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

Catching up . . .

Hello lovelies . . .  well, I started this year off with a determination to find my seemingly lost bloggy mojo and here we are, already almost at the end of January and still nary a post since the beginning of the month.

I'm not sure where it's been hiding (the mojo, that is) - perhaps in a little corner recuperating from the higgledy-piggledy-ness of the past few months.  But here I am again . . . it's Monday,  the chores are done, the dog is walked, and I've got a cup of tea and a yummy biscuit to hand, so let's catch up - shall we?

Here's what I've been up to over the last little while . . .   some crocheting, a bit of sewing, a dabble in clock-making, and lots of walks and play time with the two most-adorable-pups-in-the-world . . .

. . .  more sewing, a little knitty project, taking time out to read, sorting & tidying my craft space, enjoying the first snowfall of the year, and taking much delight in having my little quilt featured by @craftastherapy.  : - )

So that's it for now, neatly condensed into three little collages.  Hope you're having a happy January, and let's chat again soon.

'til then,

take care & be blessed

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.

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

Happy Birthday to two . . .

Today my two most-adorable-pups-in-the-world are 5 years old
 - in human years, that is . . .

(cue: cute puppy pics)

Happy Birthday

Ben & Jerry

And here they are at five, sussing out their new quilt (made by me, of course)  and sporting their new birthday collars from lovely Louise at Doodlepip Designs. 

 Don't they look proud ? 

(Yes, I was holding the treats whilst the hubby took the pic . . .)

Happy Monday, lovely bloggy peeps,

'til next time,

xoxo

A little crochet Ta-Dah . . .

As promised . . . here it is - all sewn up, bordered & edged . . .

 my pretty Pick 'n Mix cushion .

(Caution:  overload of pretty cushion and cute pup pics to follow)

ta - dah 

 

The pattern is from Simply Crochet Issue 18 and I used a mix of various DK yarns from my favourite online yarn shop Tangled Yarn.

It's a fun way to use up yarn from your stash too, don't you think ?  

Right, now that's ticked off the List,  I really need to knuckle down and catch up with my Orza KAL - I'm way behind everyone else so time to get those needles clicking.

On a slightly different note - my lovely friend Sue, a fellow sewing & crafty enthusiast has just started writing her own blog "Reasons to smile . . ."   And we all know what it's like when you're just starting out on your new bloggy adventure - so if you have a moment, please pop over to say hello and welcome her to the wonderful world of blog.
 Especially seeing as it's her birthday today too . . . ; - )

Happy weekend lovelies,
hope that wherever you are, it's bright & sunny & filled with all things good.

'til next time,

xoxo

Time for today . . .

Today's plans postponed so some unexpected free time this morning.  What's a gal to do ?

Play with the happy mail that just arrived and do some swatching in preparation for the start of the Orza Coast Tangled Yarn KAL next week ?

Or maybe sew a new bed for the two most-adorable-pups-in-the-world ?

Or snuggle up on the sofa with the above-mentioned pups and work on my current hooky project ?

Or I could just continue with The Great Craft Room Tidy Up ?

OR . . .

. . . if I step swiftly away from the PC and just get stuck in, perhaps I could manage 

ALL OF THE ABOVE.

What do you think ?  

Here I go . . . wish me luck . . .  ; - )

Oh, and just in case you're wondering . . .

 Yes, I've finished my pretty poncho and am delightedly chuffed with it.

Happy Thursday, lovelies.

'til next time,

xoxo

The story of a quilt . . .

So here's how the story goes . . . :  

Way back in 2012 the lovely Lori from A Bee in My Bonnet decided to host a Quilty Row Along, and being a fairly recent convert to the delight of making quilts, I thought I'd join in and learn some useful hints & techniques.  And in the process, make a fun new quilt.

Look left, look right . . . all clear, take my pic quick before the other one gets here . . .

Every 2nd week Lori published a clear and precise tutorial for each new row and over the course of the Row Along, we made flying geese and sweet little houses, and mugs, and apples, and stars, and butterflies, and a myriad of other fun things.  And I learned a HUGE amount. 

It was fun to see everyone else's quilts take shape too, and we ooh-ed & aah-ed over each other's pretty fabrics.  I tried to keep up and despite a few hiccups involving a seam ripper along the way, I thoroughly enjoyed the whole process.  (Thank you, lovely Lori)

Right, quilt top finished  - all I had to do was back, quilt and bind it.  

Shouldn't take me too long . . .

Take my pic too please . . .

But alas, this poor quilt languished about in the WIP pile for a  l.o.o.o.n.g  time. 

 Then one day, I pulled it out and basted it.  Then returned it to the pile whilst I contemplated the best way to quilt it.

[You are probably in grave danger of completely losing interest here, and wishing that I'd just get on with it - so I shall favour brevity and bring this story to its happy conclusion.]

Fast forward to 2015 and as part of my quest to finish as many WIPs as possible by the end of January, I hauled this quilt out yesterday and set about quilting and binding it.  

 

So there you go . . . it only took two & a half years, but it's done.  

Phew . . .

The End.

'til next time,

xoxo

 

A Christmas crafternoon . . .

A long list of "Things to make for Christmas" provided the perfect excuse (as if we really needed one) for a yummy lunch and a fun & frivolous get-together 

with like-minded crafty friends last weekend. 

We gathered, 

we ate, 

we drank, 

we nattered, 

we laughed,

 and we crafted . . .

Karen needle-felted THE sweetest little floppy-eared hare, ever . . . Rachel crocheted pretty snowflakes aplenty . . . Sarah knitted a cosy little mitts & scarf ensemble . . . and I hooked up this lovely Granny's Tree Skirt . . .

. . . for under the little potted Christmas tree.  The pattern is from the oh-so-fabulous Cherry Heart (pop over here for a wee peek at Sandra's lovely striped version).   I fear it may have added an addiction to bobble stitch to my ever-growing list of crafty loves.

Oh, and of course there was cake . . . and chocolate . . .  Essentials for any respectable crafty get-together, don't you think?

And it also gave me the excuse I'd been looking for, to put up our Christmas decs.  Now we just need Santa to visit sometime soon and fill that bare space under the tree  : - )

 

Even the two most-adorable-pups-in-the-world caught the Christmas spirit, resplendent in their new bespoke festive collars.  (Thank you lovely Doodlepip Designs - they're just perfect.)

So, how's your list of Christmas makes coming along ?

'til next time,

xoxo

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em . . .

We've got the painters in at the moment, so the house is a bit of a tip and my little craft room is currently hosting a bunch of stuff from the utility room.  Which means that despite my best intentions, I'm not getting much making done.

 

So this morning I decided "if you can't beat them, join them" and rummaged around in the garage for some brushes, dust sheets and that tin of pretty sage green outdoor paint that I'd bought absolutely ages ago, and I finally got around to painting the dog houses.  

We got these when the two most-adorable-pups-in-the-world were little so they'd have some place to call their own out in the garden - their little summer houses, so to speak. 

 But needless to say, as puppies do, they chewed them : - (

and 4 years down the line they were looking rather worse for wear.

And a couple of hours later . . .  looking just that wee bit prettier, don't you think ?

 The bench needed a bit of freshening up as well, so it got a new coat too.

I'm quite chuffed to be ticking this off my list at last, and I think the painters were suitably impressed too.  But fear not, their jobs are not under threat - I'd really rather be sewing / knitting / crocheting /  quilting / etc  . . . but it was a good to day be outside - blue skies, sunshine and sooo lovely & warm.  Here's hoping summer is here for a while.

Wishing you a warm and happy weekend,

'til next time

xoxo

Walking the walk . . .

tsk, tsk . . . more than a week since my last post . . .   I know I've used this excuse many times before, but it really HAS been busy around these parts lately.  Can you believe we're into May already ?

Anyway, so first up - thanks for always popping by and leaving such lovely comments even when I seem to be AWOL, I do so much enjoy them - and a BIG welcome to my newest followers too, I hope you have fun following along with my crafty adventures.

A wee while ago I mentioned (here) that on Saturday, 10th May I'm participating in the London Moon Walk - and I'd like to say a HUGE thank you to everyone that has sponsored me. It is sooo much appreciated. Thank you, thank you, thank you . . .

 So as much as possible, I've been getting out and walking, in preparation for the big night.  Some days the weather has been better than others, but mostly it's been fun and the two most-adorable-pups-in-the-world have certainly enjoyed being a part of my training too.

This morning's walk saw us meandering through the beautiful Warwickshire countryside on part of the Centenary Way.

 Even the exuberant pups have to slow down and catch their breath sometimes . . .

 

 But it's not been all-walking-and-no-crafting, because yesterday,  our team got together to plan our trip and decorate our bras . . .

The whole ethos behind The Moon Walk is to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer, so everyone walks in their bra - even the men.  

And so we spent the whole morning decorating . . .

There was sewing and glueing, sequins and feathers, flowers and buttons and pom-poms . . . and lots of nattering and laughter, and of course the inevitable and essential, yummy cake  : - )

And the (almost) end result:

So preparations are well under way for the big night  -  wish us luck and pray for good weather.

* * * * *

And on a completely different tangent - do you know it's "Love Your Yarn Shop Day" tomorrow here in the UK ?

I'm popping along to my lovely local Sew Me Something for a wee bit of knit & natter. . . or maybe crochet & chat . . . in the morning.  Should be fun . . .

 oh, and apparently there will be cake  : - )


Happy weekend all,
'til next time
xoxo