Happy New Year

Snippets from 2010

Happy Holidays

I wish you all a very, very happy and healthy festive season and beautiful special moments.

Happy holidays

Alas I have come away from home without my camera cable so I will post my crafting photos in the new year.  Last minute packing and running around like a headless chicken makes for forgetting my essentials.  However, I shall indulge in another (difficulty choosing makes that two) of my wintry photos.  It is all still with us after all.

xxx

Winter wonderland

It really was quite lovely and more than we have ever set eyes on in our neck of the woods.  I do find winter landscapes truly beautiful.  They give rise to all these floaty feelings of calm and serenity.

They do so bring donuts to mind.

Magical forest.

Even the spider's web had no escape from the encroaching ice.

There has been some crafting taking shape amidst the snowy distractions. I shall keep that for later.

Hope you're all keeping warm or cool, in whichever part of the world is home. :)

Autumn

The little fellow there flew into our glass-fronted door and knocked himself out!  I picked him up and provided a comfy bed until he came back to his senses.  Stole lots of caresses and pictures in the meantime.  So, so soft.

Perfect

So many chestnuts.

It's that time of the year again.  As much as I love Autumn and the feeling of off with the old and soon on with the new, it does also signal the arrival of cold, cold winter weather, which I am not so fond of.

Keeping warm

One garden in need of lots of work.

Trying to make the outside look cheerful.

I do think though that I shall be leaving the garden to quietly welcome its leafy winter blanket.  I shall be turning my attention to the indoors and some sewing projects.  I'm still getting on with those granny squares too!

A linen scarf I sewed up recently.  Soft and warm.

Thank you for visiting and for all your lovely comments.

Liz

xxx

Kitchen

The kitchen is undoubtedly one of my favourite rooms in our house.  I love it because it's cosy, it has been put together haphazardly over the years and is mostly a case of  'making do', which is fine as that induces creativity.  I like to sit on the bench at the little table and gaze out into the garden with my morning,  afternoon or anytime of day cup of tea.  The table and benches did not escape my paintbrush.  They were one of our first purchases for the house from a brocante and cost next to nothing but the orange pine had to go.

The dishwasher door looked a bit sad.  Hannah and I had a good laugh covering it with magazine cut-outs.

Top half of the dresser.  More paint, chicken wire and wallpaper improved yet more orange pine.

Some of my old but treasured bits and pieces.

I've been busy sewing and crocheting.  Granny squares are still being churned out.  Will have some pictures soon.

Home is best.

xxx

A fine Carousel, a sparkly ring and comfy pyjamas

Magical, beautiful and fun.

J never tires of them.

I fell in love (again) after seeing Amanda's gorgeous version of Annekata's beautiful fabric rings.  Had to make one right away and apart from fabric flowers it must be one of the few projects I have completed in a jiffy.  So, here's mine, embellished with a crochet flower (tutorial from the very talented Lucy at Attic 24) and a pearly button.  I learnt how to crochet this summer, from her tutorials.

I love it.

and will no doubt be making a few more.

My brain was triggered and I dug out a rather old edition of one of my Marie-Claire Idées magazines (summer 2001 - gosh, a while ago) as I remembered attempting a fabric bracelet from one of their pages.  I didn't finish it!!

And the pyjamas, to share with H :

Happy Wednesday!

It started like this...

I arrived back home with the children after a long, long drive from Paris, tired and sad after saying Au Revoir to my husband.  I was happy to be home but needed comfort and cosiness.  We have no curtains in our house - really do not need them as the only ones who peek are the birds.  However, feeling the way I was feeling and with darkness now upon us shortly after eight I wanted to keep the outside out and look at something pretty.  After a rummage through my basket and with the help of thumbtacks, my curtain was up in no time.

Up it goes when darkness falls and I can leave it to hang in the daytime, adding some prettiness and colour.
I hand-sewed this many moons ago and it has been lying in my basket (big basket of things wanting attention), unfinished.  Unable to suppress my sudden need for creativity, after handling all these fabrics and muttering about how many things needed finishing, I thought that my neglected piece could really do with some care and set to making a backing for it.

some old pillowcases,

some lace,

and I'm nearly there.

I would like to share some glorious views of Paris with you.  Please indulge me.  It's funny, I lived in Paris for 15 years and during that time I don't think I ever took any photos of the Eiffel Tower, or any other landmarks for that matter!  Now that I am a tourist...  Maybe it has something to do with not knowing how to appreciate what we have when we have it - ah - food for thought.

Bumper cars, go go go!

As always, a trip to Montmartre for the fabric shops is a must.  Most of them have been here for over 50 years and they are really fabulous.  I love these mini mannequins.

Some of my favourites.

And those too.

Happy creating :)