planning cushions

Its been such a lovely blue sky day here today, I made a long slow spaghetti bolognese the River Cottage way, Sammy sat and coloured clutching at over sized crayons, colourful and fat in their paper jackets, whilst Joshy played spy's!




Yesterday was nicer still, im hoping to share my crafty makes in a few days. Tomorrow though im back at work, back in the real world and i feel slightly scared, still thats a whole day away and I've been planning cushions, playing with fabric and knitting away my last day off!

joshy and belle xxx

Make it sew ....

Thank you to everyone who's popped by here these last few days, I wish I could pop round to you all with a bunch of daffodils and basket of homemade cakes.

I seemed to have had a little holiday at home this last fortnight, lots of pyjama days, with knitting and tea, woolly warm socks and flames licking over logs in the fire, a fair few bars of chocolate have been consumed in a non ladylike way too I'm sorry to say! Still the weather has definitely made a move closer towards spring, it won't be long until the cherry tree by our little cottage window is covered in fluffy pink blossom!

Being married to a bit of a geek I do get forced to watch a fair amount of Sci Fi (although I do have a bit of a thing about Battle Star Galactica!!!) I was thinking about this whilst tucking sammy and his little dreams up tightly in his cot tonight when a brilliant name for a blog popped into my mind,

Make it sew!!!!

I goggled it to see if there was already a blog by the name and found this





I think it's Fab!

Thank you once again for all your lovely comments. Xxxxxxxxx

Posted by Joshyandbelle xxxx

Good Bye Belle

Yesterday we lost Belle. She had been hit by a car, the council found her and rang us, so with very heavy hearts we brought her home and laid her under her favourite bush in our little cottage garden.
I cried all afternoon and evening. This morning my eyes feel foreign, like they are too big to fit in my skin, swollen and swelled, pinky red. I miss my girl. She has been with me for so long, my constant little friend, always there.
Good bye Belle, sleep tight.
I love you Xxxxxxxxx



Posted by Joshyandbelle xxxx

A little cosy crochet

It's been so cold here in Hampshire, the sky's have been crisp and clear though with no snow, not a trace, not even a whisper.
Inside our little cottage I have been so cold, unable to keep warm, dressed in jumpers, socks upon socks, blankets and throws and hot water bottles, one cosy afternoon finally warm and too ill to go to work I sat browsing Raverly and found this http://images4.ravelrycache.com/uploads/delquilter/71972755/DSCF8981_medium.jpg
by delquilter, tip toeing up our steep cottage stairs, opening a big cream drawer finding my spare CK coloured yarn and a little hot water bottle I sat and started to make little squares to cover the sunshine yellow rubber.
Today whilst joshy was at school sammy and I pottered in our little nest, looking at books and brightly coloured crochet, drinking tea and sitting one mummy one fourteen month old under blankets and cushions our feet warm hidden under brightly coloured stripes, reading bbc homes and antiques and that's not my tigger (SAMs favourite) watching as the sun danced in past the cherry tree through our little window resting on little sprigs of lavender sat in hand painted Victorian glass, I love cosy winter afternoons,

My month in pictures

I'm not sure where I found this image, I think it may have been the CK website. Just recently I've been a little bit stuck, as if I don't know who I am some days, and other days I'm so sure of my own ideas, feelings and how I would like things to be done that I feel as though I want to throw everything I have away, paint our whole cottage white and start again! My style seems to be changing, but the space I live in, my funds and my ideas keep getting stuck, and with a heavy heart I look at the things I do have and wish I could pack them away and just live simply with what I need, but when they are packed away I miss them! maybe it's a new year thing but I seem to be spending my January days taking things to charity, sorting and tidying only to find the house bare and not quite right and so putting more stuff back in the empty places!

Any way what's this on the sofa?

For Christmas I was lucky enough to get both CK tins full of bright knitting and crochet yummy ness!

Our little cottage Christmas was so lovely, just the four of us, we went to church in the morning, we opened presents and ate and ate, we watched telly, and played games, later when the boys were tucked safely in their beds we ate cheese and biscuits and sat with candles dancing in the fireplace and I played making little bright granny squares, on boxing day we went to the beach, it was cold and windy but just as magical as the beach always is, strewn with shells and dancing foamy waves.

I ordered this bag in the January sale to hold my knitting and current cushion projects

And whilst I was there day dreamed about having a wall for caths digital map print wallpaper!

And saving pretty jars to make a tea light holder for a friend,

And a pixie hat, 1940s inspired for another friends' daughter, my model now he's a bit older wouldn't have his photo taken in a girls hat!

And look at these lucky finds in our local antique shop, this old chap now holds my crochet hooks and I love him,

and my little wine cork, so sweet now stands in our kitchen

And after Christmas when the year is new I have a birthday, I love having a January Birthday, most of my family give me money so I can shop in the January sales, this year I got, a few bits from Cath Kidston

Some postcards from a birthday day out

This little leather suitcase, I saw him tucked away so long ago but my purse was empty, he waited for me though, and now he sits by my spot holding vintage patterns that I love to just sit and look through,

And this which you may have seen on Vanessa's blog, I am so happy with my necklace, I love how the dog detaches to be worn all by hisself, and at how me this is considering I've never met Vanessa in real life!! Thank you so much Vanessa!

What a busy month and a bit I've had, I wish this hat fit me!

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festive fair isle & jolly wreaths

Listening to Vera really makes my heart skip, shuttered up tight in our little cottage whilst the sky swirls in a windy grey spray of wintertime clouds stretched above the cherry tree,

Inside I've been swirling too, with little pieces of soft blue felt around and around my tiny hoop, and then afterwards watching as tapestry wool flowers gently grew in my hands before sitting in their little places.

I am really pleased with my wreath, sorry the photos are tinted with a murky darkness, that's how it was/is in Hampshire today, I bet the beach is lost under a winter mist.

On the book shelf a little pile is starting to grow up to meet the flowers waiting to open,

any ideas what it could be?

A little fair isle stocking to hang on the fire place. I've wanted to try fair isle for so long, this is my first attempt made last month, the tension is a bit tight pulling the strands a bit taught at the back of the work,

you can see a few 'holes' where the colours have twisted a bit too tightly, I've learnt now to keep one colour on top of the work and the other colour below it so they don't tangle and pull each other,

and here is the back of the stocking, which has knitted slightly looser so the whole shape needs to be played with a bit during blocking! Still though as my first attempt I am so pleased and I love the colour choices I have made, the pattern called for red, green, black and white very traditional but that isn't really me! (If you would like any details its all on my Ravelry page, I'm FlissC if you look for me)

This is my favourite, I love knitting it so much, this is the back of the cropped fair isle cardigan from Debbie Bliss magazine fall/winter 2010, I have never knitted like this before, its progress is slow but so relaxing and rewarding to knit. I'm hoping with all my heart that it turns out ok. I've found that putting a stitch marker at the middle stitch has helped me so that if the pattern goes wrong you only have to unpick half a row not a whole one! (which I have had to do quite a few times!)

This little chap from from the church mini market, he belongs to Sammy and he takes him everywhere, the best bit was his little price tag, 75p!

Sorry if this is a bit early but this Sunday at the flower mill I came across the perfect little artificial Christmas tree, it seems a bit silly trying to fit it in the loft now so he's kind of just hanging around looking pretty!

Well the wind is roaring, the cherry tree branches keep reaching across the window, with Sammy asleep, Vera singing and the kettle boiling I've got just enough time to sew my next stocking together,

and make a start finishing this advent calendar I'm making ready to fill with sugar mice, refreshers and flying saucers,

and wondering when its acceptable to start hanging vintage baubles on these lovely branches!

Take Care xxx