Celebrations

We are back from a fabulous holiday with all three kids on the Costa Del Sol, our first family holiday with everyone present in 7 years. We stayed in a small town called Nerja which has escaped the worst of the hotels on the beach and concrete everywhere, instead it retains the feel of the old town with narrow streets and whitewashed houses. The weather was warm, we relaxed, swam, explored and ate. The reason for the holiday was our 25th wedding anniversary, John and I got married on November 1st 1985 - and they said it wouldn't last! ;-)

Then ...

... and now!


The five of us. Kirsty celebrated her birthday in Nerja too.

Yell Show

First weekend in September means the Yell Show. John and his boss were doing a trade stand with Citroens from the garage and I went as a driver to help them move the cars.

It was a gorgeous day and Kirsty came in with her car too and we went for a run around Yell before going back to the show later in the day. We took the dogs to West Sandwick Beach and I think this photo deserves a caption - any suggestions?


We called along the Old Haa in Burravoe after visiting John's aunt and admired the garden before the teras and homebakes lured us inside. This photo was taken from the garden and the house on the hill is where John was born and spent his childhood.


After another dog walk we headed back to the show for the afternoon. 6 Citroens made up a display, this photo was taken from the hill above the show.


My favourite exhibit in the arts section was this shellcraft entry - mussel shells made up into swimming orcas!

Blanket is finished

The baby blanket now has a border, all it's ends sewn in and has been stretched/ blocked. I've never stretched anything other than socks before - and John made me sock boards for them, so I asked around a bit for advice. In Shetland wool haps are usually stretched on hap boards which are wooden frames with nails in them that you attach the shawl to by sewing into each point and then looping the thread around a nail, all the way round. Getting one made the right size seemed to be looking at a lot of work so I used another method a friend had read about. I pinned the damp blanket to a quilt and left it to dry. This work well, but the quilt hung over my pulley allowed the sides to creep in so the blanket squares are now slightly rectangular. Think it's ok though, and it is much flatter, even the border is lying flat now. Hope the mum-to-be likes it!

Now, back to what I was doing before this distracted me! I'm crocheting a lap blanket for me: Chameleon blanket

Latest WIP

I'm crocheting this baby blanket in natural colours of Gotland and Shetland wool for a fellow NEEPster ( NEEPS ). I've made and sewn all the squares together and have the border to go.


Not sure I would choose yarn for a baby blanket that has to be handwashed - but not my decision! I wasn't sure about the colours before I started either but I like them now!

It's been a busy week here, last week of the school holidays so back to work tomorrow. :-(

Spent a good bit of this weekend at the peat hill. The dogs came too and Jake in particular had a ball - there is a wet spot at the bottom of the bank that fills in and is very boggy - he loves it and heads straight for it. This means our mainly white dog rapidly turns very dark brown. Yeuck! Packing the dry peats into bags to transport them home was the job this weekend and it took 215 bags to do the job. We are hoping this will be enough for our winter fuel for the stove we now have in our living room, but time will tell. We do have some wood as well.


The peats became a family affair. Kirsty was helping me yesterday but her sore toe (she injured it going to the clothes line on Wednesday, may be broken but is very bruised and she has split her nail open from top to bottom!) meant she had to go home after a while - she made the tea to compensate though! ;-) Dad came out the the hill today with sandwiches to keep us going and stayed to help fill a few bags and my sister Melanie and her daughter Chloe arrived in time to help tidy up the last bits (great timing!). John barrowed all the bags down to the road, taking them across the ditch on a scaffolding plank! I could hardly walk across it, never mind push a barrowload of peats over it!

50 bags came home yesterday, and the rest are waiting at the side of the road for a lift - the pick-up John borrowed lost it's brakes as it came into here yesterday! Hopefully he will borrow something from work tomorrow.

Meanwhile, a glass of wine and some crochet are the order of the evening and I think my back will need the Pilates class tomorrow night!

Jaydee's Pages

Well, I've spent a good piece of today fixing my website. I sorted my photos on Photobucket into folders a while ago and broke all the links to photos on my website - oops! All fixed now and some new ones added as well as adding another page. Have a look and let me know what you think, especially with regard to photo and font sizes.

Jaydee's Pages

Thanks for looking!

Celebratory Week

So far this week our family has celebrated:

• Exam results - Craig did well in his standard grades and got the results he needed
• John's niece got an A for her nursing placement (well done Lorraine!)
• Another of John's nieces passed her driving test and got good exam results (well done Lisa!)
  
• A wedding - John's nephew and his beautiful bride got married on 6/8/10 (Congratulations Kevin and Julie)
  
• Voe Show success - Craig got Best Fowl and Best Overall Poultry Exhibit trophies for his Pekin bantam cockeral and third for his Pekin hen; I won first, second and third for my recycled baskets; mum got first and second for her crochet; my niece got a first for her photo of some puffins (well done Chloe!)

If I've forgotten anything I apologise - it's been a busy week!

Beach combings

Well, the basket was made today. I love making stuff from 'rubbish', this basket is made from rope washed up on Shetland's beaches. Not sure it's my best effort, I tried a curved one rather than using a form to keep the sides straight. But hey, it's done, I had some fun making it and it's off to the Voe Show this weekend.

Talking of Shetland's beaches, I was in Unst at the weekend and picked up some pebbles from a beach. We have varnished some and added brooch backs. I think they look rather nice!


Anyway, back to crocheting the baby blanket!

I am going to try to keep this going more now, hopefully I have linked it to Facebook which has taken over some of what I would have been posting here. I am busy crafting, with a baby blanket commission underway and stuff I've entered into the local show cluttering up the place. I am going to make one more basket for that from beach rope - so watch this space!

SELKIES

Walking along the banks
Watchful eyes follow every move.
A glimpse of movement,
A splash,
A ripple marks the watchers spot.

Beach stones crunching underfoot,
The burn trickles and sings
Curving and spreading to meet the sea.
The body of watchers increases,
Magical.

The dogs stand mesmerised
The splashing attracts them .
The coughing and barking from the sea
Is a puzzle.
Eleven pairs of eyes look back.

Sea creatures.
Elegant,
Lithesome,
Kinsmen.
Inquisitive,
Enquiring,
Slipping through the water.

Dear Lord,

Every single evening
As I'm lying here in bed,
This tiny little Prayer
Keeps running through my head:

God bless all my family
Wherever they may be,
Keep them warm
And safe from harm
For they're so close to me.

And God, there is one more thing
I wish that you could do;
Hope you don't mind me asking,
Please bless my computer too.

Now I know that it's unusual
To Bless a motherboard,
But listen just a second
While I explain it to you, Lord.

You see, that little metal box
Holds more than odds and ends;
Inside those small compartments
Rest so many of my friends.

I know so much about them
By the kindness that they give,
And this little scrap of metal
Takes me in to where they live.

By faith is how I know them
Much the same as you.
We share in what life brings us
And from that our friendships grew.

Please take an extra minute
From your duties up above,
To bless those in my address book
That's filled with so much love.

Wherever else this prayer may reach
To each and every friend,
Bless each e-mail inbox
And each person who hits 'send'.

When you update your Heavenly list
On your own Great CD-ROM,
Bless everyone who says this prayer
Sent up to GOD.Com

Patchwork baby quilt

A friend of mine had a baby last year and this is for him, once I get it backed!

New Year -and crafts aplenty!

Well, the blog kinda fell apart towards the end of the year. Must try harder! Crafting for Christmas was what kept me busy at the end of the year, and my internet time has focussed more on Facebook, where I have found some old friends and kept in touch with newer ones.

I did a major effort to make gifts for family this Christmas:
Mum - crocheted shawl
Dad - knitted cabled hat (to match gloves I made for his birthday)
John - knitted rib hat
David - crocheted bath mitt (didn't know what he would wear)
Kirsty - crocheted neck warmer and knitted hat with cable brim
Craig - knitted rib arm warmers and matching hat
Steph (my niece) - knitted eyelash yarn neck warmer (never again!)

Also made for others:
School fundraiser - 6 crocheted neck warmers
Poultry Keeper Secret Santa - 4 knitted mini stockings stuffed with spices
Crafts Forum Secret Santa - crocheted neck warmer
Craft Group Secret Santa - 3 crocheted bath mitts (for younger members) and crocheted string shopping bag
15 x Snowman Soup in a mug for the kids at school

For me:
A crocheted Christmas Tree with glass bead 'lights'

Since Christmas I have made, by request:
Crocheted mittens with a fold back top to let the fingers out for Kirsty to match her Christmas presents
A knitted hat/ balaclava for David
A crocheted neck warmer for my sister, she doesn't like scarves

I am also knitting a lace pattern scarf for myself. My first lace pattern garment, apart from a baby hat, and I'm really pleased with how it is going.

Two websites of note for the yarn crafters out there:
Bargain yarn: http://kempswoolshop.com/
Fantastic pattern selections: http://www.ravelry.com/ (you have to sign up, but it is free - and worth it!)