Not dead

Why is it that I am so bad at sharing whats going on? I did think that I was doing better but no.

Anyhoo this is a flavour of what I have been getting up to.

Just in time for the weather turning lovely and warm we decided to rip old fire

and replace it with one that matches the furniture.

 

This has been something that I have hummed and haarrd about for 5 years. Its done now!!

I have been inspired to make a new super colourful blanket for picnic season, its huge and has been nice to be underneath during the chilli spell but we are having a heat wave here, well less freezing snap.

I love it, bright colours are not really me neither do I do random colours, far too stressful so I have copied Attic 24. I say copied I did leave out the Fondant colour, didn’t fancy it.

Granny gorgeous but oh heck all those ends!!!!

I have also made some baby clothes

               

My friend Louise and I also did a Valentine inspired swap, my things have yet to materialise Stateside but look what I got……

Pretty stamps

Gorgeous wraps

Fabric, buttons and stickers.Drum roll please brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

The most lovely HAND MADE quilty hanging. I swear it is so perfectly made, the hand sewing is microscopic. I want to hang it next to the new fireplace so I can look at it always. I’d love to have a go at a simple (ish) quilting project as Louise has sent me other fabrics in the past too and I would love to do justice to them. Anyone got any good ideas?

I will try not to let it all stack up and attempt one a week, hope you have enjoyed the catch up.

Lou

Christmas round up

As promised I have the Holly pattern for you. I know that there is a very famous holly pattern out there from Attic 24 but this is very different and doesn’t have an amazingly long tutorial. Oops sorry about that. I also have a symbol pattern. I find them really easy to read but I appreciate that many people do not so I have tried to write this down too, aaarrrgghh.

Chain 10, dc in the second ch from hook.working into the foundation ch htr in next tr in each of next 2 st. ch3, sl st into 1st of 3ch. htr in next tr in each of next 2 st. ch3, sl st into 1st of 3ch. htr in next st. Into last of foundation chain work dc, ch3, sl st into 1st of 3ch, dc. htr in next, tr in each of next 2 st., ch3, sl st into 1st of 3ch. htr in next, tr in each of next 2 st ch3, sl st into 1st of 3ch. htr in next sl st in 1st ch.

I made 2 sewed them together and used a modified tiny tiny flower as a berry. The modification is just do round 2 and forget round 1. Or you can do it unmodified if you like.

Thanks to all the supportive comments re the housework vs crochet debate. You told me exactly what I wanted to hear and I can show you the result of the rest of the day on Friday, I even had it blocked before bed time. Here are the details,

Yarn: Galaxy 2 balls (it has sequins)

Pattern: South bay shawlette

Finally may I introduce to you my very good friends. Good looking bunch aren’t they?

They visited us for the weekend and we had the best time ever. The lady is my bestest buddy from school and my chief bridesmaid and has NEVER failed to be there for me when I needed her. Her Daughter, (girl genius) is my goddaughter and its always a joy and privilege to spend time with her. Our husbands first met when we honeymooned in France at their home when we were too poor to afford a holiday, it was a risk but they hit it off. Their son has had an amazing year and is a face that you will be seeing a lot of. He will be staring in the BBCs dramatization of the borrowers 7.30 boxing day bbc1. He plays James the boy who discovers the borrowers. I am very much enjoying fame by association (I’ll take whatever I can get)

 

I’ll be back after the big day now, I hope you all have a great festive time whatever and however you celebrate.

Love to all

Louise

xxx

Life is a bowl of cherries

Harvest begins in earnest in North Yorkshire. The cherries are destined for jam, any recipe advice would be welcomed by the way.

The peas we ate for Sunday lunch ( I froze a few too) 

and the chilli just has to look pretty for now. He does have friends but they are still on the plant.

Keeping with the cherry theme I made this to house the carrier bag that I made and posted about last time. Its the Lucy ripple in leftover granny yarn. I am off to make some more SIBOL squares now for the straw berries and cream challenge then maybe some beachy ones too I will share them later on.

Good thing, bad thing, stripy love

 

 

 

Good thing

The arrival of stash from dragon yarns.

Bad thing

Husband at home to witness said arrival

 

Good thing

finished shawl!!

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Bad thing

It smells of wood smoke ( I like that though, reminds me of brownie camp)

 

 

 

Good thing

good flag flying weather. I didn’t dare fly the stars and stripes today but here it is for my friends in the US. Will do on July 4th.

 

 

 

Bad thing

didn’t win at footy (didn’t loose either but apparently this is not good enough)Can you tell I’m not a fan of football?

 

 

 

 

 

Good thing

The odd glass ( although I have taken antihistamines and no one told me that they would make me …………….    zzzzzzzzzzz)

 

 

 

 

Also good thing

Sunny evening, Rosemary twigs in the fire pit, Mr Lou lou chillin’ and pup playing

 

Bad thing

Its raining today but hey that only means one thing……………..

 

 

 

 

Its hooky time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sweaty palms

Sweaty palms is the feeling I have when over excited about a project. That very feeling helped me through a days teaching at a very challenging school in Liverpool as I knew that I would soon be home to the sewing shop in the village (I know paradise why did we ever leave?) where I could get some threads for this tiny little project.

Let me tell you I ate that project alive and its been one of my dear faves ever since. Well I feel like that anew. For some time I have envied the lovely Lucy’s ability to put colour together and make a vibrant project. Most of my projects have been muted or a limited palate.

I also tend to use acrylic yarn (de rigueur it seems) Face bovvered. So I have ordered some of the cotton yarn that Lucy mentions in one of her recent blogs. The shop has been inundated however and it may be some time before I get my new stash.

What to do with it? Well I have been making several shawls recently and been very pleased with the results so I thought that I might have a go and make myself a colourful wrap up for nippy nights when we barbe or watch the sun go down. Plus I am blanket bound here so something new maybe.Now I m very taken with the New granny and her new found cool so I thought that I could have a go.

I am tinkering with a pattern (not tried that before) which of course I will share both here and Ravelry.

Finally look out for me here as I will be team blogging at the end of the week.

Thankyou kindly

This morning after trawling the overnight activity of the blog I find myself truely humbled by the time busy people have taken to take a look at my doings. When I started out I really did think I'd  still be all alone in the blogsphere, but how wrong was I? The thing that I did not realise was the friendliness and interest of complete strangers (some of you not so much strangers any more) Thankyou all for  your support, for comming by and for leaving messages. I know that many people have found it hard to do so and I am at loss to know why but I know that you come and for that I am greatful and feel ontop of the world.

Say Hello to smiley Louise!!

Its Friday today and that can only mean one thing crafternoons so I will leave you with a glimpse of what I will be doing. A bag from a smallish bit of ripple curtesy of Lucy at attic 24. I got the pattern idea from this lady

Yes and that funny looking special effect was infact sun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Must do better

I have been wanting nay trying to share what I do craftwise but failing horribly. You see its knowing where to start as I want to include things that I have done in the past (there is quite alot) All of this has confused me into not knowing where to begin. So ignoring Julie Andrews, I will not start at the very begining but do the opposite and start with what I have on the go. my WIP (work in progress) if you like.

This is the project I am most excited about even after 4 weeks. I found another blog and definately liked what I saw it was the inspirational attic24 I love everything avbout this blog and only hope that I am half so entertaining

I made the birdie from her instruction too. I am going to make lots more too.birdie 

The heart garland was

skip to my lou I will be making more of this for valentines so watch this space

These are also recent craft seshes. Mmmmmmmm