A new adventure

Very productive day

I had a really good day today!! I woke up with a real purpose........ I was going to do something outside!! I may sound a bit strange, but it has been dark, pitch black even, for most days lately, and when it's not dark, it's raining!

So I just got dressed and went outside. The first thing I did was tackle the shed. I have had some new experiences with the chickens lately. Our chickens roam free in the garden, they come and go as they please, however, some nights they have been locked out of their pen as the door has blown shut. I find them cwtched up in the shed..... Which is full of stuff! So today I cleaned it and put down some hay! They now have two homes!!

So after the shed, I dug up 3 of our veg patches, so they are ready to be used. Very productive day indeed!!

So after the gardening, I went for a wander to Malcoms veg patch and garden. There's so many outbuildings and farm equipment, there's always some really nice details! So I took these on my walk.

There's so much veg in the garden, oversized beet root, huge cabbage and some really funny carrots!!

Speak soon!

A bit of clear sky

It's still fairly miserable weather, but the clouds gave way to a clear sky this morning so I made the most of it and took some pictures of whats around.

We really didn't do so well with the veg garden this year, it was not looked after the way it should have and we ended up with quite a bit of spoiled food!! But, on the plus side it adds some much needed colour to the garden.

I have collected and dried a lot of our leak heads as they are really beautiful and huge, but there were some garlic and leak heads that obviously got left behind. This image above is one such left over!

And if there is anything to lift the mood of this miserable weather and give me something to look forward to, it's new growth. I can't wait to be able to get outside and start sorting out the herb bed, the chickens totally ruined it last year, and keeping it tidy! I have lots of plans for the herbs this year, now that we feel like we have finally settled in!!!

Until then, I will be taking advantage of the cosy fire and only sneaking out of the house only occasionally, until the weather picks up!!

It's a dreary Christmas

The weather here over Christmas has been pretty miserable, which no doubt doesn't add to the winter blues that everyone is feeling at the moment.

We have been away to my families home in south Wales for Christmas, and although non of us have had 5 mins to sit down in months, it was good to see my family.

On return, I had to collect the eggs and see to our chickens. As you can see, there were quite a lot, there were another 3 in the other hutch, a grand total of 18 eggs!!

We are now down to 4 chicks, Betty died a few weeks ago, she just got very old very fast, and our other beautiful chicken ( our favourite to be honest) just few away!! She was a feisty bird though!!

So, even though the weather is dreary, there are still things to see! To my surprise, my broccoli has sprouted, so I will may be eat those on Sunday!!

Last order for Christmas

I posted my last order of the year yesterday, and I am looking forward to having a week off all work! I haven't made a set of these cufflinks for a while, so I really enjoyed making these.

These were a last minute Christmas order from someone who purchased a set of these ( different text of course) a few years back.

The idea for this cufflink design came when I had to make a set of cufflinks for a friend for his wedding. His wife to be wanted him to feel like he was taking something familiar down the isle, as he was very nervous. Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris were the name on his cufflinks, I have made many more with different text over the years.

Well, this is officially my first day off since September, and I am tucked up in front of my fire, full of cold! Why is it when you finally slow down your body decides its had enough?! I put up some Christmas decorations last night after getting in, it's good to see some vibrant colours in the kitchen. I have hung stockings on the ray burner and dressed thd table.

Later on today I shall bring the tress down and make the place feel like christmas has arrived!! Because I just can't believe it's in a few days....... I haven't bought 1 gift!

I have however been crocheting every spare minute, so maybe there is a way forward with the gift idea. My dad could definitely do with a hat!! I have been working with dusty colours lately, with a flash of salmon pink ( my new favourite colour, who knew I would like any kind of pink!) and pompoms! I really like pompoms!!

Here are some details of my very own giant needle blanket, the fibres look so good! I really need to finish of my rug, it's upstairs in a bag, the blanket I'm using to make it sheds little bits everywhere, I have just hoovered so I don't want to get white fluff everywhere!! But I must get it off the needles do I can start a new project!

Well, I'm going to have a coffee and think about that Christmas list.......... Hmmmmmmm

It's gloomy outside

Well, it's a fairly miserable day outside and I'm quite glad I'm indoors in front of the fire. The last week has been one of the hardest so far, working in the workshop to get orders out and seeing all the students before they disappear for a much needed Christmas break.

I am of course doing some crochet whilst relaxing, I bought a whole load of new yarn in s range of reds and browns yesterday, so last night I started making myself a cowl.

I have also been trying to display some of my knitted / crochet pieces so that I can see what types of patterns I have used, this will give me ideas for future projects.

I have a room just for me in our house, and my room is starting to fill with knitting, crochet and blankets! Soft toys that I have made have also made an appearance!

So, I will past away this gloomy day from the comfort of the sofa! I think I deserve a day off!!