Treasure the Treasuries

I've been lucky enough to be featured in no less than 3 treasuries over on Etsy this week:

Feminie Touch by Irit

At the Edge of the forest... there lies the most beautiful Rowan tree by Melissa  

Join Me by Angela Curtis

Can you spot my crochet goodies in there?

Inspiration for the day is the lovely weather we've had, of course.

Stocking (Stitch)

Afterrecently finding out I have deep venous insufficiency in my right leg I have to wear one of these 'sexy' items occasionally. A surgical support stocking

And no. I'm not a pensioner.

Until I bought the lovely James C Brett yarns at the Knitting & Stitching show last week I'd been going through a little bit of an inspiration funk.

I did try a little experiment, combining some very fine machine knitting wools together to see how they worked together. Looked very pretty, think I will revisit this later.

Mega dinner - risotto made with home grown baby spinach, celery, mange tout, flaked smoked haddock and a poached egg on top. I could just eat it again now!

Inspiration for the day is making a sale over on my Etsy shop - REALLY cheered me up!

Knitting & Stitching Show 2012

I managed to attend the Knitting & Stitching Show this year, with my sister

I used to go every year as part of my job but since I've been ill it's actually extremely difficult for me to get round as it's usually hot and crowded

This year was no exception but I really felt like I needed the inspiration and to have a look at new, shiny things. It was held in a building with no windows which really didn't help and extremely busy

Managed to focus on just trying to get what I had gone for and managed it with some success. Beautiful sparkly, space dyed yarns

Such inspirational quilting on display (oops, not *really* supposed to take photos but I couldn't resist!)

Look at these gorgeous yarns.... mostly 'James C Brett', my new obsession

Just look at that beautiful blend of colours!

Also treated myself to this amazing printed fabric. I have plans for this when we decorate the lounge... there's going to be a bit of a retro theme here, it's coming together already without too much thought.

Inspiration for the day is new fencing and gates coming. Badly needed!

Cross Stitchin'

Picked up some cross stitching again recently. I tend to go through a phase about once a year of doing it obsessively and then putting it down again.

Feeling a little 'Orla' inspired here as you can see...

Got lots of threads on eBay, so cheap that I got 50 at once.

After a recent visit to the Knitting & Stitching Show I have been inspired to try a freestyle sampler style cross stitch on a nice natural coloured base, bought within a mixed pack of fabrics.

I really should learn what all the counts of the fabrics are but I kinda just do it here and there, so I'm not as serious about this as I am about yarn for example.

Inspiration for the day is a holiday coming up. Hubby is v happy.

Colour my World

Beautiful anemone bursting into colour

50 various colours of embroidery thread (for £6.50!)

Lush new yarn, sent as a present from a caring friend to help with recovery

Inspiration for the day ... yummy paella for lunch

Blocks on blocks

I'm crocheting and blocking like mad lately. Since I bought my new piece of foam to pin and block my granny squares on I'm getting through yarn at a pace.

Had a flurry of activity recently too (before my op last week of course) and finally got around to making some cushion covers from some rather funky upholstery fabric my sister gave me ages ago.

I'm totally in love with them!

Inspiration for the day is an appointment with Lovely Lady GP. Hadn't seen her in over a year and it's not like seeing a doctor, she actually chats you you and wants to know how you are!

Pond Life

The pond make over began last week. Finally!

I felt so good to get rid of that horrid crazy paving around the edge. We'd already removed a lot of it but left a border until we were ready to full deal with it.

Could get a much better idea of the actual size and look of the pond once it was removed. Next came the removal of the very over grown lily and all the sludge and gunk in the bottom.

We've been thinking about what to edge it with for ages.

Something not too expensive. I wanted nice flat slate 'rocks' but couldn't really find what I wanted at any of the nearby places I could make it to to have a look so we settled for a combination of larger slate rocks and smaller slate chippings which looked okay in the end.

Ended up buying another lily (pink this time) to add some plant life back in. Discovered a tiny frog had already found his way back there.

Looks quite strange without all the sludge in there. Needs one or two more plants and the lily to grow and flesh out a little before it starts to look like a pond again and not a large washing up bowl!

Some of the slate is very pretty when wet. Amazing how the colours change.

We're hoping to grow some chamomile around the edge of the slate and the into the small rock garden. It needs more time to mature but it's getting there little by little. It's quite a damp and shady spot usually so we're learning what plants we can grow there. All trial and error.

Inspiration for the day is a visit from 'The Queen'.