Pink and Red

Hello Lovelies,

yesterday dawned bright and just a little frosty. Perfect November weather.

I've been joining my circles in the evening and was slightly despairing at the developing blanket. It looked so busy and I wasn't at all sure about the colours.

But seeing it in the daylight, I was so relieved to see it actually looks quite pretty...........

I laid my WIP on the bed, where the light is best, and took a couple of happy photos .

There's no red in this blanket...... which is quiet unusual for a red lover like me.......but there are three pinks.

I'm loving the way they look, without any hot red to overshadow them.

Soon the sunshine was calling me outside. I needed to go to the library to renew my reading book.

I'm really enjoying Little Women, but it's a long book and I don't get a lot of reading time, what with the above blanket vying for my attention.

I  love living within easy walking or cycling distance of the local library.........

After I had renewed my book I couldn't resit a bumpy ride down this dirt track.........

It always feels so good to get out in the countryside....it's a simple joy I never tire of.
 I can feel myself unwinding after time spent cooped up indoors.... at work especially. A big smile spreads across my face and my shoulders relax.

Lots of plants and trees are bare and brown. But there are a few pink leaves left on the Elder......

and this gorgeous pink Rose in the thinning hedgerow made me smile......

But all too soon the sun had been hidden by clouds and the brisk November breeze made my nose run and my cheeks tingle.....time to head home.

My fingers were going numb by the time I got indoors and I decided to light the fire for the first time in months..........

 And get out some yarn for a quick project that wasn't my blanket.

With Remembrance Sunday only a few days away I decided to make a crochet Poppy.

 I bought a little enamel Poppy pin at the supermarket the other day.....from the sweetest old gentleman.
 While it's not so easy to loose as the paper ones it lacks impact, and I love all the crochet and knitted versions that I've seen around this year.

A quick google for a pattern threw up THIS one by lovely blogger Lisa at Kandipandi's Pad. I loved the shape Lisa had cleverly created and set to work on mine straight away.

Lisa has, just yesterday, updated this tutorial to make it easier to follow.

For some reason the leaf got the better of me ....and I fell back on the lovely Lucy to provide an easy to follow tutorial for a similar one  HERE.

I copied  Lisa and used black felt for the centre.......cutting around a penny to get the desired size.......

Then I got out my beads and chose some tiny black ones to add a bit of shine and interest to the felt centre..........

In the end I was really pleased with how it turned out.

ta-dah.........

Oh, the light was terrible for photography though.....I tried my best.

Having mastered the pattern it was super quick and easy to made a second one for Mum.......

I havn't forgotten my promise to share the pattern I'm using for my blanket....I'll be writing it up soon.
Jacquie x

Thursday Moments

Hello lovelies,

here are some snapshots of yesterday. I'm really enjoying taking half an hour from my day to write a little blog post about the previous 24 hours....I do hope you are finding these ordinary days interesting.

Thursday was another "at home" day. I had offered to have a friends two boys for a few hours. At this age ( almost 12 and 14) they are no trouble.....but added to my own three growing lads they certainly take up a lot of space......gangly legs to trip over everywhere :0)

I retreated to the kitchen and chopped veg for a slow cooker casserole ..........

and smiled at the seasonal colours.

Then I decided to do a little baking. I got out my old recipe file and found this......

I put my electric fan oven on 150 degrees Celsius.

I didn't have any oranges, but managed to "sort of" zest a couple of satsumas.......

and I decided to swap the marmalade in the recipe for this ginger preserve. I've had it for ages, but  didn't fancy eating it on toast.

The mixture was very sloppy but it did cook in an hour and smelt wonderful. I left it to cool and popped out on my bike.

I liked this Halloween window display..........

and the fireworks, to include bonfire night too.

and the florists display was very seasonal.........

After lunch I retreated upstairs, to enjoy a slice of home made cake..........

It was yummy and I was happy that everybody liked it. 

The ginger preserve just gives a little warmth, without overpowering the other flavours. And it's lovely and moist. The boys loved the crunchy top that the sprinkle of demerara sugar makes. There's not much left now.

I spent a couple of hours happily sitting on the bed, making circles......

and now I'm looking at my multicoloured sample again, I think I have to go with it.

At 4pm........with the moon already rising....eldest and I went for a little walk........

To make the most of the daylight, as I must at this time of year............

just a wander along our usual route is enough.........

I picked up more cherry leaves..........

because they are perfect at the moment.

Some more crochet in the evening takes my current circle total to 207.......yay, nearly there.

Right, I'm off to supervise pumpkin carving......Happy Halloween.

Jacquie x

Tuesday Moments

Hello Lovelies,
oh I'm so enjoying this at home week. There's a lovely relaxed atmosphere and time to photograph the simple things we are enjoying.

Yesterday morning we woke early, to sunshine. I left the boys in their P.J.'s and went for a little run.
Past the post box, and the sunrise caught my eye........

I had to stop and climb the stile, into the sunlit field..............

The whole space was bathed in a beautiful light and the grass glistened with dew.........

I blinked and stretched and really felt awake...........

It's uncommonly mild here for the time of year and I didn't feel even slightly chilly in my running vest at 7.45am............

Carrying on I noticed loads of berries in the Hawthorn hedges.........

and the suns rays just beginning to reach the allotments ..........

along the roadside I was amazed by the masses of Holly berries............

and loved the russet tones of these leaves.............

I am really enjoying Autumn so far and don't feel at all sad about the passing of Summer.
It's nice to see small reminders of those special seaside days though ...........this is on the bathroom windowsill........

A little hut on driftwood ....made in Charmouth, that I bought with some of my birthday money. And shells from Llanbedrog beach.

We were so fortunate to have two wonderful coastal holidays this year.

There's a sort of coastal theme on the landing too.....I've been having a change round and hanging more pictures.

 Mum kindly framed one of youngest's primary school paintings for me....I LOVE his cheerful fish picture and I'm loving orange at the moment ...........

the seaside flower print came from a charity shop in Criccieth and it too has a gorgeous pop of orange.

Back downstairs I decided to try this bread mix in the bread maker..........

Very cheaty home made bread :0)

Then we all went out on bikes once again. This time we headed for the garden centre in search of a birthday present for the boys Nanna ( my mum in law).
She's a keen gardener and somehow eldest managed to carry a new border fork, that  he chose for her, home on his bike....strapped to the frame.

I was tempted by so many things there..........some days nothing seems nice, others almost everything is a wanty.

On this occasion I could have bought loads, but I resisted everything except these wonderful Chinese lanterns..............

They are just to Autumny, and Orange :0)

Back home the bread maker had finished and the house smelled wonderful........

We all enjoyed this warm with some home made Leek and Potato soup that  I had in the freezer.

After lunch I enjoyed arranging my orange blooms in a vase...........

They are just silk, but my not adverse to silk flowers occasionally.............

and they make me smile..............

Tidying the mantle I remembered this little knitted witch I bought at a local craft fair last year. It was nice to search her out again, and add a very un-scary Halloween touch to the display.............

This week has been wonderful for slowing down and showing our home some love. I changed some of the blankets around too............

so nice to see my kaleidoscope blanket again.

And finally, there was time for some crochet.

Thank you lovelies for all your replies  to my border question. I'm still undecided, but in the mean time I'll just keep making circles...........

Yesterday I made 14.........so the running total is now 184....getting there :0)
Jacquie x

Monday Moments

Hello Lovelies,

this week I'm lucky to be at home with my boys, and it's going to be a very "at home" week. We are currently a one car family and so while Mr BM is at work we can't just take off somewhere.

Of course we can still get outdoors.......On Monday morning it was a bike ride under leaden skies........

I do love cycling and I love living here, where there is countryside, but also shopping, within easy cycling distance..........

After picking up some supplies on the way home, I stopped to photograph the newly planted pansies under this sign..........

and notice new shoots, in  fields bordered by bare hedgerows...........

and continued productivity in the allotments...........

Back home I made fish finger sandwiches, using some homemade bread...............yummy

It's been ages since I've used our bread-maker.....it was tasty and very heavy filling.

Here I need to talk about this humongous pumpkin.

 Over the past weeks I've picked up a couple of the supermarkets "large" pumpkins and they are a good size, but they are dwarfed by this monster......

 A friend gave it to us on Saturday as they will be away for Halloween, she also gave us sweets for the Trick or Treaters and some decorations. So kind. The boys are really looking forward to carving this monster and I have a little idea for one of the smaller specimens :0)

After a morning of housework and fresh air it was lovely to spend some time relaxing with magazines and crochet in the afternoon..........

I'm trying to concentrate on finally finishing these all circles this week.......I'm currently on 170 and I need 220........so it's doable.

The blanket I'm using as a backdrop in this picture is the one that appeared in my first ever blog post and it's still a favourite........

Looking at it again I'm so tempted to add a cream border to my latest circles......they would look lovely, don't you think?

Or should I stick to my original multicoloured plan..........

I like both....I used to be indecisive, but now I'm not so sure :0)

What do you lovelies think?
Jacquie x