A Winner!

Lynn has won!

I've sent an email asking what gemstone she would like so a prize will be sent out soon.

Thanks for everyone taking part. I'll run another one soon :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Freebie Friday

It's about time I did another giveaway!

How about one of these great Silver cobweb bracelets? At £7 they are great for secret santa presents or stocking fillers.

I crocheted them by hand from silver plated copper wire with real semi precious gemstone scattered throughout.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Rainbow Felt

I noticed that Inken at FeltedArtToWear had a sale on her scarves and since I'd had one of her items on my Etsy wishlist for a year or more thought my birthday was an ideal time to treat myself. And as she is so lovely she made me a gorgeous brooch to go with it as a extra special birthday treat.

I decided to wear it in my hair though and am absolutely delighted with it!

Pumpkin Harvest

I think I can honestly say that growing pumpkins for the first time ever has been the most fun thing I have ever grown in the garden. I am so going to do it again next year.

Big Strings of Beads

I call these necklace multiway necklaces as they can be worn in a variety of different ways but in reality they are just really really long strings of beads and I love making them.

I get to root around in my colour themed bead boxes and find a nice bowl of beads that go together and then can just sit and thread them all together onto a wire wrapped string.

I'm still working on the blue necklace, but here's a green and gold necklace all finished and looking autumnal, or is it festive?

Rainbows

Just had to share this picture of the view from G's office.

 ps. Off to Measham on Saturday for a little fair run by one of the guides as a charity event for an animal sanctuary.

Gemstone Hearts and their Meanings

Sometimes just a nice simple gemstone heart sets an outfit off perfectly and is a great gift when you are not quite sure what to get for a friend.

Did you know that gemstones have their own meanings as well as traditionally used in some faiths to cure minor ailments?

The beautiful blue pendant on the right is made from sodalite. As well as bringing inner peace, this stone is a good gift for athletes who take part in endurance sports, and also lucky for writers as it helps in communicating and will give confidence to speak more.

 The brown stone on the right here is a very popular stone. It's called Tigers eye and it is said to bring good luck and protection from the evil eye to the wearer as well as clear thinking and insight.

Do you have a favourite stone?

Shop Delays and Christmas Shows

So after all the excitement there is a huge delay with the shop. So disappointing when I wanted to open on my birthday for the Christmas shopping season.

But with no shop opening for Christmas I've booked stalls at lots of shows instead!

Saturday November 9th - St Laurence’s Church, Measham 

Friday 29th November - Loughborough Market 

Saturday 30th November -
St. Ann with Emmanuel Church, Robin Hood Chase, St. Ann’s, Nottingham

Sunday 1st December -
Portland College, Nottingham Road, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, NG18 4TJ 

Saturday 7th December - Sherwood United Reform Church

Sunday 8th December - Loughborough Market 

Saturday 14th December - St Edwards Church Hall, Castle Donington, DE74 2JH 

Sunday 15th December - Great Central Railway, Loughborough. 

Saturday 21st December - Great Central Railway, Loughborough 

Sunday 22nd December - Great Central Railway, Loughborough 

Tuesday 24th December - Loughborough Market

And just for the fun of it, here's what I'm making today. Christmas earrings! I sold out of Christmas tree earrings yesterday. 

Restocking - Gemstone Donuts

Craft fairs and markets have been keeping my amazingly busy. I've been doing one of two most weekends as well as my other full times job. So busy that I've been noticing huge gaps in my inventory online, and at fairs i figured I ought to remedy that. I was down to my last 3 gemstone donut pendants when I sold my last amethyst one so sat down and started making them in a variety of gemstones.

On a Roll - Turquoise Multiway Necklace

Thought I'd show the turquoise necklace in the same style as the gold and brown commission.

Woah! Busy Busy! - Golden Brown Commission Finished

So busy lately! I've been booking craft fairs adn market stalls like they are going out of fashion. The shop project is still there in the background with solicitors still doing their thing. So much for estimated completion date of 25th August!

My latest commission is a gold and brown multiway necklace. I love making these things. I love choosing the range of beads and colours I'm going to include. The sitting and plugging away with wirewrapping them all on from a reel of wire. I used to use eyepins but using wire is much more satisfying and makes a better end product too.

I'm sure she's going to love it!

Alex Polizzi Seminar

Been to see "The Fixer" Alexi Polizzi at the NEC in Birmingham today. Looks like are on the right track for the shop.

Not long to go now. We've even got a shop name "Purple Pumpkin Patch" I'm liking it.

First Pumpkin of the Year

I can't remember what type of pumpkin it is. Maybe winter squash, but it sound hollow when I tap it, so apparently it's ripe!

Getting Stuff Done - Crochet Time!

The shop is plodding on in the hands of the solicitors. I'm trying not to get too excited as I know that property sales fall through all the time. but I am getting excited despite my best efforts not to.

So to keep my mind otherwise occupied, I'm sorting out my craft stash, decluttering, and finishing items off.

I've been using up a little yarn that has been kept under the stairs in the living room for a while now. I like keeping some crocheting on hand as I find it very calming.

I've been making good progress with his granny square blanket but I really think it needs a spot of yellow. CanI find any? No!
I'm going to ask G to see if he can see any as I really don't want to have to buy any more craft supplies and there is so much yarn in the house that there should be some somewhere.
SO I'm going to move on to the next project to get finished whilst he has a very well deserved lie in. (He spent the day at a craft fair with me yesterday)

These are partly ade brooches which have been lieing on the living room floor for a few days, ever since I emptied the bag out in apanic as I was on an emergency crochet hook hunt. Please say other people do that and it's not just me!

Shop!

 A few of you will have seen on facebook already that we put in an offer on a shop in Loughborough on Friday and yesterday we had a call to say it had been accepted!

It will be a handmade boutique and gallery where local independent artists and crafts people can sell on the high street. We’ve been looking for a retail premises to buy for years and we finally found one!

Holiday in Bulgaria

Well, our trip to Bulgaria proved to be interesting! Lots of great fresh fruit fruit to eat which was lovely but not that much choice for me as a vegetarian in our hotel. Cucumber and tomato for every meal with eggs for breakfast and boiled potatoes for tea. but on the good side I came home with a half pound weight loss after a week on holiday which was helpful for my slimming world progress. 3 stone 8.5 lost now.

Where I spent most of my time reading

A sculpture on the sea front

Paris bar in Golden Sands

A half built hotel which I found a little amusing

A bar which reminded me of Mallets Mallet

Mallets Mallet

G at the airport waiting for our lugage

Basic Quiche

I thought that my experiments with recipes might interest some, so here we go!

Saute 1 leek and 2 onions in a pan with a few sprays of fry-lite
Put in a quiche dish
Add 5 beaten eggs
Place sliced mushrooms on top.
Bake in oven for 40 mins

(Was a bit too airy but tried a recipe involving pasta last night so am going to try and make this recipe better next time)

(No syns on green SW)

July Garden Photos

We came back yesterday from a week in Bulgaria to a garden full of Triffids! I love it!

The peppers now touch the top of the greenhouse and had to be moved outside

Runner beans have reached the hanging basket bracket despite being nipped off

I think the blackcurrants may be redcurrants?

Broad beans and salad leaves

Overloaded pumpkin patch!

Teeny tiny squash

Baby courgettes (zucchini)

The start of the tomatoes

Some of yesterdays harvest

Bead Hoarders Blog Hop - Crochet and Moukite Collar

This year I've decided to get some of the Unfinished Objects (UFOs) finally finished.

How this for a really bad "before" photo! And it's too late to take it again as I've been quite efficient and just finished this item off for the Bead Hoarders Blog hop.

I can remember starting to make this at a craft fair. The yarn is vintage tapestry thread that was gifted to me by a friend. i seem to be the "go-to" person when a crafting family member dies or has a destash. And i get some wonderful items to use and cherish. But sometimes I find it really hard to experiment when someone has been saving the item in their stash themselves for years.

At craft fairs I like to stand up and say hello to people browsing and have a chat, and crocheting is something I can do standing up if I'm nervous. It keeps my fingers moving which in turn stops me shaking. Not a good look!

And since the fair it's been sitting there waiting for something to happen to it. Then I found some moukite. I've always nervous about using some of my more expensive beads. I don't really know why, but they site there n my stash where I look at them lovingly and say I'll use them one day. And this time I have.

I think the colours of the moukite tome in so well with the crochet and it all makes a great collar piece.

Check out the other people taking part in this blog hop at Lori's blog.

Freebie Friday - Free seed bead pattern for twin hole beads

Do you like this bracelet I made for Beads Direct?

If so, check out the free instructions for how to make it on their gallery!

Or drop me a line if you would like one custom making for you. Happy to oblige.

Purple Earrings

My makes from last night

More to finish tonight

Swede-lings

I've been given a tray of swede seedlings. So we've called them Swede-lings :)