Making Circles

I've been working on a few things this week, my pillow from last week is almost finished, just a few more buttons to crochet, they were so tedious to do that I put it to one side at the weekend.  I have to get a cushion insert anyway so will share photos when it's all put together.

In the meantime, yesterday I was working on these,

I have been stalking Dada's blog for a while, looking at all the wonderful things she makes, I was very taken by the pillows she has done so thought I would have a go.  The pattern is from Cherry Heart and called Rosie Posie Square.

It took a while to get my head round it but I got it in the end :-)

just got to get my head around sewing all those ends in now :-(

(The yarn is Drops cotton, Muskat).

The book I started this week is RSVP by Helen Warner, I bought this intending it to be a holiday read, I never got round to it.

I haven't got too far in, but so far so good, the story is about four women, Anna, the heartbroken ex, Clare, the best friend, Ella, the femme fatale and Rachel, the bride to be.  I think it's fairly obvious that the story is going to predictable Chic-Lit, but sometimes you just want something light and entertaining to read.

Why don't you pop on over and see what everyone else is doing

-X-

Anniversaries

The electrician has just gone, he came round to fit the bathroom lights, he will have to come again tomorrow though because he was missing some part or other. This room has turned into such a task, we will both be glad when we can call it done!

We had a bathroom fitter who was going to do all the work but he kept putting the date back every time it got close so in the end Mark did it all himself.

The wire you can see on the wall is where the mirror will go

I've waited 12 months to have this paper somewhere :-)

We made the bathroom bigger by knocking into the eves and Mark has put down-lighters under there

Mark did everything except for the electric work and laying the floor.

We still have to get things like a blind and laundry bin and the sealant has to be put around everything, but, the boy done good, don't you think?

So it's been 1 year ago this week that we moved here and we have done a total of 3 bedrooms and a bathroom, I think we had hopes that it might be all be finished in 12 months, I guess we underestimated, lol

Here's 2 of the bedrooms we've done

Stevie's room

You can see I took these around Christmas time because my tree is in the window :-)

And our room

I still love everything about these two rooms so I suppose it's good that we are taking our time and getting it right, and Mark is learning a lot about wallpapering, lol.

The smallest room has been done too but for some reason I've never took any photos.  It was intended as a room for Oliver when he is old enough to sleep over but It's sort of morphed into a craft room, and at the moment yarn is winning the space battle :-)

I'm off to do a little afternoon crochet, which it is also an anniversary for, it was 2 years ago today that I attended a 'learn to crochet' day course.

What a great day that was :-)

-X-

The Cupboard Under The Stairs

When we moved into this house last year one of the first jobs Mark did was to add some pretty paper and some shelves to the under-stairs cupboard , (aka Nana'a shop, as named by Oliver!), so that I could use it as a pantry.  I love seeing all the things lined up, plus it makes it easier to see what I need when I go shopping.

On Thursday I was getting a bit numb from all that sitting so gave it a tidy up and a move around.

This little cupboard has more than one use, it also houses the ironing board and Oliver's toy box.  Eventually, when the kitchen is done (It's last one the list at the moment), it may become a cloakroom / shoe / bag storage cupboard, providing  I can have something similar for storage in the kitchen.

While I was in the mood I also gave a couple of the kitchen cupboards a clean out and tidy up :-)

I moved my baking supplies from the 'shop' and moved all the sauces

we use the most to the lower shelf.

If anyone is interested the shelf stacker's on the lower shelf and the ones with my cans on in the pantry are from Lakeland.

Oh and yes, all my cans and jars have to face forwards  :-)

The refreshment cupboard :-)

The middle shelf is reserved for bread, but we ran out, lol

As I've been walking around the house a little better the last few days I wanted to try and go for a walk, yesterday was an awful day, never stopped raining all day, this morning is the complete opposite so I've took myself and my crutches around the block.  If I take it slow I'm ok, can't do a proper stride yet but defiantly better than a few days ago, if I tried to go too quickly I got a sharp pull in my calf, just for a second, but don't want to do any damage so I will have to remember to take it steady!

I'll leave you with a few pictures of the garden, it's all looking very lush after all the rain yesterday, just don't look too closely at the grass, it needs cutting!

-X-

My Pillow Yarn Along

Yarn along is something I've come across on Gill's blog and thought it would be good to play along.  

Every Wednesday other bloggers share what knitting or crochet they are working on along with the book they are currently reading, post a link to the blog post and that's it!

So here is my current knitting WIP and my book, (well Kindle read).

On the needles is a pillow, the pattern was one I bought off an Etsy seller, can't remember the name right now, (I will look it up if anyone is interested).

I'm using the same chunky yarn I used for my Skinny cabled scarf, (James C Brett Chunky with Merino), as I still had a few balls left, and it's lovely and soft.

I've got about 4 more pattern sets to go before it's finished.

The Kindle read is one that was mentioned at my reading group's last meeting.

Angela Marsons is a local (to me) author, apparently she lives just off a road where we lived a few years ago, which is a couple of miles or so from where we are now.

She writes crime stories which are set in and around the Blackcountry, which intrigued me.  I have to say that it is rather funny reading about crime scenes when you know the exact location they are describing! 

This particular story centres on a series of murders which are linked to a children's home which closed years before, it's the first in the series of D.I Kim Stone novels so we get to learn her back story along the way too.

The writing is good, better than I expected, although there are the occasional niggles, her over use of the word 'exited' for one.  But the plot is a good one so I can cope with that.

If you follow THIS LINK you will be able to see what others are working on and reading.

-X-

post op day 1

Thank you all so much for your good luck wishes for yesterday.

Everything went ok, we arrived at 8am and I was in theatre at 9am and had come round from the anaesthetic at 9.15 , so it was a quick procedure 😁
Very impressed with the attention I was given and I was served me a lovely lunch before I went home.

When the strong pain killer they had given me had worn off it was, and still is rather sore, feels a bit like cramp and a heavy feeling at the back of my knee.  Hopefully this will get better as the days go on.  

I've got crutches to get around on but can manage the 

stairs without them, which is a blessing because I'm not very gain on the stairs lol.
 Good news is I have no pain in my ankle😀 so fingers crossed I won't shuffle across the floor like an old woman in the mornings like I have been doing for the last couple years, and this discomfort will be worth it.

Not so good are the attractive stockings I have to wear for 2 weeks😕

k

The bandage can come off tomorrow and a I'm to wear a stocking on that leg too. (Dh asked if the stocking were available in black!!! Lol)

I've occupied myself with knitting today, tomorrow ill take some photos to share.

-X-

Surgery Day Tomorrow

I have my tendon surgery in the morning.

Day case and local anaesthetic.

Not sure how i will be sent home yet, on crutches, but I might also

have a big black boot!

I've been busy stocking the freezer this week as I can't drive for 3 weeks, 

(gonna miss driving my little car :-( 

Hopefully I will have plenty of time for crafting :-)

I will try and come back with an update tomorrow when it's all done.

Wish me luck!

Sunday catching up

Last week we had some record breaking temperatures here in the UK.  Monday & Tuesday were particularly hot, Monday was the hottest July day ever recorded!  We don't get very many days like that here, and I think I am thankful for that, it was just too much.  Of course that sort of weather also brings thunder storms, and we have had a couple of good ones, Friday night/Saturday morning was a really good one, right overhead for sometime.  I love a good storm, don't you?

So, while we have been breaking heat records I have been getting ready for when the weather turns, by knitting up a scarf :-)

I used James C Brett Chunky with Merino, the pattern is a Patons freebie I found on-line. 

I love how it turned out :-)

Something that I forgot to share last time was this...

My new car :-)

I've had it since June 15th and I absolutely LOVE it.  Its a Citroen DS3, in case you are wondering, and it a dream to drive :-)

That's all for now, I'm off to catch a bit of TV time.

Until next time

-X-