Little things!

I have been surfing!  My husband says I have been silver surfing!!  Spending a little time looking at what everyone has been up to.  Being inspired.  Oooooooing and ahhhhhhhing!  Such beautiful things!!! Quilts. Blankets.  Cushions.  Scarves.  The list is  endless, but because the craft of the moment for me is crocheting, I have lingered over the crochet projects.  I have marvelled at the little squares of Lucy’s Attic24 cushion.  I have been intrigued by Vanessa’s doyoumindifiknit scarf made of 248 teeny squares. So I thought  I would have a go. A go at crocheting some small things.  Lots of small things that could be sewn together to make something a bit bigger, which in turn could be joined to make something a lot bigger.  This got me thinking of patchwork and what does everyone start with when embarking on their first patchwork?  Hexagons.  So that’s what I made….

Tiny little hexagons.  First one…

Then another…

Until a pattern started to emerge…

A granny pattern…

A granny flower pattern…

One that is carefully sewn together and waiting for its fellow flowers….

To what end?  A cushion cover for the guest room. One to compliment the blanket at the foot of the bed. There, the project is decided upon. So you will have to wait for a ta-dah photograph to see if it works!!

Beckoning!

It has been sitting in the corner of the lounge for the past four weeks amidst a jumble of wools, needles, hooks and patterns, but I turned my back on them all.  No, I couldn’t pick them up.  Not yet. For there was no comfort in their bright colours.  I knew there would be soon, but not yet.

Well the soon came yesterday.  I had a sorting out day.  An integrating day.  A day to stroke and hug and say thank you.  Thank you for all the gems.  The patterns, the kits, the completed pictures and cards.  A day to combine my craft stuff with Mum’s craft stuff.  So I cleared the shelves and threw out the rubbish and carefully stacked the boxes, the tins, and the baskets.  Boy did it feel good!  I sat and looked at it and smiled.  And then the moment came.  I needed something to hug.  Something to feel warm in.  Something to connect with, to sit and hold.  So I sorted the wools.  I folded the materials, and there at the bottom it beckoned.  My attic24 bag.

The smilie flower on the side.  The handles criss crossed on top.

The balls of wool saying gently “Pick me. pick me”.

So I did.  I pulled it out and hugged it.  Crumpled it.  Made it cosy.

And then I began.  In, out, round a bout and through.  Oh was it therapeutic!  I lingered and counted and hugged and completed my first row of gentle ripples.

This morning I laid it out, smiled and remembered.  Mum loved this creation, my ripple blanket. So I will finish it and then curl up with it to remember all those happy times. Wrapped in my ripple!

Treasures.

Treasure.  What comes to mind when you think of treasure?  A big chest with a rounded lid raised revealing pearls, diamonds, gold?  Or a small jewelry box full of trinkets carefully bought over several years by little hands?  Or is it nothing material, but all the memories stored away to be brought out into the open when someone says “Do you remember when…….”?  Over the last two weeks we have shared many of these “Remember when” treasures.  Holidays spent in the sand dunes, driving to those far flung corners of the British Isles, family birthdays, get togethers, quiet days sitting at home in companionable silence hooking and sewing………. and that brings me to the treasure boxes left to me by Mum.  I know it is going to rekindle a craft that I enjoyed many moons ago, but like so many things was left to try something new.  Want to know what it is?  well let me show you the boxes first.

Five of them all neatly stacked.  They started life as trays of Ferarro Roches, loving munched at family Christmases.  Those little bundles of gold..mmmmmm…..!!!  But now, look….

a tray of ruby reds, scarlets, pinks reminding me of poppies, roses, sunsets.  But wait….

yellows, golds, oranges, sunflowers, daffodils.  But these beauties need leaves….

moss green, dark green, bright green, all greens!  Oh and don’t forget we need the highlights….

You have missed one I hear you call.  You have missed a colour way.  No, I have saved the best for last!

It is full of my favourite colours.  Blues, lilacs, mauves and the deep deep purple that is me! Waiting ready for me to cross stitch the pansies, irises and everything purple.  For that is what Mum loved to do – cross stitch.  We have sat many hours cross stitching together. Up and down, over and under.  Very methodically building a leaf or a petal.  I know I will again.  Not yet, but soon.  First I want to linger with my treasures and stare at the picture I have on my inspiration wall, carefully cut from a magazine.  The one I take an imaginery walk in everyday.  The one I dream of sitting in, dipping my toes in the cool pools. The one that is full of blue.  The one I say to myself “Remember when….”

Friends.

Many moons ago when autograph books were all the rave, a friend wrote this little ditty for me;

“True friends are like diamonds, precious and rare,

False ones like autumn leaves, found everywhere.”

Over the last couple of months I have been blessed with lots of true friends. Friends within the family and those who we get to know through work and play. Each one has given me so much support, not in a showy way, but in a gentle precious way.  This week their help has been very practical, from a cake to comfort eat on(!) to a casserole for the family, to bunches of flowers and cards to say how much they care and are thinking of us, to a hug and a kiss.  And I know that over the next few weeks and months they will still be there, quietly in the background ready to answer that phone call or that text which says ‘help’.

So thank you for being there, for all the cards and the flowers you have given,

for the hugs and texts you have sent,

and thank you for helping me cope with losing my best friend – my Mum.

Bye for now.

Sorry but won’t be around to blog for a while, but please do stay and browse the archives!

Mellow Yellow!

Have you ever played it?  See a yellow car and then SPLAT!  No?  The first time we ever played, or saw it being played, was in my son’s car.  Every time you see a yellow car you gently nudge the other person or say SPLAT!  Well that was us yesterday coming back up the M40.  ’A’ started it!  ’Oh I didn’t know we were playing!!’  ’That’s the fun part!  Te-he!’  Needless to say  we didn’t see another one until I spotted a digger in the road works and was promptly told that didn’t count!!!!!  Anyway it made us laugh!

And that got me thinking about yellow.  You have to smile when you see yellow.  You have to grin.  It is such a bright and sunny colour, it is bound to lift your spirits.  So here are some archives of all things yellow!

Smiles above in the hanging basket.

A cheddar grin from Henry.

A little plate of sunshine.

There were 6 in the bed and the yellow one said….

A cosy pot of tea for two.

The Mother’s day bouquet.

And a lapel of brightness.

So why did they say in the song, ‘They call me mellow yellow’!!!!

Once a week.

At the moment I am only managing to blog once a week.  It isn’t that I only want to do it once a week.  No, no, no, no!!!!  I love saying hello and showing you what I have been up to!  No, needs must at the present I’m afraid, but in between time I am trying to craft and crochet is still craft of the moment!!

So, what have I been up to!  Mum decided to have a go at an amigurumi character.  She managed to make the shell of her little friend before being too tired to finish him.  So I came to the rescue and he now sits on her bedside table with his happy grin!  So as Lucy from attic24 would say ‘ta-daaaaaa’!!!

He has been in the undergrowth!

Attaching flowers to his shell!

Peeping over his shoulder….

with a big cheesy grin!!   Well he makes my Mum smile which is all that matters.

And Squiddley Duddley will make some one else guffaw!!!!

But more from him next week!

BOBBLES!!!!!

The Sunshine School Craft Shop is now officially open and I had my first sale last weekend.  It was CMJ’s annual conference and I had a little corner of their bookstall to say ‘hello’! Just a  peek!  Just a small wave!  Want to see?

The bright colourful logo – thank you electric weekend!- caught people’s eye and they did stop to look!

They liked the cards. I took 10 packs and sold 8.

3 out of the 4 individual cards said farewell!

and a Billy Blankey and a mouse went off to new homes. 6 little hair grips also slipped into handbags to be given away as treats later,  but my little posies…..

they cried out, “choose me, choose me”, but sadly only one was heard!  The others had to come home with me!  Was it the price?  Was it the colours?  I suspect it was the age of the people.  Lots of Grannies came. Picked them up. Smiled at them.

” Are they hair bobbles?”

“No, brooches like mine”

“Oh, what a pity.  If it had been a hair bobble I would have bought one for my grand daughter.  I don’t think she would wear a brooch.”

So guess what I am making for next time to go a long side my brooches – yes, that’s right. HAIR BOBBLES!!!!!

How much did I make?  £40.50!  Not bad for a first attempt.  What do you think?

I’m back!

Wow! Hasn’t it been hot!  Particularly while driving!  My trusty little car doesn’t possess air conditioning so the cold blower has been working over time and the window has been down some of the time.  That is OK except you can’t hear the music, so you turn the radio  up, and then when you stop that is too loud!!!!  You just can’t win!!  My little car has been tootling backwards and forwards, transporting me for some quality time with Mum.  Now I am in a routine I can come and say ‘Hellooooooo!’  So ‘Helloooooo!’  My hooks and needles have been taking a rest.  Just a short rest.  I am sure they will be weaving their magic soon, but at the moment I have needed to concentrate.  To focus.  To snip.  To sew.  To stick.  And pack.  What have I been doing?  I’ll show you….

Something soft and cuddly, something to make you smile…..

Yes you can count two, but if you look closer there are three….

Three little men to hang in the nursery, or sit on the side.  Squishy beans adding to the feel and the weight.  Only a few mind you!

Then…

notelets!  You know how much I enjoy making these little packs.  Measuring, sticking, folding…

before packing four individual cards into crisp cellophane bags.

And lastly – at the moment – my flower power posies…

I have a few more goodies to unveil, but I am waiting, waiting for some special packet tops for my Sun Shine Products.  Carefully designed by a brilliant graphic designer – er – my son!  My aim for all these little wonders is to sell them for the Sun Shine School in Jerusalem, with all monies going to help.  I will let you know how my first sale goes, but for now byee!

Be back soon!

Yes, I will be back soon, I promise, but for the moment  I don’t really feel like blogging.  Anyway keep smiling and hooking and sewing and knitting and doing all those wonderful things that brighten up your space and I will see you soon!  I think there should have been some commas in there!!