The Style Council

Well, the crocheting together and edging (thanks to Attic 24) of the cushion cover is done.

Now just to put some sort of back onto it. I bought some linen pillow covers in the famous bedding/wool/curtain shop in Kent last week and might sew the crocheted bit onto the front to make it easy for myself. It's probably larger than I would actually want it but hey ho!
I am also making headway with the squares...

I know it doesn't look like many but they are 11 rounds so fairly big. I am loving deciding which colour to pick up next and have forced myself not to buy any more wool this week. I want to use up some of what I have first.

At the moment I am in that vintagey greeny, pinky, purply mood. That little posy I bought last week is sitting on my kitchen windowsill waiting for a proper home and I keep looking at it and admiring the colours. I like lots of different things and although I don't think my taste really changes, my mood does. I can't pin myself down to one thing. Sometimes I love that beachy, pared down, white, clean look, (although I don't have that anywhere in the house, the bathroom is probably the closest,) sometimes I love that grey, ornate, gilt,silver and glass distressed French look and sometimes I love the overblown floral, Cath, faded out greens and chipped china look. This week I am firmly in the third camp. I love the mid twentieth century thing as well, but I'm not sure how well that mixes in with other styles so have shied away from buying much of it. (My mum's house is firmly stuck in the 70's and 80's so I get my fix of it round there anyway!)Mind you if I ever see a tea or coffee set with turquoise flowers on it I will be buying it.
Do you have a style? Or do you think it's ok to mix? I really just buy what I like or love and find a home for it later. I 'get it' even if other people don't!


xx

Granny Love

Hello!

These...

have inspired me to do this...

This will become a granny blanket.
I bought the two little floral posies on Friday in Rochester during an unexpected afternoon out with my sister. We had a lovely time wandering about and going in and out of all the charity shops. We topped it off by going to the bedding/wool shop and buying a few new colours.
These were my other purchases...

We were a bit disappointed with the charity shops in Rochester as they are all chain ones and have been poshed up. Lots of new stuff and high prices. I managed to buy a few crochet hooks in one, but have discovered that one has to ask as most keep them behind the counter with the knitting needles as they are classed as weapons. There's a short story there, The Crochet Hook Murder. Sounds like something by Agatha Christie.
I have decided,and this is not a recent discovery, that my sister is my favourite person to go out hunting with. We like the same sort of things but not same enough to be in too much competition for stuff! We both like charity shops, wool shops, junk shops, cake and chocolate. We get on better now than we ever did, which is lovely. (She might be reading this so I am being ultra nice about her.)
I have been thinking a lot about my housey style. You can tell I have had time to spare this weekend, thinking about self indulgent twaddle like that. Anyway I think I will have to put it in another post and see what other people think their style is and whether we have to pin ourselves down to one. I know we don't have
to do anything but whether it looks a mish mashy mess if we don't.
No boot sales for me this weekend, it hardly stopped raining yesterday and has been at it on and off all day today and I didn't fancy traipsing round in muddy fields this morning. I am telling myself that I bought enough on Friday and I could do without spending the dosh.
Right, back to my latest square, I have crocheters finger today, like shiny, numb but sore, hard skin on my forefinger, most attractive indeed!
Happy Sunday!
xx

Ps Manny says hello...

Toot I can actually use- Pyrex

Hello, I'm doing this post while The Teenage Daughters are out. They already think I'm a mentalist and if they caught me taking photos of Pyrex casseroles they might hand themselves into Social Services for a trade in for a normal parent.
Anyway, the Pyrex lovelies.

I expect these photos are up to my usual standards. I am doing it on the hurry up in case I get caught. (Not that it usually makes much difference to my photography skills.)
My favourite is in the oven and if I can't let you see inside my oven or I'd have to kill you. I will take a photo of that when the cod loins are cooked and it has been throught the dishwasher.
Laters.
xx

Work In Progress

Earlier this year I was aimlessly crocheting squares with some left over wool I had lurking about. Then on Sunday I bought a cushion that was heavily reduced in TK Maxx, thinking that it would fit the French Fancy Pillowcase. Anyway, it didn't, so I am putting it to use as the first crochet cushion project. I'm getting a bit obsessed with it now, dreaming up ways of attaching it to the existing cushion cover, (that I originally didn't like very much but has started to look more and more attractive now I have realised that it will make life easier if I use it as a back,)and then doing a lairy edging round it.
Last night I also crocheted some flowers from the Mollie Makes magazine. I did one wrong but it came out very nicely indeed so I slung a button it, popped it in a box with a bath cake thingy and gave it to my friend in work who is going through a bit of a rough time. I think I have worked out how to do it properly although I have to say the pattern isn't very clear, unless it's just me being a thick mare. I am intending to make a few flowers and add them to the cushion. This is providing, of course, that I don't get bored with this in the meantime and slink off the garage to start painting tables again. (As well as a wool stash I also have a table stash...)
Some photos of the WIP:

And the half sewn, half crocheted together squares:

Please note that I have tried to do that Bloggy Mysterioso thing where you only half show something thereby tempting one's readers and hoping they come back for another butchers at a later date to see the finished item. I'm learning fast...
And now for the flower, the one I kept that came out ok.

Quite happy with that actually, bordering on nauseatingly smug.

After work yesterday I hopped along to two of the charity shops in the village. I had this notion that they might have some good patterns and some coloured crochet hooks. I did buy two hooks, not coloured but no patterns. Mainly because there were about a million of them sitting in the basket and I didn't have the energy to go through them all. Other than the two hooks, nothing doing. I don't know if I'm not looking properly or the stock is a bit pants lately but I drove home all deflated and fancying cake. I'm praying that it will stay dry this weekend so I can go to the boot sale. And I might, only might go to Leigh on Sea on Saturday. I am getting withdrawal symptoms for a decent tooty purchase.
While I'm here I'll carry on for a bit. Getting very excited about breaking up from school next week. Very excited indeed. I have all sorts of vague ideas about what I'm going to achieve during the holidays. Painting the tiles in the kitchen, possibly painting the summerhouse, (this one is a tad ambitious,)putting some things up for sale on ebay, doing another boot sale... the list goes on. I will probably spend the first week loafing round the house with my dressing gown on watching films and faffing about with wool and a crochet hook.
Right the WIP cushion is calling me and so are the Teenage Daughters who will waste away if I don't get some dinner on immediately.
Laters.
xxx

Sunday Afternoon Ramblings

Hello!
While I wait for The Old Man to light the barbeque I am going to show you my little slice of French Gorgeousness.

It arrived this week all the way from French France and I couldn't wait to rip it open. I bought it from Sharon Santini whose blog My French Country Home is delicious. She has a shop stocked with all sorts of wonderfulness. I had to have this cushion as it is sporting my initials, there was no talking myself out of it. Anyway I love it and once I manage to buy the right size cushion pad it will live on my bed alongside this...

Bought this morning from TK Maxx in Southend on Sea. The pom poms grabbed me and when I saw it had Bordeaux written on it and it had a red clearance sticker to boot it was mine. I also bought this...

So all in all this weekend has had a bit of a French theme going on. I have also moved all the lovely wool into a scrubbed up and lined with a lump of oilcloth wine box.

The crochet is going very well, I have even tackled two crochet hook level blocks from my book and haven't cried yet. When I can grapple the camera back off Teenage Daughter #2 I will take some photos. And today I bought issue 3 of Mollie Makes and I might have a go at the flowers. If only I had known about this magazine in time to get the first two.

The wool shop in Southend was closed so no wool buying fix for me today. I had an Outraged Of Essex moment but then thought about the large stash I have living in the wine box and decided that perhaps I ought to use some of that before I buy any more.
I have two blankets here that my mum made back in the late 60s early 70s and my sister and I are mystified because the granny square she has used is not the one she taught us to do. I will have to have a forage round her old chocolate boxes next Friday to see if I can find any old pattern books. I know my mum taught herself to crochet from a book and patiently showed my sister and I how to do it. She also taught us both to knit and I turned out to be pretty ok at it although I haven't done any f'rages. I like crochet because it grows quicker!
Oh dear, what a long and rambling post! I will take photos of my mum's blankets for another post.
Happy Sunday, campers!
xx

Cracking on with the crochet.

See... I told you I could crochet granny squares. I have yet to decide what I'm doing with these, they may be a cushion cover. I have never made a cushion before and I'm getting all hot and bothered about how many to make and how they are going to fit together. So far I have used the scientific method of measuring by holding them against an existing cushion and judging it by eye. Two cashmere jumpers have been dug out of the depths of my wardrobe and may be the back. Or maybe not. I can see myself chickening out.
Today I have been to Kent, I go every Friday to take my mum shopping and this week I made a detour to the town to check out the charity shops. They were both no good. Not a sniff of anything decent. Very disappointing indeed. However, there is a bedding shop that stocks wool so I went in there and accidently bought some. Added to what I accidently bought last week in the ironmongers in my village, (is there any such thing as a wool shop any more? Soon I will be buying it in the butchers,)I could probably make a couple of blankies.

Wool corner. Actually make that Wool, Magazine, Laptop and Dust Corner.
I can't resist the colours.
Once I get back from food shopping, (I haven't been for nearly two weeks, we are living on toast and takeaways) I am going to crack on with the cushion cover/blanket/haven't decided yet.
Happy Friday!
xx

Wine Box Loveliness

Hello!
Today I thought I might share my latest new things...wine boxes. I love them and at the moment they are living in my garage until I decide what to do with them.

One has been put into service outside the back door and has become home to a lovely pink hydrangea.

I did take some close ups of the flowers but they are covered in bits of black dirt so I'm not posting them. I believe this plant to have a design fault as the flowers won't stay upright but point downwards to the floor which means one has to go looking for them.

Another is residing in my living room filled with magazines and looks rather dashing. There are a few more in the garage and I'm waiting for some inspiration as to what to do with the rest.

I have decided that the general crapness of my photos is due to the camera, the light, the way the flash falls on the item and because it is a Thursday. It can't be me...
I think unless I have lessons and grow some patience we can safely say that this blog will never be beautiful. I just had a play with the paint thingy, (I thought I was jolly clever to have even found it, let alone know how to use it,)and the results looked like a pre-school child's offering hanging on a fridge door with an alpahabet magnet.
One would never think I have been doing actual work on actual spread sheets on an actual laptop in a real life actual job all day when I can't even crop a perishing photo.
Hey Ho, can't be good at everything!
Any ideas on uses for the wine boxes would be much appreciated.
x

The Party's Over!

Oh my word, what a brilliant party! Plenty of boozing, laughing, dancing, a few tears but happy ones, great fun with great friends and family and no gazebo emergencies! The old man and The Teenage Daughters gave me a surprise cake which was gorgeous. And still is because I don't want to cut it.

I am still trying to get the place straight and back to normal and the onset of a rotten cold and sore throat isn't helping matters. The Teenage Daughters have been pretty good. They washed the floors... in four inches of plain water without changing it once. At least they tried. I told myself that when I emptied the mud from the bucket.
All in all a fab time was had by all. Especially me!
I might be 50 again next year!

(It's not actually my birthday until August 10th so I do have time to do it all over again...)
Laters ladies.
xx

Let's Party!

Even without an industrial size gazebo I'm having a party tonight! Wooohooo!
The garage is full of beer, cider, wine and ice, the fridge is full of sausage rolls etc, the sandwiches and wraps are being picked up from Tesco later. (I never pretended to be Nigella...)
I have still to decide which one of the four frocks to wear and we have had ructions from the teenage daughters this morning about bras, dresses and application of fake tan. (They favour the orange look. Nice.)
Balloons have been blown up and my idea of making some bunting from old sheet music with blown up black letters on it has been poo pooed as looking 'too home made.' Playlists have been listened to and assessed carefully for danceability.
They have asked me where I'm putting my bags of wool and crochet and whether I will be using the laptop at any time during the evening. Funny.
All I have to do now is clean the bathroom and loos, hoover and wash the floors, iron the tablecloths and my trousers, paint my toenails, take Manny to the kennels, assemble the spare dining table, move the sofa to the summerhouse, change two beds and tart myself up.
Not much then...
Happy Saturday and have a smashing weekend.
xx

Early Morning Blogging

Very badly injured after rescue operation gazebo.

Stone dead gazebo.
(Excuse the washing line.)
The new one arrived yesterday and will stay safely in the box until it reaches its owner.

Anyway moving on swiftly. Nicer things in my garden.

The daisy patch outside the living room doors. Looking a bit bedraggled due to the heavy rain but one of my favourite things.

Although it's a tad tatty I like this little corner. It's the view from my kitchen door. The basket could do with some miracle gro, there's not much going on there. (Barbeque not made its way back into the garage yet...)

My attempt at arty fartiness. My bargain hydrangea who lives in a pot outside my back door. Every day I get a little bit more excited as the flowers open. Little things...! (The camera lead crept into the corner of this one, I'm no David Bailey!)
Our garden is pretty big, too big for us really. Apart from masses of cutting back every now and then we haven't done a lot out there. There is a garden room/summer house/ games room, after 3 years we still don't know what to call it, at the end that is one of my future projects, a greenhouse with lots of broken panes and a large garage that is so full we are climbing over stuff to get to other stuff. We are spoilt because it is completely unoverlooked and we can't see any other houses. They are there but hidden by trees.
Right off for another cup of tea!
xx