My plants don't know it is December!

OK, I am sure it must be mid December; I mean my living room looked like this( above)

Now it looks like this!
BUT my garden seems to disagree-

 Lettuces?? I mean, they did nothing all summer- why now?

 Sweet peas still in full growing mode- even got a ( admittedly singular) flower from it.

Yet parts of the garden are dying down enough for the annual ball retrieval exercise!

Yet a few days later and I believe it is December! ha ha . My new camera has this cool panoramic thing- good job it is point and click... I am not so technical!

Tree make

It is not what I would call a tutorial- just a simple thing I made , partly because I have bought the world's biggest bag of mixed sequins, but also because we have had a winter vomiting bug, so I needed something to do between boys being sick, yet nothing in any way taxing, due to lack of sleep!

Cut out 2 trees from felt, gather thread, sequins( baubles) and eyelash yarn( tinsel).

Couch( sew on yarn with fine thread ) on the eyelash yarn- I put mine zigzagged across like tinsel. I feel sure you could hot glue this on too.

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Sew on sequins as baubles- beads would work too- whatever is to hand. Once again hot glueable I feel sure.

And repeat on the other tree.You could be clever and couch the yarn so it matches up each side to look like it is continuous...or not like me!

 I used fairly uneven running stitch round the edge because I had not had enough sleep to bother with blanket stitch! I was awake enough to remember to leave a gap for the stuffing though.

And stuff- did you see that stage coming? I think I gave it away after the previous pic!

Sew up the left-open-for-stuffing edge. Oh ,I sewed a star( sequin) at the top once it was together- this makes it easier when you are sewing round the edges.I also sewed on a loop at the top for hanging, red yarn was to hand, but ribbon or whatever you fancy/suits your colour scheme would work

DONE- easy huh? I reckon not too young kids would be able to manage this too.

Cooeeeey!

Well here I am again, because I have a new camera! OK that is out of my system, I will show you what I have been doing , through the language of pictures from my new camera( did I mention that already? lol)

 Quiche! The filling was delicious -if I say so myself- but the pastry- eurgh! I just can't get the hang of wheat free pastry .

 So my daughter put me straight as to why gingerbread man (R) is wrong...they don't have waists...I should have just asked her rather than ransacking my biscuit cutters!

 Fun little tree decoration using felt, sequins and eyelash yarn- show you more another day.

Gingerbread man decoration ,buttons felt and embroidery thread...and I did trim that wonky hand bit- just not before I took the picture!


 

Where am I?

Oh the plans! 

I have never had a problem with ideas- or motivation in general- sometimes I have an idea and it is made the same day. I have been known to "have" to make a necklace in the morning to go with the outfit I am wearing that day...and made it and wore it!

I also made a notebook/file/diary holder within 2 hours from idea to finished article( pics to follow if I ever get over the fear or technology and have a go at hubby's camera!) Well I get paperwork from 3 kids at school, Governors, Scrutiny committee, Commission related ,family and general bills etc, so I made a notebook holder( I'm never without a paper and pen-   this is just a bigger version) it also fits my diary in( things get booked up and I have a memory like a sieve), all good- loving it when a plan comes together( remember the A Team?)
 But now I am in a position where I want to earn money again. I have health issues that limit things to a certain extent, and I am not keen to miss out on too much oof my young kids' lives- they spend so little time being little. So I want to earn from my creativity- THAT'S THE PROBLEM
I have;
book and story ideas
jewellery making party ideas
school project ideas
shop supply ideas
educational resources ideas
BUT I dont know where to start

So I am trying to write the constitution for a new PTA type group in a local school that I have just volunteered to be secretary for

Hmmmmm
People often seems to be stuck creatively but they all seem to be short of creativity and I think I have too much! 
Any Ideas where to start?

Just saying...

Look to be treated by others
as you have treated others.
Publius Syrus

Finding some good quotations recently

does anyone know about copyrights on these?

Spellings

Spellings with my 8 year old have always been a bit of a chore- we start on Mondays and practice at least 3 times until the tests on Fridays.
This week they had homonyms- oh boy! So they have to understand the different meaning to be able to spell the right one. 
By Tuesday we had got him to stop spelling "Wright" for putting words on a page/ correct!
Wednesday we found that his passion for electronics was helpful for spelling " I LED you round the circuit board" LED( little electronics light) get it? ( well he did so that was the point).
 

On Thursday I was ready to quit when this happened

"Through- what can you see through the window?"( as opposed to threw a ball)

" A house" can back the answer! Hmm - advice of the day- don't try to argue logic with young lads!

p.s. "ower" is not how you spell "belonging to us"! 

Anyone else love the English language!

pps mini Amareke won't believe that scissors has a C in it 

ppps I am beginning to understand why teachers send this stuff home to do!! ha ha  

FINISHED A UFO!!

WOOHOO! I have finally finished this cushion

I might get Mr Amareke to take a picture of the finished article later. I dont think I have ever come back to such a neglected project and actually finished it...how can you hate something when you are making it, then fall in love with it once it is finished??

Hmm I think I am going to have to start another big-but-not-brain-engaging project or my hands won't know what to do...I fear my living room may end up looking like 
Olek  


Did I tell you about the battle of the living room? Mr Amareke and I get on brilliantly ( have to if you count your relationship in decades!) but when it comes to decorating, we tend to take years to agree! I like blues and greens, he likes reds and yellows...neither of us like neutrals much- see the dilemma?

So, we have 2 sofas- one "the blue sofa" and guess what ? we also have "the red sofa", and you have seen the rug ( above)
Obviously most of my crocheting has been for (my) blue sofa...but as that now has 2 blankets and 4 knitted/crocheted cushions, and the red sofa only has one knitted cushion...I think I may have to go red next!

I call them my stress blankets- did you know that repetitive movements are calming?
Stress and knitting 
I am anticipating a certain amount of stress in at least a  couple of roles I have ( being suitably vague) so I need a stress blanket
Ideally I would like a self striping/variagated acrylic yarn in reds but with no brown- any ideas? 

Not ignoring you ,really!

Not only has my camera died, but dd's camera( my borrowing choice) had an accident on holiday so is also broken( got sat on!)

dd did take some holiday pics even with a smashed screen!

 Check out the scale of this wheel- at a restored colliery(really interesting, helped by some very knowledgable and passionate volunteers)

 Little hidden cove- you can sometimes find natural gemstones there( no luck this time though)

 Do you think the boys were keen to get to the beach???

dd being arty with limpets( hmm never thought I would say that sentence!)

RIP Camera!

My camera has broken- boohoo! I am in mourning...I loved it! It says the zoom won't..well won't zoom! Apparently it will cost the price of a new one to fix it.

I am a bit ( ok a lot) of a techno idiot - not a technophobe- love technology if it does what it is supposed to with the minimal of user knowledge and fiddling...so the idea of sifting through loads of similar priced cameras to choose a new one leaves me cold! I will get there, I do feel a bit lost without one!

Awards time!

Thanks to the lovely Helen at sweet seashorse I got this award! Check out her blog for cake crochet and family, not unlike myself but in Australia!

Now to nominate my own blog awardees!
Cherie at Fairy Dell
For her utter skills at everything especially recycled crafts- what an imagination!
Alice- at Crochet With Raymond
Oh the colours! And of course the beautiful Raymond the cat!
Tales from Cuckoo land
Gorgeous makes and honest family life!
Roobeedoo
For dressmaking wonderfullness! I love seeing what she has sewn and it inspires me to get on with my projects- Ru makes sooo much!
Juliab at Peacock Blue
More crochet and family, and a good bloggy read


That's it for a bit, got a BIG Father's day lunch to cook for Mr Amareke...Nigella Lawson's Ham in coke( unbelievable but truly scrumptious( sorry Littlest is obssessed with Chitty chitty bang bang at the moment!), and a trifle to make)

Was it really less than a fortnight?

What a difference a fortnight makes! Busy busy again, plenty of crafting

 This is an outdoor beading session, making some bits for my lovely niece's birthday- ha ha , see my fabulously pale leg there in the corner? Why don't I see these things before posting??ps, I am sitting on an upside down piece of ultra-bargainous oilcloth...intended to be made into an outdoor picnic mat, but I found I was using it( beach, garden, even indoors!) for picnics etc, and as I haven't backed it, it folds down TINY, so it is staying as it is!

Weather good enough for English strawberries...I do like funny looking veg- mushrooms that look like bottoms, and especially carrots that look like legs, but I adore these strawbs- they seems to be multiple strawbs grown into one, but they also seem to be hearts! ( The one at the top is a "normal" one) Don't you think we miss out when we only buy dull old uniform shaped supermarket fruit and veg?

Then ,I am in the UK after all, it turned cold again, but I do love these tights with my favourite brown shoes, so no complaints!

 Uh oh, new craft obssession- felting!

 These are needle felted bracelets/cuffs. All made to go with outfits I have.

 And I don't take much convincing to add embroidery and buttons. Yeah, I know, embellished felting isn't earth shatteringly original, but I made them, and I love them, and they were my first go at felting. Also, buy some needle felting supplies if you are stressed- jabbing the hell out of something is unsurprisingly good for stress!

 OH MY GOODNESS I have finally got round to taking a pic of the grey and brown ceramic necklace I promised!I hope I have captured the pebble ishness of the beads- yum! I do love a big of organic necklacing!

Blankie is coming on eh?About 3/4 of the width of my (King sized) bed! I reckon I have about one more ball's worth of hooking then some sort of simple edging- I am thinking just double crochet- any suggestions?

Lastly but definately not leastly( is that a word?) 
I have got an award! 
Not sure what I have to do yet, but I will find out!

Congrat for getting this far down!
x
C 

Beautiful decay

Maybe I am odd, but I find decay can be beautiful.I find older faces more interesting and therefore appealing, and adamantly refuse to buy "anti-aging" products because youth is only one view of beauty. Anyway enough philosophy, where are the pictures?
These are of an old structure? storage barn thing? next to the 1000 yr old church near where I live.Took a stroll( OK to the supermarket to buy cake!) and took these pics through the fence they have erected..I will be sad to see it go when they do demolish it( probably soon)

 This one reminds me of "The Secret Garden" I half expected a bird to appear!

 This one is me trying to be arty with a shot from the bottom of the church bell tower pointing up.

Can you see the plants through the window?

Pics and progress

Well I promised you here that I would show you some pics, and my recharged batteries have been hard at work today!

 I think I am over my 3/5ths ishness...with help from half term...nothing like non-stop kids tv/Wii/ lego covered floor to get my feet up and hookiness going! It's looking good and big now...so big I might make the long side into the short side and carry on!

 

 I tried my Rachel John knitting needles- just a trial piece using 10 strands ( enough to top my littlest side table which is just the right height for putting feet up on!) .I was surprised at how easy it was- the yarns I used didn't tangle up at all, and how utterly soft it turned out. It looks so chunky and thick what with it being 10 stranded- no shock there- but it is  just completely scrumptiously soft and snuggly. Also very fast to knit up. Am considering a little bedside rug- how fab would it be for first thing in the morning feet to tread on?

 This is the UFO dc turquoise cushion cover that I mentioned in the last post! 3/4ishness at work there I think!
Got to go- very tired littlest Amareke boy is back from a long day out at a kiddies amusement park with a friend- "arsenic hour" is upon me ("arsenic hour"= after tea but before bed when they are so tired and ratty and fighty, you might even consider slipping them some- ps not my term!)

Snoring, hail and 3/5thsishness.

I get insomnia, but also fall asleep at funny times. Last night I wasn't feeling sleepy so settled down to watch "A Few Good Men" on the TV. Hmm didn't see the end of it ( I am sure he still " can't handle the truth"!) but woke to what I thought was me snoring, but sounded like thunder.
Looked outside- no rain, just another weird subconscious wake up calls( I get doorbells in dreams that wake me!) Settled down but I definitely heard thunder then- oh boy -it wasn't a dream but a HUGE loud thunder storm from nowhere- hailstones too, and the hail only came for part of it- imagine thunder and lightning but no rain- is that strange?
Anyway I am feeling extremely three-fifths of the way through the blue greens self stripe yarn blanket and I am getting bored...trouble is I am loathe to just put it down for a bit, as I feel a UFO might be upon me if I do! Kind of like the dc cushion cover in turquoises...and the Mondrian inspired thing that is a great pattern- looks just like the squares, but is way too big for a cushion, yet way too small for a blanket!
Camera batteries just went- pics in next post!
  

still waiting

I wore the necklace I made with the pebble beads...it looked great...cant tell? it is just over there > see? err no that will be because I havent taken a pic yet! Difficult week and that's all I am saying! Have been crocheting the easy self-striping blanket though- great stress relief but more of the same of a blanket doesnt make for an exciting pic does it?

There you go, an exciting picture! I am working on this fluoro pink satin rattail cord for a commission ..."thick and twisty" is how she wants it! I am on mark 4 at the moment. It is an interesting commission, just a bit of eye burning to deal with!

Just to let you know...

I have started another blog- just some daft nonsense the kids ( oh and sometimes I ) say round here!
Listen to what I am thinking
enjoy

Dr who is still as scary then!

I remember hiding behind a cushion too- I love that the cushion is there but he is looking round it!
It reminds me of when we went to an exhibition of Dr Who "baddies" costumes...everyone my age gave a wide berth to the Daleks!

Not sure Amareke girl looks too convinced it isn't real either!


Ps I have made a necklace with the pebbly bead I bought at Aintree- I will take a pic soon then share it.

The fabulousness of craft overdosing!

Went to the ICHF fair- I am shattered, but it was completely worth it.
I Love the atmosphere of a huge room of everyone craft loving and no-one asking why you "bother" making things when you can buy it cheaper/easier.
Today I have mostly been buying
>Giant "extreme knitting needles" from Rachel John who is one of those amazing zingy sparkly-eyed people who is just ultra passionate about her craft - brilliant!
> fab ceramic rondelle beads from Totally Beads they are big and glossy but organic looking. The ones I chose have lots of grey ones in ( to go with an outfit) but also white with lilac on , greens and browns- yummy! They are shiny and tactile like wet stones on a beach.
>A little bag of Merino tops and silk threads from Val Hughes who did a felting demo while fielding my stoopid questions, and giving tips on how to felt, and embellish afterwards( she likes to embroider on hers) 
> also just had to get some dark chocolate with brazil nuts!

I might take some pictures once I have made something, but I am staying here with my feet up basking in the glorious craftiness of the day right now! 

Heart stopping moments and more bluesy blankies

Ever lost sight of a child for even a moment? Had one of those in the school yard- felt like hours but was probably a few minutes- anyway my heart has started beating again now and I am overwhelmingly glad to see this on the living room carpet!

Yes well the boys' shoes only have to stay together a matter of weeks now!lol

Anyway a reveal moment - my granny blanket( which I might have just got bored of doing the edging of and decided it was quite big enough!), with an owl cushion made by my sister for my birthday. She lives 200 miles away and didn't know I was making the blanket, less still the colour scheme of it! We have always been connected like this but I love it when we don't even realise we are.

 So, I had plenty of the self striping yarn left so I couldn't help but start another blanket- I just had this urge and cast on about 250 chains! Now doing a simple pattern of one triple crochet and one chain, then the opposite on the next row- does that make sense? Anyway a sort of brick effect, and easy to sit and do without much thought- sometimes I need an easy project like that. don't you?

 Oh the photo is really to show you my fab and fantastic original 1950's leather bucket bag- I love it so much, I do love the shape and simplicity of the design, but mainly I love that it was my mum's and I remember it as long as I can remember. She bought it in Jersey and got one for her mum too( I have both- how lucky am I?)

 Did I show you this? My pillow sized cushion that was supposed to be a blanket but I lost the will to carry on? Anyway I wanted it to be bright and modern- not what people associate with crochet!

AAAnd the other side...subtle eh? ha ha 
 Not my ideas- from this book

That's all for a bit- going to a fab crafty day at aintree very soon, will report back!