Autumn leaves

Daytimes are still Summer around here but I have to admit there is a whiff of Autumn about as the evenings draw in.  And there is a definite change in the look of the trees, as if they are preparing to put on their Autumn colours.  So I thought I'd make an Autumn garland in readiness.  I used leaf dies from Papertrey Ink, gorgeous plant dyed wool felt scraps from Myriad, plastic pony beads I found in a charity shop and some delicious thick orange bakers twine.

With garlands there is always the difficulty of how to photograph them satisfactorily and here I resorted to the old tumbledown shed outside my backdoor once more.  I just love its faded grey paintwork.  Sadly its slowly disintegrating as bits fall off it every now and then - the window fell out last year but it made a perfect sunny morning sitting spot for Titch. :-)

PS - I've hear nothing about the little bat since the bat man took it away on Wednesday - but he did promise to let me know how it gets on. 

Sometimes you just gotta stamp!

Yes, that's how I felt yesterday.  And as these simply stamped little cards proved popular at my last craft fair I had a perfect excuse to indulge myself.  If you are a stamper and a fan of Wplus9, Paptertrey Ink, or Waltzing Mouse Stamps you might recognise some of the sets I've used.  I had a lovely time trying out a few newly acquired stamps and some old favourites.  The card blanks are just 3" (7.5cms) square (I'm very partial to small cards) and were purchased in packs of about 50 cards and envelopes at Craft Land-udno in, guess where, Llandudno! - a large rather chaotic store in Mostyn Street.  In both cream and white good quality cardstock I think they are a bargain at £4.00 a pack.

However this morning there was no time for stamping.  I found this little creature on the kitchen floor when I got up this morning - its a pipistrelle bat. 

Even though it has an injured wing its a fiesty little character who didn't appreciate my efforts to help. Trying to keep my cat away I first picked it up in a soft duster and put it in my coalhouse as I thought it would like the dark and quiet - but it escaped under the door.  Then I tried the attic windowsill - but it tried to jump out of the window and rolled down the roof and into the guttering!  PANIC!  Then it climbed out of the guttering and fell onto the plastic leanto roof.  Even more PANIC!  I rescued it again and after consulting the Bat Conservation Trust website, put it in a large box with some scrunched up kitchen roll and a bottlecap of water.  It has settled down to sleep now and a bat handler is to collect it this afternoon.  Phew!  I do hope it will survive its injuries - shame I didn't get a better photo but I didn't want to stress it even more by posing it in the open.  If I hear how it gets on and you are interested, I'll post any news on my facebook page - but I am a bit worried about that injured wing.

Missing in action!

I've been missing from blogland I know, but there has been lots of action in those 17 days!  However now the gadding about with visiting family has come to an end and my favourite craft fair has been worked towards and is all done and dusted now, things will have to get back to normal in the next couple of days.  

But before the final airport run and getting back to work and the old routine I thought I'd post a few photos to remind me where I've been and show you a bit of our beautiful country to boot!  First a few images from yesterday's Vintage in the Vale Fair - a mixture of vintage loveliness and hand-crafted goodness.  And NO that is not me singing, wearing a WWII style scarf, nor looking beautiful with roses painted round my eyes (isn't she pretty!).

The weather has been kind this summer and on 1st August we enjoyed the seaside at Rhos (Llandrillo-yn-rhos).  The sea was as smooth as a millpond and fishing at the end of the jetty very popular.  I had a lovely paddle too.

A few days later we went further afield to Criccieth - a favourite outing as the little town is where my Mother and Grandmother were born.  We walked up the High Street where my Great Grandfather Hugh opened a grocer's shop in the 1890s and had our tea at No46, newly opened and very friendly.  I hope they do well.

The Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Cymru (National Eisteddfod of Wales) was held nearby this year.  Its a travelling festival and alternates between North and South Wales each year. 

We had a most enjoyable day on the Maes and in the famous pink pavilion.  As well as watching the competitions you need plenty of time to wander round all the stalls - and perhaps spend a few pennies.  My sister and I especially enjoyed browsing a whole stall of handbags donated to raise money for Christian Aid. 

Another lovely day was spent walking along the Llangollen canal and across Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. 

My sister didn't admit till after we'd walked the aqueduct that she wasn't very fond of heights. I might balk myself at the thought of sailing a boat across that narrow trough of water with a sheer drop of 126 feet on one side!

But by then we'd got a taste for heights and our next trip was to the top of the Great Orme at Llandudno. This time we didn't walk - we travelled in style on the tramway. 

There's a fabulous view from the top of the Orme when the weather's good and its a beautiful spot, covered in heather, gorse and wild flowers at this time of year. 

Well are you getting tired yet?  One more trip then.  This time its somewhere I've been meaning to visit for ages and haven't got round to it.  Pistyll Rhaeadr waterfalls.

 

This time the weather let us down a bit and the sun didn't shine.  The falls didn't disappoint though and as the rocks were wet from the rain we didn't venture to the top - but that's something we can keep till next time.

Oh dear, work in the morning!  Back to earth with a bump then.  I'd better get some sleep!

Preserving July!

July gone already!  I really like how my digital photo reviews give a flavour of the month that's just passed by.  It seems in July I created a lot, didn't do enough in the garden and didn't travel far from home! :)  As always, if you'd like a closer look right click on the image and open in a new tab.  Then you can enlarge to see each little photo up close.

The next week or so will be about getting my red and blackcurrants gathered in and turned into something for the freezer or store cupboard (if I had one!).  They are so beautiful on the bush I always take lots of photos. 

I've just one redcurrant bush so they are no problem, but I've about six blackcurrant bushes!  I think I'm going to try cordial this year as well as jam as there is a large crop.  I like Sue's redcurrant cordial recipe at The Quince Tree.  Its nice and straight forward and I like her way of simplifying recipes by adding in her own experiences in the kitchen.  Another new blog to follow!

I'm in the process of redcurrant jelly at the moment but I open froze some of the crop to use later in fruit crumbles - my son's favourite pudding.  When I got them out to bag up this morning they were so gorgeous - just like frosted red beads.  I wanted to thread them into a necklace.... but I don't think they'd last long and my neck would get sticky!!!

Feeling crafty

I made these bubble wands after seeing Lady Lucente's photo here.  I think mine are rather smaller as I wanted them to fit into the bottles of bubble mixture I'm using, and they are not as beautiful as the originals as I wanted to use beads I already had to hand.  To be honest they don't work as well as the plastic wands that come with the mixture - but they are much prettier!

And great excitement today when the postman dropped of my new Fresh Cut Florals stamp set from Wplus9.  I've waited rather a long time for it to arrive and wanted to get it inked as soon as possible.  I made a card for a friend who is not too well at the moment and posted it almost before the ink was dry as I want it to arrive tomorrow.  The result is a rather poor photo as the light was not good, but I really enjoyed my first play with those lovely layered flowers. 

Fledglings

I knew it had to happen but my heart sank when my young cat Titch brought in her first bird the other day.  Luckily I was on hand to rescue it and Titch did not seem to know what to do next anyway.  The little sparrow didn't seem to be physically injured and after a rest on my hand (with Titch locked away upstairs) it calmed down and I put it on top of the coalshed in the shade.  I could hear it's anxious parent in the hedge so I left it alone and when I went back to look some time later it had gone. 

It is a dangerous time for young birds leaving the nest but perhaps this current very hot weather is a good thing for them as, if my cat is anything to go by, days are spent flopping about in the shade not stalking small creatures.  However these young swallows I spied on the telephone wires across the road the other day, do not have such worries.  Completely out of reach they were there all morning, with the parents bringing them tasty titbits every couple of minutes.  And I spent far too much time watching them instead of getting on with other things. 

No such luxury for the swifts however.  Once they leave the nest they are on their own and are apparently ignored by their parents.  There is a large colony in the middle of town.  They return every year to nest behind this red building and have done so ever since I became aware of them some years ago.  Sadly they won't be here much longer for their long journey south will begin when August arrives.  I will miss their aerial acrobatics and the joyous screeching that is so much a part of summer in the UK.

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.