Friday 28 November 2014

Friday Smiles - Week 95

Morning Everyone,

It's Friday again and that means it's time to join in with Annie, over at A Stitch In Time, and share something that caused a smile this week. Mine is turning out to be a week of red letter days, what with two birthdays to celebrate, the news that another great-grandchild is expected next year and the things that my little great-grands get's up to.

My great-grand, Rhian, covered in spots and looking as though she has caught some dreaded lurgy but that smile is much too broad, don't you think?!?! 

She used pink marker to create the 'spots' - very effectively too! This was whilst on a sleepover at my daughter's ... she thought she'd play a trick on her grandma :)
Fortunately a bath sorted out all those spots in no time at all leaving her looking very healthy indeed :)
And here's my other little great-grand, Brodie, spark out ... that's his gran he is using as a pillow :) This little sweetie had his second birthday two days ago and it looks as though all the excitement was too much for him!

All-in-all, it's been a fun week made even better by hearing the news from my oldest grandson, William, that he and his lovely girlfriend, Heather, are expecting their first baby in June next year - a third great-grandchild! I couldn't wish for a better birthday present for myself this week than happy news like that :)

 
If you have something to smile about and you'd like to share it, do pop over to A Stitch In Time and link your post there. I'm sure Annie will be delighted to see you.

Wishing you a week with plenty to make you smile :)

Tuesday 25 November 2014

Rudolph Day - November 2014

Hello Everyone

Unbelievably we have reached the last Rudolph Day of the year and, what's more, today is Sarn's Final Rudolph Day Challenge! When I first joined in with this challenge the requirement was to make just one card, challenge enough you might think, but this year Sarn, hard task-master that she is, upped the challenge by asking us to make at least two cards each month. Most months, admittedly sometimes with a bit of struggle, I've managed to comply but I thought for this most auspicious occasion I'd go totally mad :) So here we go ...





 




... SIX cards!!!  All made using the Festive Flourish card kit that came free with last month's Papercraft Inspiration magazine, together with tons of snippets and loads of embellishments from the stash mountain.

Next year Maureen, ScrappyMo, is taking over the challenge so I'd just like to say a big thank you to Sarn for hosting Rudolph Day up to now ... I think I speak for all of us when I say her hard work has been much appreciated! A trawl through this blog reveals that I started participating way back in February 2012 and it's been a total pleasure, not least because it means that each year since I've reached December with a lovely stash of Christmas cards all ready to use :) 

Whilst I'm at it I'd like to submit this little bunch of cards to the following:

Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra for November, where it's always 'Anything Goes as Long as it's Christmas Themed'.

Pixie's Snippets Playground - I managed to use snippets somewhere on all the cards

Happy Rudolph Day and Happy Crafting,

Monday 24 November 2014

In A Vase On Monday - The Last Roses of the Year

Afternoon Everyone,

It was sunny but a tad chilly when I nipped out to the garden to do a bit of foraging for today's vase.
Because of the very definite plunge in temperature it wasn't too difficult to decide what to gather - it had to be the last of the roses - every one of them, buds too!  If you've been popping in on Mondays to see what's on display you will be familiar with most of the roses here ... L'aimant, Burgundy Ice, Faithful, Elina, Happy Retirement, Simply the Best.
There is, however, a beautiful white rose you may not have seen before, Tranquillity - our only David Austin - you can see it in the centre there. I'm not sure that David Austin roses do well here in Scotland, albeit the south-west of the country ... warm but damp ... so Tranquillity, described as vigorous and healthy, is our trial - if it survives and does well we'll be growing more. I also cut one of the white hollyhock spires, some sprays of verbena bonareinsis Lollipop, lavender and baby's breath (Gypsophila Festival White) to add to the 'arrangement'. There's even a couple of pinks, survivors from last week's vase, tucked in at the sides - too pretty to throw away yet.
All those pinks and reds needed a bit of green so added some Escallonia - love the glossy leaves - and then I thought I should include a nod to the season we are in now so I've popped in a few autumnal sprays of berries from the old Cotoneaster we've inherited with the garden. It's massive and just as it was smothered in blossom earlier in the year it is now smothered in berries - as plants go this one has really earned its place in the garden :)
And just in case you were wondering where the vase has been placed this week ... our newly tiled fireplace. It's more a decorative feature than working one but it looks very cosy for all that, and it's going to look fabulous all decked up for Christmas :)

There's not much left in flower in the garden now, although more than would normally be expected at the end of November. I think it is going to be increasingly more difficult to fill a vase over the next couple of months but I'm determined to keep it up for as long as possible.

While walking around the garden today I did spot a few bluebell shoots popping through ... as we move into winter proper it's reassuring know that the spring flowers are on their way. Another reminder that spring will come no matter what is the seed distribution list from the Cottage Garden Society that popped through the letterbox this week. Members collect seeds from their own gardens and donate them to the CGS so that,

"in the depth of winter, you have the delightful task of choosing several packs of seeds that you would like to receive from a list of over 1500. Send off the order, with a small sum to cover postage, and come February, they will be with you!"  (CGS 2014)

I've made my selection, and it's entirely down to my participation over the last few months (19 vases to be exact) in Cathy's meme, In A Vase On Monday, that most of the seeds chosen are for plants suitable for cutting. I can't wait to start sowing  :)

Hope you've had a ver happy Monday.

Sunday 23 November 2014

Sunday Snippets - Poppy Drawstring Bag and Tag

Hello Everyone

Happy Sunday to you all.

Today I have for Pixie's Snippets Playground something a bit different. The theme for the November Swap over at UKPC was to make something that  included poppies ... after much pondering this is what I came up with.
I've been experimenting with iron-on transfer material and this little drawstring bag with matching tag is the result. Here's a close-up - note the lovely sunshine too :)
Here's a break down of how it was made.

- I started by stamping the Poppy Field stamp from Rubber Necker using distress inks in reds and deep pinks on to a snippet of white card. Archival black ink was used for the outlining stamp.

- next step was to scan it on to my PC importing it into MS Publisher, tweaking the size and creating a JPEG image ready for printing on to the iron-on transfer material, found on eBay and purchased from Mad About Ink.

- next I ironed the image on to a piece of white cotton fabric following the instructions that come with the pack ... not difficult but they do have to be followed carefully - my senior brain had to read the instructions a couple of times before fully understanding what to do and, more importantly, what not to do!

- at this stage I hadn't actually decided what I was going to do with the transfer but I knew I wanted to applique it on to something. After a wee bit of thought I remembered seeing the instructions on how to make this little drawstring bag over here at Sew What? by Debbie Shore. So, with a bit of modification and some scraps of fabric leftover from previous cushion projects, this little bag is the result. Debbie's original bag is 10" square but I only had enough of the red/white spot fabric to make mine 8" square and because of this the other fabric strips were re-sized to measure 8" x 3". Other materials needed were bias binding - love this red/white polka dotted one bought at the craft show in Glasgow last year - I knew I'd find a use for it one day - and the narrow black/white gingham ribbon, source forgotten because I've had in my stash forever :)

- the transferred print was trimmed down and appliqued with a zigzag stitch, set to create a satin stitch, to the front section of the the red/white spot fabric before making up the bag.

- once the bag was finished it needed a tag ... so, the original stamped piece was cut down and attached to a snippet of red card, trimmed to form a tag.  The punched hole is threaded with a length of ribbon left over from making the bag.


Here's a view of the back of the bag ... not obvious in the photos but it's fully lined with black/white ditsy print fabric.

Nothing has changed much on my desk since my WOYWW post on Wednesday, it's still a mess! But that's about to change. Oh yes ... I'm going to clean everything off and start again. What's the betting it will be a complete mess again this coming Wednesday :)

Hope you have a wonderful day, with lots of 'you' time for you to enjoy your crafting ... or whatever else floats your boat on a Sunday :)

Happy Crafting,

Friday 21 November 2014

Friday Smile

Hello Eveyone

I'm a bit late with my Friday Smile post for Annie at A Stitch In Time but just had to share this. I've just recently discovered Simon's Cat and enjoy these little cartoons so much ... all the more because I'm sure he must know The Boss very well, not to mention the arachnophobe that is me!






Have a wonderful weekend.

CHNC Challenge 203 - Go Green

Afternoon Everyone,

After a morning of doing nothing but the dreaded housework ... oh, for a self-cleaning house! ... I now feel free to sit down and have a wee chat about this card I made for Hazel's challenge at Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge it's 'Go Green'- the theme of which is to go green, that is by either using the colour or by upcycling. Normally I would jump at the chance to do a bit of recycling/upcyling but, as green is my all time favourite, it had to be the colour :) It is also for Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra for November, because, as always for this challenge, 'Anything Goes':
To make this card I started with a 5½" square Kraft card base and what's left of my treasured Graphic45 Christmas Emporium 8"x8" paper pad. I've been eking out it over several Christmases now - I'll be desolate when the day comes that I use up the very last teensiest weensiest scrap.

I trimmed a sheet of the paper down, inked the edges with Tim Holtz's Brushed Corduroy distress ink, and then layered it up with a few of the leftover snippets, to create the background for the various toppers - most of which are cut-outs from the same paper pad. The exception is the greeting card ... it's from a Simple Stories  December Documented cut-apart sheet.
I tucked a scrap of burlap behind two of the toppers and added a paper lace border of Christmas trees across the bottom.
The finishing embellishments were made by twisting some natural twine around my fingers before gluing it down in two spots, the bottom right and top left corners of the greeting, and then sticking three green gems in graduated sizes on top.

Two snippets of paper and the scrap of burlap were used up here so I'm skipping over to Pixie's Snippet Playground. Hooray! It's a second visit from me this week :)

It's a cold and dreary day here in south-west Scotland but nowhere as cold as it must be for those of you in north-central US where the most awful snow storms have hit. I hope those of you affected are staying safe and keeping warm.

Wherever you are I wish you a wonderful weekend.

Happy Crafting,

Wednesday 19 November 2014

What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday - WOYWW Week 285

Good Morning Everyone,

Ah yes, it's that day again! Time to reveal to Julia, Head WOYWW Desker, and all fellow deskers, the disgrace that is my desk this morning ...
... an shameful guddle!!! Piles! Lots of them and most of it came out of the blue box top right of the photo. It's the catchall box - everything that gets in my way gets stuffed into it to be sorted at a later date. Well, that date came on Sunday this week. I emptied everything out, sorted it into piles with the intention of creating something, a few somethings in fact, with it all or, failing that, dumping it in the bin because just how much stuff can one woman keep hoarding??? To date, I've made two cards, one you can see lying on top of the pink gelli print and the other was posted on Sunday ... scroll down to investigate further :) The white stuff in the tub is grouting powder - need to label the tub before storing it tidily away with all the painty stuff ... I believe it can be mixed with gesso to make a texture paste.

Doesn't look so bad from that angle, take a look at this:
There, I've well and truly shamed myself now. Shocking, too much, and I can't stand it anymore ... I need space!!!

Want to see more desks, some as messy as mine, some much tidier - hop over to the Stamping Ground and check out the links ... it's revealing and it's fun :)

Happy WOYWW to you all ... Blogger permitting, I plan to spend the day visiting as many desks as humanly possible. Many thanks to everyone who visits and comments - it's all much appreciated :)

Happy Crafting too,

Tuesday 18 November 2014

Christmas Cushion Number Three

Evening Everyone,

Just a quick share with you this evening. This cushion was a work in progress on my WOYWW desk last  Wednesday ... I thought you might like to say the finished item before Wednesday comes round again.
I've used two more of the fat quarters brought back from the Hobbycraft show last month. Both cottons have touches of gold in the patterns and look very festive. The lovely sequin trim was found on our recent trip to Dunelm Mill - I thought it was something just a little different but still very Christmassy still :)

I said it was going to be quick but I'll probably be back tomorrow with a pic of my desk for WOYWW.

In the meantime, I hope you've had a good day and are enjoying a lovely evening.

Happy Crafting,

Monday 17 November 2014

In A Vase On Monday - A Trio of Colour

Afternoon Everyone

Monday's have become my day for joining in with the In A Vase On Monday meme, hosted by Cathy over at Rambling in the Garden, because it forces me to take a trip round my garden, weather permitting, and gather flowers to bring indoors. After complaining last week about the slim pickings just look at what I found this week.
Would you believe I've been ignoring these dwarf snapdragons, antirrhinums, even though they have been putting on a wonderfully colourful show, in various shades of pink, red and white, from early summer ... and are even now showing no signs of letting up despite the recent sharp drop in temperature.


They were planted in a dry shady spot caused by two large evergreens ... I suspect they were both planted as dwarf evergreens back in the seventies when they, together with heathers, were at the height of gardening fashion here in the UK.
I couldn't resist picking and plonking some of the roses and the cottage pinks (Valda Wyatt) that just keep coming - that's Carefree Days at the front, Simply the Best in the middle, and Elina at the back - and a real surprise, mountain cornflower, Centaura montana! I thought this plant had finished flowering for the year but, happily for me, cutting it back has encouraged it to bloom again :)

I've simply put all three vases together  for the massed effect on the dining room table. The two smaller vases were bought many years ago at a church table-top sale for an amazing 50p each - a bargain! It wasn't until I got them home that I discovered they were Poole Pottery. The roses are in a hand painted jug, from Thailand, that the EM spotted in a charity shop only last week.

Once again, many thanks to Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for hosting this wee challenge, In a Vase on Monday, and for encouraging me to bring a little of the garden inside each week to enjoy!

Happy gardening,

Sunday 16 November 2014

Sunday Snippets - Get Well Card

Evening Folks

I hope you've had an enjoyable weekend. Ours has been okay but for a couple of things. First, our car failed it's MOT on Friday and the bill to repair it is going to be rather hefty :(  Second, well, you can see why below.

For consolation, I took refuge in the craft room and after finishing a couple of sewing projects I made this little get well card for my teenage grandson, Alun, who became ill on Friday ... Friday was an all round bad day here ... and has, on doctor's orders, had to stay in bed for 72 hours!
One for Pixie's Sunday Snippets - Week 151. The watercolour piece was leftover from a play practice session I had recently. This was my attempt to create, using watercolours and a brush, the same effect as can be had using a certain Stampin' Up stamp that is very popular at this time! I think the sentiment stamp (Inkadinkado) is very apt and one that Alun will appreciate :)
The washi tape butterfly trim is from stash and the green matting and layering came from the snippet pile.
Alun is a dedicated Celtic football fan so green was the obvious choice and luckily I found this green card base tucked away in a drawer.
And here's the patient himself. He has apparently had a bad reaction to a stomach bug. Happily, I can report that he is on the mend now and will be back to normal, and school, very soon.

I'm nipping off now to watch the Strictly results show - can't wait to see who is in the dance-off at Blackpool.

I wish you a lovely evening.

Happy Crafting,

Saturday 15 November 2014

Saturday Supper - Autumn Soup

Hi Everyone

I touch the brown page I tore from Gran’s old recipe book. Rough yet warm and powdery: like her hand was when she gave it to me. So old, this recipe. How many plates of soup have come from it? How many excellent thoughts?

“One large leek,” the recipe reads. I will find out what a leek is and dice it, so I will.

Helen Fitzgerald
Parts Beyond the Sky

I've just sneaked out of the kitchen - from preparing tonight's supper - to do a bit more sewing but I thought I'd share this with you ...
.... a lovely big veggie box. Delivered to the door. It's going to be a winter veg fest here at Casa Worthington over the next week or so :)
Starting with this soup. Not tonight's supper - I may share that with you another day - this we had yesterday and it's one of my favourite soups. I love soup and, given the choice, I think I could live on soup alone. Just so long as it's a different recipe every day :) I know not everyone feels the same way, the elder of my younger brothers for example. When we were kids he hated it so much he ate it so slowly my mother teased him for 'chewing the soup'!

This is one of those recipes that has been handed down to me, by word of mouth,  from my mother so none of the ingredients were actually weighed. Therefore, apologies in advance, none of the following measurements are anything other than approximate.

I use a pressure cooker to make my soups in but I know that not everyone owns or even likes pressure cookers so the instructions are for cooking in an ordinary pot.

Autumn Soup

What you need:

  • oil for sauteing 
  • 1 large onion, roughly chopped
  • ½ a butternut squash, peeled and diced
  • 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
  • 2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 2 tbsps long grain rice
  • 4 oz of cooked chicken, diced
  • 2 pts chicken stock
  • salt & pepper for seasoning
  • ½ cup chopped parsley

Method:
  • put about 1 dessertspoon of oil in a thick bottomed pot and heat gently
  • add onion and saute for a minute or two until translucent but not browned
  • add the squash, carrots and potatoes and saute, again for a minute or two, stirring to prevent potatoes from sticking to the bottom of the pot
  • stir in the long grain rice and the cooked chicken
  • add the chicken stock and bring the mixture to the boil, cover and simmer gently, for 15-20 minutes, until vegetables are tender and rice is cooked
  • add most of the chopped parsley - just keep back a teaspoon or two for garnish
  • season with salt and pepper to taste
Serve hot, garnished with the chopped parsley, and accompanied by slices of crusty bread.

Normally, I would use leftover chicken if I have it but as I didn't this time I cooked three chicken drumsticks in water with a bouquet garni (a teaspoon of mixed herbs would do) some chopped onion and celery and seasoning instead. This gave me both the chicken and the stock for the soup.

I hope you are having a thoroughly good weekend whatever you are doing, maybe it involves eating a tasty bowl of hot soup too :)

Friday 14 November 2014

Friday Smiles - week 93 - the Stella Awards

Morning Everyone,

Yippeee - it's Friday, time to join in with Annie, over at A Stitch In Time, and share something that caused a smile this week. Apologies to anyone who has seen this before but it made the EM chuckle so I thought it was worth sharing :)

Stella Awards 2013
It's time again for the annual 'Stella Awards'! For those unfamiliar with these awards, they are named after 81-year-old Stella Liebeck who spilled hot coffee on herself and successfully sued the McDonald's in New Mexico , where she purchased coffee. You remember, she took the lid off the coffee and put it between her knees while she was driving. Who would ever think one could get burned doing that, right? That's right; these are awards for the most outlandish lawsuits and verdicts in the U.S. You know, the kinds of cases that make you scratch your head. So keep your head scratcher handy.

Here are the Stellas:

* SEVENTH PLACE *
Kathleen Robertson of Austin, Texas was awarded $80,000 by a jury of her peers after breaking her ankle tripping over a toddler who was running inside a furniture store. The store owners were understandably surprised by the verdict, considering the running toddler was her own son

Start scratching!

* SIXTH PLACE *
Carl Truman, 19, of Los Angeles , California won $74,000 plus medical expenses when his neighbor ran over his hand with a Honda Accord. Truman apparently didn't notice there was someone at the wheel of the car when he was trying to steal his neighbor's hubcaps.

Scratch some more...

* FIFTH PLACE *
Terrence Dickson, of Bristol , Pennsylvania , who was leaving a house he had just burglarized by way of the garage. Unfortunately for Dickson, the automatic garage door opener malfunctioned and he could not get the garage door to open. Worse, he couldn't re-enter the house because the door connecting the garage to the house locked when Dickson pulled it shut. Forced to sit for eight, count 'em, EIGHT days and survive on a case of Pepsi and a large bag of dry dog food, he sued the homeowner's insurance company claiming undue mental anguish. Amazingly, the jury said the insurance company must pay Dickson $500,000 for his anguish. We should all have this kind of anguish, Keep scratching, there are more...

Double hand scratching after this one..

* FOURTH PLACE *
Jerry Williams, of Little Rock, Arkansas, garnered 4th Place in the Stella's when he was awarded $14,500 plus medical expenses after being bitten on the butt by his next door neighbor's beagle - even though the beagle was on a chain in its owner's fenced yard. Williams did not get as much as he asked for because the jury believed the beagle might have been provoked at the time of the butt bite because Williams had climbed over the fence into the yard and repeatedly shot the dog with a pellet gun.

Pick a new spot to scratch, you're getting a bald spot..

* THIRD PLACE *
Amber Carson of Lancaster, Pennsylvania because a jury ordered a Philadelphia restaurant to pay her $113,500 after she slipped on a spilled soft drink and broke her tailbone. The reason the soft drink was on the floor: Ms. Carson had thrown it at her boyfriend 30 seconds earlier during an argument.
Only two more so ease up on the scratching...

*SECOND PLACE*
Kara Walton, of Claymont, Delaware, sued the owner of a night club in a nearby city because she fell from the bathroom window to the floor, knocking out her two front teeth. Even though Ms.Walton was trying to sneak through the ladies room window to avoid paying the $3.50 cover charge, the jury said the night club had to pay her $12,000....oh, yeah, plus dental expenses. Go figure.

Ok. Here we go!!

* FIRST PLACE *
This year's runaway First Place Stella Award winner was: Mrs. Merv Grazinski, of Oklahoma City , Oklahoma , who purchased new 32-foot Winnebago motor home. On her first trip home, from an OU football game, having driven on to the freeway, she set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the driver's seat to go to the back of the Winnebago to make herself a sandwich. Not surprisingly, the motor home left the freeway, crashed and overturned. Also not surprisingly, Mrs. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not putting in the owner's manual that she couldn't actually leave the driver's seat while the cruise control was set. The Oklahoma jury awarded her, are you sitting down?

$1,750,000 PLUS a new motor home. Winnebago actually changed their manuals as a result of this suit, just in case Mrs. Grazinski has any relatives who might also buy a motor home.


It's a mad, mad, world!

Wishing you a happy, smiley, week,

Thursday 13 November 2014

Love Mini Photo Album - Butterfly Challenge

Evening Everyone,

For all who have left me their lovely comments, I've not been ignoring you! It's just that Blogger has been playing up most of today and I haven't been able to get into my dashboard, post anything or even comment on other blogs ... so frustrating!!! Goodness knows what gremlin(s) caused the problems but it all seems to be working fine now :) And that means I can finally share this little photo album with you which I'm submitting to Mrs A's Butterfly Challenge # 18 - the remit for which is to use 3 design papers with butterflies.
The album has been made for a friend who got engaged recently so as well as butterflies there's hearts and flowers too. I've used both sides of a double-sided patterned paper plus one single sided sheet to create it so hope that counts as three DPs and that I'm not breaking Mrs A's rules.
At last I've been able to make good use of some very romantic themed peel-offs (NBUS) ... never had the right project to use them on up till now.
Even the back is embellished with a heart.
And there's a heart motif in the upper left corner of each photo mat ... both sides.

I've explained how I make these little albums before - here - so I won't go through it again but here's a list of the materials used.

  • a 12"x12" sheet of design paper - SEI Bridgeport Gazebo - this is a thick double-sided patterned paper - one side embossed and with a silver finish, the other with a butterfly and flourish pattern in shades of white and grey
  • a 12"x12" sheet from Docrafts Papermania Vintage Notes -  a pale blue self-patterned design paper
  • a sheet of grey smooth cardstock A4 size - Papermill Direct
  • a corner rounder punch
  • a sheet of romance themed peel-offs and a sheet of edging peel-offs from Craft Creations
  • dies - Spellbinders Petite Labels One, Marianne flower set and the butterfly from an issue Simply Cards & Papercraft magazine
  • glitter glue - Stickles Baby Blue
  • the Tim Holtz tiny attacher for staples
  • ribbon - white heart embossed (from stash)
  • pearls - pale blue adhesive backed in various sizes (from stash)

My day, you'll be pleased to learn, hasn't been entirely wasted just because I couldn't blog/comment. Cushion number 3 is complete - will share it with you later - and I've been experimenting with iron-on transfer material - more of that later too :)

However, now that Blogger is letting me get back to normal I'll be able to do a bit of catching up and leave comments as I go this evening.

Hope you've had a great day.

Happy Crafting,

Wednesday 12 November 2014

What's On Your Desk Wednesday - Week 284

Afternoon WOYWWers ...

... and Everyone :)

I trust it's been a good day for you so far. I've been super busy, so much so, I didn't notice the time slipping by. As you might have guessed that's me explaining why I'm late for WOYWW #284 but, with apologies to Julia and all, here I am at last :)
This was my craft desk this morning - note the sunlight casting a welcome ray of cheer across my work surface. That's another Christmas cushion cover in production - the front is done, just need to make the back and attach it.  It's surrounded by the tools of the trade - a rotary cutter, quilting ruler and tape measure. At the back are some fabric off-cuts and the blue box is full of trims - piping cords, bias bindings, cotton lace and ribbons ... pretty stuff :)
Now here's a sight you don't expect to see on WOYWW! Cushion pads, loads of them :) We brought them back from a shopping trip at Dunelm Mill - I don't know what would I do if they closed that store - and just as a temporary measure they got dumped on the ironing board. I couldn't resist taking a photo before they were stashed away.
And finally, on the sofa 'desk', the crocheted bed runner is coming along nicely despite me having to take it easy and not overdo it because of the problem I have with my hands.

Almost more photos than words so I think Julia, our head WOYWWer, will judge this suitably brief this week ... I hope so anyway :) It was typed one-handed as the other was taken up with hugging a needy kitty ... The Boss demands her cuddles whenever!

Now, I'm off for a cuppa and chat with the EM, then I'll be back to do a bit of blog hopping.

Happy Crafting,