Merry Christmas to All!

I have had the most marvellous weekend, which has started

our Christmas, perfectly.

My son and his new girlfriend have been visiting from, Brighton.

I took them to visit a local landmark, Brimham Rocks.

where we clambered over the rocks

and took in the view.

There was lots of good cheer, laughter, food and drink.

The true meaning of Christmas!

Our tree is up and it only remains to wish you, a

" Happy Christmas to all

and to all a good-night."

Winter Wonderland!

The snow arrived this week, making a very festive landscape!

Preparations for the 'Big Day' are in full flow!

The tree is going up today, without doubt my favourite bit.

I love dressing it, in all it's finery. Lots of memories uncovered

 and re-visited, of Christmas's past,  to the strains of carols and cheesy

Christmas songs  ..... all part of the magic!

I have been commissioned to knit some socks, for a present.

The only brief I had was, they had to be colourful.

Knitted up 2 colourways ....

 

She liked both but chose the ones at the top.  Good choice!

Well on the way with the second one but not sure they will be finished on time.

Found this wool, when out on a present foray, in Skipton.

Not sure what I'm going to do with it but I loved the colours.

All those pinks and oranges.

Gone into my 'stash'!

Also, found this little Knitting doll, to add to my collection.

Isn't she cute ... very French looking, I thought.

Oh, la, la!

Lastly, scored this old rugging tool.

I think it's a Punch tool and is in full working order.

I need to do some investigation, on the Net, to find out exactly 

how it works and who made it.

All in all, a very successful trip!

Hope your preparations are well under way.

Enjoy!

Finishing Touches!

The weather is on the change, here in our corner of N. Yorkshire,

from Autumn to Winter.

Much brighter days but colder ...... with the promise of

snow, later this week.

This Holly bush is loaded with berries, that the birds haven't found yet.

Have taken note of it, for possible festive decoration!

I have been having difficulties getting into the Christmas spirit,

this year, which is surprising as it's my favourite time of year.

I think it's because I have been under the weather and am not as

prepared as I usually am.

Mr C. drew our Christmas card yesterday.

I love the simplicity of it, with just the little bits of red on the tree.

Having printed some out, I am feeling a bit more equipped.

 Only remains for me to write them ....

A short post today, so much to do, at this time of year!

Only remains for me to share with you 

the finishing touch to my baby bag.

Little rabbit buttons, I found on my last visit to Brighton.

I am so pleased with it. Hope they will be too.

Have a great week, everyone!

Almost There!

What dreary weather, we have been having, in our neck of the woods!

Mists and mellow fruitfulness taken to it's extremes.

Taking Daisy out has become a real trial ......

the ground is so gloopy.

One bright spot is that the 'Party Tree', on our Village Green

is alight again!

I have been absent from the air waves, due to a phone fault!

Took a while to get an engineer but it's all fixed now.

This week's post is to catch you up, with my progress on the baby bag.

To quote the lyrics from an old Andy Williams song ....

" Close your eyes, for we're almost there."

The bag is knitted, assembled and the zip inserted.

I crocheted around the edges of the zip and hood.

It is a stitch called Crab Stitch, which I had to look up on the web.

Gives the edges a 'bound look', which I liked.

Will give a small tutorial, on it, in a future post, for those of you

who would like to try it out. It's quite tricky, as you go from left to right

instead of the usual right to left!

My best friend , Sally, who has just been on a visit, made a

paper pattern and cut out the lining for me.

Sewing is not my forte and she is the baby's father's godmother, 

so it seemed appropriate, that she should have a hand in the construction.

Well, thats my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

I machine stitched the lining together and with a bit of 

'jiggery-pokery' (nothing quite goes to plan does it)!

and a lot of luck, assembled knitted bag and lining together.

Hand stitching the lining in at the moment.

Pleased with the results .... hope they will be too!

Can't wait to finish and then I can concentrate on Christmas.

Have a great weekend everyone!

"Poop-Poop"!

"Toad sat straight down in the middle of the dusty road, his legs stretched out before him, and stared fixedly in the direction of the disappearing motor-car. He breathed short, his face wore a placid satisfied expression, and at intervals he faintly murmured `Poop-poop!'"

I've started this post, with a quote from 

'Wind in the Willows', as it seemed appropriate!

Exciting times to be had, this week.

For a long time, Mr C. and I had been discussing a dream we both

share, of buying a Camper Van.

Thanks to the sale of my Mum's flat, that dream has become a reality.

Thank you Mum xx

We did lots of research and fell in love with one, in Pontypool, S. Wales,

half way across the country from here.

The journey, last Tuesday, was not without it's dramas!

Dreadful weather in the shape of wind and rain.

Traffic hold ups on the M1 and the dreaded M42.

Set off at 9am and didn't reach home until 10.30pm.

We were exhausted but exhilarated having bought

this beauty ..... A  Mazda Bongo!!

The name itself suggested it would be perfect for us.

Not come home with us yet. Mr C. is collecting it next week.

My youngest son, asked us if we were getting the 'A Team' back together.

Heh, heh!

Looking forward to lots of trips away next year, when Mr C has finished

putting in the cooker etc.

I think it will change our lives ..... so many possibilities.

The open road is beckoning!

The rest of the week, was a bit humdrum in comparison.

Did manage to do a bit of sewing.

Lined this little trug, with a vintage doily ...

Did it mainly, so that wool and threads would not catch on 

the rough edges. Really pleased with the result.

Found these items, which had to come home with me.

A box to add to my collection.

and this book, which was printed in the 1960's.

 I bought it because I loved the illustration, on the front.

It might prove useful, when our granddaughter arrives.

Mr C. has promised, that our first trip in the van will be to Brighton,

to see the baby, when she is born.

A happy prospect .....

Have a good weekend everyone!

You Couldn't Make it Up!

I want to start this week's post by thanking everyone 

for their good wishes, regarding the success of our Pop-Up Shop.

I have to report however, all did not go well!

In an unbelievable twist of fate we have had to CANCEL.

I went in on the first day of opening and was presented with two

engineers who said they had come to remove the asbestos from the building!

To cut a long story short, there had been a mix up in the line of communication.

A case of right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing.

Well as you can imagine, I was thrown in a flat spin ....

We had to pack up and leave by the end of that day!!

Not an easy task, as we live about 15 miles from the site

and there is no parking outside.

It was done, all under the cover of darkness, that evening.

I don't know how we did it but but we did!

This gave me an unexpected free week, after I got over the 

tiredness and stress of it all.
Managing to laugh about it now.
Could only happen to us!

Mr C, bought me this lovely cyclamen to thank me for all

my hard work.

It has pride of place in my work room.

Felt inspired to progress on, with my 'Spiral',textile.

I have been mulling over an idea, I found in tnis vintage sewing book.

It involves embroidering on net.

Having mounted my work, on section of net curtain

I thought this might be a good way to integrate the piece into the background.

Photocopied the design onto a sheet of A4 paper and tacked it into place.

Sorted out some crochet colours in similar tones to the Spiral.

and began!

A work in progress .....

A very satisfying end to a traumatic start of the week.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Baptism of Fire!

What a week it has been! 

 It's been non-stop, gettting ready for the Pop-up Shop.

We only have a small car, so have been going into Harrogate,

every day this week, in the early hours (so we can park outside), to

drop off all the things we need.

Snapped this 'rosey' sunrise, as we left on Monday morning.

The weather has been unseasonably warm and the Autumnal colours, glorious.

But, I digress!

We set off this morning at 6.15am and arrived to find all the alarms

in the shop, were ringing. Frantic keying in of code, ensued, to no effect.

What chaos, the noise was unbelievable!

To cut a long story short, many people were roused, at a very early hour.

Promises were made .....

The local police were informed and we abandoned the property.

Hopefully, it has been sorted! 

Definitely a 'baptism of fire'! 

We have learned a lot and now feel up to tackling any contingency.

A rash statement, if ever I heard one.

Tomorrow is set up day and we open,  Monday morning.

The rest of the week, has been spent ......

 framing my 'Grid' textiles, in perspex frames.

Handmade Britain

Woman to Woman

Perspex frames, are a new departure for me but I think

 they suit these pieces, perfectly.

Finished a collaged, Yorkshire Landscape.

Found this lovely frame in my usual store.

Washed the fabric buttons I found in Brighton.
They've come up well!
They are little landscapes on their own.
Meanwhile Mr C. has been tidying up the garden
and harvesting the last of the produce.

These are our Jerusalem Artichokes.

A bumper crop, this year.

Could be 'windy', in more ways than one, this week.

Heh, heh!

Preparations!

The weather here has been very mixed this week.

Swinging between sunshine, rain and high winds and

sometimes all three at once!

It's been all systems go here, as we have been given

the opportunity to take the Pop-up Shop again.

 On our own this time.

My main job today, has been collating cards, envelopes and cellophane sleeves.

All 64 of them ..... job well done!

That's another thing ticked off the list.

Had fun, with a bit of retail therapy.

Purchased this tiny teapot.

An addition to my very small but growing collection.

Found this little knitted owl, finger puppet.

To add to the 'Pencil Top Gang'!

Picked up these three yarns to add to my stash .....

A very old cotton reel, loaded with green crochet cotton.

Some heathery coloured Jaeger Wool

and 

A kop of peacock blue mohair wool.

Lots of possibilites in these!

Clocks go back tonight.

Looking forward to the nights drawing in.

I love the change in the seasons.

Enjoy your extra hour of sleep!

This and That!

It's definitely been Autumnal here this week, the weather 

has been testament to that!

On Sunday we set off, in the early morning to

photograph Pen-y-Ghent and the mist in the valleys, for a 

new series of paintings Mr C. is planning.

Although the views looked promising from the top of Greenhow 

When we got to Grassington, the fog became impenetrable,

so reluctantly, we turned for home.

We ended up having our picnic on the kitchen table and

making the best of it, I spent an enjoyable day in my work room.

I was persuaded, by a neighbour to go to the GP about 

my finger, as she thought it might be broken.

The upshot is that, thankfully it isn't but I have torn all the

tendons and ligaments. Might take weeks to heal.

Oh, whoopy doo !

Making the best of it and have managed to do a bit of knitting.

Finished the main body of my baby sleeping bag.

As the baby, is going to be a little girl, I have chosen this

Laura Ashley fabric, from my stash, for the lining.

Think they go well together!

Finally a couple of pictures of my acquisitions of the week.

I was seduced by this box of springs. 

Only I could get excitied about such mundane objects !

Thought I could use them in my textiles. 

I love incorporating unusual objects in my work.

A bag of feathers .... a gift from a friend.

The colours are fabulous!

I am sure I can make good use of these.

Have a great weekend everyone!