Showing posts with label January. Show all posts
Showing posts with label January. Show all posts

Saturday, 31 January 2015

Hussif or Housewife

"Hussif or Housewife"  traditionally, a folding bag or roll taken by men going to war 1914-1918.  The Hussif or Housewife is a useful way of keeping all your sewing equipment in hand.  




This pattern has been designed with lots of pockets for all those loose items like buttons, packets of needles, thread etc.

The Pdf pattern can be found in my Folksy & Etsy shops 
(see side panel)

Sunday, 25 January 2015

Amaryllis - week 4 and a week in the garden........................


Just about to burst, can't wait to see the blousey blooms!  As a friend said the other day it a pity they don't have a scent as well.


The bottom of the garden last Sunday morning


By Wednesday.  We are only out there about an hour a day, it takes about an hour to fill a bag!


By Saturday morning!  We can now see the fence.


These berries were in amongst the dead twigs, think they are Honeysuckle berries.


The first place we cleared, things are growing again...............


The Bay needs pruning, must do that this year!  Growing every upwards and outwards across the garden!  One herb I never buy, I have a pick of the best leaves!


The Yucca is doing the same!  This one will have pieces sliced off at the roots.


After the rain!  Looks pretty with the raindrops sitting on the leaves


Pretty pink Japonica 


This is the sixteenth bag of Bramble etc, lots more to do!


I took is photo through the window so not to disturb the two Magpies and the Squirrel!

Monday, 19 January 2015

Amaryllis - week3 - and ................


The Amaryllis has grown again but not much happening otherwise.


Just to say my friend Ginny absolutely loved her gift
(see last post)

(click on picture to read the poem)

I didn't do this post yesterday because I was somewhat busy completing this sampler.  My first commission of the year.  It was needed by a certain date and I only started it on 6th January.  I haven't done any cross-stitching for quite sometime, and quite enjoyed doing this one, but I do have to say there was a couple of occasions I did actually nearly through it across the room!  I hope the person who commissioned it likes it too!

Thursday, 15 January 2015

Golden Daffodils


I'm off for coffee with my friend Ginny this morning (she doesn't use social media).  I crafted these daffodils for her birthday which is immediately after Christmas.  


Hope she like them - I'm sure she will!

Sunday, 11 January 2015

Amaryllis - week 2


This is my Amaryllis on 4th January 


within one week we have................
It looks like it is going to put all it strength into the flower!  
The bud is forming very well.

Sunday, 4 January 2015

Gardening!


This is my Amaryllis for this year, a gift from my really lovely best friend Jane.  I thought I would blog its progress every Sunday.  

I know it is probably the wrong time to start, but our garden is full of Bramble, although it yielded about six/seven pounds on Blackberries last year I cannot see it doing it again this year.  It was a bumper crop for everyone everywhere.  Not so much now but still have Bindweed in the garden, we tackled that a couple of years ago.  The last time we sorted the garden properly was two years ago, and we started late.  But this year we started on 29th December!  It was cold and frosty that day, but we decided to take heed from this!  

If you look at this post you can see stays holding up the fence.  We didn't put them there the next-door-neighbour did.  The wind caught their fence and they put them there to hold his fence up.  He did ask and we agreed but that was about five/six years ago...............  Then Alex went up the garden to feed the birds, and came in and said they're gone!  I had to go out and look for myself because I just didn't believe it,  they had become part of the garden I and was going to grow climbing roses up them!  Don't know when he removed them, but it does go to show back gardens are quite vulnerable.  We do get on with Kevin and Tracey, but I thought he could of knocked and come through the house even if he just threw the posts over the fence, and left through the front door.  When he put them up he climbed the fence, we helped him to wedge them against the fence.


We cleared the neglected part of the garden the bit we never get to because we are too exhausted then one year turns into another and it doesn't happen.  This is opposite the back door.  The Camellia could not be seen because of the Bindweed and Bramble.  The wall is the neighbours the otherside garage.  


There lots of buds on the Camellia.  It took us four days to clear the Brambles from here, and this is only a small patch!


I hard pruned the Bush Fuchsia. this morning.


To make room to tackle prickly corner!


There are Brambles growing behind the Yucca and they are growing inside the conservatory/lean-to/junkroom!



We'll work our way up the garden like we did last time just pruning,  it is too early to start digging, although some bulbs can be planted in February then we must tackle the Brambles at the bottom of the garden, we will regain about four foot of garden when that is cleared!

Thursday, 1 January 2015

2015

............what will 2015 bring............
......what will happen in 2015............?
Don't know, we will have to wait and see!

I saw this on a blog post last year


I don't make resolutions, I don't make lists of things that need doing or want to do, because as we all know it doesn't happen!  
BUT!  I saw this motto and decided that is for ME!  

Since last year when I found this I have done what it says. and things have really got done!

So perhaps this is my New Year's resolution for now and new years to come!

Friday, 31 January 2014

Z is for Zoetrope

I have joined the backward Alphabet with Lynne ..............
but I have to confess I forgot about it until I read her blog!


Z is for Zebra
ZOETROPE


It was invented by William Horner and englishman in 1834, but it didn't become popular until 1860's until it was patented in England and America.  An American called  William F. Lincoln gave it the name Zoetrope which means 'wheel of life'  

Pictures are drawn on to a strip of paper or card and set at the bottom inside of a drum.   The same drawing is drawn slightly different each time.  The upper part of the drum has slits to look through as it is spun.  

The first moving film.









Wednesday, 22 January 2014

His Masters Voice!


I made this for a bit of fun!  
People who know us, knows my husband collects and restores Vintage Radios and Record Players.  
This is  my take on Nipper the dog and his masters voice.  
You can read about Nipper here.  

Friday, 17 January 2014

Please say hello to................


Scarlett Marie 

born today at 13.01 weighing at 7lbs 12ozs
by cesarean section

our second grand-daughter and third grandchild

Thursday, 16 January 2014

I managed to knit the baby cardigan


Do you remember this pattern............



Well with lots of help from everyone, and especially Lynne who helped me to sort out why I kept gaining stitches I managed to knit this for my new grand-daughter - keep watching my blog, I will blog about her on her birth-day very soon.

I wonder if Lynne finished hers.......?

Friday, 10 January 2014

Three years old!


Our beautiful grandson is THREE today
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIAM

Tuesday, 7 January 2014

This morning.................


I saw this saying on Meadow Daisy
think I will make this as my motto for this year!



Saw and optical illusion 
well we see it most days but thought I would share it.
It reminds me of a horse and rider what do you think........?


can you see it?
(click on pictures to enlarge)


saw a rainbow


and my husband decided he should sort his vinyl!
Even vinyl in those bags next to the flowers top centre!

Oh and I have changed the name of my blog too!

and heard this on the radio this morning which made me chuckle!


The Original Nursery Rhyme

January brings the snow,
Makes our feet and fingers glow.
February brings the rain,
Thaws the frozen lake again.
March brings breezes sharp and shrill,
Shakes the dancing daffodil.
April brings the primrose sweet,
Scatters daisies at our feet.
May brings flocks of pretty lambs,
Skipping by their fleecy dams.
June brings tulips, lillies, roses,
Fills the children's hands with posies.
Hot July brings cooling showers,
Apricots and gillyflowers.
August brings the sheaves of corn,
Then the harvest home is borne.
Warm September brings the fruit,
Sportsmen then begin to shoot.
Brown October brings the pheasant,
Then to gather nuts is pleasant.
Dull November brings the blast,
Then the leaves go whirling past.
Chill December brings the sleet,
Blazing fire and Christmas treat.

Wednesday, 1 January 2014

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!

These aren't New Year pictures I know, but I thought I would share last Sunday's visit to the grandchildren.


One shared present


can you guess what it is.........?


not quite the idea.......


Peek-a-Boo! 


He saw the tunnel bit of the tent and said ROCKET


Don't think he has taken it off since!

Its amazing what a play tent and tunnel becomes!

Wednesday, 23 January 2013

Another Moan!

I am NOT a happy Bunny!


I don't mind the pigeons and I don't even mind squirrels eating the food I put out the the birds, we have all got to eat, but having seagulls sitting on the bird feeder tray just takes the biscuit, literally!  The sole reason of buying the bird feeder in the first place was to try and discourage the seagulls.  I like them in their place at the beach, and they do have characters of their own but really.................

NO! - Todays grievance

We seem to have the distant cousin of the kangaroo invading our house!  Well, we are not sure what it is, it could be a mouse, or it could be a rat we are just not sure, but think this one must be wearing a nappy! Mice and rats tend to leave a trail of poo but there is no evidence of droppings and we are not sure where it is coming in from either, but we know we have a visitor because of the chewed up silver paper in a corner of the room. First, we put chocolate down which disappeared by the next day, so out came the poison. Just as well our eccentric friend didn't see this or we would have had a lecture on cruelty on wildlife, and yes we like wildlife in their own habitat not OURS!  

I have an old pair of shoes that I use to trek up the garden or to go for muddy walks in, and this time of year I keep them under the radiator just to keep the chill off. It was just as well I picked them up first, because over-night our visitor had decided to spew-up the second lot of rat poison in one of them.  The first night all the poison had gone, but the second night only half had gone!




Friday, 18 January 2013

Snow and other things


As I look out of the window the snow falls silently, but it is not staying, it hits the ground and melts, which in away is quite sad, but I am quite glad it is not settling.   Although it looks pretty I think I am too old for snow....... The view is from our driveway looking up the road.


View from the front door this morning - I wonder what we shall see tomorrow!


We went shopping early this, most took the advice so Tesco and Morrisons was virtually empty this morning. Look was I got............


Some snowy white Tulips


I made a snugly warm teddy bear too!
He can be found here