Back in Blighty

Hello lovelies. This time last week I was here...

Now I'm home, back to rainy, cold nastiness.
While I was away I did this,

and this,

Thank you to my model, Cecile.
Since I have been home I have done this,

but have semi abandoned these now ater a visit to the curtain/bedcovers/ wool shop yesterday where purchases were made.
I have also started this,

which although quite effective to look at is as boring as arse to do. Also it is infuriating as it doesn't matter how hard I try and count and check, the bobbles never line up in the right places. Hey ho, when (if) it is done, I won't be holding it up for an inspection, the effect will be the same even if some the bobbles are a millimetre or so out. (Inner Amish speaking now.)
My sister gave me this,

I was going to paint it but I rather like it as it is. If it does get the paint treatment it will have to get on the back of the queue behind a coffee table, two pine wardrobes and a chest of drawers. So I love it how it is.
It was going to be in the carzy for loo roll but I have employed it in Wool Corner. It is rammed to the top with bags full of half finished projects and balls of wool.

Since being back I have managed to have an amble round the boot sale where I bought these,

Three quid spent and I was a happy little bunny.
Also got these in the charity shop yesterday,

So that's been my week.
Before I go, the picture my sister bought me for my birthday.

Loveliness and I will put it up soon. Promise.
Oh yes and if anyone has a notion of buying Dawn French's book, please stop yourself. Take yourself by the hand and lead yourself firmly out of the shop. Tie your purse up so you can't. If a book doesn't grab me pretty quickly I give up, life is too short (especially when you're flipping well 50) to read books you don't like. Fair enough. I can do that and not pass comment, but this offering was dire. Really. I gave it away on the plane before we were out of British waters. Sorry Dawn. Like you and all that, but deary me...
Laters...
x

Blankie reveal and Adios

Morning!
The blankie has landed.
I have taken bundles of pictures of it and tried to do it all artified in the garden where the light was better.

Manny on guard duties.

I think I will miss doing this one. Heavily inspired by a blanket I loved on the blog Cozy Things and the blue comes from a cushion I love on Hen's blog. The edging is from Lucy at Attic 24. It's not perfect, I found a few wrong bits when doing the edging, but my inner Amish told me to leave them.
I am aiming to improve next time!

This is my last blog for a bit because for the next two weeks I will be on holiday. I am aiming to do this...

Off to Gran Canaria for two weeks, which will give me plenty of time to get used to being 50. It is my birthday tomorrow and I'm still getting used to the idea of being old enough to participate in offers in adverts by Michael Parkinson and George Layton. Plenty of free Parker pens for me now then. I am looking forward to relaxing with my family and doing plenty of reading and making a start on my new blankie.
Right, toodle pip, chaps. Have a good couple of weeks!
xx

And there's more...

What a lovely Sunday morning! And a good time to show you the rest of the stuff I bought last week. Please note I already have one load of washing in the machine, have hung out another lot, have started on the very last square of the blankie, (three squares didn't make the cut, they grated on me) and am on my second cup of tea.
Right, here we go.

More plates! My sister and I shared these, three each. I really must start thinking more seriously about a tea shop. I really liked the turquoise on these. I don't think they are particularly old but I liked them anyway.

More green glass. You find one bit then keep seeing it don't you? That's what happens to me.

Very happy with this find, two large plates, one bowl and a gravy jug. I will have a plethora of mis-matched gravy boats on the table next time we have a roast dinner. (It's been a while, believe me...) Notice the teaset from last week still sitting on the worktop in the kitchen. Some of it is on the dresser now, the rest stuffed into an overflowing cupboard to make friends with all the others.

Ladybird Love! And all in one shop! And all for about 29p each! Can't get better than that!

Vignetting with Pyrex. Ok, I know I said I wouldn't do that but grey Pyrex! Who knew? I flipping well love this little bowl, I wanted to lick it. (Once I had washed it obviously.) The wool (yarn, I can't say that without feeling poncy) was a bargain. I think it was £1.99 a pop in a wool shop in Deal. Another photo of its cottony, grey, Farrow and Ballishness.

I am in love with this and have started crocheting myself a scarf. Trouble is I won't have enough so I have to change my plans. I was cobbling together my version of a bobble blanket that I saw on someone's (can't remember who now) blog and a square from Jan Eaton's book. I'm on the lookout for a good scarf pattern for this now.
The squares.

This was as of about Friday. Progress has been made since then and I almost have it crocheted together. I did that standy out, seamy thing from the Cute and Easy crochet book and rather like it. Once I have this last one made, I can finish it off. Hope to have this done later tonight. I'm itching to get onto the next thing now.
And lastly, this...

My sister bought this in a shop in Canterbury a couple of months ago, but has decided it doesn't really suit the plans she had for it. I agreed wholeheartedly that it would look vile in her flat when she said she might give it to me! So far I don't know what I'm doing with this. Sewing is not really my thang, so at the moment it is folded up in a bag and taken out to be admired every now and then. I flipping well love it though and will find something to do with it. I was thinking of perhaps using it to line the bag I want to crochet, I'll see.
Right I'm going to toddle off and finish the last square. Happy Sunday, Campers!
x

Flower Power

Don't you just love these? I do. I could sit and stare at them all day. I can feel a new addiction starting and at a couple of quid a pop I'm happy to go along with it.

Today the one just above is my favourite. I love the tiny weeniness of the flowers and all the colours together.

I love the ones in coloured pots or vases. So far I have a pink pot (with gold round the feet which makes it double gorgeous) and a green pot. We saw one in a blue pot but the guy wanted £8 for it so I walked.

I'm more drawn to the pinky, greeny, yellowy ones so I might, (only might) give my cousin the white daffodilly one. She was after it on Tuesday but I meanly held on to it because I was so excited at finding so many in one place. Now I've had a chance to look at them properly (and lick them, bite them and lay on them for a little while because they make me so happy) I feel a little more generous.
The tiny chips here and there don't bother me in the slightest, a little nan may have done this whilst dusting them which adds to their charm.
Have another butchers...

At present they are all very unimaginitively lined up on my kitchen windowsill waiting for their final homes.
They make me smile!

My Favourite Places Part 1

Can you call it a mini break if you only went for one night?
On Tuesday, Teenage Daughter #2 and I were up bright and early, all excited (well I was) and loading up the car to drive down to Kent. My cousin (actually The Old Man's cousins's wife, but for the purposes of this she is my cousin) and her Old Man are lucky enough to have a cottage in a village near Deal and we were going down there to see them and spend the night. Now I love it there and will go there at any opportunity. When I was a girl we used to go to a holiday camp in the very village where they now have the cottage so if holds fond memories for me. They've had the place for over twenty years now so I've had lots of trips there including boozy girls' weekends, holidays with Teenage Daughter #1 when she was a baby, summer holidays with my sister and all our daughters and family weekends where there were so many of us we had to pitch a tent on the back lawn. Love it, love it, love it and could very easily live there.
So, we were there by about 11am, had a quick cup of tea and a shufty at cousin's new china acquisitions, and we set of for Deal to hit the shops.
Years ago Deal was quite fusty and old fashioned (although now to me that's a bonus) and there was nothing much to draw you there unless you liked looking at people with anoraks and boring shops. All that has changed considerably and although it still feels quite sleepy and sedate there are a growing number of independent shops, lots of little street cafes and I have even been there once when there was a French market taking place. (Never seen this since sadly, or I would be breaking my neck to get to it.)
So a few (rubbish) photos. Please be aware that Teenage Daughter #2 moaned at me the whole time, threatened to withdraw use of her camera and tried to hide every time I took a picture. I have also not told anyone but The Old Man, my sister and The Teenagers about the blog so the cousin thought I had gone a bit mental with all the photo taking.
Right here goes.

I don't know what this building is (I've only been going there for 20 odd years, give me a break) but I like it anyway.

Had enough of side streets now? Yes I thought so, I'll move on. But not before telling you that the last picture is a side on view of the best fish and chip shop in the world ever. Middle Street Fish Bar. They also have a restaurant in the back. The opening times are a bit hit and miss, they don't have to try very hard, but I would walk to Deal from here to eat that fish and chips I tell you. Lovely bit of tucker indeed.

The last section is titled Signage. No, stop laughing, I'm being serious... it's not my fault if people decide to walk into my photos.
The next bit is called Cafes. (There are loads more but I was getting fed up with the tutting and eye rolling.)

I have never been in these because I am always either saving myself for or full up from the fish and chips.
Next we have a few randoms.

Nice old fashioned sweet shop.Sweet peanuts, mmmmmmm.

This handsome fellow was standing in a second hand bookshop.
Now you have feasted your eyes on all this photographic wonderfulness I will move on to the lane where the cottage is. It is glorious, a typical English country village with a duck pond in her lane (picture to follow I bet you can't wait) and lovely cottages.
Right, ready? (Please excuse bits of my car in the following pictures, I was hanging out the window and driving with one hand.)

And the last two are of Dover Castle in the mist, taken out of the car window on the drive back.
Anyway, we had great fun, lots of in and out of charity shops and twiddly dee shops, while Mr Cousin sat on the beach with the papers, fish and chips in Middle Street, then back to the cottage for tea and cakes and a crochet lesson for my cousin. I taught someone to crochet! And she ended up getting it!
We sat at her kitchen table all evening (while Teenage Daughter did some knitting and watched telly with Mr Cousin, bless her,) and at one stage it was looking so hopeless that I ordered a children's crochet book from Amazon to be sent to her in London. (They live in Highbury, right near Upper Street and The Angel. Another of my favourite places and right where I grew up.) But then all of a sudden I could see it was starting to click and when I got up yesterday morning at 6am she was already sitting at the table with her glasses on the end of her nose, her tongue poking out and having another go at her first granny square. She has texted me this morning to tell me she has made five and ought she buy some more wool! I'm sure we all like buying the wool as much as the crochet itself.
So, a good time was had by all and we left yesterday morning, stopping off at Ashford to pop in the Ralph Lauren shop because it is The Old Man's birthday on Saturday and then went straight to my sister's.
Now I took a few photos in Rochester too but I can understand that this could be too much of a good thing so I might save these for another day.
All chazza purchases (and there were loads, believe me...) are going to be photographed at some stage today for later use.
Oh all right...

Oh yes and these from Deal.

You can see the reflection of me (the big old load with her glasses on) in the window with the reflection of Teenage Daughter making sure no one could see her mad, desperate mother taking a picture of a shop window. The shop was flipping well closed. Closed! And only opens on Fridays and Saturdays. How do they make a living out of that, or even afford to pay the rent? Next time I will have to make sure I am there of a weekend there was some ok stuff in that shop!
Toodle pip.
xx