Things that made me smile this week….

I've been feeling a bit under the weather this week so have not been far or done very much. Hopefully, now on the mend. 

So…. things that have made me smile this week……..

Looking and playing with my basket of new wooly colour as I decide how to make my crochet blanket.

Finishing the needle felted project.  A tea cosy, a gift for my dear friend, now complete with her four dogs sitting by the Aga.

Seeing the first cherry tree blossom on a stroll around the garden.

Last of the Amaryllis, the second flower is still in bloom - and look there is a new bulb growing on the side. Not bad for its third year! Hope I can keep it going for a forth.

Have a lovely weekend.

Renovation projects

There are two projects going on in my life at the moment - both connected I guess. The first is that I am finally getting my head around crochet - with inspiration and help from Lucy I have overcome my fear and now have the confidence to have a go. I started with a basic granny square and am now able to add different colour yarns and have even tried a bit of a circular centre before making a square. 

The main reason for wanting to get my head around crochet is connected to our other big project - the house renovation - I need some crafty 'thing' that I can pick up and put down again quite easily. Something that is easy to transport and needs no specialist equipment, so that when I have spare time I can make a square or two. 

At the moment I'm just experimenting and playing with the yarn and really enjoying myself. I will move on to trying out different patterns - but eventually I will be making a blanket for our new house. Quite exciting really!!

Now, the renovation project is in a different league! We are extending and renovating a two bedroom red sandstone house with flat roof extensions into …..

a three bedroom house with a lovely new kitchen and family room extension :-)

The internal work has begun with J doing all the work and me helping where I can. He is stripping out the old house and all the plaster from the walls, and 'we' have found quite a few blocked up doors, windows and fireplaces and are now beginning to be able to read the history of the house.

It is very hard and dirty work, but it will be much easier for the builder to see the skeleton of the house rather than wonder what might be lurking!

J recently celebrated his birthday and I just couldn't resist this card - I just changed the names on the card before I gave it to him - he thought it was so funny!!!

I will give updates every now and then with both the house and the crochet. If you have any easy crochet patterns for me to try please let me know.

Have a happy weekend

Things that made me smile this week…...

Watching my Amaryllis coming into flower and discovering a second stem :-)

Purple sprouting broccoli just beginning to sprout in the garden

Putting some washing out on the line and breathing in that fresh smell when taking it in again

Making peanut butter and chocolate biscuits - naughty but nice!

Cooking by candle light during a power cut - luckily we have gas to cook with.

What has made you smile this week??

Yesterday and today

 What a difference a day makes…..

…… but at least we are not flooded. I really feel for people in the south who are suffering with the floods.

Crafty update

At long last a little ta-dah for the cushion I was knitting - started back in November no less! I actually finished the knitting and stitched it up a while ago - but just could not find the buttons I bought for it. I must have put them somewhere safe in the tidy up for Christmas. Anyway, I have put four temporary buttons on for now - I'm sure the six I bought especially for the cushion will turn up sometime.

I love it, I'm really pleased with how it has turned out!

My sock knitting has been a bit slow, I'm still on the first sock but I have turned the heel so feel as if I'm getting there now! I do like the way the colours are turning out.

I've also been busy with a little needle felting. I was given some lovely blankets a while ago and have been wanting to make something with them (they are a bit damaged in places so I don't mind re-purposing them). I was inspired by Sweet Birdy Love, who makes amazing things from old  blankets - she is a wizard with free machine embroidery and appliqué - but I go very wonky very quickly if I try that - so I decided to needle felt instead. 

Not finished yet but slowly getting there. 

Busy times

I had a very busy long weekend - a weekend of mixed emotions.

Firstly, daughter C cooked us a lovely meal from a cook book she had at Christmas. It was from 'Ottolenghi The Cookbook', a fantastic book full of really yummy recipes. We were looking for a recipe for chicken - but came across this recipe for 'chickpeas and spinach with honeyed sweet potato' - it was absolutely delicious.

It was a lovely evening, and our last together for a while as the next day I drove her down south (in all the wind and rain) to Stansted Airport. Not to fly away to the sun on holiday - but she is off to work in Germany for a while. She will be living and working in Leipzig for the next few months - what a fantastic opportunity to develop her language skills and get work experience and live in a different country! A little sad to say goodbye, but we have already book flights to go out and visit her during her time out there.

Once I had dropped her I went to have lunch with my friend Jane (who came to stay with me recently). She lives quite close to where we both grew up in Cambridgeshire. Great to see her again, and another of our friends who also called in who I hadn't seen for a while. Lots of tea, chatting and catching up. Later, we went to visit Jane's mum. I like to visit her whenever I am down that way, she is 88 now, still lives by herself and is fiercely independent - such a lovely lady.

Then I set off again to visit and stay over with some dear friends who have recently moved away from us at home. They now live in Rutland, quite near to Rutland Water. It was just great to spend some time with them - although I had seen them at New Year - but its not quite the same as just being able to pop in to see them!  The following morning the rain had stopped and the sky was blue!!! We took the opportunity to get out and about, they took me on a little tour of the area, as they are looking for a new home, and then we went for a walk. It was still a little breezy, but so nice to be out with blue sky and sunshine instead of the wall to wall grey we have had lately.

I just loved this very neat way of laying hedges, with binding along the top to hold the staves - I don't think I've seen it anywhere else - must be a tradition in that area.

C is away in Germany, but M is coming home for a few days - so looking forward to seeing her - its all go!

Next post will be a catch up on some of the crafty things I have been doing.