Saturday 28 January 2012

Ooop's!!

You know you're a blogger, when the picture is more important than the First Aid!!

Monday 23 January 2012

A whole week!

It's been a whole week since I posted. In my defence, I have been busy, not only with work and life, but also experimenting with my new found skill. Look, I can crochet in straight lines now.
My little pile of blue and white Granny squares has grown by only two, I was having sooooo much fun with the stripes. I see a new stripy cushion cover in the near future.
I've also been spending a lot of time drooling over crochet projects on Flickr and Ravelry, a girl could have so much fun.
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Tomorrow is my day off. I have an appointment booked at the opticians,(I think it's time for varifocals, I'm really struggling with small print, but the other side of the car park is no problem!! LOL) The rest of the day is mine and I really want and need to spend some time sewing. DS Jiffy needs a BIG quilt. :-) If I play in my little den all day tomorrow, that means I have to play with the vacuum cleaner today. Boooooriiiiiiiing.

The marmalade? Was delicious. One colleague has already finished a full jar and asked for more! :-p

Tuesday 17 January 2012

I wish this blog had smellovision!!

 I bought some oranges last week that turned out to be a bit dry and not very nice. Rather that waste them, I saved them for a day off. I have a pan of marmalade bubbling away on the stove, this place smells divine.
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So what am I doing while I'm tied to the stove? Well I've been playing about with crochet again. Shirley had a go at teaching me while she was here on her tour of Europe. I'm not a very good pupil though, and once she was gone I struggled. I have revisited the granny square from time to time, usually with disastrous results, but last week, on yet another try, I did much better. I'm onto my fifth blue and white square!! They are not the greatest but at least they all look pretty similar and I'm happy to call them a WIP.
Buoyed on by that small success I dragged out my Crochet for beginners book and tackled something different. Hmm, I think I have tension issues. 
So I booked myself some 1-2-1 tuition with Julie at 'Sweet Ginger Emporium' and this morning she helped me to produce some Granny Rows
 And, OMG!!!
The central medallion of the 'Wool Eater'!
 So now you know what I'll be doing while the oranges bubble away.
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I got a lovely package in the post the other day. :-)
All the way from Janice in Australia. Thank you Janice. Look at all those pretty stamps.
 This was a delayed Christmas gift. 
 Janice has made me a gorgeous little baggie to keep shoes in while on my travels. I love it. :-)
Also tucked in there was a quilters calender, just look at that cover quilt.
I've drooled over each months image, but have yet to have a look through the booklet, but there are at least two must do's in there.
Thank you Janice. :-)
Right, I'm off to stir my oranges, it's nearly time to add sugar.

Wednesday 11 January 2012

Bad Blogger

I've made two girly kindle covers in the last couple of months and forgotten to take pictures! Hopefully DD will come to the rescue with a picture of hers.
In the mean time, here's my latest knit. 
I've made two pairs of these little fingerless mittens. I love them, so quick and easy to knit up and great for using up leftovers.
Must dash, I'm off to work.

Saturday 7 January 2012

New reading and drooling material.

 I'm sure I remember promising myself that I would start my sewing year with a girly Kindle cover and a specs case. Why then am I taking up curtains?
Never mind, here's my reward. I've seen a quilt along on a few blogs and drooled. 
So I just had to get the clicky finger into action, who knows, maybe I'll play catch up.

Back on the subject of beetroot. It seems to be a bit like Marmite, you either love it or hate it. I do like beetroot. Not that nasty pickled stuff you get in jars though, the vinegar just kills off the flavour. Fresh cooked beetroot on all manner of scrummy dishes or with a salad. I've tried one or two pickles and chutneys and eventually found a sweet recipe, with lots of apples and cider vinegar. I've tweaked it to suit of course. :-p

Friday 6 January 2012

Thursday 5 January 2012

Where did all the comments go?

I know I'm not very good at responding to comments, but just for once I had the time and the inclination to do so. And blogger has eaten them. I mean, I know I have seven comments on my last post, I read them, I approved them and I can see them here on my blog. But they never made it home to my inbox? Weird.
So, I'll do it this way.
Cath, thank you for your comments and good luck in your new bloggy adventure. I hope you enjoy all of the friendship and inspiration that I have found. 
Andrea, I have a few things planned, but can't seem to settle at the moment, maybe once I get the last of the Christmas decorations down.
AnnieO, Thanks for the comment. The feet belong to my husband, so I don't think they will be growing any bigger! LOL
Diane, thank you for your comments. You're so right, everything we craft is worth while. :-)
Lynda, I think my pile of project boxes and knitted finishes is testament to everything I've achieved, even if there are so few quilty finishes. A cuppa and a chat at Festival Of Quilts sounds good. Though I was considering Harrogate as recommended by Sue. I'll let you know once a decision has been made.
As I type, Cardygirl is down on the farm.
Ali, from Honeyfield Orchard wished all the best to myself and my Kiwi husband. Thanks Ali. I'll keep my fingers crossed for some inspiration to go with all that crafty time we're hoping for.
Wow, seven comments have led to eight links to eight wonderful blogs.
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Can't have a post without pictures, even if it does have great links. 
As you know I took part in Chookys annual SSCS. This year my recipient was Claire
After a huge wobble at almost the last minute and a pep talk from Chooky, I changed direction.
 I made a cute wee bag with a long strap. I covered a journal and made one of my trademark pears with off cuts. I also included some purchased items. Not the greatest of pictures I'm afraid, it was a horribly dark winters day when I took these photos.

This morning I started to take down some of the Christmas decorations. I'm sad to see them go, but happy that it feels like a de clutter. Always a good thing in my book.
I've made promises to two colleagues, one would like a cover for her kindle, the other would like a specs case, two nice simple and quick projects to start the year. I'm trapped at home all day on Friday (waiting for the TV man to come and upgrade our satellite system, I'm told the new TV would be soooooo much better for it.) So hopefully plenty of time to play.