Poppies :0)

Hello Lovelies,
These gorgeous Oriental Poppies have lived at this address longer that us. Every year I'm so happy to see the leaves and then buds appear. These are not delicate little things , they are about the size of a walnut.....

I look for signs of them opening.......

Then they begin to split.............

Soon the casings fall away to reveal a wonderful sight......

Huge ( about 6 inches across ), bright orangey red flowers with stunning black centres .........

I just love them........

It's still warm and sunny here ....hurray !!
Jacquie x

Pretty Perfect

Hello Lovelies,
The last week has been pretty perfect here , weather wise .I think the whole of the U.K has been  enjoying the beautifully warm sunshine.
Over the last week or so the countryside has become very lush . Everywhere looks so pretty. On Sunday I decided to make a change to my morning running route and head off down some footpaths with my camera.....

Clouds of Cow parsley and Hawthorn in blossom a wonderful May scene.

I was so happy to spot this little flower again ....I first noticed this last year , it's called goats beard and only flowers in the morning...closing up tightly before noon.

A meadow with lots of buttercups

I couldn't resist photographing the delicate cow parley from below

My run turned into more of  a nature appreciation walk but on such a beautiful day it was gorgeous to spend some time slowing down and drinking it all in.

I had gone straight out to avoid getting too hot as the day warmed up so after an hour I was glad to get home for breakfast......english strawberries on my usual cerial and I lovely magazine lent to me by mum.
Has anybody seen this in the shops , I hadn't noticed it ......this is the first edition and it's lovely.......

As well as a pretty magazine to look at , I was also enjoying a pretty pond :0)

Ooooh , I can't believe  how great this newly made project is looking. It's only one week old! This is how it looked last Sunday.......

My eldest had been wanting to make a pond for quite a while and we kept putting him off....it's too cold/wet/expensive......but I did always fancy a pond so last week we got on with it at last. The boys and Mr BM did the digging and then it was just a case of getting some pond liner and filling it up. It's now surrounded with stones and logs from the garden .It also has some  plants from Mums pond and a little solar fountain bought from Amazon.......I LOVE it , thank you son, for pestering us :0)

Indoors , I take a few pictures of that magazine.......I think it's been written with me in mind. Gorgeous scenery .......

Pretty , crafty interiors .......

Even crochet !!.........

I need to give these a go. 

There's also lots of recipes, wildlife and gardens......I would definitely recommend it.

Sunday was one of those days when you seem to get lots of time.......it was still morning when the boys suggested a bike ride, O.K. that would be nice , anyway I need to pop out for some bread . So we potter about on the quiet roads, the boys and a friend play ball in the park . I come home with pretty Verbena plants in my cycle basket, having forgotten all about the bread !........

Luckily  it's one of those relaxed kind of days and my mood is too happy to be upset about my forgetfulness......

In the afternoon Sparkle stretches out in the heat.......

The boys have a fun half an hour getting soaked with this water powered rocket they found in the shed.......

and I sit it the shade with a treat and my new favourite magazine .........

It's amazing how much wildlife has already appeared in and around the pond. I'm not sure what this one  is exactly (Edited to add... O.K. just been checking and I think it's a common darter Dragonfly )but we have pond skaters and I've also seen frogs at night.......

After a simple barbeque tea  I plant my pretty annuals. I don't go for lots of annual planting , preferring things that come back each year, but I do like a few for a splash of colour .........

This final picture is taken in my bathroom at 9 pm . This north facing room only gets direct sun in the early morning and late evening when the days are long ....it always makes me happy to see it.....

All in all it was a pretty perfect day :0)
Thanks for all your wonderful comments on my last post
Jacquie x

Thrifty Treasure

Hello Lovelies,
 This evening I'm hoping  you might like to see my latest thrifty finds.
I've been so unlucky in the charity shops lately but last week I struck gold:0)

Yes , three beautifully hand embroidered cross stitch pictures for £1.49 !! How lucky is that. I'm sure the kits to make these beauties must have been quite expensive...not to mention the hours and hours of work that has gone into them. I love this cute little hedgehog.........

And this dresser top with it's pretty crockery and hanging hearts, how perfect.....

The third one is much bigger, about 12 inches by 10 inches . There must be hundreds of hours of painstaking work in this picture with it's  patterned plates and pretty tulips, just stunning......

I'm not sure what I will do with this large picture, but I think it deserves to be seen and admired.
I would love to include the smaller pictures in some patchwork ...but it may be a while before I get a chance to do that.
It's a little odd wonder about the reason they were donated .
At least , though the person who laboured over these beauties will probably never know it, they are being seen and I'm sure admired ,by lots of people here now.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Jacquie x

Evening Light

Hello Lovelies ,
I'm having such a busy  week and I need to go to bed , just thought I'd quickly share three photos taken whilst on a little walk with my eldest on Monday evening..........

I love long sunny days and warm still evenings with their beautiful soft light :0)

Jacquie x

My Favourite Tree

Hello Lovelies, thank you for your comments on my latest tutorial.
Today I just thought I would share a few pictures of my favourite tree in it's spring colours.
It's a lovely old oak tree , growing up through the hedgerow.
I love it's shape ......

Here is the same tree from the other direction....

I think it's the way the branches twist and turn that particularly appeals to me , though it's not that clear in the photos.....

I tried to take a close up of the newly emerging leaves but this is as close as I could get, it's a wonderful, impressive, solid tree .I hope to enjoy it , changing with the seasons ,for many years to come

Hope you are having an enjoyable Sunday
Jacquie x

Daisy Granny Square pattern

Hello Lovelies,
 thank you all so much for your wonderful "Yorkshire" comments. I'm so glad you enjoyed sharing my pictures :0)
Here is a photo tutorial of my latest square .Quite a few you you lovelies seemed to like it . I expect there are similar patterns already in existence , but this is my own creation and thought  you might like to try it .....

It's a simple pattern . The only part you may find tricky is the puff stitch . Don't worry if you are not familiar with how to do these as I've taken lots of pictures to help you master it. There may be other ways to do this stitch but I'll show you my way ...hope that's ok :0)


The pattern is written in U.S. terms. I have used stylecraft special double knitting yarn and a 4mm hook but you could use any yarn of your choice with the recommended hook size. Gauge is not important.
Stitches used and abbreviations
ch = chain
s.c. = single crochet
d.c. = double crochet


using yellow yarn.......... begin by chaining 4 and slip stitch in first ch to join to form a ring...........

ch 1 ........

and work  7 sc into ring, the space you want is the bottom space in the picture above  ............

I crochet over the loose end as I make my sc stitches , that way you can pull the centre tighter with it if you want

slip stitch into first sc to join and fasten off.........

NOTE the next part will seem rather tricky if you are not used to making puff stitches. You have quite a few loose loops on your hook and you will end up dropping some occasionally .....I still do....when this happens I just start that stitch again.Try to keep an upwards tension with your hook between loops to help them stay in place and not get too small. It just takes a bit of practice so don't give up :0)

using white yarn ........ join into any sc and make a puff stitch like this..........

I always join a new colour by attaching the yarn to my hook . In this case I insert my hook from back to front..

yarn over hook 

pull through sc and yarn on hook and draw up a loop of about 1.5 cm length........

yarn over and insert hook through the same sc, this time I insert my hook from the front to the back...

yarn over and pull  back through sc ....

3 loops on hook

repeat previous step...yarn over , insert hook in same sc,yarn over and pull back through sc...

5 loops on hook

 last time now .... yarn over insert hook from front to back of same sc, yarn over and pull through...

7 loops on hook

NOTE if you would like a puffier puff you can add another 2 loops at this stage  i.e. a 4th yarn over, insert hook,yarn over , pull through ( 9 loops on hook ! )  Try both and see which you prefer :0)

to finish of the puff simply yarn over and draw through all 7  (9) loops.........

And for this pattern chain 3 .......

Repeat the puff stitches around...1 in each sc.........

once you have made eight puff stitches chain 3 and slip stitch into top of first puff to join, fasten off........

Whew, that's the tricky bit over !

Join the next colour of your choice into any 3 chain space and chain 3 ( counts as first dc ).........

work 2 dc,chain 2 , 3 dc into same three chain space.......

forms the first corner

I do not put chains between my granny square clusters so into the next 3 chain space work 3 dc....

then it's the second corner, made like this .......3 dc , 2 chain , 3 dc........

repeat around and slip stitch into beginning chain 3 .........

You could fasten off at this stage and join a new colour but I carried on with a further round in the same colour. Make it in the same way as first granny round , just with extra side clusters ........

At the moment I'm making lots of centers so I can get all the trickiness out of the way :0)......

My squares are going to make a baby blanket to go in my shop. These seem to be my favourite projects of 2012 . You could easily use them for any project that calls for granny squares...and as we know there are so many possibilities........Enjoy :0)

Please let me know if anything is unclear and I'll try to help .
Jacquie x