So, what are you doing this weekend?

Hello from a rather dreary last day of May in the north west UK!  We had some lovely sunshine yesterday (if a rather cool breeze at times!), but the skies are grey this morning.  I wish summer would get a move on!  I enjoyed a couple of hours out with my friend and her (very large) newfoundland dogs yesterday afternoon, with a nice walk and then coffee & cake.  The dogs are lovely gentle giants - but boy, do they attract attention! Everyone you pass makes comment regarding their size, how much they must eat, etc., and we also had our photos taken by one passer by! Bizarre!

And at least I was able to spend some time pottering in the garden - where, despite the cool weather we've been having, the flowers are appearing

The first of the summer's big poppies made an appearance - I just love these big, blowsy flowers! They seem to glow from within.

These pretty violas seem to be flourishing and are such pretty shades of purple. I love violas - they almost look like they've had details painted on.

And the other pots and beds seem to be doing well. I've not got a very big garden, but I love it to be full of different plants and flowers - and definitely enjoy lazing about in it when the weather is warm enough!  It's also one of my favourite places to sit and crochet when the sun is out - and I've now finished all the daisy granny squares I was busy doing out there this week

I'm just working out the best way of joining them into a baby blanket - I think I'm going to try the joining method that Heather suggests on her fab blog The Patchwork Heart. 

And thank you for all your kind comments about Grumpy Poppy.  She's started eating a little food now, so we just need to encourage her to carry on. She's definitely NOT enjoyed the visits to the vet this week - especially the ouchy injections! - and I've given her a stern talking-to!  My son Jack took this photo of her - a typical "Life's just too much!" pose from Poppy

Enjoy the rest of your weekend - whatever you have planned. And I hope the sunshine is making an appearance wherever you are! 

Back soon,

Kim x 

Follow your dreams...

Hello all - I hope that your week has been going well?  I've had a mixed week really - it's been lovely having our daughter home for a few days, so plenty of girly chat, lunch out, etc.  But I've also had a rather poorly Grumpy Poppy the Cat to deal with.  She was diagnosed with kidney disease over 2 years ago, and has stayed pretty stable on medication. But she seems to have suffered something of a rapid downturn this week, hasn't been eating or drinking and has had a couple of visits to the vet. I'm not sure how much more they can do, but she may well pick up a bit again. I just wish I could get some food into her - but she's always been a stubborn madam!  Thankfully she doesn't seem to be in any pain, and I'm hoping that she'll improve a bit. We've to take her back to the vets again shortly - at the moment she's laid out in some sunshine in the garden so I'll have to sneak up on her with the cat basket and prepare to do battle!

Sadly my daughter has headed back down south on the train, so as a consolation I've been playing with my craft stuff and got a new card to share

I've used a gorgeous digi stamp from Mo Manning, coloured with copics

The backing papers and sentiment stamp are from LOTV, with some added stitching. I've also added a Memory Box tree die cut and the Doo Hickey fence die cut. 

I quite like the soft colours on this - but it's hard to go wrong with the cute images. 

The card will be going on sale in my Etsy shop.

I'm hoping for some 'blog time' over the weekend to catch up with what everyone is up to.

You may also have noticed the link on the sidebar - I've joined the world of Twitter (assisted by my daughter lol!) and I'd love to know if any of you are also on twitter. Please let me know and I can 'follow' you! 

Back soon,

Kim x 

What a lovely way to spend time on a sunny afternoon.....

Hello all - I hope that you are well and that your week has been a good one?  A busy one for us - but the weekend is here (Hurray!), it's half term this week so a week off work (double Hurray!) and my daughter is coming up for a few days (big, extra Hurray!).  It'll be so nice to (hopefully) relax a bit this week, especially with our daughter Lauren here - I can feel that there will definitely be an afternoon tea out somewhere that involves cake and some girlie chit chat!

And to start our week off there was some lovely Spring sunshine today, and I spent a wonderful relaxing hour sat in my garden, with the cat snoring next to me, and some yarn & crochet hook!

After completing my big stripy blanket, I've started on the next project which will be a blanket made with cute daisy granny squares

I think these are really cute - and I'm loving adding all the different colours.  What do you think?

Although I'm loving my crochet, I'm still doing the cards as well (that's why there never seems to be enough hours in a day....) and here are a couple that were recently made for orders

An anniversary card, made with gunmetal silver card and a CraftsToo embossing folder and Spellbinder dies.

And a card made for a friend for her football-mad son!  I used a digi, coloured with copics.

Hope you like them!

And I hope you enjoy your weekend - and the week ahead.  And I hope we get to enjoy a bit more May sunshine! 

Back soon,

Kim x

Big Blanket - TaDah Moment!

Hello all, I hope you had a good weekend and enjoyed some sunshine. The warm sunny weather was on short supply, but it stayed dry enough for me to get some gardening done yesterday.  The only thing is that I'm finding the gardening takes its toll on me a bit - it seems like a good idea at the time (even if it is a bit like housework but outside....).  But as I realised yesterday evening, after I'd sat down for an hour, when I started to move again it felt like everything was creaking and groaning - even though I think it was probably me doing most of the groaning!  Sigh.

But whilst recuperating on the sofa last night I had chance to finish the edging on my latest big stripy blanket - and thought I'd share it with you

I was a bit unsure about the colours at times, but now it's finished I'm really pleased with it!  And I love the warm, multi-coloured, wavy stripes! 

The pattern is from Lucy at Attic24 - and this is a combination of colours inspired by cottage gardens.  Just right for me when I've been 'playing' in my little garden lol! 

It's a lovely big snuggly size too, about 6' x 4' (a good single bed size), and will be perfect for cuddling into when the nights are a bit chilly. 

Hope you like it - and do have a look at Lucy's blog if you get chance - there are always some lovely colours, photographs and inspiration.

Thank you for looking at my pics - and thank you as always for your lovely comments and support. They mean such a lot, and it's so nice to think that people have taken the time whilst surfing through Blogland to leave a comment! 

Back soon,

Kim x

Pretty springtime crochet

Hello all and I hope that your week has been going well?  Another busy one here, with youngest now in the middle of his GCSE exams and lots for me to do at work (and home of course!).  Thank goodness for crafting as a form of therapy lol!

I've been busy making a few more things to add to my new Etsy shop and hoping that they will appeal to people browsing for gifts and ideas!

I love flowers in my garden and so naturally enjoy making crochet ones too!  So I thought I'd add a crochet flower brooch.  I've made a couple of these in different variations and they seem to have sold quite well when I've done the odd craft fair, so I'm hoping that they might prove popular on Etsy

I always think these look cute made with 100% cotton yarn as it seems to add definition to the stitches.

I've added a little padding, a felt back and a brooch pin.  They look very cute added to jackets, woollens or bags! 

I've also made another couple of kindle/e-reader cases with some lovely silky-finish yarn and the variegated colours add a gorgeous pattern to the finished case

What do you think?  I'd love to hear your opinions! 

And please pop over to the Etsy shop - HERE - and take a look.  It's always good to get some feedback and learn what works and what needs changing.  I'm never too sure about the wording, etc., so your thoughts would be most welcome! 

Well, I'm going to settle down and carry on with my big blanket - it's nearly finished now and time to start the edging.  Once it's complete I'll do a "Ta Dah" moment with it! 

Hope that the remainder of your week is good - and you have something good to look forward to at the weekend! 

Back soon,

Kim x 

A 'special friend' card !

Hello all - hope you're having a good weekend?  Not too busy here thankfully!  I've had a busy week and so it's nice to have a more relaxed weekend, chance to 'chill' a little bit and recharge the batteries before I'm back at work on Monday!  My youngest son has now finished school - well, gone onto study leave and going in for exams.  I can't believe that my "baby" is now sitting his GCSE exams and will shortly be going into the Sixth Form at school!  The years just seem to fly by!  I know he thinks he's all grown up, and admittedly he does tower over me a bit (I'm 5'4" on a good day, with a following wind, if I stand up straight, and he's now about 6'1" not to mention the added height from the natty hairdo!) but to me he'll always be the baby of the family lol!  It's quite scary sometimes when we look at our offspring and see them with jobs, homes, etc., - surely that can't be right? I'm still 21 inside!  Lol!

Anyway, as I had chance to have a relax this afternoon, I made a cute card using one of my favourite LOTV stamps (well, I love them all really)

I've coloured the stamp with a mixture of copics, Graphit and promarker pens

The papers are from LOTV, as are the sentiment tags. I've added some die cut flowers using the DooHickey doily flower die, with pearl centres, and finished with some stitching.

And the inside has been decorated to match! 

Hope you like it.  I was quite pleased with the colours, I think they work well together. 

I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend, whatever you have planned.  And I hope that we all have a little Spring sunshine! 

Back soon,

Kim x

I've added this card to my Etsy shop - HERE

A stitched card

Hello all and I hope that your week has been going well?  It seems to have been a very busy one for me!  We managed to get some jobs done in the garden last weekend, including taking two walls down - so shovelling rubble and moving pots about left me looking at my most glamorous (i.e.bedraggled and covered in dust!).  But it's looking a bit better now, and will feel even better when I can get the flower pots out of the greenhouse. It still seems a little chilly at night for them, although I might risk a few this weekend!  And work has definitely been on the manic side!  Part of my job includes invigilation for exams and our exam season is getting well and truly underway.  I don't know about the students being stressed during exams, but it's definitely stressful for the exams officers and me!

Anyway, it was nice to do a bit of relaxation therapy with my crafts - and plenty of crocheting going on too.  I made this card and tried to keep it fairly uncomplicated and thought it could be for either a man or woman - what do you think?

I've used an LOTV stamp and papers, and added distress inks, stitching, some hessian ribbon, seam binding (coloured with distress inks) and a wooden star

And decorated the inside to match.  And also made a box envelope to go with it!

I think it's quite a simple card, but seems to work well.  

I'm hoping to get some quieter time this weekend to catch up with people's blogs and see what everyone has been doing!  Roll on half term! 

Back soon,

Kim x

I've added this card to my Etsy shop - HERE.

A crafty weekend?

Hello all, and I hope that you've had a good week - and that your weekend has started well?  Here in the UK it's our May Bank Holiday weekend, with our extra day's holiday on Monday.  In my mind, this was earmarked as 'Operation Garden' weekend, and in line with that theme - it has rained nearly all day..... Sigh.  And to add insult to injury, it's also on the chilly side so the heating is back on.  Double Sigh....  But my hubby has reassured me that, whatever the weather, we will get on with some outside jobs tomorrow and Monday (so unless the weather cheers up considerably tomorrow, there will be the delightful vision of me in the garden in the rain - think "drowned rat").  The forecast for Monday is a bit brighter, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

However, due to the garden plans getting rained off today, I spent some time playing with my stamps and alcohol pens - and I'll share the results with you soon!  I also found a card that I hadn't shared with you yet

I used a gorgeous stamp from LOTV, coloured with copics and promarkers

The papers and sentiment are also from LOTV, and the sentiment ticket and die are from Whimsy.  I used quite a simple layout (it was a card for a man so I held back a bit on the flowers and bling lol!).

I also managed to finish my crochet kindle cover - what do you think?

I made up a pattern for this (like the mobile phone case in my earlier post HERE) in an amigurumi style, i.e. a continuous spiral, so no seams.  I love my kindle - even though I thought I could never part with my beloved books!  And I was quite pleased with how the cover turned out so I've made one for me and one for my new ETSY shop!  I'm just hoping someone else sees it on there, likes it - and buys it lol! 

I hope that you enjoy the rest of your weekend, whatever you have planned - and I'm hoping I can get on with a bit of gardening!  (I'd better get the wellies and waterproofs out!).

Back soon,

Kim x