Growing blanket

From small acorns grow...

(look at the gorgeous sunshine in this photo - I had been sat in the shade as it was so hot. Just heavy rain and strong winds today.)

...over half way there...

...and onto the final few rows, until...

...it's finished - well, apart from sewing in three trillion ends and doing the border. At this point in time, I am desperately trying to like the ends so I don't have to deal with them!!

Have a wonderful weekend. x

Homemade Cat Bed

Wow, what a weekend. Not sure how the Queen managed to keep going through all the festivites and the functions she attended. (which quite frankly, seemed to go on forever.) Just seeing her stood on that boat for hours in a dress coat and flimsy little scarf made me feel cold and I was in a nice warm room, merrily sewing a Union Jack flag from vintage fabrics to alleviate the boredom!

Anyway, I had a spare Friday about three weeks ago where I decided I would just have a little go at decorating the charity shop cat basket I bought for £3.50. Now, Gerard had not really been anywhere near this basket and my husband and kids quite rightly pointed out that a bit of bunting with his name on was highly unlikely to persuade him to sit in it. But I had in my mind how I wanted the basket to be as it is going to look pretty in our kitchen once it's all finished.

So I spent a couple of hours snipping into my favourite vintage fabrics and making a little row of flags, which I embroidered with floss - a letter for each flag - you might just be able to see in the above photo. Then I set to work on a round crochet blanket, the pattern for which I found on this blog. Alice is a very clever lady for producing such a clear and easy to follow tutorial for this mandala, perfect for round blankets, cushions and pot holders. Raymond the cat is super cute too!

Of course I went straight to my stash of Stylecraft yarns to make this blanket and chose colours to match the colours of accessories in my kitchen.

This is a Joseph Joseph glass worktop saver that I bought a short while ago, which we have been using mainly as a bread board. Luckily I had some very similar colours which match very well. All in all I had a fun day making this and was really chuffed with the end result. Shame Gerard still hasn't sat in the basket though! Ungrateful cat. :)

This project reminded me of something I made back in February when it was extremely cold. I found a pattern for a granny rectangle (can't remember from where, I googled it though if that's any help) and used some Stylecraft yarn to match the colours of the curtains in F's bedroom.

This was really quick to make - once you get the first two rows done, it's just like making a big granny square. Once it was done, I put it in place on the windowsill...

... where Gerard promptly jumped up and sat down. We have tiled windowsills in our house which get icy cold in winter (see the snow in the garden outside) and Gerard loves to sit on the sill and watch the world go by. He was very pleased to have a nice warm and comfy place to sit whilst watching the girls having a snowball fight outside.

And seeing as I don't have a photo of Gerard in his basket, here is one of him on next door's chimney, annoying a magpie! It's mainly bungalows down our road so he has lots of fun jumping up onto the roofs and getting a good view into the distance.

Will be back soon with news of charity shop bargains, new garden furniture and a growing blanket. x

Paving the way

Apologies for my absence, been busy in the garden and E has been very poorly, off school for 7 days with some kind of virus. Hopefully she will get some much needed rest over the half term holidays and will feel better soon.

Anyway, last weekend we decided to tackle the paving that we had planned to the side of the decking, making this area a weed free zone and much easier to keep tidy. Whilst my husband was levelling the area, I weeded under the pyracantha and started pruning off lots of dead branches. You can really notice a difference between these two photos, the photo below was taken at the end of February this year. It's lovely to be able to see the shape of the trunk/branches and the kids have already said that they would love to have a hanging chair here!

Gerard also got in on the action, he loves a roll in the sunshine, always wandering into the house covered in bits!

You may remember that we were given some paving slabs about 18 months ago by a relative who was working on a gardening job. The owners didn't want the slabs so they were lifted (and had only been down for two years so still in excellent condition) and promptly brought round to our house. These are really good quality slabs and extremely heavy.

Some of them had been cut to fit for their previous location so we had to make do with what we had been given and make it work for the space we have.

It was a hot day when M was laying these slabs, truly back breaking work. The slabs were far too heavy for me to lift so I felt like a spare part, only being needed to bring yet more squash and to fill up the watering can. I also have this really annoying habit of just sitting and watching someone work if I am unable to help. M only complained once (that I could hear anyway!).

 

We were extremely lucky to find these half price pots at a local garden centre. At first we only found one so dismissed it as we knew we needed a few to plant some bamboo to give us extra privacy along the fence. Just before we left the garden centre, we found some more pots on offer and another four were lurking at the back. Perfect for our requirements and I think they look very simple and understated.

We have paved behind the tortoise enclosure too as I sometimes need access to this side of the enclosure and trudging over mud on a rainy day in my slippers is not pleasant.  This is where we had to use some of the pre-cut slabs so we did some nifty filling in with mortar and slate paddlestones. We have a few slabs left so will be paving down the side of the enclosure that meets the lawn. We had laid some new turf down here last year but it is constantly in the shade so it never took so I think some paving will be the best solution for this area.

I think it looks great, so tidy and I can't wait to plant up the pots. Just need to find the right type of bamboo at a reasonable price. I used the rest of the slate paddlestones in the tortoise enclosure as a basking area for them. At first they were curious and crawled all over them but I haven't seen them on there since. Apparently tortoises don't like change so we'll see how it goes over the next few days.

We also finally found a parasol which fitted our requirements for this area (believe me, we are very picky) and that arrived yesterday, just in time for the bad weather we are due to have over the Jubilee weekend. Typical. Maybe we could shelter under it whilst toasting the Queen?  What are your plans this weekend? We are meeting up with all our neighbours for a BBQ on Sunday and there are lots of other things planned in our village to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee. We are also hoping to lay the rest of the decking tiles along the long concrete path to the side of the house, and to pop out at some point to have some brunch at a lovely little tea house nearby. Can't wait. Have fun whatever you are doing this weekend. x

Diagonal Crochet

I've been looking forward to showing you my new blanket and here it is. Quite a few months ago I saw a crochet blanket which had diagonal stripes and I was intrigued about how it was constructed. I made a mental note to look into it for future reference and then pushed it to the back of my mind. Up until I was wondering what to do with my Stylecraft stash. I was originally thinking of doing a ripple like this. Which I would still like to do. But I remembered the nagging thought of this diagonal pattern and learning a new crochet technique/pattern is always a nice challenge. So I searched around for the pattern and came across this blog which has an English tutorial. It took a little bit of working out but I got there in the end and was quick to get going on this blanket.
 

Action shot of me just starting out with this project. Each row is crocheted in alternate directions so you can see in the above photo that the olive green row has vertical crochet stitches and the orange row has horizontal stitches. By the time I completed the third row, I'd got the hang of the pattern and haven't looked back.

The sun's out - quick get some outdoor shots!

Another action shot - it's grown quite a bit over the past few days and I had so many Stylecraft colours in my stash to choose from.

Yep, haven't sewn one end in yet. Such a crochet rebel!

I took this photo yesterday and have added another three rows since then. I can't decide how big this blanket is going to be though. I have a tendency to make lap sized blankets rather than bed sized blankets but I get the feeling this is going to be a large lap blanket/single bed sized blanket. If that's the case, I may need to replenish the Stylecraft stash - shock horror.

I still want to make a ripple blanket though. Must finish this one and the hexagon blanket before I even contemplate a new project... x

Garden update

I certainly made the most of the amazing weather over the weekend, weeding the front garden and along the side of the decking. This kept me busy for a few hours and renewed my love of our garden. I am truly hoping that we get this garden into a beautiful state - well as beautiful as two non gardeners can do! (My lovely husband mowed the lawn on Friday after work, even though he was feeling unwell. By Saturday morning, he was confined to bed with aching muscles and flu like symptoms. He only went back to work today and has been feeling rotten over the last few days. Unfortunately F and I both woke up with sore throats and feeling bunged up so I am hoping we will not get the full blown version.)

 The above photo is of a rhododendron (I think) in the back garden, near the side of the garage and on the end of my new fruit border. This long straight border gets full sunshine pretty much all day and was once covered with ivy and shaded by a large and completely overgrown laurel bush. You may remember that it got chopped down last year on the spur of the moment by my husband whilst I was out! That sure was a surprise when I got home, I can tell you, but it looks so much better without the laurel.

Here's a very blurry photo of the gooseberries. They are about half size at the moment and me and F are currently trying to get rid of all the saw fly caterpillars that stripped the bushes of leaves last year. I am plucking them off and F is stamping on them. Believe me, she is very enthusiastic about her new role in the garden and runs out whenever I tell her it's time to go stamping. I have to remember to tell her to take her shoes off straight away when she comes back in!  She has also been enjoying some time on her own on the swing, sometimes singing, sometimes making up new games, always with a smile on her face.

Another shot of the fruit border. Last year when I was starting to clear the old veg patch, I found a lone strawberry plant which I potted up and hoped that a few strawberries might grow. I bought another strawberry plant on a whim to keep it company. Over the winter I noticed that some runners had grown and made a mental note to dig them up and replant them in the fruit border where they would get plenty of sun. Well, I did this at the weekend and found six runners from the two original plants. I have no idea whether I will get any fruit from the runners this year (have just googled it and it looks like I have done everything wrong, never mind!) but apparently I have got to pick the flowers off the runners this year if they get any so the plants have a chance to establish themselves.

The tayberries are growing nicely after being hacked back (again, probably at completely the wrong time of year) so not sure what's going to happen. But considering they were hiding behind lots of weeds up until last year, I am sure they will survive.

So that's the current situation in the garden, still lots more weeding and tidying up to do but I am on a roll so hopefully with the good weather forecast for the rest of this week, I will be able to put a few more hours of gardening in. We are also trying to source a cantilever parasol that tilts and is within our budget. On the very few days of sunshine and warmth last Summer, we really struggled to stay shaded as our decking is in full sunshine pretty much all day. Hopefully we will find one that is perfect for our needs and that we will actually have some sunshine this year to make it worthwhile buying.

I went on a charity shop run yesterday to see if I could get some more Harry Potter books for F. She started reading the first one this week after having such a great time at the Harry Potter studio tour. She is over half way through the book already so I thought I had better start buying the rest. I didn't find any but did get some books for E and this cat basket for Gerard. He doesn't really need a cat basket as he usually sleeps on the sofa or F's bed but I thought it would be nice to have in the kitchen. He hasn't sat in it yet and keeps eyeing it suspiciously. I get the feeling I may have wasted my money. It still looks cute though and I am very tempted to make a round crochet blanket to go in it.

So that's all for today but I am really excited to show you photos of my new crochet project. I am loving making it and it has grown considerably over the last few days. I will be working on this new project alongside the hexagon blanket as I really don't want to shelve that blanket and then forget about it. Hope you are having a great week. Take care. x

Circles Scarf

I kind of figured that if I started making a scarf, the weather would turn. And that's exactly what's happened. It's still not that warm - only 13 degrees C - but we have had the most incredible sunshine today. I've been out in the garden making the most of it and doing a couple of hours of weeding.

Anyway, back to the crochet. This was the mini project I mentioned in my previous post. I started it on Wednesday and finished it on Thursday, it was that quick and very easy to do.

I got the pattern from an old crochet magazine that my Mum gave me but I have just had a look at Ravelry and it is on there, for a price.

Once I had completed the first row of circles I cast off and started a new row of half circles. These were then joined to the first row as I completed each circle, if that makes sense.

And here's a photo of the finished article again. This was made using a linen blend yarn which I got at a greatly reduced price from Kemps Wool. It's a wonderful colour, a really rich mustard. The yarn split quite a lot which is probably why it was so greatly reduced, but it felt so so soft once made up.

I really enjoyed making this scarf as it was so quick and simple and a lovely break from making big blankets. I think I might have enough yarn to make another one, which is just as well as this scarf is a gift for a lovely friend who gave me some physio treatment for my shoulder. My shoulder was quite painful a few weeks ago and had restricted movement, but the physio exercises my friend gave me have really helped and my shoulder is almost back to normal. I really hope she likes the scarf.

I also have some chunky wool which I think would work quite well with this pattern - I may try using an oversized crochet hook to see what kind of effect that will give. I have also started another blanket (how many blankets does one household need?!) which I will tell you about shortly. I have not touched it today so I am getting withdrawal symptoms from it - must have a little crochet before I start cooking dinner.

 Have a wonderful weekend whatever you are up to. x

A little catch up

And yet again I am behind with blog posts. So many photos, so much that we have done and not a lot of time/enthusiasm to upload all the photos and sling a few words on the screen to explain what's been going on in our little world. Sorry bout that, will try to do a few mini blog posts in a row to get back on track.

Well now, I'm having to go way back to Mother's Day here (I know) to show you what I got (read as what I ordered for myself once my lovely hard working husband asked me what I wanted). So I had a quick think about what I wanted and remembered seeing these incredibly stylish cushion covers over on this blog. I loved them so much and made a mental note to put them at the top of my list of things I would love to buy. My memory isn't good at all but I sure did remember these beauties and promptly placed an order before heading off to HK. The cushion covers arrived whilst we were away so I had a lovely surprise when I got back.

This one just looks fab on my Eames rocker. Love it. The cushions are made of such good quality, heavy cotton and they have a cute black label on the side.  I would definitely recommend them - other designs are available, I especially love the Octons design.

My husband was busy a couple of weeks ago in the kitchen - no, not cooking but ripping off wall tiles and filling in holes. Since then, he has fitted a stainless steel splashback for the hob and we have all the wall tiles bought and ready to fit. We're getting there, slow but steady.

Once the tiles are up, I can finishing painting the cabinets (just a couple of bits here and there to paint) then do the final layer of wax, paint the walls, ceiling, radiator and fit the new floor. Phew, tired just thinking about it. Will be good once it's done though. Might even crack open some bubbly and do a proper photo shoot. Or maybe not!

E has also been busy in the kitchen. She decided she would like to make some red velvet cupcakes. I was there for guidance purposes only, it was her doing the baking and me just showing her where we kept everything. Note to self, move all the baking ingredients to a lower shelf so she can reach it all next time. E is really starting to enjoy independence in the kitchen, just having the confidence to have a go and see what happens. She still likes me to be there just in case though. :)

So, that's what was going on in my house 2 weeks ago! More recent activities like finishing the striped baby blanket and starting a new mini crochet project will be coming soon. Hopefully.

Anyway, is anyone interested in seeing some photos of our trip to the Warner Bros Studio Tour - The Making of Harry Potter? It's the one in Watford, UK as opposed to Florida! We had the best time but I don't want to bore you or spoil it for you if you have already planned to go. Let me know if you're interested.  Laters. xx