WOYWW - Stitching Frenzy !

Well you may remember this from last week - the promise of stitching !

Well - the football season literally kicked off - and so with Much Beloved happily otherwise engaged, and the down-pouring remnants of Hurricane Bertha sweeping across the country on Sunday, I got back to crafting !
This weekend was about practical stitching !

I set about making bags for our holiday next month - a large tote in the waterproof oilcloth to carry towels etc and a couple of cushions for the sun-loungers !

And with the Cotton version of the fabric I made my first Duffel style bag - I had never set eyelets or made the threaded tubes for the cords before - so this was great fun !

And with the scraps I made an Oilcloth pouch - first zip I have inserted in years !! - a splash proof Kindle cover and a small pouch - not sure what this is for yet !

And as a break from stitching I did a couple of Journal 52 pages ...
The topic of this page is Nostalgia - I have this odd sensation at this time of year - even before Summer is passed I am missing it already !
This page allowed me to express how I feel ...












And this Topic is Friendship .. I saw this Kelly Rae Roberts Mixed Media Doll in a gift shop & couldn't really warrant buying it as I wouldn't know where to put it - but I did like it and decided I would borrow the image for a Journal page !

Oh and just one last project started - I found this out-sized MDF Fob Watch from the MDF man at Newbury last month - and used an embossing folder from the Chronology range to create a textured surface which I have just started to alter ..

"Watch" this space - sorry really couldn't resist the pun !
Take care
Ali xx

Poised for Stitching !

Well not much actual crafting this week due to the funeral last Wednesday swiftly followed by our fabulous weekend in Jersey which we had had booked for months.

We love Jersey and our favourite place to stay (out of loads of places we love !) - is St Aubin's & this trip we found a great B&B called The Harbour View.

It is located - as you may have guessed from the name ! - right on the harbour with parking, quirky but lovely courtyard, delicious breakfast spread and well appointed comfy room - we will definitely be going back next year !


The Island isn't very big - only 45 sq miles but each coast is quite varied one from the other.

Our favourite is the West Coast with St Ouen's beach stretching virtually it's whole length !
Stunning !

And we had fab weather so it was just the perfect weekend - sun, beach & gorgeous food - could we have asked for more !





And the seafood is truly amazing - freshly caught Jersey Lobster - yum yum !

So many great restaurants & even delis to eat in - totally DE-LIC-IOUS !!!!












So it was back to work with a bump yesterday & I was on the road for 5am heading for a meeting this morning which was even more of a rude awakening !

I couldn't show you this card week as I had made it for Lynda's lovely hubby who celebrated his 60th this week and it would have let the cat (or is that bear ? ) out of the bag !

So today the trusty Work-desk is more a scene of "poised for action" !

I have been inspired by this lovely Summer weather and this nautical fabric to plan a quilt - so far I have just created hand drawn scaled-up images of the Beach Huts & Lighthouses - I am going to create appliqué blocks with these designs & use the inspiration fabric as the background for these.

I haven't made a quilt for years - so am dusting the rust off both my brain & my quilting equipment & trying to remember what to do - I am hoping it will all come back to me when I get started !

I also have a few souvenirs snaffled in Jersey and some Lumière fabric paints that I saw at a great price - and some stamps from past copies of Craft Stamper - on the desk.

And over on my "overflow" table is some oil cloth cut ready to make a bag for my swimming gear - just need to haul out the sewing machine now !

So hopefully by next week with a fair wind & the blessing of the Gods - you may actually see something stitched !!

Have a great week !
Ali x

WOYWW - Pining for Crafting

Just a very quick post because, as you may imagine, with the loss of Rich's Step-Father, it has a busy & emotional time for us all.

We have been in North Wales a lot to support his Mum and trying to tackle the mountain of admin that seems to surround winding up someone's worldly affairs.




We headed home early on Sunday morning & amongst washing, gardening & cooking, I managed to snatch a couple of hours at my craft desk - being away so much I had been experiencing that edgy, pining feeling you get when you can't do anything creative because real life demands your attention !
Well that's how it gets to me anyway !

So I was determined to get this month's Alphabet ATC completed for Lynda & my monthly challenge - I adore Poppies so it was an obvious choice for "P" this month !

I had decoupaged a couple of House of Zandra images several week's ago but finally got them made up into cards at last !

And I had admired a sea inspired scene on Emma Williams blog a few weeks ago so decided to have a go at my own interpretation for the "Under The Sea" challenge in the Journal 52 project.

So all of this restored a bit of calm to my brain & was a welcome distraction !

Next week we have to face the funeral - so may not be here to join you !

Take care Ali xx

WOYWW - Sad Week

Hi, it has been a sad week as Rich's Step-Father passed away last Wednesday.
Although he had been ill, it was all very sudden in the final days & came as a shock to us all.
So we have been in North Wales much of last week to support his Mum & help with all the things that need to be done to these times.

So obviously crafting hasn't been high on the agenda & my desk is rather a messy heap of "stuff" - mainly freebies from magazines on the top  !

And a new Poppy die on the right there & the note book has a list of the Journal 52 topics.

I am way behind but not stressing about it - all in good time !
So what if it takes me into next year !



Last week, before all the sadness, we had had a box card session at Scrapclub - everyone had a go at making one in their own style or theme !
Some were Christmas & some for birthdays - here they are all in various stages of construction !

Here are a couple of happy signs I saw at the weekend - just the thing when I needed something to make me smile !

And this cute Owl appealed to me too - might have a go at making one at some stage !

And just as fascinating - we spotted several of these amazing jelly fish right by the beach as we went out for a breath of fresh air ...

Forgive me if I don't get to reciprocate many visits this week but we are heading back North later this week to help make the funeral arrangements etc. ...
Take care & catch up next week. Ali xx

WOYWW - Reunion - All Our Yesterdays !

Well, take 8 school girls and fast forward 30 odd years - mix in a lovely hostess, a gossipy late evening, celebratory bubbles and a great supper - and you have our "Hastings Girls" Reunion last weekend !

It was amazing to meet up again with the girls I had been close friends with at school - but some of whom I hadn't seen for over 20 years !
If we said "wow but you haven't changed a bit" once we said it a dozen times !
Do you know those missing persons programmes on telly where they show you a photo then fast forward it to show you what they would look like now - well it was sort of like that - we all had the faces from school 30 years ago - but with a few more creases & slightly more lived in !!
We had a lovely weekend catching up & putting the world to rights !

As I was over in England I decided to pop into the Art Stamps show at Newbury Race Course - such a fun venue - I even got to walk over the track where the horses run - it was amazing to imagine them all thundering towards me !

The Show was slightly less inspiring sadly - it was much smaller this year and far fewer stands - but obviously still succumbed to some new stash ! But I did have a bit of a list - so at least it was planned purchasing !
Some new Sweet Poppies stencils & the little Distress Inks cubes !

When I got home on Sunday the weather was lovely - ideal for Sun Printing !

I snipped a few plants & flowers from the garden to create a print - one of them I didn't get right as the water bowl I was setting the prints in was in the sun itself - so the white areas stayed a bit blue !

But I was quite pleased with the other 2 prints !

 

See you next week !
Ali x

WOYWW - Workdesk In The Sun At Wisley !

Well this weekend we were away having adventures with Lynda & her husband.
We were heading for the stunning gardens run by the Royal Horticultural Society at Wisley in Surrey.
When I lived in West London Much Beloved & I used to go frequently but it is much more of a trek from here in West Wales nowadays !

So we had planned this trip way back last year - timed to see the amazing Long Borders in their Summer splendour ! But with storms forecast for Saturday we flipped the weekend over & had a lovely stop in Lechlade on Saturday. Complete with a trip to the Christmas Shop !

Then on to overnight in Guildford to be at Wisley early for a full day on Sunday - and happily Lynda & Robert agreed it was worth the trip & the early breakfast !

They had an Arts Fest running last weekend and we had the chance to create a Sun-print with Barbara Gunter Jones - this was great fun !

See her website here http://www.barbaragunterjones.co.uk/




So here we are crafting in the sunshine !

I had forgotten quite how lovely the gardens are - I know a lot of you love gardens too so here are some of the highlights to share with you !  

Here is some of the art we saw at the Arts Fest

And here is the Card in a Box I made for Lynda & couldn't show you last week until I had given it to her !!

Have a great week ! Ali xx

Photo Scavenger Hunt Summer 2014

Well I have started on this Summer's Photo Scavenger Hunt over on the Gallo Organico blog - here's my photo haul so far !

 Photo 4 - A Group of Tourists - gathered on the 1st landing of the Eiffel Tower ...

Photo 5 - A Rack of Postcards - in Montmartre

 Photo 9 - A Bakery - at the Market near Paris

 Photo 11 - A Horn - in an amazing Aladdin's carve of an Antiques Shop in Lechlade

 Photo 16 - A Sign In A Language Other Than English - The Artist's Square in Montmartre

 Photo 17 - A Lamp Post - on one of the stunning Parisian bridges - taken from the boat on the Seine

 Photo 18 - A Waterfall - in Wisley RHS Gardens

 Photo 19 - A Public Garden - RHS Wisley - the Greenhouse seen from the Hill

 Photo 20 - A Bus with a Painted Side - Well taken in Paris of course !

Photo 21 - A Photo Symbolic of the Season - taken at Wisley the Poppies always say mid-Summer to me - tomorrow will be July 1st - the anniversary of the Battle of the Somme - so the Poppies are in my mind this week for that reason too.