Crochet Doily Garlands

 

 

As the weather is still so cold and I haven't ventured into the garden except to mow the lawn and have a bit of a clear up, I have been indulging myself in crochet, doily garlands
I got the doily pattern from here, I know lots of you have already made gorgeous coasters from this pattern.Then I added a crochet chain to hang as a garland.
This is the first one I made, I added little crochet flowers to the centre.

Now I've made some in lilac, I've had this little idea in my head for a while, to applique hearts in the centre,

 I backed them with felt for firmness as I thought they might wrinkle up if I just backed them with Bondaweb Just tested them hanging above our bed. I still haven't finished the floral wall, it's an  ongoing project, like so many progects I start! Nearly there though!

I do love finding vintage prints for the wall, the inspiration came from this fabulous book  by the talented Selina Lake. A lovely book that I dip in and out of all the time!
I've also made a few brooches






 and some yo-yo embellishments
As I have been writing this post the Sun has popped it's head out for a while, best make the most of it then!
Have a lovely day
Rachel x

Oh my word!

I can't believe my last post was back in January!! Life got very busy, I left it VERY late to do my tax return(only 3 days to spare) hope I never do that again! Then I swapped markets again. as you know I have a stall on Thursdays in Witney, but since November takings have been down quite a bit, so we (being me and my friend Karen) decided to go back to the Antiques and Craft market in Oxford.I have been there for the past 3 weeks. I do miss Witney and my regular customers there as they are so lovely , but hopefully I will have a stall on some Saturdays in the Spring months.

So what have I been up to? Crochet , crochet and more crochet, I love it sooo much!!

I got a bit addicted to making these rose brooches and then my lovely friend Karen bought me a big bag of beautiful vintage mohair from a tabletop sale and I made lots more!

The colours are so pretty!

Made these roses in yarn from my existing stash.

I love making these ruffle scarves too! I have popped some in my Christmas gift drawer.You see that's me, so behind in some things and ahead of myself in others!

I also gave our bedroom a HUGE tidy up and finally got around to putting up my vintage prints which I love, hubby not so much, but he still put them up bless him!

Thank you so much to you all for leaving comments on previous posts, sorry I am so sporadic and a HUGE cuddly welcome to all my new followers too! So pleased that you pop by for a peek into my little world

Have a fantabulous week!

Rachel x

Bunting Ta-dah

It's finished!! Well actually , there are 2 I have finished!

The first one, I made with yarn I have had for years, some of it at least 10 years.

I shall call it Happy bunting as it makes me smile when I look at it!

This photo was taken in my daughter's bedroom, we finished decorating it just before Christmas. She and my son have swapped room as she is at Uni. This room is not very big at all but it does have lots of storage for all her stuff!The bunting won't stay in here, it's a bit too bright but perfect for my little craft room!

See the little lilac cushion on the day bed, I made that with a tray cloth I bought from the boot for 50p I think! I just folded in half and stitched around the edge leaving a gap to stuff it!

Anyway I've drifted off topic now.

The 2nd length of bunting was also made wirh yarn from my stash, a little bit country I think!

Now I'm working on a pretty cotton pastel bunting, I'll show you after the weekend!

Have a good one!

Rachel x

On my list today...

1. Do the washing



2. Empty the dishwasher



3. Take Wilson for a walk



4. Make son's lunch for 6th form trip



5. Go to charity warehouse to source more fabric



6. Go shopping



7. Pack shopping away(I hate that bit)



8. Finish making cover for hall table

I'm pleased to say I've managed to do the all by lunch time except No.8, that is still a WIP, do you want to see?

The dress I was going to use was stitched in panels so I had to rethink. Idecided to make a patchwork cover and mixed it in with other fabrics. The beige rose fabric is the dress. I also used an offcut of my daughters curtains, a pillowcase and leftover cushion faric I've had for a few years!And do you know what, I'm really pleased with it so far! I need to add 1 more panel, back it and then add the pompom trim!

I'm off to make myself some lunch while Wilson has his little nap(tired from his walk)

Rachel x

We spent the weekend...

decorating our hall, stairs and landing. I say hall, but really it is just a titchy little square to step into to take off your coat and kick off your shoes! There is a door off to the dining room or you can go straight up the stairs!

This is the before, the colour was Turkish Gold which was looking a bit dated.

A close up of the gold!

We have now painted it Natural Calico by Dulux, althogh it looks a bit gray in this photo!The Hubster made the pretty hearts key holder for me about 10 years ago and I love it !

There is just enough room for a little hall table. I bought this at the boot last year for a couple of pounds!I need to repaint it white and as there is a split in the top I would love to cover it in a pretty oilcloth

but while I'm doing the challenge there is no chance of that. I doubt I will find any at the boot or in a charity shop. In the meantime I'm going to use a piece of floral linen dress, I shall cut a piece and trim it with pom poms I think!

I also bought the lovely wine box at the boot, for a £1 I think. This now contains my envelopes, stamps and the like!I still need to paint all the woodwork and finish painting the mirror(only the 3rd coat grrrr!) I shall show you more piccies later in the week! Oh and thank you for all the kind comments about my hand knitted bag in the last post! You are all so sweet!

Have a lovely week ladies, the sun is shining here at the mo!

Rachel x

Finally up!

I painted my little shelf unit a few weeks ago but haven't put it up until today.



Here's a before picture

I bought it at the boot last year for £2! The Hubster was going to put it up last week ,but had to go and work in Norfolk. He was only supposed to be gone for 3 days, but was actually gone for 8!!

Anyway now I'm so pleased he's home . He doesn't mind that there are a few jobs to do! He's in a good mood because he's got the Grand Prix to watch!

I'm really pleased with how it turned out. I sanded and primed it. The I painted it with 2 coats of emulsion and then I waxed it.

I'm off to paint my mirror now. It's cream with a touch of gold and I'm going to paint it white.

Have a lovely day!

Rachel x

Corners of my Home

Thought I'd show you some little snippets of my dining room, as you've probably noticed from my blog, my favourite colour is RED! Red makes me feel really happy, when I was a child I always chose the red ice lolly, sweetie, lollipop etc.It's a colour that looks good all year round, especially at Christmas(my favourite time of year!) Anyway my dining room is decorated in red and cream, here are some piccies!The lamp on the chest of drawers was given to me by my parents,I remember it from my childhood in the seventies.I still love it to bits now, it doesn't give out much light,but it casts a lovely rosy glow in the room!The cocktail glasses were a birthday gift from one of my friends.The heart cushions on the bench, were made by me last year.I keep lots of little things on my shelf, a sweet little teddy the kids gave me for Mothers day, a photo of my mum and dad, a beautiful card that my daughter handmade for me and a cake plate, I love to serve little cupcakes on this.As I say I think RED IS BEST , what's your favourite colour and why?