Monday 26 September 2016

My first wallhanging!

I have been playing with my peg-loom again, this time having a go at making a wallhanging.  I thought it would be a good item to make as I could try out some different yarns, etc, and still end up with something half-decent!


I wanted tassels again but this time I made them, then threaded them down the warp threads before going any further.  It was much easier doing it this way than when I made my first practice piece!


I used the tassel yarn to make a woven section, just going up the height of the pegs, then pushed it down the warps to the meet up with the tassels.


Needless to say, making separate sections just to the height of the pegs is very much simpler than trying to keep the tension right with a longer section!


The next section was using two strands of double knit yarn along with one strand of a bobble yarn (I think it's called pompom yarn).  It made a lovely snuggly, soft section.  Perhaps I should try crocheting a scarf using the two yarns together.....


I made this section larger than the first, and pulled the warps through it.


I added another section of thick yarn, then wondered what ribbon would be like instead of yarn.  Hmmmm, the jury is still out ~ I'm not sure if I like it or not to be honest.

What I really did like, though, was using fleece roving.  I bought three lots of roving whilst we were on holiday in Orkney earlier in the year ~ this is the result of one of those hanks.  I think it looks lovely, and would make a fantastic rug :-)


Another chunky yarn from my stash, although it isn't as thick as the variegated blue yarn.  That's the beauty of wallhangings, though, the textures and thickness of the materials used can be so different.


I finished off with another section of the very chunky yarn and wondered what to do with my masterpiece LOL


I finished it off by attaching it to a twig from my butterfly bush prunings, added some wooden buttons and unwound the tassels.


I'm really rather pleased with my first wallhanging and have plans to make more.  At the moment, though, I have started a rug so watch this space for updates!

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Sunday 25 September 2016

A beautiful autumn poem

This beautiful poem was shared by The Woodland Trust on their Facebook page and I wanted to share it with you :)
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When the Trees Grow Bare on the High Hills 

When the trees grow bare on the high hills, 
And through still glistening days 
The wrinkled sun-memoried leaves fall down 
From black tall branches 
Through the gleaming air, 
And wonder is lost, 
Dissolving in space, 
My heart grows light like the bare branches, 
And thoughts which through long months 
Have lain like lead upon my breast, 
Heavy, slow-ripening thoughts, 
Grow light and sere, 
And fall at last, so empty and so beautiful.


And I become 
Mere memory, mere fume 
Of my own strife, my loud wave-crested clamour, 
An echo caught 
From the mid-sea 
On a still mountain-side. 
The leaves fall faster, 
Like a slow unreturning fountain of red gold. 
The billow of summer breaks at last 
In far-heard whispering. 
And in mere memory, mere dream, 
Attainment breathes itself out, 
Perfect and cold.

Edwin Muir
(15th May 1887 - 3rd January 1959)




Peace...



www.allposters.co.uk

Father, Mother, God,

Thank you for your presence during the hard and mean days.
For then we have you to lean upon.

Thank you for your presence during the bright and sunny days.
For then we can share that which we have with those who have less.

And thank you for your presence during the Holy Days.
For then we are able to celebrate you and our families and our friends

For those who have no voice, we ask you to speak.

For those who feel unworthy, we ask you to pour your love out in waterfalls of tenderness.

For those who live in pain, we ask you to bathe them in the river of your healing.

For those who are lonely, we ask you to keep them company.

For those who are depressed, we ask you to shower upon them the light of hope.

Dear Creator, You, the borderless sea of substance, we ask you to give to all the world that which we need most.....PEACE.

Maya Angelou
(4th April 1928 - 28th May 2014)

Sunday 18 September 2016

Peace...



www.allposters.co.uk

Father, Mother, God,

Thank you for your presence during the hard and mean days.
For then we have you to lean upon.

Thank you for your presence during the bright and sunny days.
For then we can share that which we have with those who have less.

And thank you for your presence during the Holy Days.
For then we are able to celebrate you and our families and our friends

For those who have no voice, we ask you to speak.

For those who feel unworthy, we ask you to pour your love out in waterfalls of tenderness.

For those who live in pain, we ask you to bathe them in the river of your healing.

For those who are lonely, we ask you to keep them company.

For those who are depressed, we ask you to shower upon them the light of hope.

Dear Creator, You, the borderless sea of substance, we ask you to give to all the world that which we need most.....PEACE.

Maya Angelou
(4th April 1928 - 28th May 2014)

Tuesday 13 September 2016

A whole lot of thinking going on.....

Pierre Auguste Renoir Portrait of a Girl in Thoughts

....here in my little world recently.  Thoughts about eating, the life I am currently living, the life hubby and I could be living in another 18 months or so, the state of our home, all the craft ideas swirling about in my head ~ the list goes on and on.  No wonder I have trouble getting to sleep at night!  Sometimes I think about stuff so much that no actual "doing" gets done!  I can't be the only one who does that, surely?  I almost paralyse myself with indecision and the thought of stepping outside my comfort zone can be rather scary, to be honest.  Still needs must, as the saying goes, so I shall be pushing myself to get a move on ~ otherwise I'll still be talking about making changes this time next year.....and all the years following ad infinitum!

What's on my agenda then?  Well, for starters I am finally going to get myself organised with menu planning.  Whilst it might be a bit of a drag to start with, I really do think that planning all my meals (not just the evening, family, dinner) is the way to go.  I tend to have pretty much the same things for breakfast and lunch every day ~ mostly bread either in the form of toast and marmalade for breakfast, and a sandwich of some kind for lunch.  It's been so many years since I've really cooked properly and yet, I used to enjoy it.  Perhaps I've just lost confidence in my culinary abilities?  I think there is also an element of not bothering to make anything "special" just for me.  It's just habit and a large dollop of laziness, really.  Time to create some new habits, methinks!

Adrian has finally decided when he is going to retire: early March 2018.  It seems as if it's a long way off yet but in reality it's only 18 months!  We both really struggled when we came back after our annual holiday in Orkney earlier this year, much more so than we had ever done in previous years.  We have known that we want to move up there when Adrian retires for quite some time now.  It is feeling more and more like "home" each time we visit, which is good on the one hand, but does make life difficult on the other.  Still, those 18 months really will go by quickly, judging by how fast previous years seem to have disappeared!

There is a lot to be done between now and that magic date in March 2018, mostly concerning the house and all the stuff I have managed to cram into it over the years.  I have been decluttering this year, sometimes enthusiastically, sometimes only half-heartedly, but at least I have made a start I suppose.  The trouble is that I have been putting off making some big decisions about all the bits and pieces that I have accumulated ~ all the collections of this, that and the other that I have started on the spur-of-the-moment without really thinking about what I'm doing.  I have decided, though, that our next home will be filled with only things that we really do love, not just any old junk.  Now, I'm not saying that I will be turning into a minimalist ~ far from it! ~ but there isn't any point in just cramming one's home full of things that aren't truly loved and appreciated.  So, plenty more decluttering yet to be done.

Towards the end of next year, we will be getting in an estate agent to tell us whether it would be worth decorating the house before putting it on the market.  In the meantime, I need to give the place a good clean and then get myself back into a proper housework routine to keep it that way.  There is an awful lot to be done over the next 18 months or so, and I confess that at times I feel somewhat overwhelmed by the thought of it all.  But the longer I keep putting it off, the shorter amount of time I will have to actually get the house sorted out.  I guess I need to keep reminding myself of the answer to that question: "how do you eat an elephant?" ~ "one bite at a time" ;-)     

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Sunday 11 September 2016

Peace...



www.allposters.co.uk

Father, Mother, God,

Thank you for your presence during the hard and mean days.
For then we have you to lean upon.

Thank you for your presence during the bright and sunny days.
For then we can share that which we have with those who have less.

And thank you for your presence during the Holy Days.
For then we are able to celebrate you and our families and our friends

For those who have no voice, we ask you to speak.

For those who feel unworthy, we ask you to pour your love out in waterfalls of tenderness.

For those who live in pain, we ask you to bathe them in the river of your healing.

For those who are lonely, we ask you to keep them company.

For those who are depressed, we ask you to shower upon them the light of hope.

Dear Creator, You, the borderless sea of substance, we ask you to give to all the world that which we need most.....PEACE.

Maya Angelou
(4th April 1928 - 28th May 2014)

Sunday 4 September 2016

Peace...



www.allposters.co.uk

Father, Mother, God,

Thank you for your presence during the hard and mean days.
For then we have you to lean upon.

Thank you for your presence during the bright and sunny days.
For then we can share that which we have with those who have less.

And thank you for your presence during the Holy Days.
For then we are able to celebrate you and our families and our friends

For those who have no voice, we ask you to speak.

For those who feel unworthy, we ask you to pour your love out in waterfalls of tenderness.

For those who live in pain, we ask you to bathe them in the river of your healing.

For those who are lonely, we ask you to keep them company.

For those who are depressed, we ask you to shower upon them the light of hope.

Dear Creator, You, the borderless sea of substance, we ask you to give to all the world that which we need most.....PEACE.

Maya Angelou
(4th April 1928 - 28th May 2014)