A Finish And What's Growing.

 My latest mosaic finish, I really enjoyed making this it was like coming home again as it's been a while since I made a mosaic blanket. They do have their negatives as in taking ages to grow and lots of ends to deal with but I always like the result so it's worth it.

I wove in all the ends as I worked so I wasn't left with a whole load to deal with at the end. It also meant that I didn't have to make a double border to hide the ends in.

Because the actual blanket is quite busy I chose to make a simple hdc border with a final row of crab stitch to finish it off.

The blanket measures 34"x 34" which I think is a decent sized baby blanket and I will be sending it to NHAP 

I used dk yarn for this which I already had in my stash and it used 450 grams.

The pattern can be found here

I have a few ideas about what to make now that this is done, I have a couple of things on the go at the moment, I must finish the spring garland I don't think it will take too long once I get going and I'm making bunting to adorn our train station for the Queens Platinum Jubilee celebrations. 

As for embroidery I have downloaded the May birth flower lily of the valley  I'll enjoy transferring the design and selecting my colours and I'll start sewing it this weekend.

It's another Stitchdoodles design and you can find the free download here.

Another month draws to it's close and I have to say I'm a little disappointed I was hoping that the weather would have warmed up by now but it's absolutely freezing. I have done very little in the garden because of the weather and because my fence still needs repairing after it was damaged by the storms earlier in the year, I'm hoping that I have found someone to repair it at last, but it won't be until, next next weekend, I have been let down time and time again, fingers crossed this time it will actually get done.

Things are growing despite my neglect, the bleeding hearts have awoken and are giving a magnificent display, I have had these plants for more years than I can remember and they always put on a stunning performance every spring, they are growing in pots and it doesn't seem to bother them at all.

There is an abundance of blossom on my little apple tree, I do hope that it doesn't get spoilt with the frosts there is one forecast for tonight.

Lovely cowslips and ..

I have tulips at last, not as many as usual I will have to plant more this Autumn.

I'm feeling quite pleased with myself because I haven't had any chocolate for nearly a week, I am still committed to observing my sugar fee May, I'm so pleased that some of you are going to join me lets hope that we can keep it up, think positive we can do it!😊

Have a great weekend and take care until next time.😘😘

Linking with 

Kathy's Slow Stitching Sunday

A Bit Of this And That

 Hello! I hope that all of you that celebrated had a lovely Easter.  I ate far too much chocolate and I still have plenty in the house, I am a total chocoholic I envy those of you who who can eat just one piece and then put the rest away until later, how do you do that? I have decided that things are going to have to change around here I need to get a grip on my out of control habit of eating cakes biscuits and chocolate, the more I eat the more I crave. 

 I admit it I am addicted to sugar, there always seems to be an excuse, first it was Christmas, then I was ill and I felt I deserved a treat, then Mothers Day, then I thought I'll stop after after Easter and now I'm thinking I'll just eat all the chocolate first and then I'll be good.

I have decided I'm going to have a sugar free May, I know that there is lots of sugar hidden in the foods we buy but one needs to be sensible and not go over the top, what I mean by sugar free is no biscuits, cakes or chocolate and believe me it will be hard because I am met with temptation at every turn but I will resist says she with fingers crossed. 🤞

Join me if you like lets do it together no sugar in May.  I'm going to weigh myself at the start of the month and then again at the end and lets see if I can loose a few pounds. 

I have been walking more just to get try and get my fitness levels up and the weather has been better so no excuses.  I say better here on the North East coast we always seem to have a very cool breeze which means it is always a few degrees colder than it is inland. 

Seaham Lighthouse in the distance built in 1905 hoping to get renovated sometime this summer, it gets an awful battering from the north sea and even though it's painted nearly every year it now needs some serious TLC

The plaques give information about the mining industry, this is actually on the site of one of the three coal mines that were in use before 1990.

And there far in the distance just above the roof tops l spied these lovely cloud formations and just had to take a photo.

This is the sky outside my conservatory at 7am one morning last week I stood absolutely transfixed watching these seagulls, they were flying in a formation which lasted for about 20 minutes right above me, as if they were putting on a show just for me.  I didn't realise that seagulls did this they are such huge birds I didn't think they would be capable of putting on such a graceful and beautiful show. It quite made my day. 

It was impossible for me to capture the sheer scale, this is just a snippet there were literally hundreds of them, this was when I realised that a camera would have been better than a phone and that I should have paid more attention to what they taught in my photography class. 

On the craft front the daisy's are done, I really enjoyed stitching those, at this rate my walls are going to be covered with my little embroideries. I do love daisy's they are such a happy flower and come in all sorts of shapes and colours. 

Birth Flower For April The daisy

I am almost finished my bubbles blanket, here is a sneak peek, just two more bubbles to go this weekend I will be doing the border and hopefully finishing it off, then I will be ready to start something new, oh the excitement. 

I have to show you two more things that have excited me this week...

The first is more inspiration from the crochet crowd, this time for Tunisian crochet, I have tried it before as you can see here, but this is in a different class altogether...

The timeless Tunisian Blanket, the pattern is there already but there will be video tutorials happening beginning on the 28th April and yes I will be looking in to see what it's all about and deciding if this is something I would enjoy making.  You can find the introduction here.

The second thing is a new mosaic crochet pattern from one of my favourite designers Tinna Thorudottir Thorvaldar

 

AZUL

There are 36 different tile patterns and even more coming to be added later. I haven't bought it yet but you know that I will. 😀

Leaving you with a picture of this beautiful freesia, I planted lots of bulbs but this is the only one that has flowered, I must plant more of these for next year...

Take care until next time😘😘

Linking with 

Kathy's Slow Stitching Sunday

Handmade Monday

Easter Blessings.

So here it is my little Easter display, as you can see I found my painted Easter rocks. It makes me happy each time I walk past, I tend to add to it each year, this years new additions are the bunny and carrot garland, the chick and the eggs. I have have added links for the free patterns below

To everyone who is celebrating have a very Happy Easter.😊

Free Easter Patterns

Bunny Garland

Carrots

Chick 

Eggs

Crochet Bunny

Linking with

Slow Sunday Stitching

Waterfall Crochet Review and Back To Mosaic.

Geometry Lessons Stitch Along.

You all know how excited I was to get started on the SAL, I was there as soon as the video tutorial was released. Mikey is a great teacher and I soon got the gist, however I soon came to realise that this type of crochet was not for me. I get that the beauty of this type of crochet is that you can have geometrical patterns in your work without having to carry your yarn at the back as in the intarsia method, however for it to work you have to have good consistent tension or you are left with gaps and holes in your work. My tension varies so I wasn't happy with the finish, it meant I was pulling back and trying again and again and at that rate I would never have finished the blanket.  

It appears that I am not alone in my thinking several crocheters have given up for the same reasons. Another thing I found is that it is quite hard on the hands, there is a lot of twisting and turning involved and for the longer waterfalls you need to use a hook with a long shaft or a Tunisian crochet hook.  I use an ergonomic hook but they are too short for all the stitches the hook has to accommodate. However I must quickly add, there are many more who are absolutely loving the waterfall method of crochet and indeed several have finished their blankets already at only two weeks into the SAL. 

I may revisit one day with a thicker yarn I was using Dk out of my stash and I think an Aran weight as used in the pattern would be the best way to go.

You can see how far I got below...

This particular pattern (the checks) involves two rows of dc (US) and chains in colour A, then in colour B you weave down through the chain spaces of the previous two rows and crochet into the dc two rows below. As you can see my work is very untidy and on closer inspection there are holes and gaps left in places, you can also quite clearly see the lighter blue yarn showing through the navy. The next part of the pattern (the arrows) is four rows deep so that will add to the difficulty I would think.

As I have said lots of people taking part in this SAL love it here is the link if you would like to give it a try or even just watch the video to see what it is all about. 

I'm pleased that I tried it even if  the experience was short lived for me, it made me realise that you can get the same result more or less with Mosaic Crochet and that is a method I really enjoy so I have decided to make a mosaic blanket instead.  

I have already made a start, it's going to be a 36"x 36" baby blanket and I'm using a pattern that I purchased ages ago by the very talented designer Rosina Plane I love her designs.

It will take me a while because Mosaic Crochet is slow as it only grows by a sc depth at each row however I don't mind as the results are always worth it, I will be happy if I can get this finished by the end of the month.

Other things

It's funny how different things seem to hold my interest at different times, the only thing that is truly consistent with me is crochet, I never tire of it, but I have to have something else going on too and as you all must have gathered by now it's embroidery, I don't know how long this will last but I'm really enjoying it at the moment.

The flower for this month is the daisy and as I love daisies I need to embroider a few to do them justice, I have yet another one I want to start, I enjoy sewing just a little bit each day.

I am still working on my Spring garland it's nice to crochet the odd flower or leaf between other projects, then when that's finished I will start on a Summer one.😊

Speaking about things holding my interest as I was assembling my little Easter display I realised that I had quite forgotten about the Easter stones that I painted last year, I was totally hooked on rock painting, in fact at that time I was quite obsessed with it but I haven't done any rock painting for months, one of the reasons is because it's quite close work and it put a lot of strain on my neck, and although my neck problems did ease a bit it seems to be getting bad again.  

The problem with craft work is, you are nearly always bent over your work so I suppose an aching neck its an occupational hazard. What is a craft addict supposed to do I ask myself, stop crafting?😩Could you? 

I'm going in search of my Easter rocks so that I can complete my little Easter display. 

Easter Cactus getting ready to flower.😄

Take Care until next time.😘😘

Linking with 

Slow Stitching Sunday. 

Handmade Monday

The Granny Rose and Hello April

 I love April it's my favourite month of the year, longer nights and warmer weather but as I'm writing this there is snow falling outside, amazing really when you think that the temperatures were more than 10° higher last week, looking back to last year we had snow in April then too. At least I know that there won't be much more of it and it will get warmer. 

Looking back on March  I am happy to say that I did manage to complete everything that I said I would and a little bit extra too.  The last thing I made was another 24" square for the comfort blankets.

The Granny Rose 

I love this rose and have used it quite extensively in the past if you want to take a quick peek you can see more of my granny rose projects below. Back then, I thought it would be a lovely idea to make a blanket for my bed using this design and I set about making dozens of these roses and then crocheting them into granny squares, then other things took over and they got put to one side.  I have resurrected  these and joined them into a larger square, I think that they look really pretty and would make a lovely centrepiece for a larger blanket.

More of the Granny rose...

A Poncho For Joanie

My Family Think I've Lost The Plot

When Two CALS Meet

Granny Rose Cushion

The Granny rose pattern can be found on the lovely Astri's blog Apple Blossom Dreams.

Other Things

The trees just beyond my garden border have worried me since I moved in here over four years ago, I do love trees but when they plant them they do so without any thought of which type of tree would suit the space.

Taken yesterday as you can see a dull wet day with the odd snowfall.

These will grow over 20 feet high if left unchecked, already their roots have grown half way down my garden towards the house, I can't dig the soil because of the roots and the decking is buckled in places because of them. My garden is South facing but these trees completely block the sun when they are in full leaf.  A few years ago I asked the council if they would trim them and they refused so my neighbour and myself  took matters into our own hands and got someone to trim them for us.

Taken through my bedroom window, my heart was in my mouth watching him and he stayed up there in the midst of falling snow and sleet showers too working for over four hour on my side alone.

I've just snapped this photo below while the sun is shining you can see the difference, they don't look very pretty now but I'm sure that they will, as soon as they put on new branches and leaves in the Summer.

As I was driving home along the sea front this morning I saw this rainbow and I quickly parked the car and took a picture of it.

You can hardly see it in the photo, it looked so much nicer in real life . 

My March 

To do in April

• Give you my thoughts about waterfall crochet.
• Make at least one baby blanket.
• Embroider the birth month flower daisy x2
• Make an Easter display
• Continue with my Spring garland.

I'm sure that lots more inspiration will come a knocking.  What are you planning for April?

Well I think it's time for a little bit of Italian study, I have learnt a few words which is better than nothing at least a few things have sunk into my brain, a few random words that on their own don't mean very much at all, ah well at least I'm trying 😀

I hope you all have a lovely weekend, take care until next time.😘😘