Reflecting and Murmuring

Saturday turned out to be one of the nicest days we have had in a long long time.

Take one quietly moving canal glowing in a warm wintery sun

 Add glorious reflections in the crystal clear water..... top with 200 year old bridges....

Sprinkle with plenty of leaves drifting slowly, leave to be absorbed in the mind as you wander along the towpath.

Then, once digested and enjoyed follow with a natural phenomenon that even made the boys speachless (and that takes something special)..... starling murmurations

We, along with a few other folk, watched in awe as these birds moved in a collective Brownian motion style. Hundreds and hundreds of them arrived in huge swarms and joined the 'mother-flock' and swooped and whirled over head. Whilst they were airborne all you could hear was the swish of thousands of wings and the occasional chirp.....but when they landed on the reed beds their song sounded like a huge beautiful metallic waterfall swelling to an almost painful crescendo - I am getting goosebumps again just recalling it! If you EVER get a chance to see them - do so - it was/is wonderful !

So, how do you top that? Well you finish it with an evening picnic watching the sun sink behind the sea whilst listening to the waves lapping gently at the shore - that's how.

In the words of elbow - 'One day like this a year'd see me right'

Friday

.....this morning has been a time for.............

crafting...............

thinking........ (thanks Lovely Lady)

calculating and measuring......................

wondering and planning.....................

knuckling down to stringing along yule pressies.............

drinking tea and thinking................

illustrating and..............

.....playing with colours

And you? What's been keeping you busy today?

I've got such big thoughts and ideas frantically whizzing around my head that I am sure they will spill out soon and get lost or confused. Fortunately I have some wonderful friends and family who are there to support my off the wall plans. I will keep you posted and who knows, some of you might get involved! 

But - as ever - work stops play - whatever you get up to this❤weekend❤ - enjoy!

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ hawthorn xx

Snapshots and thoughts

Firstly a huge thank you for all your wonderful comments on the blue pram blankie, it was lovely to 'hear' from you Thursday :)

Radish's Mum and Andria - those labels I got from  Woven Label UK - I followed the hobby and craft link

Angela, Liz, Lovely Lady and Jak - thank you  xx

And Jane - I wholeheartedly agree with your 'glass of wine' and after the Friday evening I had - I nearly asked to come and join you!!

**************************

With such glorious autumnal sunshine and still unseasonably warm air, we went for a hobble (I say we as in the 'Royal We' - I really should just say me.....) while the other three and giddy dog kindly pottered slowly at my pace.

We wandered along another canal and it was such a lovely walk.

The dog and Youngest were happily playing with sticks, he was throwing them and she was chasing after them.







Then suddenly, in a moment of total giddiness - giddy dog watching a flying stick, her head in the air, tongue lolling out, tail wagging - ran straight into the canal - spadooosh! And completely disappeared under the water!

Himself instantly threw his haversack aside, launched himself onto the bank and grabbed a spluttering and very surprised dog by her collar and hauled her out.....she showed her gratitude by shaking every last drop of canal water off her - all over him!

A couple walking towards us grinned and asked if she had meant to do that - and I laughing at the dog's very shocked look on her face managed to say no - that it was a moment of giddiness! She soon recovered and she and Youngest resumed their game.

All along the way were wonderful snapshots of history - like the faded painted mooring bollard - you can just make out  the folk art roses despite the flaking paint.

All along the water's edge were steel rings, some with chains, some with rope.

We walked over canal bridges............

....And below them.

The reflections gave such serenity and depth to the landscape.

The late afternoon sunshine was truly wonderful as we returned.

I truly miss my 'proper' walks at the moment, but these gentle strolls that Himself kindly finds for me are precious and shared with him and my boys (and that silly giddy dog....) makes them even more treasured.

Hope your weekend is being good to you and for you too xx

Friday waffle and woven ends

A quick post and last look at the little blue pram blankie I have been making. 

 L♥VE

I've tried out the new suggested way of weaving in the ends - here's hoping no little tufty fluffy ends appear!

I felt really 'grown up' stitching on my label - well it had to happen sometime I s'pose.

The blankie is all excited, ready and wrapped and waiting to go - hope mum and babe love it.

I shall certainly miss him....

After approximately a 2 minute crochet-free break - well I had to stick the kettle on and make myself a consolatory mug of tea, I have started another string bag - this time in a rich aubergine and turquoise - ooh yummm!

It is at last - FRIDAY! And it took ALL week to get here!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

EDITED TO ADD:

The blankie went down very well - and even made the mum cry xx

Having a whale of a time

I felt bereft when the boys went out on Sunday for a walk, I know that Himself felt guilty leaving me behind but he, the boys and the dog needed an airing. After feeling sorry for myself for all of..... err, 2 seconds,  I took the opportunity to make these..................

I was asked to make a catnip filled whale for a much loved 'only cat', so who was I to refuse!?

Not having a pattern did cause a bit of consternation so I tried several versions and made a few pale blue prototypes until I was happy. My biggest stumbling block was the tail, try as I might I just could not get the tail right.

So my final version - out of sheer frustration and fedupness - has a fish tail rather than a whale's. (Something spotted instantly by my boys who proceeded to inform me about my obvious lack of knowledge of a whale's anatomy - humph)

Any hoo - I was rather taken by the cuteness of them so made two more out of some vintage material I was gifted a while ago and had saved - I think they will make themselves on to a chrimbly list for some one :)

*********************

I suppose I shouldn't be too put out that I didn't go on that walk (they were gone hours! - no way could my sore knee have withstood such a distance) as on Saturday, Himself took me out on a wonderful flat wander alongside a canal from a delightfully cute village where the cottages clung to the hillsides with their reflections twinkling away in the water. Beautiful.

Brrr its very much colder today and I have actually lit the fire this morning - does mean the house will be nice and warm for Himself and the boys to come home to. 

Enough waffle now, got to get ready for work, we do extended hours on Mondays and it makes it feel such a long long day.

Hope you all had a lovely weekend

and wishing you all a Happy Monday!

xxx

Weaving, wandering attention span & woo hoo it's Friday!

 ❤Thank you for all your suggestions and comments


Jane - I loved the idea of adding a 'sandy' strip to the seasidey colours, sadly the sandy colour I had just didn't agree with the lilac shade so I have saved that idea for later - I am planning to do another project in these colours coz I did love❤❤your cushion cover and I am a sucker for anything pseudo-seaside in lieu of not living alongside the coast!


Hag,  Jak and  Angela all suggested I stay with the odd number of colours and now that I have progressed I agree.

I was interested to see how many of you also had the sewing/weaving-in-of-ends problem and there have been some interesting answers.

Now - I thought I would share all weaving in suggestions with you lovely lot - let me know how they go!


Angela says that she threads a darning needle and weaves in away from the edge, turns the needle around a stitch and then weaves back DIRECTLY INTO the same thread - she reports that reduces the 'fluffy' end showing.


Jak mentioned that she weaves in initially away from the edge then turns 90 °, weaves down for a short way, snips off the end then gently pulls to hide the tufty bit - she says that works quite well. 


At knit and natter last night several variations were offered up: 
❤ weave in,go around a stitch then turn immediately back, 
❤laying the thread flat across the preceding row and crochet over it as you add the next row
❤pick up the thread and actually incorporate it with the next few stitches (although I wondered if this would make that particular stitch rather fat!)


Any hoo! - hope you can get something useful out of those suggestions :) 




I have decided I have a magpie mind and a short attention span - I just looked across to my wip shelves and see that it IS BURGEONING! Do you have that problem? 

So, just to make myself feel ok with the fact I have loads of things to finish - I took photographs in an artistic sort of way.....

And - in case you have'nt noticed

it is 

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤FRIDAY!❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

*yay!!* bring it on - I need this weekend :)

In which I start another blanket and and ask another question!

Blankie update - well, after much discussion and brow furrowing, I have shelved the green/red/yellow blankie to finish another day and have taken up three more colours.   I have also the added help I now know that the baby is almost certainly a boy so that has helped in colour choice!

Now, seeing you were so very helpful last time - I now have two queries for you -

Would you add a fourth colour? - say a stronger blue or purplely shade or leave it as just these three (I have been playing with the stripe maker and have definitely over striped myself!!)

....And - weaving in ends - what is the best way? I have tried a couple of ways and find that I always get a little 'tufty' bit left showing no matter how carefully I weave it in. Which on my own blankets I can live with but as a gift I would like to have invisible ends!

I am once again loving doing this blankie - my hook just flies along the rows and I am soon engrossed in the stripe making. It is one my fav-sis-in-law uses. The pattern is a repeating 1:2:1 of overlapping colours which at first glance doesn't seem to have a rhythm then suddenly as the rows progress the repetition begins to appear and looks wonderful.

Ok - the floor is open to you - suggestions please, I am off to work now so my crochet has to be *sigh* put aside for more sensible endeavours.

Yours in a crochet dilemma - hawthorn xxxxxxxxxxx