Thursday, November 28, 2013

. . . and The Night Owl is back again!

I'm ashamed to say that the last Crafting post I did was way back, on September 11th!

I hasten to say that this doesn't mean that I've haven't done any crochet work - it just means I've been so overwhelmed with health problems, that writing about anything I managed to make was just too much - plus, there was also the restraint that a lot of the things I was working on were presents, and I didn't want the recipients seeing them all before the right time :)

In my last crafting post, I mentioned that I'd had the privilege of testing a pattern for a wonderful designer, Dedri Uys, who's Blog is called: Look At What I Made (she can be found here:


http://www.lookatwhatimade.net). 

She wanted people of all levels of skill to test out a cute bonnet pattern, using the Crocodile Stitch - something I'd not come across until then - and she bravely allowed me to give it a try :)

This is what I made:




Unfortunately, the only yarn I had available, in the weight that she wanted used, was some Red Heart Super Saver, in Pumpkin, so that's what I had to use. Now, don't get me wrong, I actually love the colour - it's just that, with my abysmal photographic skills, I couldn't show exactly how lovely the colour really is - but you can definitely see the crocodile stitches! I'm quite fond of this little bonnet, as it was my very first item made with the crocodile stitch, and there had been quite an amount of frogging involved before I caught the knack of using it :)

I think that's one of the main aspects of crochet work that I love most - there's such an infinite variety of ways it can be brought together to make so many things, that I'll never get bored with it :)

I also tested a pattern for another lovely designer - Candace Glabas, who's Facebook Page, Crochet Dans L'air and The Grey Lady, is full of wonderful craft work:


Candace had asked me to test out a pattern, which involved using another new stitch for me, the Half Double Knit Stitch - which is actually a crochet stitch, and can be found here:


Candi's pattern was for a Laptop case and, as it happened, I had need of one, so I was happy to attempt yet another new stitch, and have something useful at the end of it - and here's the result:


Because I didn't have the appropriate yarn to use, and was already 
waiting on an order of my favourite Red Heart Yarns, sent from the USA, I made it up to the thickness needed, using three strands of DK yarn I had in my yarn stash - a dark purple, a lavender, and a white. I used 2 buttons from my button stash as a closure, and I'm very pleased with the result - as was Candi, thank heavens :)

Since then, I've made quite a few items - including some bunting in various leaf patterns for a friend's craft stall - which I forgot to take a pic of! But I'm hoping that she will take one of it in use and, if so, I'll show you on another post :)

I've been quite busy making winter outfits (hats, scarves and gloves), for my parents, as it's their 58th wedding anniversary on 27th December and, as they both use scooters to get around now, I figured they'd keep a little warmer with some snuggly winter wear :)

I was given some gorgeous cream-coloured Aran Yarn, flecked with tiny spots of green and brown, which was, unfortunately for me, 25% real wool, and so was a total trial to use - but I was determined to make a really warm set for my Dad, 
and so I made him a lovely warm Hat, a scarf to match, and some Glittens - or fingerless mittens - that I'd got as a Premium pattern from Crochet Spot, which can be found here:


- I managed it in the end, after having very frequent breaks to ease my hands (it's a pain figuratively, as well as physically, to be allergic to real wool!), to get them finished - along with a set of house slippers that I lovingly crocheted with the same yarn, too - but my Dad is well  worth the pain of using the wool-blend yarn! :)

For my Mum, I was very fortunate to be given a wonderful pattern called, Lady Victoria's Winter Warmers, a set of Hat, Neckwarmer/Cowl, and a combination of fingerless gloves, with a Mitten cap, to keep fingers toasty while not using them for anything intricate :)

The set was designed by a lovely lady, called Sue Pendleton and, if you like these, then you should go onto Ravelry, where she has a load of free patterns to be used - you can find her patterns here: 


My mum loves blue and green and, while I didn't have any suitable blues, I did have just the right amount of greens available - Red Heart Super Saver Solids - in Tea Leaf, and Honeydew, and I also used a tiny amount of the Hunter Green for leaves, along with some vintage buttons I had just purchased, and so I was able to make the set for her :) 

The Hat and Cowl part of the set :)

See the vintage button in the flower? :)

Here are the gloves/mittens :)
 By the time I'd finished making the set, there was plenty of the accent colour (the Tea Leaf) left, and so I decided to make Mum an extra gift of some Leg Warmers to keep her legs snug on her scooter - and a pair of light house slippers to wear indoors :)


I used the Alicia Leg Warmer pattern, designed by Leah Addis, which can be found here:
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/alicia-legwarmers 

I followed the pattern, except that I left off the frilled edge and buttons down the length :)



These house slippers, minus the contrasting, frilled, edging, were from a free pattern on Jay's Boutique Blog, to be found here:


Two other items I made - which were posted all the way over to Canada, were a couple of amigurumi sea creatures, to be placed on display in a Crochet-arium, organised by Michael Sellick, of The Crochet Crowd fame:


This took place on October 13th, at the Creativ Festival in Canada, where each item was sold on behalf of Crafting for A Cure, a charity project, which also covers North America. I don't know what my two sea creatures went for, but I just hope that they helped a child somewhere :)

I made a Narwhal, and an Octopus - unfortunately, I can't find the photos I took of the Octopus, but there's a nice photo here (even if Mikey did get the place I lived wrong - it's Wales, Mikey, not England! Lol), along with my Narwhal:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeyssmail/9836843594/in/set-72157635299722849/
I did make a collage pic of the Narwhal, so here it is:



I've made quite a few other bits and pieces but, until they are given to their recipients, I can't show them on here, in case they see them before time :)

I do hope this has made up for my silence for so long? :)

Monday, October 21, 2013

Ten Things of Thankful #12

This last week started with a death, and sort-of went downhill after that.

I've been soul-searching all week, trying to find 10 things to be thankful for, but my sorrow kept getting in the way - and so I decided that, despite how I feel, I should do my best to at least try to list 10 things that I can be thankful for.

So here it is:


1.   I'm thankful that I'm still alive. My spiritual brother died at the age of 50 and, at 52, I've had 2 years more than him on this beautiful earth. I hope to enjoy many more, God willing, and so I should be thankful for this extra time.

2.   I'm thankful for my other spiritual brothers and sisters, who were concerned about me, despite their own grief. That they could still worry about me shows just how much love there is between us all, and so I am always thankful for that.

3.   I'm thankful that Lizzi was able to do so well with her run to raise money for Cancer Research.

4.   I'm also thankful that Lizzi's post during the week, while shocking me terribly, wasn't actually real, but got the point across to many people about how devastating cancer is, and how much more research is needed if we're to eliminate this awful disease!

5.   I'm thankful that I'm one of the survivors!

6.   I'm thankful that, despite my bad week, I'm still able to look forward to the future.

7.   I'm thankful for a daughter who has such a strong work ethic, and who enjoys her work so much that it never wears on her.

8.   I'm thankful that my daughter's gigs this weekend went so well, and that she has so much to look forward to.

9.   I'm thankful for my husband's love and care this week. He always loves and cares for me so well but, despite being ill himself this week, he has been even more solicitous of me after we got that bad news.


10.         I'm thankful that I've been able to find things to be thankful for. It has been a very hard week for me this week, as my health has been very poor, as well as coping with the sorrow of loss, and so I doubted whether I could find anything to be glad about!


Ten Things of Thankful



Sunday, October 13, 2013

Ten Things of Thankful #11


I'm very late with my post this weekend because, frankly, it's taken me this long to get over my daughter's wonderful visit to us!

So I'd better start my TToT straight away :)


1) I'm so very thankful for the pleasure I've had at my daughter's company over our anniversary week (hubby always makes it last a week - he's such a romantic! Lol)

2) I was thankful that she was able to get a lift right to our front door this time, instead of having to take so many changes between trains and buses!

3) I am also thankful to good friends of ours who gave her a safe lift back to the train station - where the train was there, waiting for her!

4) I'm thankful that she will be able to visit us again in November - much, much sooner than we had hoped to see her again!

5) I'm thankful for good friends, who made our anniversary dinner such a special one :)

From left: Helen, Bob, Rachel, Tony & Myself :)



From left: Brex, Bob, Rachel, Tony & Myself

6) I'm especially thankful for my friend Lyndsay Ogden-Talbot, of Pretty Glassy, who so beautifully decorated the clock I'd chosen for Bob as an anniversary present. Her design was so very apt for us both, and we'll treasure the clock forever :)


Bob's Pearl Anniversary present, from me :)

7) I'm also thankful to her for the amazing heart pendants she created for all three of us, as a family. She made the exact right choices for us all, and I just wish my photography skills were good enough to show just how amazing the hearts are!


Bob's Tree Heart Pendant, with his name,
and the date of our anniversary on the back.

My Owl Heart Pendant -
with the Mortar Board I never got to wear! :)



8) I'm also very thankful to my friend Milly Rees, of MillyannaTrees, who made such gorgeous Steampunk Owls for Brex & myself. As we both love Owls, and Steampunk, they couldn't have been a more welcome present from Bob if he'd tried! :)

My Oswald Owl - Steampunk Style :)

Brex's Owl, along with the Phoenix Heart Pendant,
made for her by Lyndsay :)

9) I'm thankful to my friend Helen, who not only got me a big bag of chunky yarn (she knows me so well!), but also included another little friend for me to love:


My Little Owl, from Helen :)

10) And, finally, I'm so very thankful for the gorgeous Roses (plus a load of chocolate) bought for us by Rachel & Tony, plus the 2 gorgeous Cyclamen plants by Helen - and the many cards we received from our family and friends - we were thoroughly spoilt! :)





Roses & the white Cyclamen :)
Some of the gorgeous cards we received, plus the red Cyclamen,
and a bouquet of flowers from my Dutch friend, Mirjam :)

All-in-all, we've had so many things to be thankful for this week, it's been amazing :)


Saturday, October 05, 2013

10 Things of Thankful # 10



Is it me, or is time galloping along? It only feels like a couple of days since I posted my #9 post, and here's Saturday rolled around once more!

I'm feeling a little guilty, actually, as I wasn't well enough to contribute to many Blogs last week - but I did try to read as many of them as I could, when I could and, once again, everyone amazed me with the things they'd found to be thankful of.

I guess I've procrastinated long enough now so, without ado, here are this week's 10 things of Thankful:

1.   I’m thankful for discovering an amazing Blog a few months ago. It’s called 23 Thorns, and is written by an amazingly funny man who lives with his wife and children in South Africa. He not only writes some amazing stuff about the local flora and fauna, but he can be hysterically funny while doing so! I read his post of the 3rd October, and I laughed so much I nearly wet myself! I haven’t laughed like that in soooooooo long, so it was an amazing boost! Here’s the link – go on - read his post, you’ll have such a laugh! http://23thorns.com/

2.   I’m thankful for the amazing artistry of a friend who has decorated a special clock I bought for my hubby for our Pearl Anniversary. She managed to add everything that symbolises us, our love, and the things that mean a lot to us both. It’s something I know we will both treasure for the rest of our lives J

3.   I’m thankful that my girl is coming to stay for a few days from this weekend. I haven’t seen her for what seems like an age, and I so want to see my amazing daughter, and hug her for all the time I’ve been missing her J

4.   Following on from that, I'm just so very thankful for the wonderful relationship I have with my daughter. I never could talk to my mum in the way that Brex and I can talk, and I thank God every day for my miracle child, and the fact that we are firm friends, as well as mother and daughter.

5.   With that, I'm also thankful for amazing friends. My best buddy, Mirjam, moved back to Holland to be near her mum, who isn't well, and I’ve been missing her something terrible. Just a few days ago, there was a knock at the door, and it was a local florist holding a big bouquet of flowers from my dear friend, who sent them in plenty of time for our 30th wedding anniversary. It made me miss her even more, but in a nice way J

                   


6.  I’m also very thankful for my spiritual brothers and sisters, who do their very best to keep me spiritually alive and well. Being unable to go to my meetings really hurts me at times, as I really miss that amazing feeling I always used to get in our mutual worshipping of Jehovah God and Christ Jesus - but my spiritual family have banded together to help me, and go out of their way to make sure that I don’t miss out too much on that special meeting of minds, hearts and spirit.

7.   I’m thankful to Lovefilm, who have all the old series I used to love watching – like Married with Children – and who give me an unlimited amount of viewing time – I think I've watched more films, and old series, this year than at any other time.

8.   I’m thankful, once again, for the internet, as it not only keeps me close to family and friends, but is the means for my entertainment, as above! Lol

9.   I’m thankful for digital cameras. My hubby kept talking about the small river that runs through our little woodland (we get otters coming through here regularly), which I've never been well enough to go look at, and he eventually realised that he could take photos of it for me! Lol He did this today, even though it poured down for most of the day! J

                




              
  
10. And, lastly, I'm really thankful for the amazing ladies all over the world that I'm currently sharing a Granny Square swap with. It will be so very nice to put all of those squares I’m getting together, and make the baby blanket that I promised to a friend of my daughter who has just given birth to a baby girl. She loves to travel, so will appreciate that every square will have been lovingly made by somebody from a different part of the world to us. 



Ten Things of Thankful





Saturday, September 28, 2013

Ten Things of Thankful #9

I've been telling friends about my joining in with TToT recently, and they had to agree that this is a great way to be able to focus on the positive :)

There's something almost addictive about this hop as, despite anything bad happening in our lives, we are almost forced to see the positives in our lives because of it. On reading Lizzi's post just now, and following the links she gave to Dyanne's thursday post:  Two stories - one nicer than other. , I immediately came face-to-face with a very dark period in my own life which, thanks be to God, I managed to endure, and come out a stronger person because of, or even despite it :)

This has added an impetus to this week's post for me so, without ado, I give you my Week 9 of TToT:


1. I thank Jehovah God that I came through my struggle with cancer when I was 32 and, although I lost any vestige of a chance of having another child - a hysterectomy was a necessary evil - I am so grateful for the quickness of diagnosis, the speed of the NHS in dealing with it, and the amazing relief at not needing any of the more brutal treatments afterwards.

2. To follow on from the above, I'm also very, very thankful that I was blessed with the child I did have, and I thank Jehovah every single day for that blessing.

3. I’m thankful to have reached the age of 52. 20 years ago, the possibility of reaching this age was just a hope for me, but I came through to the other side and, despite other health problems now, am still alive and, figuratively, kicking! :)

4. I'm thankful for the gift of friendship that this hop has given me – something more precious to me than gold or pearls - and I’m so grateful for the really amazing people I've had the privilege to be in contact with because of it.

5. I'm thankful that, although my pain levels never reach the 0 factor, I'm also blessed with this, as I'm actually still here to feel it  :)

6. I'm thankful for those people, like Lizzi of Considerings, who is training hard, and who is doing a job that will probably be a bit thankless at times, but who does it cheerfully, and with a wonderful spirit, as she helps to keep those people with diabetic retinopathy in as tip-top a condition as she’s able to :) Having had my bad eyesight – although being caused by something totally unrelated - improved immensely over the years, I really do appreciate everyone who works in the Ophthalmology line :)

7. Just as Zoe, from rewritten, listed in this week’s hop I, too, am thankful to have been born a woman of this generation (well, of the 60’s, anyway). If I had been born earlier, I probably wouldn't be sitting here, in bed, with my laptop in front of me, writing something that will be available for anyone around the world - with internet access - to be able to read if they want to.

8. I’m thankful for the opportunity to learn so much more about the people I'm in contact with through this hop. Their courage and convictions shine through the words they use, and the choices they make in their Thankful lists – and I'm often left breathless at the scope for bravery displayed here online :)

9. I’m so very thankful for the choices I've made throughout my life, as they led me here, to a place where I'm comfortable talking about aspects of my life I couldn't speak about previously, even to those closest to me. There’s something about the – albeit false – anonymity of the blogosphere that helps so many people to be able to face their demons, and win through to a better way of thinking!


10. Finally, I'm thankful, as always, to my hubby, who often goes above and beyond the call of duty in his efforts to cheer me up when I'm down, or to bring me comfort just when I feel there never will be any :) Through his efforts over the last week, I've been able to get my blog done relatively early for a change :)



Ten Things of Thankful



Sunday, September 22, 2013

Ten Things of Thankful #8

It's hard to believe that yet another week has gone by, but I guess when you spend your life mostly asleep, that's what happens :(

I've had to think really hard this week for my list of thankfuls but, by doing so, it helped me to see all the lovely little things that can outweigh anything bad - and that's got to be a good thing, right? :)

So, on to my list of 10 thankfuls:


  1. I'm really thankful that the surgeon told my Mum that he didn't have to operate on her wrist - Mum fell and broke it while visiting family in southern Ireland for a funeral and, because she's on Warfarin, the surgeons couldn't operate, and so had to take special care to manipulate the bones back into place. Mum's surgeon in East Anglia, where she lives, has told her it's healing well without surgical intervention, which is a relief to the whole family :)
  2. I'm thankful that the downturn in my Dad's health, after he said goodbye to his last sibling, was due more to a minor infection, than the desperate grief we thought it was. At least it was something fixable.
  3. I'm so very thankful for antibiotics, which have helped my dad very quickly, and are something with which I wouldn't have survived to adulthood without. It makes me so very glad to have been born at this time, rather than in the past, where so many died through lack of this relatively simple cure.
  4. I'm thankful to Lizzy Allen, of http://muddleheadedmamma.blogspot.com.au/, who cheered up my day on monday, by nominating me to the Leibster Award - it brought a smile to my face, which was no mean feat, believe me!
  5. I'm thankful that my daughter has returned safely home from her American jaunt - even though she was whisked away immediately to one of the last festivals of the season.
  6. I'm thankful that it'll only be a week or two before she's here with us in Wales for a week, where we can catch up on all she's done this last 4 weeks, and where she'll be ready to celebrate our anniversary with us :)
  7. I'm thankful for my hubby's friends, who unfailingly turn up to keep him company while I sleep away my days. They stop him from feeling alone while he watches over me, and they keep him distracted, and entertained, to stave off his worries over my health :)
  8. I'm so very thankful that we both have a keen sense of humour - and a sense of the ridiculous! Hubby has now convinced me that I'm actually a vegetarian vampire (I'm definitely a 'nice plate of veggies, with maybe a bit of fish', in preference to hubby's 'still-dripping-with-blood' enjoyment of meat), which, according to him, is why I shy away from the light, sleep all day, and can't be woken without him pulling out the stake! Lol
  9. I'm thankful for the lovely days we are still having, despite the drastic downturn in temperature, and the fact that I can still look out of my window, and see the sun glinting through the many and varied grasses that hubby loves to plant around our garden, while watching the local doves bathing in the bird bath. This is such a wonderful thing for me to enjoy :)
  10. I'm really thankful for my cat, Kushka, who is always there keeping me company, even while I sleep - in fact, especially while I sleep, as she can then get plenty of uninterrupted snoozing herself! Lol


 
Ten Things of Thankful


Monday, September 16, 2013

I've been nominated for the Leibster Award :)

Now I've got to be honest with you, and tell you that, until I got a lovely message from Lizzy Allen, from the http://muddleheadedmamma.blogspot.com.au/, I hadn't ever heard of the Liebster Award - but then that wouldn't be hard, as I rarely have the chance to look around at the many excellent Blogs I'd love to keep an eye on :)

Reading Lizzy's post about it, it appears to be an award that acknowledges up-and-coming new bloggers, with the aim of encouraging them to continue writing, and work at making their blog grow - something I'd be quite happy to see happening :)

According to Lizzy, the word Liebster comes from the German, and means approximately the following: sweetest, kindest, dearest, beloved, lovely, endearing and welcome - definitely words that I'd love to be associated with :)

I'm not 100% sure what I'm supposed to do now that I've been nominated, except to follow the rules Lizzy wrote on her blog, and answer the 11 questions that Lizzy set for myself and the other nominees but, as I feel very honoured 
to have been nominated, especially as new as I am to the blogging scene, I'll do my very best to follow the rules, and to answer the questions as well as I can :)

To be nominated for a Liebster Award you should have less than 200 blog followers and less than 200 Facebook likes.

Here are the rules:

1. Answer the 11 questions set for you by the blogger who nominated you

2. Post 11 things about yourself 

3. Choose 11 bloggers who fit the criteria above and link them in your post

4. Create 11 new questions for your own nominees to answer

4. Visit their blog and let them know you have nominated them


So, here we go with my answers to Lizzy's questions:  


1. What is the best holiday you've ever been on?

I think it would have to be the 2 weeks I spent in the Lake District with my best friend Alison, and her family. I'd only ever had caravan holidays in Great Yarmouth before this, and so the Lake Districts were an amazing, beautiful, and eye-opening delight for me :) I used to wake up every morning to the sound of cow bells, as a herd was driven past the little cottage we were staying in. I had more new experiences on that holiday than at any other time previously in my life, and so it has stayed with me, even after going to many other spots afterward - it was wonderful :)

  2. Do you have/have you ever had a recurring dream? What is/was it?

Ooh, yes I do as it happens - I've had this same dream periodically throughout my life, and it used to scare me silly as a child:
I'm very small, and for some reason, I'm walking in a wheat field, with the wheat so high it's over my head. I can feel the hot sun beating down on my head, and can smell the ripeness of the wheat, and all I can hear is the whisper of the wind as it blows through the wheat stalks, and the chirping of crickets and birds. I then hear the sound of an engine in the distance but, because I can't see over the ears of wheat, I don't know what it is, until I suddenly step out from all the wheat onto a path of sorts. I look around and, there in the distance, I see a big yellow harvester slowly coming towards me. I don't feel any panic, as it is going slowly, so I step out into the path made by it's first sweep, and decide to follow it to the end of the row. I'm walking quite quickly but, because I'm only little, it's not very fast really and, before I know it, the harvester is getting closer and closer. Suddenly I trip over a loose sandal strap, and I hurt my ankle so I can't get up, and I'm watching the harvester coming closer and closer to me until it's almost upon me. I can't see the driver as he is so high up and, despite me shouting and waving, the harvester keeps on coming. Just as it gets to about six feet away from me, my great-grandmother appears out off the wheat rows, snatches me up, and steps back into the wheat, and I'm overwhelmed with the sounds and smells of the harvester as it goes by. That's always when I wake up :) 

  3. If you had to live on a deserted island for one year and you could only pack one book, which one would you pack?

It would have to be the Bible, of course. Despite being a sci-fi and fantasy buff, I've found that there are more tales of adventure and derring-do, of love, hate, passion, war and peace, in this amazing book, than anything I can find on the fiction shelves. Anything that can be attributed to the human condition is there if you look, so it would be a great companion for me - plus there's all kinds of wisdom to be had to survive almost anything life throws at you :)

  4. If you had to live on a deserted island for one year and you could only watch one film in that time (there happens to be a TV and DVD player on this island!), which film would you pack?

Hmmm, that's a hard one, as I have so many films that I love. I guess it would have to be one of my favourite disaster and survival movies - probably The Day After Tomorrow, which I never tire of watching :)

  5. What's your favourite meal to cook when you have a guest over for dinner?

I'm quite experimental with my cooking, and always love trying out new recipes on my family and friends - when I'm able to cook nowadays - but I guess the two menus I cook most often, as we all love them, are either Kedgeree, or my Indian food spread, probably with my homemade Profiteroles, or Tiramisu, for afters :)

  6. What's your funniest childhood memory?

I think it's got to be my baby sister's Christening party - I'm 10 years older than her, so that must have been my age -and this was when we lived in London. Without a drop of booze in the house, we started the party quite soberly, and it ended up with half the street doing a conga in and out of everyone's homes - while picking up the local Bobby into line as we went! 
I still remember how exhausted with laughter we all were when it was over :)

  7. What is the most challenging job (besides being a parent) you've ever had?

Hand's down, it has got to be when I worked with my hubby, as we would be painting and decorating one week, gardening the next, and then laying miles of hedges, or felling dangerous trees, after that! It was all hard, physical graft, but we loved working together, and I got quite proficient with the chainsaw :)

  8. What was your favourite movie when you were a kid?

The first one that came to mind was Mary Poppins, as I found Dick Van Dyke very funny as a child, closely followed by Bedknobs and Broomsticks :)

  9. What's the most romantic thing you've ever done?

I think it must have been the time when I arranged a lovely picnic for my, then future, husband and I. We sat on a small island with the river running all around us, and fed the ducks, and talked, and laughed, until the sun set - we still think back to that one particular time, as that's when we told each other of our love.

  10. If you could have one extreme talent, what you want and why?

I've never even thought about this much really, so I'm not sure what I would choose - I dreamt of being a world-class singer as a child, and I've always wanted to write a book, but I can't think of anything extreme that I might like. I guess I've read too many sci-fi stories, where people with extreme talents tend to have things go wrong! Lol

  11.What's something about yourself that most people you know in real life don't know about you? 

The only thing I can think of here, is the fact that, with my total love of books, I desperately wanted to be a librarian as a child - until I realised that I'd have to let people take my books out! No way would I let that happen! Lol


11 Things About Me:


  1. I can be very OCD about things that I do - they've got to be done in a certain way - as long as it's my way!
  2. When I'm in the kitchen cooking, I can't bear anybody else being there - if someone comes in, they're quickly scooted out again.
  3. I've still got the terrible habit of biting my nails when I'm anxious - not something I do much now, but it's a habit I haven't managed to break.
  4. I never learned to ride a bike, due to inner ear problems as a child - and I'd really love to have one of the adult tricycles I've seen around - amazing things! Lol
  5. I can't bear seeing a piece of writing where there are lots of spelling mistakes - I've just got to correct it, or it drives me nuts!
  6. My favourite toy as a child was a Gollywog my mum got by saving up coupons from her Robinsons Marmalade jars.
  7. I can't bear the smell, or taste, of celery - if there's celery in a recipe, I'll always leave it out - putting leeks in it's place!
  8. All of my books are not only in alphabetical order, but I've even put the authors in order, too.
  9. I can't resist collecting ever more yarn, and crochet hooks, and patterns, even though I've got enough of them to last me a lifetime, there's always something new, and prettier, coming out.
  10. I'm a chocoholic!
  11. I bought a second-hand sewing machine months ago, determined to re-learn how to use it, and haven't touched it since :/


My 11 Nominees:

Lindsay @ Crochet d Lane

Candace CraftiCandi

Joy @ Food Diary of a Teacher

Doris @ Ideal Delusions

Martyn : Inside Martyns Mind

Lynnette @ ManicStitcher

Kari @ Miss Bloggypants

Mel @ My Diary of a Cat Owner

Jesselle @ Oh For Sweetness Sake

Hannelore @ Paper Beads Inspiration


Milly @ Millyanatrees


My 11 Nominees Questions:


  1. What was the very first thing you made in your chosen craft?
  2. What is your favourite TV show?
  3. Do you drink Tea, or Coffee - or something else - all day?
  4. Who is your favourite TV Chef?
  5. Where is your most favourite place to eat out?
  6. Have you got a bucket list, and if so, what's at number 1?
  7. Do you have a favourite pet?
  8. If you had a choice from all over the world, where would you prefer to live?
  9. Do you play any sport and, if so, are you any good at it?
  10. Are you a morning person, or a night person?
  11. If you were stranded with a flat tyre, could you change it yourself?



       So there you are - all done!
       Now let's see what answers come back :)