A new venture ... ! x

Hello, what a glorious day its been the sun has shone here, I hope it has for you too!!

Yesterday I spent the day preparing ... cleaning, baking cakes, preparing the yarn, hooks and all the other little bits I needed.

Today was the first day for me in a new venture.

Today I began teaching crochet ... what an experience, and what an absolute pleasure it was too!

Today the morning started early and the final little things that needed to be done were completed.

I brought this little table a while ago to prettify up with a bit of paint and fabric, but while its a project in waiting I think it served me well in today's class. 

I prepared the table for the workshop with the hooks, stitch markers, felt circles and brooch backs ... and of course the 'Learn to Crochet Guide' I have written along with my flower pattern.

I also gave them all one of my little owls as a momento of the workshop.

And so I was ready ... nervous ... but ready!

At 10 o'clock sharp Alison, Helen, Row and Kay arrived and the kettle was put on and the tea, coffee and cakes were served.

We had our priorities right me thinks!!

Then we got down to the crocheting and began with the basics ...

How to hold the hook and the yarn, and before they knew it we were creating a chain and doing a double crochet!

Gradually we moved onto how to do a half treble to get used to the 'yarn around hook' which made the treble not seem as scary! 

They all created a sample of all the stitches, practicing the turning and understanding turning chains.

The clock struck 12, the tea and coffee was freshen and served and on we moved to the flower.

They all decided on the yarn they wanted to use to create their flowers, the pattern was talked through and followed.

Gradually their very own flower brooches were created.

And, they agreed that I could take photos of them all to share ... and show off!!

First we have Kay's flower ...

Isn't it beautiful, I love the buttons!

Then Alison's flower ...

I love the colours ... as soon as she finished it she pinned the brooch onto her top!

And then Row's finished flower ...

Isn't it wonderful!! So pretty!!

And finally, but by no means least we have Helen's flower ...

The colours are so playful ... this is such a fun flower!

I am so proud of what they all achieved, may I thank them all for joining me on my first workshop. I had a fabulous morning, they were all such good company and we laughed and chatted, it was very relaxing!

It was a wonderful experience!!

After thy left I took one last photo ...

A creative mess ... the perfect end to a fabulous morning!!

Thank you!!

bye, bye,

xxx

52 Weeks of Happy ... 20/52 ! x

Hello, my week has flown by ... has yours? 

I hope its been full of adventures!! 

Here are the four things that have made me happy this last week.

Planting a Gerbera in the garden, these are one of my favourite flowers so to have as an outside as well as inside plant makes me smile each time I see it ...

A dandelion clock ... taken before I mowed my lawn on Sunday, it brings back memories by working out the time from how many puffs of breathe it takes to blow all the seed heads off.

A flower corsage ... created by me!

Only a very simple pattern ... but proud of it none the less!

A purchase from the super talented Wee Witchy ...

I love it, I also received a wonderful hand drawn card with my parcel.

Thank you!!

bye, bye,

xxx

A little bit of gardening ... ! x

Hello,

I am have a little rest after spending a little time in the garden tidying it up ... it greatly needed it!

I awoke to the sun shining, and got up early to start before it got too warm, it was beautiful and wonderful to feel the warmth after all the grey skies and rain we have had, but this is what makes our beautiful country so green.

So thank you Mother Nature for that!!

Here are the before shots ... please don't judge too much!

I brought a few plants yesterday and so today these have done into the garden, I have chosen a few country garden classics.

And I need to scatter the seeds for Love in the Mist and Cornflower.

The seeds have been scattered randomly over a patch of ground, so it should be a good mix of both coming up in the next few weeks.

I have used bamboo sticks to protect the seeds from the cats ...

There is a Sweet William in the bottom right hand corner of the photo, a memory of a wonderful day out with the family.

I have weeded those weeds around the apple tree, the blossom is coming to an end which is sad, but the ground look as if confetti has been thrown which is beautiful too. Now, I have all those delicious apples to look forward to in the Autumn.

I used to know the apple variety ... but that memory has long gone ... how could I find out? Do I need to wait for the apples to arrive?

While I was weeding Prilly tricked me into picking her up ... when I was stood next too the bird table.

PRILLY!!!

Onto the mowing now, the garden has been mowed since the winter left us ... not that you'd believe it all the rain has made it grow really quickly ...

Yes, it really is that bad (hanging my head in shame) ... or should I say it was ... look at it now!

The after shots ...

All I need to do now is get the summer chairs and table out on the decking, ready to sit at while drinking wine.

Do you think the shed needs a splash of colour ... I'm thinking blue! I have found these pictures courtesy of Google for some inspiration.

If only my shed was filled with wonderful delights rather than gardening tools!!

Mmmmm ... I'm going to have a well deserved afternoon nap me thinks so I can dream about a hideaway shed!

bye, bye, for now and I hope you are out enjoying the sun!!

xxx

52 Weeks of Happy ... 19/52!! x

Hello, 

so many have asked about the houses in week 18 of 52 weeks of Happy, they were in West Malvern, we had decided to venture over to Malvern to make the most of the sunny evening. These houses were only tiny ... maybe (from memory!!) 5 inches tall. Here is an article in a local paper about them.

They were wonderful ... I love finding random pieces of art!

And so to this week of happy ... a little late as I have been away for work ... nothing exciting only a conference in Leeds!

First is my little apple tree ... in full blossom bloom!

Beautiful ... but don't look to closely to the ground as I need to do a little bit of weeding!!

Last week was the last class of my dressmaking course ... and here is a little ta-dah moment ...

It does fit ... and I have worn it. I am very proud of little me and now don't feel so scared of using a sewing machine. I have invested in a 'new to me' sewing machine that a friend was selling ... but more of that in next weeks of happy ... !!

I have finally sat down and written out the pattern for 'My Little Owl' ... yippeeeeee!!

I just need to type these up and do step by step photos and then I will be publishing it on my blog!

And, my final moment of happy ... was as I was on a roll with writing up 'My Little Owl' I created a design for a flower.

I made the one flower as I was working out the pattern and writing it down ... the second flower was to test the pattern.

What a sense of achievement!!

Thank you for sharing my happy moments of the last week!!

bye, bye for now!!

xxx

A walk through the woods ... ! x

Hello, would you like to come on a walk with me and Mr Moo ...

We are in the woods to look at the bluebells, the sun is shining and its a perfect day for a ramble.

The walk takes us over a bridge over a babbling brook ...

A view of the babbling brook through the ironwork on the bridge.

Oh look ... do you see a little bridge over there ... unfortunately we not able to cross it but its so lovely to admire it from afar.

Now take a deep breath and you can smell all around us the wild garlic ... I love the smell do you! Mr Moo and I start to plan what we could make with it ... Mmmmmmm!!

I have found this recipe since for wild garlic pesto ... Mmmmmmm me thinks its worth a go!!

Lets carry on with the walk ... it takes us through a small patch of woodland ...

Where we are going ... 

And where we have come from ... the dappled light is just beautiful! Can you see all the wild garlic!!

I love trees and look at this one, the roots are hanging onto the hill and keeping this magnificent tree upright!

And here amongst the wild garlic is a coppiced tree left for the bugs to create a home in.

Now we cross a field or two ... look at this proud tree, from the bare branches we should be able to tell which tree it is ... do you have any ideas?

An orchard of apple trees, all coming into blossom.

And while this walk is to look at the bluebells, I can't help but take pictures of other flowers and fauna ...

Buttercup ... so shall we see if you like butter lift up your chin and we will see ... oh ... yes you do!! Correction ... this is in fact a Lesser Celandine ... still beautiful though. See this wonderful link for a close up!

I'm not at all sure what this flower is ... do you? The colours are beautiful aren't they!

Its a Wood Anemone!!! 

Look at these new sycamore leaves in the sunlight ... 

A big gate in the middle of nowhere ... I wonder where it leads ...

A blanket of bluebells ...

And one bluebell up close in all her glory ...

So which way to go ... can you see Mr Moo saying 'Hello'.

A quick picture as we cross another bridge of Mr Moo and I.

And so our walk takes us further into the woods ... a haze of blue covers the ground!

I take a quick shadow picture ... Mr Moo is reading the map to work out which way to go next ... sssh don't tell him I have taken it!

We have decided which route to take and on we go ... ooh can you see the beehives!

Another bluebell ... oh did I tell you we thought it would be a good idea to count how many we see?

I do love woodland walks.

The bluebells look wonderful amongst the trees ...

You can see the leaves unfurling on the trees, its a wonderful time of year seeing all coming back to life again!

Look at the blue skies ... sigh!

A blossom tree, all around it had been coppiced leaving this tree standing proud.

The coppiced trees are drying out ready to be made into charcoal.

Another waymarker for the bluebell walk ... which way shall we choose?

Oh look a pinecone ... 

We choose a way to go and go deeper into the woods.

The bluebells are everywhere ... fabulous aren't they!!

A little green dell in the woods ...

And through to the main path again ...

A quick rest and a look at the map ... we're at B so close to the end of the walk, the promise of tea and cake powers us on!

  a beetle ...

A few more snaps of the bluebells ... 

Oh there's me amongst the bluebells ...

Wow ... look at these a carpet of bluebells ... magical!

All around us ... !!

A dandelion ... I haven't picked so I won't be wetting the bed as we used to say at school ... but they are pretty aren't they ... !

One last picture of bluebells ... so pretty and delicate ... what a fabulous colour!!

Then back to the Village Hall for tea and cake ... look Mr Moo chose the one with fresh cream!

The cakes were homemade and delicious! What will you have?

On the way back to the car shall we pop to the Church and look at the Art Exhibition?

They were all fabulous pieces ... and such a pretty church too ...look who are in residence ...

They were flying in and out of the church porch ... a fantastic sight!

The churchyard is full of old gravestones, a bit morbid I know but I do love them, the detail of the stonework  is amazing!

We look back at the church before heading back to the car.

We wonder about this ... it looks like a mangle ... but is there a well there? Oh the Mystery!!

And so we have come to the end of the walk, I hope you enjoyed it, we enjoyed you being on the walk with us.

bye, bye,

xxx