Hook and Needle

This week whenever I've had a bit of crafting
time I've been either crocheting or sewing.

I've treated myself to this lovely new book

and I'm so delighted with it. I wanted to pratice

making crochted flowers and made this one last night.

I don't think it's too bad for a first attempt.

I might add a pin to the back and turn it into 

a little brooch.

On the sewing front I've been making bags

for the girls-- with some help from my happy little assistant

of course.

I still have to hand stitch the appliques so will
have to show you the finished bags next time.
Til then I hope you all have a lovely, warm and cosy
weekend. See you soon!

Little Finds

I found these lovely little things in a charity

shop last week. We were on our way to playgroup so 

I only had a quick look, not really expecting to find

anything and these three caught my eye.

I'm not really sure what the little house is for. Probably 

a tea caddy or a trinket box. Anyway I think it's sweet and

it's happily on display on our mantlepiece at the moment.

I hope you're all having a lovely Wednesday.

Hope to be back with a crafty post soon!

Crochets

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These past few weeks I've enjoyed crocheting
in my spare time and I'm happy to say I've managed to
finish the little projects I've been making.

The first one is this doily which was based on the mandala

pattern from issue 13 of Simply Crochet. I love the colours

and the cotton yarn I used and had fun working on this over 

a cold, rainy weekend.

These coasters are also from Simply Crochet.
I made two sets and sent one set to Virna as a 'thank you'
for all the lovely things she had sent me. They are small and
simple enough for me to make and a great way to practice
turning crocheted circles into squares.

At the moment I'm back to sewing but I'm also
still working on my chevron throw.

I think we'll be well into springtime before I can finish this.
There's no rush though. I just like being able to pick it up and do
a bit whenever I can. I'm hoping to add a row or two this evening
although not when Salamander is on.




Thanks for reading!
I hope you're all having a lovely, sunshiny weekend!

Back soon!

Nice and Happy Things

Just a few of things making me happy lately.......



.........making this little bag for my older daughter.

It was a quick and easy project and now she has a
bag to keep her dance shoes in.

.......another Sunday afternoon spent baking with the girls.

This time we made Mary Berry's sultana and orange traybake. Yummy!

.......a dry and sunny morning like we had today.

We went for a walk before heading to a nearby playground for
some playtime, something we haven't done in ages and
the girls loved it.




.......this Bjorn Wiinblad plate from my mother-in-law.

It was a surprise Valentine's Day present for us and it's a lovely
addition to our little collection.




........reading my favourite magazines with a lovely cup of tea.

It's my preferred way to spend an hour in the afternoon alongside
crafting, baking and looking round antiques shops of course.



Thanks for reading!



Have a lovely week!

A Yarny Carfuffle

Happy Valentine's Day!
I hope you've all had a lovely, warm and love-filled day.
My husband had the morning off work today so we were
able to take the girls into town where we did a bit of shopping
and then had a lovely lunch together at Pizza Express.

This afternoon I spent a lot of time working on this crocheted
 throw that I've been having a bit of trouble with.
 It's actually quite simple. I'm making the throw with
 these lovely Sugar 'n Cream cotton yarn from Wool Warehouse
using granny chevron stitches.

The granny chevron stitch is simple to make (thanks to 200 Crochet

Stitches by Sarah Hazell) and it's easy enough for me to keep on
working while watching television in the evenings. I've been adding
a new colour every couple of rows, choosing whatever yarn I
fancied as I went along. My plan was to keep going until it was the size
of a throw or a small blanket. However when I looked at what I've made
so far the other day I wasn't too happy with the colours.

I really should have thought this through before I started.
So frustrating! I decided to start all over again and this time with
a clearer idea of the colours to use. I've written it down and I will
stick to this plan. This was how it looked yesterday.

Then today I thought I'll just look again at the first one I started
(still to be unraveled) and realized if I just unraveled a few
rows then added this dark brown yarn, I'd be happy with it again!
 I didn't need to completely start all over again.
What a right carfuffle!

So now I've decided to keep going with the first one I've started.
Luckily I've only done a couple of rows on the second one
so it's not too bad. Hopefully it's all plain sailing from now one.
 And yes, I've got the colours sorted this time round. I think.



Thanks for reading!

Wishing you all a lovely, safe and warm weekend!

Lovely Bargains

Two Sundays ago my mother-in-law and I had a good

nosey round some of the antiques and vintage shops here
in Sheffield. We went to four different places, stopping for

 tea and cake along the way. It was a nice little outing that
I thoroughly enjoyed and it was made more exciting by all
the lovely bargains we found.

First of the lot was this old basket which, at £2.50, was
my most expensive purchase that afternoon. The size is just
perfect for storing my yarn stash and for such a happy price
it would have been silly of me not to buy it, so I did!

My next lucky buy was this colourful shopper,
another steal at £2.

My mother-in-law found this little plate amongst
other items on sale in one of the vintage shops.
The colours are pretty and it was less than a pound
so why not?

Last but not least was this Cath Kidston mug which
was a bit of a surprise when I was looking through some
old kitchen items. Again it's in great condition and still looks
nice and just a £1. So it came home with me too.

And that's my lovely lot, great bargains found
on a happy Sunday afternoon. I'm hoping to have another
afternoon just like this very soon.



Thanks for reading!

Have  a lovely week!

Nice and Happy Things

Just a few of the things making me happy lately.......



.........my favourite little jug filled with lovely yellow roses.

The colours always cheer me up.

............crochet and tea while listening to the radio.

A lovely, relaxing way to spend an hour in the afternoon.

..........a slice of pistachio loaf cake baked by my husband.

It's really delicious and great with tea or coffee.




......old picnic hampers bought from charity shops.

I have a growing collection of these. They're great for
storing toys, fabrics and all sorts of things.




........a visit to David Mellor in Hathersage, Derbyshire.

It's one of our favourite places to go to in the Peak District. We always
stop by the cafe then have a look around the design museum,
cutlery factory and the country shop where I treated myself
to this bright yellow egg cup.




Thanks for reading!

Wishing you all a wonderful week!