Weekend happenings

Hello ,
Hope you had a good weekend .The weather was kind here ,and on Friday, we finally got round to planting some veg....




Also potatoes and beetroot.


When we had finished we came inside to find Mr postie had delivered a parcel ...my gorgeous new Russian Doll keyring I ordered from Ruby Red's tiny shop.It's so adorable ...much too nice to be stuck inside my bag...so I've attached it to the outside instead.How lovely is this ?







Loving the weather on Saturday too....Flinging open the windows and getting out in the sunshine.....








Bunnies soaking up the rays...








lung wort,such a pretty plant ,shame about the name....








Osteospermum already looking lovely ....






and bleeding heart getting bigger....






I also got out and about on this.....






My trusty old bike.I bought this new in 1990 so we've got a long history together now .I still love this classic style , her lovely blue colour and white wall tyres.Here's what it says on the frame....



MADE IN NOTTINGHAM ENGLAND


Those were the days!!!! Last year she had a new gel saddle cover(for added comfort!)and a new wire basket but I'm now thinking I should have gone with wicker.



Sunday was definitely cooler so some more crochet was in order.This is the second side of my mini hexagon cushion on the right. ...






It's slightly darker than the first side so I can ring the changes.It's actually my second attempt at this.The first did NOT go well ...




Pitty I got this far before I decided I couldn't live with it !!!I think it's the baby blue and pink together that spoils it for me.I don't like the ordered design either ,though I really thought it would work.Does this happen to other people too ?
An idea you think will be stunning turns out all wrong .Arrrgh!




Today I have been playing around making these adorable flowers...



I found this pattern here via Crochet pattern central,which is a great source of information.....my version has the last round left off as I felt they were big enough without it.
I'm thinking these will make great teacher presents...No that's a bit scaryly organised for me !! I will need 6or 7 for teachers,helpers etc.Luckily they fun to do.I'm planning to add a fabric covered button in the centre and a pin on the back ..

By the way I haven't forgotten about my offer to post my mini hexagon pattern...should be later this week :0)

Jacquie x

Mini Crochet Hexagons

Hello,
it's been a beautiful day here today .Really warm,with blue skies and hardly any wind.
I even felt like taking my(late) breakfast into the garden......




Whilst I was sitting, photographing my breakfast... (as you do !...hope the neighbours weren't looking!) I noticed some stunning zingy greens in the sunshine.
This climbing Hydrangea.....



and Euphorbia.....




I love spring don't you ? Everything looks so fresh and the weeds haven't really got going yet.....This blossom tree isn't in my garden,but I had to snap it, against the perfect blue sky, whilst we were out today.



Yesterday was not such a nice day weather wise... but a visit to the cinema with the little people and their cousins was enjoyed by all.I can thoroughly recommend Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang ... Brilliant !!!



I have been squeezing it fair amount of crochet into the days too...would you like to see ?





what do you think? I am really pleased with how this is looking...





It's going to be a hexagon shaped cushion....made up of mini hexagons...patchwork style !!

Back in January I was playing around trying to make a small crochet hexagon like these fabric ones I made years ago (25+ years yikes !!)




and I came up with this......




O.K.but not great...

Then I saw Lucy's AMAZING zig zag baby blanket,with it's little solid colour squares.

I loved how they looked and wanted to do something along similar lines...
So I made some of my mini hexagons in solid colours and sewed them together..like Lucy did with her squares .

I even used her clever method of photographing the layout,so I could get the colours evenly spread...





That's better !! much more than O.K. now I think.

The hexagons are small...Just over 4 cm across,when made with a 4mm hook and double knitting yarn, and I like the fact they have a solid appearance but also a pretty flower centre.


Here are the hexagons I'm making for the reverse ..... when that's finished I've just got to make a hexagon shaped pad ....could be interesting





Jacquie x

p.s. I would be happy to share the pattern for the mini hexagons if any of you lovely people are interested,and I could even try and do a Lucy style tutorial :0)

One month of Blogging and an Award

Well today marks one whole month of blogging .

When I started I wasn't really sure if it was a good idea or not...whether I could find the time (I'm a poor typist so it's slow going!)....whether I could work out how to do it ( still struggling !)....whether I could write anything interesting (Ummmmmmm !)

I'm still on a learning curve but I'm enjoying the journey. Blogland is such a lovely community is great to be part of it.
I can't quite believe I got 9 comments on my last post!!!!!!!!!Thank you people.

I'm also amazed I received an award,it's from the lovely Rachel at Ruby Red.THANK YOU Rachel!!
I can't quite figure out how to made it appear here though (Arghhhhhh )



Here in the BM household we are in the second week of Easter hols so most of my time is spent running around after the little people.
Today saw a visit to the park followed by some clothes shopping. They will keep growing !!
After that they were all keen to visit the toy shop, "just to look Mummy" . I was not at all keen,but we went anyway.
Amazingly they did just look! and on the way back to the car I spotted a charity shop I haven't seen before,and look what I found...



I've been looking for something like this for ages,isn't it a pretty tablecloth ? Much nicer in real life than in this rather dark photo. It's not perfect ,there are a couple of rust marks ,but I'm planning to use it as fabric in a project similar to the pretty things seen here and here so that's not a problem.



Such beautiful embroidery !! and all for....



I'm a lucky girl.

Wishing you all a lucky week

Jacquie x

Happy Easter

Hi ,Hope the long weekend is going well for you. We have a fairly quiet , family time which has included bike riding ,walking and visiting relatives .
Many chocolate eggs have been consumed by the little people ... Mr BM and I have enjoyed some of this carrot cake ( and just a little chocolate !!)




I found the recipe for this cake whilst reading Hello in the local library yesterday. ... photographed the recipe and made it as soon as I got home .
I actually added two teaspoons of Cinnamon and an ounce of chopped nuts to my mix. It was the first time I have made a cake using oil instead of fat and the mix looked a bit off putting !
I also found it took about 1 hour to cook . That said it was an easy recipe and tastes good !!


Here's the recipe. You can click on the Pictures to make then bigger...






I even managed a little alfresco crochet today...the first this year.I took my latest project into the garden whilst the little people were playing out. It seemed a real treat to spend some time relaxing in the fresh air..before the air got a little too fresh and we all went inside to warm up...





I've also got a F.O.(finnished object) to show you today!!!
It's my Emma Lamb inspired cushion ....I'm a big fan of her style and use of colour .Do check out the link ...anyway here's my version....




I've used her method of closure too...





I found this really easy to do ,and it means the cover is easy to remove for washing.
The other benefit is you can have two fronts as it were...so you can turn the cushion over when you want a change....




Here it is looking pretty on my "Lucy "chair...I made it using the same colours as my square throw.





As I mentioned earlier in this post I have now started a new project ( I start getting twitchy if I haven't got at least one w.i.p.)
Here is a little peek .... more next time




Jacquie x

Good Friday

Hello,
Well I can't quite believe it's Easter already ,can you ? I suppose it has been a long cold winter ,but the months still seem to fly by .
Today was a busy day. I still had to do the weekly shop ,the supermarket was extra busy.
On the way home I spotted these lovely daffodils at the side of the road so I stopped to take a photo......



Don't you just love Daffs.....so happy and sunny even on a cold day...which it was here




I love all the different variations in colour and shape,and being able to buy them as a tight bud so you never know exactly what they will look like when they open .

The afternoon brought lots of this.....



So I put the oven on and baked with the little people...nothing particularly seasonal just oaty biscuits , ....great for a super easy,tasty,quick make when you have a very small kitchen and lots of helpers !!




Yummy ...and it even stopped raining :0)


This is a macro shot taken this afternoon when the light levels improved.Isn't this a stunning flower ,I love the way you can see the detail in the centre on this shot. I think it's called Cinera but I can't be sure as I've removed the label.




Have a great weekend ...whatever the weather
Jacquie x

One day at the Dentist.....

It was back in January to be precise ,I picked up a lovely magazine in the waiting room......



The February issue of Period Homes Magazine ( They have up to date magazines !)
My attention was grabbed by the " homes with a heart " caption . I had just started reading a lovely article about a Derbyshire Cottage when my name was called ..noooooo..
Luckily when I was in the supermarket later that week I spotted the same magazine and popped it in my trolley so I could finish admiring this gorgeous home !!

How lovely is this ?



I wish my bedroom looked like this...



..and the little people slept here....




What I really loved about this home though is that it has taken since 1992 to get it to this stage and it's all been done on a strict budget . The owners Phil and Phillipa Heath have done most of the work themselves.They have sourced furnishings from reclamation yards,house sales,hand-me-downs and skips. I am envious of such a sense of style !!
Have a look a the dinning room with all its' mis-matched but totally gorgeous furniture.....



While studying this lovely image I noticed a poster on the wall ,hiding behind an Easter tree . It's not easy to see on the photo due to the photo going across two pages . It says...

"I love you more than cherry pie " perfect !!

so cute and not too soppy ,don't you think ?

In an ideal world I would have .a) the time and b) the skill to made a lovely embroidery picture that says this but unfortunatly I have niether.So.......



I made this instead !! It's a bit wonky but hopefully that adds to the charm !?!
It hangs on my kitchen wall and makes me smile :0)

Jacquie x