Freebies

Where oh where does time go? I have had a great first half of the week off with Alice and then went back to work yesterday having booked her into an art workshop yesterday and holiday club for today. We have done some cycling and picnic-ing, went to see the Smuggler's caves in Hastings Old Town which were really interesting and have done a lot of arty crafty things together with some charity shop browsing! Needless to say the above jam jar hugged by my knitted "mug hug" knit is starting to fill up with more old/vintage colourful needles like these beauties I found for 50p a pair

Oh sweet joy! I love knitting with these older/vintage needles, find them so much more comfortable to click click away on .... all pretty in a row.

I've just realised that if you have just arrived on my blog for the first time, that it may seem that I have a rather sad disposition in life, finding joy in old grannies knitting needles. Well the truth of the matter is that YES I do find great joy in the finding a bargain, recycling things, giving to charity, being an old romantic at heart and thinking of the past ... yet to mention what my hands can produce from such beauties :0) So welcome to my kooky little world and I hope you stay a while xox

Now... the charity shop I bought these needles from was my local hospice charity shop and as I was leaving I spotted a box full of coat hangers "going for free" to passers by and much to my great delight, out of the corner of my eye I spotted these 2

Ooooh the thrill of an old wooden coat hanger just waiting for some hooky charm! So out came a hook and some leftover DK cotton from my stash

I've been dying to get my hands on some old fashioned coat hangers and knew the moment would arrive sooner or later. So I chained 10 (2 to count as a htr) and zoomed up and down in htr to make a cover for the first hanger

 And decorated with some pretty simple flowers

The second, thinner hanger still needs decorating with a blossom or two. Really simple, quick and easy to make and celebrate!

Hoooooray for freebies xox  I was also the very happy recipient of some old curtain fabric this week from one of my friends' from work, she saw this at a jumble sale and thought of me...

I love love love it, all soft and romantic and gorgeous. Thank you so much Yvonne xox Kerching another freebie! How blessed am I ?

So, before I go today I'll leave you some pictures of our Easter tree we arrange each year. The twigs are from a friend's allotment and I use them at Easter and Christmas, last Christmas Alice and I decided to spray some silver and gold on part of the branches, not appropriate for Easter I know but I think we can just about get away with using them xox It was of course an opportunity to hook up some little flowers  for the branches and for Alice to blow out the inside of eggs and decorate. This year she decided to do her own form of decoupage on 2 eggs.

Thank you all so much for popping in.

Wishing you all a peaceful and gentle weekend xox

A little cardigan for Bethan

Hello all you lovelies, thank you for stopping and having a read of my musings. I do so enjoy all your comments and positive encouragement.

Do you like the look of the above pink lemonade? As you've probably gathered it's from France and absolutely delicious with ice and a slice of lime. We discovered it in Bills cafe in the lovely market town of Lewes when we visited last Friday. Perfect for having a rest on a sunny day and watching the world go by :0)  

Today a short post about my little accomplishment over the past few days. I have loved loved loved knitting this sweet cardigan for nearly 1 year old Baby Bethan, one of my friend's children. The original post about it can be found here, just scroll down and you will see where my inspiration came from and the link to the easy peasy weasy pattern. I don't consider myself a particularly good knitter, it's all quite new to me reading patterns and teaching myself new skills in knitting but I promise this pattern is a definite for beginners like me xox If you look closely you will see some obvious mistakes but hey ho that's me.... learning still and perfection is one of lesser talents :0) will must work on that !

So here it is, all pretty and pink and warm and chunky feeling ....

Decisions decisions about what button to choose

Oh I can't help it, it's all hearts and girly like

Such a candy floss colour

I really heart you little cardigan

I wish wish wish I loved yarn when my Alice was little, she would definitely have had one of these knitted up for her

Thank you for tolerating my joy this afternoon xox

Ending off with a little more pink, my apple tree blossom making it's way into the world. I rescued this tree 3 years ago from being thrown out in B&Q and it ( aka Murial) now grows in a large ceramic pot in my courtyard garden, she never lets me down by flowering each year and last year Murial produced 3 wee apples, I was over the moon.

I guess talking to and praising her beauty does pay off in the long run Please tell me you talk to your plants !!!!! ;0) One day I will set you free Murial xox

Zen and the art of crochet

Hello lovelies, how are you? Had a good week so far? We have been so fortunate here in the South of England these past 2 days, the sun has been shining in all it's glory. I love it when everyone peels back all their winter layers and the feeling of being care free in the sunny breeze, it really confirms that summer is truly on it's way ;0)

Yesterday I went for a cycle along the coast after work in the afternoon on my new bicycle that my beautiful husband bought for me, it was glorious and so lovely to ride a bike that works!

The sea was calm and very inviting, I saw a few very brave people swimming and the smell of BBQ's in the air was so summery xox

There were some gorgeous old boats and beach huts along the way ...

Tangled fisherman's nets

Such beautiful sea side colours

I Had to stop in St.Leonards-on-Sea for some tea and cake which was scrummy, gluten free and almond based. I also spotted a newly printed guidebook for St.Leonards-on-Sea and Hastings which talks about all the rich history of these places and the modern day attractions and festivals etc. that happen throughout the year. A few lovely events to look forward to xox



Now for some (promised from the last post) zen hooky reveal...



Ta da......

This very easy and simple Lotus flower bracelet that I hooked up was inspired from a lovely new blog I discovered via ravelry called Creative Yarn and and the pattern can be found here.

You could make this up in any wool or cotton and embellish it with fun buttons or sequins if you like? I wore it to work today and a few people gave me a compliment or 2 which is always fun.

So maybe this has inspired you to make a quick bracelet for yourself or someone else, it's a straight forward pattern and super fast to hook up and I think looks quite impressive xox

Well, that's me for the next few days, Alice's school broke up today and I have some time off with her this Easter holiday. I'll be blogging about what we get up to no doubt!

Just before I go I would like to say welcome to all the new followers who pop in to my blog and read my yabberings, I do try and visit your blogs too, great that we can share our love of life ad inspiration over the net. Thank you also for all your generous comments, I love 'em xox

 Hope the sun is shining where you are, until next time toodle pip xox

Mama love

Did you all have a great weekend? It flew past here, soooo much to doooooo and so little time! I've always believed in what I call the "University of Life" and I have so much I want to learn and embrace and do but too few hours in the day and oh yes, work! I must count my many blessings though and am fortunately in a very interesting field of work (nutrition and dietetics) which is ever changing and brings all sorts of new challenges xox

Well, here in the UK it was mothering Sunday yesterday and I was thoroughly spoilt by my beautiful girl, Alice who is now 10 and 1/2 (don't forget the half mum!) all supported by my love, Andy of course. Can I be indulgent and show you what I received?

OK then.... it started with these....

All being arranged into one of my favourite glass vases Andy bought for me a couple of year's ago in a French Antique market in Dijon.

Oh I am partial to a tulip or two xox

Then came the cards with such sweet words of wonder from my girl xox

Thank you my petal your are so enchanting xox

Then came the piece de resistance, something more beautiful than I could ever have expected, something handmade over the past month at weekly after school art class

A mosaic key holder!

I love love love it Alice, such retro colours!

She managed to keep it secret all this time and I am overjoyed with it for so many reasons, not only is it functional but it's made with her love, skill and beauty xox

It will replace this piggy which my Sister gave me many moons ago, about 15 years now. Thank you Ingrid for my piggy which has been very useful in helping me to not lose my keys.

I also had tea and toast in bed and a scrummy dinner made for me. On top of all that I got to spend a long while skyping my mum in South Africa which is always a delight and brings joy to my heart that I can celebrate what an incredible woman she is x

OK, before this gets all too gushy I'll show you what's on the needles and hook at the moment.

I started knitting this little jumper I found over at Aesthetic Nest's blog here, it's a Lion Brand pattern which can be downloaded for free if you register with them and I have had my eye on it for a while now as I grow more and more confident with lacier knitting projects. The other deciding factor for me is that it was branded EASY so that made me happy :0) The pattern can be found here

I have started knitting it for little B who will be 1 in June, she is one of my colleagues beautiful children. I'm using the pretty pink merino anti-tickle yarn I showed you in my last post and it's quick and fun so far..... wait till I get to the lacy bit though!

Did you spot the pink vintage needles? Oh they are so comfortale to knit with, I don't know why, maybe it's because they are more bendy and not so rigid than the metal ones?



Some more granny hooky business happened too and then can I admit I felt a wee bit bored ..... Thisis my BIG granny hooky WIP which will be worked on slowly but gradually for next winter, but in the meantime I needed some instant gratification (greedy am I not!) and started these...

 All will be revealed very soon I promise x

Wishing you all...

I spy with my little eye

The need for some sorting out of my mossy pebble collection from our beach

Some outdoor washing to dry with my new citrus zing pound shop pegs

Some growth in Alice's seeded wild flower pot

Some more hooky business this weekend

A ripe avocado to be eaten (yummy)

Rainbows being created in our dining room (ooh and a spider web outside too :0)

A cowl of mohair madness (+ headless me... and wierd looking chin!)

Little person in our house going green and needing this badge to be sewed onto her backpack

Thai green curry to be cooked this weekend

Some new merino anti-tickle yarn.... what is it with me and pink at the moment?

Alice's sleeping companions all tucked up on her (unmade!) bed together, Scamper, Rose and Bashful.... so sweet to see how she arranges them in the morning "so they won't be lonely mum"

Some dying Daffodils...oooooh I've just remembered it's Mother's day here in the UK on Sunday... maybe I'm in for a treat?

It's been one mad busy working week for me and I plan to wallow in that friday feeling now.

Wishing you all a dreamy weekend xox