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

On my travels . . . Part 1: Alaska

Hello there, lovely bloggy peeps - I'm back, and looking forward to spending some time catching up this week.

We had a truly lovely, relaxing and fun holiday, and I'm enjoying wading through all the pics we managed to take, etching the memories firmly on my mind.  But here we are home again, happily reunited with the two most-adorable-pups-in-the-world and wading through a seemingly endless pile of laundry whilst battling the inevitable jetlag. 

So, would you like to hear a little about it?

It's hard to describe just how awesome Alaska is.  Seriously peeps, if you've not yet been, add it to your bucket list right now.  It is breathtakingly beautiful at almost every turn. 

 We began our journey in Vancouver, Canada (but more about that in part deux) and sailed up the coast through the Inside Passage to Ketchikan, Icy Strait Point, Juneau, Skagway and the Hubbard Glacier, ending up in Seward.

There were so many highlights, but taking a helicopter flight over the glacier, going dog-sledding and traversing the White Pass are right up there.  Not to mention meeting this gorgeous little Husky pup who stole my heart . . .

And of course there were the yarn and fabric shops . . .   : - )

Every town had at least one, and the poor Hubby very patiently wandered from one to the next with me, whilst I ooh-ed and aah-ed, and hmmm-ed and haa-ed over all the pretty things.

It seems that crafty folk the world over are a friendly bunch and we met the loveliest of peeps in every store.  I did make a few wee purchases - always conscious of the limits of an airline baggage allowance, of course.   There was such an abundance of choice, so my self-imposed rule was that it had to be local.  So now I have some pretty Alaskan yarns added to my stash that I just can't wait to use.  Watch this space . . .

Hope all's well with you,

'til next time,

xoxo

 

Summertime holidays . . .

It's holiday time here at  gilly makes . . . HQ, so whilst we're off enjoying the summer I'll be taking a little bloggy break for a couple of weeks.  But if you're an Instagrammer, do pop over to say hello if you like, and see what we're up to.

Otherwise, wherever you are, whatever you do - take care and enjoy,

 and if I don't see you through the week, I'll see you through the window . . .

Looking forward to catching up with you when I get back,

'til next time,

xoxo

Tales from Wales . . .

Hello lovely peeps, are you having a good week ?

We've been away for a little sojourn to beautiful South Wales - the Gower peninsula, to be precise.  

Having lived in the Midlands for almost 6 years now, you'd think we'd have explored Wales too by now.  But besides a day in Cardiff to watch an SA v Wales rugby match a few years back, we'd never actually ventured across the border so thought it was high time we did.  That, and we really wanted to take the two most-adorable-pups-in-the-world to the beach.  Living where we do, right in the middle of this big island of the UK, we're about as far away from the coast as one can get.  So we packed up the car and headed south-west.

Rhossili bay

It poured with rain all the way there but then for the rest of the time, the sun shone and we had a glorious few days exploring this "area of outstanding natural beauty" in the Gower region.  Our home was a beautiful converted barn, literally a short walk (albeit a steep one) from Slade beach.  Seriously peeps, if you're ever looking for a place to stay in the area, look no further - Slade Barn is simply lovely.  It had everything we needed, and then some - and very dog-friendly too.  

Slade Barn

Oxwich beach

just up the road from Mumbles

Rhossili - and Jerry-dog keeping a close eye on the sheep . . .

Worm's Head, Rhossili bay

We had a thoroughly enjoyable and relaxing time . . .  wending our way around the coast from Mumbles and Oxwich Bay to Port Eynon and Rhossili (definitely my favourite place), and we left for home with a promise that we'll be back again some day.

Oh, and I did find some time for making too . . .  a little bit of knitting, and my first ever attempt at needlepoint tapestry - so I'll be back to tell you all about that soon.

'til then

take care of you,

xoxo

Day or Night ?

Oops, it's been a little while . . .

We've got my lovely SIL visiting for a few weeks, so between the usual weekly routine things and running around doing all sorts of fun touristy stuff, there hasn't been much time for blogging, or much crafting either, for that matter.  So please do forgive the sporadic posts that will ensue over the next couple of weeks, and I'll pop in whenever I can.   

But I do have a little sewing project to share today . . .

I first came across this lovely pattern on Love, Lucie's blog - it's the Day-to-Night Drape Top from Maria Denmark.   Lucie has a whole array of them, and I love this simple yet pretty style, so I just had to get the pattern and give it a go.  It's a download & print pattern which I normally tend to shy away from as to be honest, I find the whole process of printing and matching and taping together, a little tedious mostly - but as this pattern only has two pieces, it's a doddle to do.

It's a really easy-peasy top to make, and a perfect addition to my summer wardrobe.  It really does what it says on the tin, and will do for daytime casual or nighttime elegance, depending on your fabric choice & accessories.  And best of all, it took less than a meter of fabric - so it's an inexpensive make too.

So, thanks Lucie - I'm sure I'll be making lots more of these too  : - )

And if you haven't yet discovered  Lucie's lovely blog , do pop over to say hello and have a little peek at all her lovely makes. 

Hope it's been a lovely weekend wherever you are,

'til next time,

take care of you

xoxo

ps. whilst I'm slacking a bit on the blog side of things, I am at least Instagramming, so if you'd like to follow along please do.  You'll find me @ gilly_makes - or click on the link in the right hand column of this page.

The holiday project . . .

Things were a bit busy around here with just one day in between getting home from The Knitting & Stitching show in London, and getting on a plane heading for Venice, but being a fairly seasoned traveller, I knew it wouldn't take me long to get the suitcases sorted.    What I hadn't thought about however, was what to take along as my holiday project.  Now, I don't know about you, but in my world, a holiday crafty project is de riguer .  Like other travellers and their American Express cards, I just don't leave home without it. 

So what's a gal to do ?

A quick rifle through my yarn basket revealed several half-done WIPs . . .

The pretty lacy Louisa Harding Noema poncho ?  Nope - the lacy pattern in the round requires too much concentration.  Not suitable for picking up & putting down at short notice.

The latest addition to Edward's Menagerie, Bridget the sweet elephant ?  Nope again - despite being an easy one, the various elephant body parts require to be stuffed as you go along, and taking a bag of toy stuffing with me on holiday didn't seem like an option.

The Wingspan shawl pattern & yarn that a lovely friend gave me for my birthday ?  Another one that will require a bit of attention, so it's a no for now too.

How about the yummy Plump yarn & scarf pattern from Mrs Moon that I bought when we were in London in the summer, and have been dying to get stuck into?  Another nope - just way too chunky & bulky (albeit delicious) to stuff into my bag.

Or something warm & wintery made up in the chunky Debbie Bliss Roma yarn that was on sale at Tangled Yarn, way too much of a bargain not to buy and add to my stash for a rainy day ?

Sigh . . . some inspiration was needed . . .

Why, oh why had I not thought of this earlier ?

And then, in the ultimate ta-dah moment, it came to me . . . the perfect holiday yarny project . . . a simple stripy buggy blankie for the latest little addition to our clan, born a wee bit ahead of schedule, just days before.  So with pattern in hand and postcode in SatNav, I headed out to nearby Bournville (yes, not only famous for its chocolate &  home to Cadbury World, but also the location of the lovely City Knits yarn shop that I'd been meaning to visit for ages.  The lovely, friendly ladies were very patient as I humm-ed & haa-ed over all the pretty colours, eventually deciding on the Debbie Bliss Rialto yarn, which would go nicely-thank-you with the Rooster Almerino already in my stash.

So, that was that.  Phew . . .

It's a great easy pattern from Nicki Trench's book " Crocheted Baby Clothes" -  I do so love her books which are always full of fabulous project ideas.

Needless to say, we had a lovely holiday with just perfect weather and smooth sailing so I didn't really get as much crochet done as I'd anticipated, but I made a good start and hopefully I'll get it finished soon. 

And then I really must tackle the rest of those above-mentioned WIPs too  ; - )

And as I'm linking up today with Ginny's Yarn Along over at Small Things, I should tell you my latest reads too:  The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion and Good Morning, Mr Mandela by Zelda la Grange - both of which I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend.

Do pop over and have a wee peek at what everyone else is making & reading too.  I'm laid low this week with a sore throat, snuffly cold & a very croaky voice, so I'm off back to snuggle under the blankie on the sofa & have some yummy hot chicken soup for lunch. But it's good to be back, and I'm looking forward to catching up with you soon.

'til next time,

xoxo

Back soon . . .

Just popping across to la belle France for a few days - all part of my BIG (eeek. . . ) Birthday celebrations (merci beaucoup, lovely sis).  

So chat amongst yourselves, keep the home fires burning, and I'll be back soon

 to catch up  : - )

A bientot mes amis,

xoxo

oh, and ps.  to my lovely fellow bloggy friends and family in bonnie Scotland - please vote wisely tomorrow.

A little bit of versatility . . . (and a fab giveaway)

Firstly, thanks so much for all your lovely comments on my last post - you really are too kind - and a BIG welcome to my new followers, thanks for popping by and I hope you'll enjoy following along on my crafty adventures :-)

obligatory cute pups pic of the week

Earlier this week I was delighted to be handed the Versatile Blogger Award by lovely Sarah at Chantille Fleur.  The brief is to list 7 random things about yourself and then pass the bloggy baton along.

So without further ado, here are my 7 random things (and be warned: they are indeed random):

1.  I love to bake.  Definitely a love learned from my Mama, who just by the way, bakes the best ever shortbread, scones, tea cake etc etc.

2.  I don't really like cooking.  Seriously, I cook because we must eat. By contrast, my lovely sis is a fab cook.  If only we lived closer so we could take advantage of her culinary skills more often.

3.  I love shopping . . . but not for groceries. See no.2 above.

4.  Spiders are evil. They give me the heebiejeebies and I jump at the sight of one.  Other creepy crawlies don't really bother me.  Except maybe cockroaches . . . ugh . . .

5.  I LOVE to travel . . . particularly on planes, trains and ships (but preferably not on buses).  This is another love that I can attribute to my wanderlust parentage.

6.  I love all-things-pink.  Always have, probably always will.

7.  I have freckles.  Lots of them.  But as the saying goes: "A face without freckles is like a night without stars"  ;-)

I did warn you they were random . . .  but if you like that kind of thing, you could pop over here too.

Right so in passing on the baton, I'm going to change things up a wee bit and ask you to hop over and show some bloggy love to two fab newbie blogs. 

First up, visit  Roulette Farm - this is Sarah's new blog all about life & times down under on their Aussie farm with two adorable dogs, various chickens and a whole host of other wonderful creatures;

courtesy of Roulette Farm

. . . then about that giveaway I mentioned . . .

Well, regular readers will know that I'm a big fan of the Sew Me Something patterns - all designed by my lovely friend and part-time boss - and to celebrate her new blog , Jules is giving away your choice of SMS pattern.  Woo hoo... we all likes a giveaway, don't we? :-)

courtesy of Sew Me Something

 So please do pop in and have a wee peek at these new blogs on the block, I know you'll get a warm welcome. 

And thanks again to Chantille Fleur for your kind nomination.

And on a completely different note - I'm off tomorrow for a few days away in sunny France, so I'll be taking a little bloggy break but will be back soon to tell you all about it and catch up with your news too.

Hmmm... what to pack . . .  crochet or knitting ?

What d'you think ?  

(and no, the ridiculously limited baggage allowance dictates that I can't take both)

A tout a l'heure, mes amis

xoxo

from Ship to Sheep . . .

Hello out there, lovely peeps - and happy mother's day to all the mamas in the UK

 (and most especially to mine)

I'm back, after a fab holiday island-hopping around the beautiful Caribbean, and looking forward to catching up with you.  We had just over two weeks of glorious sunshine and celebrated our special wedding anniversary in style.  I won't bore you with all the hundreds of pics we took, but I would like to share just a few - so here's a wee peek . . .

We flew to San Juan in Puerto Rico, and from there sailed to Barbados, St Lucia, Antigua, St Maarten, St Croix, St Thomas & St Kitts.

 

Aruba & Curacao were on the itinerary too, but unfortunately a problem with one of the ship's fixipods meant that we got stuck in St Kitts and then had to meander our way very slowly back to St Juan instead.  But hey-ho, there are worse places to be stuck : - )

So, from ships to sheeps -

Meet Milly . . .

 

 Ain't she sweet ?

And her loyal friend & trusty sidekick, Morris . . .

This was my little holiday knitting project - very quick and easy to do whilst hanging around an airport or during endless hours on a long-haul flight.

It's a free pattern from Millamia which can be found here if you fancy knitting a flock too.

Milly & Morris are going to live at Sew Me Something in Stratford-upon-Avon (lucky them, eh?) so that all our lovely customers can see how beautifully the Millamia yarns knit up.  I think they'll be quite happy there  : - )

Of course, Ben & Jerry will miss them . . .

 . . . but maybe not that much . . .

I'm off now for a little trip around blogland to catch up . . . 

'til next time

xoxo

Leaving on a jet plane . . .

". . . my bags are packed I'm ready to go,  I'm standing here outside your door, I hate to wake you up to say good-bye. . ." 

                                                                                                       - John Denver

Well actually my bags are still waiting to be packed and I'm not nearly as organized as I should be but I've been running around all week trying to get things ticked off my "To do-before-I-go" List and I really didn't want to leave without saying goodbye.  I'll be taking a wee bloggy break whilst enjoying the  (hopefully, because I will be most disappointed if it's not)  sunshine of the beautiful Caribbean islands.

I shall not be completely idle on the crafty front though, because you know I always have to have a holiday project on the go too.  Time spent hanging around airports and on long-haul flights just seems so much more tolerable when one's hands and mind are happy, don't you think ?

 

So my little knitting bag (don't you just love those cute wee sheeps?) is brimming with yarny goodness and I can't wait to make a start.

I promise to show & tell when I get back, but in the meantime I'll leave you with an update on the Shari's Chevron Blankie project:  I am so loving this pattern.

Thanks for all the lovely comments on my previous post - you really do say the kindest things - and a big welcome to my newest followers too  : - )

I haven't managed to do as much blog reading as I'd have liked to lately, but I do hope that things will be calmer on my return and I'm looking forward to catching up with you then.

"So kiss me and smile for me, tell me that you'll wait for me . . ."

'til next time,

take care & be happy

xoxo