Much to my amazement they all sold last time round!

More hooky business and lots of starched stars….

These are so satisfying to make as they only take 10 minutes at the most.  They just need hanging strings.  And finally I found the time to go to Heath’s Country Store – oooooo I just love this shop!! – to get the lemon ball of wool to finish my attic24 Granny blanket.  Oh I also bought all the little runner up prizes!

Before I go I must give my niece a plug.  She has three little ones, but is still finding the time to start her own business, making and painting wooden word art.  She has called it The Wooden Word Art Company and it is well worth a look.  Dare I say Christmas presents?  Anyway time moves on and I must away.

Golden Oldies.

The beautiful sunshine can really add to an event.  What could be better than wandering around in the bright sunshine listening to the steam organs and watching the pistons move gracefully back and forth.  Bank Holiday Monday proved to be such an occasion.  As we got out of the car and ambled our way up the field the whistles and flutes with an occasional clash of symbols greeted us.  We both looked at each other and said ‘Dad would have loved this and cried!’  Dad was a real sentimental softie, moved to tears at the drop of a hat and these organs and steam engines would have been the ‘drop’!!  Don’t you just love them….

sitting there just puffing away….

lumbering around, pulling trees after them….

making little water wheels go….

adding to the atmosphere at the fun of the fair…

The ambling continued through cars…

a bright PURPLE  Bubble car – how fab is that!?…  and then a van too!

Vans lead into bicycles, with Mr A’s butcher’s bike!

Yes he really did ride one of those every Saturday morning, and he isn’t that old either!!

Fire engines, lorries, prams…. the list is endless.  I was snap snap snap happy!!!  A world full of colour and pattern and noise.  But I’ll leave some more for another day!  We enjoyed our afternoon, soaking up the atmosphere, before wending our weary way back home for a cuppa and a piece of cake – remember carrot cake for me and battenberg for Mr A!!! – and a bit of knitting.  What did I knit?  Blobs!!  Five of them.  A bevy of blobs!  All stuffed and packed into their basket but just popping out to say ‘hello’.

Peeping round the corner for his friends…

calling them to come on parade….

standing to attention before jumping back into their home…

The Blobs!!

Peace and quiet.

It has been a while since I last went tap tap tap on the keys.  A while since I last said ‘hello there!’  But I have not forgotten you.  I have been visiting.  Looking at what you have been up to, and some of my blog land friends have been very busy.  Busy with their fingers and hands making beautiful bags and things.  On the other hand some have been quiet.  Hiding away, cocooned safe and sound in their own little private world and if that is you – I have missed you.  I have missed you but understand the need for space, so take care and come back soon when you are able.

So what have I been up to?  Well we have been sitting in the garden ’til late at night.  Listening to the birds and watching them fly around.  Darting here, there, and everywhere!  Watching the sun play of the flowers….

The clematis at the bottom of the garden is absolutely ladden with blossom….

And the Granny Bonnets are nodding their heads….

Both of these make me jump up and down, as do rainbows of colour.  Yes I know we have not had any rain, but my back bed is a wash with colour. All the colours of the rainbow….

I have laid it all out.  All those 20 minutes worth of love.  Just to see where I am going.  The time for the stall is approaching fast and I needed to look and see where the holes are, what was needed to fill the gap.  And I was pleasantly surprised!  I really like all the sewing and knitting and crocheting that I have done!  Take a peek …

A rainbow of hessian bags all with a button trim…

Three little hens…

with gangly legs and knobbly knees…

An explosion of flowers with hair bobbles and slides….

And last but not least a new little Granny Square bag for little hands to carry…

(Sorry – a bit dark!)

So with all this brightness around I thought I needed jazzing up!  I bought this linen skirt last year.  Why I bought a black one I will never know!  It has been hanging in the wardrobe and only seen the light of day once, but now…  Now, it is no longer plain.  No the flower explosion has happened again!  I have embroidered some big flowers all the way around it.  In a rainbow of colours…

They float and move just like they are in a breeze.  One wearable skirt!!  Happy crafting!

Flowers!

I love flowers and I have included many in my ramblings.  But Mother’s Day cannot go by without another post and photo on flowers!!  So here we are….

Firstly these beautiful blooms were a gift to me from me!  They are all at different stages.  See the tight bud at the back and then the unfurling one in front.  I know they will keep going for sometime and go through that showy stage before dropping petals left right and centre…

Then there are these.  A bouquet from my son.  Chrysanthemums, carnations, and a rose, with  a bit of gypsofilia.  I know I will end up putting little bunches here, there and everywhere but at the moment I am enjoying them on mass!

This little trug found its way to MIL.  We went for dinner yesterday and enjoyed roast beef and all the trimmings, including Yorkshire Puddings!  I cannot make these.  No matter how hard I try, whichever recipe I follow they just end up like shoe leather or coasters!!  And no it isn’t the oven – my Son makes beautiful ones in the same oven!!  Tips gratefully received or I will continue using those from a certain Aunt B at the shop!  Flowers…..

These are the daffodils left over from Mum and Dad.  We went down to put some on their grave and took too many, but having said that it is nice bringing a bit back home!  Memories.

Now, flowers of the woollen kind..

A little stack of African Flowers….

or a posy!  These are a joy to make and I owe it all to http://minspiration.blogspot.com/ It took me a while to work it out as the instructions used sc and dc.  I think they must be based on the American terms and are actually dc and tr. Well that is what I used and they look OK to me!  So what else have I been up to?  This….

another little Rainbow Baby.  Yes I know she needs a face!!!

A little gingham lining.  Yes I know it needs stitching in!!

Another new bag completed, well nearly…

Yes I know it needs a lining!!  And finally this…

I picked it off my ‘thinking pile’.  Do you have a thinking pile?  A pile of things that just didn’t quite work out and you don’t know what to do with them!  Well this has been lurking there for about 18 months and the time has come for me to bite the bullet and just go for it.  I learnt an awful lot about machine piecing while making this my first proper pieced quilt and I am still learning.  Machine quilting just doesn’t flow.

Can you see how it has pushed the top?  Why? Am I not tacking enough?  Heeeeeeelllllllppppp!  Please!  Pretty please!  But I will bind it and put it down to experience and learning.  So yes, I know it wants it’s binding!  The secret is out – what will I be doing for my next few 20 minute sessions? Sewing!

So that is me.  Up to date.  Just one thank you to do.  To a lovely lady in the High Peak.  ”Thank you.”

20 Minuters!

I love this little gang, well not so little as there are about 50 of us now!  Each person beavering away at small, medium and large projects and revealing in ta-dah moments!!  It makes you want to ….er…. make things when you see how creative other people have been!  Oooooing and aaaahhhhing over pretty pictures, and quilts and crochet and…. ! Thinking, ‘oh yes I want to have a go at that’,’ must work that one out’, ‘wow that is just… well, beyond words’. So thank you everyone for being so inspirational and here is my ta-dah moment for the last week…..

Lavender bears, tissue holders, and a very pink Rainbow Baby.  Oh, and Val the pattern for my little bag is nearly there.  Just a bit of fine tuning!

Found it ….I think!

I’ve been searching!  Getting cross and frustrated when I decide that  - no this isn’t it.  Probably trying too hard to get it into focus and not really hearing my Son when he says time and time again -’Just let it happen, Mum.  Don’t try too hard!’  He is right.  I think I have found it.  Eureka!!!

I’ve been trying something new yet again.  Something that could be a little more creative in that I will let it evolve and develop rather than follow a set pattern.  Want to see….

Yes, I have tried machine embroidery and I have loved it!!  This was my first attempt.  The tension wasn’t quite right but got better.  Go number two….

well actually, numbers two and three.  The one on the right looked neater.  I put the upper tension to 2.  It is a New Home machine.  The stitch length to 0 and went for it.  Marmaladerose’s tutorial helped – thank you Fi – but it still isn’t quite right, so any tips will be gratefully received.

That was yesterday -

So today I thought I would try the next step….

and a closer look….

and the back….

It is still a little loopy, but I enjoyed trying and I think as it develops, and practice makes perfect – ha ha!! –  I will have found my creative outlet!!!

In the mean time I have been knitting and crocheting for the Sun Shine School….

Little flowers have blossomed into hair bobbles..

and rainbow colours have formed a rainbow baby…

or two!  This is Jean Greenhowe’s charity pattern.  A dream to knit and the babies were very popular last time.  Now I’m off back to play!!!!

Time Out!

This weekend we took a moment for some time out!  Time away from everything.  To re-group and take stock. Time to relax and catch up.  It has been so hectic here for such a long time that we had forgotten what it is to have a weekend to rattle around in!  So after bacon butties – our standard Saturday lunch! – we went shopping.  Some light retail therapy!  Mr A’s retail therapy is not quite the same as mine.  It isn’t the sort to linger over windows.  To spy the little bargains.  To drool over a beautiful corded coat – although I did do this on Saturday, but  they didn’t have my size! Drat! And double drat!!!!”!  His sort is…. know what I want, where I want to go for it and whizz…….. it is bought!!  It wasn’t quite this quick on Saturday, but it was a very focused shop.  So I shall save my browsing and drooling for a day on my own!  Then it was home for a saladey tea and some light crafting.

In  fact I did quite a lot of crafting this weekend.  Things for the Sun Shine School.  Sorting out and mentally pricing things ready for the next sale. Hooking and knitting while I watched the cars varrrooooming around the race track.  Stuffing and sewing while Nottingham Forest were wrestling with Cardiff.  Want to see?  Well here is just a peek….

Two little buzzing bees.  One for each hand.

Three golden glows.

Four Rainbow babies all snuggled up warm.

Hair bobbles and brooches and matching pins…..

So things are moving along just fine…….

And the weather today is glorious so I have had a long walk to town and back.  Snapping away for some artistic shots! …… Ha ha!!  But that is for another day.  A day to play about and mosaic in!    Just a tease….

PS the give away is still there… so just say hello!