Festival fun . . .

Well, it's been a while . . .  That was a much longer than anticipated, and actually quite unintentional break.  It's not that I've not been making or doing, there's really been quite a bit of that going on, but just that my bloggy mojo seemed to disappear for a while.  It seems today however, that it's back - so if you're still out there, let's catch up shall we?

Picking up where I left off . . .  way back in March, the highlight was very definitely a short but oh-so-sweet daytrip up north to bonnie Scotland and the delightful Edinburgh Yarn Festival.  "That's a long way to go for a day trip",  I hear you say. Well, yes I suppose it might be.  But with the wonders of modern aviation, it's really just a one hour flight each way.  So here's how the story goes:

Our lovely friends, Saul & Paulette were coming over from Boston, USA to visit for a few days.  Saul, like the Hubby is a metagrobologist and ardent collector of mechanical puzzles so together they had already organised a puzzle party to coincide with Saul's visit.  Paulette & I, let's be honest here, would prefer to knit ; - )

 So when Paulette emailed to suggest that perhaps whilst the puzzlers were puzzling, we fibre addicts should consider an outing to the yarn festival, I didn't hesitate.  Not even for a moment. 

 A few emails back & forth across the pond ensued and within mere minutes we had booked our flights and our tickets for the Edinburgh Yarn Festival.  Woohooooo . . .

 Kindred souls we are  : - )

And a few days later, with shopping lists made, comfy footwear donned and travel knitting projects packed for the flight, we got up early in the morning and excitedly flew north to beautiful sunny Edinburgh.

 Lovely Marina (she of RedSetter fame) joined us and oh what a fabulous time we had, ooh-ing and aah-ing over all the gorgeous yarns and pretty patterns and colourful stalls.   I was so busy trying to take it all in, and make sure we didn't miss anything out, that I hardly took any pics.

All too soon it was time to head for the airport and catch our flight back to Brum, but we returned with a few new additions to each of our yarn stashes and heads brimming with new ideas and future yarny projects. 

 And most especially, memories of a truly fun day shared. 

Oh, and we're already planning our next fibre festival outing . . . across the pond next year . . . probably be more than a day trip though ; - )

'til next time,

xoxo

Pups on pillows . . .

We love having friends to stay chez nous and one of the necessary prerequisites for any visitors is "Must love dogs" or at the very least, tolerate them.

Mostly friends are coming to visit with the hubby & I, and the two most-adorable-pups-in-the-world are content with saying hello and being on the receiving end of the odd cuddle or tug-of-war with the nearest toy.  But when our two young Dutch friends come to stay, it's not about me or the Hubby, it's ALL about Ben & Jerry.

It works out well for us grown-up peeps too . . . the boys retreat to the puzzle cave, popping out occasionally for refreshments, whilst we girls chat & catch up & cook & chat some more, and maybe enjoy a little crafting.  All this while the young 'uns and the pups play, and play, and play some more, and at the end of the visit when it's time to leave, there are some very fond goodbyes and nearly always tears.  

Again, nothing to do with us, and everything to do with leaving the pups behind.

SO,  I had a little idea . . .  I made some pillows.  

The result involved two live canine models and a whole lot of smelly treats.  

And this time when we had to say farewell, they got to take a little momento home - a Ben & Jerry cushion each.

 I think they like their pillows . . .

All smiles, no tears . . . job done  : - )

'til next time,

xoxo

a happy day at Hidcote . . .

It's a bit of an early start, and I'm not really one for early mornings - especially in the winter - but it has become a bit of a tradition and it is a pretty drive through a myriad of little quintessentially English villages that dot the beautiful Cotswold countryside. So first thing yesterday, off we went to spend a day at Hidcote Manor  making our Christmas wreaths.

Hidcote Manor & Gardens are just lovely, even on a blustery, rainy day - but a friendly bunch of volunteers and a mug of steamy hot chocolate greeted us, and all thoughts of it being early and chilly were banished.

Punctuated only by a yummy lunch and a little pootle around the gift shop, we spent a most enjoyable time picking & choosing the fresh foliage and turning them into pretty wreaths.

 

And then we popped a CD on in the car and sang Christmas carols in a range of harmonies, at top volume all the way back home. 

All in all, just a lovely way to spend a day . . .

 

it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas . . .

Happy weekend lovelies,

'til next time,

xoxo

Every cloud . . .

 . . . has a silver lining.*

Hellloooo. . .   it's been a while, hasn't it?  Way longer than I'd both anticipated or expected.

  So much has happened since my last post - some good and some fairly rubbishy.
 A much-loved one and a most-adorable-pup-in-the-world are not well, and requiring just a little bit more tlc for now ; and then there's the bit where I most suddenly and unexpectedly found myself without a job from one day to the next.
 But such is life sometimes, and quite frankly the best option is to focus on the positive and keep moving forwards.
 So on the brighter side of things, here's what I've been up to lately . . .

• A lovely day out in London with a cherished friend that included a first-ever visit to the oh-so-delightful Loop . . . be still, my beating heart . . .

• Getting a few yarny projects finished and new ones started whilst keeping above-mentioned much-loved one company . . .

a sweet little cardi and a delightfully mischievous elf-in-progress.

free pattern from Heart & Sew

• Finally finishing this quilt - it's a gift, so I'll show you more once it's been delivered . . .  but in the meantime, thank you lovely Natalie at Hungry Hippie for the pattern & idea.  Do pop over and have a wee peek.

• Working on my Spice of Life CAL, just a few rows at a time whenever I can.  It really should have been finished ages ago but I'll get there eventually. 

• Making a couple of scrappy Christmas wreaths, then teaching a whole bunch of lovely ladies to make them too.

the sweet little angel is a Vanilla Squirrel creation - ain't she sweet?

• Sharing an oh-so-yummy early Christmas dinner with my Book Club gals at Lord Morton's  -  it's become our annual tradition and is just the perfect pick-me-up, complete with carol singing, champagne swilling and laughter of the best kind.

• Fuelling my addiction   delight of all-things snowman, and creating these happy Tilda inspired cuties:

 

Aah, it's good to be back  :-)   I'm off to catch up with your news now . . .

Wishing you a happy Monday, filled with silver linings.

'til next time,

xoxo

* this sweet cushion is made by Velvet Paws -a kind gift from a lovely friend. Dankie my skattie, xx.

knit, purl, pray . . .

"The knitter knows that time spent creating something beautiful and uselful can also be a time to be quiet and reflect. "  - knit, purl, pray

It's really quite exciting when someone you know is an actual published author, 

don't you think ?

It was a few months ago that my lovely friend Lisa told me she had another book coming out, so when knit, purl, pray dropped through the mail box last week, I couldn't wait to open it.

It's the perfect accompaniment to those reflective days when you just need to take time out from the busy-ness of a day to sit and be . . . and knit.  Or crochet, or weave, or spin . . .

The book is divided into short sections that you can dip in & out of it, and chapter titles like Lessons from my Knit Bag and I Speak Knittish made me smile.  

To know Lisa, is to love her  -  seriously, she's sweet, kind & funny,  and has the most infectious laugh  -  and her loveliness shines through in her writing.

It's not just for knitters of course, crocheters and other creative souls will enjoy it too.  There's even a chapter called Comfort for the Furry - I'll need to read that one to Ben & Jerry sometime ; - ) 

And in my yarn basket this week ?  I'm loving being a part of the Spice of Life Blanket CAL.  Apparently there are about 5000 of us from all over the world taking part.  Wow . . . that's a whole lot of pretty yarns being used . . .

I'm linking up today with Ginny's weekly Yarn Along at Small Things - do pop over & have a little peek at what everyone else has on their hooks & needles too.

http://www.gsheller.com/2015/10/yarn-along-249.html

'til next time,

xoxo

On my travels . . . Part 3 : Ottawa, Canada

Well here it is at last.... Part 3 - and today I'm joining in with Amy at Love Made My Home,  for Five on Friday too.

We spent the last week of our fab holiday in Ottawa, a city I'd not visited before so it was fun to explore,  as well as enjoy a catch up with lovely friends : - )

So whilst our significant others attended the IPP conference, we crafty gals had a fab time doing what we love best - nattering, eating, shopping, knitting, crocheting, and just generally hanging out together and enjoying each other's company.

My oh-so-talented friend Lesley, being the closest (well Toronto's not that far from Ottawa, really. . . by Canadian standards that is) was tasked with organizing our annual Fun & Fabulous Fabric & Fibre trip and may I say that aided and abetted by Helene, they did a sterling job.

We spent a whole day visiting five of Ottawa's most fabulous stores, all of whom gave us such a lovely welcome, treated us to yummy snacks and put up with 24 very happy crafters as we ooh-ed and aah-ed over the array of delightful fabrics and yarns.

We did lots of sightseeing too, and our wanders around the city inevitably included a spot of tea and something delicious to go with it . . .

So there it is . . . the holiday that was . . .

Time to plan the next one, methinks  : - )

Have a lovely weekend, one & all.

'til next time,

xoxo

On my travels . . . Part 2: Vancouver, Canada

How I'm loving going through all our holiday pics (did I mention there are in excess of 900 snaps? ), and smiling at all the lovely memories.  

On leaving Alaska, we flew south again from Anchorage to Vancouver in Canada where we spent a fabulous few sunny days in this beautiful city, catching up with family and friends.

My lovely cuz, Wendy had a whole lot of fun things planned for us to do and certainly was a host &  tour guide extraordinaire.  So from Grouse Mountain to Granville Island, and everything else in between, we set about exploring the delights. 

It's hard to narrow down the highlights as we just loved it all.  The view from the top of the mountain on the Sea-to-Sky gondola does rank right up there though.  As did those yummy donuts following our hike at Deep Cove  : - )  And then of course there was the time spent just chatting & laughing & sharing meals & making memories with our loved ones, who even though we're far apart, hold a special place in our hearts.

(If you're reading this:  Thank you all the Martins & the Goosies for making our time with you so special)

Of course, with all the outing-and-abouting, there wasn't much time for crafting, but stay tuned for Part 3 coming soon . . . 

'til next time,

xoxo

If the shoe fits . . .

Thanks so much, lovely peeps for all your kind & encouraging comments about our blossoming garden.  And a big welcome to my new followers too - thanks for popping in to say hello : - )

The Hubby & I spent the weekend in London and now I'm packing my bag again and heading north across Hadrian's Wall for a few days in Scotland, but before I fly off I thought I'd tell you about a fab little workshop I did the other evening . . .

My friend Heather (yes, she of gardening guru fame) & I decided we needed to add "Making Espadrilles" to our crafty endeavours, so off we toddled to Guthrie & Ghani in Moseley.

We were such busy elves that I somehow only took three little pics, but we had great fun cutting & stitching & nattering away, and by the end of the evening we'd almost managed to produce one shoe each ; - )

That's Heather's on the left and mine on the right, and a sad lack of any significant crafty time since then means that I've yet to finish my other shoe.  So they are sitting patiently on top of the WIP basket, hoping to be a complete pair soon.

It was a really fun workshop, and the espadrilles don't require much fabric at all - just two fat quarters, so I definitely see another pair on the horizon in the not too distant future.  But I really must finish this pair first.   They're just perfect for summer, don't you think ?

Wishing you a happy week,

'til next time,

xoxo

ps. if you fancy a little trip to beautiful Stratford upon Avon to make your own lovely pair of bespoke espadrilles, there's a couple of workshops coming up at Sew Me Something.  Ooh, and there's 20% off in the Summer Workshop Sale too  : - )

A flowery Friday . . .

Every week when Friday comes around, I have really good intentions of joining in with Amy at Love Made My Home for Five on Friday.  But then the day seems to come and go so quickly and before I know it, I've missed it again.  

 So here I am today - it's Friday, the sun is shining and our garden is blossoming with pretties . .  here's just five . . .

Isn't it just SOoooo pretty ?

I can't tell you how chuffed I am but alas, regular readers will remember that I'm not a gardener, so the fact that these beautiful flowers are alive & well & living happily in my garden is mostly due to the care and efforts of my kind gardening gurus - my lovely sis and my ever-so-patient friend Heather, who constantly roll their eyes at my lack of gardening enthusiasm,
but persevere regardless, in the hope that one day my fingers will turn green  ; - )

All I'm really entrusted with is the weeding and the watering . . . but that's a big part, right ? 

And a little while ago I told you about an outing to Hidcote to learn all about growing a cutting garden.  (Read about it here if you like)  We got to plant lots of seeds, and the abovementioned guru Heather cultivated and cared for mine in her greenhouse until it was time to plant.  And then she came over and planned and planted for me (I told you she was kind), and I'm happy to say my little cutting garden is growing well, with lots of little budlets about to blossom too.  

Happy dancing . . .

Thank you lovely sis & kind Heather, for making my garden grow.

Do pop over to Amy's linky party and see what everyone else is doing this Friday - happy weekend, lovelies . . . blossom where you're planted  : - )

'til next time,

xoxo

sewing & mezzes . . .

Question: 

What trumps a crafternoon with lovely friends, copious cuppas and yummy cake ?

Answer: 

 An evening spent sewing with those same lovely friends, a tipple or two (it improves the sewing apparently . . . so I'm told) and a delicious array of mezzes.

So, we annexed the lovely Sew Me Something studio (thanks Jules), 

ordered nibbles from El Greco - the oh-so-fab Greek eatery next door,  

and had a merry time sewing & nattering away to our hearts' content.

Quite a lovely way to spend an evening, don't you think ?

'til next time,

xoxo

I am not a gardener . . .

There, I've said it.

Many of you may already have known it.

Over the years, family and friends have encouraged and cajoled, but still my fingers remain decidedly un-green.

 

But I love beautiful gardens, I ooh & aah over them and dream of borders and beds and perfectly manicured lawns.  But then my two bouncy most-adorable-pups-in-the-world run straight through my dream, chasing each other at high speed and digging mahoosive muddy holes as they go.

Sigh . . .

And I also love myriads of pretty flowers, and believe it or not we have a little "cut flower patch" in our back garden.  It's a result of one of my erstwhile brilliant ideas of what to do with the space when we were having the garden landscaped a few years ago.  In the interluding years it's been filled intermittently with beautiful Spring tulips, lovely daffs, pretty petunias. . . and annoying wild-growing weeds.

So, when a friend signed us both up for the "Cut Flowers Masterclass" at lovely Hidcote Manor Garden in the Cotswolds, I thought "yeh, that'll be fab".  And of course it was.  (Thank you, HH)

We spent the day with the Assistant Head Gardener, learning all about what there is to know when it comes to planting a cut flower garden, and did some bulb planting and seed sowing before we got to play with all the beautiful flowers grown at Hidcote and make up two pretty posies each to take home. 

Of course there was a yummy lunch followed by a wander around the gardens, in the mix too.

It was such a lovely day out, and just for those few hours I almost felt like a gardener.

Happy weekend all, 

ooh and a big welcome to my lovely new followers - do say hello if you have a moment too.

'til next time

xoxo

ps. in case you're wondering, or indeed concerned for the welfare of the bulbs and seeds I sowed:  fear not, they are safely ensconced in my friend's greenhouse for nurturing and safe-keeping until they can be safely planted in the ground  ; - )