Christmas Gift Swap and More

Hello, hello, are you still there for me my friends? I have been absent without leave for a wee while - been a bit unsettled and out of balance so haven't posted, and only in the past couple of days have I left a few short messages here and there on your lovely blogs. Now that I seem to be getting myself back into synch I'm hoping to gradually catch up with all of you for I've really been missing you and your news and makings!

First of all I really want you to see the lovely gifts I received recently from Leeanne, all the way from South Africa! Leeanne and I were paired up in the Christmas swap so kindly organised by the sweet and lovely Marianne - thank you so much Marianne - and do pop over and have a look at Ladybird Diaries if you are not already familiar with Marianne and her beautiful work and blog!

I would also encourage you to visit Leeanne at her little spot for she crafts lovely little makes, and I admire her even more now that I have her lovely decorations in my possession - and to think that this lovely girl made all of these whilst in the midst of packing up and moving house - I am really thankful  for this huge endeavour with such wonderful results, Leeanne! Thank you m'dear!

Now can you see all the wonderful effort that went into this parcel - even some music to cheer the postie on his/her way. Then the inner parcel containing the lovely card and bow which, coincidentally, is formed from an old map which names places that mean a lot to Hubby and I - stirring up the memories of old haunts - and look at those sweet little stars and pearl buttons which are now strung up in our lounge window. That beautiful origami star in the middle pic is so intricately put together then decorated with gorgeous shiny hearts and the very clever pompoms have lovely blue edging covered with sparkles - adorable! Well done Leeanne, and we will enjoy  these beautiful treasures for years to come!

On my previous post I spoke of how the lovely Meredith inspired me to try my hand at mug cosies and since then I've branched out a bit and experimented with various looks, ideas, and yarns, and have generally been busy making them for gifts, filling orders, and selling, so that has been quite wonderful! Thank you again Meredith - I love you and your blog! 

Do have a little look!

I also have crocheted a few little stars and the like over a period of time and finally put them together; these have been so enjoyable to do and I especially love the first banner with a little variety. What do you think?

One lazy afternoon I came across this little Piggy in a Simply Crochet magazine and couldn't turn the page without first bringing him/her to life  . . . . . I suppose being pink it should be a 'she' . . . .

Just a quick pic of a couple of yachts that were part of the Round the World Race which pulled into Albany (Western Australia) a couple of weeks or so ago before continuing on their journey out into the Southern Ocean - next stop South America. My lovely Hubby took these pics and would have been happy to snap a few more but couldn't get near enough to them. Beautiful beasts aren't they!

I must show you my blushing rose once more - please be patient with me for I am so enamoured with this beauty I can hardly take my eyes off her - just a little bit of cheer if you are suffering nasty cold frosty/snowy weather where you are in our lovely world!

And speaking of our World/Earth: this is where every day we get a fresh start, every baby step makes it easier, and every smile makes you, and those around you, happier!

Keep smiling - be happy - and keep well!

Thank you so much for being here, you're always welcome at my place, and just in case I don't manage to do another post before Christmas - I wish you and your loved ones the most wonderful Festive Season, filled with magic, happy family times, and love, above all else!

Warm hugs and much love,

❤Joy xoxo

A Little Relaxation

A bright and breezy hello to all of you, and special welcome to my new followers! I have managed to get here a couple of days earlier this week which surprises me no end for overall I have been busy but, a little relaxation did come into play just yesterday - see what I mean . . . .

A little cheese and wine (Moombaki of course) for those who can tolerate such things, and because the sun decided to shine again we then took ourselves outside into the garden for a little wander . . . 

This is our Blushing Knockout Rose now ...

And below is how it was just a few weeks ago - you may remember me posting about it! It looks like she will need to be planted out in the garden, rather than being left in a pot! She's done well hasn't she!

 

We also checked out our Ginkgo Biloba tree - a lovely deciduous that is quite slow growing and looking at her best right now . . . . 

Apart from little garden glimpses, here is what I've been busy with this week and it's all crochet this time - you know by now that I like to 'ring the changes'!

First off I made three face washers/flannels - whatever you call them in your part of the world - a beige with navy trim to suit a man, simple enough using just trebles and double crochet (English terms), and a pink with  mauve edge and a blue grey with aqua edge for ladies - the pattern for these two originally came from the book Granny Square Crochet by Catherine Hirst, but, because my cotton yarn was finer than that used by the author I continued on with a few extra rounds and also added an extra chain on the corners from about halfway through, otherwise it would have curled up a bit I think.

I also felt inspired by lovely friend meredith to crochet a few mug cosies - do take a look at Meredith's blog if you don't already know her, she's such a lovely sweet person and her 'makes' are always gorgeous. Her mug cosies are delightful and I took her idea for the button and chain fasteners for three of mine but my shapes are a bit different and I'm afraid my edgings are not as neat as I would have liked either!  Anyway, first pic below on the left,  the mug with the orange button is a pattern from Simply Crochet Issue 2, and the green buttoned one top right is from the Granny Square Crochet book again, but my mug was deeper than the pattern allowed for so I worked an extra round as a border.

I may as well give you a few views while I'm at it eh!

Can you believe that I forgot, previous post, to show you the little Sister and Mum I crocheted for little Hetty Hedgehog …. I think my brain wasn't working too well last week but let's blame it on the migraine and take that subject no further!!!

Here's the three of them together - no, there's no Dad yet - these little spines take a lot of working so I'll think about him for a while longer for he needs to be bigger yet - well, you know, being Dad and all, he has to be bigger doesn't he!

I'm going to finish off now with some quick snaps of my zucchini flowers because they are so bright and cheerful . . . . 

I don't know how clearly that first pic on the left is showing on your screen but the plants had just been watered and that leaf seems to be showing a reflection - I can't quite fathom it out but I thought it interesting anyway - what do you think?

Wishing you all happy times whatever you are doing and once again I take this opportunity to say a very big thank you to each and every one of you for your sweet and kind comments and wonderful interactions that take place among us in blogland - I value your friendship very highly and am so happy that I took the plunge into blogging and was gifted with your lovely fellowship!

Special thoughts and love to those of you who are having difficulties of any kind!

❤Joy xo

A Mixed Bag

Hello my friends - thank you for being here and for your lovely messages which are always such a pleasure to receive and so encouraging for me! It's been so nice catching up with all your posts too, and enjoying your creativity, although I have been a bit late now and then!

Everytime I get around to posting I think there isn't much to show you but then am usually surprised once the pics start to upload (or is it download, I always wonder about that) from my camera; this time is no different so lets make a start and see what we come up with!

First off the crocheted flowers that you would have seen on my previous post have now found a nice little spot to rest, and I think they look quite happy - what do you think?

I almost forgot to mention that I saw these flowers hooped up in Issue 9 of Simply Crochet!

After settling these little blooms in I hooped up some little fun pictures which would be suitable for a child's room, I think! This fabric was another craft square - 'Forest Christmas All Over' it's called - that I cut into and backed with the cotton wadding, same as for my other hoops. After completing these I then had afterthoughts about them - perhaps I could have stitched into them to outline the main character in each one, but I haven't really felt like taking them apart and starting again - yet! It is a thought for next time though!

And here are close-ups of the main little characters - the pics are not as clearly defined as I would have liked but they are cute little fellas aren't they!

A few days ago my very kind neighbour left me a big jug of sweet peas at the front door - what a lovely surprise! I do love these 'sweet' little flowers but don't really have space to put a frame up and grow my own, so I have been thoroughly enjoying my lovely gift! You can tell that my neighbour likes the same colours that I like!

Aren't they just gorgeous! And aren't I blessed!

I've been having difficulty with my teas lately: real tea is too acid for me so I either go for herbal types or else its hot water with lemon juice, but the enjoyment of my 'tea' supplies had totally left me and I'd even resorted to the odd cup of coffee, knowing that it didn't agree with me but hoping I'd got over that problem, which I haven't!!! Anyway, I have really enjoyed rose tea in the past so popped into our local shop to see if they had any - which they didn't, although they do have a great range - but, they had one I'd never come across before that looked like it might be worth a try . . . . . . . 

. . . . . . . and it certainly was, and is! The blend of rose with chamomile and lavender is divine and I'm very happy to have found it, especially as it's meant to warm my heart too!!! 

While in the kitchen it crossed my mind that you might be interested in having a sneak peak into my other creative area in my home so here are a couple of snaps of my shelves . . . .

Those little mice are from  a boxed set that came with three stripey balls, so they are in fact a Skittle Game but to me they're just my little mice in the kitchen - much better than real ones, I would say!!! 

Now how about another wee walk around the garden while the sun is shining . . . 

Another lovely rose, a climber this time, and he is Pierre de Ronsard - such a prolific bloomer but sadly with very little perfume. Then we have those gorgeous pink blooms, so fairy light, waving to us in the gentle breeze - they are called butterfly something or other! This honeysuckle was grown from the smallest cutting from our neighbour's hedge just a couple of years ago and just look at it now, and with the added bonus of that beautiful fragrance we really enjoy it!

Here we have a butterfly bush which I believe is a New Zealand plant - its foliage has an unusual smell when you touch it but oh my, look at that flower - and you're only aware of the smell if you grab hold of the foliage, so it's okay!

Then we have a lovely fuchsia hanging over the fence - I always think of ballerinas when I look at fuchsias - can you see the resemblance?

Last but certainly not least here are a couple of snaps of the LillyPilly that I've shown you before, but at a different stage here with its beautiful blossom!

And that my dear friends is it for this time - I've been busy with other little crafty things but they will wait for another time as I've probably bombarded you enough with pics for now. I do hope you've enjoyed our little sharing time and I always look forward to hearing from you and to keeping up with your posts also. As always I wish you the very best of all that is good and wonderful, and for those of you who are feeling a bit 'under the weather' or caring for a loved one who needs that extra little bit of loving, I send warm healing thoughts - and thus energies!

Warm hugs and love,

❤Joy xoxo