A Mixed Week

With lots being done.
I have finished a couple of Noodehead's  Open Wide Pouch

before the zipper were trimmed

And a couple of One Hour Baskets

that were supposed to be for the sales table at our Group Exhibition is September but I may have commandeered one myself!

a little collection of Jo Morton fabrics

And I have stitched hundreds well, dozens of bunting triangles that now have to be attached to the tape - again for our sales table

 Darling Daughter popped over last weekend and selected some fabrics to make a baby quilt for SIL's cousin - baby due in November - and the quilt is nearly done!

It's nice to see she makes as much mess as me!

But more importantly .......

Ta Dah!!!

I have finished my first crochet blanket!!!
After years of wanting to learn how to crochet and never having the proper time, you may remember that I visited Yarndale last September and did a mini class learning to crochet a bowl - which I did - Yay!

Most people would learn to do Granny Squares or something like but not me - in the new year I started on my blanket using Lucy's Attic 24 Cosy Stripe pattern. I had lots of the Stylecraft Special DK which is an acrylic yarn that is really soft and supple and is very easy to work with.  With a bit of help from my friends in a local crochet group that I have pushed into been invited into joined! I have found the whole process a relaxing TV project.

It might not be perfect - but then neither am I!
                         

I stayed up quite late to finish the last border because today our crochet ladies all trollied off to Fibre East 
a show dedicated to yummy yarns

                  

There was just a Festival of colour!

I have plans to make  this shawl  and it uses a Lace weight yarn


And after dithering and dathering between some of the FABULOUS hand dyed yarns I chose this one

Alpaca, Silk and Cashmere - so soft!

 But I think before I attempt this I will have a go with some 4ply and this pattern   which has had much attention in a Crochet Along a couple of weeks ago  . The pattern calls for Double Knit but if it is completed in 4ply it will make a much lighter lacy item.
 It now looks like some more of the crochety gals may be having their own Crochet Along             
A couple of colour-ways of 4ply have been purchased, though one may be used for socks.

There was lots of vendors with some lovely displays

Back in September I coveted one of the lovely pottery yarn bowls but persuaded myself that it would be a silly purchase.
But I was egged on today by some very naughty ladies and sucummed to this beauty

Isn't it pretty!

A Jammy Week

 I seem to have misplaced my MoJo as far as sewing is concerned.
I'm not sure if it's because I have so many things on the go or what,  but a little zipper pouch that should have taken an hour to make up,  took me all evening and I'm still not very happy with it.
I used  Noodlehead's pattern  which is really simple but something just wasn't working for me.
I had cut 6 out ready to sew but I have put the others on the "to do" pile till I have found my "go"

 I did manage to nab some shiny redcurrants and fat gooseberries from my group and my very nice friend brought strawberries and blackcurrants from the farm shop in Kings Lynn,   so I decided to have a jammy session

all prepared ready for the cook

So I now have more jam than we will ever be able to eat but I think the family may very well help me out with that.

Have a little trip out in the morning but am determined to crack on with the sewing machine at the weekend

Have a great one!

A Lot of Nothing Really!

That's what this week has been about, except for the fact that I am nearly at 3000 visitors to this little blog!

I can share the finished photos of the June Mini Mania project

Lynda's

Jo's

Mine

 These all measure 6" x 8"

Then Jo added another one that she had done 

Jo's

Ann's

Just waiting to add Sandy's Mini to the collection

And Dee's

 This size finished 11" square

And so onto July"s Challenge
 Come on Over if you're up for a bit of fun!

I did get my two chickens finished (from the willow weaving course)

 

 And made a batch of Strawberry jam which has gone down well in some households

Little Miss 'O' came on Wednesday to stay for a few days whilst Daddy whisked Mummy away for a last minute trip to Amsterdam. Lucky Mummy!

Auntie 'S' & Uncle 'L' came on Friday afternoon as they don't like to miss out on all the fun.
Saturday morning saw us walk to Stanwick Lakes via the old railway line, which is a distance of about 2.5 miles without traffic, save for a few cyclists and other pedestrians.
Little Miss has a little trike that we are able to push along and she plays at steering and can happily watch everything that is going on.

Uncle L in charge

 This area has been developed extensively over the past few years and is the result of the gravel extraction that has been carried out right along the Nene Valley

 It is lovely to be able to walk in the countryside just minutes
from the front door.

Down the Lane

Along the old railway line

The old railway bridge over the river

We just HAD to peek through ALL of the gaps!

So a round trip walk that should have taken about two and a half hours (including the coffee at the Lakes) took us around FOUR and a half hours!!!

But it was a lovely day and resulted in this

on the two hour journey to deliver this bundle of scrumminess back to her parents.

Today the weather has been changeable with one great downpour of rain which the garden is badly in need of.  Because we have had a couple of weeks away from home the garden was left to tend for itself and some of the plants have been badly affected by the lack of attention

But not the Hollyhocks 

I know he's not a tall man - but they are GIANTS!!

They will have to be sorted out in the autumn, before they take over completely!

My crochet blanket just needs a couple more rows before it's final reveal but I already have plans for the next hooky item.
I am trying to decide between to crochet   patterns 

 Both are to be found here

 I want to buy the yarn when I visit Fibre-East  in a couple of weeks.

I may just toss a coin!!

7/7

Will Never Forget That Day

It's Been a Warm Week

 We have been visiting with Sister 3 at her home in France. You think its is hot here?  Well 103 / 39.4 deg was registered at one point! And it has got hotter since we left too.
But it was lovely - its a very rural and peaceful area and although we were a bit early in the season, we did see many fields of these beauties

 Mr T gave a hand to keep the place looking tidy

that blue sky!

And I spent some time gathering produce from the garden

 Which resulted in several pots of glossy jam, and was enjoyed in a very nice breakfast

 The French family are lucky enough to be able to use a neighbours pool. We all spent time repairing the fence, tidying the surround and cleaning the pool. And that was where I spent most of the week.
I did swim, but I read a book and even stitched some, whilst sitting in that lovely blue water!

the Pyrenees in the distance

 A view from the pool

 A visit to a favourite restaurant in a hilltop town called  Bassoues for another delicious meal and at very reasonable prices

 Four scrummy and filling courses for 12 Euro! (£8.60) is so worth the journey.

 This is also the town that has a delightful Artisan Pottery. We called in there before dinner and a couple of purchases were made

An Oil carrier and Butter Dish!

Butter Cooler? Yeah - I was not sure about it either. You pack the butter in the lid, add water to the pot and this keeps the butter soft but not melty like this warm spell would produce.  Hubby thought that it was a great idea and so we have given it a go. And it Works. Nice soft butter spreadable but not too soft and no need to store it in the fridge. Result!

We also had a trip to the local Farmers Market , and I bought a string of the biggest Garlic cloves from a very old lady who jabbered away in the local dialect, but I caught the drift, being that if it is hung in a cool place it will last for 12 months.  I have split the string of about 15 cloves between the family. 

It's a Whoppa!

I have had a "Jar" session since we have returned

So will be making Mr T a cake now and spreading some deliciousness.


 The end of June was the Show and Tell of our Mini Mania Group project. This is my June offering. I will post the other members pictures when I get the hand of this Flickr thing Or click the LINK to see them for yourself

Measures 6" x 8"

 July's Mini has been started - it's a bit of EPP, the design from SewScatterbrained so I will be sitting in the sunshine enjoying the glorious weather