MIAM

MIAM

Tuesday 31 March 2015

March Scavenger Hunt



I've been incredibly remiss this month as nearly all of these snaps have come from my archives and I know that isn't really the name of the game.  I'm hoping you'll forgive me just this once and will return at the end of April when I promise I will do better.

March's List

Circle

Porthole design feature seen in a seafront wall on my recent trip to West Wittering

Card

 A handbag shaped birthday card I made for my niece a few years ago

Window

So glad I had my camera at the ready when I spotted this darling puss... halfway out of an upstairs window!

Art


Inexplicable beach art in Wittering


 Skyline

Another Wittering pic

a favourite word 

'Sunshine'  -  taken recently at Hastings


movement

 Outdoor dance session at La Tranche-sur-Mer - Summer 2014

Bathroom

Thought this was marginally more interesting than a shot of the bog !

Car

1924 Buick belonging to and restored by my cousin Ian.


Plate

Never mind the plate, look at that tarte.

something you made

 My first ever Pavlova...not a brilliant success, but nevertheless tasty.

Whatever you want

 Memories of last summer.

 I've just booked the ferry for this year's holiday, again in Vendée
 ....it can't come soon enough.


Thanks to you lot for looking and to Greenthumb for hosting.  Pop over to her blog to see some great entries and next month's categories.  

Tuesday 24 March 2015

Two Cards and a Teabread

The card stash was getting low and I have a very brave and stoic friend who'll be undergoing a horrible operation next week.... time for more carding.   I themed them around a couple of current challenges.



  Panel coloured with dusters using Memento inks
Stamps - Hobby Art, Memory Box and magazine freebies (gift from friend Sue)
Dragonfly die cut - from Sue


Blossom - CASology
Whoops!  Looks like I missed the boat with this challenge which closed earlier today.

 All stamps - again from Sue
Vase - heat embossed and decoupaged onto cardstock panel
 Cherry blossom coloured with watercolour pencils, liquid pearls added for texture.

 I'm busy today just pootling around at home.  I had this tea bread in the oven shortly after nine this morning and later, after my weekly dash around Aldi I grabbed myself a slice and a cuppa.


Mmmm, not half bad for a Weight Watchers recipe.

After a miserable start the weather has turned bright so I'm planning to spend the afternoon in the garden tackling the weeds, unwanted deposits from the neighbour's cat and general detritus resulting from the effects of winter.  Wahey...I know how to live!

 What are you up to?

Tuesday 17 March 2015

Stash Busting Bunting

I'm feeling a bit below par at the moment. I woke up on Saturday (my first day off) with a streaming cold, I looked so frightful that even my own reflection scared me,  I've hardly left the house since.  Still, every cloud and all that..... it's given me the opportunity to finish my latest project.   A few weeks ago I had a fancy to crochet some bunting,  perfect for using all those odds and ends. There are oodles of patterns on the net and even a couple in my crochet books but, ooh,(sucks teeth) one of them required decreasing and I just knew that was a bad idea.  How could I become engrossed in Mr Selfridge & Indian Summers when concentrating on the complexities of decreasing double crochet?  Not. A. Chance.  Eventually I settled for a granny triangle bunting similar to this lovely one found here on Attic 24 and hooked them all together using the method found in my book.



It's far from perfect, my triangles are larger than they should be, because as crocheters go I think I'm a little on the loose side (!) and even after much blocking some of my triangles are slightly curly and more shield shaped than triangular.  I'm not gonna lose any sleep over it, but any suggestions ?

It is a great stash buster....

......and will pretty-up the garden in the summer time.



I'm not quite sure what I'll be hooking up next but I'm feeling the need for some loud colours, a reaction no doubt to all the gloomy greyness we've endured for months on end.

Since the start of the new year,  for some unknown reason I haven't really been in the mood for the chazzas, but recently I did venture out to my local salvage yard which I love to poke around in, periodically.  I spent a total of £2 and came home with this rusty wire basket.  I imagine most of you will think it was £2 wasted?


Some good news to finish with.  Prue seems to have made a full recovery from her recent illness.  Once again I am rudely awoken by meowing and a paw in the hair/face, she has also returned to her previous habit of sitting on my lap and trying to suck my crochet yarn...yucky I know, but I'm just thankful she's back to her old self.  I'm also delighted that despite being hit up the arse by a cantankerous pensioner a few days ago, my 13year old car passed it's MOT yesterday...Hallelujah!

Must dash, I've a lasagne in the oven and it smells like it's burning.


Monday 9 March 2015

Wittering Weekend

I'm just back from a wonderful weekend in West Wittering with friends and family.  My aunt rented a lovely big beach house for the 70th birthday celebrations of my uncle.  It was a really relaxed couple of days with plenty of eating, drinking, more eating....you get the picture.  I'd never visited this area of West Sussex before and enjoyed exploring the village and beach front, of course it helped that the weather was glorious on Saturday and as you'd expect,  I took a few snaps.


 Our lovely spacious accommodation... my room came with boutique hotel feel en-suite


After a late breakfast on Saturday we strolled for several kilometres along the beach



where the beachfront properties were of much interest

some ramshackle, others palatial and lots inbetween.


These two were fashioned from old railway carriages.


There were plenty of hardy individuals surfing and kite surfing



and my bonkers aunt even went in for a paddle!



On our way back to the house we spotted these dear little Jelly shoes hanging from a branch...
...and a mermaid's head shoved in between fence posts

I wonder what happened to her body?

After a hearty lunch we went for a wander around the village,  Hawkeye here, had spied a couple of chazzas on arrival the day before and was keen to have a recce.


Inside this one, there were lots of bargains to be had but I restrained myself and purchased only a small French mustard pot for the grand sum of 50p and was not at all tempted by this novel vase!


That evening after the arrival of my brother and SIL, we sat down and ate more food than was good for us and consumed quite a lot of fizz.  At the end of the meal my aunt produced this wonderful birthday cake (all made in secret) for my uncle.  A sort of This Is Your Life, in cake form.



Now back home there has been another visit to the vet and I'm pleased to report Prue is doing a little better.  Thank you all so much for your Get Well wishes on my last post, you are a kind lot and your positive vibes seem to be working.  Let's hope it continues before I'm made bankrupt!   I've had to employ crafty methods of getting medication down her as trying to get a tablet down her in the usual way resulted in a struggle and the pill being spat out across the kitchen floor....too much stress for both cat and owner! 

Crochet is helping me to chill at the moment, here's how my latest project is looking.

 
It shouldn't be too much longer now till it all comes together....I know you'll be waiting with bated breath. 
I'm off now to catch up with Indian Summers...anyone else watching?