Summer loveliness

Hi everyone!

Thought I would just post a few pics of summery things that are making me happy at the moment as it is already the last day of June!

Blue sky and roses - what a stunning combination:

Blackberry flowers - little sweet promises of all the lovely fruitfulness to be anticipated in the autumn:

Yummy summery cakes, with home-grown strawberries on the top:

Going, going...

And yes, of course it's gone!!!!

What's been your summer favourites so far this year?

Helenxx

Crochet and sewing in midnight blue!

Morning all!

Thought I would show you a couple of things I have made recently that have a midnight blue theme!  Love this colour, and although I love bright and pastel shades (more of which in a future post) I have always gone for darker colours. 

Here is a crochet corsage in a blue so dark it is almost black:

I popped a few shiny beads in the centre just to give the colour a little lift.

And, going back to my heart theme I also made this:

I embroidered the heart in a silver thread.  The fabric was purchased when on a Grand Day Out with my dear friend Sue.  These particular  makes went out as part of the Midsummer Nights Dream Swap to my super swap partner Rae but Im planning to make a series of hearts in similar style to show the different phases of the moon.  Here are the rest of the things I popped into her parcel:

I really loved sewing with the silver thread but it tended to strand quite a bit - any tips re. how to stop it doing that? 

Hope you have a lovely day!

Helenxx

Midsummer's Night Dreaming!

Good morning all,  hope your weekend is off to a good start.  Mine has now started - I was up at 6 marking coursework, which is now done yay!!!!!  So now in weekend mode at long last.

Well folks, as you know my good friend Sue and I organised a swap based on the theme of a Midsummer Night's Dream.  I was paired up with the lovely Rae.  It was her first ever swap and my goodness, did she make a terrific job of it!!!!

First to pop out of my parcel was this lovely little lady - so beautifully made and absolutely sweet!

Then gorgeous crafty things, ribbon, threads and yarn - all will be put to excellent use I can assure you...

Lovely candle in a votive holder and fabric - just ideal therapy for beyond-stressed teachers...

Chocolate and a pretty card (the card will last longer than the chocolate methinks....)

Just look at this lovely pin cushion in the mini bonne mama jar - I think this teacher will use that idea...just sharing best practice dont you know (aka nicking good ideas)

And get ready to gasp....

Needle felting par excellence - a gorgeous necklace all for me!  In some of my fave colours!!

Rae, you have spoiled me so much - you have sent things I love in the colours I love!

Thank you so very very much - and for those of you paired up with Rae in the future you sure are in for a treat!

I had a lovely midsummer's night at Sue's house where we celebrated the 22nd birthday of her eldest - can he really be that age already?  Seems only a year or two ago since I was holding a tiny little bundle in my arms, scared to move in case I woke him up!  It was a lot of fun (we laughed until we cried) with yummy food (Sue is the most terrific cook) so a great time was had by all.

Have  a lovely day, whatever it is you get up to!

Helenxx

Crochet therapy

Recently it has been beyond hectic at work, thank goodness for the the calming properties of crochet!  These are some of the charming little things that have been helping me out as a stress busting strategy...

 Pot holder - pattern is taken from a recent crochet and knitting craft magazine, together with an different border.  I have backed it with felt to protect the user's hands.

 Another one, all of these are made with the wool samples given away as freebies with various craft magazines, the quality is ideal for this type of project.  I know some folks also use these as dish cloths, but I think I would cringe every time I scrubbed a dirty dish with them!  Far prefer to have them hanging on a hook near the cooker, decorative and functional - just the way things should be in my humble opinion!

A little flower brooch, in lovely summery colours.  My daughter has her eye on this one....

I have so loved making these, they dont take too long but I was quite pleased with the results.  I have been making other things too but cant show them yet (as they are for the swaps Im involved with at the mo!!  Shhhhh!!)  and have started another bigger crochet project which will be revealed soon!

Have a lovely day, whatever it is you get up to!!

Helenxx

Castles and Windows...

Hi everyone!

Over the last bank holiday weekend me, my DH and 2 of my lovely brood took an afternoon jaunt out to Tatershall Castle

It is set in the beautiful Lincolnshire countryside

I love going to these kind of places, not least because whilst DH reads ALL the display labels AND listens to the audio guide I can fiff faff around with my camera to my hearts content without getting "why are you taking photos of THAT"??!!  (btw DH is a truly lovely, gorgeous man but doesnt really have much creative flair - well, he is an engineer after all....)

so I decided I would take photos of the very interesting windows in the castle.  There was stained glass....old:

and not so old:


The details on it suggests that it might have been made for the milennium celebrations.

Interesting views accross the lawn through ancient glass:

If only the old Playschool TV programme (showing my age here folks!!) had an interestingly shaped window like this (and today we are looking through the arched with an interestingly shaped top window)

Looking through one of the arrow slits:

All in all, a very enjoyable afternoon out was had by all!

Helenxx

Pincushion swap - look what I got!!

Hello everyone, hope your week has got off to a good start.

What seems like ages ago I joined in the pincushion swap organised by Hilde and Hilde, and was partnered with the lovely Claudia all the way from Germany!

And just look what lucky, lucky me received: (of course the chocolate didnt last long!!)

Dont you just love the fabric:

Both destined for some hand-sewing time very soon!

The pincushion is just too amazing for words:

The skill and the patience taken to create this little beauty amazes me..

Each side is different:

The skill and generousity out there in blogland is truly humbling.
Thank you so much Claudia for your lovely swap gifts, you are a very talented lady!

Helenxx

Light at the end of the tunnel? Perhaps not quite yet...

Good morning to everyone!  Hope the weekend is going well for you and that you are getting time to do all the things you love to do, with the people you love to do them with!

Here in the moonstruck household things have been a little hectic of late...leading to no time for me to post to this blog (although have been reading all my favourites out there in blogland on my phone).

Several reasons for this state of affairs:

My job is beyond wildly hectic at the moment
3 of my 4 lovely kids are needing the computer for revision/courseworks/assignments
When I did have a window of opportunity for posting last week blogger played up something chronic so I just gave up!!
Have so little "me" time at the moment I have been crafting and snapping photos for when I have more time to blog!

So I have a camera full of wonderful things (well, I think they are!!) to share with you all over the coming weeks once things quieten down a bit.

Meantime, here is a little something I made for one of my favourite nieces:

A crochet corsage - she so loved the crochet jewellery I made for her I just had to make this.  It is made by a strip of crochet which is then wound together spriral-style and stiched in place.

A lovely little project to do whilst supporting my kids through their school/college work of an evening (btw that is one of the drawbacks of being a teacher, we never really get to switch away from teaching mode!)

So, somewhat strangely, with all the hectic-ness that is going on, I am feeling quite creatively inspired...guess it gives me some time to switch off from the day-to-day.

And Im also gathering and squirelling away goodies for the swaps Im doing - Rae (midsummer nights dream swap) and Bee Happy (charity shopping swap) Im having a ball choosing and making things for you both!  I really love swaps, it really gets me thinking outside the box, and gets my little grey cells (my hair is turning grey to match them) working in a more fun way than is often usual at the moment!

Have a lovely day, whatever it is you get up to!

Helenxx

PS the photo at the start of this post was taken on one of my daily walks into work - I love these "commutes" as I get to think and plan all sorts of things, observe all the tiny wonders of nature and it makes a healthy start to the day.