Author Archives: penny
FollowThe Importance of Stuff
These days we all seem to have ‘stuff’, and mostly far too much of it. But the stuff that drives me mad are all the little bits and bobs which accumulate in small piles and clutter up random bowls and baskets because they don’t have an immediate home as we dash about doing everything else. You know, the things we can’t throw away, like till receipts, business cards, the top to the pen that we can’t put our hands on just at that moment (note to self – clear out handbag) and things which will probably ‘come in’, elastic bands from the mail, paper clips, buttons and safety pins.
So the plan is to have a designated place, and a promise to sort it out on a regular basis. (It’s now down in black and white, that promise!) So the cogs have been spinning in the brain…where to put the stuff…
…stuff….snuff….where did they keep Snuff?
In a JAR!
And what have I been collecting over the year because ‘they are just too useful to throw away’?
Coffee Jars!
I’ve got them tucked away in the studio holding craft materials, and on the mantlepiece filled with Mother of Pearl buttons, and sea shells…
But I keep drinking coffee, and I keep collecting jars!
And then there is my basket of gorgeous rainbow yarn…
And so I’ve made a STUFF Jar! Would you like to see?
But you’ll have to excuse me now, I’ll have to go and empty out all those random places full of little bits of Stuff…
And I’ve just thought of something else I want to make!
See you soon x
A Reason to be Cheerful? It’s February!
I don’t want to wish the year away, but I’m never sorry to wave goodbye to January. There’s an optimistic feeling to February, an anticipation of Spring, even when it bitterly cold and wintery.
I have to work a little harder at being cheerful this week because Tim went back to work yesterday, so Higgins, Henry and I are keeping the home fires burning while he’s away. It’s good for me that, in Tim’s absence, I have to do more Higgins walking, even when the weather isn’t very nice, like yesterday…
Back at home, exciting things were happening in the garden. My gardening gurus were giving the whole thing a once over, clearing out ‘ground cover’ plants which have been threatening to smother us in our beds (and have certainly smothered quite a lot of pretty plants in theirs…) creating fixings for over enthusiastic climbers and generally getting things into shape for Spring. They also mostly finished off what I had started in the veg patch, which has always been my responsibility, so I’m still on target there for when the weather starts to warm up.
The excitement for Higgins was the appearance of long lost toys which have lurked in the undergrowth for months. He didn’t know where to turn!
Another cheerful thing has been the arrival of a wonderful piece of equipment. I’ve been wanting for ages to dye some more yarn, (you’ll remember the adventures I have with dyeing here and here) but I’ve struggled to prepare the undyed yarn. The yarn arrives in 100gm hanks and I dye it in 25gm mini hanks, in the microwave. A while ago I bought a winder, not the beautiful antique one I would have preferred at a vast sum, but a cheap and cheerful annoying one, which has never, ever worked properly. There was no where I could easily attach it, every time the yarn got tangled it fell off etc. etc… And the whole winding thing just became such a time consuming back breaking faff I just haven’t bothered.
Until it was mentioned to my friend Bill. Kit (my buddy and partner in craft) is married to Bill, and Bill, apart from being an amazing artist, a builder of cars, and all round good egg, does like a challenge, even a little one like making a wool winder.
So I now have a be-yoo-tilful wool winder or ‘Swift’, made of mahogany, which will sit on the table and twirl merrily as I get the wool ready for the dye…
And today, as you can see from the photos of Higgins above, has been glorious…
if very cold.
I had hoped to have finished a new project to show you, but I may have to squeeze in another post instead! Instead I shall add the Linky on the end, and hope that you have some Reasons to be Cheerful to share. And if you haven’t got a blog, you can still join in via the comments.
Looking forward to hearing from you…
see you soon ! x
Celebrating January
January in Pictures
It’s a nice idea to celebrate the end of the month with a pictorial round up, so I’m joining in… I’m glad it’s February tomorrow, it’s not the end of the Winter, but you can see it from there!
I’ll see you tomorrow with Reasons to be Cheerful…have you though of yours yet?
x
Cats and Crochet for Handmade Monday
It’s hard to believe that another Monday has come around again, and not only that, we’re at the end of January. How did that happen?
It’s been a very cold grey day here today, but we’ve had a couple of bright and sunny ones, and I’ve been out pottering, quite literally, in the veg plot as I’ve been rounding up all the plastic pots which were ‘going to come in handy’ and in fact have blown into various nooks and crannies, binning the broken ones and washing the useful ones and stacking them in the new mini greenhouse. I’ve started a diary of my gardening efforts which you’ll find via a tab under the header so I won’t repeat myself. Not much happening at the moment but hopefully there will be!
I found a cheerful bunch of tulips in the supermarket yesterday which have brought a ray of sunshine into the gloom today….
The big excitement of the week was a long awaited delivery. My very own rainbow in a box! I’ve got some wonderful new cotton yarn to play with. Not available in the UK just yet and I shall have to be a little secretive about it for the time being…
…but I can let you have a peek…
…do you want to see?
It’s so pretty. It’s a thinnish DK weight cotton with a beautiful sheen, and crochets like a dream on a 3.5 hook. I’m going to be doing lots of experiments with it over the next few weeks so watch this space…
And coincidently, the day before it arrived, I had an email from Jill, who writes the Stocki blog, about the Beautiful Blogger Blanket. I don’t know if you have come across it in your travels through the Blogosphere but you can find out all about it it here…
Jill was letting me know that my name had come up on the Beautiful Blogger Blanket Wish List, proposed by BebeRouge (Thank you BebeRouge, what an honour!) as somone she would like to see creating a square for the blanket. So this has been my very first project with this fab new yarn.
I will replace this photo asap when I have better light to do the colours justice!
I’m sorry I won’t be able to share the yarn brand just yet, but the pattern, which I have devised, will be available in the tutorials very soon.
I’ve had a little help with photography from Henry …
…whom I’m a little worried about at the moment. He’s been much brighter since he had his big operation last summer, and still rules the roost and keeps Higgins in order, but he’s never really regained the weight he lost despite having a big appetite. He seemed to be showing all the signs of having a thyroid problem but the tests have come back negative, and he’s lost a little more weight. He’s under observation, and we are keeping our fingers crossed, but he still likes to be involved in everything that’s going on, so that a positive sign. (Oh, and note the socks. A sign of how busy I’ve been, socks still on the needles, and I’ve hit the supermarket!)
And while we’re on the subject of cats, I’vew been working on samples of needlefelt animals for my next course at The OutHouse Studio and this is the first one..
And finally, I had to show you this. Higgins in his favourite spot in the sunshine, in a good vantage point to shout abuse at passing tractors, bicycles and joggers. (Note the chewed remains of a ball, and the stolen flower pot, great fun to steal that when I was trying to stack them up)
And now the back view, not easy to maintain ones upright watchful position without the aid of a box…
…and eventually it all gets too much, and you have to let things slide…
So all that’s left is to hand you over to Wendy over on 1st Unique Gifts where she is hosting this week’s Handmade Monday and where you will find lots of other handmade goodies to see.
Have a good week,
see you soon! xx
