Five on Friday - Gratitude (13 December 2019)

Once again it was good to dwell on the last week and realise how much gratitude I have had.

No 1
I've been quilting since the mid 1990s and, lo and behold, I have a fabric stash!!  Not sure how that happened but I've been so grateful that the lady who introduced me to quilting is now raiding my stash.

There is more fabric in drawers and boxes elsewhere....

It is great to see her quilts and recognise my fabrics, 

as they are old friends and it is good to see them again.

No 2

I've finished my new stick!  Beloved came home the other week with a beautiful stick; it was so much bigger than my previous one and took a long longer to yarn bomb.  Whilst I was doing this over a 7 day period, I developed a stiff neck, which slowed me down.  Just as I finished covering it all in yarn it dawned on me that holding my head in the same position had given me a stiff neck!  Phew, so grateful that it is not something I need to see the Doctor about!

Hard to see all the branches are covered  in different shades of green!

I even found the lights I bought for it over a year  ago...

No 3
Living next to adjacent countryside means we get lots of wildlife in the garden which is wonderful.  So pleased to see the pheasants are now returning.  We are grateful to see any wildlife (except for lambs!) in our garden.

There are 8 females and 2 males that day.   They come and go throughout the day and

the numbers vary all the time.  As soon as we are spotted in the kitchen they

run towards the patio doors. I bet they are grateful to have succeeded in 

training us so well!

No 4

My friend is very ill and unable to drive herself anywhere. She has helped me over the years with all sorts of stuff and I'm grateful that I can 'repay' her by taking her out, be it to a doctor's appointment or yesterday to Skipton. Better still the rain stayed away until it was time to come home.

No 5

I like to create things; there comes a point when  I can't go on making stuff but....  As you can see from No 1 above, I have a lot of quilting fabrics...    So I've started to make quilts for Project Linus.  Now I can try new patterns but on a smaller scale.  This week I took 9 quilts and 2 crochet throws to a shop in Longridge from where a Project Linus lady will collect them. Yipee, I can now make more; so grateful I can continue to be creative and some child somewhere will benefit.   Silly me!  I just found a quilt I'd forgotten to take over to Longridge so I can be put aside for my next visit.  Here's a few photos!

Thanks Hawthorn for reminding me what a good life I do have, even if it rains a lot here!

Five on Friday - Gratitude (6 December 2020)

Once again Hawthorn  has asked us to join in.  This week I've been more thoughtful of things to be grateful for.  It is good to be reminded about the good things in life!

No 1
I was making a parsley sauce to go with some fish and pulled out a tub of chopped parsley. Luckily I looked at the contents before I added them to the sauce; it was a tub of chopped green chillies......  grateful I spotted this!

No 2
Earlier this week it was so cold that I had to put my thermals on.....  thank goodness photos were not required!

No 3
Walking into our nearest town (trying to be fit!) the other day I did not take my camera with me. Typically I needed it.  So you will have to believe me when I say we saw 2 herons, close by too!   Grrr but they are in my mind so I'm grateful for that.   I would have had some good photos....

No 4
Driving out the other day, a local bus was approaching a mini roundabout and Santa was driving it!  We exchanged waves and went on our separate ways.  Grateful that I'm easily pleased by small things!

No 5
Last one but the best one for me!

So grateful when my Beloved came home on Wednesday with

this 'stick'!  I'll try to keep the story behind it short!

We don't celebarte Christmas.  I do like a Christmas tree but  ...

Here is the one I made 3 years ago; a piece of ash, yarn bombed!

At Christmas I hang my Christmas ornaments (including

chocolate things which I've yet to buy).  After Christmas

I take them down and replace them by non-Christmas

dangly things.

I have red lights which are on from

October to March, when it is dark.

I wanted a new stick and had already ruined 2 others 

as the stick needs to go in a corner and I'd cut off the wrong branches.

So imagine my delight when Beloved turns up with a most

beautiful stick on Wednesday.  I can't think of a 

better 'present' from him.   I will keep the

above stick here and have the new one elsewhere

as my collection of dangly things is 

growing, thanks to gifts from friends

or what I've made.

The new stick will go here.  I even think

I've some lights for it, bought last

year when I planned to make another one

but I broke my right wrist instead

so no new stick then!

Thanks once more to Hawthorn for suggesting this link up.  Click here to return to her blog and see who else has joined in.

See you next Friday.

November 2019 Photo Hunt

Time this month has raced by and for once I don't mind.  November was dull, wet, dull, wet etc etc.  On a positive note we are nearly at the winter solstice so spring will soon be on its way!

Once more thanks to Hawthorn for another challenge.  Can't wait to see what everyone else has done but here's my efforts!

1   Seasonal View

I'd rather it was spring/summer all year round but there are benefits with the changing seasons.  I am so pleased at my seasonal view that I just had to include 4 photos!

A fieldfare, a seasonal visitor to the UK and I am viewing them from my window!

Yes, I am proud to have fieldfare visitors in my garden.  For years I've glimpsed

them in fields, too far to take a photo but this year I've been vigilant

so much so that I've been stalking them from various windows in our house.

They fly off at a moment's notice.

Eating hawthorn berries so once the berries are gone, they will be off.

I've had more than one visitor.  One day I had a flock of them.  So thrilled to see them

that I might even look forward to next year's November month.

2   Oops

A screw in Beloved's tyre....  picked it up when we were over at Keighley doing more clearing;

he had to get a new tyre.

3  Seashore

My sister lives in Port Carlisle; this is the view after about 3 minutes' walk from her house.

Scotland is on the horizon.

4   Card

Made by Jackie CARDy.   It is a broach bought for me by a dear friend years ago.

I do wear it now and then but have no wish to wear it out!

If you are on Facebook you can find her here.

Or visit her website here.

5  Stripe/d

A simple striped quilt I made for Project Linus.

Sadly the jelly roll was not cut accurately to 2½" wide and I only noticed

this when making this quilt as some of the horizontal lines do

not line up....  grrrr.

6   Own Choice

Finally I finished my Seaside Stash Busting Blanket CAL!  I even tried a fancy, wavy border.

Really pleased with it.  I used the pattern from the Coastal Crochet blog.

Click here to see the instructions (spread over 36 weeks)

under the heading Seaside Stash Busting Blanket CAL.

Well it looks like we'll be re-convening in January 2020.  Thanks to Hawthorn for organising this photo hunt.  I love to see how you all interpreted her words.  Click here to see her  pictures.

Enjoy your Christmas holidays.