WOYWW 428

WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS NOW IS LOVE, SWEET LOVE...

also:

A GIN AND A TONIC - AH, THAT SHOULD DO THE TRICK!

Two lyrics for the the price of one this week - a wordy BOGOF :-D  The first to counteract some of the craziness going on at the moment and the second, well...you may just recognise a theme.

WARNING - PICTURE HEAVY POST!!!

I shall start with my desk..to be honest, no crafting has taken place here at all this week, it's a dumping ground. I've been trying to finish off those ornaments and am seeing blanket stitch in my sleep - the pack of yarn was bought by Julia and left here so I can make that jacket for her. 

As you may have gathered, Julia came back to Wales with us after we'd been to Winchester. It was fab to see her, I don't think we drew breath for four days :-D

On Thursday, we went to Llandeilo - a visit to the GinHaus was a must! The weather was glorious so sitting outside with a cocktail just had to be done....

Rhubarb and orange for me and blackberry waterfall for Julia!

They didn't last long!! We sat there for a while and then had a happy two hours stroll around the very funky shops and galleries in the town.

My mate!

Llandeilo is full of old buildings and little snickets and alleyways - this one just HAD to be explored. Isn't that doorway great?!

We did some tasting of the gin I'd bought when we got home (this was only our second of the day, don't panic!!) and I did some crafting as we sat there nattering away.

Slowly but surely getting through them!  The gin we were trying was this....

Rhubarb gin - very delicious indeed, especially with a slice of orange rather than lemon.

We went to Carmarthen for a mooch the next day and were amazed by the quality of the art in the galleries we went in. I could have bought three things and Julia loved a really colourful work. We found out the the Welsh Arts Council run an art purchasing scheme, where you can pay a deposit and then have 12 months interest free credit in order to buy art. The only stipulation is that it must be by a living artist - the English Arts Council runs a separate but similar scheme.

We went down to the beach on Saturday, to do a little beachcombing....

Rhys and Julia mooching along the harbour shoreline...

You can find all sorts of interesting things there!

The breakwater was created out of large boulders of industrial waste from the tin and copper works that were here in 200 odd years ago - you can still see evidence of it....

The bright green of copper was everywhere...

... and plants are amazing at colonising inhospitable spaces. I read the other day that Wales has the largest number of different lichen species anywhere in the world...there was a good variety down there on the rocks!

Julia's hubby, Mr Dunnit, came down to fetch her but before they left, we managed a beach walk and blackberry picking!

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed catching up with my mate, I do so miss her now we've moved.  Still, it won't be long before we meet up again at the Crop in Llandudno - she'll be getting bored with me soon, lol!!

I'll leave you with this pic taken by Mr LLJ - it makes me smile :-D

What a belter (and the pic's not bad either!!)

Well done if you've made it to the end - it was a bit self indulgent today but I don't care!

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WOYWW 427

MAE HEN WLAD FY NHADAU YN ANNWYL I MI...

Blimey, it's been a crazy week - even more than normal. A short (ish) post today as I'm out, so replies to comments will be tardy. The good news is that Julia is coming back to Wales with me for a couple of days - WOOHOO! I feel a visit to the Ginhaus is in order :-D

The JanCave desk is pretty much the same - still using up fabric squares to make masterboards... and they were cut out by this mob:

The WI ladies! We had a great two hours with lots of chat, tea and cake (great banana loaf, Helen!) They enjoyed the cutting out session very much, finding it quite therapeutic as one lady said. We enjoyed it so much, there's a repeat session in late August!

And the downstairs desk looks like this - I'm sewing on beads whilst watching telly.

And the reason for the lack of crafting? I was away all weekend in North Wales, playing at the National Eisteddfod with the band.  I'd never been to one before, there was lots to see!

We stayed in Caernarfon, just around the corner from the castle:

and had to cross over the Menai straits to get to Anglesey - and we did have a stop at the village of LLANFAIRPWLLGWYNGILLGOGERYCHWERNDROBWYLLLLANTISILIOGOGOGOCH !!

(ooh, spellcheck didn't like that one, lol!)

The Eisteddfod takes up a huge area - this was the outside performance stage...

We were so lucky with the weather!

King Arthur would have to be massive to draw this sword eh?!

My band Crwbin won the Second section contest with 189/190 marks and great comments from the adjudicator. There was a nice big cup to take home - this was filled with fizzy wine later in the evening for us all to have a drink :-D Hic..... Everyone was thrilled!

This is the final note, grabbed from the Welsh tv service - I'm standing at the back, second from right in the tubas!  What an experience, it was amazing - happy days :-D

Have fun this week, I suspect there may be a few pics of Julia and I in next week's post, lol!!

WOYWW 426

AND DID THOSE FEET IN ANCIENT TIMES

WALK UPON ENGLAND'S MOUNTAINS GREEN?

It has been a slightly quieter and less frenetic past seven days (woohoo!) - we've had no visitors (double woohoo!!) and have had a bit more time to ourselves (thrice woohoo!!!). Funnily enough though, I haven't done as much crafting...

I did sort out some more fabric and ironed it as well as I have a cunning plan - oh yes indeedy. Sorry about the Christmas puddings bottom right of frame - my Knit and Natter group are making lots of small items to sell at our local hospital in December but are getting organised now. I said I'd make a few felt ornaments for the stall....

More ornaments needing embroidering and blanket stitching around the edges - that bead box was passed onto me by Shaz and jolly useful it's been too. The hat has been my evening project and will join a few others for a Woolly donations group I found on Facebook.

There was a connection behind today's lyrics and ironing fabrics - last week, I attended another meeting of the WI I joined with my mate Helen a few months back.  It was a craft demo and there was a chance to join in.....and I had a go at.......

brace yourselves.......

Cardmaking!!! I know, don't faint :-D  I have to say this was the naughty table, with things being opened too soon and glue being used inappropriately!  We had great fun and discovered a mutual love of gin..'nuff said!

It was fun but cardmaking still isn't my cup of tea really and I think that you lot have far better design sense..but at least we had a go!  Our table got on so well, they're coming for coffee this morning and little do they know that I'm providing fabric, templates and scissors for a good cutting out session for charity items I intend making. I lured them with the promise of coffee and cake :-D  Hopefully they'll enjoy it - maybe pics next week!

It was my birthday yesterday and so I have to say a huge thank you for my cards - it was a lovely surprise!

From Julia, Darnell, Lynne, Helen and Shaz Silverwolf!  I had some useful prezzies - a new cutting mat (after my last one never recovered from getting warped!), a jelly roll...

from Rhys - gorgeous colours huh?!

And an RAK.....

...a metre of gorgeous fabric!  I know it's an RAK but I'd love to know who sent it so I can say a proper thank you. So if you're reading this and it was you, then it's fab and very much appreciated!!

An unexpected present was from Mr LLJ and the boys....

...a little sculpture made from driftwood, screws and other found objects. It's called The Slipway and is made by Trysorau Cymraeg. The boats are hazelnut shells, the roofs are small squares of slate and the chimneys are rusty screws. But it's so clever, the detail is wonderful!

the corner shop...

..coils of rope, fishing nets, buoys and seagulls - it's the sort of thing you can look at for ages! I absolutely adore it :-D

I'm a lucky girl......

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WOYWW 425

IF A PICTURE PAINTS A THOUSAND WORDS.....

Hello lovely WOYWWers - hope you've all had a great week. I'm particularly pleased to see Shaz Silverwolf (and hublet Doug) back from Kos, where they experienced an earthquake and aftershocks whilst on holiday. Your FB antics were interesting Shaz but I'm glad you're ok!

Right...the desk. I didn't know what to do next after all the making for the RNLI and my scraps box was exploding even more. I thought I'd take inspiration from you papercrafters and do some masterboards, but out of fabric. I have no idea what they'll be used for but it was mindless crafting to fill an hour or so!

Just putting scraps together....

That sort of thing....

The scraps box doesn't look any different really huh??!  

The RNLI Open Day was last Saturday, the weather was fab and loads of people turned out to support a really valuable (and totally voluntary) rescue service in our town.

Recognise some of these? Some items didn't even make it onto the table and were snaffled up beforehand, lol!

There is lots of equipment to keep up to date...

The crews did some presentation stuff, capsizing the boat etc. That's the old boathouse in the background, a brand new one begins construction in Nov - it's going to be amazing and much easier to launch the boats.

This crew whizzed off to rescue some kayakers as a demonstration (other crew members in reality)

Bringing them back into harbour - the whole operation was extremely quick. The Burry Port station is the third busiest in Wales - we are on an estuary with a huge tidal range and sandbanks far out to sea where it's all too easy for people to get cut off.

Beautiful but needs to be treated with respect.

And last, but definitely not least, we took delivery of a new coffee table this week.....

It was tested to its limits and deemed worthy :-D

So lots of pictures and not many words today, hope you've enjoyed! xxxxxxxxxx

WOYWW 424

IT DON'T MATTER IF YOU'RE BLACK OR WHITE...

We've had two sets of visitors in the past week which has been wonderful but busy so not that much crafting has taken place. I did get out all all the things that I've made for the RNLI Open Day (22nd July) in order to box them up to take to the relevant people.

There are tote bags, drawstring bags, zippy bags, doggy bandannas, hearts, tissue holders, sunglasses cases and carrier bag tubes - I hope they're useful for raising some cash.

The sunglasses pattern and tutorial came off Pinterest!

The doggy bandannas are folded and labelled....

This was for Son No 2 however, he wanted a doorstop to stop his bedroom door from creaking in the breeze. It's basic but functional...bit like me really :-D

My nephew Matt came to stay with his wife Kim and her mum, also Kim, who are from New York. They had a good couple of days exploring the area. I'd shown Mama Kim my crochet blanket-in-progress and, bless her, she insisted on finding a wool shop when the three of them were out and bought me these:

Posh wool!! It's Merino and incredibly soft. Mama Kim said she hoped I'd make a shawl or scarf for myself. That'll be my Autumn project for sure. How thoughtful a gift was that? As fast as I'm trying to clear my stash, more appears - it's the yarny equivalent of the Magic Porridge Pot, lol!!!

A couple of pics to finish with - Mr LLJ belongs to a local photography society who arrange some interesting trips out - this was last Wednesday's to a National Trust Property.

There were lots of deer enjoying the cool of the evening but the main intention was to see...........

Badgers!! This little one was muscling in to get its fair share of peanuts....

The one on the right was using its paw to shovel in as much food as it could...there were jays and wood mice helping themselves to the feast while 10 photographers sat in a hide. Better than tv huh?!

This is my favourite shot - G really enjoyed the evening and can't wait for the next one!

Have a great week xxxxxxxxx