Optimistic ...

Well this won't do.  It won't do at all.  My 'February 2011' blog folder is looking very sparce so I thought I'd slip in a quickie before we march optimistically into March! ;-)



I did actually compose a post on Friday entitled 'The Half Term Horrids' which opened with a large photograph of a puddle.  Well, it depressed me so much, I thought I'd spare you and deleted it, choosing to wait until the stresses and strains of last week abated.  Said stresses - only ickle ones - were not all directly linked to it being half term but just happened to fall in one badly-timed heap which was half term.

Hey-ho.

Look at me, I've not even asked if you had a nice week/weekend.  Did you?

As lovely as it is to have the children at home and a week off from routine, it's just as lovely to send them back to school isn't it?!

I didn't get much chance for 'creating' last week.

One of my many ongoing projects is crocheting a ripple lap blanket which is proving to be so easy to pick up and put down as the opportunity arises because it doesn't need too much thinking about ...



(I don't know if you can see my sparkly hairgrip in the top righthand corner of the photograph?  Well, it's my stitch marker!  I'm such a girl!)

It's not progressing terribly fast but I'm not too worried.  Ooh, maybe it could be for my first grandchild?!!!!

Talking of projects, I have several more lined up since buying myself this super book ...



I know there are quite a few people out there in Blogland wanting or beginning to learn to crochet so I do thoroughly recommend it.  The book opens with some of the clearest stitch instructions and diagrams I have ever come across.

I wonder if I can whizz up that jaunty hat before the warmer weather comes?

Here's hoping March is filled with sunshine and smiles.

Hugs and kisses, Hx

I Should Like To Thank ...

It being award season, I should like to add a few of my own 'thank yous' if I may ...

♥  To all of you for your really kind comments and good wishes on my wedding anniversary post.  (D and I have since acquired a few more grey hairs, lines and pounds I hasten to add!)

♥  To the wonderfully talented Tanya of TeaPea for my gorgeous pink cow print.  As soon as I found out Tanya had made prints from her beautiful embroidered creation, I wanted needed one ...

♥  To Marion of Colour Couture for my Valentine Swap goodies (I'm so glad you liked yours) and, of course, the lovely Jackie of Sew Special Bears for organising said swap ...

(one lolly missing - it didn't quite make it to the photo shoot!)

♥  To the incredibly sweet (and scarily TIDY it has to be said) Lissy Lou for not only awarding me another ...

but also for her fantastic '2nd Birthday Giveaway' prize ...

I love it all.  Thank you so much. x

♥  And finally, but by no means least, to my very own Blondie Son for leaving this in the middle of his bedroom floor yesterday ...

So that I might end up with a lump on my head and this on my underarm ...

It's so sore :-(

I shall be back shortly with some WIPs including my very first attempts at patchworking!

In the meantime, have a simply lovely (and safe) weekend.

Hx

Still My Valentine ...

13 years ago today, I married my bestest and most handsomest friend in the world.

Love you D.

xxx

Handmade With Love ...

What a wonderful day it was yesterday.  The sun shone and the world seemed a much brighter place.

It was a little bit chillier than it has been but what a good excuse to wear my new creations!!!

Yay!  I finished my scarf (see the tassels!) and made matching wrist warmers following Julia 'is there no end to her talents?' Crossland's brilliant toasty mitts pattern.

I am so proud of them.



(Do excuse gnarled dry hands!)

I honestly think they are the first 'items of clothing' I have ever made myself and worn.  What a lovely feeling that is.

Happy days.

Hx

Just Us Girls ...

Hello there.  How lovely to see you.  How are you this extremely blustery Friday?  I don't know about you but I'm staying safely holed up at home today for fear of a stray roof tile landing on my head!  As I sit here in my little craft room up on the third floor, the wind is crashing around and buffeting the house like goodness knows what.  It's quite unnerving.

Well, it's been just us girls this week (apart from Bertie of course) as D and Blondie Son are on a skiing holiday in Avoriaz.  I went skiing once, hated it and vowed never to return.  It would seem BS has inherited D's skiing genes (and superior sense of balance) so, as I write, they are probably tearing down the side of a mountain in the French Alps.  We'll move swiftly on if that's okay or I shall start imagining worried-mummy-type scenarios ...

Blondie daughter and I have had such a lovely week.  One of the first things we did on Saturday, after the boys had left, was to go shopping and fill the fridge full of treats and the foods we like.  We've had lovely long Cath Kidston's rose bubble baths in the evenings, treated ourselves to magazines, had crafty sessions, (she can now crochet chain and has been making Hannah Montana-style headbands for all her friends) and she's been reading The Worst Witch to me.  We haven't fallen out once.  So, as much as I've missed my boys, I have thoroughly and unashamedly enjoyed having my baby girl to myself.

What else have I been up to this week?  Well, my spring cleaning quest continues though not quite as intensely as before and I'm currently ruthlessly sorting through clothes and having curtains and blinds cleaned.  Crikey though, I think you need a degree in window dressing to re-thread roman blinds once you've taken them apart!  They're a nightmare.

Mum and I had a lovely 'ladies what lunch and shop' day on Wednesday.  I bought yet more yarn (seriously, I think it's an addiction - put a great wall of wool in rainbow colours in front of me and any willpower I might have simply buggers off).  I also found this stunning wrapping paper marked down to £1 a sheet.  I bought one purely to frame ...

Beautiful isn't it?

Despite trying to be a little bit frugal at the moment, my purchases didn't end there.  I simply couldn't resist this after seeing it in the new White Stuff catalogue ...

Lush isn't it?  The colour attracted me instantly, like a moth to a flame, particularly when it's teamed with this week's crochet project ...

Yes, it's a vertical stripe scarf (less ends to sew in!) in wonderful zingy springy colours.

A few more stripes are still to be added; lilac, another pink and vanilla, and then it will be tassled!

My desperate need for colour continues it seems.

Well I'm off for a sandwich, there's some smoked salmon in the fridge with my name on it.

Have a wonderful weekend and, if you get the chance, spare a thought for a little someone who will be knee deep in dirty pants and smelly salopettes! ;-)

Hx