Washout

Well, what can you expect from a Bank Holiday in the UK? Yep, you got it...rain, rain, hail, rain, a bit more hail for good measure and more rain. A total washout in our little corner of the world. What happened to the sun and the beach and ice-cream and flip-flops?

They say that it is good weather for the ducks, but we don't have any. What we do have are our lovely doves and they at least enjoyed a shower! Initially, at least. After about 4 hours or so, the novelty wore off for them too.

Now they are thoroughly soaked and miserable and just sitting around waiting for it stop, only it didn't. It was raining when I woke around 5 am and it was still raining when I went to bed at 10 pm.

So where did that leave us? Well, there was lots of this.

And there was a bit of that too...........................

Now, I wonder what that could be, would you like to see? Okay then, as you are asking nicely.

She is so sweet and pretty and I love angels. She is holding a dove in her hand and is worked in Sirdar's snowflake which I had to source on the internet. I was working...ahem...... browsing one day, as you do and I came across a guy called Alan Dart. Oh my, what he doesn't know about cute and original knitted toys. Check out his website.

As you can see from the above photos, most of my activities have taken place under my lovely, warm, wooly ripple. It has been so cold here too.

As for the little man, Hector, well he continues to be the naughtiest dog in the universe, but with a face that this, who cares....

Is he gorgeous or what!!!

There are new things afoot here at the Fairyglade. Here is a clue.... Man person has been wearing strange clothing and asked me to buy him some marigolds!!!!!!!!!!

I will leave you with that thought for now and tell you more in my next post.

Dev x

Almost forgot, Libby sent me a lovely award and I have to tell you 7 things about moi.....all totally random so here goes..............

1. I went to Iceland for my honeymoon.

2. I began training to be a midwife and delivered 12 babies, but had to give it up. Lots of different reasons.

3. I am terrified of spiders.

4. I wish I could lose weight.

5. I hate tv adverts with a passion...oh and trainers, can't abide them. That's the footwear by the way and not people who train people to do things and stuff.

6. I would love one of those japanese crochet books I keep seeing on different blogs.

7. My favourite colour is white, mind you pink is lovely too and then there is powder blue and I look ever so good in lilac....oh dear!

So there you go, hands up who would like to be my friend!! (Form an orderly queue please)!

I need to pass this on really, so any of my readers who would like to divulge 7 of their innermost secrets and desires...please consider yourself awarded and spill the beans.

Hector

I would like to introduce you all to Hector the whippet.

He is the sweetest little things you could ever wish for...or at least he was when we brought him home all the way from Suffolk. A warm, cuddly, shy, sweet smelling pup. Now 2 weeks on he has found his feet and his teeth and my slippers, shoes, toilet rolls, cables, remote controls, teddys, knitting, door frames and anything that basically moves or looks as if it might!

Can you see the glint in his eyes, he is watching and waiting and ready to pounce. He loves the garden, and eating the flowers and the leaves and the shrubs and the bulbs, not to mention the wheelbarrow and spade, the broom, the fence posts, oh and the washing on the line!

He is the naughtiest dog in the whole wide world and we love him to bits already. He in no way replaces Hamish, how could he? Hamish was part of our family for nearly 15 years, but he does fill that huge gap that was left in our lives.

The house is a mess, the garden has had to be fenced off in parts to protect delicate new plants, we are absolutely exhausted as he thinks that 5 am is playtime and we have spent an absolute fortune in Petsmart!

Oh dear, bad puppy!!

He is just so darn cute and wiggly and cuddly and bitey and chewy and mischevious but he has enriched our lives and made us happy again.

Hamish

We finally did the right thing by our beautiful boy Hamish. He was just short of his fifteenth birthday. I could no longer bear to see him suffer. He was blind and deaf and had arthritis in his spine. He fell over things, bumped into things, was very disorientated and sad. I told myself that he was still eating his food, so he must be okay. He still wandered around the garden, so he must be alright. But, in my heart of hearts, deep down in that place where your conscience whispers softly but persistently, I knew that he was no longer enjoying his life. It had become a struggle for him, he was old and tired and had a way of looking at me when curled up on the sofa that said he was ready to go. Fifteen years is a long time to be part of someones life...our life, and his passing has had a profound affect on us all.

Oh, "it's only a dog" some might say, and too be fair, if you are not a doggy person, then maybe it is hard to understand the attachment, the hole in our lives that he used to fill with his gentleness.

I can still hear him sometimes in my head. I still look for him on the bed in the patch of sunlight that used to warm his old bones, I still get up to let him in from the garden...


Now he is at rest in a beautiful spot in the garden, beneath the daffodils and the shade of the apple tree. His favourite spot in the garden.

Easter

Here at the Fariyglade, Easter is underway despite the dire weather we have been having. Torrential rain and cold winds have been the norm for the past few days, but then what did we expect on a Bank Holiday weekend!

Today is still very cold and blustery, but there is blue sky and sunshine. We have a wonderful show of daffodillys swaying and bouncing about in the breeze. Last week, they sat there miserable, heads bowed, buds tightly closed. Today they are out in all their glory.

There has been some Easter craftiness spurred on by the Boos, a bag of polystyrene shapes and some pretty cotton fabric. The Littlest Fairy and I spent a pleasant couple of hours snippety snipping and glueing and generally making lots of mess. We watered down some pva glue and coated both the shape and the material. The glue dries clear a makes it hard and durable. what do you think?

Not only has there been Easter crafts, but doggy stuff too. Remember my trip to the charity shop and the newly washed, snuggly fleece, well it's time to meet Tilly...

Douglas is smitten by her and is resisting attempts to rehome him with the little boy he was made for.

There is another item in the making, but I am going to keep it under wraps for a little while yet. I have only just cast on a few stitches and knitted a couple of rows, but the Snowflake wool is gorgeous and soft.

I am hoping for better weather tomorrow, fingers crossed. As I type this now the rain is pouring down yet again. Where is it all coming from I wonder? In the meantime, I wish you all a lovely Easter day enjoy yourselves, relax and stuff yourself with as many easter eggs as you can!

H A P P Y E A S T E R T O Y O U A L L

Bye Dev xx

Douglas!

I wonder who that is hiding on my garden seat, snuggled up to one of my yummy, crochet, cushiony cushions? Could it be......Douglas by any chance? I think it just might be. Shall we wander over and say hello?

Hi Douglas, come on, don't be shy!

There, that's better isn't it?

Now, don't be silly, of course your bum doesn't look big on my cushion, whatever gave you that idea!

And neither does your nose..you are simply gorgeous.

He was a delight to make and all hand sewn, he is a bit wibbly wobbly in places and some of my seams aren't fantastic, but ssshhh, don't tell him will you. Look at that tail, it is soo cute and my favourite part of him. I got the pattern from the Sew Hip magazine, issue 13 if anyone was wondering.

Of course, Littlest Fairy is not too impressed that he is being given away, and to a BOY at that! Can't be happening apparently, so number two has been commissioned. A trip to the charity shop in town, a pale honey coloured fleece has been paid for, washed and is ready to be cut out.

Do you want to see my other purchase...go on, you may as well, cos I am going to show it to you anyway. How pretty is this?

I handed over £1, yay! One whole pound. Got it home, opened it up and found this cutey inside...bonus!!

Perfect condition, no scuffs or marks and I can't believe that it is mine all mine. Items like this just don't appear for me normally, so it was obviously my lucky day, yipppeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dev XX

Lifted

My spirits have lifted a bit over the past days, the warm sunshine and blue skies have certainly helped. It's amazing how a bit of sunny sun can cheer you up. It has been warm enough to sit in the garden the past few afternoons and watch the birds gathering nest materials and see the gnats dancing in patches of sunlight.

No daffodils as yet, they are sat sitting, buds tightly closed, waiting. Man person planned hundreds of new bulbs last autumn, and when they do eventually open to reveal their glorious golden goodness, such a sight it will be.

My hooky blanket is coming on a treat as you can see. Originally, I had intended to use lots of different stitches for the squares as mentioned in an earlier post. However, I was having difficulty making them all the same size. The different stitch counts became too complicated. The pattern that started me off on this project was from the Art of Crochet. I really like the design, and more so from the back view as opposed to the front. So I frogged all the others out and re-worked them all the same. By the way, why do we call it "frogging" when we unravel crochet work, I have always wondered?

Of course , I have to have more than one project on the go. With that in mind, I saw this little fellow and fell in love with him straight away. He is perfect for a little boy that I know.

I ummed and aahed over my choice of fabric because, if I am honest, I rarely have anything that isn't pink! So a trip to the local charity shops was called for. I eventually settled on a wool skirt which is very soft and the right colour. I just hope it looks like the picture when it is finished. I am sewing it by hand rather than use my machine. I just prefer it.

Another little project was inspired by this lady. I can't make sense of the headband part of it unfortunately, so have just made a long chain of trebles and used a button to close. The trebles make it easy to adjust the size to fit either a child or adult. I think the red bow is a tad too big, but that is easily altered.

These are actually prototypes, but I am thinking beads and sequins might pretty them up even more. They are so easy to make and perfect for little gifts. I wish that I had seen them when I made the party bags up for Littlest Fairy's birthday. Maybe for next year instead.

I have a question that I am hoping someone can help me with, especially my American readers perhaps. I have come across a lot of patterns that call for "worsted" weight yarn. Can you tell me what the equivalent wool in the UK is please? I take it that it is thicker than our DK...or is that what it means? Then we go up to chunky, could it be that perhaps? I am a bit lost. Can someone recommend a brand that I can look at online maybe so that I can see some?

I want to thank you all for your kind comments on my last post. It means a lot to me that you have taken the time out of your day to leave me a message. Thank you.

Dev x

Life

Things are a bit of a mess at the moment. Life can be so hard sometimes and I'm tired. So I carry on crocheting my blanket, row by row, square by square, and wait........

Dev x