Burberry Inspired Cowl .......

I have been rather fed up recently !!

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The reason being is that 3 days into the summer hols I pulled my back & have been in pain ever since. I had so many plans for me & the little men & so far we haven't done any of them :(

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I have been to see an osteopath & I'm beginning to feel a lot better. Poor little men have been mainly confined to the house & garden & are beginning to get cabin fever (so am I). My lovely mum has been brilliant & has taken them over to her house here & there to give me some time to relax.

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I just haven't been in the mood to crochet but I can't just sit there doing nothing, so I went through Ravelry to see if there was something quick to make & found this lovely little pattern which is perfect for 1 skein of Malabrigo I had knocking around.

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Pattern : Burberry Inspired Cowl ( Free Pattern on Ravelry )

Yarn : 1 Skein of Malabrigo Worsted ( Whales Road )

Needles : 6.5mm

Time : 2 Days

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I love it !!! I will be making more of these I'm sure !

Scarecrow Festival .......

Every year in July our village holds a Scarecrow Festival. It's a great hit with the little people, my two included !

This was one of their favorites.

Slowwww Progress .........

Here is my progress so far on my Stripy Granny, or lack of it as it so happens ! I'm cross with myself for being so slack but hopefully I will have a hooky boost very soon.

Another thing that is oh so slow at the moment is my new kitchen. It's still not finished, but there is a good or rather bad reason for that. My lovely handy man is unwell & I'm not sure when he will be back, I am hoping that he will be able to finish it before the little men break up next Friday, fingers crossed.

Once it is finished I will share before, during & after photos with you. I am sooo very happy with how it has turned out & can't wait to see the finished result, & with such a tight budget too !!

I have been doing a lot of sorting & clearing of junk so the house is beginning to look like a home & not a junk yard, lots of trips to the local tip yard where I have picked up some bargains, two lovely rugs & some wooden garden chairs all for just £12.oo. Oh I do love a bargain !

Loving My Stripy Granny Blanket ........

I'm loving my stripy granny blanket. Unfortunately I haven't had a lot of time to work on it over the weekend, but I'm determined to spend a few hours this evening just hooking !

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The colours I've chosen are:

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Top Row (left-right)

Plum #1061

Magenta #1084

Violet #1277

Lavender #1188

Wisteria #1432

Raspberry #1023

Fondant #1241

Clematis #1390

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Bottom Row (left-right)

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Teal #1062

Turquoise #1068

Aster #1003

Cloud Blue #1019

Aspen #1422

Sherbet #1034

Meadow #1065

Spring Green #1316

Shiny New Floor ........

When we moved into this house it had cream carpets throughout. As you may agree cream carpets with four in door cats & two little men are not a good mix ! Over the last six years it as gradually turned from cream to grey with the ocassional stain here & there. I hated it but when you are doing up a place there is no point changing carpets until the messy work had been done.

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Now that the work is nearly done, it was time to start ripping up & changing that offending carpet. I have started in the hall as it was really disgusting & the first thing that people saw when they walked in.

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I am over the moon with the new laminate flooring, sooo shiny & oh sooo easy to keep clean. I was going to have new carpet in the sitting/ dining room but now after seeing the end result in the hall have decided to have laminate instead.

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I can't wait to show off my new kitchen once it is complete, only the flooring & tiles to be done now. I can't speak highly enough of the chap who has done all the work, what a professional & tidies as he goes which is almost unheard of. Thanks Ian your doing a marvelous job !
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Jumping On The Stripey Granny Blanket Band Wagon ........

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Life is so hectic at the mo.

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My new kitchen is being installed, & is looking fantastic, new flooring in the hall ( soooo pleased to see the horrible old carpet gone ) trying to cater for two little men surrounded by chaos & dust & trying to keep the house in some sort of order !

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So what better for the soul & my sanity than to start a new project. I fell in love with Lucy's Stripey granny blanket as soon as I saw it, I tried to reason with myself 'do you really need to start yet another blanket Tania, no BUT wouldn't it look great on the sofa in the conservatory'. So before I talked myself out of it, I choose & ordered 16 ball of Stylecraft Special DK .

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Two days later it arrived via Mr Postman. I must say that for 100% acrylic I'm impressed, the yarn is soft & the colours are lovely & bright. With two little men about I am hoping that it will stand up better than wool with every day wear & tear !!

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I have already done 12 stripes so far & will be posting some progess photos tomorrow.

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African Flowers ........

I am inspired by many clever ladies who show off their knitting & crochet on the web. One is the lovely Lucy at Attic24 who inspired me to pick up a crochet hook two years ago & learn how to crochet properly after years of only being able to do granny squares. Another talented lady is the wonderful Elizabeth Cat, who has just started her own blog. If you haven't already had a look I highly recommend that you do.

Her work is amazing & she seems to start & complete projects at an incredible rate. One project that she has shared is the African Flower pattern. Wow, what a gorgeous pattern & so so easy & quick to do.

There are so many colour combinations, just have a look at the flikr site 'Crocheting African Flowers'. I am making a cushion cover to start with & I am hooked (excuse the pun ! ) I just love making these pretty flowers. This is my progress so far, I only started on Friday evening, to make the cushion round I am crocheting in between each hexagon.

Taking Time To Enjoy The Simple Things In Life ........

Loving the smell of newly cut grass & my garden coming to life after a long cold winter ::

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Loving the beautiful blossom on the way to school ::
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Loving all the fairy clocks (there seems to be hundreds of them this year) ::

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Loving how nature can be so beautiful ::

LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED ........

Like many of you out there I just love Jan Constantine wonderful cushions, wall hangings & nik-naks. I have drooled over them for quite some time now but my finances can't stretch to £75 for a cushion !!

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Over the Easter hols I was sorting out my Lloyd loom Ottoman that was over flowing with old half finished tapestries, wools & pieces of canvas when the idea hit me, why not make some tapestry cushions using Jan's designs. As I already have the canvas & a large selection of wool it is a very cheap alternative, in fact FREE !!!!!

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So here is my progress so far, a very easy project that I can pick up & work on whenever I have 5 mins to spare. I drew the outline of the letters & kind of made it up as I went.

Then I realised you can actually buy the chart from her web site for just £10, silly me !!! Anyway I am pleased with it & I am going to ask a friend to help me turn it into a cushion once it is finished as I am not very good with a sewing machin

Just A Quick Note ........

I have quite a few WIP's to show you, but not the time to post them at the mo. I have being trying to catch up with jobs & the mountain of ironing that I have had hidden in the cupboard under the stairs, but shhhh don't tell my mother she would be very unimpressed with me if she saw it !!!!!!!

I am also trying to decide on kitchen cabinets, worktops & tiles for my new kitchen as I have found a chap that can do all of the work at a very good price & can start in a few weeks !!!!!

I promise to show off my WIP's in the next few days, but in the meantime here are some photos of two of my furry babies ......

Saba ....... my youngest furball, who says pink only looks good on girls !!!!

Saba & Bilbo ........ once arch enemies now good buddies. Bilbo has been quite poorly recently with gum problems & he also suffers from fits from time to time so he is a very special boy.

BUSY, BUSY BEES

I must apologise for my lack of blogging these last few weeks, but time seems to be charging along at such a pace at the moment I just haven't had the time ! Now that the little men are back to school after the Easter hols I am hoping that it will slow down a bit for me to breath & have more time for the little pleasures in life, my blog being one of them.

Here are just a few of the things we have done over the last few weeks.


We went foraging for sticky buds to make our Easter Tree, which the little men decorated all by themselves !

As you can see they were very proud of their work, bless !!!

Easter Egg hunting in Nanna's garden

The weather was fantastic so we made quite a few trips to the park with friends. The council have just upgraded the play area, which was looking rather old & tired, to the little people's delight.


Little man no. 1 being cheeky for the camera

Big smiles from Little man no. 2



Little man no. 1 with best buddy 'H'.

Trying out the new swing with Baby 'P'


Walks in the wood with Nanna & her dogs Bertie & Lilly. The Wood Anemones are out & Bluebells are just about to make an appearance.

The little men love the woods.

Nanna & the little men.

The First Signs Of Spring .......

I think Spring is just around the corner, thank goodness !!! I love the winter but it's been a long snowy one this year & I have had my fill of snow & ice.

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The last two days have been lovely & warm so where better to be than in the garden . My little picket fence was looking rather worse for wear so I made a quick trip to the village ironmongers to buy a tin of paint to brighten it up. What a difference !!!!

I have also given the grass it's first haircut of the year & removed some casualties of the frost & snow, luckly there where only a few. Oh Spring I am so ready for you, hurry up & come & stay !