Wednesday 8 June 2011

Audrey - An update....

Do you remember when I introduced you to Audrey? She was in quite a bad way, extremely dirty and looking rather shabby. Well, after a good clean, some paint and a recovering she is feeling much better and ready to face the world again.
Introducing the new and improved Audrey......




x

Monday 6 June 2011

Salford Quays

I ended up at Salford Quays today. Home to the absolutely fabulous Lowry and soon to be the new home of Coronation Street. I haven't been for around 7 years, even though I love it, so I thought I would take a few pics to share. Unfortunately I didn't take my camera as I wasn't planning to go there so the pics are all taken on my phone. The weather was of course typical for Manchester.....












Monday 16 May 2011

Audrey

Hello there, how are you? I hope you are fine and dandy. There hasn't been much crafting going on around here lately, just a bit of crochet here and there. I have been painting the floorboards in the lounge and it has been more of a pain than I thought. Stuff everywhere, paint everywhere and dust everywhere. These things always seem to take longer than anticipated. We have now nearly done one half and are about to move onto the other. 

I am also working on a new find. She is called Audrey, I don't know why, she just seemed to be an Audrey. I found her at the car boot. We haven't been to a car boot since last summer but called in at one the other day just as everyone was packing up. I spotted Audrey from afar, ran over (well more of a jog than a run) and knew that she had come home with us. Here she is....


As you can see she is looking rather shabby and not in a chic way. I am currently giving her a new lick of paint and then I will reupholster her so that she can shine in her own special way. Thanks for popping in, I hope you have a great week. x


Oh, I nearly forgot, I'm linking to Sophies blog so if you fancy seeing more thriftiness have a click. Also have a peep at her fabby studio.

Sunday 1 May 2011

Yummyness...

Hello my dearies, how are you today? Happy May! I can't believe that we are into May and yet this is my first thrifty post of 2011. Well, if truth be told, there has been distinct lack of thrifting around here lately. Lack of funds, escalating charity shop prices and also near empty charity shops have all been a factor. As has the fact that my house is severely lacking in space to add new finds.

However a few days ago I saw some things that I couldn't resist. Not the ever elusive bark cloth, (where is it all?) but almost as fabulous...


How could I resist such gorgeousness? These pics really don't do it justice...

I would love to make a dress from this but due my lack of sewing skills I'll be lucky to manage a skirt.



There were lots of yummy fabrics but I was very calm and only chose a few that I just couldn't resist...



Please excuse the creases.



And finally something that I have been looking for for a long time, a lovely little patchwork quilt....



Not bad, if I do say so myself.
Thank you for dropping by. If you would to see more thrifty finds pop by and see Sophie.
x


Friday 29 April 2011

Congratulations William and Catherine!


Congratulations to William and Catherine. 
The wedding ceremony was beautiful, the bride was absolutely stunning.
I feel proud to be British.
I wish them a very long and happy marriage.
x

Wednesday 27 April 2011

Hmmmm...


I think I may have worked out why we haven't had any nesting birds this year!
x

Saturday 23 April 2011

Happy Easter

from a pattern here

much love
x

Monday 18 April 2011

Groovy

Hello my lovelies. I hope that you are all doing fine and dandy. Thank you for the lovely comments on my last post, where I showed you a sneaky peek of latest project. 

Regular readers will know of my dislike of the making of blankets. So it may come as a little bit of a surprise when I reveal that the sneak peek was in fact another blanket. The second one so far this year.

When I stumbled upon the pattern for this blanket I knew it would be perfect for me. The reason I don't much like making blankets is that it soon becomes monotonous and I grow bored easily. This blanket prevents the boredom from setting in by breaking it down into different sections. So you start by doing granny squares...


Just as that may start to drag you move on to the shell strip...


followed by dot motifs....


a few stripes...


some flowers...


join it together and add a ripple border...


and you get The Groovyghan!




I loved making this blanket. If you fancy having a go you can find the pattern here.

Thanks for popping in. I hope you have lovely week. Much love.
x

Thursday 7 April 2011

My Creative Space

Hello my lovelies. My creative space today is my bed. I'm stuck here due to a particularly nasty bug. 
Luckily crochet is something that can be done pretty much anywhere so i'm working on finishing a W.I.P.
I hope to be able to show it to you soon....


For more creative spaces clicky here.
x

Sunday 3 April 2011

Your knitting and crochet time - 2KCBWDAY7

Write about your typical crafting time...

The basic ingredients...

A comfy spot....

A bag of yarn...


A nice mug of coffee and some nibbles.....




And a furry friend or two......






I hope you are having a great weekend and a Very Happy Mother's Day.
Thank you so much for joining me for this week of blogging, it's been fun but would have been nothing without you.
x


Saturday 2 April 2011

Something to aspire to - 2KCBWDAY6

Is there a pattern or skill that you don’t yet feel ready to tackle but which you hope to (or think you can only dream of) tackling in the future, near or distant?

That is the topic for todays post from Knitting and Crochet blog week. A few things came to mind when I read about this topic. As well as learning a few more new stitches I would really love to do a couple of things. One is a Babette blanket and the other is a dress for my littlest one.

Many crochet bloggers have made a Babette blanket and I love them. However I really don't enjoy making blankets. I think it's mainly because of the repetitiveness. Some people love it, I don't. I like to finish projects quite quickly and I'm yet to find a quick blanket. However I LOVE crochet blankets. It was my love of such blankets that made me start crocheting in the first place.


image via here


I don't know what it is that makes me love the Babbette so much but to me it is the Queen of all blankets. I think maybe it is the fact that you can be as colourful as you like and it just works. I also love the size, the bigger the better.I guess this is why I will probably never make one. I could do a small one but it just wouldn't be same, it is the size that makes it fabulous, all those blocks of yummy colour.


image via here


I would also really like to crochet a dress for my littlest one whilst she is still little enough to want to wear dresses. She is a very girlie, girl and loves to wear pretty dresses so I would love for her to have a handmade dress. I cannot sew so crochet would be the best option.

I have an idea of what I would like it look like but cannot find an image or a pattern. I think I might have to write my own so that would also be something quite new. I have done a couple of my own patterns but only really for toys and never for clothes. In fact I haven't made anything wearable at all except for scarves and and a couple of shawls.

Unlike the Babette, I think a dress would be quite manageable. It would have to involve stripes and a few pretty colours, probably a flower somewhere too, but the rest is in the planning stage. I'm thinking of maybe using the Rico cotton?

Do you have any experience in crocheting clothes or can you recommend a good yarn that is washable? I would love to hear your thoughts on this.


I hope you have a great weekend.
x



Friday 1 April 2011

And now for something completely different - 2KCBWDAY5


Hello, Happy April and Happy April Fool's day. 
Today as part of Knit and crochet blog week we were asked to do something a little different. So, to give you a wee break from pictures of crochet I decided to share a little something that a friend of mine shared with me a while ago. 
I don't know the author of this piece, sorry. I hope that it brings a smile, maybe a chuckle to your day.....

image via here

A man and woman had been married for more than 60 years. They had shared everything. They had talked about everything. They had kept no secrets from each other except that the little old woman had a shoe box in the top of her closet that she had cautioned her husband never to open or ask her about.
For all of these years, he had never thought about the box, but one day the little old woman got very sick and the doctor said she would not recover.

In trying to sort out their affairs, the little old man took down the shoe box and took it to his wife's bedside. She agreed that it was time that he should know what was in the box. When he opened it, he found two crocheted dolls and a stack of money totaling $95,000.

He asked her about the contents. 'When we were to be married,' she said, 'my grandmother told me the secret of a happy marriage was to never argue. She told me that if I ever got angry with you, I should just keep quiet and crochet a doll.'

The little old man was so moved; he had to fight back tears. Only two precious dolls were in the box. She had only been angry with him two times in all those years of living and loving. He almost burst with happiness.

'Honey,' he said, 'that explains the doll, but what about all of this money? Where did it come from?', 'Oh,' she said, 'that's the money I made from selling the dolls.'

image via here
A Prayer.......
Dear Lord, I pray for Wisdom to understand my man;
Love to forgive him, and Patience for his moods.
Because Lord, if I pray for Strength, I'll beat him to death,
because I don't have time to crochet.  
x

Thursday 31 March 2011

Where are they now? 2KCBWDAY4

Whatever happened to your                     ?

Today we are supposed to discuss what has happened to a particular project. Being the indecisive person that I am I couldn't decide on just one so I have decided to show what happens in general. This is pretty similar in a way to what happens to my yarn stash. In other words it takes over the house. Not much is given away except for corsages. My Mother wouldn't appreciate a crochet cushion and neither really would my friends. That's ok though, more for me.


So, cushions are used on sofa's, chairs and beds along with blankets. I don't really tend to make projects to go in a specific area. Instead I tend to decide where it will go either during or after making it. Some things have gone into storage such as the multitude of doilies, there are only so many that you can put around the house. Larger projects though are dotted throughout the house.




Along with just a few doilies...


Thank you so much for the comments yesterday. It is so good to know that I am not the only one.
x