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Thursday 24 November 2016

Tuesday was...

...my birthday.

A day that I share the following events with...

The death of JFK
The birth of Jamie-Lee Curtis
The death of C.S.Lewis
The resignation of Margaret Thatcher

...and I'm sure there are many more.

My staff presented me with the most wonderful present...
 ...a coffee maker and a basket of goodies to go with it. They also came up with a wonderful poem (which I will share another time). Such a wonderful gift. The only problem has been getting it home as I commute - two days later and everything is now sitting in my kitchen.
Tuesday evening I came home to find flowers and chocolates waiting for me...
 ...my arranging doesn't do them justice...
...but they are lovely and contain my 'birthday flowers' - 'mums and sea thistles.

I was also given a huge bottle of Baileys which I shall enjoy over the holiday period.

I will be meeting my friend Hilary on Friday and we will be going for lunch and a bit of retail therapy as it is "Members Weekend" at Pinnacle Crafts.

Not a bad week........................................................

Monday 21 November 2016

Getting ready...

...for Christmas.

I had a sort out at the weekend and all my Christmas china is now gathered ready for the festive season...
...the mug trees are now home to my collection of Christmas mugs...
...and my seasonal candles are all gathered together to help create that Christmassy 'feel'.

With Christmas just five weeks away, what are you up to getting ready for the holidays?......................................

Thursday 17 November 2016

Knit & Natter...

...continues to grow.

We even have some colouring going on.

Poundland had some card packs that you can colour yourself...
...this one was coloured with pencils and had some glitter glue added...
 ...we have had a few folk drop by just for a bit of 'colouring & chat'.
The knitting side is going very well...
...we have a number of completed blanket squares and quite a few 'on the go'.
Crochet has proved to be very popular and one lady has been quite productive. She has made a small cot blanket using crochet flower granny squares, a pullover for her grandson and is now onto another set of flower granny squares. Meanwhile...
 ...I'm still plodding on with my car blanket.
The knitting looms have proved to be very popular and we now have four of the group members merrily 'playing' with them...
 ...here is a completed child's set (hat & scarf) which is now for sale on our RNLI table.
Francis is probably our most proficient knitter. About 3 weeks ago she bought some lovely blue yarn...
 ...the hat is what she made with the 'leftovers' because the rest was used for this...
...a beautiful Aran-style cardigan which she has found to be lovely and cosy now the temperatures have dropped so much recently.

The group is proving to be popular and folk are most disappointed if something crops up so they can't attend. It is very informal and folk can pop in at any time during the 2hrs that we have the room booked for. I'm glad that people have found it to be something they wanted to take part in..........................................................

Monday 14 November 2016

We are just about...

...half-way through November.

Just in case you missed it, Kerryanne English over at the Shabby Art Boutique launched her 7th "Simply Christmas"...
Simply Christmas banner 600x400
...do pop over there to see all the lovely things she has to share.

For those of you who like lists and planners, she has a beautiful set of FREE downloads for you to create a super planner to keep you on-track and organised during this hectic season.

Do pay her a visit, I'm sure you will find lots of inspiration....................................................

Friday 11 November 2016

"And in the morning...

...we will remember them".
We should never forget those who gave their lives so that we can live ours......................................

Tuesday 8 November 2016

I thought I'd...

...have a play.

I've seen lots of lovely knitted & crochet poppies this year so I thought I'd have a go.

The large poppy was my attempt...
...no pattern, just adding rows 'by eye' and the little ones were made by Kristian at our last "Knit & Natter".
The red yarn has a sparkle to it but it doesn't really show well in the photos...
 ...the large poppy has been attached to a pin fastener so that it can be worn.
Kristian's cute little poppies will be stitched to a hair-slide...
...so that they too can be worn.

It was fun having a play to see what we could come up with. Not surprisingly, after this I found some free knitting & crochet patterns on 'the web' so I might give some of those a go.

There are so many little things that can be made using very little yarn and they make up really quickly. So if you don't have the time to knit or crochet large garments or the like, why not have a play at making some little bits & pieces................................................................

Monday 7 November 2016

The local schools and W.I. ....

...have been working hard again.

Last year St Margaret's at the end of my road had a wonderful poppy display and they have another fabulous "Poppy Cascade" this year...
 ...poppies of all sizes...
 ...cascading down the walls of the church...
...creating a beautiful splash of red.

In addition to the 'cascade' there are crochet poppies surrounding each of the hanging basket posts throughout the town centre.

I look forward to seeing the completed display on Friday..............................................

Thursday 3 November 2016

Has anyone seen these...

...in Starbucks?


There seems to have been a lot of chat about them in the 'web' but I haven't seen any.

The Christmas flavours have arrived at Starbucks but I was making the most of my Pumpkin Spiced Lattes before switching to the Gingerbread ones...mmmmmmmmmmm

A lot of coffee drinkers don't start thinking of Christmas until the 'red' cups arrive LOL but it will be interesting to see this year's design after the moans about last year's solid red.

Launch date appears to be 10 November. So something to look out for.

In the mean time, I'm heading off for my first gingerbread latte..................................................

Wednesday 2 November 2016

This time last week...

...I was on my way to Excel by the Thames.

No, I wasn't lucky enough to be heading off to some craft show or a concert - I was heading to a management conference for work. It wasn't even in the Excel Centre. It was tucked round the back by the Royal Victoria Docks at a placed called "Centered at Excel".

The day started very foggy and even by the time I was walking to the venue, London was just a hazy vision in the distance...
 ...and things looked just as dull & gloomy...
 ...looking out into the old dock area...
...the Spiller's building is currently being gutted to remove asbestos but the shell is listed and has a protection order on it. Planning permission has been granted to create a business enterprise site...
 ...it is hoped that re-development of the area will breath new life into it...
...there are certainly some strange buildings dotted around.

Later in the day, the sun did break through and there seemed to be a bit more life on the water...


 ...and the skyline was a bit clearer...
 ...but although there were small boats to be seen...
...the busiest thing in the area is the London City Airport - we were right under the flightpath and boy was it noisy. Lots of building work going on...
 ...and as I said earlier - some strange shaped buildings...
...a very different sight to that which my maternal grandfather would have been used to. His father worked in the London dock area and my grandfather would often play at the waters edge or even go swimming with his friends in the warm water from the outflows of the factories in the area (it is anyone's guess what was in that water as there were no H&S regulations back then).

The day never fully brightened up and the area is very run down compared to Canary Wharf where I visited earlier in the year but it was interesting seeing a different part of London as it is being re-developed..........................................................

Tuesday 1 November 2016

Things that...

...glow in the dark.

Folk that visit here from time to time will have gathered that I rather like candles and having a lovely shop close by helps to keep my supply topped up.

Ian at "Naked Flame" has had a sale recently to clear some stock ready for some new ranges and it has been the perfect opportunity to buy some bits & bobs for Christmas presents.

This looks lovely glowing in the dark...
 ...but as usual, my photo doesn't do very much to show what it is - so here is another photo...
 ...the flash is a bit harsh but at least you can see the pretty decoration on the tea-light goblet.
The pumpkin LEDs cast a spooky shadow on the wall last night...
...my only bit of "Halloween" décor at home...
 ...not great photos but they did create a little bit of atmosphere for the occasion...
...and here is a photo with the flash.

There was no sign of any 'trick or treat' activity last night but there were certainly a lot of fireworks going off - not the pretty sparkly lights, just bangs and crashes.

The desk at work is a little bare now that I've put the Halloween decorations away.

Next on the calendar is the 'Chrimbo decs' but I think it's a bit early for those yet LOL........................