Tilda (EDITED!!) Shop open for business!

Hi there, and for all you Tilda fans out there, have you seen Tone Finnangar's newly released book...no...well here's a sneaky preview to whet your appetite and have you rushing to log onto Amazon. I pre-ordered and received it a few days ago. If you are a fan then you won't be disappointed, every page is beautiful, every photo stunning and the designs....well here are a few snaps to be going on with.

Who wouldn't want to sit at that desk, designing and crafting?



Beautiful and instantly recognisable Tilda Angels....



Beautiful cupcakes...........


Adorable creatures.................

A bag just waiting to be made from fabulous materials.......


Sandcastle anyone?.................


A truly beautiful book.

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Now then, do you want to see what I have been up to over the last couple of days? Go on.........you know you want to.....drum roll please........

They still need cushion pads and backing, but I am so in love with these little jewelled grannies, there isn't a colour combination that I don't like. I just cannot stop looking at them!

Dev x

Edited --I just wanted to tell you that I have opened my shop for business, so if you have a moment, then please stop by. There is a link on the side bar. Thanks Dev x

Birthday

Hello everyone, phew what another scorcher of a day. I am starting to find it all a bit unbearable now...dare I say that a rainy day would be most welcome!

We have spent a lot of time at the beach over the past few days and have managed to brave the sea to cool down our scorched bodies.

It is hard to capture on a photograph, but this day the sea was a silvery undulating mass, like liquid mercury almost. Very hard to describe, but hypnotic to watch. A bit like the scene in one of the terminator films, where the blobs of mercury like liquid pool together to form the baddy. Spooky!

The whole experience is a delight to the senses. The gentle lap of the waves as the tide goes out and the crashing of the waves as it returns a few hours later.

The shriek of the seagulls on the lookout for a snack. Woe betide if you wave your ice cream in the air!

The smell of the sea, fresh and invogorating. The salty taste in the air, not to mention in your sandwiches, no matter how hard you try and keep them covered.

Deep breaths, deep breaths..much hopping about and back turning against the waves racing towards you, breath taking coldness against warm skin. Of course, there are always the brave few who can run down the hot sand and throw themselves over the oncoming waves...brrrr!!

I spy with my little eye, through the hole in a pretty stone...?

So the title of the post is confusing perhaps? Well it was a dear friends birthday over the weekend and I should have been adding the finishing touches to her present, but instead we got side tracked with the above. Therefore, Saturday afternoon saw us rushing home as the oncoming tide slowly devoured the beach. Last minute adjustments tackled and voila....

.

A simple plain knitted cushion cover becomes a pretty embellished cushion cover. A much admired and aahed over cushion cover and one that looked very comfortable in my garden room, and so very hard to part with cushion cover

And finally, a quick snap of a secret WIP..can you guess what it might be yet?

Dev x

Crochet creations

I am quite excited about my new crochet creations. I was having a bit of a play with all the pretty yarns in my stash and wondering what I could do with the small amounts left over from bigger projects. So here for your delectation....

I love them to bits and have sold, yes sold 2 already!! How neat is that! Two friends actually liked them so much they were prepared to dip into their purses and give me some cash. You can't get better than that can you! After my disasterous day at the village coffee morning my confidence took a bit of a knock to be honest...and now, well... is there a market out there for these do you think? I have been toying with the idea for a while now. I have lots of ideas.....mmmm...watch this space!

These ones are made from the lovely yarn that I received from my swap partner Alessandra, aren't they pretty, I love the colours?

I also received a copy of her gorgeous wreath chart. It is so well written that I can actually understand the instuctions which is something that I usually find completely baffling as those who have been following my blog for a while will know by now. The only daunting thing about the project is at the beginning when she starts by saying "make 504 chains". I kid you not!! There is no chocolate shot as it was all devoured before you could say "make 504 chains"! Well maybe not that quick, but you get my drift. Yum, yum....

If you fancy a bit of a swap yourselves, then pop over to CT who is hosting a yarn and xmas decoration swap. You need to sign up by August 5th I think. Sorry to mention the "C" word but there are only 21 weeks to go. It doesn't hurt if you close your eyes and say it very quickly. Honest!

I have been tagged by Melanie to do this bit of fun and pass it on to 5 others.. So here's what you need to do.

1. Collect the book that you have most handy
2. Turn to page 161
3. Find the 5th complete sentence
4. Cite the sentence on your blog
5. Pass it on to five other blogger friends

In my case the book just happens to be Lark Rise to Candleford by Flora Thompson.

Laura, conscious that she was no principal in the affair, and only invited to partake out of courtesy, declined wistfully but firmly; Martha said she would like a little more if "mum" pleased, and the little brother merely pushed his plate forward.

I’m going to pass this onto:-

Nina

Denise

Sian

Alessandra

Sarah-Jane

Bye for Now Dev x

Poorly Person

I have been a poorly person this week which resulted in me having to take a couple of days off work. Mixed blessing really. One the one hand it was nice to lay under the duvet all day but was too ill to even pick up a hook or a book for that matter. The sickness bug has done a full round here at the Fairyglade, giving each of us a seperate dose just to keep things fair. However, all is better now and we are raring to go.

This weekend has been a bit of a catch up, and of course that means that my crochet has been top of the list.

Oh what joy! Single granny's...............

Piles of grannies.....................................


Mounds of grannies.............................................

Towering grannies........................................................

And finally, when divided into two sections, two cushions of grannies!!!

I can't describe how happy these little squares make me feel. I simply love looking at them, moving them around each other to see what goes with what, feeling the softness of the Rowan wool which is a dream to work with, if a little expensive....

With that in mind I have cleared out the littlest fairy's wardrobe and placed all her pretties on ebay. Don't be alarmed, I have left her one or two bits to wear, bless her.

(If you are interested my ID is Gretagrouch. On the home page, click on feedback forum at the bottom, enter my named ID and bob's your uncle!)

I have chosen some lovely Debbie Bliss wool for my swap partner, Alessandra over at Just Be Happy. Not sure how I will manage to stop myself eating the chocolate part of the swap now that I am feeling better. Two seperate bars of the yummy stuff have mysteriously disappeared in the last week..have you seen them? No one is owning up here, and a this rate she will be receiving the most expensive bar of Cadbury's in the known universe!!

Time for bed now, feeling very weary now Will leave you with another picture of my grannies...............

Dev X

Cushions, Clouds and Crochet

I forgot to take my camera to the village fete on Saturday which was a shame really. We are very traditional when it comes to the fete. There is bunting, a brass band, maypole dancing, tombola and tug of war to name but a few of the many attractions. It was a happy event and well supported despite the sky looking like this a couple of hours before hand!

I thought that I would show you the lovely goodies that I received from my swap partner, Maggie. I feel that my parcel definately fell a bit short, but in my defence, I felt so unwell most of the 2 weeks leading up to the deadline.

A lovely scarf and mittens, a beautiful scented knitted heart..I don't think I have seen a knitted heart before? A pretty blue bag which the little fairy commandered as soon as I unwrapped it as a storage place for her nintendo games. And the most gorgeous tea cosy. Many thanks Maggie.






Isn't that just the sweetest tea cosy you have ever seen?








For my part, these were two of the items I did manage to make myself. Nowhere near as fab as Maggie's items. I made this brooch from a chart on Julia's blog, I know that I didn't do it precisesly as per her instructions, but as you know, me and charts just don't get along! I still think that it is pretty though.





The past week or two has seen me rushing home to see what the postman has brought me. I mentioned in my last post that I had gone a bit mad on Ebay and Amazon and here are some of my purchases. Food for the soul...


And talking of the soul, my heart skips a little beat when I see these little squares of coloured magic. This will be the first cushion I am crocheting to make my wrought iron garden furniture a bit my comfy and bright. Only another 36 to go.


The mystery item mentioned in my last post will remain a mystery for a little while yet and the gorgeous afghan is on hold until I sell a kidney to fund the yarn to make them both.

Lastly, check out Alessandra's blog to take part in a yarn & chocolate swap. Yes, you did hear correcttly, I did say YARN & CHOCOLATE in the same sentence....is there anything better! I am not sure when the closing date is, so get over there right now.

Dev X

Midday Sun

Am I the only one struggling with the intense heat, will I be shot down in flames for daring to say that I am not a sun worshipper? Don't get me wrong, a vivid blue sky and the warm sun on my back is one thing, but these scorching temperatures are proving too much for me. On the plus side, I have access to this on a daily basis and it is proving to be a godsend. Frankly, I don't know how we would have managed the past couple of weeks without it. Sheer bliss!

I have been unwell for a couple of weeks now. I have a terrible chesty cough that shows no sign of abating anytime soon. Why is it always worse at night and especially when you lay down and try to get some sleep? I have managed to complete the goodies for Melanie's cosy swap despite feeling so awful and hope that my partner likes what I have made. I can't show you the pictures just yet.

So, here at the Fairyglade, projects progress, albeit at a slower pace and on really hot days, not at all. A friend from my craft group leant me this book from the 70's. Oh my, did we ever really dress like this...


Firstly, check out those nails, how awkward to work with!!!!!!!!!!!. So glad that they are not compulsary.



Any one for cocktails darling!


Anyone takers for the psychedelic ripple boots, form an orderly queue please! What a great way to use the ripple pattern, very fetching and just the thing for the weekly tesco's shop wouldn't you say?

I actually borrowed the book for a few new stitch ideas like this one.

I recently found a knitting chart for an afghan which I think is stunning. However, the instructions might as well be in Russian, knitting backwards and other jiggery pokery. I sometimes think that charts are a black art, either that or I am just thick. I have actually printed out reams of instructions on this method, and have glanced through it briefly, but am completely baffled.

Isn't it to die for?

Now comes the reason for the book. This pattern is slightly similar in that it creates large and small patterned waves which is what I like about the afghan. So my reasoning goes that if I use the recommended wool and crochet instead of knit, and use this chart, then in theory I should get something similar looking. What do you think?



I have this pretty thing underway at the moment, what is it going to be I hear you mumble? Well I am going to leave you in suspense for a while! I love the colours though.

I bought this magazine a while back, I was swayed by the cupcakes on the front and the gorgeous wool included in the pack and the purple metallic hook, etc, etc. The afore mentioned things are lovely and I have begun to create a culinary masterpiece, but it was almost the price of a craft book and there are only one or two projects that I feel are worth making. No, no, I hear you all cry in outrage, a bit of a let down I would say. That's the problem when you are easily swayed by gorgeous coloured things in little bags on the front of magazines. I am a retailers dream and fall for it everytime.


On the subject of books, I have gone a slightly mad on ebay and Amazon, but I am only human and have been out in the sun too long. At least that is what I tell the man person! I will share when they arrive, promise. I am also eagerly awaiting my swap goodies. In the meantime, it is the pool followed by the apple tree, followed by the pool and so on and so on......

Bye for now Dev X