♥ 52 Weeks of Happy ♥ 6/52

Hello Lovelies, 

I think my top happy thing this week has to be all your wonderfully encouraging comments about my drawing....you lot are so kind .Thank you. And thank you from Mum.

Here are four more simple joys from my week.

1. Eldests yummy Bakewell Tart.

 Made at school in "food tech" (it was  home economics in my day) . The pasty is crumbly and the fillings soft and almondy. A triumph ....there's not much left now....

2. So happy to see  Snow Drops this week. I just love this delicate , perfect white flower that you have to get up close to ,  to really appreciate.........

3. Youngest getting inspired to do his own version of that snow scene......I think it's just brilliant ..........

4. Noticing a beautiful sunrise during the rush to get to work yesterday.......the days are getting noticeably longer now.........yipee.

Hope your week has provided some reasons to smile...big or small.
Have a great weekend.
Jacquie x

Drawing on inspiration

Hello Lovelies, 

some of you may already know that my Mum is a talented artist, as I sometimes share her work here. For as long as I can remember she has sketched and painted at every available opportunity. It's been a life long passion and I can't imagine the day she looses interest ever arriving.

My own home is full of her beautiful pictures. Mostly watercolours , but also vibrant Acrylics and a clever collage. She paints for pleasure and last week brought a picture to show me , based on a photo in THIS blog post........

Awwwwww, my old red tractor. I loved her version of this photo I took........

Now I'm NO artist myself , art was never a strong subject of mine when I was at school and I've only very rarely tried to draw anything since then  , but I suddenly felt inspired to try capturing this image myself. 

I'm sure the beautiful artwork in my magazine was also an inspiration. I've also been enjoying THIS wonderful artists blog lately

I knew I wouldn't be able to do any thing accomplished , but never the less I fancied giving it a go. 

These are my eldest's watercolour pencils, bought by Mum, aren't they lovely.......

I sketched out the tractor , and then decided to add more details from my walk......so the picture was not an accurate image I saw on that magical snowy day, but more the best bits and the feeling all rolled into one. If you know what I mean.
I'm waffling a bit now aren't I. I hope you are not expecting anything astounding. I'm a bit nervous to share this ....but here goes.........


Ta-dah........

What can I say.........only it was such fun to do and for a non painter/ drawer I think it turned out pretty well...

I can see it has many faults but I love that it reminds me of that day and I was able to include things.....like the birds hopping about on the hay bales that I could not capture with my camera. I'm really pleased with how these two cuties turned out actually.....they are tiny on the picture so were tricky to do........

Drawing also gave me the opportunity to change the white sky for something prettier and make the lovely rolling hills we have around here appear more how they do to the naked eye (rather than all flattened out as the camera makes them)........

I've included the footprints in the snow that showed me which way the path went and all the colour in the bare hedge that doesn't really come across in a photograph either......

I think it's very much a starting point, and I was almost holding my breath every time I added a detail, not knowing how it would work out. But I know I loved doing it and that's the most important thing to me really.
Jacquie x

My Weekend

 Hello Lovelies, 

for Christmas I was lucky enough to get a years subscription to my MOST favourite magazine ( thanks Mum ).
This is the first issue I've received.....you have to be patient while waiting for this kind of gift to pop through the letter box, but boy it was worth the wait. This issue is filled with so many lovely and inspiring images and stories. I love this cover image ...........

And was very good, when I got a while to sit and enjoy it on Saturday. I did not flip through the whole magazine , but took my time , reading everything that interested me before moving on.

I always do this with my favourite blogs. Slowly savouring the words and waiting for the pictures to unfold.

Anyway, back to  my magazine. An article that I particularly loved was about a talented artist Emily Sutton.............

 this is  a closer look at one of her paintings.........

I adore all the detail, colour and timeless, illustrative style of her work. I could look at this picture for ages, with its Autumnal palette and pretty house. 

It's this picture that first caught my imagination though. We have allotments locally that look a lot like this. I'm fascinated by all their higgledy piggeldy sheds, neat rows of veg and imaginative bird scarers  so this subject really appealed to me.......

 

THIS is Emily's website if you want to see more of her work. I loved THIS image too.

As you might have noticed I'm very drawn by the garden at the moment. It was sunny on Saturday so I headed out there to prune my huge Buddlia . And also planted some garlic, simply using a few cloves I had and some recycled "pots".
 I haven't tried this before so who knows if it will be a success. HERE'S how to do it if you fancy giving it a try too.........



On Sunday I decided to go for an early morning run , hoping for a beautiful sunrise. But it wasn't to be. The early light WAS pretty...........

But the wind blew fiercely across the open fields and it certainly felt like spring was a long way off......

 

I stopped momentarily to capture the silhouettes of some bare trees, then headed home to warm up.....

In the afternoon we all headed to the park and fed the birds. Last years cygnets are getting really big.....

I'm trying to enjoy the seasons and not wish too much for spring. February is a short month and in the mean time I have a pocket of spring on my Kitchen windowsill to enjoy..........

At what other time of year can you enjoy a bunch of such wonderfully happy flowers for a few pennies........

Jacquie x

♥ 52 Weeks of Happy ♥ 5/52

Hello Lovelies, 

so much to be happy about this week...... here are four simple joys

1. Sunshine and blue skys on my day off. The landscape is very different from all the wonderful snow of last week, but still gorgeous..........

2. After the big melt it was great to explore the garden and find little shoots and buds appearing...........

3. This year I seem to be gripped with a keen desire to grow Veg......this is a surprise to me as in the past I've wondered what all the fuss was about. I preferred pretty flowers any day.
We do have a small veg patch.....due to pressure from the children......but this year I'm actually looking forward to ( hopefully ) growing some of our own food. I've borrowed books from the library and already purchased some seeds ( floral and vegetable ).
I've even been getting excited about composting......I know !

4.My latest quick and colourful crochet project.....can't wait to share more with you lovelies.

 Crochet is such a major simple joy  in my life. It's relaxation, creativity and endless possibilities continue to keep me enthralled .

Hope your week has been blessed with happy.
Jacquie x

Crochet Handwarmers

Hello Lovelies ,
thank you so much for the comments and questions about my hand warmers .

I did take a few pictures of the process , so here is a brief tutorial.....

Make four modified sunburst circles following the instructions for rounds 1 to 3 in this pattern, sew in the ends.....

To make sure the filling did not escape between the crochet stitches I then cut out four circles of fabric , slightly larger than the crochet.........

I used an old tea towel and as you can see I didn't worry too much about accuracy. I then sewed the circles together , right sides facing. Leaving a small gap to turn and stuff.  I used my machine as it was quicker , but it would be easy enough to do this by hand.........

I then turned them the right way out and placed 30 ceramic baking beans in each one. You could use dry beans instead. I then hand sewed them closed...........

Next I took two of my circles and sewed them together, right sides facing..........



And popped a bean bag inside when I was most of the way round, then finished closing.......

To heat mine up I simply keep them on top of a radiator , they get pretty hot there.If you read Kristens post, where I got the idea , she puts hers in the microwave...... but hers are just fabric so I'm not sure how these would fare.........popping then on a heating pipe  would work too........just use your own judgement  regarding safety/ fire hazards .

Then , when they are nice and toasty , pop one in each pocket or mitten and head out into the cold  with your mini heat sources .
They are so cosy , warm and soft to touch. And they look great too :0)

They will keep warm for about half an hour and are perfect for a girl like me, who usually ends up with painfully cold hands, even in thermal gloves, when out side for any length of time in the winter.
Jacquie x

♥ 52 Weeks of Happy ♥ 4/52

Hello Lovelies, 

Can it be my 4th happy week of 2013 already ?

1.the boys snuggling on the sofa in my crochet blankets each chilly morning. I love that they are so useful as well as pretty.

2. Family sledging last weekend.....we don't live in a part of the country known for snow (the midlands) so I think it's awesome that we have had enough snow to sledge on for four years running now. This activity always me happy .....till I'm so cold I need to go find my crochet blankets and a hot drink.

3. The wonderful winter scenery viewed during the morning rush our traffic jam. I always fell a little sad to go to work and miss what looks like it will be a beautiful day , but relish being out in the early morning light.

4.Making crochet hand warmers in a light bulb " got to do this now" moment. I was inspired by Kristens post and used the same circles as I used for my crochet owls.......dead easy.......and they work :0)

Jacquie x

Magical Morning Walk

Hello Lovelies, 

yesterday I finally got chance to go for a proper snowy walk. I decided against trying to run in the slippery conditions, but wanted to get out and explore the wintry wonderland we are enjoying in the U.K. at the moment. 

I know blog-land is full of snowy posts right now  but I really love the Narnia like landscape and wanted to record my thoughts here, so that's what I'm doing :0) 

After I dropped the boys at school I headed out , just me and my little camera. Along the road I like to cycle in summer........

Past the spot where I stopped to photograph the blackberries in THIS post.......how different the view is right now, but not in a bad way. I LOVE proper seasons , you know , hot sunny summers and icy blast winters ( shame we don't get more reliably hot months ....but never mind, maybe this year we will ) ......

At the start of this walk I was wishing the sun was shining........ the sky and the land were a very similar colour  as I wandered down this footpath yesterday.

But if your really slowed down enough to notice your surroundings , there was beautiful, vivid colour to be found........

And after a while I thought , hang on a minute , it's just stunning, with or without the sun.......

The snow was  crunchy underfoot and I was happy to get away from the traffic.........The air was still and, bundled up in lots of layers, I didn't feel cold at all, just really alive as the cold air nipped at my cheeks.

Away from the main path a little bridge leads into a farmers field......

In the summer I came running this way, but could not figure which way  the footpath went. Reluctant to wander around on private property I turned back. Happily footprints in the snow showed me the correct path yesterday........

The natural pond in this field was frozen......

I loved looking at ( and smelling ) this hay barn. Little birds were hopping about on top of the bales......

There was some more colour in the form of this old tractor........

and I like taking pictures of field gates.......

and rustic fences :0)..........

But mostly I just loved the chance to reconnect with nature, and appreciate the beauty of the winter landscape.........

It was just an hour out of a busy day , but in a part of the world where we don't get that much snow , it seemed very special.
Jacquie x

P.S. Thank you so much for all the crochet owl love....I'm stunned at the number of comments , but it's the most wonderful thanks for all the concentration and checking .....thank you so much :0)