WOYWW 600

Yay, I made it! WOYWW 600 - if you want to join this weekly escape to blogs around the world - click here 》》》》》WOYWW .

Crafting has been hit and miss during the last two weeks, and my desk is still my sewing station whilst I finish off David's quilt - which I am totally confident I will do.  It was a pile of squares two weeks ago, and now it's 75% finished!  

I've also been progressing with a baby blanket, but ran out of the wool, so I ordered some more.  Weirdly I thought one ball = one blanket!  And, erm, well .... I think I might have to sell my house, and buy one with a bigger craft room, as I obviously now need tons of yarn/wool, as I hone my skills as a master crocheter!  I have already started my purchases .... it was a flip of a coin between yarn and scenic stamps.  Yarn won this time - and my word, it was packed in beautiful gauze bags!  Next month's crafty budget will be the stamps, as Mr M may file for divorce if I buy more yarn, as I really do have nowhere to store it!!  Although, that would then give me his man cave as a second craft room .... hmm, let me consider this .... 

Stollen cake has been 80% made - I thought I had ordered some marzipan with the weekly shop, but after I had practically finished making the stollen, I realised I hadn't bought any!  Mr M picked some up yesterday, so I'll finish making it tonight.  I'm taking it into the office on Thursday to share with some colleagues, and I will decide whether to make another when I watch their faces as they eat it.  Fruit for the Christmas cake is soaking in whisky, ready to be turned into a masterpiece at weekend.  The truffle making and mince pies will have to wait for another weekend!  

Desk photo below - ok I tidied my desk before taking the photo, or you wouldn't have seen a thing.  David's quilt is half hidden under my first crochet project - a baby blanket.  Unless I count the 3 granny squares as my first project? No, they were just making sure I could learn crocheting!

Now, the corner you NEVER see.  Sofa bed hidden under tubs of cards, George's quilt, carrier bag full of material, work files/folders, box of packaging for all my dies and stamps, 3 lots of Christmas PJs for the little ones for their Christmas Eve boxes, some material scraps - I fancy making a cushion with that stag!,  my laptop bag, above that is the left over quilt batting, and above that a painting by one of my friends.  I have two that I bought about 10 years ago - I'm hoping once he pops his clogs, his talent is recognised, and my paintings become worth thousands!  Next to the painting are the 3 teddies for the little ones, and a Meerkat photo bombing!  On the floor in front is my yarn collection so far!

A close up of the lovely shimmery bags the yarn came in.  I'll re-use these for baby blankets.

Last but not least, a close up of the baby blanket.  I need another 2 balls of yarn to finish it, and they should be with me early next week.  I'm having fun learning the stitches!

Have a lovely week, and if the Crop is still on for Dec 5th - I hope to be able to join in and see you there!  Heather xx

WOYWW 598

Good morning all, 

On the one hand I'll be glad to see the back of 2020, as many of us will I'm sure, on the other hand I need to put the brakes on - Christmas is fast hurtling towards us and I have so much to do!  Since I made Emily's quilt 2 years ago (I can't believe it was 2 years but it was), I have neglected to make the boys' quilts... so I decided I should start and finish 2 quilts before Christmas.  My daughters do not like Christmas Cake, but they do like Stollen, so I have committed myself to making both ... and I have had requests to make more truffles, so I am trying to think of some Christmas truffle ideas.  Put myself under pressure ... not!  Not forgetting the cards I need to make ...

But we are here with the well-established WOYWW blog hop to share our desks.  First is a long shot of my crafting emporium/guest room/ironing room/now office as well!!  Please forgive the mess - this is very much a working room.  I will tidy, one day ....

This gives some idea of how my little space gets cramped so easily - at the other side of the room is a sofa bed!  

George's quilt is finished, washed, dried and waiting to be wrapped up.   I really do love the little Made with love by Grandma patches.

David's quilt is underway.  One strip sewn, many to go.  The little pile of squares will become a gorgeous cuddly quilt.  I hand cut all the squares - definitely a labour of love!

Next shot is my other desk - aka my office work space.  It's easy enough to pack up at the weekend so I can spread out with my sewing/crafting.

Last shot is a source of amusement for Mr M.  As some of you may be aware, I decided to learn how to crochet, and promptly ordered crochet hooks, yarn/wool, etc and settled down to watching a few you tube videos.  I have found some quite good ones.  However, I don't like to waste anything, so I have been practising, unravelling, starting over, as I learn the various different stitches/techniques.  One lady in particular has very good videos and I am keen to get going with Tunisian crochet.  Whilst I await the arrival of my new hooks, I have unravelled my practice piece and start practicing a smock stitch.  Not perfect by any means, but my main achievement was keeping the same number of stitches from start to finish.  Now I just need to find some nice dark pink, light pink and white yarn/wool to crack on with a baby blanket.  It's hard work shopping on line, as the colours aren't true reflections.  Can anyone recommend a yarn/wool for a baby blanket?

Have a lovely week, and I'll visit after work as usual.  Take care, Heather xx

WOYWW 596

Hello, I hope everyone is well.  I was determined to take part this week, in the longest running desk hop, so here's my pre-prepared contribution to WOYWW 

Apologies for missing last week, I was fully occupied by my gorgeous 4 year old granddaughter, whilst her parents enjoyed a few days honeymoon in the Lake District.

A staged shot of my desk, as I've just packed away my laptop ready to go into the office tomorrow as I'm interviewing.  But it shows I have done some crafting ... inspired by various YouTube videos.  From left to right, some Christmas cards which I had fun making, still have to finish most of them off; a canvas - not sure what will end up on there, but something else for my craft room wall, and two more Christmas card toppers.  Bottom one, I slightly messed up with not paying attention to ink types and promarkers - it will be hidden by a sentiment - lesson learned!  Top one needs a sentiment and i think santa and his reindeer...

Close up shots for those interested, hope you can see the shiny bits!!

My daughter's wedding was small, but wonderful.  Really rather cosy, and everyone had a lovely time.  I had the honour of giving her away, it was quite an emotional time for all of us.  Link to some photos for those interested here, courtesy of Mr M, whilst we await the official photos.  My truffles were a hit, although I spent every evening before the wedding making them, and finishing off the favours boxes, and place cards ... definitely worth it though.  

I also finished off the slate hearts that I showed a few weeks ago.  Thank you all for the suggestions.  I painted them with acrylic paint, and then heat embossed the stamps on.  When it stops raining, I shall make my way to my potting shed and hang them up.

I will do my visiting after work, and hope to catch up with as many of you as I can!  

Take care, and have a lovely week, Heather xx

WOYWW 594

So much for my blogging good intentions.  Such a busy 3 weeks, but I thought I had better put in a quick appearance, before you think I have vanished off the face of the planet.   It's all systems go on the wedding front - 3 days and counting until my daughter's wedding, and I am now a mad crazy woman in the evenings, making handmade truffles, and finishing off place cards, etc.  I also decided to make made to measure boxes for the truffles!  The good news is I went shopping and both Mr M and I got our outfits on our first trip.  No photos of those yet.  My hydropod I featured in my last post is coming along nicely - about half a dozen of the cuttings have roots now ready to be planted up.  My bumper scrapbooking delivery arrived from Craftelier.  

The final design favours box

The favours boxes that got rejected, and the final place card

My messy side desk

My scrapbooks and inserts on the floor, and one on the desk - no room for them until I tidy my craft room

Head on over to Julia's place at The Stamping Ground if you want to take part in WOYWW

I did see my spine consultant 3 weeks ago, who will refer me to a pain specialist, but first I had to see a lung specialist as the CT scan of my spine and chest area showed up a lesion in my right lung.  So - I had a Zoom consultation last Wednesday, and I will need CT scans during the next 2 years to monitor the lesion and make sure it doesn't grow or change shape, or become anything sinister.  It really is all go at the moment - I even forget it's my birthday tomorrow!  

That's all for me - please do leave a comment if you stop by, I do visit as many desks as I can between Wednesday and Thursday, and if I miss you this week, amidst the wedding preparations, I will definitely catch it next week as I have a week off to recover, plus our granddaughter is coming to stay for a couple of days.

Take care, Heather xx

WOYWW 591

If anyone has found any 'hours' then please can I have them - I seem to be constantly chasing my tail, and running out of time.  I'm therefore preparing this post on Tuesday evening for a number of reasons: 1) to ensure I join in WOYWW 2) nothing will change on my desk overnight 3) I don't have a deskshot this week 4) I am at the GP's in the morning for a flu jab.

So I thought I would share with you what I have been up to.  Kind of crafting with a difference to my normal pastimes.  To save you scrolling through lots of photos, I've created a GIF for them, with details underneath of each photo

Crocheter, gardener and truffle maker! 

First up, some wool, and then my first ever attempt at crochet.

My potting shed, with my pretty new oil cloth, not yet fitted but I was keen to see it in place!  

A couple of close ups of new fun planters.

Some plants awaiting their new home on the embankment, and the latest stage of the waterfall in the background

A few pots with some lovely lavender and other plants.

A present from Mr M - a Hydropod that allows you to grow new plants from cuttings ... watch this space!

A present from me to me - a small greenhouse that fits just in front of the potting shed.

Some sample truffles - practice run for wedding favours.  I've never made them before but they didn't turn out too badly.  The white chocolate and raspberry ones are a hit apparently.

I also made the place cards for Nic's wedding.  Only 15 are needed now, as they have been forced to reduce the numbers even further!  Such a shame, but in the greater scheme of things, far worse things are happening to people.  We will still have a wonderful day I'm sure.  Three weeks to go - I think I need to go and buy my outfit! 

I had my appointment with the spinal consultant.  Followed by CT scans, followed by a callback for more CT scans, and now awaiting a follow up appointment.  No dancing for me for a little while!

Next week I might have a desk full of goodies to share, as I got carried away with a bit of retail therapy!  Predominantly scrapbooking albums, and inserts.  I think I ordered enough to scrapbook my entire life!

Have a lovely week, and please leave a comment if you stop by.  I will visit as many desks as I can, although it may take a day or two!  Take care, Heather

WOYWW 589

I've made it to WOYWW ... 2 weeks on the bounce as the say, or on the run, depending which part of the country you hold from!   

It's a short and sweet post - my logic being short and sweet is better than none at all.  My daughter was visiting last night to collect her wedding invites, so I couldn't prepare my post as I would have liked to have done.

Main desk is full of work clutter, as we have been banished to work from home again until a colleague gets the result of her Covid-19 test!  Side desk has a new item ... oooh exciting- it's a crochet set - inspired by Jan, Shoshi and a few other deskers I have decided to teach myself to crochet!  Just awaiting the arrival of some wool!  The chosen wedding invite is next- that was a bit faffy - Nic wanted gold lettering, and so they were all patiently foiled up and fed through the laminator!  

Next up is a wallet with journals - untouched, but again all good intentions inspired by Helen & Caro.  On top of it is a slate loveheart.  I bought a few to decorate - wildlife and flowers, for my potting shed.  I embossed a squirrel, realised you couldn't see it against the grey slate, and then coloured the slate with distress oxides ... and it's still wet - from Sunday!  Ah well, I shall have to rethink that one!  The lovehearts at the front were to go on the wrap round the invites - but we both thought it looked better without.

That's it for me.  Good to be back!  Have a lovely week, and take care, Heather xx

WOYWW 588

Oh dear!  By my maths reckoning I have been AWOL for 9 weeks.  It would be rather a long post to update you on what has kept me from blogging, and what has been on my desk for the last 9 weeks, so I'll run through a quick synopsis with the odd photo ...

Work - busy as ever, and I'm still working from home part-time, but now back in the office 2 days per week.  So, I'm sharing my craft room with my office set up, and they are encroaching on one another!

Side desk shows a jigsaw I am working on, basket of card blanks, a cute Robin die cut, and heart die cut, a canvas because I wanted to do some wall art for my craftcroom, some slate love hearts destined for my potting shed, in the shadows above is a wooden sign that Mr M is going to 'do something with', and some scattered paperwork.

Potting shed is finished, and in use.  Garden fencing has been delivered.  Waterfall is half built.  I had two volunteers to help paint the shed.  There was an awful lot of paint on their overalls when they had finished, so I've used the 'before' photo.

Fingers crossed the wedding is going ahead!  I got carried away with the wedding invites!  Nic found it quite difficult to choose ...

Sorry to have been AWOL for so long.  I've had a lot of problems with my back, so have an appointment with an orthopaedic spine consultant on Friday, who I hope can sort me out!

I've also been enjoying the garden, whilst the weather has been lovely.  Spending all day in my 'office' puts me off crafting in the evenings!  On the plus side, the garden is coming along nicely.  

If you would like to join in this blog hop, please click this link WOYWW to visit our Head desker, Julia.

Have a lovely week, and please leave a comment if you stop by, I love to read them. Heather x