Jolly Rogering

Hi gang! How are you? I hope all is well.



This is a bit of an experiment. I am posting from my new iPhone. I

have already lost a post and I have no idea whether I can add photos.

also I only have 15% of my battery left! Having said that, I am loving

the little thing, it's amazingly creative. it's a bit like learning a

new language, but hey-ho.



At the moment I am working on some pirate bunting for my soon-to-be-

here Etsy shop. And there are oh-so-many oportunities for innuendo,

it's been like living in a Carry On film. Oooh Matron!



Its been a lengthy process - I have cut out and edged 54 bones and

accompanying skulls, jaws, eyes and noses. It's been fun, though, as I

have been sitting in the garden sewing and enjoying the lovely sunshine.



Hopefully there will now follow some pictures ..... ;o) if not I will

sort it out when I next get on the laptop.



Lots of love



Claire xx



Sent from my iPhone

Spring is in the air

Inspiration from a lady who really inspires me, Gillian Chapman (http://gillianchapmanfelts.com/)

You know what? I swear I saw a few flakes of snow this afternoon. I checked carefully to make sure they weren't cherry blossom, and they weren't. However, until more are evident I shall be ignoring this and pretending spring has well and truly sprung.

I'm a bit tired this afternoon, I've had a long and very emotional session with Susanna, my therapist. I treated myself to a dirty McDonalds on the way home though, to cheer myself up! Now I could just sleep. Yesterday I was reading how a smoothy made of Kale is very refreshing in the afternoon. Hmph. It doesn't sound as nice as a dirty Maccy's does it?

It's been a busy few weeks craft wise - I have been getting involved with all sorts of knitted and felted projects. I've been sorting out the Lady Shed too, and it's almost done. I hope to make some curtains tomorrow, and then get some pictures to show you. Quite frankly, I am ashamed of how much stuff I have. Apparently, I have a real talent for keeping bits of stash in different bags all over the house. Sometimes there are bags within bags. This is the first time I have got it all together and, even though it looks ace, I can't shy away from the scale of my addiction. My stash has to have it's own room <wail>

On the subject of pictures, isn't the heart brooch above to die for? I love the colours and the stitching, the beading and, well everything. It really makes me gushy. I really like how the stripes of radiating stitches give the piece a 3D feel. I would love to be able to make something that looks like this.

I am trying to 'firm up' a wreath at the moment. I crocheted the wreath bit, double thickness, and then sewed wire to strengthen. However, now the felted flowers are on, it droops a bit. I have applied spray starch and, although it's still drying, it looks a bit droopy. Any suggestions?

At the moment I am working on the Strangling Vines Scarf by Nicole Hindes. I'm doing it in Kidsilk Haze, a very fine mohair. It's hard going because the yarn is so skinny. It's also lighter than air, so it really does feel as though you're knitting  a spider's web.

 

I'm off to have a go now. What are you working on at the moment?

See you tomorrow. Lots of love

Claire x

Busy Busy Busy!

Well, it's the last day of the Easter holiday for the boys, and the first day back at work for Dom. To ease the shock (and my guilt) I have made some homemade bread and lamb tagine for dinner tonight. I am feeling guilty because I took Charlie to school on a teacher training day. Oh my! Black mark in the good mothering chart, again.

I hope you are well and it's lovely to see you again. Isn't the spring weather lovely? This morning I was singing 'my favourite things' in my head and pondered upon the line 'silver white winters that melt into spring'. We sure had a silver white winter this year, but not much melting. January was snowy, February was cold and grey and damp, and then in March it was like someone turned the dial to 'spring'. One day of lovely sunshine and we never looked back.

We had a fun Easter - I had a go at making my own chocolate eggs (fun) but left it until Easter Sunday morning before the kids got up (stressful). Will I never learn?! In my defence, Dom and I had had some horrible virus, but really I should have done better. I did, however, bake a trio of cakes (Bakewell cake, simnel cake and passion cake), make lemon curd, and freshly bake a plaited easter loaf so that our families all got an "afternoon tea" hamper as a gift. Domestic goddess reputation restored then ;o) Sadly I did not take any photos as I crawled into bed to feel poorly and sorry for myself not long after.

We had a fab day at Whitby with our friends Andy and Lucy and their daughter Lauren. Andy has an iPhone and Lucy is six months pregnant and I am not sure which I was more jealous of! The broody bat has stayed away, but I do have the realisation that I don't have many years left to make the choice, and now would be a good time career wise. However, I have been so ill over the last year, and I am enjoying my crafting so much .... And so the dilemma goes on. The boys had a marvellous time. They especially enjoyed searching for fossils and were sure they came home with some dinosaur poo. Riiiight.

Charlie, who has recently been obsessed with broken limbs, was sure he had broken both of his ankles when we returned. I did get a bit worried about him as he refused to walk all day. However, the next day, he leapt into our bedroom and shouted "taa-daa! I can walk!" So we experienced a little miracle of our own. I put it down to aching muscles - boy we walked up some big hills. I nearly died, but had to pretend I was really very fit (which I am absolutely, completely and utterly, not). Less cake, methinks.

Whitby is about an hour and a half's drive from our house. Three if you get stuck behind a tractor. There aren't any motorways, so it's pretty coastal roads and 'A' roads all the way which I love, and reminds me of Sunday School Outings and old fashioned days out.

Funnily enough, Whitby feels quite exotic compared to our usual seasides. Locally, they are pretty quiet with just the odd purveyor of buckets and spades and fish and chips. Bridlington is good, but a bit, ummm, scruffy. A bit too much of the chips and amusement arcades for my liking.

Scarborough is really lovely, but I have only been once. Filey I have never been to. I aim to rectify that this year.

Charlie was amused by the donkeys on the beach at Whitby, with their bright painted harnesses and big cow bells. He was desperate for a go, but we didn't get round to it and the donkeys packed up before we realised. Also, there are various boat rides including, as you see above, the pirate ship. It's definitely something I want to do this year too. I love this picture because of it's quirkiness; how I long for a decent macro lens...

Anyway, there are jobs to be done so I will hop off. See you tomorrow.

Claire x
  

 

Winter Texture

In the summer months, I always forget what winter is like. This year I wanted to remember. I wanted to notice the different textures in the garden, when nature has stripped life back to its bare bones. 

February 2010

February was a dark and cold month for me, emotionally as well as physically. Still, there were the first glimpses of new life, and the spring yet to come, amidst the death and decay of winter. In this region we had no snow, but it was bitterly cold.
 

January 2010

It was cold, and it snowed heavily almost every day. We had several layers of snow that froze, then got snowed on top of. Even the sunny days were freezing!
 

Quarter Year Review

Well hello, lovely lovelies. It's been an age, hasn't it? I am very sorry for neglecting you recently. I've been struggling a bit with the depression and for some reason have had a bit of a mental block with blogging and with taking pictures. Odd.

There is good news though - I have a marvellous new therapist. Her name is Suzanne and I absolutely love her. We're working through some tough stuff that's left me feeling very vulnerable. I have also been ill - I have had bloody shingles again.

So, picture of domesticity I am not! The house looks like a pig sty, I am feeling a bit suspicious about who I can trust at the moment (a side effect of the issues I am working through with Suzanne, I think) and I look like a rusty old bus. With dents in.

Can you believe that a quarter of 2010 has passed already? Isn't it frightening?! I have some collages to share with you (I'll keep this post at the top, look below) and you can see time passing here at The Cottage.

Spring has surprised me this year. Most years I am willing it on from January time, looking for each tiny developing sign that better weather is on the way. This year I really couldn't be bothered, and here it is uncalled for. It reminds me of the story of the man who woke up the sun. It feels odd that life is continuing without my participation, but strangely reassuring.

The downsides to the first three months of 2010 are evident; I didn't think I could get any more depressed and wham! I was in for a big surprise. HOWEVER, I believe that a lot of this new depression is because I am digging over the beds in my head to clear the weeds. It's going to be unsettling, isn't it? But necessary for the garden to grow again.

There have been upsides. I have shared some lovely time with both children, but Jonathan in particular. He's growing into a very sweet and sensitive young man. I am very proud of him. We had a parents' evening for Charlie this week and the teacher was saying how much she enjoyed having him in the class (despite him being a bit of a scamp) and I thought that was lovely.I am pleased he's progressing academically, but secretly I am always more pleased to hear he's happy, settled and has friends.

I have gone a long way to setting up my Etsy and Foksy stores, and have been very busy making stock. I will tantalise you with some pictures over the coming days. I have really enjoyed the process and am proud of what I have achieved.

I was bought a fantastic sewing machine for my birthday, so I am feeling really very lucky. I've been doing all sorts of fantastic embroidery and making of pillowcases and duvet covers. More of that next week I think.

Anyway, if you're stopping by I would love to hear what you're up to. 

Lots of love and big squeezes

Claire xxx