Bright Days....... and a little PIF

Hello Lovelies,

The last couple of days have been bright and sunny.....what a treat after a week of cold, dark days.
Walking about the town yesterday was such  a pleasure...........

 the blue skys are just wonderful.........

And the fountain looked amazing , creating bright sparkly reflected sunlight which danced on the surface of the water.........

Back home the sunlight filled south facing rooms with warmth and cheer. Waiting for my latest bunch of Daffs to open......

And enjoying a pretty Primula bought from the little  florists shop..........

I also photographed  the latest Yorkshire tea packaging to share here. Love the detailed pictures of the Dales landscape.........

There's a short video about the Artist and the project HERE.

This morning was cold and overnight there had been a frost.........

But I couldn't resist a short walk after the school run ..........

I'm waiting for outdoor Daffodils too ( getting closer now :0...........

Back home I did a couple of hours of house work then FINALLY got round to taking photos for my ( very belated ) Pay it forward  ( PIF ).
At the end of 2011 I received a delightful package from Anne , she of the wonderful blog ANDAMENTO. You can see what she sent me HERE.

When you take part in a PIF you agree to then send three packages of your own(it's supposed to be within 12 months ...ooops )

Anyway, here is what I have gathered together to offer you lovelies.
Each winner will receive one of these cute wildlife pin badges I bought to support the RSPB.......

One of these Yankee Candle melts........

One of these pretty tins..........

A ball of Luxury yarn from my stash.........

Some pretty paper cup cake cases.........

And  last, but not least, a cute Sunburst Owl :0)..........

I've deliberately kept the items as light as possible, so I'm happy to post these anywhere in the world.

This is an example of what one parcel will contain..........

Only enter this PIF if you are happy to make up three packages of your own should you win. I think it's a great way to spread a bit of bloggy love and cheer someones day.

To be included just leave me a message in the comments  and I'll pop your name in the draw, to take place in two weeks time (Thursday 14th of March ).  Good Luck .
 Oh and don't worry if you want to comment but not enter.....I'll only include those who ask to be entered.
Jacquie x

P.S. thank you so much for all your wonderful encouragement on my drawing. I realise it has got a long way to go , but having you lovelies to share it with is wonderful.

Drawing.....More Spring things :0)

Hello Lovelies,

The cold weather and lucking germs may have put paid to lots of outdoor things I had in mind for last week, but staying warm and cosy at home is no real hardship is it.

In fact it gave me lots of blogging and drawing time. 

As you can see I've been drawing spring things again......what better to do on a cold dark February day than transport your imagination to Spring and sunshine.

 Days when the trees are a mass of fluffy pink blossom and new born lambs are in the fields.......

My little version of Tom Tit may not be as true to life as Molly's but I think he's pretty cute and somehow, accidentally he's ended up as a sort of Mascot :0)


There's a light breeze, perfect for drying washing on the line or ploughing a straight furrows..........

Hens are searching for a tasty worm or two........

and Daffodils , Primroses and purple Crocuses are at their beautiful best..........

I had so much fun  with this picture....can you tell ? :0)

Every work day I drive past a farm gate where they sell eggs from a little table. There is an honesty box for you to pay and you can see the hens close by enjoying the fresh air. I sometimes stop and buy some. They are tasty and very local !

who knew egg boxes are so tricky to draw :0)

I didn't take a photo of the scene before I drew this  picture. It's similar to this but I didn't try and make it accurate...rather just an inspiration .
Mum gave me some tips, like giving things a shadow......" anchors them to the ground, otherwise they can look like they are floating in mid air " thanks Mum.
There are bits of it I'm happier with than others , but all in all I still love it and loved drawing it.That's  what a hobby is all about, right ?
Jacquie x

♥ 52 Weeks of Happy ♥ 8/52

Hello Lovelies,

The half term holidays have flown by and sadly it's back to work/ school tomorrow for me and my boys.

We have had a pretty quiet time and there has been a nasty virus lurking , sending two of my boys temperatures soaring and spoiling our fun a little.

But despite that there have been plenty of happy little things to brighten our days......

1. Fresh Air, beautiful Sunshine last Sunday followed by a gorgeous sunset......here are the best pictures , couldn't choose just one............

 

2. I treated myself to some new pencils of my own. It didn't seem fair to keep using eldests. These have wonderful names like Ultramarine and Burnt Umber..........

3. It's been icy cold and grey for most of the week and I'd put off running.....but yesterday I finally talked myself into it and it wasn't so bad :0)...........I was certainly happy that I still have my health and am able to run....

 4. Lucy's carrot cake.......yummmmmmy and even better after being kept for a couple of days........

Hope your week has had many small joys.
Jacquie x

Inspiring Illustration....Molly Brett

Hello Lovelies,

My recent attempts at drawing have led me to search out a couple of books I've kept safely since childhood.

They are both by Molly Brett and I was given then as Christmas gifts back in the seventies.....

 My most favourite of the two is this one. It was first published in 1962 and I just love the illustrations on the cover and the beautifully calligraphy of the title..........

As well as being a joy to look at this book has a very sweet story about a group of animals who loose their woodland home when some new houses are built. They decide to look for new places to live and begin a treacherous journey  together........

 I love the Frog and Toad helping each other and the bouncing Hedgehog, not to mention the cute Bunnies.

I think this double page illustration in the centre of the book is wonderful

 You can click on the pictures to make them bigger

Viewed close up the drawings are adorable.......




And my most  favourite pictures come at the end, when all the animals find new homes........

First the Rabbits and the Frog

Then the little Mouse.....too adorable.......

the sign says Mouse Manor

Then the  Toad

The wildflowers are just perfect don't you think.

The the red Squirrel

And finally, after helping all his friends , Tom Tit...........

It really is a special book that I will continue to treasure.

 The other Molly Brett book I have kept is this one........



As you can see from the cover this is a colouring book . There are a few ready coloured pictures but they are a bit dark and muddy.
My favourite image is the cover picture, with teddy soaring above pretty cottages and patchwork fields, a glimpse of the sea in the distance.

Here is another lovely page.......I expect my Mum coloured this one......it's much better than the childs colouring on other pages.............

I think it's all the pretty spring flowers and cute birds that I love in this image.
I've been drawing a lot lately, spring things again, I'm a little bit obsessed :0)

Hope you enjoy your weekend.
Jacquie x

Simple Sunburst Crochet Heart Tutorial

Hello Lovelies, 

we are enjoying a quiet half term week here , I've been busy spring cleaning and reorganizing. 

But I've also taken the opportunity to write out another tutorial for you .

My original  Sunburst Granny Heart , which I posted last spring has turned out to be one of my most popular patterns.

That's quite a complicated design though, with many different stitches .

In this version my aim was to simplify things and also to create a solid version, suitable for stuffing......... 

What do you think ? I'm so happy with this new  version , especially the red and turquoise one....love that colour combination.

Here goes with the tutorial...lots of pictures and tips as usual ......enjoy :0)

I'm again using U.S. terms and you start by making a modified sunburst granny circle. It is the same as the first three rounds of my Easy Crochet Owl .
That tutorial has details of abbreviations and a stitch conversion chart at the beginning. So pop over there now and follow the pattern till you have at least one of these...........

Hello again, here goes with round 4....starting to develop the heart shape.
Choose your colour and attach with a slip stitch into any stitch between clusters ( see explanation of working into a stitch in round 4 of my owl tutorial if you are unsure ) ....chain 1........

In the next stitch make 1 hdc.........

1 dc in each of the next 2 stitches........

In the next stitch make 2 dc..........

followed by 1 dc in the next stitch and 2 dc in the following stitch.........

Then 1 dc in the next stitch and 2 dc in the next stitch, 1 dc in the next stitch and 1 hdc in the following stitch.

That's the first "bump" made, then make 1 sc in each of the next 7 stitches, followed by 1 hdc, 1 dc, 1 dc in consecutive stitches....

in the "point " at the bottom of your heart make 2 dc..........

Now you are working back up the second side of your heart, so it's just the reverse of the first side.
So after the point it's 1 dc, 1 dc, 1 hdc, in consecutive stitches. Followed by 1 sc in each of the following 7 stitches.........

Then it's time to make the second "bump".
Make  the following in each of  the remaining stitches around.........1 hdc, 1 dc, 2 dc, 1 dc, 2 dc, 1 dc, 2 dc, 1 dc, 1 dc, 1 hdc..........

In the same stitch as you began with make 1 sc and fasten off as shown ( note ...do not join to beginning stitch )

Round 5
Attach a new colour into the first stitch of round 4. Chain 1 .

make 1 hdc in the next stitch.......

then 1 dc in the next stitch and 2 dc in the following stitch..........

carry on with that sequence ( 1 dc, 2 dc ) 3 times more. So you end up with 4 repeats.....

then make 1 dc in the next stitch and 1 hdc in each of the next two stitches.........

Then make 1 sc in each of the next 9 stitches followed by 1 hdc in each of the next two stitches...........

in the point make 1 dc, chain 1 , 1 dc..........

then work back up towards the top as follows..........
1 hdc, 1 hdc, 1 sc in each of the next 9 stitches...........

then make the second bump, beginning with 1 hdc, 1 hdc,

then four repeats of 1 dc, 2 dc..........

I've highlighted them here............

Finnish off with 1 dc, 1 hdc and 1 sc .

Fasten off and if you want to make a padded heart repeat a second time leaving a long end on 1 heart . Weave in ends............

use the long end to whip stitch the two hearts together , right side out............

Stop when a smallish opening remains and stuff lightly........

Close up the hole .............

I still had a long tail of yarn ...........

so I inserted my hook and picked up the yarn and chained about 25 ................

then inserted my hook through the top of the heart again, pulled up a loop and fastened off............

then , simply weave in the tail of yarn............

Here I've put the two types of  Sunburst Heart next to each other. As you can see this new version is smaller but it's still  quite big.........About 4 inches high when made with double knitting  yarn and a 4 mm hook.....

My favourite one has found a home on my welsh dresser.............

Where I think it looks perfect :0)

I hope you have fun with this pattern and ,as always, I would love to hear/see how you got on.
Please let me know if anything is unclear.
Jacquie x