Saturday 31 January 2015

Hussif or Housewife

"Hussif or Housewife"  traditionally, a folding bag or roll taken by men going to war 1914-1918.  The Hussif or Housewife is a useful way of keeping all your sewing equipment in hand.  




This pattern has been designed with lots of pockets for all those loose items like buttons, packets of needles, thread etc.

The Pdf pattern can be found in my Folksy & Etsy shops 
(see side panel)

Sunday 25 January 2015

Amaryllis - week 4 and a week in the garden........................


Just about to burst, can't wait to see the blousey blooms!  As a friend said the other day it a pity they don't have a scent as well.


The bottom of the garden last Sunday morning


By Wednesday.  We are only out there about an hour a day, it takes about an hour to fill a bag!


By Saturday morning!  We can now see the fence.


These berries were in amongst the dead twigs, think they are Honeysuckle berries.


The first place we cleared, things are growing again...............


The Bay needs pruning, must do that this year!  Growing every upwards and outwards across the garden!  One herb I never buy, I have a pick of the best leaves!


The Yucca is doing the same!  This one will have pieces sliced off at the roots.


After the rain!  Looks pretty with the raindrops sitting on the leaves


Pretty pink Japonica 


This is the sixteenth bag of Bramble etc, lots more to do!


I took is photo through the window so not to disturb the two Magpies and the Squirrel!

Monday 19 January 2015

Amaryllis - week3 - and ................


The Amaryllis has grown again but not much happening otherwise.


Just to say my friend Ginny absolutely loved her gift
(see last post)

(click on picture to read the poem)

I didn't do this post yesterday because I was somewhat busy completing this sampler.  My first commission of the year.  It was needed by a certain date and I only started it on 6th January.  I haven't done any cross-stitching for quite sometime, and quite enjoyed doing this one, but I do have to say there was a couple of occasions I did actually nearly through it across the room!  I hope the person who commissioned it likes it too!

Thursday 15 January 2015

Golden Daffodils


I'm off for coffee with my friend Ginny this morning (she doesn't use social media).  I crafted these daffodils for her birthday which is immediately after Christmas.  


Hope she like them - I'm sure she will!

Sunday 11 January 2015

Amaryllis - week 2


This is my Amaryllis on 4th January 


within one week we have................
It looks like it is going to put all it strength into the flower!  
The bud is forming very well.

Sunday 4 January 2015

Gardening!


This is my Amaryllis for this year, a gift from my really lovely best friend Jane.  I thought I would blog its progress every Sunday.  

I know it is probably the wrong time to start, but our garden is full of Bramble, although it yielded about six/seven pounds on Blackberries last year I cannot see it doing it again this year.  It was a bumper crop for everyone everywhere.  Not so much now but still have Bindweed in the garden, we tackled that a couple of years ago.  The last time we sorted the garden properly was two years ago, and we started late.  But this year we started on 29th December!  It was cold and frosty that day, but we decided to take heed from this!  

If you look at this post you can see stays holding up the fence.  We didn't put them there the next-door-neighbour did.  The wind caught their fence and they put them there to hold his fence up.  He did ask and we agreed but that was about five/six years ago...............  Then Alex went up the garden to feed the birds, and came in and said they're gone!  I had to go out and look for myself because I just didn't believe it,  they had become part of the garden I and was going to grow climbing roses up them!  Don't know when he removed them, but it does go to show back gardens are quite vulnerable.  We do get on with Kevin and Tracey, but I thought he could of knocked and come through the house even if he just threw the posts over the fence, and left through the front door.  When he put them up he climbed the fence, we helped him to wedge them against the fence.


We cleared the neglected part of the garden the bit we never get to because we are too exhausted then one year turns into another and it doesn't happen.  This is opposite the back door.  The Camellia could not be seen because of the Bindweed and Bramble.  The wall is the neighbours the otherside garage.  


There lots of buds on the Camellia.  It took us four days to clear the Brambles from here, and this is only a small patch!


I hard pruned the Bush Fuchsia. this morning.


To make room to tackle prickly corner!


There are Brambles growing behind the Yucca and they are growing inside the conservatory/lean-to/junkroom!



We'll work our way up the garden like we did last time just pruning,  it is too early to start digging, although some bulbs can be planted in February then we must tackle the Brambles at the bottom of the garden, we will regain about four foot of garden when that is cleared!

Thursday 1 January 2015

2015

............what will 2015 bring............
......what will happen in 2015............?
Don't know, we will have to wait and see!

I saw this on a blog post last year


I don't make resolutions, I don't make lists of things that need doing or want to do, because as we all know it doesn't happen!  
BUT!  I saw this motto and decided that is for ME!  

Since last year when I found this I have done what it says. and things have really got done!

So perhaps this is my New Year's resolution for now and new years to come!