A Super Stripey Ta-Dah!

Hello Lovelies,

Hope you are all enjoying your weekend?  It's pretty grey here but for the first time in a while it's actually not cold!

So, here they are my stripey granny wrist warmers! Ta-Dah!

Sorry, my hands are awful at the moment (I blame the Milton!)

Stripes on Dots!

These wrist warmers are a bit of an Attic24 fest! The main part of the warmer is this, the gorgeous granny stripe.  The sweet edging is this and the gorgeous flowers are the May Roses.

I'm really pleased with how they have turned out and they were really quick to make - less than a week - probably quicker without little sweetpeas :) I used Stylecraft Bonus DK again in white, navy and red and a 4mm hook.

The only thing is they are quite 'chunky', which is perfect for really chilly days but I'd like a more light-weight pair so I'm having a go with just trebles in rows for a less bulky wrist warmer. Here is progress so far..........

Also working on a scarf/snood type thing to match my granny stripe mitts. 

Hello to new followers, I'm now past 30 - I can't quite believe it really (I know it's not in the league of some bloggers but to me it's really touching to know people are taking time to read my ramblings!) I'm feeling a little giveaway coming on - I'm thinking once I hit 50!  I will keep you updated :)

Until next time...................

xxx

A Beautiful Afternoon..............

...............at West Green House with my lovely Mummy and the little Sweetpeas.

Would love to have a peep inside!

The sun has been warming our skin on and off today but it was PeRfEcT weather to take in the glorious garden at West Green House.

Little Miss and Little Mister enjoyed the fresh air and Mum and I enjoyed the scenery.

 This is inside the conservatory with its unusual wall art!

Archways.....

And secret doors.....

Hidden Statues





From a distance these look like Bluebells but on closer inspection.....

They are Forget-me-nots

I managed to snap 70 shots this afternoon so I've picked out the best but this is DeFiNiTeLy a place worth visiting if you're in the area!

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Also received a pretty little package in the post today.............

I'd like to introduce you to Margaret! Isn't she just delightful? 

She is beautifully handcrafted by the very talented Jooles at SewSweetViolet. Pop over and have a ganders at her blog if you have time - it makes beautiful reading!

Hope you've all have a beautiful day........until next time.........

xxx

Weekend Baking (on Tuesday)

Happy Tuesday Lovelies,

Sorry I didn't get round to this post yeasterday - too many things to do and too little time to do them in :)

We work to glorious skies again yesterday morning.  This was taken at 6.15am (the little Sweetpeas are enjoying getting up at 5.15 at the moment!) but then sadly it all turned very grey and damp and we didn't see the sun again until about 6.30pm. 

Today is just as wet and miserable as yesterday!

So.............................back to the baking.  I saw this recipe here for Skinny Chunky Monkey Cookies and as I had some bananas spare and all the other ingredients in the cupboard, love the name of the cookies and the fact they only have 47 calories per cookie, I thought I'd give them a try.

They were delicious warm from the oven but not so great when cold - the bananas made them a tad 'mushy'.

Then when I did my weekly shop on Friday i noticed that the Cocolate Philidelphia was on offer (81p a tub) and as I'd never tried it before I decided to use it to make a cheesecake.

It went down very well after dinner on Sunday.  I used 2 tubs of the chocolate philly with a 200g tub of creme fraiche (you could use whipped cream or mascapone would be nice) and a small bit of gelatine diluted in some water to set it slightly.  For the base I used 250g of chocolate chip cookies with some melted butter to bind.

I was very suprised with the philly - when I first saw it advertised I thought I would taste rather odd but it's very creamy and could be used in lots of recipes.

So that was my weekend baking.  There has been a request here (by Daddy Sweetpea) for more Raisin Oat cookies for that is one of my tasks for today. Hope you all have a lovely day whatever you are up to!

Just wanted to say a BIG hello to new followers, it's lovely to have you here and a BIG thank you for all your lovely comments - especially on my last post about my Granny Blanket.  Ooh and I have one wrist warmer made so on to number two now :)

xxx

Sunshine, Ta-Dah and a new WIP

Whoop-whoop, do the dance of joy! We have had 3 WHOLE days of gorgeous sunshine! It has been a tad breezy but glorious to have the sun!

We went to feed the ducks today at a little pond near Esher - Little Miss thought them very greedy as the all came waddling out of the water as we approached :)

I hope the sun has shone on your little patch too!

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My giant granny square blanket is now complete. I started at the end of February and finished on Friday. I don't think that's bad going for my FIRST big project, especially as I have to grab moments inbetween childcare, cleaning and cooking :) it is just a basic granny square - there are so so many patterns out there I'm sure you don't need a tutorial.

I used Stylecraft Bonus DK in white for this blanket and used a 4mm hook as I wanted the stitches fairly tight but still to have a drapey quality. 




I wanted a simple yet pretty edge for this blanket and I found Jacquie's double V edging perfect! So here it is in all it's gorgeous granny gloriousness :)

I'm still undecided as to whether to give it to my sister before baby comes for here to take to hospital or to wait until the arrival - what do you think?

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I have also started on a new crochet project. I am loving nautical stripes at the moment and as I have copious amounts of white wool left (over estimated how much I would need for my granny - oops!) I wanted to make some striped wrist warmers and a matching scarf/cowl/snood.

I'm loving the granny pattern at the minute too so I'm using Lucy's granny stripe pattern for both items. May add a little red flower embelishment to them too :)

Ok, I think I've waffled on long enough tonight but i'll be back tomorrow with some of my weekend baking : cookies and cheesecake :) so until then............

xxx

A WIP Update

Hello Peeps,

Just enjoying the last of my Raisin Oat Cookies - they have kept surprisingly well and still taste like they were just baked!

Hope you are all well on this lovely soggy Thursday.  It's been pretty miserable here weather wise but then that's no surprise to anyone is it?

The weather man said there is some glimmer of sunshine tomorrow and Saturday so I got my fingers and toes crossed.  My new camera arrived today - Yay! and I'm itching to use it for some spring outdoorsy shots!

Well....................

As the title says this is a little update on my giant Granny Square baby blanket for my lovely sister.  Well it's almost finished, I'm just working the edging then a few ends to so in and then there will be a little Ta-Dah!  Can't wait! And I've already got my next project lined up!

Yesterday I partook in a little more Decopatch..........

 Some more brass candlesticks decorated with these beautiful papers - really pleased with how they are turing out.  All I need to do now is go on the hunt for some pretty candles :)

Righto, off now to complete my edging, have a lovely evening.  Be back soon with some lovely pics (with sun in - I hope!)

xxx

Pottering.......................

Despite the weather STILL being grey and damp and chilly we've managed to keep ourselves busy at home.....................just pottering.

A bit of baking was done on Sunday morning for afternoon tea with the lovely In-Laws.  Both recipes are courtesy of Rachel Allen - the most divine Raisin Oat Cookies (so so chewy and moreish!) and a scrummy Lemon Drizzle Cake. Both went down a treat!

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On Friday Night my super Sister-in-law invited me to a Jamie Oliver at Home party.  I never been to one before so didn't know what to expect but it was a fabulous evening of girly chatting (and drinking) whilst perusing some utterly gorgeous cook and bakewares!

Of course, I had to treat myself to a few little bits, but they won't arrive for a couple of weeks.  I did get to bring one beautiful item home though as that was in the sale and it was this delightful 'Betty Pudding Bowl and Serving Dish' set.  Its a gorgeous shade of primrose yellow and comes with a scrummy recipe card for a Banoffee Bomb.  Can't wait to use it!

This morning we went to feed the ducks at Waverley Abbey so we could all get some fresh air but the weather was sooooo awful I couldn't get any decent pics - just me in my raincoat and WINTER boots! But a lovely bit of colour for a miserable day!

Hope you're all having a lovely Bank Holiday Weekend wherever you are!

xxx