True LoVe....

As September draws to a close unmistakably Autumn is here!
Our days are getting shorter & shorter with the light fading
earlier each day.  The temperature has dropped just another couple
of degrees the leaves have started to change colour
 and the air is still damp but I'm not complaining!
I'm HaPpY!
If you have been following me on here for a while you know by now
I LoVe Autumn and next to Spring this is my favorite season!
There are so many things I LoVe about this time of year.

I LoVe Autumn days cozily lit up by the flicker of candles,
as the soft steam from a hot cuppa of goodness is floating
into a room where the air is filled with that comforting smell
of something yummy in the oven and we are all snuggled under
a warming blanket watching a film!

 I know I'm not the only one in my family enjoying those days.
Even Guinness is always up for snuggles.

I LoVe this little fella he is so full of personality.
At the ripe old age of 12 equaling 108 in human years he has become
a really cuddle bunny especially if the cuddles include a blanket!
His favorite blanket at the moment is my hexagon creation....
REMEMBER this one?   

I shared the beginning of it with you last July.
(If you fancy a little time travel ....this is the way back to July '16)

This gorgeous blanket was finished last November but I never quite
got round to sharing pictures of the finished piece with you....

something I have noticed happens far to often with me.



In my defense from the moment I had finished sewing in
the last loose end, it has been loved & used nonstop!
So it hasn't been easy to grab it for a little photo shoot.

I have to confess I had very little expectations for this
blanket at the beginning.
After all it is the result of a wild mix of odds & ends
with no real plan & idea of how it all would come together!
The overall blanket size and number of hexagons I would get
out of my leftovers remained a mystery until the end.

Working on something where nothing is a given,
everything is made up as I go along has been great fun.
Even when there were a few times
during my crocheting as the yarn colours started running out
I worried a little that I would not be able to achieve

that wonderful colour mix I have now ended up with.

As this blanket was always about busting my existing yarn stash,

the only new yarn purchase I made was the beautiful denim blue

Merino wool to join & border all 84 hexagons.

I have ended up with a large size lap blanket which is

very soft and super warm. 

I guess it is that soft warmth Guinness is so fond of.

 

I LoVe its beautiful colorfulness.

The colours melt into one another & then again pop all at the same time.

Looking at this heavenly blanket all spread out like this....

the mesmerizing magical happy memories of gazing

into a kaleidoscope as a child come flooding back.

This may be my first hexagon blanket but most definitely not my last!

Well there you have it ....even if a little belated....
my very happy hexagon Ta-Dah
I'm truly in LoVe!

Now I say goodbye for today so I can stake my claim
on this blanket and get snuggled into it for the evening....
enjoying a bit of Cold Feet.

A little catch up....

How are you?
I hope you all had a lovely fun filled Christmas & a great start to 2017! 
Sorry I haven't been around much lately.
2016 was a year I had so much hope for but in the end
it turned into the strangest year I can remember!
So much has happened recently in this little world of ours,

and if I'm perfectly honest most of which I'd much rather
like to forget about quickly!  Unfortunately I think we won't be able to, as for
years to come the consequences of recent events will come back to haunt us!

Confronted with so much unfathomable ....crazy....stupidity....
hatred & right out lies, I seem to have lost my voice a little!
 I just felt the need to hibernate from the online & news world.

It is so soothing being a little childish occasionally putting my
fingers into my ears saying ....LALALALA.... I cant hear you!
I did start wondering though.... is my silence not a form of acceptance?
And accepting this unhinged crazy I will NEVER!!!

So I have come out of hibernation reminding myself
to focus on the positive, happy, creative & good
in social media and ignore the rest!!!
With that in mind here is a little catch up of some of my
happy, creative & every day pretties from the past few months....

I have been loosing myself

 in books, fluffy lattes, sweet treats & CrEaTiViTy!
These truffles were the tastiest escapism I have ever had.



Playing around with ideas is
a lovely way to block out a world gone barmy
and dull down that feeling of uncertainty
and I have been doing a fair bit of that!

 

Remember this?
My first explorations into crochet hexagons!
I finally finished it in November, making me now
the very proud owner of a beautiful hexagon blanket!!!

I LoVe this blanket so much it really deserves it's very own post
....so watch this space!

Old frames....

 

 ....make wonderful chalkboards.

Me myself & I is a chalkboard addict
....what can I say!?!

 

Chalkboards are so much fun
can you really ever have too many of them!?!



....My Winter mantel.... 

A little tweed & tartan
found it's way into my Christmas creativeness.... 



cards & gift boxes had a very Scottish feel.

Continuing on that very Scottish theme,
I have treated myself to this most beautiful
Fair Isle cardigan in the prettiest shade of yellow!

I'm soOo not a yellow clothing girl but I couldn't resist this one.
It reminds me of sunshine on a frosty day.... can't help but LoVe it!

On my house front....

most exiting news, our bathroom renovation is in full swing!

 I have been playing around with ideas, planning & designing

for the past ten months....

....finally now it's all starting to come together,

I'll keep you posted!

I wish you all a wonderful weekend!!! 



XOXO

Work In Progress....

Autumn has now officially arrived in the Highlands.
Time to wrap up warm!
  This time of year always feels like a new beginning

to me much more then New Year ever has.

Mornings are filled with a lovely crisp chill, drizzly rain during
the day (not so nice) and howling winds at night.
 Our days also feel so much shorter now, living in the north
you really get to appreciate the stark difference
from summer to winter daylight hours.
All snuggled up under a blanket,
sipping fruit tea (my Autumn & Winter drink)
candles glowing and listening to the wind
swishing up the leaves outside, what is not to like,
just thinking about it makes me all happy and cosy!

Whilst I'm on the subject of snugly, I have managed to
fit in some crocheting time to working on my hexagon blanket.

I had a bit of a struggle finding wool to put my hexagons
together with, I always have to see & feel yarn before I buy it for
the first time, living in the Scottish Highlands limits my choice with
only a few wool shops around which are mainly offering synthetic yarns.
Last weekend I finally found what I had been looking for,
a perfectly beautiful medium denim blue in merino wool.

This colour compliments all the others and the crochet hook size needed
is the same as the rest of my hexagon yarns, making it a win win for me. 

Only snag....  there where only two balls left of this wool and
four or five is what I really need to finish this blanket nicely.

I have taken a little bit of a gamble buying those two but the shop assistant
assured me there will be more of this wool arriving in late October.

Fingers crossed!

Pondering over which way looks best for putting the hexagons together....
I played around with a few ideas

....settling on crocheting a single stitch border around each hexagon

in the new wool and then sewing them together.

I LoVe how the boarder makes every hexagon stand out on there own 

whilst still making them look great together.   

If that makes sense?

As I had thought.... two balls of wool aren't enough,
I have run out of wool before I even put all the hexagons together,

so my blanket construction is on hold for now until the resupply arrives.  

In the meantime....
there is plenty of things that will keep me busy

sewing in all the loose ends, for one.  

My head is also bustling with new woolly ideas after I stumbled across
& bought this beautiful alpaca wool whilst searching for that other wool.

LoVe at first sight!

One of those buying just because I LoVe the colour & texture moments,

something I have been trying to stop.
Old habits die hard ....and some clearly take longer then others, I guess!

I have an idea but no firm pattern for this beautiful yarn.
I'm thinking ....a little shawl maybe?

Watch this space!  

There is also a another basket full of wool very patiently
waiting to be worked into a throw for my bed.
The pattern ideas for this are coming together!
 So there is no shortage of cosy woolly projects to keep me going,
all I need now is

TIME
....any ideas where I can find that?



XOXO

This & That Happy....

HaPpY.... 

with my extra long bank-holiday weekend.

It's so lovely to potter around from here to there at my own pace.

Made a little more special as I got to enjoy the house 

in all it's peace & quiet for a few hours over the last few days

with the Paperdolls & Mr Mc back at school & work!

I need the silence to hear myself!

I LoVe my family very much and I wouldn't want to be 

without them EVER however "ME" time is ÜBER important to me

and I don't want to feel guilty enjoying it!

Something I'm slowly learning. 

HeXaGoN  HaPpY.... 

the hexagon blanket is coming on rather nicely. 

....the mix & match yarns are fast disappearing

with the pinks, pale blue & mustard already all done. 

I spent Monday morning trying to figure out

the best arrangement, with the help of a few

lattes and much playing around I have concluded,

I could be spending days trying to find the perfect layout

and still not be happy,

....so no layout strategy is the best strategy!

Next step now is finding (buying) a yarn as a 

connecting and framing colour, that may take a little while.

GaRdEn  HaPpY....
The weather was a bit of a mixed bag this weekend
.... I guess the nice weather couldn't last forever!
During the rain showers Mr Mc & I dashed to garden centers
for a few new flowery additions and
this beautiful trug also found it's way home with me.
I have been LONGING for this style trug forever
....no seriously it's been years & years....
I always made an excuse why I shouldn't buy one
 ....that guilt thing again....
....after all I'm no gardener why do I really need a fancy trug....
Saturday I finally picked one up, took it to the till and

bought it before I could even think of talking myself out of it.

I'm very happy to say no guilt felt by me this far just sheer delight! 

We also picked up some plants of course
which we managed to plant during the sunnier spells.
I'm a real "fly by the seat of my pants" kinda gardener.

Experiment & hope for the best is my motto!

I need plants that look after themselves.

Watering, a little occasional pruning and feeding 

all within my capability but not much more.  

I have two ways of picking plants firstly I like there names,
 secondly they have spoiled me with a felling of
gardening success in past garden experiments.

General Sikorski falls into the latter group

I have had this Clematis before and I agree with the

RHS Award of Garden Merit for reliability, 

so far this one has never let me down in my previous gardens.
So here is hoping for this one.

What is not to LoVe about Pansies?!
Perfectly HaPpY flowers,  

so adorable in this pot, making a perfect distraction

from my ugliest of ugly front door.

PaInT  HaPpY....
This time for the garden, I bought this paint without a sample
and was a little worried that it would be too cream.
It may be called Cream Tea (LoVe the name) but this
garden paint is definitely no cream,
to my great relief it's an old or off white, just what I wanted!

GuInNeSs  HaPpY....
Guinness makes me smile every day, no not the alcoholic variety
but this well traveled little bunny with huge personality,
toilet trained (if he wants to that is)
he has opinions on the telly program,
hind leg thumping if he doesn't approve.
He loves snuggling (on his terms of course)
and follows us around the house.
Goes crazy for peanuts & peanut-butter, he has never drank water
loves salad but only eats carrot when cut with a peeler.
He has us all rapt around his whiskers and he knows it!
Little did I know the day we took him home
from the pet-shop a little over eleven years ago
that Guinness would become such a huge part of our family,
every day with him is a such a giggle & joy!

DuStInG  HaPpY....

I'm defiantly NO domestic goddess when it comes to cleaning

I have to admit though I do LoVe the fresh & new feeling that comes

after a bit of feathered magical wand action!

AuTuMn  HaPpY....

I'm looking forward to my first Autumn 

in Scotland in over twenty years.

Wishing you all a HAPPY start into September!

xoxo

A Garden Scarf Ta-Dah....

finally....
yesterday the cloud's opened just long & wide enough
for me to get a couple of photos at long last

to share with you my latest crochet piece!

I mentioned in my last post this was supposed to be a
easy & quick scarf intended to be finished within a few weeks. 

All was going tickety-boo until "things"
 namely moving house inter-country
dulled & pushed my creative spirit to the side for a little.

When I'm not feeling it creatively it's best
to leave well alone as otherwise
I find myself never happy with the end result! 

I always know my creative sparks will light up again if I give it time.

Finally early last week my crafty fingers started itching again

and my head is doing somersaults with creative ideas.

Yippeeeeeee.... 

Let me present to you my finished
  Garden Scarf....
I started this scarf last November using the base pattern

from the English Garden scarf in the Vintage Häkeln (German Title)

Crochet with Color (English Title) book by Kazuko Ryolaiand.  

For the yarn I chose a mix of Debbie Bliss wool's,

Rialto Dk a extra fine Merino wool &
"Mia" a great wool/cotton mix.

Loved....  LoVeD.... LOVED....

working with thees yarns.

They are worth every penny!

 

Looking at my finished scarf now I can just about imagine
those of you who are familiar with the book looking
at my photos a little confused wondering
if your are thinking of the same book & scarf as I?
You most likely are.
It looks so very little like the English Garden scarf I know.
When I started I had every intention for ONCE to follow
the whole pattern to the letter but after
I finished the base of the scarf I was not
overly enamoured with the plainness of the edges
so I went off-script by adding an edge. 

 

Once I'm off-script it's kinda hard for me

to get back on it again.

To be honest I didn't even try this time. 

I just continued with my interpretation 

of a Garden scarf.

Roses
Oh I soOo love Roses! 

My garden will

always have Roses growing in it. 

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥  

I used new pattern ideas for 

my roses but there size of blossom

& thickness of the wool 

made the roses almost a little 

to heavy for the trellis so I had to make 

do with just one of each rose.   

Foliage adds so much texture,
richness & interest into a garden.
For my imaginary garden

I made a few different sizes & shaped leaves
using different left over wool scraps from my
stripy green scarf. 

Marguerite's &
pink pompom daisies (not sure of their official name)
are very simple but ever so cheery flowers
what is there not to love!?!

In my imaginary garden
flowers grow together in a "wild" mix,
creating sweet little posies

♥ ♥ Forget-Me-Not ♥ ♥

I LoVe you soOo! 

You are a timeless classic that will never go out of style. 

I can't wait to plant some in my garden.

But with no garden to speak of at the moment 

I will have to wait.

Unfortunately our attention & money is needed else where

before my fantasy garden can be turned into a reality,

luckily for me in the meantime I have my 

wonderful Garden Scarf to give me my garden fix!

This scarf is lovely airy, soft & light to wear,
perfect for spring days & cooler summer nights.

 

It has been so well worth the wait
I LoVe it!!!

xxxx 


p.s. I just wanted to clarify
my going off-script is in no way a negative reflection on the book!
It's not the book....  it's ME!
I'm no good at following rigidly instructions for my makes
I always get the urge to go rogue.   
For me crafting books are more sources of inspiration 
and this book is great for that with many lovely ideas & patterns.