Catching up time!

Hello all! The last few weeks have been pretty hectic for us. Sadly my blog has suffered a little bit but today I'm going to catch you up on everything that I've been up to.

First, there was Father's Day! I usually try to get my dad something but this year I decided to be different. I cooked him dinner. My first curry (his awesome recipe though). He had to work Saturday night so it was nice for him to come home to his favourite meal after a tough night. 

Sunday morning I cooked up a big breakfast of tomato, onion, scrambled eggs & bacon and then later in the day I made a Lemon cake (in the microwave) with lemon syrup drizzled over the top. It was a lovely relaxed Sunday and I think he enjoyed the rest. I've also finally got him drinking & enjoying green tea ☺ very good for you!

I made a bag a little over a week ago. I found this page on facebook and she has some awesome patterns. My favourite has been the cluster stitch bag. I saw an alternative version that someone had made. A larger version of the cluster stitch bag but using the handles from this bag. It's so easy to make. I went digging through my scrap stash, found a few nice colours and started making a bag! 

The double strands make it a lot stronger than most bags. It works up really fast & took about 2 days. I loved making it and plan on doing a few more. This one I decided to give to a lovely friend of mine. She's always helping us out and never asks for anything in return so I gave it to her as a thank you.

We've been finding it really hard to think of things to eat for dinner lately. I don't if it's the warm weather or the busy weeks but no one is overly fussed about eating. It's all about quick meals and one of the best ones is gnocchi with chicken, onion and a lovely cheese sauce. It was rather yummy! Today my dad is cooking a pork roast so I'm looking forward to a bit a crackling!

I've been doing a lot of shopping lately. I spotted these colourful plant holders. They were so cheap and the colours were so nice I just had to buy them! I don't know what I'm going to do with them. They might look great somewhere amongst my craft supplies once I sort them out! Their has also been a lot of new yarn coming into the house. I will tell you all about that next week when I take you on a tour of my yarn stash! I've got one last delivery arriving on Monday (hopefully).

Apart from the bag & the shopping, I've also been testing some colours out for a big project I hope to start before winter (once I finish my dad's massive blanket). I'm testing the colour sequence out on a scarf first, using scraps from my stash. I bought the yarn last year but when I went to catalogue it all, I realised I wasn't happy with some of my choices. My idea has changed & I'll have to buy more for that reason but I want to be sure before I do and so I decided it was best to do the tester scarf. I get a scarf out of it so it's not that bad! My dad's blanket is coming along nicely but I am way behind schedule. They are being stored in these self sealing bags temporarily. I'm also finding that my tension is all over the place with these squares. I just hope it all works out in the end! 133 done 642 to go! Oh & I'm making another scarf. It's for my fiance. It's my own pattern and so far so good. More on that soon!

Cats! The weather is confusing them! It was so hot for a while that they were sleeping on the floor or in any cool spots they could find but the last 2 weeks have had a few chilly days and so they've been seeking out the warm & cozy spots once again. Tabby & Vinnie actually slept next to each other which is extremely strange because usually they are attacking each other. Moe managed to squeeze himself into Munchkin's bed but only briefly because shortly after that he heard my OH coming down and that meant food time! He also decided that my scrap yarn stash would be the perfect place for a nap! 

Tabby, my beautiful boy! I love it when he poses for me because he's such a beautiful cat! This photo is in the collage below but I just thought it deserved to be on it's own too! As naughty as he is (and believe me he is really naughty) I still love him.

These fluffy little monsters have been a little bit spoilt this week. Lots of playtime, plenty of treats & catnip and a new toy! The new toy no longer has its feathers. Vinnie removed them within about 5 minutes! They've all been happy. We've been up at 4am everyday and they've been up with us (more for the treats than anything else). At least they get to go back to bed though!

I had to include this one! It's so funny! This is Moe and his big sister Soetie. He jumped up to see what was on the windowsill and got a slap. The photo makes you feel really sorry for him because he looks all sweet & innocent but believe me he's not. He can be really cute when he wants to but he can also be super naughty! The kittens have definitely taught us just how naughty & adventurous cats can be!

So that was a bit of catching up! It's been really busy but those were the only things really worth mentioning on the blog! I've also been doing a lot of reading. I've got plenty to share about books & things! So far I've read 33 books this year but there have been a few worth mentioning that lead me to an amazing band & a singer called Jimmy Gnecco but I think I'll save that for another time & another post.

One last thing I forgot to mention, I was teaching crochet again this week! A lady stopped in at our volunteer centre wanting to learn and after the 2 hr lesson she was able to make a granny square. She was chuffed with her square & will be back next week! It's all voluntary but still enjoyable for me!

I hope that you've all been well and I wish you all the best for the week ahead! Hope you drop by later in the week for my yarn stash tour! I'll try to make it as colourful as possible!
Thank you for reading my blog and for those that comment, thank you for taking the time! I appreciate it, even a quick glance means the world to me!

Take care!
♥

Scrappy Rainbow Ripple!

I started this back in February. Do you remember? At last! It's finished! Done! Complete! As I got near the finish line I encountered a few tiny issues. One was straightening the ripple top & bottom and the other was the border. I ran out of yarn! I honestly didn't expect that to happen seeing as how it's meant to be a ripple from 'scraps' but somehow even scrap projects always seem to result in the purchase of more yarn!

I honestly didn't know how this would turn out. I always keep stocked up on all Stylecraft Special DK yarn so I had a great selection of colours available. There were a lot of leftovers from previous projects but this was also about using colours I'd never tried before.

There were only 3 or 4 colours that I'd never used. Pale Rose, Pomegranate, Denim and Raspberry (I've used it once but never liked it). All the others are frequently in my stash. I also went for a different & maybe slightly unusual colour sequence and because of the inter-locking it worked. The border is pretty basic but it works nicely. I used a 3.5mm hook because I wanted the stitches to be tighter and my tension tends to be very loose.

Moe (who has had his eye on it since I started the ripple) didn't take long to claim it! He's very happy with his blanket. As mentioned in my previous post, he has been a little unwell and this week he's had a bit of a cold so the blanket has brought him a lot of comfort. He loves to snuggle into any/all of the crochet blankets (we have at least 8 out in various places regularly).

He wasn't overly happy about sharing it with Tabby (who has also had his eye on it)! There was a bit of a slapping match. Even though there are so many blankets in the house, a recently finished one is always the most popular. Even his brother, Vinnie, has tried the blanket out a few times!

We were so lucky to have a beautiful sunny day when I photographed the blanket. The sun added so much warmth to every photo which made me so happy. It's not a very big blanket. It's about 1.7m long and 1m wide but it's perfect for it's new home.

And here it is, in it's new home! It really adds so much colour, warmth & happiness to the lounge and to the chair that it will be covering. My rainbow granny square is on the sofa opposite it & together I know they'll bring me so much joy in winter! I've not listed all the colours I used but if anyone would like me to just let me know. ☺

Hope you've enjoyed my colourful post! I'll be posting my regular, weekly blog post tomorrow so hopefully I'll see you back here then!

Thank you for reading!
♥

*The pattern I used for my scrappy rainbow ripple can be found on the lovely Attic24 blog.

Life, always keeping us on our toes!

This little boy hasn't been very well this week. Yes, poor Moe had a (very expensive but he's worth it) trip to the vets on Tuesday. He gave us a rather nasty fright when we woke up and so our morning started with a mad panic. We were rushing around trying to sort out a cage and find out if the vet was even open (thank goodness it was). I'll spare you the gory details and just tell you that he is ok now. He's back to his usual naughty self. He has colitis (he's always had some issues) so we'll have to be careful what he eats in future otherwise it will be another expensive trip. ♥

These are a few things that made me happy this week. 

1. Blue skies! We had a few of them for a change. It was lovely and when it started to rain towards the end of the week, it was actually more relaxing than annoying. I love the smell of rain, especially after a week of warm weather.
2. The jewelry type thing on the right is an angel. I was given it last week by a lovely lady that stopped in where I volunteer. She said that all of life's heroes need an angel to watch over them. I was having a tough day & it really made me smile. ♥
3. I found some leaves in our garden in the shape of hearts. They are from our little rose bush that was grown from the stem of a shop bought rose that was given to me by my fiance a few years ago. We get about 2 or 3 roses a year from it. I'm keeping a close eye on it!
4. And lastly...I sneakily took a photo of my fiance. He was having some much needed rest. It's been a tough week (more so for my dad who worked two 14hr shifts with only 5hrs of sleep in between) but we've struggled through & there have been many happy moments to help. Our weeks are busy and sometimes it feels like our weekends are even busier. We're trying to find the balance but it's an uphill battle.

Drops Extra Fine Merino

Say hello to my new yarn stash! I couldn't resist. My order even arrived with a free gift from the lovely people at Wool Warehouse. I've been buying yarn from them for nearly a year now & they've never let me down. I honestly can't recommend them enough! I've had a lovely stash of DROPS Paris for a few years (bought when the label was black) but never used it because at the time it wasn't easy to purchase in the UK so I was waiting for the right project. I love DROPS yarn. They have a lovely range of yarns and at a decent price so I was overjoyed when I realised that my favourite shop (Wool Warehouse) were selling it. I've had my eye on the DROPS Extra Fine Merino for a long time so when it went on sale I knew I was going to purchase some as soon as I'd saved up enough money. I ordered one of every colour late Wednesday night, order arrived Friday afternoon, checked to see how they go together & then quickly ordered a second lot (with a few extras that I'll photograph next week) which arrived Saturday morning! See how fast they are? It's all going to be used to make a warm, snugly winter blanket.

(The blur on the left is Moe about to burrow into the blanket while I'm trying to photograph it)

The rainbow scrappy ripple is finally done! It would've been finished on Thursday if I hadn't run out of yarn halfway through the border. Thank goodness Wool Warehouse are so reliable otherwise I'd still be sitting here with an unfinished ripple! The colour I needed arrived with my DROPS order on Saturday morning. Isn't it funny how we almost always end up buying new yarn when making something from leftover scraps? 

I had planned on doing a separate post for the ripple earlier in the week but hit a few road blocks along the way (straightening a ripple is not easy & running out of yarn is not helpful either) so now it's going to have to be sometime this week. Maybe Monday?

Have you seen the neck warmer pattern over at Attic24? I've been itching to try it! Sunday was a lovely relaxed day so I sat down and gave it a go. It really is an easy pattern and keeps you lovely and warm but I think I'll put it away till winter. I'm planning to make another one with chunky yarn, using a different pattern I found. It can also be used as a hood. I will provide a link to the pattern when I post about it.

Friday was the best day of this week. I baked, relaxed, read a bit, had a cappuccino & started a new project. I am totally in love with this pattern at the moment! It's very popular right now & has been tempting me for a while. I found some King Cole Riot yarn in my stash and decided that this would be the perfect project for it!

At first it seemed really hard & I've never made anything like this before so a bit scary but once I got going it was easy! If I can do it, anyone can! I think I'll be spending my week working on this. Not sure how I'm going to block it but I'll figure that out when I get to that stage!

The birds are still very busy in our garden! Currently we have crows, the occasional ring-necked dove & a magpie visiting us. There are a few little birds as well but I can't remember what they're called. They've been enjoying bits of bread & seeded crackers. Can you see how close they are? I got some great photos this week. They sit right on the shed roof which is outside the kitchen window. The magpie likes to taunt me. He/she will sit on the shed roof and just stare so I'll grab my camera and as I go to take a photo, it flies off! If it had happened once I'd think it just got scared by movement but this happens regularly! Cheeky bird!

Moe & Vinnie....members of Bird Watchers Anonymous! Moe spends most of the day talking to them and Vinnie just watches. Can you see the photo of Vinnie scowling? I'm not sure why he was in such a bad mood! It couldn't possible be because of my camera ;) 

I'm not to sure why Moe's tongue is out....maybe he was thinking about having bird for dinner?

And because they all need their 5 minutes of fame...here is a collage of all of them & what they've been up to this week! The only one I didn't get a photo of this week was Bella so I'll have to make up for it next time.

So, this has been a very long blog post but thank you for reading (or just looking at the photos). I hope you've had a lovely week and I wish you all the best for the week ahead. Please stop by again in the week to see my Scrappy Rainbow Ripple post!

Take care

♥

Staying motivated!

Ok, let's start with the important question! What do you think of my new banner? I'm still umming and aaaaing over it...I just felt like a change!

I know the above photo is an old one but it reflects how I felt this week! Don't you hate it when you just don't have the energy in the week to get everything done? I've been up at 4am every morning (because my dad's been on the early shift) and am still behind with all my projects! I'm too embarrassed to list all my current incomplete projects! (The list is unbelievably long). My reason for being behind is a mixture of lacking motivation & being unwell. (And possibly a slightly bad habit of continuously starting new projects)

I did sort of conquer circles this week. I threw caution to the wind and just dived into making my rainbow rug. I don't want to show you too much of it just yet but here are a few sneaky photos. I'm planning on it being finished by next week and am hoping I will have enough Hoooked Zpagetti left for another one.

We now have not one, but two cat beds in our house! I started one on Sunday but this time it's actually all my own pattern & I wrote it down as I went along (I've not forgotten about the heart, honest! I'm still trying to figure that one out). This bed was mainly made for Socks (it's extra large) but everyone has tried it out including Mr Vinnie (as seen above). I plan on making at least two more, still using my leftover stash!

We had one or two sunny days this week. Tuesday was probably the warmest and so the older cats went out for a wander. I followed shortly after with my camera. It was the last of the lovely weather. We had planned to go for another picnic on Wednesday but it was far too wet & windy and I was unwell!

So from Wednesday our week went downhill. My poor dad was exhausted from the early starts and my fiance had more aches & pains than usual (I blame the weather). I ended up spending more time resting & reading and being taken care of by my wonderful fiance than I did crocheting & walking. The only good thing about my dad being on the early shift is that he insists on making dinner every night because he's home. Can't really complain about that! I ♥ his cooking! He made chilli con carne on Sunday & it was super yummy! All of the meals this week have been super yummy!

Speaking of cooking...he made brunch for all of us on Saturday morning. It was delicious! I had an omelette and a slice of toast with bacon, tomato and onion. Yum! The men had the usual big breakfast of eggs, bacon, tomato, onion and toast. I then treated us all to a 5 minute chocolate cake in a mug (my own recipe). It was surprisingly good for a microwaved pudding! Oh & can you see that there are 3 yolks in the photo of the eggs? We had one with a double yolk! First time for us ☺

The scrappy rainbow ripple is nearing the finish line. I feel like I say that every week but honest, it is! Sewing in all those ends seems to be taking forever! I had an assistant last night. Munchkin was after cuddles. It's not easy balancing a cat in your arms while trying to sew in ends but I managed!

And yes, we can't forget the cats! They've had a busy week of playing and sleeping. Munchkin enjoyed the sunshine on Sunday! She actually poked her head out from her little cat nest (she hardly ever leaves it) for a few hours to feel the warmth.

Tabby moaned (he's old) a lot & slept. Sometimes he likes to play but not nearly as much as the naughty kittens. He does join in with them occasionally but most of the time he's just grouchy uncle Tabby! He just wants to be outside 24/7 but only so he can beat up the neighbourhood cats! He's still my little baby though ♥

 Soetie (sadly I've not got any photos of her this week because she's always hiding) mostly slept and watched the water running in the bathroom, Socks (seen in the cat bed photos) enjoyed her new bed & slept & played....Bella slept & slept some more and had the occasional crazy half hour & occasional loving moment with her kids. Moe enjoyed watching a few home videos from when he was a kitten (he actually sat & watched them with us) and was his usual naughty but extremely cute self! He's the one on the yellow,red & orange granny stripe. He's the toddler of the family. ☺

Vinnie assisted with breakfast (we caught him licking the eggs). He also did a lot of whining and playing. Not that much sleeping. He's Mr Mischief! Full of nonsense & constantly after treats. At night, when we are all in bed and the lights are off, he sits on the banister rail and yells until someone gives him attention! He's also far too clever!

What a life hey? Eat, sleep & play...Lucky little spoilt monsters ♥

I hope this post doesn't come off as rushed. I've got a busy weekend & week ahead so I've had to try and get this done in less time than usual but I'll make it up to you. I might (depending on how the week goes) post more than once this coming week. We shall see! I'm not going to post any goals either ☺ I'll just let this week play out! I hope that you've all had a more productive week than me and I wish you all the best for the week ahead! Hope to see you back here soon!
♥

Happy Easter/Overindulging on Chocolate Day!!!

Hope you are all having a wonderful Easter! I received some lovely goodies and my dad had an Easter Egg hunt at work (isn't he lucky) which meant even more goodies. I've definitely overindulged on chocolate! Sadly, my body is not as big a fan of junk food as I am. I think I'm going to have massive fruit & vegetable cravings next week.  

I've had such a super lazy week! Ok, I did go into Spring cleaning mode briefly...all bedding was washed and the house even got cleaned twice, bathroom and kitchen included but after that nothing happened! The crochet was abandoned, Zumba wasn't even thought of and the walk was put off nearly everyday. My fiance recently mentioned how I haven't even baked anything for nearly 3 weeks! Shocking! I'm not entirely to blame of course, it's all the weathers fault really...I feel like I should be hibernating. It's meant to be Spring, we are at the end of March and the sky looks lovely and blue, the sun is even shining but the minute you step outside you feel this blast of icy air and back indoors you go! The sofa looks so inviting and a day of reading under a warm blanket sounds so good!

I did end up doing a bit of crochet of course because when you are a crochet addict your week isn't complete without a bit of crochet time. I continued to work on the cat bed until I ran out of yarn and had to order more. It's turning out to be a rather expensive cat bed and a bit of a nightmare really. I finished it yesterday and realised something had gone wrong somewhere because it was all bunched up and not at all dome shaped like it should be! So today it's going to be taken apart! :( I'm starting to wish I just made them a big basket! Crocheting with super chunky yarn is not fun...it hurts! Spoilt cats!

I also spent a bit of time with my scrappy ripple. It makes me smile everytime I see it and it's so warm. We get along better so it's great for when I need to relax. It's nearing the finish line and then I get to sew in all those ends and give it a border! Once it is finished, I'll be starting two big projects. I bought the yarn for them back in January and I've been putting them off for far too long now. I also plan to finish my secret project eventually.

Last Sunday, I finally sat down and sorted out some of my photos that I'd like to get prints of. My only reasons for wanting these prints is because I'm trying to change people's opinion of crochet as it's often still thought of as old fashioned and boring to many. It's not always easy to just go on Ravelry, Flickr or Facebook and show people so I thought it'd be great to make a photo album of some of my projects. It was so exciting waiting for them to arrive & then getting to look at them but I still prefer looking at them on the laptop. I don't why, I just do!

So, that was my week! Not as busy as it usually is but I did get that much needed rest. I also finally finished reading The Host (it was better than I expected) so I can finally move onto the book I've been waiting to read for far too long...Flat Out Matt by the amazing Jessica Park. It's a follow up/companion novella to Flat Out Love which is pretty much my favourite book of all time! I highly recommend it! Her writing and the characters she creates are just totally awesome! 

Next week is going to be a super busy one. Hope to see you back here at the end of it! Have an awesome week! x

Sunny days, cats on a lead & scrubbing carpets!

So, how has your week been? Mine has been nuts! We've had total chaos in our house since Monday morning, mainly caused by the cats but hopefully things will calm down now. This week (starting today) will be worse because I plan on sorting each and every room as it's a mess and that bugs me!

My reading goal for the year is onto an awesome start! I've read 14 books so far! It's surprising how much reading you can fit in even when you are busy. It's shocked me a bit this year because I was worried that I wouldn't have the time but I've managed to squeeze it in here and there! I've just finished Reckless by S.C. Stephens. I was worried going into it because I hadn't enjoyed the second book in the series but it definitely exceeded my expectations. I'm now about to start Hopeless by Colleen Hoover which I am totally looking forward to because she is such an amazing writer.

We had some sun this week! It was actually sunny.....no rain and hardly any wind! I'll even go so far as to say it was warm! I got to have a little wonder outside with my camera and the 4 eldest cats. The kittens aren't allowed out but they've never been out so they don't really care. They have too many toys indoors to keep them occupied.

It was lovely to see that our garden is slowly coming back to life after the long winter. The rhubarb has already started to come up and the grass is in need of a trim! I love spring!

Our eldest cat, Munchkin, went out for the first time in about 2 years. She can't see or hear very well and doesn't care for that world much but on Tuesday she decided she wanted to have a wonder. She is only allowed outside on a leash and this was her first time. It was so easy to put it on her and she didn't panic at all outside. She loved it. Meanwhile, Tabby had disappeared (probably off to bully some other poor cat) and Socks & Bella were exploring the back garden.

After a good few hours of running around, it was time to go back inside. Munchkin was carried in by my fiance (she adores him & is pretty much his cat). The rest of the cats slowly and begrudgingly made their way in with a bit of bribery in the form of treats!

It was lovely being able to sit by my laptop with a delicious cup of peppermint tea, try out some new patterns and feel the warmth of the sun!

The ripple really is coming along nicely! It's completely shocked me because it was only meant to be a little scrap project but it's turning out to be a real beauty & a complete joy to work on.

I actually managed to squeeze in some crochet this week! I'm still working on my ripple (that I'm absolutely loving right now). I picked out more colours to add to it so it's going to be bigger than I had planned and it appears to have already been claimed. I also tried out the awesome Lily Pad Hexagon pattern found here on the Colour In A Simple Life blog. It's so cool! My new mission is to try one new crochet thing a week! I wonder how long I can keep that up for....

To add to the chaos and excitement of the week I got the chance to enjoy some glass with my lunch! Yes, I found a very sharp piece of glass in my cream cheese that I'd been happily spreading on my roll! I wasn't at all happy and was shocked that the company at fault didn't even care enough to recall the product!

 On a happier note, we found some time to relax, read and play games! We've been addicted to these games on android called 'Whats The Pic' and 'What's The Word'. They are great fun and really get your brain working. I also baked a yummy chocolate cheesecake using this recipe. They were lovely but very heavy on the stomach so not something you can have a lot of. I think I might try it again but alter it slightly. We have so many left so while we watched the rugby on Saturday (Well Done WALES!!!) we enjoyed one each with tea. My Saturday was probably the busiest day of the whole week! I spent it on my hands & knees scrubbing carpets and floors so it was definitely a well deserved treat after all that hard work!

I will leave you with this cute photo. These two hardly ever sleep near each other (even though they've been living together for a good few years) but it was a cold day and so snuggling was a must! They are our two oldest cats, Socks & Munchkin.

I managed to get my blog done early this week which I'm quite proud of! My Sunday is going to be packed! Hope you all have an amazing week! Thanks again for reading my blog posts! Because you liked the collages, I've started doing them again but hopefully a bit neater than the previous ones! Forgive me, this blogging thing really isn't easy to get the hang of just yet....hopefully one day soon! x