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

Watch the Birdy!

I have always loved doves and it was only when we moved to the Fairyglade that we had the space to put in a dovecote. We started off with a single pair, though at the time we didn't know if they were an actual pair. It really only becomes apparent as they get older and take on certain characteristics. This mainly involves the females sitting coquettishly on the roof of the cote and the males running round and round in circles with their tail feathers brushing along the ground making as much noise as possible and chests puffed out with importance..mmmm, does that sound familiar?

A coquettish female, sitting pretty.

Over the years they have steadily increased and we now have a flock of around 24 or so. It fluctuates up and down as some fall victim to the local sparrow hawk and neighbours cats. They have also stayed predominately white, though one or two have bred with strays that have flown in for some supper and have never left when they realise that the pickings are so frequent and plentiful. This is one such pair. The browny female is an interloper who caught the eye of one of our lads and that was that.

She chose this rather fetching abode when man person was doing some building work in the garden a couple of years back now. The dovecote only houses 6 dominant pairs and they hang onto their boxes with a vengeance. There is stiff competition to retain or steal such a lucrative dwelling. Unfortunately, some get desperate and find alternative places to build a nest and go onto breed.

This sweet little female chose a seed tray in the bottom shed and went on to raise several babies over the year.

Last year we had to make a concious effort to try and stabilise the population because they were eating us out of house and cote. This meant having to remove the eggs every couple of days. At one point we had as many as 40 doves. Too many for us to cope with and frustrating for them because of the lack of suitable nesting. It is sad, and I can hear you all saying what a wicked lot we are, but occassionally one is overlooked and this is the result.......

How adorable is that, only a few minutes old. But they grow fast and that has now grown into this............. so there are some happy endings!

They are canny cats when it comes to food and are not above stealing it wherever they can.........poor Hamish, he doesn't stand a chance bless him! But, see how gentle he is, those two are actually feeding from his bowl.

Now, don't start panicking, he is a whippet and has always been thin. He is not actually dying from starvation despite all the ribs on view.

So basically, they live the life of riley here at the Fairyglade, bathing in warm puddles..................

Gossiping in the early morning sunshine...............

Sitting coquettishly eyeing up the talent but appearing to have no interest what so ever, as you do.............

Eyeing up coquettish females who have no apparent interest in such a fine creature as himself.....................

Yes, all in all, life is pretty good here for our winged friends. They are a joy to watch and their gentle cooing is balm for the soul.

Dev x