Morning walks and crafting

My birthday flew past in a flash,  isn't that always the way, a day that you never want to end just goes whooosh and it's gone.  Although, Paul did try to make it last by baking my birthday cake (a Sticky Orange Marmalade one) the day after, (between you and me) I think he was just too tired to make it for my big day.

On the crafting front, I happened upon a beautiful sewing site,  and I thought lets take a peek to see what they have. Well six metres of fabric, two sewing patterns and thread later I can declare that I had a very pleasant shopping experience. This is one site I will be revisiting again and again. So excited by my purchases that I got started straight away by ripping open the pattern seen above, now, I normally just cut straight from the pattern, but in this case I thought lets trace it because in the near future I'm hoping to shed some weight, and this pattern was at the top end of the pricing range, so I thought lets just keep it in all its splendour.

The other craft item, well, that's part of a challenge over at Little Things and Uncommon Grace,  the challenge,  I have to complete a couple of letters of the alphabet from Alicia Paulson's new cross stitch kit. I started a couple of days after my big day, and I'm not doing too bad considering I'm back at work;  I've managed to complete upto the letter 'd'.

Talking of work, the beautiful pictures of new born lambs where taken on one of the nursery's days out. It was lovely and warm (well, for Scotland it was warm).  The nice thing about the walks, wherever you go within a couple of minutes you are surrounded by nature and beautiful wildlife; ducks waddling across the mainstreet, new born lambs springing around in the fields, horses, bats and birds of prey. Just beautiful, and so lovely to share with the little ones I work with.

ABCDEFG...

It's been an unusual couple of days, weatherwise I mean. At the beginning of the week, we had snow, (hence the knitted pieces; Rapunzel Gloves and the Enchanted Tree Hat) torrential rain, floods and then on Friday we had what felt like a summers day. Today it's still exceptionally dry with a hint of a chill. It will be good if the weather stays dry with some sun because then it will really feel like spring.   Spring makes me happy it's exciting to see all the new blooms starting to pop through the soil, and if you are anything like me who forgot to add labels to their pots, you will be surprised to see what appears.  This is my second year of gardening, and I already have a healthy crop of Primroses in reds, oranges, creams and yellows. There are also some other shoots appearing...I'm pretty sure they are daffodils, but we will just have to wait and see, they could be anything. 

Carpe Diem

Oh my, how time flies...I can't believe that my last post was so long ago...what have I been up to, well it is a chilly day in my little neck of the woods which means snuggling and keeping warm. So much has changed in my life recently, some good and some not so good, so I'm really trusting that 2015 will be more successful and happier than 2014. I am still a crafter at heart picking up the needles/hook and yarn whenever I get the chance... however, this is pretty limited as most of my time is spent driving to and from my workplace...which is an hour and ten minutes away from my home, one way. Which probably explains why I'm tired all the time and haven't got time for blogging or anything else. Although, I have been pretty productive on the crafting front...I have should we say been seizing the day. Since Christmas I have made 2 crochet blankets, 2 scarves (1 knitted, 1 crochet), a felt cat for my mum (pictured) pattern is by Alicia Paulson and 3 hats. The mincemeat pies are a Paul Hollywood recipe  and very delicious.

The Joy of Daydreaming!

"A daydream is a meal at which images are eaten.  Some of us are gourmets, some gourmands, and a good many take their images precooked out of a can and swallow them down whole, absent-mindedly and with little relish."  ~W.H. Auden
 

Apparently in the late 19th-century daydreaming was held in disrepute in society and was associated with laziness.  Some people argued that those who had daydreams were filled with grandiose fantasies and self-gratifying attempts at "wish fulfilment". In the 1950s, some psychologists even warned parents not to let their children daydream, for fear that the children may be sucked into neurosis or psychosis.

                                                               Leopard  dreaming

 Truthfully I can't remember the last time, in a long time, where I have just sat in my chair and suddenly drifted off into my own little world, you see,  the therapy I am undergoing for PTSD is very quite intrusive and hasn't allowed me to find peace inside myself for nearly a whole year now. The therapy makes me feel so spaced out and at times, numb and detached.  I can quite easily just gawp blankly at the wall, no thoughts, no feeling, just zilch.  That was until yesterday. Yesterday was totally different.  A whole half hour just disappeared, I was fully aware of what was happening, and this time I wasn't just staring at the wall - I was daydreaming.  I was daydreaming about putting together a Happy Box, a box that I will fill with objects and treasures that make me joyful when I'm down. A box full of my secrets and wishes.  Well, in reality, I wasn't dreaming about the box itself,  I was dreaming about what makes me happy.  What do I find comfort in?  What sight, sound, smell makes me happy?  And anyone who has suffered from PTSD will know the last sentence is crippling and downright terrifying, to say the least. These three senses can cause nightmares, flashbacks and quite a likely foreboding if the trauma is left untreated.

So where did my daydreaming take me? What makes me happy? Where do I start? My first daydream ( in no particular order) I have a fondness for:

-The feeling of t-shirt material between my hands, although it has to be cold.
-The feeling of velvet, the way the pile moves under my fingers
-Freshly laundered bedsheets, (this peeves my O/H off, as I always manage to jump into bed before him) so I gain all the newness to myself.
-The softness of my dog's ears.
-Frozen soil, crunching under my feet
-Scuffing my feet through fallen leaves.
-Period dramas such as Pride and  Prejudice, Bleak House, Tess of the D'ubervilles and Emma.
-Michael Nyman's soundtrack for The piano
-Gattaca soundtrack
-The innocence and naivety of the character Amelie in the film of the same name
-The Flumps, Bagpuss, Bod, Timmy Time and Button Moon
-The smell of warm bread
-Falafel
-The smell of coconut, chocolate and vanilla
-The sun on my face
-Wading into the sea
-My dog sleeping and snoring at my feet
-Red gerberas

There is additional dreaming, but I won't bore you with a huge list.

While daydreaming, I may have also had a smile on my face, which freaked  Paul out and lead him to ask what I was doing. I couldn't even reply as I was still lost in my own little world- Squirrel world ; D

Anyway, enough daydreaming.  I have been a very busy squirrel, spring is here, and I'm out of hibernation and been squirrelling away (sorry). I've been getting to grips with loads and loads of knitting, I've been very occupied, in truth no housework or spring cleaning has taken place for the past few days, and I was doing so well on the cleaning front too, what a shame..... Not lol!

Little booties-this pattern is so adorable: Ruth's Perfect Baby Booties by Ruth Bennett  knitted in Sirdar Calico- cream

Another adorable baby pattern: Tiramisu Baby Blanket by Alicia Paulson. Crocheted blanket with an easy repeat pattern. Decided to use ricrac to weave around the blanket border. Used ribbon for the bow which was secured in place with a teddy bear button.

Waistcoat from Sirdar Early Knits booklet. Yarn used Regia Extra Twist Merino in Greens, button band and arm edging- yarn is Regia Extra Merino Twist in Chocolate.

 Baby Mittens used Sirdar Calico in Turquoise the booties behind are Chausson's Mignons in Sirdar Calico Turquoise colour wave.

Makes a very beautiful baby set.

The pattern is Dear Wee Baby Singlet by Justine Turner knitted in Regia sock yarn by Design wave by Kaffe Fassett.

Improvised design, faces are from Monkey by Mary Ann Stephens on a basic roll brim baby hat.

Both items knitted in Sirdar Calico Cream and Dark Blue.

Baby Sweater Vest by Bley Hack knit in Sirdar Calico Turquoise and topped with Teddy Bear buttons.

Enchanted Wrist Purse by Michelle Heaney.
I'm loving this, and if Paul ever asked me to marry him (wishful thinking) I would make this to accessorise my outfit for the big day


On the iPod this week

And

Also listening to Cosmic Dancer by Marc Bolan & T-Rex

And

Other activities on my agenda that is other than sitting on my behind knitting. Decorating the living room. Paul would like the main feature wall this colour:

Dulux Red Currant

And my colour choice is this:

Dulux Blue Babe

I do like red- it's my favourite colour. However, I do think it is a touch overbearing, loud and angry for our living room. While the blue is calming, in fashion and will go with the sofa (cream cord) and curtains (rich cream) - think I may need a better argument lol.  I wonder if I will win the war of the living room! I've never seen an angry Squirrel before. Have you? Wonder if they're any good at fighting mmmm! Only one way to find out I suppose. Lol!

Paul  "the blue will look too cold" my reply "well stick a jumper on then"  Squirrel 1, Paul 0. Lol!





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