Making the most of the sunshine

The weather has taken a turn for the better and the outdoor work has begun.  Mark turned over the boarders a few weeks ago and last week I bagged up the rest of the leaves so it's looking pretty tidy out there at the moment.  The grass hasn't had it's first cut yet, I'm hoping that It will be good for another couple of weeks

The large pieris is in flower so should turn red in the next week or two.  After it has done it's thing this year we are going to cut it back, it's over six feet tall now and almost as wide, I just hope we don't damage it in the process.

The camellia has loads of buds, hopefully now the sunshine has made an appearance, so will the flowers.

Yesterday was beautiful so instead of the local park I took Bonnie to Witley Court, It's one of my favourite places and I've shared many photos of before, here and here, if your interested.

Yesterday there was an Easter trail for the kids so we packed a picnic and went off for the day.

On Saturday I went for my Covid vaccination.  I don't mind saying that I've ummed and ahhed about having this vaccine for a while.  I said to Mark that I'd quite happily stay at home for the duration, but we know that not realistically an option.  They say that no one will be forced to have it, but with all the talk of green cards and not being able to travel we are, sort of.

I was dreading having any of the side effects people have mentioned, although, Mark didn't have a single one I knew in my mind that I would.  I had the injection early Saturday morning, It did sting for a few minutes after but then I was fine all day.  Just before I went up to bed I got the chills, much like when you are coming down with a cold, but felt ok, then in early hours I woke up and was boiling hot, I got up for a drink and took some paracetamol, I felt really awful but went back to sleep ok and woke up fine.  I was ok again all day but by 7pm I was so tired I had to go to bed. I've been back to my normal self yesterday and today, although the injection site is quite sore to touch and a little bit red.

It's been another beautiful day here, I haven't been anywhere today, I've had a play date with my new sewing machine, Tuesday is the only full day I get to do what I want to do without interruptions. 

The clocks went forward on Saturday so now we have lighter nights, I have to confess that I'm not a fan of lighter nights, I much prefer it to get dark earlier, then I know it's time to stop, there is a tendency to keep going if it's light and before you know it it's bed time 😂

I hope you have been enjoying the sunshine anyway, I think the rest of the week is predicted to be much of the same.

-X-

One year on

I've had a break from stitching this past week, instead I decided to cast on the Flax Light sweater, (or jumper as we call them here in the UK).

I'd already got the drops Nord yarn in stash so the only outlay was some small circular needles.

I'm enjoying it so far and it's easy enough to knit on while I'm re-watching Line of Duty.

Mark got my Easter decorations down from the loft on Saturday so everything looks very Spring like around here now.

Mark groaned when I came back from Asda on Saturday and presented him with my latest bunny addition 🐇🐇🐇

Isn't she cute? Anything that makes me smile at the moment is welcome.

I've decided she is a girl bunny, too cute to be a boy!

I put a few things on my mantle but I do have other bits around, I'll show more next time.

 Well, It was twelve months ago today that the UK went into lockdown and the office I worked at closed like all offices around the country.  We thought it would only be for a few weeks and yet here we still are. 

You will probably know if you have been a visitor here for a while that it was during the first lockdown that I was made redundant.  The way it was gone about was not very nice and people where not who I thought they were.  I'm only in contact with the other woman who worked on reception with me, we text or message each other occasionally if we have something to say, other than that I am not in contact with anyone who I worked with, and that's how I want it.

I don't mind admitting that I was gutted when I lost my job, I've cried, quite a lot, over the last year, I would never have thought being made redundant would have such an effect on a person, it's only a job after all, there are worse things in the world.  But it has affected me in ways I didn't expect, not only did I loose my job I also lost my routine and a purpose to my days, it affected my moods, my confidence and took away my feeling of independence.  We are lucky, my wage was never depended on, it was extra but it was there if needed and it was something I had earned so, yes it did take away my independence.  

I've been struggling a lot these last couple of weeks, I know it's a phase and it will pass but at the same time I know that I'm not the same person I was twelve months ago.  Hopefully along with the Spring flowers a better mood will take over.

I see coffee shops in town getting ready for re-opening on April 12th although the rest of the high street looks apocalyptic, so many places have shut their doors for good, lets hope in time it can recover.

Sorry to end with a moan, but i'm just feeling moany at the moment.

Take care

-X-

Another week, much the same as the last but with cake

I finished and framed Curious Bunny by Teresa Kogut at the weekend.

I used another frame bought from The Range, they only sell standard sizes and I would have gone for a slightly smaller one given the choice but, I'm happy with how it came out.

I used the glass in this one as I might keep it out all the time, I did place some spaces so that the glass isn't touching the stitching.

(There is shadow on the bunny, the thread colour is all the same)

Sunday just past was Mother's Day here in the UK.  My girls treated me to all my favourite hair products from The Body Shop as well as flowers and some delicious things to eat.  Jenny made me an afternoon tea box and Stevie gave me a very artistic lemon cake, the boys also gave me several bags of my favourite Drumsitck Squashies sweets, yum!   I will have to use all my will power to not eat them all at once, lol.

Bonnie made me this wonderful art work. 

Stevie's artfully decorated cake

Lovely afternoon tea in a box

How lovely and spoiled was I?!!

Yesterday was a Bonnie day, the rain kept off so we met Jenny and Arty at the park

It's really hard to get photos of Arty, he won't look at the camera

The recent heavy rain has left some rather big puddles which they both enjoyed.

We were laughing because Arty is a good 8 months younger than Bonnie but he is so much bigger than her 😄

Bonnie wearing the hat I knitted the other week

Like I said, Arty won't smile for the camera so I had to be crafty to get his photos.

He is such a typical boy, into everything and not frightened to explore, just a perfect lovable little monkey, you certainly need your wit's about you when you take him out though!

Awww he looks so much like Jenny did at this age, except Jenny had curly hair.   Oliver is the spitting image of his dad but Arty is just like Jenny.

 💗

See you soon.

-X-

Tuesday = slow day

Yes, I'm still giving myself Tuesday's off.  

I look forward to Tuesday's now, I look upon them as a day for me and I can more or less guarantee that I won't be interrupted or called on as everyone is either at work, school or nursery 😂

As much as I love my family and helping out, I do look forward to some kid free time.

I have managed to get some things done this past week though.  I stitched this piece last year sometime, I can't remember if I ever showed it on here, I think I was going to wait until it was made up but that never happened until last week.

I believe this is a Brenda Gervis?  I no longer have the chart and can't remember

I love chenille trim but it is virtually impossible to find here in the UK.  I did find some small spools of it in The Works a while back, it's not as thick as the Lady Dot chenille but it looks ok I think. 

I used some fabric I bought a couple of years ago at Wool@j13, it's flannel and I think it's perfect for backing fabric.  The little stitched year I blatantly copied from another blog, they do say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery don't they?  and I just loved it, unfortunately I can't find who's blog I saw it on.  If it was your blog and you are reading this, please let me know so that I can credit you with the idea. 

 

I have to say that their's was much, much more professionally done than mine!

Last week I had to pop to the garden centre for a few bits, this particular one has recently changed it's name to Cherry Lane, (They may have been taken over by Cherry Lane, i'm not sure), anyway, they have now started selling more than just plant and garden supplies, along with house and garden decor, books and toiletries they have small selection of yarn, and as there was only one left on the shelf in this colourway It had to come home with me.

I can be forgiven because I have already made use of it and it became a hat for Bonnie.

It was a Robin Paintbox yarn, (DK) and was lovely to knit with, I like how it came out and it suits Bonnie's colouring a treat.

My new stitching start was Curious Bunny by Teresa Kogut, which you can buy as a pdf download on her etsy page

I love him so much! although he is a slightly bigger bunny as I'm stitching him on 28 count, with the recommended thread colours.

So that brings me up to date with my crafting for this week, Tuesday is still young and I'm going to give that bunny some love this afternoon whilst watching season 5 of This is Us,  I've been putting off watching because it's such a roller coaster of emotion! I love it! If you have never watched This is Us you really must go and find it out, I'm watching on Amazon, not sure if you can get it on Netflix?

Until next time

-X-

Marching in

 The weather was beautiful on Friday and Saturday so Mark turned over the borders.  The ground in this middle one was still quite water logged so hopefully the ground will start to dry off a bit now.  

I cut everything back in this middle at the end of last Summer so it does look rather bare at the moment.

The grass is still really spongy, if March is kind it will start to dry out soon.

I cut my white rose right down last year, fingers crossed it will come back!

He made a little friend while he was out there too, aren't little robins so sweet?

On Sunday we cleaned out my little blue house and washed everything so it's spick and span again

Molly was glad to see the sunshine too :-)

I'm glad we made the most of the sunny weather because yesterday it was really dull and very cold again, not  much above 3°C all day.   We still made it out for a walk though, we met Jenny and Arty at the park and after feeding the ducks and squirrels they were able to go on the play equipment as there weren't too many kids around.  Arty loves the swings, Bonnie not so much.

I finished my second Prairie Schooler Santa for the #12in21ornamentstitchalong just got it finished on the last day of February.

This one, like my January Santa, is from the Prairie Schooler book No. 62 and I will be finishing them at a later date.

Mark is finally off furlough again, thank goodness, hopefully things will start to improve with the work situation as places plan on opening up again and I think he is glad to be doing something again.  Of course it also means that I have time in the house by myself again, I've been craving some time on my own for weeks, lol

I've got a new sewing machine that i'm off to play with now.

See you soon

-X-