A gift for a special young lady .........

Hello and good morning, it's beautiful outdoors today here in Maroeladal, cool and wet after lovely showers last night, but with a promise of warm sunshine later.  

In between my various WIP's I decided to make a pretty tea cosy for a Bridal Shower/Kitchen Tea gift.     

The teapot is part of the gift!

Hope she likes it .... and the best part is she won't get a duplicate, 

it's one of a kind!

Have a wonderful weekend

Hugs and blessings

Pat xxxxxxxx

 2 Feb 2014
Had a lovely afternoon at the young lass's Bridal Shower and she
LOVED HER GIFT!!
Squealed with glee!
I'm a happy hooker today!

I'm a little teapot, short and stout ........

Any time is tea time in our house, we are always ready to settle down to a cuppa and a biscuit or two.   So my (aforementioned!) tea cosy is in progress I am delighted to say!  I have taken my choice of colours from a cute set of mugs I found;  as soon as I spotted them, I thought 'I can see a tea cosy in clear turquoise, with pretty pink and perhaps white flowers on top'.  And so lucky I was to find this cute little white tea pot.

The body of the tea cosy is finished.  Now for the fun part ... crocheting flowers and leaves to adorn my turquoise cosy!

  

Using this easy pattern for the cosy,  and then inspirations for flowers and leaves from three of my favourite blogs ( love, love, and love them) I made up roses, daisies and teeny flowers, big leaves and small leaves and linked leaves... 

Next, I started placing the flowers and leaves here and there, playing with different looks and ideas, too much?? too little??  And to add to the mix, once I started crocheting the flowers and leaves I became totally caught up and couldn't stop, I find I really enjoy making small items, like flowers and squares and hearts.  So I had a nice selection of flowers and leaves from which to choose.  

I am going to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon sewing on the decorations with the threads, and perhaps make up a butterfly or two to complete it.   Thank you for dropping by, do have a wonderful week, hugs and blessings,  Pat xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Oh and by the way, thank you so much for all the kind comments about our adored doggies;   Dexter Dog and Layla the Princess send their love xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

  

Introducing .......

Can you believe it, we are into the second week of 2014! If you would indulge me, may I introduce you to our beloved pets, who bring 'sunshine' into our lives every day.

This is Dexter, our rescued Boxer, who has a tail that spins like a helicoptor rotor when he is happy - which is all the time - and the kindest face on the planet.  He is ten years old, healthy and has the most benevolent disposition.

Then we have Layla the Boston Terrier, who thinks she is a princess and enjoys all the perks that go with the title.  A cleverer little dog I have yet to meet ... and I completely adore her.  She sleeps next to me, lies on my lap and gazes into my eyes with absolute and unconditional love. She is four, is our drama queen, having had a knee operation in December 2013, an allergic reaction to swallowing a bee in December 2012, and a slight stroke from which she completely recovered when she was just a pup!!  Her favourite pastime is playing catch with a frisbee.

She's quite a little champion

I do believe our days are richer for having these two canine babes in our lives .... a moment of sadness or dispair is immediately dispelled when we interact with our pets, they heal us, love us, and keep us safe in these uncertain times we live in here in South Africa.

Best buddies

Thank you for reading,

Love you bucketsful,

Pat xx

A quick update

The Market
The morning of the Market day was bright and sunny, and I set off with trepidation.   Well, once the Market was underway, all my fears were banished!  Crafters are a marvellous group of people, don't you think? and I was soon welcomed and put at ease, with help at hand from seasoned stall holders.  By the end of the day, I had sold some wares, and had orders that astounded me there were so many!  So for the next six weeks I made Minion hats until I was dreaming in vivid yellows and blues!

A sea of goggle eyes!
The pressure was sapping and I had to put in extra effort,  but loved making the beanies anyway!

ATC Swap

What a satisfying little project this turned out to be!  Working to such a small scale with different elements to create a picture was so interesting.  So here is a photo of my 'Autumn Leaf' card.  I hope to take part in the swaps for this year too. For info in this regard, take a peek at Ali Burton's blog, veryberryhandmade.co.uk, also via the button to the right.

(Apologies for poor quality of the pic)

November and December were busy months, my workroom is a sea of wool and felt and Christmas decorations waiting to be neatly packed away until December 2014. 

Many new and exciting projects planned for this year, can't wait to get under way!

Thank you for visiting, 

Love you bucketsful,

Pat xx

 

A brand new year ~

~ Such glorious colour in our summer garden ~

... a teeny wee visitor sitting on my front door handle!

~ enjoying my first project in gorgeous 100% cotton yarn, pretty head bands ~

~ a Liverpool scarf for my son (fervent supporter!!) ~

~ I found these cheery mugs, I think a tea cosy in these colours could be fun -
watch this space!!

I started to blog as a way of keeping a record of my day to day, a journal to look back on in years to come ....
I love being part of Blogland, in the company of the talented, sometimes funny, but always completely down to earth bloggers.
Thank you for keeping me company, I hope you will stay a while.
Wishing you all a fabulous, fun-filled year, abundant with creativity and cheerfulness

Until next time
Much love
Pat

.

The Market and the ATC Swop

Gee, so sorry folks, missed a week or two and for this I am just a bit embarrassed.  But .... I am taking part in my very first Craft Market, with my crochet work being the focus of my table.  Such a lot to plan and remember, nervous as a rabbit and nearly crippling my ten short little fingers, making hats and Christmas bunting, and rechecking my wares two and three times to make sure everything will be PERFECT on the day!  Much inspiration has come from wonderful Lucy at Attic 24 and the hugely successful Yarndale event held recently.  I will be decorating my table with her colourful bunting triangles draped across the front. The Market takes place on 27th October..... so much to do, but enjoying being so hectically busy!

Not well lit, but the idea is there!  

Such colourful little triangles.  

White stars ready for stringing together, just the beading to finish off for a little sparkle!  Now wait a minute, I see a small piece of x-stitch that has snuck into the picture .... oh my gosh, Santa is pleading for me to frame him in time for this Festive Season!!  

.. it's really a very lovely little project I started many years ago, old fashioned and vintagey looking, and I hope to frame it in time for Christmas this year .. watch this space! 

Here is a better pic.

Can anyone spot the teeny, teeny, detail I have to stitch to complete it?

Ten crochet squares are ready to be posted off, my first contribution to our exciting Yarn Bomb 2014 record attempt at the Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria next year.  There are workshops and get-togethers and knit-and-natter groups ... I'm thinking I should hold such a get-together myself, tea and coffee and cake, and lovely friends gathered in my lounge making squares ... 

Ali Burton at Very Berry Handmade is holding a 2nd ATC swop, click on the button on the right for more info ..... now for those (like myself) who have no idea what an ATC is, it stands for Artist's Trading Card.  In our swop, the participants are to make miniature works of art, no bigger than 2.5" x 3.5", mainly textile based, but with any embellishments like buttons, embroidery, beading and the like and the theme is "Autumn".   I am intrigued by the concept, and very excited to be part of it.  Gathering of bits and pieces of fabric, beautiful autumny-coloured threads in golds and yellows, russets and deep reds, sketching out little designs, and wondering how to fit an idea into a teeny little space is quite a challenge!  Once the little project is finished, I will post it along to my secret partner randomly chosen by Ali.  So I have just the address of my swop buddy and of course she has mine.  I hear making these little artworks is quite addictive.  Oh dear,  another addiction to add to crochet, chocolate, beautiful magazines and Downton Abbey!

Today is World Crochet Day - hope you have been creative!

It's also Friday 

have a wonderful weekend

Pat x

Yarn bombing !

A 

Colourful Tale

Yarn bombing is an amazing way of using colourful displays of knitted and crocheted wool and yarn in many shapes and sizes to decorate and beautify a public area.  A sort of 'fibre graffiti'  if you will.  Initially - around 2004/5 - the practice was used to cheer up cold and unfriendly places, pops of colour here and there, to lift the spirits of the local folk. 

In Dallas, a clever crafter - her name is Meredith, has just hosted her Sheepish Bloom Drop, where her readers all over the world were invited to make up flowers and anything flower related and tie/hang/attach their makes wherever they wished.  Pop over here, see the amazing flower creations ~ on gates and post boxes and door knobs ~ some with little notes attached with a kind word or two.  A little message to bring a smile to a passer-by's face.  

A magnificent tree resplendent in a crochet coat of many colours.

In August 2014, our very own Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria will be the location for a world record attempt for the largest yarn bomb! The aim is to cover the steps in crochet and knitted squares .... wow 

After the event, the squares will be donated to various charity organisations to make many, many blankets.

So, it's time to pick up those needles and hooks and get busy.  Just five or ten squares or however many, every one will make difference.  All names will be noted and entered as part of the attempt. Here is the link to find out more and a Facebook Page called Yarn Indaba also has information. 

  

Come on

 we CAN do this!!

 Let's place South Africa on the Yarn Bomb map! 

Participate and help to set the record.

A wintery looking Voortrekker Monument ...... 

Can you imagine 22,000 multicoloured squares covering the steps?  What an astounding sight it should be!

Have a brilliant day,

Pat xxx