Whoooosh.......

Gosh.....where is the time going at the moment? This week has whizzed by at an alarming rate. I haven't done half as much as I have needed to this week. Too many distractions. I really need to concentrate next week!

I hope you have had a good week.

The weather has been grim......

.....but I have been loving it!

Am I the only one?

I have loved being out in the rain. I don't mind getting soaked. I have got myself into the train of thought, that if you are going to get wet, you might as well have fun with it!

I love the elements though. Thunder and lightning fascinate me beyond belief. I love the sound of rain. I love how everything smells after the rain. It's like the earth is having a good cleansing. Okay, I KNOW some of you will see this totally differently!  We don't get hurricanes, tornados or intense flooding....and I am thankful, but I love the elements. I love how Mother Nature has her own agenda. How, we try to control everything, we cannot control her. We have had two really dry winters.....so what's a weeks worth of heavy rain?!!!!!

What have I been up to? Well.......

I managed to pick some garden flowers for a posy vase (first pic).....

I enjoyed being all starry with Baby Bear.......

I enjoyed baking.......

yum yum.....

Oh my word, I have been naughty this week.

The meringue sprinkle cupcakes were delicious. So delicious in fact, that I had to make another batch.  The recipe was taken from Susannah Blake's 'Cupcake Heaven' Book. They are basically just meringues baked in fairy cases, drizzled with dark chocolate and dipped in sprinkles. As a friday treat when I was a little girl, my mum would stop at the Bakery on the way home from school to get us something. It was always a toss up between a Chelsea Bun or a Meringue Snowman! Making those brought back memories. Must make some meringue snowmen come Christmas.

I also had a real craving for mini cinnamon swirls. I love, love, love cinnamon. I always buy some frozen from Ikea when I visit, but I wanted little mini ones. I had seen a recipe from a pinterest link. Super easy......just buy a ready to roll croissant tub from the chilled section in the supermarket. Crimp the dough together and give a quick roll out. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and soft brown sugar. Roll up and cut into little swirls. Bake for 15 minutes and voila. Oh so perfect with a hot cuppa. Trouble was, I ate them all. I couldn't help myself they were so more-ish. I wasn't even sorry! 

On clearing out cupboards, I found treasures I forgot I had. Cute vintage cake plates. I love this colour and rose print so much.

I drank coffee and played about with yarn......

I sorted utensils.....

....I cleaned China stuff...

...and I tried to be as summery as I could on the grey days.

So, that about sums up my week so far.

I have to make up for this week by spending today catching up with housework (which as you can tell, isn't working out so well as i'm on the computer!), then I have a jam packed weekend ahead of me.

I hope that you all have a beautiful week, wherever you are and WHATEVER THE WEATHER!!!!!!

xxx

Picking up.......

an old project.....

I started this last year. 

I saw an advert in a craft magazine, which just showed a lovely crocheted hexagon. It wasn't very clear. I think it may have been a pin cushion, I cannot really remember, but it was on a shelf in a picture so it wasn't close up. But, the seeds were sown, and I decided that I quite liked the idea of hexagons. I like patchwork hexagons, but as my sewing skills are less than desirable, crochet was the way forward. I sort of looked at the picture and tried to see sort of how it was done. It wasn't a clear picture by any means, and I came up with the above hexagon. Now, i'm sure if you go searching on the internet, you will find many a lovely hexagon pattern along these lines. There must be some out there with clear instructions if you fancy having a go. I'm sure I could have tweaked it some more, but it worked and I was happy with it.

I just wasn't sure what I wanted to make though.

I put some together just using different scraps of yarn and liked the 'eclectic' look and feel of it. I had several blankets on the go, so wasn't sure if a blanket was for me. Did I NEED another one?

Then whilst visiting relatives last year, I stumbled across an image that filled me with crafty pleasure. The trouble was, Christmas was looming and there wasn't really time to indulge, so thoughts were shelved.

Well, having been away just, and coming across the image once again, I sort have got REALLY FIRED UP. Do you want to see the pic that set me alight with crafty pleasure?..................

Now, the image is from a Jaeger pattern booklet. It's actually for the boys cardigan, but it was the blanket the little model was sitting on that caught my eye. It was such a cute, eclectic, patchwork of knit, that I knew my hexagon WIP needed to become something like this.

Baby Bear had commented how cool he thought it was when he saw me looking at it, and a quick reply 'yes' to my question of 'did he want a bed blanket like this?'....well.......it was settled then.

It will be a small blanket though. Just big enough to throw over his little bed, so hopefully it wont take me too long. 

It's bold and bright....very eclectic.....and Baby Bear is loving how it is coming together. He is helping choose the colours and it has been named

The Circus Patchwork Blanket

I have figured out how to half my hexagons to make the edges straight. Hopefully I can pull it off. And i'm thinking, an eclectic little border to match. We will see how we get on. 

So there we are. This is one of three little projects I have on the go.

I have been sitting on the sofa of an evening with a hot water bottle ('cos it's been freezing recently) and about 20 different balls of yarn all circling me. Mr H has had a frown on his face as he keeps tripping over them every time he walks past me! Ooops! He will be glad when it's finished that's for sure!

I am excited. It's the first time I have been craftily excited in a while. My crafting mojo has really been hiding from me, so it's been nice to feel 'inspired' again.

I will be back with an update......

....until then.......

Cheerio and have some super fun filled days!

xxx

Back.......

Helloooooooooo!

How have you all been?

Did you have a nice Easter Break?

I have missed you......

....I have missed catching up with you and seeing how things are going in your little patch.

I had THE MOST WONDERFUL Easter Break.

I needed it so badly.

Two weeks of recharging the batteries.......

Usually, after a break away, I am quite happy to be home, feeling rested.......

.......but I REALLY didn't want to come back this time.

We even stayed a couple of days longer than planned, just because we couldn't bear to tear ourselves away.

We had some gorgeous weather. 

Beautiful walking and beach weather.

I have a HUGE thing for clouds.....I just ADORE them, and they have been AMAZING recently.

 One of my favourite past times is 'Cloud Busting'. You know, staring up at the clouds and making pictures with them. There are many stories to be told from cloud busting. Who needs story books? I LOVE doing it with the Bears.

 As I sat on the beach and looked up at the sky, I saw a heart being blown along. A Princess had given her heart to peasant boy. She loved him so.....but the peasant boy knew, that no matter how much he loved her back, she deserved a better life than one he thought he could give her. So, in the picture above,  you see him blowing her heart back to her. How sad! I'm sure in another cloud picture, they end up getting it together!

Driving home, The clouds were so amazing. They actually took my breath away and I couldn't speak for a few minutes. I was desperate to pull off the motorway and lie in a field somewhere. To look up at the gorgeousness that looked down upon me. I wanted to capture the moment, but, I drank it in so deeply, as I sat in the car, that I just have to close my eyes to see it all over again.

Easter weekend was spent doing egg hunts and me being Easter bunny. I wonder if the Bears will ever be too old for an egg hunt?

I didn't take a single bit of crafty with me. It was weird but it was nice to have a rest from it. I came back recharged, and picked up a project I started last year. I had three on the go at the weekend, and I am happy. I like where they are heading. I'll save that for another post!

I'll try and take this week to catch up, but, as usual, I am WAY behind with getting things sorted after our break away. If you asked me a question, I'll try and get them all answered! Sorry for the delay!

Lovely to be back at the computer though. Feels like forever since I have posted.

Happy days to you my friends......

xxx

Time Spent......

I have been enjoying the weather of late......

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Such lovely sunny days to lift the spirits......

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My time in blogland is still very sporadic......

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It's the Easter Holidays and it feels good to have the Bears home for a bit.

Real life has been a bit exhausting recently.....it feels good to have a break.

The above picture is just a bit of what I have been up to.

All posted on instagram. I like instagram for it's 'capture a moment in the day' style. I like that you click and post. No big write ups.........quick and simple. It satisfy's my love of 'clicking' and it means I am not 'tied' to the computer. I like how you capture a moment of your day, in your own little world.....and somewhere far away on the other side of the world, someone else is doing exactly the same. You don't have to be on instagram to see pics like the above ones. Just click on my instagram button on my sidebar and it will take you to my photos.

I have started making a few bits again. I went through a hot water bottle cover phase, just before the weather turned. I didn't like what I had, so I winged it and made some to fit round the existing bottles. I was quite pleased with myself that I managed to mould around the bottles quite well without any pattern to guide me. I'm usually rubbish trying to do something freestyle. I had seen a link on pinterest about cross stitching on crochet. I thought the idea would work well on these. I used my favourite shades of yarn and had a go. I was a bit pants at the cross stitch. I should re-do it, but they are just for me and the Bears so I can live with it! They are a nice improvement on the existing covers so I am pleased with how they turned out.

So, I guess that's me up to date a bit. I am enjoying the break with the Bears, but I will try and flit in and out of blogland when I have a few spare moments.

I hope you are all well.

Enjoy your days, wherever you are and whatever the weather........

Miss you guys....

xxx