The Adventures of Angelcat

My Castle

2012-01-22T11:58:00.000Z

They say an Englishman's home is his castle. Well in this Englishwoman's case my castle is tiny, but I'm really having fun with my new place and it's great when you are starting out on that adventure of making a new place your own don't you think?

Here are a few snapshots of the place that I call home these days.

Algerian Eyes

2012-01-20T21:32:00.000Z

Before I get to the main point of this post I want to thank everyone who commented on my last post for their kind words of encouragement and support. Twelve comments so far so that is one person a month to send a little surprise to. I'll be emailing you all soon for your snail mail details.

I just realised that 2012 is the year of the Dragon in the Chinese horoscope, I was also born in a year of the dragon that has to be a sign that 2012 will be my year right? :)

I've been a little lazy the last couple of weeks when it comes to creative endeavours. I have been making a little progress on the surprise project though,

I've been working away on some Algerian eye stitching. It's a bit hard going on the eyes working it on the linen fabric, but I love the delicate pattern that is emerging. Well worth the effort I think.

Hope you all have a beautiful and fulfilling weekend. XX

Self

2012-01-18T20:41:00.000Z

Life is a funny thing is it not? People, places, objects all constantly wander in and out of our lives bringing with them happiness, joy, love, surprise, sorrow, tears, but the one thing that remains constant is self. It suddenly struck me that the one thing that will remain with me for all of my life is me. An obvious thing I know but sometimes in the turmoil of life it's something that can easily become forgotten.

So 2012 is the year that I have decided I will take better care of myself. I will strive to live in a way that I think is meaningful, I will do the things that bring me joy and happiness. I will make time for family and friends, I will spend as much time as I can outside enjoying fresh air and all of the wonders that mother nature brings, I will buy local produce as much as I can and I will support the handmade community. I will find joy and laughter in everyday and I will not let the things that I can't change worry me. I will be kind to others even when they don't treat me in the same way.

So here's to a brand new me for 2012

If you leave me a comment and a way to get in touch with you, at some point in 2012 I'll send a little surprise your way.

Sunrise Today

2012-01-15T19:45:00.001Z

Have been away to the beautiful english coast this weekend. Here is a quick snap of Paignton Pier at sunrise today. Had an amazing weekend away thanks to a bargain £12 room booked in a recent Travelodge sale, ended up getting a free breakfast into the bargain so a fantastically cheap weekend away.

I'll have some more shots to show you from the weekend soon. Only three days until I'm back online again at home. So hopefully back to regular blogging and I'm looking forward to catching up reading my favourite blogs too it's been months so I'll have plenty of posts to read I'm sure :)

It's never too late ...

2012-01-13T13:00:00.000Z

.....to say thank you. Although time is marching on and Christmas is a good few weeks behind us, I only just got round to making some cards to send to friends and relatives who gave me some lovely gifts.

I admit I might not have been the quickest off the mark this year but it's never too late to tell someone you appreciate their gift and kindness.

New Project

2012-01-08T19:07:00.000Z

I'll be back soon with some updates on a few of the projects that you saw me working on at the end of last year, but the new year isn't the new year without a new project to work on.

I won't be saying too much about this one and I probably won't show too many updates as it's a surprise gift for a friend who I know reads my blog, but I just wanted to let you know that I'm back to stitching again ... and loving it.

2011

2012-01-08T18:13:00.000Z

I usually post this on New Years Day, just as an info list for me, but without regular internet access I'm a bit behind. Sadly the list isn't really complete either as it didn't get completed for most of November and December but my year in projects, movies and books is almost complete

Projects I've completed in 2011.
Five embroidered Coasters
Kindle Pouch
Bricks and Stones Red and White Quilt
Two Mug Rugs
Twenty One Zombie Pumpkin Felties
Six fabric postcards
Four Fabric Dolls
Seven Stitched ATC's
One Coil pot
Seventeen Recycled and Reused postcards
Three Pincushions
One Sock Monster
One cross stitched heart
Siberian Gold Cross Stitch
One Knitted Hat
One quail bird
Halloween Bird Cross Stitch
Lakeside Farm Cross Stitch

Movies I've Watched in 2011
Gulliver's Travels
The King's Speech
127 Hours
The Fighter
The Green Hornet
The Black Swan
True Grit
Paul
Rango
Limitless
Sucker Punch
Rio
Source Code
TT3D
Thor
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides 3D
X-Men: First Class
KungFu Panda 2
Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows Pt 2
Transformers
The Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Cowboys Vs Aliens
Conan The Barbarian
Friends with Benefits
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
New Years Eve
My week with Marilyn

Books I've read in 2011
Slash
The Tattoo Chronicles by Kat Von D
First Thrills - Lee Childs
The Blood That Bonds by Christopher Buecheler
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Visitor by Lee Child
My Heart Wanders by Pia Jane Bijkerk
The Girl in the Painted Caravan by Eva Petulengro
High Voltage Tattoo by Kat Von D
The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley

Happy New Year

2011-12-30T14:30:00.001Z

Happy New Year everyone.

Wow I can’t believe how long it’s been since I posted here. I had a very hectic end to 2011, I moved house and my job changed and it all happened at once so no time for anything else but getting on and adjusting to all the changes.

The biggest change has been getting used to living on my own again, it took a while for it to sink in that I can please myself again, do what I want when I want and most importantly of all I have sole charge of the TV remote, lol.
I’ve moved to a little town called Corsham which is really just up the road from where I was living before. I’m renting a lovely little flat, it is little but it has everything I need and am slowly unpacking all my stuff, finding a place for everything and making it a place I can really call home. The huge downside is I can’t have my cats with me and I miss them so much but needs must and I had to do what was best for me.

I also don’t have an internet connection up and running yet so I’m stealing time at work and when I’m with friends but that is on the list of things to get sorted now the New Year is here, posting might still be a bit erratic until then but hopefully I’ll get back to regular blogging before too long. X

New Routines

2011-10-01T12:47:00.001+01:00

I've been quiet here I know - a combination of time away from the house and some changes I've been make to the way I live life in general.

Last weekend we went to St Ives, we had a lovely trip. The picture above is from last Friday, sunshine and Pimms on the beach ..... life is really good some days :)

Hopefully I'll settle in to my new routines soon and carve out some regular blogging time for myself. I have lots to post about and hundreds of blog posts from you guys to catch up on, busy, busy, busy. Hope you all have a fabulous weekend. It's really hot and sunny here in the UK, unusually so for the time of the year, so if you need me you'll find me in the garden this weekend making the most of it. X

Weekend Snapshot

2011-09-20T06:01:00.000+01:00

Have really been suffering the last week or so with a nasty bout of cold and flu - germs kindly shared with me by Dave - thanks babe! Consequently didn't really feel like getting out and about much at the weekend, and the one time I did make a conscious effort to leave the house I got rained on! :)

So here is a little snapshot of my at home weekend.

I actually got round to doing some good old fashioned baking. I don't know what it is but I don't really do a whole lot of cooking in the summer, but now Autumn is approaching I'm in the mood for the kitchen again. I've never made jam tarts before, and I admit they look a bit pasty and untidy but let me tell you they were delicious!

Snoozing with the cats

And plenty of stitching for my city and guilds course.

All in all a pretty nice weekend considering. This coming week I have a couple of days off work and we are heading for Cornwall for a nice little mini break hopefully I'll have shaken off the last of these germs by then. Can't wait!

Walking the Wye

2011-09-19T06:54:00.000+01:00

So my gypsy birthday wasn't all about lazing around our fabulous little camp. We did 12 miles of walking round the Wye Valley before we arrived at the gypsy van. Here are a few pictures from the walk we took

The River Wye looking like black glass on the grey overcast day we had.

We got to walk across lovely old traditional suspension bridges

We went through beautiful English countryside

Explored some fabulous village churches

More river walking

Another shot of one of the bridges we used to cross the river.

Out of The Box

2011-09-18T07:00:00.000+01:00

Recently I've been making a few postcards again. I used to make them all the time, but for one reason and another fell out of the habit, I'm starting to remember why I enjoy them so much :)Here is one that I made for a recent private swap.

The theme was 'Out of the Box' I tried for ages to come up with something clever, but in the end went back to the obvious. I found a jack in the box image on line and sketched it out in thread on some calico.

This then got coloured in using my Inktense pencils. I haven't used them all that much since I got them a couple of years ago, but they do work really well on fabric.

Then it was time to think about the background for the card. Have I shown you my new scrap storage system? I found these fabulous tall preserve jars in a discount store.

My original plan was to piece the background from different blues but I found a piece of bubble print fabric in the scrap jar that I loved. Making these small pieces for postcards really is a lot of fun!

My big fat gypsy birthday

2011-09-17T07:38:00.000+01:00

This year I was a bit like the queen and had two birthday celebrations. My actual birthday was spent with family as you saw in my post a couple of days ago. But the weekend before Dave and I escaped to Herefordshire and had a little birthday celebration there.

Wanna see where we stayed? You are really gonna love it.

We had this amazing gypsy van for the night.

Anyone in the UK looking at this and thinking they recognise it, well it was featured on the TV programme Three in a Bed earlier this year. We made our booking before we knew it was going on TV, and didn't see the program before we went, I wanted the experience to be my own and not coloured by the thoughts and experience of others. And I have to say I LOVED IT.

I mean how could you not adore spending the night in this.

Morris wasn't too keen though. After taking ourselves on a 12 mile walk round the Wye Valley we were hungry enough to eat ... well ...a moose!

We did get the fire going, but we made sure that Morris was freed from the pot.

We had the most amazing evening in our little camp with celebratory drinks....

.... and plenty of birthday cake.

We stayed out in the candle light until well after dark

enjoying the last of the heat from the fire

and snuggling up on this hammock made just for two. Loved every minute of our stay and will try and make sure we get back there next year.

Witches and Ghosts

2011-09-16T06:30:00.000+01:00

I've started my next little cross stitch project - another one with a Halloween theme. I had three on the list altogether. Not sure if I will get to number three by the end of the month so that may end up waiting until next year.

Here is progress on number two so far. It's a biscornu so this little design will now get repeated in each corner.

I wanted to keep roughly to the colour scheme of the original pattern which had purple background fabric. As I didn't have any purple fabric lying around I took some cream linen I had and coloured it with my Inktense pencils. I have no idea how colourfast the pencils are on fabric but since this is a project that won't get washed I figured it would be worth a go. Seems to have worked just fine, only time will tell how much the colour will fade in the future.

How to have a great birthday

2011-09-15T07:00:00.000+01:00

Well it's getting on for a month since my actual birthday but I just realised that I didn't really share what a lovely day I had. My family were staying so we went to the beach for the day.

Paddling in the sea with my nephews

Messages in the sand

There was lots of ice cream eating of course

And fun playing the amusements on the pier

There was an air show on the day we went too.

Of course the great British summer threw some rain our way

And the day ended with chocolate cake and candles. Could any day be better than that?

Why I love blogging

2011-09-14T09:23:00.000+01:00

There are a million and one reasons to love blogging, the blogging experience is probably different for each and every one of us. I started five years and nine months ago. My Mum had just passed away and I needed some distraction, something new to make me forget the pain of loss. Little did I know at the time what a huge part of my life it would become and what a lifeline. I can say without a hint of exaggeration that stitching and blogging have seen me through some of the toughest times of my life.

The number one reason that I love blogging is the connections I've made, the friendships that have been built with people all over the world. Without blogging I wouldn't have had an amazing day in Bath on Monday. I got to meet up with Vicki - if you don't know her blog you really must check it out here.

Here we are at the end of our day in Bath, looking rather windswept, but I think, happy! We had a brilliant day exploring some of the sites of Bath, but I think my favourite bit of the day was sitting in the sunshine in the park at the end of the day just chatting and getting to know Vicki better, she really is an amazing person and I'm so happy that we got to meet for real.

Vicki also presented me with some lovely gifts a roll of some of her hand dyed fabrics - these really are beautiful, and such great quality too. Vicki sells her fabric on etsy here if you'd like to get your hands on some for yourself.

The lovely card and the other bundle of fabric were handed to me by Vicki from another blogging friend Kim. Kim sent them over with Vicki when she found out we were going to be able to meet. Wow, well I'm sure you can imagine how blown away I was to receive such generous gifts. But by far the greatest gift of all from these ladies is the wonderful gift of friendship.

Halloween Birdie is done

2011-09-13T06:33:00.000+01:00

I managed to get my little Halloween Bird finished while watching the rugby over the weekend.

Now I just have to figure out whether to just frame him as he is or make him in to a little wall hanging which was the original plan. I think it will depend on what fabric I have hidden away. I don't really want to buy anything but I have a suspicion that I have something that will match, it's just whether I have enough.

I really love this cute design though, my favourite parts are the way the lettering is done, the ghost and the little pumpkins.

Last Days of Summer

2011-09-12T07:00:00.000+01:00

The days are getting shorter and the breeze is getting cooler, but it is my hope that we might have a last little flurry of good weather at some point before Autumn really sets in.

Hugo certainly makes the most of every last warm ray of sunlight that we get in the garden.

Mermaid Postcard

2011-09-11T10:33:00.002+01:00

Despite feeling a bit out of sorts - I think I might have a cold coming - I did manage to get a bit of stitching done yesterday in between bouts of laying around on the sofa not doing a lot

I finished this postcard for an 'all out' themed swap, the idea of the swap was to put plenty of effort in. To be fair I always try and do this for any swap that I go in anyway. But this is what I came up with for this one. The Mermaid is fussy cut from commercial fabric but she is hand stitched down with gold thread and I've also done some beading on her. The back ground is machine stitched. She'll be making her way to my swap partner in Germany soon.

Black and White Abbey

2011-09-10T10:39:00.002+01:00

I made it through a very long week at work ... just about. And am now looking forward to a nice relaxed weekend. I have plenty of housework to catch up on but you'll also find me watching the rugby world cup and of course stitching. I'm looking forward to picking up needle and thread again as I haven't had time to do anything creative this week.

Just so this post isn't just a whole load of waffle about not a lot here are a few pictures I took in Malmesbury Abbey a couple of weeks ago. As you can see I was in a black and white mood, the beautiful lighting you often get in churches makes for such good contrast it seems rude not to shoot a few pictures like this.

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend. X

Bedruthan Beach

2011-09-06T08:10:00.001+01:00

It's quite possible that things might go quiet on the blogging front for the next week or so. It's going to be one of those early start and late finish manic weeks at work, by the time I get home I just don't really have the energy to do anything much.

I'll be trying to survive the week and will keep my city and guilds ticking along by making myself spend at least half hour a day on the machine when I get home but I can't see much else happening stitch or blog wise round here.

In the meantime as these pictures were already uploaded let me just share with you the final catch up post from my weekend away in Cornwall earlier this year. Some pictures from the beach at Bedruthan Steps.

How much would I love to be stood somewheresquinting into the sun right now? It's very grey and miserable here today. A bit like my mood, though looking at these lovely pics has helped lift me a bit :)

Halloween Bird

2011-09-01T23:00:00.000+01:00

Managed to get stitching on my first little Halloween project. This a beautiful simple design that I admired on Kate's blog last year, and she gifted me the chart, treasure that she is :)

It's coming together so quickly and I love it so far. I'm making a few changes to the original though. First off I'm stitching it a lot larger as I have a plan to may be attempt to make this the centre piece of a mini patchwork wall hanging. Also the original came in a kit with a little button, I don't have any Halloween buttons so I think I'm going to move around and maybe double up on some of the little motifs that surround the bird, haven't really though it through yet so we'll see where it goes.

Quiet times and Happy moments

2011-09-01T06:57:00.000+01:00

I had one of those days yesterday, things went wrong as soon as I got out of bed and continued that way for the rest of the day. I'm sure you know the kind of day I mean. Trying to make it through one of those kind of days makes me truly grateful for the days that do go smoothly, the ones where you can kick back and relax and watch the world go by for a while.

So today I'm going to share with you a few snaps from one of those 'quiet times and happy moments' days that I experienced back at the start of the summer.

September's almost here

2011-08-31T07:03:00.000+01:00

Again August has been a bit of a quiet month for me on the creative front. I think I've just been a bit too ambitious with my lists of things to do given the actual time that I've had to spend. But here's the confession anyway.

Work on Birds Eye View - Done
Finish 4 crochet blocks for the new cushion - Done
Participate in Rainbow scrap challenge - I finished off my yellow chequerboard blocks if that counts
Make 2nd PIF gift - I've made a good start on this now and it will get finished next month
Finish Chapter Six for c&g - thanks to more machine problems this has not happened, but I did finish chapter 8 instead
Work on two 'secret gift projects' - Total fail on this one these never got off the ground.

As I now (fingers crossed) seem to have a fully working sewing machine back. I'm going to devote most of my stitching time for September to catching up for lost time with my city and guilds course. If you are interested you can follow what I'm up to over here, but I will set myself a little list.

Cross stitch - I'll be working on some Halloween themed stitcheries
Finish PIF gift this has been hanging over me for 8 months now and I want to get it done :)
Make postcard for 'Out of the Box' swap
Make postcard for 'Give it your best' swap

If I do manage to find some extra hours in the day, I have plenty of other WIPS on the go that I can fill my time with.

River Festival

2011-08-30T06:56:00.000+01:00

I still have a whole load of catch up posts to do from days out and about earlier on the year, but figured before I get back to those I'd do something a bit more current.

So here are a few snaps from Chippenham's River Festival held over the bank holiday weekend.Can't beat a good old fashioned Punch and Judy show. Of course I had to partake in a bit of ice cream eating while watching this. Was just like being at the seaside!

Raft racers on the river

The park in town transformed in to a giant play area.

Loved the Edwardian Bather jugglers in there attractive swimwear throwing fire. Very random combo if you ask me but their whole act was hilarious :)

Lucky Me

2011-08-29T07:50:00.000+01:00

Check out this beautiful little quilt. How lucky am I? I won this in a giveaway on Kate's blog. It arrived a couple of days after my birthday, what a great present to keep the birthday celebrations alive. I love it. Thanks Kate

Summer in the garden

2011-08-28T07:09:00.000+01:00

So we're in the middle of the last long weekend of the summer, I thought this would be the perfect time to reflect on what a lovely lazy summer in the garden it has been. So here are some snaps.lots of summer beverages :0)

bbq's

Fun memories of a very random afternoon spending time doing silly things like making morph.
Summer stitching

And getting the family stuck in to helping us clear the area that will become next years veg patch.

Because of one thing and another I've had to put my travel dreams on hold again this year, but when I look back on how amazing our summer at home has been I wonder why I ever wanted to be anywhere else :)

Birds Eye View Update

2011-08-27T09:24:00.002+01:00

I know it's not quite the end of the month yet, but with lots of things to do this weekend I don't think I will be getting anything else done on Birds Eye View this month. Picture above shows where it was at when I picked it up at the beginning of August and the one below shows where we are as of today.
I manged to get a fair bit done. The cat and bird are outlined and I've made good progress on the top of the bird house. Next time I'm hoping I'll get the bird house finished and maybe get to start on the next cheeky kitty. For September I've decided not to work on Lakeside Farm, even though it is so close to being finished, instead I love Halloween and I have a couple of smaller designs that I want to make up in time for this years celebrations so I'll be working on those instead.

Hope you all have a fabulous fun filled weekend. X

Spread your wings

2011-08-26T12:28:00.001+01:00

Earlier this summer I was sitting in the park minding my own business when a little baby blackbird landed nearby and started drying his wings in the sun.

I can feel the change of season coming on, the summer is ending and autumn is just round the corner. A new season is a great tim to think about change, time for new hope, new adventure and new beginnings. This picture is a little reminder that every once in a while we should all try spreading our wings. Let's just fly and see where the wind takes us....

Roche

2011-08-25T06:47:00.000+01:00

Time for another blast from the past post. These pictures were taken on the same weekend as the ones from Bodmin. Looking at them I can't believe how blue the sky was!This is Roche's rock. There are various myths and legends attached to the site and the chapel that was built on top of the rock. You can read about some here.

It's a pretty amazing place to visit and not particularly well know. The few times I've been have always had the place to ourselves.
If you're feeling brave enough you can climb the rusting ladder into the ruined chapel itself.While I'm not exactly afraid of heights I don't particular seek them out either and I have to admit my legs do get a bit wobbly, but on this occasion I did make myself go as far up as you can safely get. This is the view from the top.
Not everyone was as brave as me on this trip. Here I am looking down on Dave who only fancied the trip up the first rusty ladder but didn't want to take on the second :)

Considering the inelegant way I had to cling on to rock and make myself slide back down from this point, he probably made the better choice, lol

Flower squares

2011-08-24T07:57:00.002+01:00

Well it's been a while but at last some creative content here again! Though don't get too excited it's not much.I've managed to finish four of the sixteen square I'm making for my crochet cushion top. As you can see they have not been blocked out yet, but they all seem to be working out about the same sort of size so I'm happy that I seem to have settled in to a consistent rhythm with my crochet hook. They are still taking quite a while to do I'm finding that I have to keep checking the method for each stitch it's not sinking in yet but I'm sure it will the more I do!

A whirl wind week

2011-08-22T09:26:00.006+01:00

I had my lovely sister and two nephews staying with me last week, what madness! The usual quiet peacefulness of Angelcat Manor was replaced by the sounds of raucous children and of course much laughter.

Last Wednesday was my birthday, so we took ourselves off to the beach for the day. The weather was very changeable. We went from eating ice cream .....(me, Dave and the nephews)

..... to playing crazy golf in the rain(my sis)

And of course there was lots of birthday cake when we got home.The cake wasn't big enough for all the candles I'd need these days, I think they loaded it up with a representation of the age I act most days instead ;)

I'm way behind with my blog reading, but I'm sure I'll catch up eventually. Hope you all had a great week! X

A walk on Bodmin

2011-08-11T06:42:00.000+01:00

I've been having a good sort out of my photos recently and have come across a set of pictures from a trip we took to Cornwall way back in April which I don't think I've shared. (I knew I was behind but April is just ridiculous!!, lol)

Anyhow in the interests of making sure I have enough to make some more regular blog posts than I have been I think I can stretch these Cornwall pics in to a few posts :) This first one is all about a wonderful walk we took across Bodmin Moor.

I adore the rugged moorland landscape. We had a pretty cloudy day when we went but at the very end the clouds started to disappear, don't you just love this beautiful blue sky against the open moorland?
The route we were following took us to the top of two hills. Rough Tor - the summit had these amazing rock formations, the views were spectacular.

We also went to the top of this hill called Brown Willy - no snickering please (ok so maybe it's just me with a mind in the gutter!)
We did see a few people out on the moors but only a few, they're such a lovely place to walk you don't have to go far before you start to feel like you could be the only person left on the planet, the empty landscapes stretch for mile upon mile.
And of course no visit to the moors is complete without sight of some of the lovely wild ponies. Check out the bandy legs on this cute little foal.
Taking a look back through these pictures is making me long to go back for another visit. We do have a few weekends away booked up, but all other thoughts of booking trips and travel are on hold for the moment. There is a strong possibility that I will be being made redundant in the not too distant future so no more frivolous spending in case I have to join the ranks of the unemployed. I should hopefully find out for sure by the beginning of next month, it's quite a stress filled time here at the moment some big changes could be ahead if my job goes..... in the meantime I'll be making the most of the things that we have already planned and paid for no point being glum.

Pay It Forward

2011-08-10T05:47:00.000+01:00

I'm working on something new right now, and it's something I've not attempted before so hopefully will be fun. I'm using these lovely fabrics.And a pattern from this book
It's the second Pay It Forward gift that I promised back in January on a Facebook PIF. The recipient I'm pretty sure doesn't read my blog so I'm not going to be spoiling any surprises by posting her. It's a gift for my friend Jess, Jess loves baking so I'm going to make her an apron. Or at least I'm going to attempt to make her an apron. Wish me luck.

Summits

2011-08-09T06:54:00.000+01:00

This is my final Lake District post, after the lows of last time it's time for a few shots of the highs, the places that we did make it to the top of. Not many words today mostly pictures.Lingmoor Fell

The view from the top of Pavey Ark

Pavey Ark from the bottom

The view from top of Harrison Stickle

On top of Silver Howe, looking over Grasmere and Rydal

Getting to the top of Silver Howe the first summit of the holiday

Going Places

2011-08-08T06:51:00.000+01:00

If you have been at all wondering (though most likely not!) what I did with the little elephant embroideries that I've been working on well here is the answer. (sorry you'll have to twist your head a little as blogger won't put the photo on right again).
They were destined for some postcards that I made for a 3CS swap, called Going Places. I decided to choose India as my theme. All the cards were slight different as I built up the backgrounds using some silk scraps, but unusually for me I forgot to remember to take photos of them all - ironic huh? considering elephants are never supposed to forget!! I just have so much on my mind at the moment some days I spend in a total haze wondering whether I'm coming or going :)

Lows of a different kind

2011-08-07T10:18:00.000+01:00

After finishing my last lakes post on a low note, with me being all huffy about not reaching the top, I thought I'd share some lake land lows of a different kind.

On one of our days we spent our time wandering round the valley that our cottage was in.We wandered through green fields and past gurgling rivers. The hills in the morning were mist covered ........ and the spiderwebs in the hedgerows were decorated with droplets of dew.We got to admire the unmistakable peaks of the Langdale pikes, and were quite amazed to think that the day before we had actually been admiring the view from the top.The benefits of walking in the valley as opposed to hiking on the hills was that there were plenty of refreshment stops along the way, we visited six pubs in about six miles :)The downside of too much drinking was that vision started to blur and the map got harder to read as the day went on, lol.This last shot was probably my favourite view of the day. Ok so there were no majestic peaks, or pretty rivers but if you look closely you'll make out our little row of cottage. They look so cosy nestled into the hill side looking over the lovely rolling valley.

Scraphappy again - behind but hanging in

2011-08-06T14:42:00.003+01:00

Yeah, I finally got my yellow chequerboard blocks done. Two months behind but I finally got there. It feelings good to be joining in the challenge with everyone again :)

Crochet Scarf

2011-08-05T13:21:00.001+01:00

Something new to share today craft wise ... that hasn't happened for a while so I must have my blogging mojo back. Can you remember last month when I fell in love with an alpaca or two? Well I've started using this lovely Alpaca wool.It came in a kit to make some wrist warmers. I'd gotten to the point of getting knitting needles out and everything when I decided at the very last minute to change tack and go with a crochet hook to make a scarf instead.There is a long way to go yet but everything seems to take me an age these days. Anyhow it'll get done slowly but surely and I like the way it's turning out so far. The wool is so soft and lovely to work with.

Happy Anniversary

2011-08-04T06:35:00.000+01:00

Dave and I will be busy today celebrating 2 years of putting up with each other. I love the life we have together and wouldn't change a thing right now.

We have been spending some time over the last few weeks tidying up the garden, the picture is a lovely lavender plant that Dave bought me at the weekend, my absolute favourite plant to have in the garden.

What ever you are up to today I hope you have a good one. Thanks for popping by, I appreciate you all taking time out of your busy days to read my ramblings......

Larking Around in the Lakes

2011-08-03T06:52:00.001+01:00

The consequence of not posting a whole lot last month is that I have plenty of catch up posts to do :) Starting with a few dodgy shots from the Lakes (I can't believe it was almost 2 months ago now!)

Of course we were there to partake of some serious walking but there was lots of larking around too ;o) It started with a game of crazy golf while we were waiting to pick up our keys on the first day. I play atrociously and Dave kicked my ass on the golf course!There was also paddling in the waterfall behind the cottage. You can take a look back here - it's been so long you've probably forgotten what I'm talking about. Please try and ignore the red face and the bad hair we'd just spent a day walking so I'm not looking at my glamorous best!We were not the only ones messing around. Take a look at this silly sheep trying to disguise itself behind a single frond of fern. I didn't want to be the one to break the news, but hey Mrs Sheep we can still see you!!Of course Morris the amazing mountaineering moose had to get in one the action too. Here he is working hard to get to the top of Silver Howe.And here he is at the top, partaking in a bottle of beer to celebrate his walking achievement!Speaking of beer I have to confess that we did partake in a few pints ourselves. Here is Dave trying to get away with stealing my pint at the end of our walk up the pikes.Now I'm not really an ale drinker ordinarily but I have grown to like the odd pint here and there. Sadly I haven't quite mastered the art of drinking and remaining lady like yet.Just in case you thought it was all fun and games I thought I'd share a picture of a rather forlorn looking me on the second to last day of the holiday. We were trying to reach the top of Pike o'Blisco and I managed to slip over a couple of times, was generally feeling tired and just had a big loss of confidence which is never good when your walking on rocky terrain. Anyway here I am after having a good cry when I had to admit defeat and realise that I wasn't going to be making it to the top on that day.On that suitably pathetic note I'll say goodbye until next time. X

Lakeside Farm - July update

2011-08-02T08:08:00.004+01:00

I didn't really feel that July was a great month for my cross stitch but actually putting the 'then' and 'now' photos up for this post I can see that I got more done than I though so am ok with the progress made for July.

So this is where we were last time.And this is the nowThe farm building are complete and I've made it down to the top of the Lake. There isn't really too much to go on this one now, but it might be a couple of months before it comes out again. It's time for Birds Eye View this month and in September I have a couple of little Halloween projects that I want to get stitched up.

August is upon us

2011-08-01T09:44:00.000+01:00

Well I think July has been the most abysmal craft month of the year for me I've hardly gotten anything done. I don't think it's really worth checking in on my to do list as I only managed to get a couple of things done. Instead I'm going to start afresh for August. It's another busy and exciting month and I have family coming to stay so I'm not going to be too ambitious on the list front

Work on Birds Eye View
Finish 4 crochet blocks for the new cushion
Participate in Rainbow scrap challenge
Make 2nd PIF gift
Finish Chapter Six for c&g
Work on two 'secret gift projects'

When it's all written out it looks a lot but a couple of these things should be quick wins. I think my main task for August has to be to blog more though :)

Quiet and Busy

2011-07-30T09:58:00.003+01:00

I know I've been super quiet here recently, there is just so much going on, but I haven't abandoned you all :) I've just been super busy.

I haven't been entirely uncrafty though, there has been stitching, crochet and machining going on here at Angelcat manor, I just need to find some time to blog about it. For now here is a quick shot of the elephants which have been multiplying!Hopefully I'll be able to show you what they have been made for soon.

I'm Scraphappy Again

2011-07-25T07:51:00.000+01:00

I'm way behind with the rainbow challenge at the moment. July is red white and blue month, but I'm still on yellow!At least my yellow chequer board blocks are finally under way after all my sewing machine woes :)

Nelly

2011-07-22T07:47:00.002+01:00

I have been attempting to grab some stitch time here and there over the last couple of weeks. This little lady is a motif that I stitched up for a new postcard swap that I'm in. I now just have to get round to making a background for her to sit on :)

Busy

2011-07-20T07:57:00.005+01:00

Life is really busy at the moment hence the fact that I haven't posted for almost a week. Am rushed off my feet at work and home with barely time to think.

Had a super fabulous weekend with family last weekend which is always manic but lots of fun.

I introduced my eldest nephew to the fabulousness of Tim Burton, he loved all the strange and quirky stories and anything that gets him reading has to be good right? Here he is with Dave trying to look intelligent.As you can see from the picture above we had some fun with a bit of old fashioned 3D and some paper glassesWe were watching Final Destination 3D, the movie was pants and so was the 3D in these things, but we looked funny :)

Of course I have to also share a picture of my youngest nephew looking super cute as 'Balloon Boy' He's growing up so fast. My sister and the boys are coming to stay for a week next month and I can't wait to have them here creating mayhem and trashing my house!! :)

Pay It Forward

2011-07-14T07:06:00.000+01:00

I recently entered a Pay It forward over at Wendy's blog So does anyone want to join in the fun and sign up with me here?

I need three people who want to receive something hand made from me. As part of the PIF, you then have to send something handmade to 3 other people sometime in the next 12 months.

If you want to sign up and join in the Pay It Forward Fun just leave a comment and make sure that I have someway to contact you, so if you are a no reply blogger please leave your email address.

Recycled and Reused

2011-07-13T06:50:00.000+01:00

Finally I got round to making the last few recycled and reused postcards for the open swap that I've been in. I'm about 10 days late on finishing this one up due to my machine troubles but I got there in the end.

There are more postcards to come soon though as I signed up for a 'Going Places' swap with 3CS
It's a small swap but I'm having trouble narrowing down my ideas as soon as I settle on one another pops in to my head. I need to get to work soon though so I think I'm just going to have to pick one and run with it!

What grows in your garden?

2011-07-12T07:08:00.000+01:00

It's that time of year when everyone's blogs are full of the beautiful summer flowers they have in the garden. I was sat in mine (the garden not the flowers!) at the weekend, just chilling and letting my eyes wander around. Lo and behold all I can see are cats :)Oscar

Oscar and Molly

Molly

Pip

Hugo

The only one of my brood not on display was Hector, he was hiding so deep in the bushes there was no way he was going to get himself caught on camera.

What grows in your garden? Evidently in mine it's felines not flowers :)

Flowers in the Garden

2011-07-11T07:06:00.000+01:00

For anyone who might have been wondering exactly what it was that I was crocheting up a mountain in my post the other day. It was one of these.I've been making lots of middles for my water lily blocks. You might remember back here I was making tryout blocks for an idea for a throw. Well I've scrapped the throw idea and I'm just going to make a water lily cushion for now. I have another throw plan but I'm not going to start until these babies are finished! (Well at least that's what I keep telling myself, I am widely known for my total lack of will power though!)Anyhow these middles are all done so I just have to get to making the outer rounds now to finish the blocks up.

Today I fell in love with an Alpaca

2011-07-09T13:39:00.004+01:00

... ok if I'm being totally honest it's not just one but a whole herd that stole my heart today when I went on a visit to Latton Alpacas. I mean seriously look at this and then try and tell me you don't think they're adorable too.I was made to feel so welcome during my visit. These animals are obviously well loved and cared for and the owners, Mym and Adrian were so generous with their time and their knowledge as I bombarded them with questions.I was lucky enough to be allowed in with the alpacas for a while and got to feed a few from my hands, honestly you wouldn't believe how soft their fleeces are. If you haven't already passed out from cuteness overload check out this adorable little girl.If I'm remembering correctly she is about 10 days old and her name was Keira, but there were so many names to take in I might be wrong!

All of the adult alpacas have recently been shorn, they have a little craft shop which is open over the weekends where they sell all manor of alpaca goodies. Including some fleeces and yarn made from the boys and girls in the herd.Of course I wasn't able to resist coming away with a few goodies myself! I ended up with this beautifully presented kit to make some wrist warmers.And also this little drop spindle spinning kit, and the most adorable hedgehog pincushion.I've not tried spinning before so it will be interesting to see if I can get the hang of it.

If you live anywhere near Cricklade/Swindon/Malmesbury I would so encourage you to go along and make a visit yourself. You can find out more info on the website here or facebook here. They do have mail order if you want to buy any of the goodies yourself just have a look round on the website :)

Extreme Crochet

2011-07-06T17:24:00.002+01:00

A trip to the Lakes doesn't just mean lots of lovely walking, it's also time for me to participate in some extreme crafting :) Last year saw me knitting in windy conditions at Wast Water.

This year saw me perching precariously on a pile of rocks complete with crochet in hand at the top of Pavey Ark.Another one of me acting silly for the camera much to the bemusement of some other walkers that were also around trying to enjoy the spectacular summit views........
.... the things I do to amuse you my lovely loyal blog readers :) I wouldn't have the excuse to be half as silly without you. THANK YOU. X

Lakes and Tarns

2011-07-06T05:26:00.000+01:00

Well of course you can't go to the Lake District without stumbling across a lake or two. Though to be fair this year we mostly stayed within the few miles of the valley our cottage was in so we didn't take in many this time. Anyhow here are a few shots of the waters we did see.Blea Tarn with Side Pike in the background

Styhead tarn reflecting the clouds (I really must develop some photoshop skills so I can get rid of that rogue peanut butter sarnie in the bottom corner!!)

Styhead Tarn with a view of Pavey Ark

Grasmere and Rydal Water from the top of Silver Howe

Elterwater

Styhead Tarn from the top of Pavey Ark

Machining Again

2011-07-05T07:56:00.002+01:00

Things are a bit quiet over here at the moment I know. The reason is mainly thisMeet Beatrice. The lovely man in my life, fed up with me moping round the house waiting for Jemimah to be repaired bought me this lovely little machine to keep my going for a while. She's pretty basic but she stitches like a dream.

Now I'm madly trying to catch up on the seven weeks of city and guilds that I've not been doing. So if you're missing me, you can catch up with what I'm up to over here ;-)

Birds Eye View

2011-07-03T07:56:00.003+01:00

I didn't get round to doing my usual cross stitch update before the month of June was out so here it is now.

Just a reminder this is what the new project looked like when I picked it up.And this is the now.Not quite as much progress as I had hoped considering I didn't have a sewing machine but I also had a generally busy month and a week off on my holiday so I guess I shouldn't beat myself up too much.

July Already

2011-07-01T07:23:00.002+01:00

I had a fabulous June, but unfortunately not where my to do list was concerned :)

Work on new cross stitch - Yes I did manage to do this one (picture to follow soon)
Participate in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge - Due to my sewing machine malfunction I only managed to get fabrics cut for the chequerboard blocks and nothing else
Finish Second PIF gift - No, due to sewing machine
Make the Granny Squares in to a cushion - I did actually manage to get these sewn together but again not made up in to a cushion because of the machine
Finish last 3 postcards for the swap - No, again machine
Keep working on the new crochet blocks to see if I can figure out a throw - I have kept going with the blocks but I've abandoned the idea of a throw and will be making another cushion with the blocks I'm doing (picture to follow soon), but there will be a throw in my future
Work on City and Guilds chapter six. - No machine no c&G

I did of course manage to get my little bird done for the 3cs challenge which was a little unexpected bonus.

Way too many reds and oranges in that list for my liking, hopefully July will be better, though looking at the calendar we are busy every weekend in July which will limit stitching time a bit. Never mind there are still goals to be set

Work on Lakeside Farm
Continue working up crochet blocks for the new cushion
Participate in 3cs challenge
Participate in Rainbow scrap challenge
Finish 3 postcards for open swap
Make 5 postcards for 3CS swap
Make 2nd PIF gift
Finish Chapter Seven for c&g

Here's to a happy and creative JULY. What will you be doing this month?

Home away from home

2011-06-30T05:40:00.000+01:00

I'm sure this will be the first of several posts from the Lake District holiday we just took, but I haven't finished sorting through the pictures yet so I can't say how many there will be. I figured I'd start with a quick post about where we stayed.We were in the little village of Chapel Stile, just inside the Langdale Valley. We had an adorable cottage in a row of beautiful slate cottages (ours is the one with door open above). I didn't take any inside pictures but if you're really interested you can check out the video here.This was the fabulous view from the front door, looking out over Lingmoor fell. The grassy area in the foreground was a big communal front garden for the row of cottages, if you stood at the bottom of this you had this magnificent view of the Langdale Pikes in the distance.There was so much beautiful walking to do right from the doorstop. At the side of our little row of cottages was a fabulous little footpath leading straight on to the fells behind.This little row of stone steps led up to a gate and right behind the gate was the most adorable little outbuilding right next to a little waterfall I can't tell you how pretty this little place was. I went for a paddle in the waterfall after one walk, the water was freezing but felt wonderful on my poor tired feet :)

Just before I finish, one last little look at the row of cottages as seen nestled in to the fell side from the other side of the valley bottom.I could have quite happily moved in to this wonderful little place forever, but sadly all holidays have to come to an end at some point.

3CS - Quail

2011-06-28T06:53:00.000+01:00

A little catch up post. This is something I made for the 3CS colour palette challenge and it was finished just before I went on holiday. If you've been following you'll know that I have been exploring cloth doll making in these challenges but with no sewing machine I decided to attempt something a bit smaller. So I went for the Quail pattern from ' The Artful Bird' Book by Abigail Patner.You might also know that orange is my favourite colour so there was no way I was going to miss out making something from this colour palette.Not a partridge in a pear tree but a quail in a Bay tree. :)

I'm Back

2011-06-27T07:53:00.002+01:00

I'm back from a wonderful week in the lovely Lake District. I have lots to share with you both creative stuff and pictures of the beautiful Langdale valley where we stayed. But for now I only have time to pop by and say a quick 'hi' I have all the holiday laundry to do, a million blogs to read, a man coming to fix the garden fence and hopefully fingers crossed I'll also be making a trip out to pick up my much missed sewing machine Jemimah today!

Nothing to Declare

2011-06-14T08:07:00.004+01:00

With my machine still at the repairers (and not likely to be back for another 2 weeks - waiting on a part) I don't really have a lot to show at the moment. I'm working on a little hand stitchery, I'm using a photo I recently took of the glorious English countryside as inspirationThere is a lot of stitching to do yet but I'm starting with some collaged fabric scraps. Apart from that I've been working some more on Birds Eye View and some crochet but generally life has slowed right down for a while I've been taking time to enjoy the little things....Like the quick 10 minutes I grabbed in my lunchbreak the other day enjoying the beautiful colours of this poppy field. It was just enough to recharge the batteries and set me up to deal with a busy afternoon in the office - a little fresh air and sunshine can work wonders.

Time for some music

2011-06-12T06:26:00.001+01:00

Haven't had a music post in quite a while. Not much to say just a few snaps from some of the gigs we've been to this year.

Amsterdam Revisited - Randoms

2011-06-09T06:22:00.000+01:00

This is the last one from Amsterdam ...I promise. Actually it's been fun for me revisiting these last few Amsterdam posts, reminding myself of what a fabulous trip I had. Also it's been a chance to remind myself of all the things I have to be grateful for right now, there have been plenty of points in my life when I wouldn't have been able to do this trip for reasons personal and financial. I'm happy that life, with all it's bumps in the road, has bought me to where I am, able to experience all of the fun and precious moments that I'm having right now.A crow in the park

This is not a great photo but if you look very closely you'll see some parakeets in the branches - have never seen them flying around in the wild before.

On of the many streetside vendors in Museumplein - I had croissants and orange juice for breakfast in the sunshine

Cherry Blossom

Light reflections in the canal at the end of the day

An adorable little ruffian. This starling had been fighting it out with some others over a few crumbs before he decided to catch his breath on the wheel of this bike.

So many fond memories. I hope I get to go back to Amsterdam one day.

Something Old

2011-06-08T06:10:00.000+01:00

Way back some seven months ago before Christmas I was on a bit of a knitting roll and made several hats. While I was having a sort out the other day I came across one that needed a bit of finishing up. All the knitting had been done it just need the flower adding to the hat.This one was meant for a friend so off it will go to her now, several months later than intended but in plenty of time for next winter. I really like the pattern though so I think I will make one for myself too, but of course the flower will be orange!! :)

Amsterdam Revisited - On the Streets

2011-06-07T07:03:00.000+01:00

Amsterdam is a wonderful city to explore by foot. Beautiful canals, enchanting alleys and fabulous buildings. I was lucky to have all but one of the days I spent there filled with sunshine. Here are a few shots that I took whilst out wandering the city.

Art is everywhere in this city, even on the street corners

Street food. Some fried cod, the dish is called Kibbeling.

Beautiful canal buildings

Bikes are everywhere in Amsterdam. Pedestrians Beware! :)

Ruth

2011-06-06T05:34:00.000+01:00

Can you cast your mind back a couple of weeks? You might remember that I was working on a doll for last months 3CS challenge, you might remember that she was nearly done but not quite. Well I finally got round to adding the final embellishments and she's done.Here she is standing in the sun like the proper beach girl she is.I ummed and ahhed about whether she should have hair, but I grew to like her without. She hasn't told me her whole story yet, but she's a maiden of the sea, she looks young but has been haunting the shores for more years that you or I have been alive.She's not one for trinkets but she has a simple necklace made from stars she found on the beach, a shawl made from cast off fishing net, and a simple tie round her waist made from rope she found on her wanderings.

I'm not sure that I am going to be able to participate in this months challenge which is a real shame as the colours are fabulous. I may try and hand stitch up a little something if I get time in the next few days though. We'll see.

Amsterdam Revisited - Sights and Attractions

2011-06-05T07:21:00.000+01:00

I can hardly believe it but my trip to Amsterdam was about 2 months ago now. Doesn't time fly when you're having fun? I still have about 3 posts worth of photos that I uploaded but didn't get round to actually posting. As I'm off on holiday for a week later this month I figured it was about time I tried to get caught up. So here we are Amsterdam revisited :)

There are so many wonderful places to visit in Amsterdam, I barely scratched the surface during my few days.My hotel was right next to Vondel Park, what a fabulous and peaceful place. I often found myself wandering through the park on a pre-breakfast walk in the mornings.Also just round the corner from my hotel was Museumplein. I spent a lovely morning wandering round the Van Gogh Museum and the Rijksmuseum.So many wonderful artworks, it was pretty overwhelming really. Actually they are currently doing a lot of work at the Rijksmuseum so a lot of the rooms are closed off to the public right now, which was probably no bad thing. Sometimes it gets hard to appreciate the beauty of every piece when there is so much to see and you get a bit blase after a while ...'oh look another masterpiece...' :) Anyway I digress.Museumplein is home to the I amsterdam installation. I was lucky to be there early one morning to get a whole shot as every other time I went by there were people climbing all over this thing getting their photos taken!One of the most moving places I went to was the Anne Frank house. I have to confess that I am pretty ignorant about this period in history, I've always shied away from learning too much about the Nazi regime as I know I would find a lot of it very upsetting. It was very strange going up the stairs behind the bookcase and into the tiny rooms that Anne and her family occupied. It's a very popular attraction but I would certainly recommend a visit - but get there early.And of course you can't talk about Amsterdam without mentioning the flower markets......... and the red light district.

Amsterdam is certainly a city with something for everyone :)

Scraphappy Saturday

2011-06-04T06:48:00.000+01:00

June is the month of yellow in the rainbow scrap challenge.

I love yellow, it reminds me of sunshine and buttercups. I'm a little stuck at the moment with my machine in for repair but I have been busy cutting my fabric scraps so that they will be ready to be stitched up into chequerboard blocks when the machine is home. Fingers crossed that will be soon, and I'll have some blocks to show next weekend.

Introducing Birds Eye View

2011-06-03T07:03:00.000+01:00

With Siberian Gold finished it was time to pick out a new cross stitch project from Mum's UFO box. I have to admit that looking through the box makes me so sad, but luckily my wonderful man noticed that it was weighing heavily on my mind and offered to have a look through and pick something out for me. This is what he came up with.It's another big one, and similarly to Siberian Gold Mum barely got it started. So this is where I'm starting from.Not a lot to go on huh? This one is likely to be with me for a good couple of years I reckon. There is quite a lot of back stitch too but I'm planning on doing bits at a time as I go along. Tune back in at the end of the month to see if I manage to make much progress!

Any Ideas?

2011-06-02T08:55:00.003+01:00

I don't tend to buy a lot of fabric these days. I don't often make large projects anymore, I have lots of fabric already that needs to be used :), and of course fabric over here in the UK is often really expensive. But I splashed out the other day when I fell in love with the Wild Garden line of fabric by Dan Bennett. So I got myself a mixed pack of 8 fat quarters which arrived in the post yesterday.Mmmmm they are just so yummy, bright colours and fabulous pattern just my thing. The only problem now is what to do with them. I'm a bit out of the quilting habit and haven't made a top for ages but am thinking it's high time to have another go. As the colours and patterns are so bold I'm thinking a simple pattern which would showcase the fabrics, anyone have any suggestions?

Jobs for June

2011-06-01T07:02:00.000+01:00

Confession time again. How did I do in May?

Finish the Tiger Cross stitch - any time left over in the month after that will be used to work on Lakeside Farm - Tigers are finished and Lakeside Farm has progressed
Participate in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge - Done. I made 4 chequerboard blocks and a pincushion
Participate in the 3CS Challenge - I was a little late but I had an almost finished doll to share by the deadline date
Make 10 Recycled/Reused Postcards - I managed to get 8.5 done before Jemimah gave up on me so not completing this one was a little out of my control :)
Complete chapter 4 city and guilds and get 2 further chapters done. - Chapter 4 and 5 got done but thanks to my machine breaking down I didn't get through chapter 6
Start second PIF gift - I've sorted out the fabric and the pattern but can't go much further until I have my machine back, but it's a start which is all I said I'd do.
Crochet 16 little Granny Squares - Done. This was the first thing off the list that got done this month I'm loving crochet, I think it is becoming my new addiction.

I'm pretty pleased with that no out and out fails so that's pretty good really. I'm going to set quite a short list this month as I'm on holiday for a week and also my machine is still in for repair which will limit things for the time being. But here are the goals.

Work on new cross stitch
Participate in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge
Finish Second PIF gift
Make the Granny Squares in to a cushion
Finish last 3 postcards for the swap
Keep working on the new crochet blocks to see if I can figure out a throw.
Work on City and Guilds chapter six.

Ok so actually that's probably an even longer list than last month, lol, but none of them are large projects so hopefully all achieveable

Lakeside Farm Update

2011-05-31T05:04:00.001+01:00

It's the last day of the month so it must be time for a cross stitch update. Siberian Gold still hasn't found it's way in to a frame but it will in time I'm sure. The bonus of getting it finished so early in the month was that I've had plenty of time to work on Lakeside Farm. This is where I left it last.And this is the now.A fair bit of progress but to be honest with no machine this last week or so I thought that I might have gotten a bit further but I haven't really had the energy for much. Still I'm not really complaining I'm happy with what I did. I'm off for a week in the Lakes in June so I should probably keep going on this, but I'm eager to start on the next of Mum's UFOs too so we'll see.

Laughing in London

2011-05-30T10:25:00.003+01:00

There is not much stitching going on here at the moment, Jemimah went in to the repairs shop on Friday so now it's a waiting game to see how long she'll take to be patched up.

It's a bank holiday weekend here, three whole days off work :) We started ours off with a trip to London on Saturday. We ate lunch on the ThamesAnd there was time to raise a pint to being Britishmessing around in front of the Houses of Parliament
And a trip to Tate Britain.Wandering back to the tube took us closer to the Houses and Big Ben with the London Eye in the background.
There were a whole lot of protesters who'd set up camp opposite the houses, in aid of President Obama's visit I guess.
Our day finished with a wonderful gig at The Bush Hall. A really small, beautiful and atmospheric place, full of big mirrors and chandeliers which I totally failed to capture through the camera.
We were there to spend An Intimate Evening with Melissa Auf der Maur. An awesome end to an awesome day.

A post on postcards

2011-05-26T04:17:00.000+01:00

With the end of the month coming up it seems about time that I start thinking about how far I've gotten with this months to do list. One of the things on the list was to make 10 recycled/reused postcards for a swap that I'm in due at the end of June.

Well I was ticking along on this one nicely until Jemimah started to blow up on me.
I've managed to get 8 done and the ninth is half way there - that was what I was working on when the machine gave up the ghost. It seems very unlikely that I'll have Jemimah back before the end of May so I'm going to fall just short of my target. But I'm not too worried as soon as she's back I'll get back on track.

A great mail day

2011-05-25T03:57:00.000+01:00

Look at all these wonderful goodies that came sailing through my letterbox yesterday.
And inside that lovely kitty fabric was this beautiful book cover.
Actually the book is perfect. I have been having lots of ideas pop in to my head for projects that I'd like to tackle and with limited time at the moment some of the ideas pop straight back out to be forgotten. I've been meaning to get something to write them all down in, so this is just the thing.

And how did I come by these wonderful gifts you might be asking. Everyone who participates in the 3CS palette challenge went in to a draw and I was the lucky winner last month. Anyone can join in the challenge at anytime, so don't forget to pop over to the 3CS blog and find out about this month's colour palette, and how to participate in the challenge. There is lots of other great stuff over there too so go check it out :)

Back to the drawing board

2011-05-24T06:06:00.000+01:00

With my machine on the fritz I have to rely on my handwork projects for my stitching fix at the moment :) Unfortunatley these have all taken against me as well, sigh. I'm just going to ride this wave of 'everything I touch goes wrong' and hope that life goes on the upturn again soon :)

Stop waffling and get to the point you might be screaming at me by now, and I wouldn't blame you. I've been working up a couple of the crochet blocks that I gave a test drive too last week. The cream and the red yarns are slightly different weights but are almost the same thickness so I thought I'd get away with combining the two. Sadly not.I've hooked up the two blocks that I wanted to make my throw from and they've come out at different sizes. So it's back to the drawing board. These are the options I've come up with so far

1. Stick with the idea of a throw from these two blocks and go shopping again for some different yarns

2. I like both of the blocks so I could make a throw using just one of the block patterns, maybe adding some more colour variations in to make it a bit more interesting.

3. Scrap the whole idea of a throw and admitt that my crochet ambitions are way beyond my actual skill level!!

Any thoughts will be gratefully received.

Don't put off until tomorrow...

2011-05-23T09:56:00.004+01:00

...what can be done today. I've been procrastinating the last few days. I've a pile of stitch projects waiting to be gotten on with that have been left languishing by the machine and I've been telling myself I'll get to them tomorrow. Well tomorrow came yesterday and what happens, well my sewing machine decides to give up on me.Power cut out in the middle of stitching. I've tried all the basics, changing the fuse etc but she just won't come back to life so off to the repairer she goes, she'll be out of action for at least a week :(

On a good note though I received this beautiful handmade card in the post today from my friend Beth. This bit of loveliness arrived at just the right time to bring me a smile when I was in need of one.Thanks Beth, you have great timing!! :)

Scraphappy Sunday

2011-05-22T10:20:00.002+01:00

I had one of those days yesterday where everything that could go wrong did. I'm sure you've had those from time to time too. I broke a glass, spilled a drink, ruined dinner and had to frog a lot of the crochet I had started.

Anyway amongst all the drama I totally missed scrap happy Saturday, so I'm having scrap happy Sunday this week instead :)

My offering is this little pin cushion. Hand and machine stitched, made with cotton scraps, ribbon and felt for the backing. I think it turned out cute.

second test block done

2011-05-20T07:14:00.000+01:00

A really quick post today as I'm hoping to go off to the Quilts, UK show for the day. A quick and not particularly good snap of the second crochet block that I finished up yesterday. So now that I'm happy I can follow the directions for both the blocks I will be able to get cracking with the yarn I bought the other day. This will be a long term project. The blocks do take a bit of time, though hopefully I will get faster as I get more practise on them, I'm hoping to start out at the rate of two blocks a week, but I still have a tonne of other things to work on too so we'll see.

Still hooking

2011-05-19T14:04:00.003+01:00

Time flies when your having fun - so the saying goes. I had a lovely day yesterday wandering in the rain, visiting a local exhibition and then going to the movies for a good dose of Johnny Depp - swoon. Anyway all that means I still don't have anything much to show here. So I thought I'd share the progress on the test blocks for the crochet project I have in mind.

The other day I happened to find myself in the local craft shop - not quite sure how or why, I'm sure you've had those experiences before ;-) They had lying around a few sample crochet blocks they had using some of these lovely yarns (though not quite the same colours as the ones I came home with).I have in mind to make a throw, something that will just sling over the back of the sofa, to be dragged down and snuggled in to whenever the need arises. So I've been having a flick through this book. Even though I've only just learned to crochet I already had a few books in my collection just things that I've picked up and dreamed that I might be able to work from someday! The blocks in the book are graded for beginners, intermediate and experienced. I didn't want to make things too complicated so figured I'd pick two blocks and make a simple design from them, but of course the ones I like fall into the second and third category, so I figured that I should make a couple of test blocks to see if I could follow the pattern before attempting them for real.This first block is called Waterlily. I didn't quite get the flower right but I know where I went wrong and am happy that I'll be able to fix it when I start on the throw.

So far I've only managed the centre of the second block which is called Big RoundThe pattern isn't really showing too well in the photo yet but I'm hoping it will start to look better as I add the square outer borders. Wish me luck.

Blog Helper

2011-05-17T12:59:00.000+01:00

I don't have anything stitchy to share today. I have lots of things in the works - pink projects for the rainbow challenge, the granny squares are being sewn up, Ruth has a little more embellishment needed then she'll be done and I'm also working up a couple of test block for a new crochet project. But just for today you get a gratuitous kitty picture.Pip has been helping me blog this week, here he is on the shelf above the computer, looking as alert and active as always! He reminded me that it's been a while since he had a post of his own, so of course I had to rectify that immediately. Thanks for keeping me on my toes Pippy!! :)

Reworking

2011-05-16T02:59:00.000+01:00

I've been working on recycling some old postcards of mine that I've had hanging around - some of them for years. The swap I'm in isn't due until the end of June so I've been doing a few at a time. Some of the cards haven't needed anything more than a new backing adding to them others I've played with a bit more. Like this mermaidThis is how she looked, image stamped on to some of my hand dyed fabric. Pretty enough but she just didn't really do it for me anymore. I decided she wanted to be sat in her very own seaweed grotto. So some silk scraps, beads and sequins later she now looks like this.I like the card so much more now that it has some texture, it was all a bit too plain before.

Another card that has had an overhaul is this one that I made back in 2006 for a daisies swap. This was right back when I first started swapping postcards and I was first getting back in to stitching. (Sorry you'll have to tilt your head for these I can't get them uploaded the right way)Anyway this one got shoved under the machine and a bit of free stitching later it now looks like this.I'm so much happier to be sending out this reworked version, one hundred times better than the original!

Before I go just had to show you this picture of Desperate Dave yesterday. He bought this huge Bison pie to try from the farm on Sunday. It was enormous, reminded me of Desperate Dan and his Cow Pies :) Was tasty though, even I liked it and I don't normally like beef. It had a less fatty and more gamey taste.

Down on the Farm

2011-05-15T09:30:00.005+01:00

It's been a while since I did an out and about post. It's not that I don't have anything to tell you about I still have photos from Amsterdam, walks on the beach in Cornwall, messing around by the river and strolls in woods that I haven't told you about I just haven't had the time.

I will get to all that stuff but first here are a few snaps from a trip to the farm yesterday.Curious piggiesFriendly goats (these were adorable they were trying to eat everything including shoelaces and our backpacks!)Chickens galore including this fancy fellowAnd this portly fellow. Honestly these chickens were huge I've never seen the like....To give you an idea here he is stood up next to a duck. Giant, he was :)A trip to the farm is not all about the animals though plenty of beautiful ramshackle buildings to see too, if you like that sort of thing, which I do :)
The main attraction though were the beautiful herds of Bison. What magnificent animals, and they had babies too.I mean how cute is this little sleepy fellow. Hard to imagine that one day he'll grow up to look like this.It struck me as quite funny to see this huge and powerful beasts among the buttercups!After the trip to the farm we went for a wonderful 6 mile ramble through the countryside. Due to a bit of bad planning on my part though I only have this one shot of the countryside to share as my camera battery went flat.
Never mind lesson learned for next time!

pink checks

2011-05-14T06:19:00.002+01:00

What has been going on with blogger these past few days. Between this and my c and g blog I've lost about 4 posts. Hopefully things are back to normal now.Is it Saturday again already? Where did that week go? The only pink happenings in my neck of the woods this week has been the making of the chequerboard blocks. I'm happy that I've gotten them done though, it means that I have the rest of the month to let pink take me wherever it wants to go.

Stumped

2011-05-12T12:30:00.000+01:00

Work has been continuing on my 3CS doll. I just love working with this colour palette.

The collage is complete.Over the top I stitched some sheers using metallic thread. I made a loose wavy grid pattern
Next it was time to have fun with the heat gun.
The body has been made..... and I'm loving the stump doll pattern from Ray Slater's book
She is one tall lady. Now I'm stumped though I've run out of stuffing for her arms, so things have stalled a bit, and I'm not sure if I'm going to get time to get more before this month's challenge ends of Sunday. She will get finished, I've decided she is called Ruth by the way, but it may not be in time for the deadline.

I can't believe it's done

2011-05-11T03:14:00.001+01:00

Siberian Gold is finally finished. Now it's done it doesn't seem possible, I think it might take me a while to settle in to the idea. I first picked this UFO out of Mum's project box back in August 2008. This is what it looked like.It's been a long time in the finishing hasn't it? Of course I haven't worked on it nonstop and in those years I've had a good few months of downtime where I didn't touch any stitching or creative stuff at all. But it's done.
I don't think I could even hazard a guess as to how many stitching hours have gone in to this one. Way too many to count or even think about. The finished size is 11.5 x 16 inches. The back stitching is quite subtle - some for the whiskers and also round the branches and grasses in the background so that took me a couple of sessions to get finished.
All that needs to be done now is to get these cats washed and damp stretched and they will be ready for a frame.

I already have the next of Mum's UFOs picked out. After 3 years the thought of going through that box again was weighing heavily on my mind, it always makes me sad to see how many projects Mum never got to finish. Anyway Dave bless him took that burden away from me and he went in and picked something out. It's another big one that's not had much of a start so it could be another few years before I have to visit the box again. I'm going to leave you in suspense though until next month to find out what it is. The rest of this month will be spent trying to make some progress on Lakeside Farm.

Must try harder

2011-05-10T14:57:00.003+01:00

Well I think I told you I had a lazy weekend, I didn't realise quite how lazy until I went back in to the sewing room today. I've reconciled myself to the fact that being a domestic goddess is just not in my genes but I could have sworn I remembered spending some time on Sunday tidying my work space.............but I mean really what part of this room did I think was tidy? ...........this little lot is stretching the definition of tidy even for me!!! But I think I had a bit of a revelation, my weekend wasn't spent being lazy but being in denial.Yesterday I had occasion to be hanging round in the park for a while, waiting for some minor repairs to be done on my car. I was just hanging out enjoying the fresh spring breezewatching the clouds roll by and also doing a bit of readingAnd I realised this is exactly what I needed, some fresh air to blow the cobwebs out and wake me up a bit.

As many of you already know I have suffered a couple of periods of depression in recent years and I think that maybe over the weekend I was beginning to go down that slippery slope again. But I'm determined not to let myself get carried along on that ride again. I mean really there is so much to be grateful for in my life, just sometime I need reminding to concentrate on those good things and not dwell on the things that are out of my control. So concentrate I will. If any of you see me frowning here feel free to give me a shake :)

A weekend with Granny

2011-05-09T08:54:00.004+01:00

Usually at the weekends I try and cram in as much as I can. I'm usually rushing round more than I do in the week, because I'm trying to fit in as much of the stuff that I want to do as possible. But every now and then you just have to take some down time. This weekend was one of those times. I pretty much did nothing all weekend, curled up on the sofa reading, listening to the rain, watching movies. Heaven.

All that time on the sofa means that I have my granny squares all done.To be honest I'm not sure that my Granny would really like all these bright and clashy colours together but I think this is going to make one fun cushion. Have no idea where I'm going to put it though, as you might be glad to hear that none of the rooms in my house are actually decked out in these colours, lol.

Happy and Sad

2011-05-08T03:50:00.000+01:00

This week I have been thinking a lot about my Mum and my Gran who are sadly both no longer with us. I think it's because I'm coming to the end of working on Siberian Gold, which means that I'll have to pick another of my Mum's UFOs to work on soon. Also they both have birthdays in May.

Isn't it funny how these things work. On a day that I'd been thinking about them non stop for one reason and another I had a letter through the door to say that some money had come in to Gran's estate and I was entitled to receive some. It wasn't much, less that £20 but what a coincidence that it happened at this time.

After a little bit of thought we decided to go to the garden centre and have bought this beautiful little bay tree with the money.
She's sat outside the house where I get to go past and see her everyday and think of Gran. It's funny how something happy can come out of something sad. This picture was taken a couple of days ago, the tree has been receiving a good watering these last couple of days as we've had some wonderful rain storms here.

Scraphappy Saturday and 3CS

2011-05-07T14:18:00.003+01:00

Pink is the new colour for May in the Rainbow scrap challenge. At first I wasn't sure what to do. I think I might have mentioned before that there aren't really any colours that I don't like, but pink is one of those that I have to be in the mood to work with....if that makes any sense whatsoever.
Anyhow I've started gathering the scraps ready to cut for my chequerboard blocks. I've also been flickering through some of the magazines that I've bought in the past and a few perfectly pink projects have been jumping out at me from the pages. So once the chequerboard blocks are done I'm happy that I'm going to have plenty of ideas to play with.

I have been working with some blue and brown scraps this last couple of days, as I'm making another collage which will become my base fabric for the latest doll for the 3CS challenge, so the scraps haven't been totally neglected. This is what I have so far.With no plans for this weekend I'm hoping to get in lots of stitching hours so hopefully I'll have lots of creativity to share soon.

Super Lucky Me

2011-05-06T05:47:00.000+01:00

Just a quick one today to tell you about some lovely fabric that I recent won on a blog giveaway. That is 2 wins in as many weeks, I must be on a lucky streak. Maybe I should go and buy a lottery ticket!

This lot of gorgeous hand dyed fabrics is from Maggie. The colours are just beautiful. I don't have a plan for them yet but I know the perfect project will present itself soon.

Fragments

2011-05-05T07:27:00.000+01:00

As per usual I'm going to be pushing it to try and get my doll for this month's 3CS challenge done on time. But finally I have made a start.I've been gathering fragments that remind me of walks on the beach - what a beautiful inspiration photo we have this time round. I'll be using the basic pattern from this wonderful bookIt's going to be really touch and go as to whether I get her done, but with no particular plans for this weekend I'm hoping I'll manage to get in lots of stitching time

My Space

2011-05-04T03:59:00.000+01:00

Being back at work after a couple of weeks off pleasing myself and doing my own thing is hard. But when the going gets tough - which is usually when I run out of energy at about 3pm - Among other places I dream of being here.My little sun lit corner on the sofa, curled up with my stitching.

Where do your dreams take you?

I'm a hooker

2011-05-03T05:38:00.001+01:00

It's official I have another obsession. After years of wanting to learn the lovely Sue taught me my first crochet stitches last week. This is my progress so far.Looking through some crochet books and stuff on the web, I can't believe how much variety can be gotten from just one little hook and some yarn.

It's probably another thing learned that I probably won't have the time to do justice with. I think I'm destined to spend my life being a jack of all trades type person, but hey that's ok with me. I would like to make 16 of these little squares and make them up into a cushion cover so I'm going to add this to my to do list for May.

So it's official..... I'm a hooker..... Sue if your reading I guess technically that makes you a Madam ;)

Cute

2011-05-02T07:54:00.003+01:00

I was feeling a bit down yesterday. After spending a good many hours working on the last piece in chapter 4 of the city and guilds, it turned out to be a big horrible mess :(

While I was typing up what I'd done and where it all went wrong Dave disappeared to the shop and came back with a pressie to make me smile again.cute and made of chocolate - 2 of my favourite things :) But not only did he bring 1 ....there were 4 of the little cuties!As of now I'm still thinking they are way too cute to eat, but give it a day or two and the call of chocolate goodness will overwhelm me and they'll be gone as quickly as they arrived ;-)

Maybe I'll get more done in May

2011-05-01T05:52:00.003+01:00

I know every time I do these posts I wonder where the last month has gone, but this one has been the fastest of the year so far. I mean really where did those weeks go?

I haven't done so well on my to do list this month, but hey I'm not going to worry about it too much you can only do what you can do right? Here's the report ;-)

Work on the Tigers Cross Stitch - This has been worked on and it's oh so nearly there I just have some back stitching left to do so I'm going to hold off showing until it's done.
Participate in Rainbow Scrap Challenge - Didn't manage to do as much as I would have like but I used some purple in the Collette doll, I also made a pin cushion, an ATC and my chequerboard blocks so not bad
Participate in the 3cs colour palette challenge - I managed to get Collette done just in time for the deadline.
Finish 3 chapters of my city and guilds course. - Almost made this one happen. I've completed 2 chapters and just have the final stitches and the write up to do of the third.
Finish 6 more reused and recycles postcards - I made a start on only one postcard so this is a fail
Catch up on Birdies block of the month - Another fail, I think I'm going to have to scratch this one from the project list I just don't seem to have the time :( It's a shame but one of those things
Make a start on the second PIF gift. - Another fail I'm afraid this will roll over to this coming month

So all in all a bit of a mixed bag, but on a positive note. I've managed to get my first ever crochet blocks made thanks to some brilliant tuition from Sue - I'll blog about that another day. And I managed to get this little patriotic stitchery done while watching the wedding on Friday.This is what I hope to get done in May

Finish the Tiger Cross stitch - any time left over in the month after that will be used to work on Lakeside Farm
Participate in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge
Participate in the 3CS Challenge
Make 10 Recycled/Reused Postcards
Complete chapter 4 city and guilds and get 2 further chapters done.
Start second PIF gift
Crochet 16 little Granny Squares

Only time will tell if I can get through the list this month :)

Scraphappy Saturday goodbye to purple and a small giveaway...

2011-04-30T15:39:00.002+01:00

It's been such a busy month that I barely feel like I've started with purple and the month is over. Just one of those things I guess. In the last couple of days I did manage to get my chequerboard blocks doneSorry for the crappy picture I didn't really pay much attention while I was taking it and I've put the blocks away with the others now and can't be bothered to haul them out to get a better shot - lazy I know.

The only other thing I got done this week for the rainbow challenge was to make an ATC from a few tiny leftovers of the collage fabric I made my doll Collette with.I've decided to give this little piece away to one of my lovely friends and readers who leaves a comment here on this post. Just leave me a comment and if you are on 'no reply' setting your email and I will draw a winner on Monday.

I'm hoping to have more time for this challenge next month ... I wonder what the colour will be, not long to wait to find out :)

Were you invited?

2011-04-29T09:58:00.002+01:00

Unless you happen to live in a remote cave, if you're in the UK, and possibly anywhere else in the world, it won't have escaped your notice that there is a wedding today!

Did your invitation get lost in the mail, like mine? Will you be watching? I'm not really a follower of the royal family but we're making an effort to be patriotic today. Hector looks proud to be British anyway!! :)

At last a little bit of stitching...

2011-04-27T05:14:00.000+01:00

Only a little bit though...... while I was with family at the weekend I took a few purple scraps to play with and ended up with this little granny flower pincushion
Fabrics are different on each side.
I've been thinking about starting up a little Etsy shop or similar. Buying threads, fabrics and books for my City and Guilds is costing a bit more than I expected, and I'm always making stuff that just ends up sitting round the house so I thought may be this could be a way of getting a few extra pennies to put back in to the course. I know there are lots of wonderfully creative people out there and my stuff would be pretty basic compared to some so might not sell but every little helps right and anything would be a happy bonus. Maybe this little cushion will be among the first things in the shop. Anyone out there already on Etsy and have any good advice?

Anyway back to the purple scraps, these haven't been stitched yet but I have all the squares cut for my purple chequerboard blocks so hopefully that will get done this week in time for scrappy Saturday.And finally I just had to show you this lovely fabric goodness. I'm so excited to have won a giveaway on Vicki's blog recently. Just look at all this wonderful fabric. I'm so lucky.Good quality quilting cotton is always so expensive here in the UK so it's a real treat for me to receive all this. Lots of gorgeous orangeness too my favourite. I'm thrilled with the parcel. Thanks so much Vicki!

Whirlwind Weekend

2011-04-26T07:28:00.004+01:00

I hope you all had a fabulous Easter weekend. I really did. I spent some time visiting family and getting cuddles from my gorgeous nephewsThen there were long walks down the river, what hard work that was ;-)And more long walks through the woods admiring the beautiful bluebells in the sun.The peace and quiet of the bluebell wood was a world away from the manic madness of spending time with family and two noisy nephews, but that doesn't mean there wasn't time for a moment of silliness or two :)The only thing that I didn't really get done was any stitching. But I'm hoping to be back tomorrow with some stitching content, I know it's been a while!

Hope your weekend was as joyful as mine. X