Dinner for two

Finished my crochet circle. I thought I would make it a friend just to make sure I could remember how I did it and success, dinner for two! Can you spot my dinner guest in the background,  where's Wall.E! (I apologise!)

Some new old music

I seem to be on a constant journey of discovery when it comes to music. I don't care where and when it was written as long as I like it. However I'm always surprised when I love music that was written before I was even born.
Nick Drake made some beautiful music, Riverman and Pink moon especially.

Test Tube Vase

This is currently work in progress but thought I would share what I've been up to today. I bought a couple of test tubes at a car boot sale last week and I wanted to make a base so I could use them as stem vases. 
I was invited round to my sisters for dinner today and my brother in-law has a pillar drill he said I could have a play with. So, will a little assistance from him setting it up I was able to drill two holes into a piece of scrap wood. I decided to have the test tubes at varying heights so drilled the holes at varying depths. I then spent the next hour sanding the wood so I have a nice smooth surface which I'm later going to stain. 

Snows Hill lavender farm

A couple of weeks ago a friend and I went to Snows Hill Lavender farm which is in the Cotswolds, not far from where I live. I had been there before, years ago on a family outing. This time I was armed with my digital camera and my Through The View finder Kodak Duaflex camera. I was amazed at how many people were there, I think it's quite a tourist attraction now. 

I was amazed at how many different variety's of Lavender there is and all with different bluey/ purpley hues.

I do love the TTV effect you get when taking a digital image through the Kodak Dualflex but I think it's lost it's uniqueness due to the iPhone apps like Instagram. However, if I did have an iphone that might be the first app I download, it does save a little bit of editing time in Photoshop!

Look, it's a circle

Well I've worked it out. I don't think it's 100% perfect but it's definitely round! I think I will turn this into a placemat.

Free Deer head cross stitch pattern

Well I've finished my cross stitch pattern design and even finished the actual cross stitch!
I'm very happy with the results. It's been a while since I've done any cross stitch but I really enjoyed it. Successful cross stitch I think is all down to your ability to count and a little bit of map reading thrown in. I used approximately 16 count Aida (it was a bit I had left over) with one skillet of black floss split into three pieces of cotton at a time as the Aida weave was very fine. The finished deer's head measures 16cm.

I started my design work using an old envelope which had a very useful grid pattern on the inside. However it was very small (can you spot my mistakes!) so I made a digital copy of the pattern which you can download and use for free here. Please note this pattern is for personal use only. 

Here I have already hung up my cross stitch in my hallway. Now I have to decide what to have a go at designing next.

Do it yourself deer Cross Stitch pattern

I've been playing around with the idea of designing my own cross stitch patterns. I used to do a lot of cross stitch when I was younger and it seems to have come back in fashion. I've seen a lot of very simple silhouettes on craft blogs so thought this would be a simple way to start . I also love the use of deer heads in interiors at the moment and thought a deer's head cross stitch would be the perfect addition to my home. I will keep you posted on my progress. 

Finished! You Tube is my new best friend.

Well I did it. I managed to finish my secret big project on time. I was making baby blankets for my older sister who is expecting twin babys. They haven't arrived yet but I hosted a baby shower for her on Sunday and so thought it would be nice to give them to her then. 
She was so surprised, I think the best part about giving homemade gifts is when you get to see someone open them. These blankets are my first proper crochet project and I have to say I now prefer crochet to knitting. I know I'm still a newby but I was taught to knit as a child and enjoyed it but got frustrated with all the counting. You still have to keep an eye on what your doing with crochet but there is a lot more repetition so I can easily watch a film and crochet at the same time without getting into a huge mess!

Baby boy's blanket

By sister is expecting a boy and a girl so I decided to go with strong jewel colours for the boy blanket and softer pinks, greens with a light blue for the girls.

Baby girl's blanket

As I said before I was taught to knit as a child but no one in my family knew how to crochet so I've been teaching myself using You tube videos. I learnt to crochet the basic granny square by watching videos by tjw1963. I was able to go as slowly as I liked and could pause and rewind if I didn't understand. I have learnt such a lot from you Tube that it's almost my go too website if I need to work something out. 

This is the you tube video I used to show me how to join my granny squares. There are many different methods but I liked how this looked and it was quick and easy to do.

My next crochet challenge is to have a go at crocheting circles, a friend has shown me before but they kept turning into cones! Practice makes perfect.

How long do your projects take?

I am a little bit guilty of starting some projects and not actually finishing them. The problem starts when I realise how long said project is going to take. It always helps when there is a deadline, like if I'm making a birthday or Christmas present. I feel really bad if I give a present late as half the point of giving a gift is to show you are thinking of that person, if you give it late then you've lost some of that thoughtfulness. So the projects that usually have a prolonged finishing date are the one I make for myself which isn't so bad. I think I just need to consider when I start projects to bare in mind the man hours it will need.
My latest big-ish project I have been working on is now in a last stages and my deadline is Sunday! This is when my older sister is having a baby shower. She is expecting twins which doubled my gift idea but I have powered through and I can't wait to see her open her prezzy on Sunday.

She is expecting a boy and a girl which explains the wooly colour pallets above. This has been quite a challenge to keep a secret as she has popped by a couple of times and I have had to ban her from my living room for a couple of mins while I hide the evidence. I sure she thinks I've gone a little bit mad!
Once this project is over I can then get back to the patchwork quit I started about 1 and a half years ago!  

My airplant hanging feature

I was given some lovely tea-light holders for my birthday from a friend whom knew I am a little obsessed with terrariums. She thought these would be great for making hanging terrariums. I had seen pictures of some very similar (See bellow) on other people's blog and a few on Etsy so knew what she was thinking. 

However, I feel I have explored and experimented with succulents enough in my current terrariums and felt it was time to try something different. I remember my parents having a couple of airplants when I was younger, I was alway intrigued as to how they survived with no soil so thought these would be perfect. My dad even kept one in his car for a while! 


So this was the plan, I wanted to have my new glass orbs in my bathroom with airplants in them, after a little googling I found a UK based company that specialised in airplants called what else but Just airplants. There was quite a selection on offer so I dropped them an email to ask which they thought would be suitable in a bathroom and they got straight back to me with a list of recommendations. My lovely new airplants have now been in my bathroom for a couple of weeks now and seem to be quite happy. I've only watered them by spraying them a couple of times since I've had them as they seem to get a slight steam bath every time I have a shower. Very low maintenance, I thinking this could be some Christmas presents sorted.