Camping Blanket ~ DONE!!

I am happy to report that my camping blanket is finished and to be honest it didn't feel like the marathon effort I am used to when trying to finish off a craft project. You know, when you can see the finishing post and you are hell bent on getting there so you end up sitting for hours to finish it off. Well this time, it was a more leisurely stroll to the finishing line. I hate, hate the last job of any crochet or knitting project that is darning in the ends! So tedious! But I can report that whilst sitting next to my other half whilst he was watching something violent on T.V, I went about my business of sewing in all the loose ends and there were loads!!! So in all its glory here is our new camping blanket:



Finished off with borders and a shell edging.

It is BIG ~ drapes over a double bed nicely although I wish I had added a few extra rows so that it reached the top of the bed better!

It can be used both ways really! And when we are camping we tend to huddle together anyway, so it is probably the best size!



I am happy with my colourful summery camping blanket and can't wait to use it now! The colours are bright and a bit more intense than I would tolerate normally but as it is for camping I think it is GREAT! Roll on the sunshine!

June Here ALREADY????

Well just a quick catch-up to say that I am nearly finished the camping blanket and hey-ho! ready to start embarking on the border!! So excited I can't tell you! I am planning a funfilled afternoon with a bit of hooky in front of the telly watching Rafa! Although I should be saying watching Murray but Nadal is more my style, secretly keeping my fingers crossed for him equaling Born's record of 6 French Open titles.

Book update: well I have been on a roll and can swipe off, Coram Boy and The other side of Truth which I enjoyed reading but would argue whether in the case of Coram Boy especially the subject matter was really 'children's' material. Well I am sure my next study course will instruct me one way or the other!!!

till next time ~~~~~~~~

May nearly gone...

Well I can't believe how quickly time is running away from me! I can report that I have crossed a few books off my reading list, including Inkspell, The invention of Hugo Cabret and Harry Potter (although for some reason it's not on my list but should've been!!!)

My camping blanket is nearly big enough for two big-sized people but I don't think its going to be finished before we go camping, but it will still be used! I will post some pictures very soon....

My quilting has been non existant lately but I am planning on making a trip up to the attic this week to get back in the swing of sewing!

Today is my little sister's birthday - sweet sixteen! I have made her an album of photographs to give to her and I really can't wait to see her face! But before all of that I have to walk the dog, clean the house and go to work! So I had better crack on!
Till next time......

Things I love.......

The start of a glorious sunshine filled day

My Wisteria beginning to burst in bloom



bright flowers in pots




home-made Hot cross buns - even if they are a bit rustic




The beach! Oh how I do love to be by the sea-side.

Our Easter holiday in pictures - treasured memories!


Holiday days.....

We have been enjoying some lovely, lovely weather here in England and for once the sunny spell has managed to make it over the children's holidays too. We have been working hard as well as taking some much needed chillax time too. The garden looks beautiful and my Wisteria has burst into bloom (the earliest ever) which has made me very happy as I love sitting under it listening to the bees buzzing and the birds chattering as they like to have their daily conferences there which winds Bobby up no end.

My camping blanket is growing and I made a very rash decision late one afternoon and re-ordered my wool so that I could make it even bigger and could contemplate doing bigger borders too. And then what happened as I planned out how much wool I would need to finish off the last 100 or so rows and borders I calculated that I would have   plenty of wool left over so my brain quickly began to plan what I was going to do with the left-overs and before I knew it my I whipped my crochet hook out and began playing....

... a day later and I have a fully planned second granny camping blanket. I am  normally a 'one at a time' kinda girl and it is quite a strange experience for me to have two blankets on the go at the same time ~ the positive side is that when I get bored with making granny squares I go back to my stripy blanket and vice versa. The negative side to it is that I feel like I will never be done with both of them!

My book list is reduced by one! I got through Treasure Island ~ only because of necessity, pure grit and determination. I have now picked up Inkspell and am looking forward to being totally submersed in the fantasy of that story. Inkheart was a good read for me so I hope this one won't disappoint!

Slow going!

Everything at the moment seems to have come to an abrupt halt! Life is ticking by but all my little projects seem to have lost that dire important feel to them and now I have to force myself to pick up my camping blanket and do another few rows - or drag myself upstairs to quilt a few more blocks! But I know that when I find my mo-jo again there will be no stopping me! It always amazes me how my creative mind ebbs like the waxing and waning of the moon!

My book reading, which seldom wanes as much as everything else is also suffering. I had to give up on 'The Children's Book' even though I had navigated myself more than half way through. I figure that life is too short to struggle through books you don't enjoy. There are probably thousands of books I want to read in my life time and I should really get on with it!

'Treasure Island'  is my next book and I am trying to muster up the enthusiasium for pirates ( just keep thinking Jonny Depp!!) but like everything in my life at the moment, it too has lost all urgency.

May tomorrow be bright and sunny and perhaps my drive to accomplish my goals will return with zeal. 

My Secret Mission.....

I can't quite remember when this germ of an idea crept into my life but I can't seem to let a day go by without me thinking about the mechanics of how I am going to accomplish it!

This year, my eldest will be entering into her late childhood years and beginning her young adult years. She will be turning 13! I can't believe how quickly those years have flown by and I really wanted to give her something special to mark the occasion. Something she could treasure for years to come and when ever she happened to look upon this something she would remember being young with all those dreams and aspirations that hadn't yet materialised and also hopefully she would think of me too. (I know - selfish!!)

I have kept a heap of old clothes that belong to both my children that hold special memories for all of us and as I was sorting through them one day I suddenly alighted on the idea of a memory quilt. Although I knew I was going to make something with it all(otherwise I would have given it all away to charity), when suddenly a very clear image of a crazy style quilt popped into my head and I immediately knew that this would be the perfect, perfect gift.

I began by researching some crazy quilts on the internet and got some fabulous ideas from some 'crazy' bloggers and so my idea began to take hold and grow. I decided that I wanted to insert some quotes and inspirational messages so I managed to find some old remnant linen which I could add to the clothes so that when I start stitching, the lettering will be neat and uniform. I made a decision NOT to buy anything for this quilt and make it using only what I have already got while everything has to have a significant meaning to my daughter too. So I trawled through drawers where we kept our 'bits and bobs', like old beads from broken bracelets never mended and pieces of ribbon, labels of clothes, even embroidered shoes that the dog chewed were all collected ~ ready to be a part of her quilt.

I am desperately trying to keep it a secret so that it is a surprise when she receives it but as I am lazy and don't pack everything away in my work room when I am finished ~ I am afraid that she may already have an inkling of what is going on. Well I don't know how I am going to do all the embroidery without her seeing something as she does to tend to sit up and watch a bit of telly with us every now and then. Even though I have only made a few blocks I can see the overall quilt taking shape and am desperately looking forward to starting the embroidery and the embellishing of the quilt. 

I am excited to see how the embroidery enhances the look of the quilt ~ but for now I have to get cracking on the last 20 blocks!!!

Until the next time.......