WOYWW 217

 IF WE TOOK A HOLIDAY,
TOOK SOME TIME TO CELEBRATE.
JUST ONE DAY OUT OF LIFE,
IT WOULD BE, IT WOULD BE SO NICE!
(Madonna)
Actually, we took seven....and it was fantastic! 
This was my workdesk last week! It's taken on the patio of the cottage we stayed at, right by the side of Offa's Dyke. For the non-UK readers, that was an earthwork built by King Offa in the 8th century and runs between England and Wales. It runs along the side of the garden and up the other side of the valley - as delineated by that diagonal tree line. Good, huh?

The cottage was on a National Trust estate, Chirk Castle to be exact...
An early 14th century castle which was converted into a house from the 17th C onwards. This was about 100 metres from our cottage and after all the tourists had gone home, we could wander around freely, pretending it was ours!! Fab :-)  

The only thing is, as a true Welshwoman, I'd have been on the attacking side in times gone by......*grin*

While we were there, I met up with Rachel (Mike's Gal) a lovely WOYWWer. Rachel is running a craft stall in aid of the RNLI on the 10th August and I had made some things for her to sell. So, it was an ideal opportunity to meet up and have a chat - we got on like a house on fire! In fact, the girl in the Tearooms came over to have a nose at what I'd made and bought a pair of earrings!! So, that was the first sale for the great cause that the RNLI is!
Rachel, naughty girl, bought me these as a thank you:



I was really touched...as you know, I adore hares, so this was a really thoughtful gift, Rachel....I love it :-)
On arriving back at LLJ Towers, there was a parcel waiting for me with an Alaskan postmark....oooh, I love surprises.....
Inside were these funky fabrics featuring Alaskan dog teams! Sara (Jansen) had been sorting out her stash and thought of me when she came across these! I must be the only person in Wiltshire, possibly the UK, to have this fabric...yay, thanks Sara!! I knew immediately what I shall do with it - make the usual pegbags, carrier bag tubes etc etc and send them to Karen, who raises funds for animal shelters. That pleases me!
As did this........


You might have to click on this to read it, but it's a thank you for the money raised at the crop together with other items that were sent to the Salisbury Womens Refuge....I can only reiterate the thanks from Julia and I to those who supported us. We made a difference through crafting.



And finally, when we were in Ludlow church on our holidays, we spotted these fine carved misericords under the choir seats...and I found my doppelganger!!
Just what I look like if I don't get my beauty sleep!! Though the guy on the left looks a bit legless to me...must have been one heck of a party!!

See y'all next week xxxxx

WOYWW 215

IT WAS A HOT AFTERNOON, LAST DAY OF JUNE,
AND THE SUN WAS A DEMON.
THE CLOUDS WERE AFRAID, ONE-TEN IN THE SHADE, 
AND THE PAVEMENT WAS STEAMING....
(Summer, the First Time...Bobby Goldsboro)

Wow, Scorchio! It's been way too hot to spend much time in my craftroom this week, but I have done some makes as I will be meeting up with Rachel (Mike's Gal) whilst on holiday...and I DID promise to make a few items for her RNLI fund raising stall. I'm looking forward to that coffee, Rachel!!




Setting out the pattern of bunts for two lengths of bunting...these are leftover flags from my mate Sue's wedding last autumn. That white circle is a reel of 25 metres of white bias binding.. I get through quite a lot...3m per length of bunting... so it's easier to buy in bulk. Fabricland are great for that.

You may (or may not!) remember a while back when I showed you two massive reels of thread...well, I've just got to the end of the first kilometre. It took longer than I thought but then again, I haven't done as much sewing as I normally do in the past couple of months.... But never mind, onto the next 1,000 metres!!



I've also been making handbag charms -  outside, where it was cooler! These are for fundraising too. I like the Juicy Fruit colours :-)
And I KNOW I said that my granny squares were going to be linked by turquoise....but I changed my mind! I found this lovely soft cashmerino wool in an Ivory colour and it's so much better...fresher somehow. So, this basket will be coming away with me on my jollies next week and hopefully, I'll get a few more squares finished!

Yep, you can all breathe a sigh of relief....you get a respite from the weird and wacky stuff that I post up every week (sorry, Julia.....grin...)

Now, where's my bucket and spade.....?

WOYWW 214

THOUGH THE DAYS COME AND GO,
THERE IS ONE THING I KNOW,
I'VE STILL GOT THE BLUES FOR YOU.....
(Gary Moore, gone but not forgotten....)

These are why those particular lyrics came to mind...
Ok, so it's not just blues but greens, yellows and lilacs as well! They are the basis for a new crochet blanket that's going to be for a baby boy. Each granny square will be bordered by a linking colour, which I have yet to choose. My favourite is the bright turquoise...yum!
The upstairs desk (as opposed to ping pong table!) looks like this:


Tote bag pieces to be sewn together for Rachel's RNLI fund raising stall, the very scraggy bottom leg bits that were cut off from G3's jeans, so he could have a pair of cut offs, a bag full of colourful cottons to make another quilt...but what's missing? Ah yes, the time to actually do any of this crafting - I have been very remiss this week and done b***er all! I'm hoping to catch up slightly in the summer holidays.





I've had some fab things sent again this week.....


Bottom left is a hare tag from a Wiltshire friend, bottom right is the lovely flower card I won in Annie from France's competition (I'd forgotten how much I love dried flowers..you don't see them much these days!) and all the rest are a wonderful stash of ATCs, cards, envelopes and a fab Kookaburra tag from the lovely Ros C in Australia..Thank You so much, I love them all!

And finally, at Morti's recent wedding, Mr LLJ used me for some exposure test shots before he took the final pics of the happy couple. They were taken outside about 11pm when the supermoon was in the sky. I was a bit grumpy at first...but look....





Great pic, huh? I really like it....no Photoshop jiggery pokery, just careful light exposure and an incredibly talented husband. I think this photo captures what I am all about....thanks, Gordon....I love it...and YOU!

Awwwwwwwwwww.............................. :-)

WOYWW 213

DALE A TU CUERPO ALEGRIA MACARENA,
QUE TU CUERPO ES PA' DARLE ALEGRIA Y COSAS BUENAS,
DALE A TU CUERPO ALEGRIA MACARENA,
EEEEH....MACARENA...AAYYYY!
(Artist: Los del Rio)

Short and sweet...reet petite...this week!
I was going to give my first ever crochet blanket away...but I can't! I just love the colours so much - it's perfect for a snuggle-under. I didn't mind the sewing together too much and I enjoyed doing this edging too....


Isn't it cute? I followed a free tutorial over at Attic 24. What an inspiring blog this is, full of colour and fab tutorials for crochet. I've started some mini blocks with the left over yarns and am definitely going to give the next one away....Promise!




What else? I was a very lucky gal again this week with lots of lovely things arriving...






Julia gave me a metal sewing machine for hanging keys on (or something crafty!), an ATC arrived from the fantabulous Sandy Leigh Johnson and a gorgeous tag from Kim Young...thank you so much, Ladies, they are much appreciated :-)

And some hand-me-down jewellery from a friend who had a sort-out!  My absolute favourite colours of all time.....



And last but not least, a photo of Mr and Mrs LLJ and G3 at Morti and Mr B's wonderful wedding!
We had such a ball. Where else could you have seen Medieval archers, Supergirl, Steampunk characters and Batman doing the Macarena?? Lol.  Thanks Julia, for taking this fab family shot for us (well actually, she took about 30...talk about being snap happy....Mario Testino, watch out!!)

See you next week!

WOYWW 769

 WE'LL MEET AGAIN.... I'm going to take a break from blogging for a while - please don't worry, all is ok! - think I just need a...