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

 

WOYWW 882

 IN AND OUT THE DUSTY BLUEBELLS

Hello lovely Deskers, so nice to meet up again and what a beautiful week it's been! This is my favourite time of the year with all the fresh new leaves and blossoms blossoming all over the place, it's been a real tonic after the very grey start to the year.

Last Wednesday was Rhys' 30th and we went out for the day, first to Llandeilo, a very cute little market town and then to an NT place which has a Welsh prince's castle in the grounds. It was a fab day and a great way for our youngest to celebrate.

You could see for miles from the castle, a 360 degree panorama!

It's a big hill to climb but the bluebell woods were putting on a great show:

It was good for the soul to just stand and absorb it all!

I also attended another craft fair, the last until the end of May:

I sold a few peg bags and cross body bags for walkers, guess everyone is enjoying being out!

There's been some crafting going on, I'm replacing some stock:

This sunflower fabric is so in your face - I love it!

This canvas fabric was really cheap, there was a lot of it for a fiver. I've cut out three totes, 2 pegbags, a cross body bag and 2 zipped bags...lots of profit to be made there!

And the blanket is growing - as demonstrated by my glamorous assistant......

...what you can see of him anyway lol!! It's really seasidey isn't it? I have really enjoyed making this one, only another three rows of colour and it's done.

I may not be around next week as we're away so have a great couple of weeks and I'll see you for the 17th Anniversary!!

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WOYWW 881

 PENBLWYDD HAPUS I TI

(HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU)

Well, I'm officially feeling my age today - it's our younger son Rhys' birthday and he's turning 30! When did that happen then. how have those years passed in the blink of an eye?  We're off out this morning as he's taken the day off and we're out gallivanting! Comments may be late.....

It's been a busy old week made nicer by the gorgeous weather, my favourite time of the year when all the fresh green leaves are bursting all over the place. It was sunny but blustery for the Emergency Services Day at the RNLI last Saturday:

I was lucky to be in the boat hall, it was a busy afternoon.

And I did ok given that it wasn't a craft event as such. I spent most of the time chatting which was lovely...not that I need practise in that direction...

Stocks are running a bit low so I've been busy sewing as well:

The zipped bags are selling really well...

As are the crossbody bags - this pattern is easy, more like fabric origami than sewing. The sunflowers are always popular, I don't expect these to hang around for long.

My lovely friend Kim was doing a Temu order so I asked if I could tag some zips onto it (as they're so much cheaper). After they arrived Kim donated them to me, she wouldn't take what I owed her so I'm incredibly grateful to her for that kind gesture xx

This lovely lot should keep me sorted for a while!

I've been crocheting another wavy blanket, this time in blues:

It reminds me of the colours of the sea and sand in the estuary here. I'd taken it with me to work on at one of the craft fairs and may have already sold it to another stallholder!

Hope you're all keeping well and happy and have had a good week, let's hope the sunshine lasts for a bit longer, it does us good! xxxx

WOYWW 880

 CAN YOU SEE THE FLOWERS GROW?

Hi there lovely deskers, hope you've had a great week. I had a busy couple of days then was struck down by a horrible cold so it's been a week of two halves for me!

Last Saturday saw another market:

It was a bit quieter with footfall but we took some money and the total grows. I was feeling a bit shonky here tbh but was really bad on Sunday onwards, ah well....

Before the snots arrived I'd done a little bit of crafting:

I LOVE that vibrant green with the Starry Sky fabric!

I made some gift trios, a cross body bag plus another zippy bag as they go really well plus some leftover strips to make lanyards...

I'm doing a stall at the Emergency Services Day at the RNLI boathouse this Saturday and thought these might go ok. Worth a punt!

My SiL (G's sister) has crocheted for a while but started making these flowers recently:

Aren't they fabulous?! I love the colour combination and the covered jar, the bronze twine is the perfect finishing touch. Great job Catherin, you're on to a winner there!

That's it for today, I'm still not 100% so am having a quiet couple of days. Hope you're keeping ok xxxxxxx

WOYWW 879

 EASTER JUBILATION FILLS THE STREETS AND TOWNS...

Hi all, hope you had a lovely Easter weekend! Mine was filled with a market and Son No 1's birthday amidst other things. The weather has been beautiful and nature is blossoming all over, can't be bad eh?

The market went reasonably well but was fairly quiet. I guess folks were out making the most of the sunshine! I did ok and made enough to attain the £14K, hooray!!

£14,030 to be precise! Got another one this weekend so anything we make will be a bonus xx

I've not done as much making this week just cos other things have been happening:

OMG I love this fabric...in fact, I've ordered more as it went quickly and I need some for myself!

The colours are just so vibrant!  On the opposite end of the scale is the daffodil fabric, different but just as pretty:

The colours aren't done justice in this photo, they're much more distinct - I like that spotty contrast too.

The wavy blanket (Attic 24's neat ripple pattern) came to its final wiggly stripe:

I really enjoyed making this, very easy pattern to do when watching telly, not much concentration required...which is just as well these days *grin*  The yarn in the box is for the next version, same wavy stripes but in shades of blue, grey and sandy interspersed with narrower white. Should look quite seasidey!

Short and sweet today, hope you're all keeping well and happy and had lots of chocolate at the weekend xxxxxxxx