love happy

Oh my, there are so many things for me to be thankful for this week I don't know where to begin and of course I haven't been able to capture nearly half as many of them. However, I did take the odd snap shot and just had to show you these sweet reindeers I found in a charity shop last weekend. They are tiny and apparently are supposed to be used for putting on Christmas cakes. I couldn't resist whipping them up for 50p and taking them home to pop in one of my garden pots. Alice has already adopted 3 of them for a Christmas printers-type tray house she is making in her crafty arts classes. ? Talking of Alice, I have been secretly making her a crocheted pressie for this Christmas and will reveal all once it is finished. It's hard not to get happy with some hooky fun. ? I went into Hastings old town last weekend and loved this simple idea of small clay pot plants being used for tea light candles. I love a candle light room I do.  I bought another little green glass decorat...

Hello again, I haven't quite gone to London yet, I'll be on a super early fast train tomorrow morning with my knitting of course :o) The title of this post "I can't draw..." is so true, I am absolutely useless as drawing anything, Picasso might have even been impressed at my child-like drawings I've attempted as an adult! I can't draw, BUT I can sort of doodle, so I wanted to pop my Christmas card making joy on here before I forget. On Saturday afternoon I sat down to a couple of hours mucking about with my little water paints set and a pencil whilst Alice was at her ballet class. It was so nice to play with colour and paints again. I thought about keeping my cards simple again like last year and got doodling. Initially I thought I would try and draw some kind of garland around a Christmas related word, but that just turned out too wonky for these non-drawing hands of mine. So I found an old rubber and got a lino cutting tool out and made a star which also...

I finally got round to blocking my two recently crocheted shawl scarves this weekend and I am pleased with the results. They are made from two very different yarns, the first one being a skein of sock yarn from  Greta and the Fibers which I bought in a yarn shop called "All you knit is love" when we went to Barcelona in the Summer. I didn't spend long in the shop as it was so very hot (about 40 degrees C) and quickly chose a skein of yarn which appealed to me. This sock yarn has beautiful shades of green running through it and unfortunately I have not been able to capture this too well in the poor Winter light. I loved crocheting with it, very smooth and soothing and rhythmic. I took these photos this morning and I must say I rather like this shawl/scarf and will be wearing it tomorrow. I used the pattern in this Erica Knight crochet book I have. My second shawl scarf was made with Noro silk sock yarn using the South Bay Shawlette pattern which is free on Ravelry....

It really is that time of the year when you start to see Christmas decorations and fairy lights appearing. I try to shut my eyes to all the commercial malarkey of Christmas (difficult I know) and go to places which gently remind me and nudge me to getting into the spirit of things. One such place is my absolute favourite book shop in East Sussex Much Ado About . It's just glorious and celebrates all things Bloomsbury and Ravilious and so much more. Upstairs they had a little Christmas craft fair which I loved and may have bought a thing or two :o) These felted stockings in the window made me happy. Just another image from the village of Alfriston, I have always wanted to live in a house with these window levers. They really capture my imagination. We have the original sash windows on our Victorian terraced house and they are beautiful too. Celebrating where you live and trying not to take it for granted is really important to me. We have lived here for 11 years now and love it. Las...

This little bear brooch will find himself all wrapped up and ready to be put in Alice's stocking this Christmas. I found the free pattern here on Ravelry and although I thought he didn't look very bear like at first he is growing on me. Maybe he is baby bear and the original one is Papa bear? I am hoping that he might be pinned onto one of Alice's cotton bags that she uses and be a furry friend this winter. I think this pattern is very sweet and has endless possibilities. Maybe a big bear cushion? I have enjoyed crocheting him up with the lovely fine Rowan Nordic Tweed that I bought when we went to Liberty last year. It has a real woodland look to it when hooked up. How is your week going? Are you managing to squeeze in little Christmas makes here and there? Take care and have a good week xox See you all soon ?

This week I have had quite a few happy little moments, one of them was starting to make some Christmas baubles for the tree from some old white cotton I found in a charity shop ages ago. These are such fun and really easy to make (pattern from here) I started with white , but am sure I will move onto something more colourful. Just being aware of how beautiful the world around us is, especially in this season. I can't wait for the first frost here in the south, it makes me feel like God has sprinkled the world with icing sugar. Our seaside meanderings and collecting always makes me happy. Look at the perfection in this pebble! Last Weekend I went to a local craft fair and bought a couple of divine smelling homemade soaps to go with my face cloths I have been knitting as simple Adult Christmas presents. They are full of geranium, orange, frankincense and other spicy oils and smell amazing. I like the way this unbleached cotton wash cloth has turned out, all bumpy for texture on one ...

On Sunday we simply had to get out into the glorious sunshine. I felt like a woman on the edge of time desperately seeking those rays of sheer warmth and delight after all the wet and grey and dismal days we have been having of late. We went walking along the coast and lay on the warm pebbles at the seaside with eyes closed secure in the knowledge that we were being renewed by the suns energy. As we walked along the coast I felt inspired to pick a few of these dried out flower heads(I don't know what plant this is)to do something for Lou's Nature in the home series. I scrambled around the bottom of my bag and found odd bits of cotton and a little wool and together with some of the fishing wire I found on the beach I got myself busy winding. The fishing wire was a tangled mess and I tried to retrieve as much as possible. The winding was very relaxing and didn't involve much concentrating as I enjoyed the view. I bumped into a friend of mine and she thought I had lost the pl...

Here it is, my latest creation for my Sister-in-Law, Fiona who is expecting her second baby in March next year. I have loved making this from Drops Paris 100% cotton. I used 3 balls of each colour plus one more of the beige for the finishing border and edge. This blanket weighs 750g and feels lush and creamy and yummy. I must say that the cotton was a bit on the "splitty" side, but I didn't let that stop me. I used a 4mm instead of the recommended 5mm crochet hook to make each treble stitch a little tighter and more snug. I only added this edge at the top of the blanket and made it up as I went along. I quite like how it's turned out. A little crown like edging fit for a little prince or princess. As you can see this little blanket had to come out on location with me for it to be shown in its entirety. I like the colours I chose, simple and solid. I especially adore the combination of mustard and turquoise. So there it is, just needing to be wrapped up and put under ...