WOYWW 889

 I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW.....

Sorry, couldn't resist that title today! I'm doing really well after the cataract surgery last Thursday, in fact I have to keep touching wood as I can't quite believe that it's worked so quickly and well. I'm typing this on the PC without any reading glasses, everything is sharp whereas before it was all one big blur. The team at the hospital were wonderful and I was seeing ok after a few hours. I've been very very careful about following the after care rules and had a treat yesterday of going to my hairdresser for a wash and quick blow dry...all with the aid of my new favourite bit of kit:

My 3M safety glasses, £2.99 off Amazon - they have been invaluable for keeping my eyes protected. My friend reckons I need to bling them up with a bit of diamante lol!

As it's been very windy I've not been out much but I have felt like crafting so I have been in the JanCave:

My plan is to work my way through all the strips and make loads of quilt squares. I have everything in reach so I don't have to bend over (a big no no) - it's mindless crafting really but that, together with listening to audio books, is helping me a lot. I'm not very good at sitting still.....

I do ten blocks at a time and just chain piece them through the machine...

And then trim them up which is the magic process as far as I'm concerned!

I have been knitting too, I found this pattern for a chocolate Orange cover and gave it a go:

Cute huh?! It's King Cole tinsel yarn which has the odd fleck of sparkly in it and it's so easy to make, all in one piece. The pattern has two ears but I prefer it without. I think this might be popular, I'm trying it in a white and silver too.

Hope you've had a great week, thanks to everyone who has messaged wishing me well and especially Twiglet and Wipso for the beautiful flowers, they're gorgeous xxxxx

Have a good week!

WOYWW 888

 WATCH THE FLOWERS GROW...

Happy 888th WOYWW everyone, a pleasing number indeed - it's brilliant to think that this weekly dose of desky shenanigans has been going for so long - may it continue for many more!

I've been keeping myself busy this week ticking off the days to my cataract op (which is tomorrow)  We've been out for lots of walks, visiting some lovely places and the JanCave has seen some action as well.

I cut up all the roses fabric and paired it with a lovely warm grey - I really like this combo a lot! I did the check fabric too but forgot to take any pics...doh...

The crochet waves blanket is slowly growing:

This is a slightly smaller one (large baby blanket size) so it's not too hot on the lap when I'm doing a few rows.

But mostly we've been getting out and about in this perfect (for me!) weather.

The lake in the nearby country park is full of water birds and water lilies...

Beautiful! We also returned to Aberglasney as we're making good use out of our membership:

It was a riot of pinks, purples, yellow and white - the nepeta (bottom right) was crawling with bees and pollinators, you couldn't hear yourself think cos of all the buzzing!

It's a garden that isn't overly manicured, I rather like the blowsy borders spilling over.

There were a lot of peony varieties too, this was my fav and I took a pic for Lynne and Julia who love them xx

I love these, very architectural!

We stopped at the cafe for some lunch and sat outdoors under a parasol. When I looked up I couldn't stop laughing...

Lololol!! I know the view was just as good the other way!

I'll try and visit/comment today but may not get round everyone. Hope to see you all next week....in sharper focus, hooray!  Love and hugs from Lunch Lady Jan xxxxx

WOYWW 887

 NOTHING BUT BLUE SKIES...

Next week's WOYWW will be a cracking number won't it? 888! Neet would have loved that, we shared a joy in numbers and this one is amazing, unbelievable that WOYWW is still going after that many weeks xx

I've been quite busy getting stock made up to have things in hand before my op next week:

I sold a cross body bag in this cherry blossom fabric to a fellow stall holder at the last fair and she ordered three trios as well. I had to order some more and got four metres as it's being discontinued so I'm making a pile of things from it.

I might have accidentally ordered some more fabric as well:

A bit different to what I've been using recently, the check is really bright and funky and the grey/pink roses are very elegant - they'll hopefully appeal to someone!

I did a long over due bit of machine maintenance...

The amount of fluff and lint that came out of the depths was, quite frankly, totally shameful!! That old paintbrush is brilliant for winkling out bits from the most inaccessible corners. I won't leave it as long again...hangs head.....

I received a couple more ATCs and lovely cards:

Shaz in Oz sent me a beautiful ATC in greens and done with Lavinia stamps in honour of Neet, plus a lovely note in the card which meant a lot. As did Mary Anne, whose ATC (bottom left) had a wonderful sentiment on it. I also loved the fab envelope she'd created from a magazine page, it made our postie laugh too!

The temps this past week have been perfect for me, we went for a long walk early on Saturday morning:

Don't you just hate these crowded beaches lol?! The sound track was of Oystercatchers, sand martins and skylarks, good for the soul.

And that's it, hope all you lovely gals are keeping well and happy, enjoy your crafting xxxxxx

WOYWW 886

 IN THE SUMMERTIME WHEN THE WEATHER IS HIGH...

Scorchio! It is fab to have some lovely weather but it's too hot for me (must have Viking blood or something!). Hope you're managing to keep cool and happy xx  Crafting has been slightly curtailed cos of the high temps...

This has been my view for the past few days, it's not too bad in the shade in the morning but I have to retreat indoors when the temps ramp up in the afternoon.

It's too hot to handle yarn....

..so the blanket hasn't got very far...

I did make a few things last week including this cross body bag:

I had four metres of this butterfly fabric (think it must have been cheap) so I got a lot out of it!

And I've got to the point where I need to cut strips out of the leftovers from various projects - I feel another strip quilt coming on!

These will join the pile already cut. just need to cut out 12" squares to sew the strips onto and then I'll be ready to go!

Thanks to Kyla, Cindy and Angela for the lovely cards, ATCs and bookmark which turned up this week, I do love getting happy mail xx

Thank you lovely gals! Cindy included some cut out images that Neet had sent her, so even though it's out of my comfort zone, I will colour them and see if I can make a card or something in memory of our dear friend xx

Short and sweet today, it's too hot to ramble on! Hope you have a cracking week, enjoy your crafting xxx

WOYWW 885

 5-4-3-2-1...

It was so lovely to celebrate the 17th Anniversary last week, thank you for all the fab comments and to Wipso and Twiglet who sent these beautiful ATCs!

It's all systems go here at LLJ Towers - I have a date for my cataract op, 11th June, which isn't far away! I'm having both eyes done at the same time, for various reasons, so won't be able to do much for a while after that. Consequently my machine has been in overdrive!

I've been working through the fabrics in my stash, making whatever I can out of the amount there.

I'm not leaving any little scraps unused!

And building up some stock ready while I can!

This is the next selection for a new crochet blanket - again I'm putting together colours I like from my stash!

And we've been doing some gardening and getting seeds in the raised beds:

My herb bed has gone mad! The potatoes in the pots are growing well and the runner and climbing french beans have been sown.

And we've potted up some bedding plants and sorted out the garden. It's been all go!

Neet's funeral was as lovely as these occasions can be, the eulogy was wonderful and we learnt a lot about her - she really did live life to the max, someone to admire and live up to.  It still seems strange not seeing her name on the list every Wednesday but she definitely will not be forgotten.

Hugs to you all, hope you have a great week xxxxxxxx

WOYWW 884

 CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES, COME ON!

WOYWW must be one of the longest running weekly blogs, surely? What an achievement that it's still going and we have the chance to meet up with our friends every week - and friends you are, most surely. Thank you for the love and support, it really is such a big part of my life - to Julia for starting it all off in the first place and Sarah for continuing to hold it all together.  I can't help but think of Neet today, she always loved the anniversary and ATC swaps. We should absolutely celebrate WOYWW 884 and remember those wonderful gals who are no longer with us xx

Here's my Anniversary ATC:

A bouquet of virtual flowers for all my Desker Buddies! I made this collage a while back and thought it would be a good image to use. Hope you like them!!

We've not long since got back from holiday, hence not much time to create a new ATC from scratch. We had a lovely time with our boys, visited some beautiful places, had some good walks and nice lunches out. Perfect!

Hidcote Manor and Gardens, it was stunning!

Everywhere was vibrant green and blossoming all over! And the avenue of beeches was like a living cathedral:

Green was the overall impression of our week near Stratford:

England at its beautiful best xx  This was the River Avon at Warwick Castle.

We got home and life has become rather busy. I may be late with comments today as I'm having special biometric scans of my eyes as I'm due to have a double cataract op fairly soon. I've had them for a while but my left eye has got worse quite quickly. I'll have X Ray vision before you know it!  As this has all happened within the last fortnight, I'm having to reschedule lots of plans, fairs etc etc and I'm busy trying to get as much stock made as possible because I won't be able to do much for a few weeks after the op.

Hence the jumble of stuff on my desk! I knitted the little hats while we were away, nice small projects to be getting on with.

The wavy blanket is now finished:

The lady who'd asked after it has changed her mind, no worries, it can always go on the stall when I'm back in action!!

Wishing you love and hugs on this special day. hope you enjoy visiting the anniversary desks, I'll look forward to seeing everyone's ATCs. Love you lots! xxxxxxxxx

WOYWW 883

                              GOODBYE DEAR FRIEND….

The saddest news broke last week when Chas, Neet’s husband, contacted us to say that our wonderful friend had passed away. Neet had struggled with her health for a few months now and this was one battle too many.

Neet was always one of the first to comment on my blog each week and was generous with her time, friendship and support. I loved her enthusiasm, especially for Lavinia stamps which she used on many a birthday card. I’m so glad we sent her that beautiful bouquet when she was able to appreciate it.

My goodness she will be missed but I’m so very very grateful that we met here on WOYWW as our paths wouldn’t have crossed otherwise. Here are some pics that show her fun loving side when we met up in real life, she was a gorgeous, funny, funky babe 🥰. Goodbye Neet, we’ll never forget you ❤️

XXXXXXXXXXX