A March Mosaic

Hello Lovelies, 

just a quick post today to share a March mosaic and a few other spring images from the past week that didn't make it into a blog post.

This is my fourth year of blogging, but it's the first year I've made a mosaic for each month.

And what a month March turned out to be...........It's great fun choosing images that sun up the highlights for me. This is what this past month looks like............. 

Also this week I've started buying seeds for a cut flower patch I want to grow this year. THIS post inspired me to buy these gorgeous Cornflowers...........

And I have some more ideas from THIS post....... Cosmos, Scabiosa and Nigella.

Do any of you Lovelies have any suggestions for easy to grow flowers that last well when picked...I'd love to hear your recommendations.

Outdoors the weather is definitely warming up and the hedgerows are looking greener by the day..........

Pretty blossom is everywhere...........

And we continue to have very hazy days, where the horizon is lost in mist and the sun struggles to shine brightly.............

I do love the layers this creates in the distant view.........

But I'm even happier to see our neighbours Magnolia beginning to bloom

Each year the sight of these beautiful flowers makes me very happy...........

Thank you for all your comments this month Lovelies.....they really are appreciated so much.
I'll be back tomorrow with the promised biscuit recipe.

Jacquie x

Springtime Smiles

Hello Lovelies,

thank you so much for all your super comments on my crochet saddle cover....I'm so pleased you liked it :0)

Yesterday the weather was lovely...........time to open the windows and let some fresh spring air waft through the house. 

I picked some flowers from the garden and popped them into my latest charity shop finds..........

 The French Marigolds have bloomed all winter....how mild this winter was.

In the afternoon the  sunshine was calling to me and it seemed like the perfect weather to go for a little cycle ride. The rest of the family were busy so I headed out alone, along roads and then onto this rough track.......

The sky was the palest of blues and the  fields faded into the distance............

The gentle spring sunlight illuminated this lovely pony's mane and tail.......

Lots of horses and kept in the fields along this bridleway, and there was plenty of activity on such a gorgeous afternoon...........

Further along the fields are used for crops and the Rapeseed is just beginning to flower, it does seem early this year...........

 I stopped to admire the view and listened to the song of this cute Robin.......

It really was perfect cycling weather and I love to cycle through the countryside, with no other traffic to worry about...........



Ahead of me was a hill.........O.K. what counts as a hill in these parts......... I've lived here for so many years I sort of forget what proper hills look like sometimes ( but I still miss them )

This hill was steep enough and long enough to make my legs ache and my heart pound, and that made me happy, I do like to feel like I've had a bit of exercise when I go out on my bike.

I was relieved when I reached this strange "horse stile"  at the top........

Then it was out onto local roads again, I smiled as I passed sunlit Daffodils........

And loved the sight of them looking so natural in this little coppice...........

All the fresh air had made me hungry and I turned on the oven to do a little baking. I tried a new recipe for some very simple biscuits that everybody loved........

I'll share the recipe next time lovelies.

And today I got to see what the rest of the family were so busy with yesterday afternoon.
 My old bird table had seen better days, and last week it looked like this............

After many hours of work revamping it yesterday I now looks like this.........

How I LOVE this mothers day gift. A gift that is hand made with love and so thoughtful. It really made my heart sing.

This land of gentle rolling hills and hedgerows may not have the dramatic views that I grew up with, but if I hadn't come here in my early twenties, who knows if I would have ended up with a family. Especially one that is happy to put up with my dizziness and disorganisation. I'm feeling very sentimental and truly blessed this mothers day.
Jacquie x

Mystery Crochet Ta-Dah

Hello Lovelies,

yippee, I've got come colourful crochet to share with you today..... and if you can resist the temptation to scroll down and find out what I've been making we can play a little guessing game :0)

This project has been such a joy to do...it's always nice to gaze into a bag of colourful yarn and plan a new project. The thing I had planned needed to be hard wearing, so Stylecraft Acrylic yarn it was..........

I needed a patten with as little stretch as possible...I know crochet will always stretch a bit, but some designs are more elastic than others.

 Luckily I found an excellent tutorial for these cute mini hexagons HERE :0)

They are quite solid and would be easy to arrange into the shape I needed...........

 I used a 3.5mm hook to make them as solid as possible

They literally flew off my hook and I took a photo of the lovely "yarn worms" I had left over....just because....

Next it was time to sew them securely together. I chose Aster Blue as it matched my colour scheme.....

This is the shape I was making.......... not quite a heart and not quite a triangle...........

any ideas yet ?

Next it was time to add a border. I evened up the edges of my mini hexagons with some stitches of various heights...........

 My shape still had a rather wavy edge, but I wasn't worried.

Then I had fun adding a simple border of colourful half double (us) half treble (uk) stitches.........

 I do love this neat stitch and it always looks great in rows

To finish off I added a row of double crochet (us) trebles (uk)

 This colourful, lumpy bumpy thing really made me laugh

Finally all I had to do was  add was a drawstring........

 it was easy to weave it through the more open stitches of the final row.

Have you guessed what this is yet lovelies ?

This should give it away...........

It's a saddle cover for my bicycle :0)...........

Here's the back view.........

 Loving those stripes.

Eeeek, I am rather thrilled with how this speedy little project has turned out. I've pulled it tight as I didn't want it to slide around and my hexagons still look in good shape............

My beloved old bike, that I've owed since it was brand new in 1989 is just about perfect in my eyes.
 She only has three gears, but for my gentle fair weather cycling, she is perfect.
I love her metallic blue paint and two years ago I replaced her black wire mesh basket with a wicker basket ( a birthday prezzie from Mum )

She still has her original white wall tires.........

Her saddle is white too, but I've added a gel seat pad for extra comfort. It really worked a treat but I never liked it blackness.

And now I've finally done something about it. I think the old girl looks great..............

Adding some crochet to your bike is quite a thing at the moment and  THIS pin board is very inspiring.

I'm a bit wary of ending up with some very soggy yarn when I get caught in the rain, so a saddle cover seemed like a safer bet. But some basket decoration also appeals....watch this space .
Jacquie x

p.s. to make the shape I needed I simply made a paper pattern by placing a sheet of paper on my saddle and drawing round it..........you can just see a glimpse of it in the fifth photo.

Homes on Wheels

Hello Lovelies,
when I photographed this charming but sadly neglected wagon we came across on our weekend walk I had no idea what it actually was.
 I called it a "carriage" in my previous post because I thought at first it was a train or tram carriage.........

Among the kind comments I received, one cleared up what it actually is......... 

Alison26 March 2014 13:25

I absolutely love your photo's The one with the wagon is great . This once was a very smart Showman's Living Wagon . My brother in-law has one and it is beautiful. If I could do links I would show you. Thank you for a wonderful blog .

Well thank you Alison for clearing up this little mystery and introducing me to these wonderful homes on wheels.

"Showman's living wagons" are home to the families travelling around Britain,
 running Fun Fairs in towns and villages. 

Of course it's always the vintage versions that are the prettiest. And it's easy to see why these wonderful examples from 30's and 40's are now being converted into new uses.

A quick internet search turned up loads of lovingly restored wagons looking as beautiful as they did back in the old days. Painted in traditional red and cream they really do make wonderfully characterful and charming holiday homes ......

source

Or garden buildings...........

source

Look at this sweet wagon sitting in a field. I think it looks a lot like the one we spotted on our walk would have looked in the past..........

This one  lives in Cornwall and is called "Duke"

And we get a peek inside, that's always the most interesting part don't you think :0)

Look at his sweet little kitchen.........

And cosy living area with so many period features. I love the wall papered ceiling and glass display cabinet with crochet edgings on the shelves.........

And a glimpse into his snug bedroom...........


And he is also a holiday rental.  HERE's the link.

 I bit more searching turned up THIS lovely blog post about a short holiday taken in Duke....Do take a look lovelies, he looks even more charming in Caroline's post.

And HERE's another holiday home, this time in Suffolk..........



Ooooh, a lovely light and fresh feel here.........



and another snug sleeping area...........

I already had a soft spot for all things caravan and camper-van, and now I am happy to add showman's living wagons to my wheeled home daydreams. I hope you enjoyed these links and images too.

Jacquie x

P.S. I'm not being sponsored for any of the links in this post....and I'm not making personal recommendations,  I'm simply linking back to the  image sources I've used of these lovely old vehicles.