Happy Mother's Day

Just a quickie to say Happy Mother's Day to all us lovely mums. I hope you have all had breakfast in bed, lots of lovely gifts and going to be pampered for the rest of the day.

I have been spoilt today with a very nice Cath Kidston bag and a lovely bunch of flowers. Sorry no pics but I will take some when the sun comes out to play. Now for a lazy day with my new project which I will share on my next post.

Mad Day at the Beach

We have a tendency in our house to have mad moments and just doing something, anything on a whim. Due to hubby not being well we don't plan anything specific so when he's feeling up to it we just go with the flow and see where the day takes us. Except yesterday was a definite mad moment. Kids on school holidays, eldest out with her boyfriend and the youngest 'bored' already, so hubby decided lets take the dogs for a walk on the beach at Mappleton over on the East Coast. We visited Mappleton last year and it was beautiful, lovely huge beach, you could walk for miles.

I thought it was a good idea so suggested that he check the weather for the area and times of the tide. It is approximately 80 miles from where we live and I was thinking it's a tad too far if the tide is in. I was assured that we were up for light showers and the tide was not an issue, so of we go. Car packed, Daughter in the back with a long face because we are dragging her away from her iPad which she is on FaceTime all day with her best friend and off we go. On route we decided fish and chips for lunch from Hornsea then on to Mappleton for the beach. Well I'm sure you won't be surprised if I told you that as we approached Hornsea the so called light showers were persistent rain. We parked up, found a fish and chip shop then sat soaked in the car while we ate them. Car completely steamed up and I suggested lets turn around and go home. It had taken us 2 hours to get to Hornsea. Hubby said we are already wet so why not just pop to the beach and see what it's like. So 6 miles down the road later we park up and yes you guessed it the tide was well and truly in. I had to ask myself what weather and tide information had hubby looked at because it was or he was wrong on all counts. Still there was a small patch of beach that we were able to get on and it stopped raining. Down to the beach we go, the dogs loved chasing the pebbles and getting their feet wet. Youngest though was not impressed.

Even though it was wet and the tide was in we and the dogs did enjoy ourselves. Daughter maybe not so much. A four hour round trip for a bag of chips and 30 minutes on the beach is a bit mad but thats who we are. Next time though I think will check the weather and tide reports.

Morning everyone, well we have a wet and miserable day here today which means no photos of my latest makes. I like to take my photos in the morning when the sun is coming through the studio window, so I suppose I shall have to wait for the sun to come out and play. I tried a light box but I only have small studio and it just didn't work for me.

On Sunday I should have stayed in taking my photos but it was a such a lovely day and we really needed to blow away the cobwebs so we went for a walk instead to our favourite place. Tingley reservoir near Leeds is approximately 1.25 miles, its flat with a pathway all the way around and it doesn't seem to matter what time of year you go its beautiful. There is a sandbank at the beginning of the walk which allows the dogs to paddle a little before the walk. Penny our big dog was so excited that she didn't want to come home.

Belated Christmas Wishes

I am sending you all belated Christmas wishes and hope everyone had a lovely time. I myself have had a chest infection but over that now (yeah), My family and I all had a lazy Christmas just chilling and appreciating the fact the my husband is still here with us after having a double heart bypass just 9 weeks ago. So I know feel after a very stressful year that its goodbye to 2014 and I'm looking forward to 2015.

Now I don't normally go in for new year resolutions but this year I am. My studio/office is where I keep all of my woolly loveliness plus all my other craft items from buttons and ribbons to scrap paper and card plus beads and embellishments and because of the recent stresses everything has just been piled up in heaps and I feel claustrophobic.  So with this in mind I have been researching storage ideas and thinking of how to clean up my space and make it more workable.  The 1st thing I am doing is sorting through my woolly oddments that have been left over from projects and organising them in to different categories. I alway make sure that I use 100% of the ball of wool, so the beginning of the ball is my current project, depending on the project I might have a good sized oddment left over, I then make something for charity with it like a baby hat or bootees or granny squares which will be joined together later with a main colour to make a blanket which will then be donated to charity, if there is anything left I add to my little hats bag to make innocence hats to raise funds for AGE UK. After all that my offcuts when weaving in the ends are kept in a little bag and when it's full it is sent to my good friend Maureen for stuffing handmade toys. I'm going now to play with the wool winder and start my organised 2015.

Happy New Year!

Happy Happy Happy!!

Well you could've blown me down with a feather yesterday when hubby called in the morning and said they were sending him home. I picked him up yesterday afternoon and he his now safe and sound tucked up at home resting. A few more hospital visits for check-ups etc but by mid January he should be back to full health. Has per my previous post regarding the Take Heart charity, I had a good sort out and donated 3 scarves, 2 baby blankets, 10 children's hats plus a few other little bits and my plan is to keep on crocheting and drop off a few more in 6 weeks time when is check-up time.  It made me feel happy to create and donate and for people to be so appreciative of my work. To top of my week I received an email today with a 20% discount from Hobbycraft, well it would be rude not to accept such a generous discount so I have treated myself to the new Cricut explore machine which I have been wanting since its launch in the summer and 12 balls of the lovely Women's Institute soft and silky yarn.  Roll on the postman coming with my treat.

Below is a photo of my donation to Take Heart.

So far so good!

Huge thank you to everyone on all the social media sites who sent best wishes to my hubby last week. I am glad to say he is doing fantastic. This time last week we were told there was a huge risk with the surgery and that he would be in ICU for 2 weeks. The operation was a success although a few complications, a double heart bypass later he was in ICU with so many machines it was upsetting but he has done so well that he was only in ICU for 4 days, now back up on the ward doing slow and steady exercises and everything going to plan. With a bit of luck he will be home within the next week.

While at the hospital I came across a charity who carryout fantastic work both at the Leeds General Infirmary and St James's Hospital. The Take Heart charity carry out fund raising events plus hold regular stalls in the hospitals themselves. So far just the things I have seen while at the LGI they have raised millions to create a roof top garden (which is fantastic), refurbished family rooms, supplied brand new furniture to the wards, Dyson fans for the patients, plus so much more. if you have time and are interested in looking at what they do then please pop along to www.takeheart.net. I was surprised to find that you can become a life long member for a one off fee of £1.50, this gives you a quarterly newsletter to keep you up to date with the events and current projects. £1.50 I can't even get a cup of tea for that, so I am gladly becoming a member today.

Everyone knows that I love my crochet and I make things for all kinds of charities, from premature and angel babies, pet blankets, plus just about anyone who needs something crocheted. So my new plan following a lovely chat last week with a volunteer for the Take Heart charity is to crochet items toys, clothing etc that they can sell on their stall each week. The beauty of this is I get my crochet fix and get to buy more yarn and then by donating my creations raise much needed funds too. So today I am sorting through my completed goodies to see what I can donate.

If anyone would like to contribute any items for the charity please drop me an email to discuss. My plan is drop items off when I go visiting and then maybe every other month once my hubby is home.

Decision Made

Well it's been a bit of a stressful time at my house this last few weeks but with crochet to keep me sane I'm sure all will work out well. Mick (my hubby) had a heart bypass yesterday and due to rheumatoid arthritis complications he shall be in intensive care for 2 weeks instead of 2-3 days. Then up to the main ward for a week or so. We are hoping to have him home by the end of November. From here on in it shall be around 6 months until he is fit enough to lift anything heavier than his cup of tea. I have to praise the staff at both Bradford Royal Infirmary and Leeds General Infirmary all have been brilliant. Between the two hospitals I have seen at 1st hand the dedication all the nurses and doctors put into looking after not just my husband but all patients. I'm now thinking of creating a new card design to raise funds for the Take Heart Charity. I shall be looking into that soon. So this post was a just little update and now its time to put the kettle on and have maybe an hour with my hook and yarn.

Crochet Therapy

Morning, I haven't posted for a few days due to Hubby still being in hospital. He is awaiting a decision on a heart bypass, the decision is being made by surgeons in Leeds and he is in Bradford so waiting, waiting and a bit more waiting. On the up side he is allowed to come home each day then go back to the hospital at night. He jokes its worse than being a prisoner. I must admit it feels very strange picking him up on a morning then drop him back off at night, but thats what we after to do to keep his space on the list so to speak. Anyhow in-between being a taxi service along with everything else that needs to be done I have tried to have some crochet therapy, some would think it is cheaper than a spa day or an actual therapist but I'm not so sure, my stash of yarn seems to multiply on its own. I have been good this last week and not bought anymore. I have been commissioned to make a cot blanket for a new baby due soon, I'm about a third of the way through but I can't just do the one project so I do some work on the blanket then pick up something small to do. I recently made a baby beret which I blogged early and have spent a few hours writing up the pattern which is over on my free patterns page. It was my small thing to do last night.  Free pattern here.

My next free pattern is going to be a bottle gift bag so keep watching this space as they are perfect for Christmas.

Another Week Another Blanket

I feel I am becoming the blanket lady. I have been feeling sorry for myself this week suffering with a stinking cold that is only just going away so it gave me plenty of time to create my lovely new baby blanket. I want and have so many ideas to create and make but somehow recently get side tracked into yet another blanket. I justify it in that everyone needs a blanket. Well I joined a Facebook crochet group the other week, we just post photos of our makes and share tips and hints etc. Lots of people in the group were talking about C2C blankets. I knew what they were just never made one. So after a bit of research I found a tutorial which you can find here and the thats it I'm hooked (pardon the pun). I had recently bought some lovely Patons baby 4ply in a mixed baby colours and cream. So off I went with my 3.5mm hook and came up with this lovely baby blanket. It is sized to fit a pram or moses basket and it feels so soft.

I am now going to use the same principles of this pattern and make lots of other goodies. I have a single bed sized blanket to make and I am going to make some lap rugs for charity. I am also thinking  of scarves and cowls too, this pattern is so easy that my mind is a whirl with possibilities. I am finding that my crochet and card orders are keeping me almost sane while I silently worry for my hubby who is going back into hospital in October.  He has already had two heart attacks in the last 14 months and is having symptoms again, hence back into hospital on the 13th for another angiogram and possible extra stents. Because we are almost house bound, he can't walk very far I am getting lots of crochet time.