WOYWW 332

WINTER, SPRING, SUMMER OR FALL,

ALL YOU GOTTA DO IS CALL....

Heavens to Betsy, it's THAT day again!!  Hope everyone has had a good week and been busy crafting. A friend posted on Facebook that there were only 10 Fridays until Christmas and that was last week, so there's only 9 now :-/  Oooer, better start making a list....hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha...yeah, like that's gonna happen. Oh, I crack myself up sometimes :-)

I managed to get some use out of my craft room this week....

An overdue present for the now seven-week old baby boy of a friend in band. I can only apologise...it's been chaos with the bathroom renovations going on!

What an arty farty shot....I do apologise...I just couldn't resist that blue sky!  The glorious weather has been another reason why I've spent more time outdoors than in. Here's why:

There's been logs to stack......

...Garlic Chives to split and transplant. Aren't these flowers gorgeous?? Would you have guessed they were chive flowers if I hadn't have told you?

The tomatoes are still fruiting like crazy. but I've made a start on taking the plants down now, as the night temps will be dropping like a stone this week and my greenhouse is unheated....

Likewise the chilli plants!  I grew a few plants from the seeds that I saved from a chilli I was cooking with back in the spring...they did really well :-)

...and simply admiring the gloriousness of my Kaffir Lilies, saved from my parent's garden.  My mum adored these and I think of her every time :-)

There you go....hopefully I'll have more sewing time this weekend. I think I'll have a giveaway next week....it'll be WOYWW 333 and that number needs celebrating!!

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WOYWW 331

IF I KNEW YOU WERE COMING, I'D HAVE BAKED A CAKE.....

Don't faint....I know you won't be able to believe your eyes...

BUT....

....some actual crafting has taken place this week. WOOHOO!!

A friend of a friend wanted a knitting bag for her mum who's facing an extended stay in hospital...it musn't be too large so as to fit into the hospital lockers. These fabrics were picked by taking pics of them and emailing them to see if they were ok!

And they were! A fun combo, don't you think?

Attaching one of three pockets...I even used up one of my button stash. Steady now, almost had a rush of blood to my head...... ;-)

And two hours later, a little bag emerges. I put some of my knitting in to test it for size and the needles can lie flat. The pocket on this side is bigger than normal so that the lady can put in circular and double ended cable needles if necessary.  Hope she likes it!

My Facebook friends will already have seen this!  It was a grim day on Monday, when the rain didn't stop falling all day, so I just had the urge to make our Christmas cake. I plumped up the raisins in the last of my hubby's brandy (in the microwave. It works well!) and spent a happy couple of hours getting covered in flour. I'm a messy baker!  Now I have to go and buy another bottle of brandy or Calvados to feed the cake at regular intervals....and my hubby too!!!

Just to let you know, Shaz is still in hospital. She's had some issues with infections and was kept in. I know she'll be champing at the bit to get home. which I think may be happening within the week. Let's keep her in our thoughts.......

xxxxxxx

WOYWW 330

TAP TURNS ON THE WATER,

SEE THE WATER FLOW....

Well, not quite yet but the new bathroom is inching its way towards completion...slowly slowly....

This is what my landing looks like at the moment!  The tiles are all up now - we've chosen a large ivory tile with a really fab string course of 2 inch mosaic squares....

There are different stones, that mid grey is a glass effect and there are picture squares that are a little bit steampunkesque.....ooh, I love 'em. When you spend a lot of money on tiles, you keep your fingers firmly crossed that you like them when they're fixed to the wall!

The ceiling wasn't too clever either, so we bought some (extortionate!) textured paint which has done the trick....here's an action shot of Mr LLJ.....

who did a brilliant job (even if we did have to bin the tatty old shirt afterwards!!)

Right, that's one workdesk dealt with...now to the proper one!

I found a load of scraps lurking so was just having a look to see if they'd patchwork together to make something useful. Dunno if they do really, but leave it with me and I'll ponder some more :-)

I've started a honeycomb stitch scarf/shawl but am not happy with the way the variegated colours are working in the stitch so that'll be frogged later on. I love the soft, heathery colours though...at least something is going right!!

A couple of pics to leave you with....

The supermoon (before it turned red) with our local working windmill.....

...and over the Kennet and Avon canal (about a mile from my house).  Great shots by Mr LLJ!

And finally.....I just had to take a pic of these at Winchester market....just thinking of Janet Fairythoughts once again.  She loved the Minions so these reminded me of that awesome and lovely lady:

All together now: Ba na na, na na na NA!!

Miss you Janet xxxxxxx

WOYWW 329

IF I HAD A HAMMER, I'D HAMMER IN THE MORNING,

I'D HAMMER IN THE EVENING, ALL OVER THIS LAND.......

Another crazy week spins around again!  But I have some sewing and a workdesk to share - the first for a while....woohoo!!

The wherewithal for making a tote bag. This was taken on Monday when we had loads of rain, that's why my lamp is on!

Behold...the very last scrap of Botanicals fabric. It's done well; I've lost track of all the items I've made with it.....

Not a very flattering pic of it but you get the idea. Perfect for a music folder, eh Kim?! Now to parcel it up and send it to the USA.

Do you notice that it's hanging very fetchingly on a stepladder. I haven't gone all arty farty, it was just a useful prop.  I don't normally have this hanging around in my workroom but this is why.....

Work has commenced on our new bathroom. My menfolk did a great job of de-tiling the walls and floor.....

You know how people say 'It has to get worse before it gets better'? They're right!!  Hopefully I will be able to show some progress by next Wednesday :-)

Talking about progress, I talked to Shaz Silverwolf yesterday and she may be coming out of hospital today or tomorrow...how awesome is that? Goodness but she's shown fighting spirit this week....isn't that great news? I know lots of people have been rooting for her...it can only be onwards and upwards now.

Finally, I was playing last Sunday for the closing ceremony of our local carnival. The village is decorated extensively and these characters in the River Avon made me smile...

I love Shaun the Sheep! Whoever the artist was really captured the characters, don't you think?

Have a great week.....forgive me if I'm late returning comments, today and tomorrow are full up already :-)

xxxx

WOYWW 328

WHO PUT THE COLOURS IN THE RAINBOW?

SHAZ UPDATE: Shaz is improving slowly but it is going to take quite a while before she's fully mobile again. For more info, see http://birdshospitalstay.blogspot.co.uk

No crafting to show AGAIN this week, for which apologies. But the last 7 days has included taking Rhys to Uni, visit to Wales, hospital appts with my dad, the arrival of a skip (new bathroom approaches, yippee).

But I did take delivery of some new yarn a couple of weeks ago, which I forgot to show you before!

Doesn't that make you smile?!  The Wool Warehouse were having a sale of Drops yarn and I bought these to make a bed runner or blanket - it was 80p a ball, I just couldn't resist. I love the way the yarns come packed in that pretty muslin bag!

I love these colours so much...it's unusual for me to go for pastels, but hey, a leopard can change her spots, can't she? :-)  I'm crocheting this up on a 5mm hook, so it should grow quite quickly into a beautiful stripy something.

Oh, another thing that happened this past week was our 33rd wedding anniversary...I know, I don't look old enough, do I ;-)  These have made me smile too.....

Gorgeous, aren't they?  There must be a closet pretty pink girlie lurking inside my tomboy exterior, lol!!

Hopefully normal service will be resumed next week, but as we have tiles and an old bathroom to pull out before building work commences, I may see you in a fortnight :-)

Take care and live it large xxxx

WOYWW 327

HARK HOW THE BELLS, SWEET SILVER BELLS,

ALL SEEM TO SAY THROW CARES AWAY

Just to let you know, Shaz Silverwolf's operation was much longer and more extensive than anticipated. She is likely to be in hospital for some time to come, as she's been in a lot of pain and the docs need to sort a few issues out. If you'd like to send a card, then email me for details. Keep those positive vibes heading towards Birmingham :-)

Edit: Doug has written about the events of the past week:
http://birdshospitalstay.blogspot.co.uk
He said it was ok to share it with the WOYWWers.  Jan xxx

It's been a crazy busy week once again (and the forecast for the next fortnight isn't showing much improvement either....) so hardly any crafting has been done - sigh.....

I've been seeing how much fabric I've got for another project for Kim Young...she loved her music stand cover and would like a tote bag for her music folder now. 

There's enough Botanicals fabric for an external pocket and the straps (made by sewing sections together!) with maybe that black spot for the lining....

I rather like the combination...what do you think KIm?  When you get the folder, send me the dimensions and I'll get cracking :-)

This is one of the reasons why my workdesk has been ignored:

The Bass section of Phoenix Brass, blowing hard!  We are good friends and have a bit of a laugh....I once read an interesting article about picking the correct instrument for your child based on personality. There were various sections but my favourite bit was this 'if the child tends to be extrovert, quite loud and a bit of a rebel, then brass is probably most suited to them'  :-) :-)  Quite right too, lol!

The fete was in the grounds of the church and there was a mini carillon of bells...Tug Palmer, one of our cornet players is a Tower Captain of proper bell ringing and was enjoying helping a small campanologist!

Hopefully there'll be a little more to show you next week, but I'm not making promises I can't keep, lol!!

WOYWW 326

YOU GOT TROUBLES, I GOT 'EM TOO,

THERE ISN'T ANYTHING I WOULDN'T DO FOR YOU,

WE STICK TOGETHER, WE CAN SEE IT THROUGH,

COS YOU'VE GOT A FRIEND IN ME.

(Copyright Walt Disney Music Co Ltd)

It's been a very full week!  Meeting a desker, attending Janet Fairythoughts' funeral, having the Silverwolfs come visit on their way back home. 

This was my desk at the weekend....Kim Young, a Stateside desker had taken a fancy to the music stand covers I made recently and asked me if I'd make her one.  I squeezed just enough out of the scraps of Botanicals fabric!

All ready to be sent off...I really hope Kim's stand fits in ok. Her dimensions were different to my stand. Fingers crossed :-)

I've taken this pic because of those Clover clips. Janet Fairythoughts made me buy those in her shop a couple of years ago and I never used them until recently. How stupid was I? They're awesome for gripping thick layers of fabric really tightly. And every time I use them, I think of Janet. She'll be looking down on me from heaven and saying 'I told you so....!!'

 Oh, her funeral was sad and happy all mixed up. Julia wrote about it most movingly...but I want to tell you about everyone wearing odd socks or funky shoes, the Minions music played in the service, the reading out of WOYWW messages of sympathy and the fact that Janet's coffin was cardboard, printed all over with photos of buttons, Minions, cups of coffee, cake, Bendicks Mints and gingko leaves. It summed her up perfectly. Goodness I shall miss her......

But it shows how this wonderful blogging community reaches out from the confines of the Interwebs and forms true friendships. Julia and I went to Salisbury to meet Diana Velvetmoth last week, our first time of getting together. Diana looked slightly apprehensive as we approached but before we knew it two hours had flown by.  A mutual bonkers sense of humour and a solid WOYWW backstory meant that we just started talking and kept going!
Diana gave us both a little something......

A perfect little miniature! I've long been a fan of Diana's work, so I was thrilled to receive this. It's about 4 inches high and is exquisitely detailed. Gosh, I love it - thank you Diana!!

Other workdesks in Appleton Towers this week.....

My menfolk trying to fix a laptop cooling system...there were lots of bits spread out over the table...

Soldering was involved......unfortunately, it needed something more like a Harry Potter spell....Circuitous Wirious Reparo.....cos it didn't work. Something had gone phuttt, way beyond the possibility of repair.

More happiness at our dining room table however....

Shaz and Doug Silverwolf dropped in to say hello en route back home after a weekend of gadding! It was so good to see them both and a chance to give Shaz massive squishy hugs - she's undergoing her major surgery today. Please keep them in your thoughts and send positive healing vibes towards Birmingham hospital. Thank you xxxx