Friday 29 April 2011

Royal wedding fun

Good morning all you wedding watchers! I thought I would put together a post of some of the William and Kate memorabilia that is out there.











I think my favourite has to be the William and Kate tea bags....so British!

A lot has been said about how they are a modern couple, Royals for the Facebook age. I have an image of them walking down the aisle texting their friends... OMG bet u wish u was here. Will save sum cake 4 u!

Best wishes to Wills and Kate.

However you are spending the day, enjoy!!! xxx

Wednesday 27 April 2011

On the go - Jemimah blanket

Good morning dear ladies

The sun is shining here in my part of Yorkshire and, whilst it is cooler than recently, it is a lovely bright day.

I thought you might like to see what I am currently working on. While making granny squares for Hawthorn's project I realised that I have never made a granny square blanket! I still had quite a stash of Stylecraft left over from previous blankets so I decided to make another one for my new niece. It will be bigger than the other blankets I have made her. I want this one to be a 'snuggy' (as my son calls them), that is a large, cuddly blanket for snuggling into for story times and cuddling. This is it so far....







I am really enjoying making this blanket. Each square (there will be nine) is made up of 19 granny rows and each has its own character, despite using the same colours. I have been hooking in the sunshine and admiring the lovely colours of the squares...


It is incredibly fast so I should be finished it soon.

Thank you so much for the kind and reassuring comments you left on my last post. I think the stress of returning to work after so long away is getting to me. I go back in two weeks and although I no longer feel depressed, I am very sad about going back to work. I have so loved being a stay at home mum, having more time with my little son, crafting and cleaning and enjoying my house and garden. Still, it has to be done so I just need to get on with it. My sister recommended this book.....


It is about how to get your mojo back using nutrition; about how what we eat has dramatic effects on our moods, our energy levels and our happiness. It arrived today and I will start it tonight. I'll let you know how I get on!

I hope the sun is shining on you today. Much love xxxx

Sunday 24 April 2011

A visitor in the night....

We had a visitor in the night........


Little S raced out into garden first thing this morning to collect a basketful of chocolate eggs....lucky the Easter Rabbit got out there first and hid them all!!!

It's been a while since I blogged. I seemed to have lost my blogging mojo and just couldn't get it together to post anything. But here I am, still in the canyon and still hooking away. I will post soon on what I am making now.

It has been quite a busy time lately, with half-term holidays and wonderful days out.

We had a fantastic walk in the Yorkshire Dales that took in Scardale Pike (ancient waterfall), Malham Cove and Janet's Foss. Janet's Foss is the most magical place. It is otherworldly and one can imagine water fairies and all kinds of mythical creatures living there.....






My little camera doesn't do the epic scenery of the Dales justice and I didn't even attempt to capture the grandeur of Malham Cove. But if you watch the latest Harry Potter film you will see Malham Cove in all its glory....



It is a 260 feet high cliff of limestone with this amazing limestone pavement at the top. If you are planning a trip to the Yorkshire Dales, do take time out to visit Malham Cove....you might even see HP there!

A dear friend came yesterday to take Little S and I out for the afternoon. Do you remember my post on Temple Newsam house? Well we returned to visit the gardens this time. Baking sunshine and boy with scooter, ice creams and flowers. Perfect. It really is a magnificent garden and some of the hundreds of rhododendrons were already in bloom...







My friend took me to the walled garden and the glasshouse. Despite many visits, I didn't know these existed and what a wonderful discovery. Prepare for a flower fest....








Friend and I and scooter taken by Little S

There was a fabulous display of primulas. I had no idea there were so many stunning varieties. I am now in love with primulas....




And back out into the walled garden...


However you celebrate, have a very lovely Easter xxx

Saturday 9 April 2011

The sea! The sea!

I love the sea.

I was born within sight of the sea and it has always held a fascination for me. I feel like I belong near the sea. Sadly, I now live some way from the coast so visits to the sea are a real treat. Yesterday the sun was blazing, hardly any wind and really warm so we packed lunch and headed over to Staithes, a small fishing village on the North Yorkshire coast.

We planned to do a circular walk of about four miles that took in a stunning cliff top walk and then inland through a little wood and some other villages before returning to Staithes.


Staithes is a beautiful, higgeldy-piggedly little place, packed with fisherman's cottages that are squeezed into a tiny space like sardines. It was also the home of Captain Cook, who was famous for his sea voyages in the 18th century.

There is a very steep walk down into the village....



This is the Captain Cook museum.....


Down to the main street...






And then a steep climb up to the cliffs to begin our walk.



 Into the woods...



And back to the cliff tops overlooking Staithes harbour...


 You can see from this height how full of cottages this little place is...




Back down the hill (check out that fab turquoise house!)....


Being a Friday, there were hardly any other people on the walk and we felt like we had the cliff tops to ourselves. Things were buzzing and fluttering and bleating and it was just fabulous. I love the sea.

A big thank you to all of you who visited and left such lovely comments and welcome to new followers (I have 100 now...yay!!!!).

Enjoy your weekend! xxx