Chunky Crochet

Hello Lovelies,

A couple of weeks ago I showed you some yarn I bought at my local yarn shop for a quick and easy project. I loved the teal colour and the 30 percent wool content. It was reasonably priced at £2.95 a 100g ball............

It's chunky yarn and you can see on the band it recommends 6mm needles, no mention of hook size but that's generally the same anyway...........

So I dug out my 6mm hook and started chaining........

I was using chunky yarn for two reasons. Firstly for warmth , I was pretty sure we were going to get some proper winter weather soon .
The other benefit of using chunky yarn was the speed at which it grows.......this was about half an hour after I started...........

I was just doing U.K. double ( U.S. single ) crochet stitches back and forth but the thickness of the yarn meant the big stitches really showed up the wonderful texture they  created..........

It was great fun whizzing backwards and forwards , with no colour changes to worry about.......the next day I had two ( rather curly ) squares of crochet...........

You could  leave them plain, but for me some embellishment was needed. So I played around creating a sort of flat flower. One of my kind  commenters called it a "Granny Flower" I liked that name.....here's my Granny Flower :0)...........

then it was simply a case of making two and sewing one onto each of my rectangles, before sewing them into a tube.

Here they are .....ta-dah..........

A cosy pair of wrist warmers :0)

 I left a thumb hole, but wrist warmers with no thumb hole seem to be popular at the moment too .

This is where I'm supposed to say how pleased I am with them, but actually they are too big....oh bother........or other words to that effect.

and they don't go with this coat!

So off I went, back  to my  LYS to purchase another ball of yarn as I didn't think I had enough left to make a second pair.

That second pair is finished now and I'm pleased to say they fit. I made them in a different colour with a different embellishment...... just in time for the bad weather. I'm really happy with how they turned out this time....phew.

I'm planning to share the pattern details for both the wrist warmers and the two types of embellishments  ......hopefully  sometime next week.
It's been too long since I shared a pattern with you lovelies and this is a super quick and easy ( suitable for beginners ) project which I hope will enjoy.
Jacquie x

A Quiet Winter Day

Hello lovelies,

today has been  grey and showery, but still rather lovely. This winter the dull weather doesn't seem to be getting to me like I has in recent years. 

I do love a sunny day but there is a quiet calmness to this sort of weather that I like too.

This morning, on my walk to the hairdressers I passed the florist and admired the wonderful display of bulbs......

 I LOVED those yellow clogs...........sigh.

Outside the church the first snowdrops are beginning to flower..........

 I wasn't in a rush and enjoyed being able to look for pretty things that caught my eye. Now I'm looking at this photo I'm fascinated to see the way snowdrops grow pointing upwards.......I've never noticed that before.

There aren't many flowers about at the moment, nor many leaves, so the bare branches are fully in view..........

As I passed the disused red telephone box I noticed it had been utilised as a place to offer free apples to the locals..........

There were even paper bags to put your selection in. The apples were looking a bit tired, but still O.K. so I picked out a couple and popped them in a bag..........

 A bit of googling told me that there are abundance projects all over the country.....where groups pick unwanted fruit and offer it  free to local groups and people.
 Like THIS project in Manchester. What a great idea. And in our case a great use of a unused but still loved RED TELEPHONE BOX

Later today mum and I did out usual trip to a local market town and I squeezed in a little charity shopping. I was delighted to find this brand new apple bird feeder........perfect for one of the free apples :0)

Sadly I have now finished reading Susan's excellent BOOK. Her delight in the English countryside was contagious and she visited so many wonderfully interesting and historic places.

I searched the charity bookshop for something else to read and uncovered a real gem...........

It's not written by Laura Ashley but I knew it would be my cup of tea when I saw the gorgeous seasonal wreath mosaic inside the front cover...........

And it seems like it will be another lovely gentle read too..........

It was published back in 1992 , but twenty two years later, I think traditional rooms like this still look wonderful ........

Maybe this looks a little more dated, but I still love the gingham and the baking scene..........

Back in the Nineties I did a lot of stencilling in my first home, I got really good at it. It was a lot of fun and  thought it looked wonderful at the time. 

I think this simple leaf design still looks perfect in it's period setting ........

And of course I love to see timeless blue and white china and indoor bulbs...........

This is such a restful image, don't you think..........

There are examples of country decorating from different countries. I loved this gorgeous illustration by Carl Larsson...........

HERE you can see this beautiful drawing looking much more colourful

And I loved this Provence scene with it's sunny feel and fresh herbs on the table........

I do hope I'm not boring you with all these photos from the book. There are just so many precious images I wanted to share...just a few more, O.K.

 This bedroom looks so fresh and welcoming..........

And wouldn't it be wonderful to have breakfast here on a sunny morning, with the door wide open.........

The only thing missing from this lovely book is a bit of traditional crochet.

 At least it's got lots of old linens and quilts used as tablecloths.........this is another room I would feel right at home in.

Today has been relaxed and it's always lovely to have the time to write a blog post and share these snippets of my very ordinary life with you lovelies. Thank you for being such kind people who, hopefully,  like these things too.

Jacquie x

Rainy Days

Hello Lovelies,
On Saturday afternoon we had an exciting thunderstorm and on Sunday morning,  a real downpour.
"Lovely weather for Ducks" is what my dear, late Dad always used to say on this sort of day. When it rains  I often think of it and remember him fondly. With no place we had to be, I was happy to stay indoors.


It seemed like a great excuse to do a little daytime reading. I'm SO enjoying Susan's book. I read about the wonderful places she visited in Kent....this is Sissinghurst, I'd love to visit here too.........

After a while I got a bit chilly and decided to turn on the oven and do some baking. Some SIMPLE FLAPJACKS using yummy golden syrup....I get to lick the spoon:0)

While they were in the oven there was time to look around the kitchen.
The first flower has opened up on my Amaryllis and it's not the bright red " Red Lion" that was pictured on the box! I think someone mixed up the bulbs. Oh well, it's still gorgeous......

I also noticed my favourite tea towels hanging on the oven door. One is a souvenir from our Cornish holiday last year....... Happy, sunny memories.....

When I chose my oven the most important thing on my mind was a long horizontal handle that you could hang tea towels and oven gloves over :0)

The flapjack turned out pretty good........

And after dinner the sky lightened so we decided to pop out for a bit of fresh air.......

It's not always easy convincing my three that walking is fun........but the promise of puddles did the trick.....

I loved the light and the reflections on the river.......

And the colours of the narrow boats........

here part of the river is diverted into a canoe slalom course, the water was really thundering under the bridge and flooding the course........

 scary

the hardy canoeists were sensibly keeping to calmer waters........

Thankfully there wasn't any flooding by the long boating lake, but there were lots of puddles and it was a joy to watch my boys running and splashing through them...........

Then they found the biggest puddle ever, a flooded field..........

They were so happy ...........

Simple joys.

It was lovely weather for ducks.......and boys :0)

Jacquie x

Images from my Week

Hello Lovelies, 

once again I seen to have a lot of photos from this past week that I've been  meaning to share with you. So here is a little round up of things I captured on my camera over the last seven days.

Last Sunday afternoon I was walking with my eldest. We braved the footpaths but forgot to wear wellies. I was a bit sad because I know how much my boy loves wading through puddles and we soon had to turn back because of all the mud..........

When we got home I sat quietly in the garden for a few moments , listening to the birdsong and watching Tom Tit pecking at the peanuts in my feeder............

On Monday we woke to frost and this was the view on my Journey to work......

It made me smile because it was so lovely and also because to was so blue ........on Blue Monday.

Another frosty morning on Tuesday but this time the early morning view from my car was pink......

With all the cold weather I've been making warming stews, chopping carrots two at a time , as I always do, and admiring their gorgeous colour.........

Again there has been plenty of sunshine, mixed in with heavy showers. On my way to the shops a bright spell tempted me to stop the car by a familiar gateway..........

A dash up this footpath a little way..........

To capture the wintry view towards the Church..........

In town I was looking up and noticing the view across the rooftops..........

Then popping into the charity shop and finding a sweet plate for my Spring display........

Regular readers may know of my love of  "The country Diary of an Edwardian Lady" books which this plate is based on.

I brought my bargain find home, carefully wrapped in newspaper and stored it in my basket of thrifted "spring things" on top of my dresser. In another month or so I'll get them all out and enjoy arranging them on the shelves of my Welsh Dresser.........

Yes, those granny squares are still patiently waiting to be sewn together.

On Thursday I headed out in my wellies, to go for a walk up the same path Eldest and I attempted on Sunday........

Ha, puddles don't scare me now :0)

But I didn't foresee the impending rain storm...........

It suddenly got very windy and sleety rain was blowing in my face as I walked across this field.........

at least my feet were dry!......



I squelched through the mud.......

And along the wooded path that is so pretty in spring........

I suppose if the world was leafy and sunny all the time we would not appreciate those days so much .

More comfort food seemed in order on Friday. A pan full of vegetables and some left-over potatoes......

mixed with eggs and cheese, made a hearty omelette........yuuuummmmmmm......

On the creative front, there has been a little crochet occurring......more on this soon.......

And I've been noticing a heart I made ( last year....I think )

It inspired me to do the first drawing in my new sketchbook.......

Want to see ?

here we are.......

f

This was such a fun little drawing to do after work on Friday evening, and the perfect way to unwind.






Hope you have a good week lovelies, thank you from both Mum and I  for all your lovely comments on my previous post.
Jacquie x