too busy

for blogging. But I have made more of the flower pictures and have an order for another one. I am working with hydrangea flowers which are the most glorious colours.
Life in this household is stressed just now. Amy has had three blood transfusions in the last two weeks and is still struggling with walking. She is now getting stressed about finding the bridesmaid's dresses, which are selling out fast from Coast. Not surprised, as they are stunning. But a lot can be achieved by us all pulling together.

I have been working hard on the invitations and they are now done, complete with organza ribbon to tie. I have used YARDS of the stuff and kept miscalculating how much you actually need to tie a bow.

just found this on folksy. I love sea glass. I used to spend hours collecting it on those warm sunny days by the seaside.


Here is a picture of Albert, who now has a friend called Arthur, (not yet been photo'd) and my latest blanket which has sold! Hooray!

Went out with the family at the weekend to celebrate eldest daughter's 30th (scary to be that old...), and since they are so up on soaps and celebrities they spotted Jim Mcdonald from Corrie and DCI Manson, I think, from the Bill. I hadn't a clue who they were to be honest. I think DCI Manson was taking his mum out. Sweet.

Here is a pic of me with my souvenir from the Grenada in son's kitchen.

work in progress

I have started a new blanket with different grown up colours, like sludge, and faded blue, dirty pink, yukky green and cornfield yellow and such like. It's turning out okay and quite quickly since I have used a larger hook. The picture shows it on the kitchen table next to the lovely handbag I have just bought from folksy , much admired.

Today I came home and found my OH had picked a lovely bunch of flowers for me AND put them in water. Then I proceeded to cut the heads off and stuck them in between the pages of a big fat cookery book. And then piled on several heavyweight art books, and a flat iron. I am playing around with pressed flowers and fabrics and have a couple on folksy

Yesterday we did the wedding dress shopping thing for Amy and she has got the most beautiful dress. I thought we would be traipsing around forever but not so - she tried a few on and then picked one that gives her a tiny waist, keeps her boobs in place, and that she can walk in, and sit down in. Hope she doesn't drop a burger on it when she gets married on 5th November (how not to forget a wedding anniversary!). It's been hurried along a bit due to her illness. Her specialist reckons he isn't going to go for a bone marrow transplant for at least 6 months, and that only if they can find a donor. Such worrying times. She is coping by being focused on her wedding day. And I do my crochet. Think it keeps my mind in an alpha state to a certain extent, but not sure what else I can do.

Went out with the rest of the family for lunch and had pizza. Yum.

massive lettuces!

I have a little garden and in this little garden are some raised beds and in these there are huge lettuces, peas, beans and tomatoes! I am astonished how they grow as I just plonked the baby plants into grow bags and then stuck these into the 'beds' - roughly six feet long, one foot wide troughs on legs, made from bits of timber we had left over from a house move. Last year's strawberries are producing some nice new ones, but it's a race between me and the birds.

I am making a scarf out of a recycled artigiano jumper. A bit sacriligious, I know, turning massively expensive Italian yarn into a nice scarf but it gives me a thrill anyway.

summer days

Yesterday I spent the afternoon with the family in the garden celebrating the Polish Grandma's 84th birthday. The boys were in deep gloom after the England massacre and the girls couldn't care less and just enjoyed the day.
I have been knitting with a myriad of different yarns, coming to grips with colour and tone, and have been delving into my old Kaffe Fassett books. These are wonderful just to ogle the colours and photography.

I am exploring the use of dried flowers in my cards, but in a non traditional way, like I made a card for the Polish Grandma's birthday which was a single stem of dried cow parsley hand stitched in place and mounted on cream coloured linen. I think the single stems work really well and are a long way from the 70's dried flower craze with flattened bunches of flowers. We'll see.

Today I am taking daughter Amy for another hospital appointment and her big brother is coming for moral support. Here is a pic of him with his other sister Rosie. Am proud of my kids and how they love a nd support each other, after all the years of squabbling and bickering...

rushing ahead

It's been a while but then it's been a very hectic couple of weeks. I am dealing with daughter Amy's illness which is rare and scary - MDS. She needs a bone marrow transplant so that brings a whole lot of other thoughts which I really am trying to process just now.

Meanwhile, my sanity is staying on course with crafting. Knitting, to be precise. I have a view of the kind of thing I want to do but it's not quite working out. Still, the process of knitting is helping calm the nerves. Apparently according to an article that my OH found, we now do way too much multi tasking and this is not good! It means, as the brain is so wired, that when we stop we get fidgetty and bored as we are constantly in some kind of hyper state. I thought it was just me!

Maybe we need to abandon multi tasking and focus on one thing at a time, which sounds comfortingly old fashioned. I may just give it a go!

My favourite flower meadow picture sold yesterday, which I am glad about, but will do another similar one.

Now I have to go to the dentist for root canal treatment. Life is such a bundle of fun!!!

antiques

It was pouring with rain on Saturday and pretty cold too, but me and my OH decided to drive out to Buxton in the Peak District. Having spent much of our last two week holiday up hills and down dales, we were drawn again to this fab place, which combines Victorian elegance with a nice smattering of Charity shops and even a Waitrose (the supermarket with the yummy apple and cinnamon yoghurt).

Anyway, there was an antique fair. he went off to have a cup of tea and I had a good browse. Amazed at the prices. I think perhaps I should simply go and buy up all the old embroidered linen tray cloths from out local charity shops for a quid a time and flog them here for £6. Amazing what a good ironing can achieve. Still, I bought a sweet little hankie for 20 p and some tiny mother of pearl buttons for 50p - last of the big spenders. These have now been incorporated into a couple of new cards.

When I was in Yorkshire (visitng the wonderful Wensleydale Cheese Factory) I found a fantastic little wool place and bought a spindle. Okay so I have spent all week trying to work with this, and typically as soon as I had spun something resembling thread, I knitted it up. I have decided that I need to go back to the drawing board with this as it's decidedly ropey. So much for my plan to make hand knitted scarves with home spun wool. But I will continue to practice.

So I am a schizophrenic crafter - one minute tiny stitches, next grappling with chunks of wool and felting, and then of course the textile cards. One day I will find something and stick too it, but now, I will continue to explore. Hearts are a massive motif in shops, stuffed, tin, fabric, knitted, painted, stitched....

lovely new day

The cherry blossom is looking a bit faded so summer is on the way, but it's freezing! Yesterday I worked hard completing a stack of cards for this gallery

I have been working with hearts made out of recycled cans, sea shells and I found some fab lace handkerchiefs in a charity shop and have used these too. I think my cards may be a bit cheap since a little bit of market research showed hand made textile cards for just under a fiver!

The downside is that my daughter Amy hasn't been well. She is having to see a blood specialist next week as a blood test came back which concerned her doctor. I am hoping she hasn't got aplastic anaemia again which she had ten years ago, but we will just have to wait and see.

Meanwhile, I feel optimistic about the new government which was all compulsive viewing on the telly. New Moon in Taurus today - good for nature, good food and and getting back to basics.