blockbusters

Can I have a P please Bob?

Good morning folks.

This was supposed to be a post on the garden 

to follow on from the birdwatch.

But who am I trying to kid really?

It's cold out there!

This is more or less how the quilt will look when finished.

There have been many hours of pondering and switching

to the point of insanity.

You see I gave myself a rule of not using a fabric more than once,

well that slipped and now its a free for all.

Just heard the oscar winning composer John Barry has died, 

so they are playing the theme from

Out of Africa, on the radio,

it's such a beautiful piece of music.
He was most famous for the James Bond themes.

What an amazing legacy to leave the world..

I wonder what will happen to my creations after I am gone?

When do they become vintage?

Will they be loved?

I must remember to sign them so the next owner 

can look me up and read all about my life

here on my little blog!

hello

birds of a feather

Got a spare hour?

Help the RSPB with their UK bird survey..

..it was actually quite interesting.

Here's what I spied this morning.

Fieldfare 1

Sparrow 9

Song thrush 1

Blackbird 3

Chaffinch 2

Greenfinch 1

Robin 1

Starling 1

Dunnock 1

Collared Dove 2

Coal tit 1

Blue tit 2

Redwing 1

Green Woodpecker 1

Thanks to all that took part this morning.

(especially to Mr Woodpecker
who popped up right at the end!)

It made eating my porridge that bit more exciting.

Its true:

Birds of a feather do indeed flock together!

edited
Most of the birds I saw are frequent visitors,
the fieldfare and redwing
are generally seen feeding in gardens
when the weather is particularly cold.
We had quite a few when there was snow
so now they've found a spot they like they keep returning.
The fieldfare has now been sat on our fence all day
feeding off fallen apples.

We don't feed the birds
(except when it snows)
because we have rodent issues.
I just try to garden for the wildlife
ie. plants/trees which have benefits like fruit or berries
and I don't cut down seed heads until February.

ps. The sparrow count is probably nearer 30
and starling count about 6
 I just didn't see them all today.
But I can hear them for sure!!

nice jugs

I have cabin fever!

Aside from a trip to the doctors, 

I have been home.

I have been eating, sleeping and mainly coughing 

in our new lounge, relocated (for now) to the dining room.

I've really gotten fed up with feeling rubbish.

I've tried every remedy known to man.

Aah.

Cough induced incontinence!

With the lack of anything really exciting to say,

thought I'd share with you some thrifted jugs I found last year.

The small brown one was purchased in St Ives,

I'm not sure I would have bought it,

had it not been for the place name 'Crantock'

which was an old haunt in Cornwall for my friends.

The swirly marble jug was bought just before 

Christmas, in the British heart foundation.

I love anything with a two tone paint job.

When I got home the two met up 

and have been inseparable ever since.

As you know I like to be different from the norm.

I'm drawn to the more unusual objects,

 that I'm pretty sure will come home with me,

yet I still spend a good amount of time

pondering...

*shirt: h&m,  scruffy jeans: models own!

I'm a ginger nut

 Hey ho bloggerinos!

Thanks for all your well wishes.

I am teetering..just about to enter the horrible world of

sneeze and snot

(there's a blog right there!)

After one of those terrible cough filled nights

(courtesy of me and the man!)

I felt in the need for some ginger.

recipe here.

Definitely more ginger needed next time

though maybe its my taste buds?

So the two of us are sat with

fuzzy heads, runny noses and gingery biscuits!

And though the colds are still here

the plasterers are not.

whoopee do!!

Have a great weekend all!!

ginger fact*

Just 4% of Europeans are red heads, 

With Scotland and Ireland around 10%

There are  3 red heads in my close group of friends,

quite remarkable..

carry on

 OMG I have a strange man singing in my lounge!!

So this post comes to you from the bedroom

Two reasons.

1. I have men in plastering.

2. I have succumbed to some kind of lurgy!!

I hate having men in so I had planned to be out..

..instead I'm in bed with my lap top and not 

with Lisa from jumble and jelly

As you can see I've sewn up my hexagons...

and I was really chuffed at actually finishing,

but when I laid it out on the bed I realised that

it would be more of a wow to be a full quilt

rather than just the end of the bed 

half job I had planned!

In my heart I know its the right thing to do.

So I shall carry on...

grizzly bear

 Greetings on this apparently

'most depressing Monday of the year'

Thought I would cheer you all up with the latest creation.

It seems however this bear's got attitude!

At art college I learnt that Michelangelo;

'believed that every stone had a sculpture within it,

and that the work of sculpting was simply a matter

of chipping away all that was not a part of the statue.'

 Can't wait to see who is hiding in this ball!!

 He is a crochet bear,

more or less the same pattern as Bertie.

He nearly didn't make it,

the yarn is a B* to work with.

Eventually I realised that the forgiving texture of this yarn,

meant that the mistakes don't show!

although his nickname has become

big leg bear

He remains a bare bear for now,

although he may turn up with an adornment,

depending on his attitude!

He has brightened my morning..

and yours too?

He has already found a home...

...with me!!

uh-oh

 Can I just say sorry for the hedonistic fashion post.

My teenage torment of too short to model

erupted this week...

Probably egged on by 'you know who's next top model'.

Who needs David Bailey when you have a

10 second self timer on your camera and a gorilla pod!

Hats off to the model wannabes however..

its not easy!!

But hey its my blog and I'll model if I want to!

A person should only have to do up one old house.

So why am I now on my second?

We bought this house in a finished all wrapped up state.

Which is fine...

five years on however it is time to 

put our stamp on it.

Its only when you strip things back do you uncover the history.

I don't like the not knowing!

I think houses should have health notes,

like people do.

 So how many uh-ohs did you notice?

Giant filled in crack
previous repair of damp
or this luscious yarn?

I am a creative wh*re!!
No sooner am I finished with one project...
Okay so I've not completed this one yet,
but I have sewn all the patches.

three more uh-ohs  discovered whilst writing this post.

1. the gutter behind me is blocked and over flowing terribly

2. the washing machine sounds like its full of elephants
3. I am responsible for creating the above monster!

Have an uh-oh free weekend all!!

tangerine dreams

I am not sleeping..

therefore I am not having 

tangerine dreams!!

I am in a state of creative mayhem..

when there are not enough 

hours in the day

 and too many ideas in my head!

 I am re-naming myself

'the sayer of silly things'

It's true..

I think I shall keep a note pad handy.

 And now my prediction for this years

fashion must have.

A jumpsuit!!!

I know I cant believe it myself.

It's one of those things that I said I would never buy.

Yet it felt so wrong it was right?

I'm thinking hot summer, big sunglasses and floppy hat,

and plenty of margaritas..

it's just a shame my husband isn't called 

Jerry.

Stick with me...

1. stripy top - zara   2. fisherman rib jumper - new look  

3. bow blouse - zara.  4. fabulous jumpsuit - zara

(all zara bought in the sales)

messing about

 Hey well looks like I'm writing another post with lots of 

not very good photos!

So I woke up with a migraine this morning,
its raining and so dim.

Whats a girl to do?

 Thought I'd share how I go about patchworking

and making a big old mess!

I feel like I'm talking in an American accent on this post?

Must be the crime investigation channel I'm watching!

Love it!

 So this is how I spend my days 

when patchworking

(or crocheting!)

I've left my twiggy stars up on the fireplace

just because..they look cute.

 This is to my left.

Do you see the bare floorboards, 

(yes its been a cold winter!)

you can see where originally they were exposed,

by the staining in the the doorway.

It was common place in period houses that the floorboards 

were only stained where they showed, 

hence the bare wood where the rug would have been.

Funny right?

If you live in an old house, you've probably seen it.

I like to take pictures when I'm working colour schemes,

switching patches around to see what works best.

 Looking at a digital picture helps sometimes.

I've still not matched those mustard diamonds yet!

 Lesson learnt this morning:

hidden cotton reel versus slipperless foot.

 equals....ouch!!

 Ta-dah! That's me.

With a little help from my gorilla pod.

a flexible camera tripod

(a great gadget gift from the old man)

No need for comments, just wanted to share my mess.

I'd love to see what mess you get in when crafting, 

it's interesting to see the 'making of'

and not just the finished product.

 And now its 2 o'clock and I've not eaten my lunch yet!!

star gazing

 Anyone watching star gazing live on bbc 2
with the effervescent Brian Cox?

If you missed it, you can catch up on bbc iplayer. 

I'm not sure if I'm watching for the love of the night sky 

or the knowledgeable charm of Mr Cox!!

 I really got into my tutti frutti hand pieced patchwork 

over Christmas, although I'm thinking of renaming it now.

maybe 'the summer of love' or 'bad taste'?

I'm working through my stash 

although I picked these three up from

John Lewis for half price.

The top piece is the before Amy Butler fabric, 

and below after fussy cutting.

Each star is a little bit bigger than a hand span,

so its coming together quite quickly.

I cant wait to start sewing them all together!

I have a love/hate feeling about this quilt.

I'm trying to emulate the colours of vintage patchwork,

its not for the faint hearted and definitely not at all twee!

To combat the business of the fussy patterns

I've added some solid colours, 

which now I love.

Oh no!

Another quilt to add to the must make list!

And there are lots.

Last year I learnt to crochet and it pretty much took over my life

let alone the house!!

This year I'm back with my first love patchwork, 

although I did see some yarn on sale.....

oh boy 
the to do list coming up!

finding the inner me

 There's something refreshing about the coast* on
New Years day.

It's a peaceful retreat away from the
hub bub of the modern world.

 It reminds me of who I am and what I love.

 Nobody really owns the sea..

..and that's the dilemma..

My fresh and wistful mind turned to awe at this beachcomber haven..

and then to horror as the pebbles on the beach were turning bluer and greener..

but mainly plastic-ier!!

It's the plastic graveyard. 
(edited - it really was the worst I've ever seen)

toothbrushes, inhalers, sandals.

I almost expected to see a severed arm

(with plastic bangles of course),

such is the detritus of this modern world!!

It's shocking.

I have never liked waste and try my best to avoid 

unnecessary packaging eg.

I never buy fruit that is pre-packaged in plastic.

However the ownership of this mess lies on all our shoulders...

It is here on this beach that I heard my
inner Lisa Simpson..

..I'm not sure yet what I should do with it 

but I am AWARE of it now.

With this renewed feeling of awareness

we celebrated the new year

gazing at the needles (the Isle of Wight thank goodness!!)

and to everyone who wished us a very happy new year 

it was root beer!!!!

Who will be your inner being this year?

Nigella, Martha or Vivienne..

ps. did you know you can recycle plastic bottle tops?

Find someone who collects them for recycling.

It's a small thing..but if everybody did something..

Happy New Year!!

* Milford-on-Sea
Hampshire