It's about time......

You know what I'm going to say.... it's about time I updated my blog! Summer has reached its peak and the season is due for a change! Last year was all about turning the jungle outside my back door back into a garden after almost 20 years of neglect. This year my handy handyman suggested the tumbledown shed could be cleared away and a new one built in its place. I quite liked the extremely "distressed" look of what was obviously once a wash-house but after a bit of persuasion I agreed.

And now its all but finished I have to admit I'm very pleased with it and am enjoying having a place to store all the junk that used to live outside my backdoor. And I really like the fact that its been cobbled together with a door found in a reclaim yard for £10, windows are second hand from someone who had had replacements,  the roof changed from corrugated iron to perspex to make the most of evening light, and the corrugated iron put to use as the back wall.

Someone sometime had painted this pretty floral decoration on the door - I would love to know where it came from.

I bought the gorgeous red geraniums from an NGS open garden we visited in July and have even bought some coloured solar lights after vowing I would never go in for garden lighting! But that's okay as they are inside the shed!

At the end of July I met up with my sister in Amsterdam for a short break. We took our lives in our hands walking about the city centre trying to avoid being run down by the bikes, scooters, cars and trams all vying for space on the busy streets.  Much more to my taste, we visited the great windmills at Zaanse Schans, a sort of open air museum, where we also watched clogs being made, resisted buying a pair (!) and bought cheese instead.

Then August has been all about gadding about with my sister visiting from Germany.  We managed a trip out on most days of her visit - we're very lucky to have many places worth visiting close enough for a half day trip. These are just a few.

A dash to the coast to watch the sunset. We found an escaped kite on the shoreline and got it into the sky again. We gave it to a passing family who after a bit of practice, also got it flying.

Port Sunlight in Cheshire was a lovely day out. So many beautiful houses to admire and a wander around the Lady Lever Art Gallery to admire some of my favourite Pre-Raphalite paintings.

And on a warm sunny afternoon we wandered about the beautiful garden at Nantclwyd y Dre, an ancient house restored and open to the public here in town. The garden is a work in progress being recreated by volunteers. Could have stayed there all day!

So with all this roaming around I haven't been that creative. However with Autumn on the way and Christmas looming in the distance I think I'd better start thinking about it!!!

But I haven't completely stayed away from my beloved sewing machine and my hooks. There are always gifts that need making. This one was for my new tablet that had to be bought after the BBC decided not to support iPlayer on my Kindle anymore. I can't manage without iPlayer in the evenings when I need to be at my Mother's house.

I made these two covered notebooks for my sister and her friend who both need to be planning for their retirements. It will be here before they know it - like it was for me!!

And I hooked this summery scarf for a friend's birthday. It was a total copy of one an Instagram friend posted on her feed. I just loved the style and yarn she had used so I'm hoping she thinks imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

And one more photo - I learned how to make these origami flowers and gave them as another birthday gift. Very easy but rather time consuming.

There have been other makes too of course since I last posted, but this will do for now. Its time to look forward not backward and there is much to do!

Harbingers of Spring

I posted this on my facebook page today in the hope that winter really is gone. However in the UK we all know we could easily face snow storms or torrential rain or inch thick ice tomorrow or the day after or next week or even next month. But its nature and our gardens that convince us Spring really is springing.

I've been using some spring-like colours to crochet too.  I don't usually make much for babies or young children but I read a blog post about what sells at craft fairs and it seems baby makes are popular so I thought I'd try a few items. I found the pattern for these pretty rattles and balls in Greta's Etsy shop ATERGcrochet. I used Petra No3 crochet cotton and bought some rattle inserts on ebay.

Afriend said she would love a jar full of the flower rattles for her windowsill but they are rather time consuming to make - all those colour changes - so it wouldn't be practical time and price wise to make them in large enough numbers to fill vases - if you know what I mean.

Of course you could simplify by using fewer colours and I might try one to see how it works out. On a practical note, I would love to have jingle bells inside instead of a rattle but I haven't been able to find any inserts small enough or make something suitable. If anyone knows of a supplier of jingle bell inserts about an inch square do let me know.

Bank Holiday Walking

Well not much was going on here this bank holiday (no transport available for any jolly outings) so when the sun came out I took a walk to the cemetery.  Its a lovely walk, especially at this time of year when the lanes are lined with beautiful swathes of Ladies' Lace and the hills are clear and close after rain.

Along the way I found many of my favourite wild flowers.  Here are a few you might recognise - well actually I've named them for you.

I was happy to see these bluebells were our own British variety not the invading European bells which are usually seen in hedgerows and verges near gardens these days.  Although most of these wild flowers do turn up in my semi wild garden I've never seen Bluebells there but there are dozens of the blue and white bells from 'The Continent'.  Still, I can't complain, they are quite pretty, but like daffodils their leaves have to be left to die back naturally to feed the bulbs for next year.  Can't wait to cut them off - they do look so untidy.

I often wonder why my garden looks so untidy while the farmers manage to keep their land looking so neat and tidy.  Lots of very hard work I suppose.

Its not a long walk, about two and a half miles there and back.  And its on the flat, which is unusual round here. But it was a warm afternoon so I casted my clout - after all the May was most definitely out! 

Welcome Spring!

Outside its a bit miserable but today is officially the First Day of Spring.  Its too wet to do anything in the garden but that's a good excuse to play with a new stamp set that arrived this morning.  Its called  Easter Blessings (from Wplus9, you can find it here in the UK at Make the Day Special) but the floral bordering and corner stamps are also just right for carding up these brooches I've made with Mothers Day in mind.  The sentiment is from Garden Grace at Papertrey Ink.

I used my Boutique Accessories die from Papertrey Ink to cut the cards.  The brooches use embroidered motifs from an old dressing table mat and wool felt cut out with Limitless Layers Ovals dies also from Papertrey Ink.  I backed the motifs with fusible interfacing to stabilise the fabric and stop it fraying and stitched the layers together with embroidery silk.

And here's a real sign of Spring in my garden, the lovely Pulmonaria or Lungwort - not a pretty name but a very pretty flower.

Daffy Down Dilly

Its St David's Day on Saturday next here in Wales and I've been busy with my crochet hook and our national flower - the daffodil.  When I was little we were more likely to make paper leeks, the other emblem of Wales.  They were easy - a roll of white paper crayoned green at the top, fringed carefully with a scissors and attached to your jumper with a safety pin.  We made them in school and there was usually an Eisteddfod too. 

I don't know whether its coincidence but the Macmillan Cancer Support charity, whose emblem is also the daffodil, usually has a fund raising period at this time of year - is it just in Wales?  I don't know.  However a couple of people asked whether I would be making daffodils following on from my Remembrance Sunday poppy making marathon last year.  And I thought why not.   I've made about 30 so far, which will make a nice little sum for the charity if they are all sold.

And luckily the earliest daffs in the garden have decided its time to come out too - always a joyful sight.  It won't be long before every town and village in the UK is decorated with daffodils on verges and roundabouts but the first in my garden are always special and are duly recorded with my camera.

On the ninth day of Christmas..... crocheted stars

I was hoping to give hyacinths in bloom as Christmas gifts this year........... err, no!  Late as usual!  But they'll be something to look forward to after the festivities are over and will bring a hint of Springtime on its way.  Anyway I thought the bulbs needed a bit of adornment (though I think they are beautiful in their own right) so I'm crocheting last minute stars to match the pots they are growing in.

My good friend Baukje sent me a beautiful star last Christmas and I managed to track down the pattern in ATERGcrochet's shop on Etsy to make some for myself. 

Here's the lovely softly coloured star Baukje made for me and here's the link to the pattern shop if you'd like to make some too. 

Remember Baukje is crafting away till Christmas too so do visit her for some more last minute inspiration.

An Embroidered Wedding Day

I made this wedding memento recently for a colleague.  Yesterday was her wedding day so now I can post without worrying she will see it before the day.  I was inspired by these lovely embroidered hoops from Little A Designs, though instead of cutting up one of my tablecloths I used an old embroidered doily.  I added some of my crochet flowers and buttons after stitching the happy couple's names and the date.  This would be a nice idea for a baby's birth too I think - and it just so happens another colleague is about to give birth any day now!

I made a card too and used my Very Vintage Florals stamp set from Wplus9, which matches up with my embroidery very nicely.  I hope Dot and Peter had a wonderfully happy day and didn't melt in the heat!

I must admit I'm finding the heat rather oppressive at the moment and look forward to a couple of hours sitting on my mother's front porch in the evening.  Watching the birds on the lawn, getting on with my crochet, and enjoying the wonderful scent of the Mock Orange (Philadelphus) each evening is a nice way to cool off after a long hot day.  And for some reason those pretty white blossoms always remind me of wedding days.

Twas World Earth Day

As always, I'm late.  Monday was World Earth Day - its now 1.50 am Tuesday, but as I haven't been to bed yet as far as I'm concerned its still World Earth Day.  And I did record the fading sunset at 6 minutes past 8 - looks like tomorrow will be a good day .  

At last I've managed to make a start on tidying the garden after the winter and with no help from me I found these beautiful Snake’s Head Fritillaries had pushed their heads through all the dead stuff to celebrate the day.

Well, its late and I've a lot to do in the morning so I'm keeping it short.  Just wanted to acknowledge the day somehow - and encourage myself to keep on with the tidying!

Hooky Roses

My Gertrude Jekyll rose is still producing a few blooms and although we think of roses filling the typical summer garden, they can and do throw out the odd flower right through till December.   This lovely pink bud caught my eye - and my camera - in the garden the other day and inspired me to make some rose hair clips for my Folksy shop.

The hair clips I bought on the internet turned out to be smaller than I was expecting - just and inch and a half long (4cms - I'm hopeless at visualising centimetres) - so I used fine crochet thread and a small hook to make my roses.  They turned out about an inch or so in diameter - child sized I think.

As always I couldn't resist adding some presentation cards for my clips.  I don't know if it makes my shop stock any more attractive - I haven't had many customers - but it pleases me to add a little pretty packaging and I think finishes off an item.  And if I were looking for a small gift for a friend a bit of presentation would definitely be a plus for me - but maybe that's just because I'm a crafter.

Papercraft supplies:  PTI Sending You die; Wplus9 Folk Art Florals stamp set

My Life in Photos: Alien!

It is an alien species and according to the RHS is a pest at best and a threat to our native flora at worst.  I saw quite a few clumps of it along the river bank when I walked the footpath on Saturday.  And you must admit its rather a strange, almost unearthly looking flower.  But it seems the bees and other insects don't mind it's looks or it's parentage.  Lots were entering that inviting mouth to see what they could find!

Glad Impulse Buys

I'm often guilty of impulse buying - I find it almost impossible to go into our local Co-op and walk out with just the one item I went in for.  In fact I have on occasion walked out with a bag full of bargains - minus the one item I needed.  Near closing time the other night I just had to "rescue" two bunches of Gladioli at 75p each, even though I knew I didn't have anything suitable to display them in.  They stood in a bucket of water for a couple of days while I wondered what to do.  Then I saw these two rather colourful vases in our bargain basement store for only £1.99 each.  I wouldn't have bought them normally as they're not really my style, but they were perfect for the Gladies - oh dear, another impulse buy!

But I could almost hear the Gladies' sigh of relief when they were arranged in the vases and they opened their flowers almost immediately.  I had to pull off some of the lower blooms but they too soon opened themselves in small glasses on the mantlepiece.

I haven't made any cards recently so I thought I would try to reproduce my Gladies as I remembered I had bought Papertrey Ink's Mega Vase dies last month and one of them matched my new vases - and wasn't there a Gladioli stamp in the Year of Flowers set?  On this occasion I don't think I regret my impulse buys!

Stamps: PTI - Year of Flowers Collection, Background Basics: Tintypes, Distressed Stripes, Mat Stack 3 Collection
Dies: PTI - Mega Gracious Vases collection, Sending You collection

Bodnant Garden

We are lucky enough to have Bodnant Garden close enough to visit easily in an afternoon so my sister and I picked a day last week when rain was not on the forecast.  It did rain, but only as we were leaving.  Its a large and most beautiful garden looked after by the National Trust and it's army of  hardworking volunteer gardeners.

We usually visit in spring as we always want to see the Laburnum Arch, but I think the garden is even better in high summer - the borders were just gorgeous and stuffed full of fabulous plant combinations. I loved this combination of ruby coloured scabious and rose campion (Lychnis) with the lilies.

As you can imagine, we (and all the other visitors) couldn't stop taking pictures.  I'm so glad digital cameras have been invented and I don't have to limit myself to a film of 36 photos - half of which would probably be no good.

I could fill two or three posts with images of beautiful plants, flowers and views but that would be a bit repetitive.  However I can't resist just a few more photos............................