Friday 12 June 2015

This and That.....





Life has been busy. It really seems to have been flying by lately, and I don't seem to have a lot to show for it. I've really only had time to do the everyday stuff which needs doing, so not a huge amount of crafting has been going on.






I made a cushion for a friend. I made a blue/grey one for myself and thought she might like one as her birthday was coming up. I can show it now as she has received it. After making half of it in a colour that I wasn't happy about, I frogged it all and made it this shade, a green/grey. Much better. It's from the Woman's Weekly Vintage patterns which came out in a magazine a while back, but you can get it online from the Woman's Weekly pattern site. They were doing maintenance work on the online site so I'm not sure if you can buy it at the moment.










My hexagons are slowly increasing. I have been trying to fit in a couple here and there when I can. I still haven't started joining them together yet. I've worked out that I need about 900 of these little beauties to make a throw of a reasonable bed size. This equates to approx 90 of each colour that I have. I think I haven't started joining (even though I am very tempted) as I am not sure if I want to add another colour. I quite like the pastel shades I have and wonder if another would be too much. The tones are all the same too, which I don't want to spoil. I am also still undecided as to how I want to join them together. I was thinking needle and thread, rather than hook and yarn. I have been using Vanessa's weave in method for each hexagon (still very much missing her here in blogland), which I am liking very much, but the fact that each hexagon is not being knotted off which I normally do, is making me feel that thread and tighter binding of each hexagon is the better way to go to avoid any un-ravelling. With having such small hexagons, there is not a lot of room for sewing in of ends. I am still really loving this though, and think having really small hexagons will pay off in the long run.





Doing little bits here and there though, is really making my crafty fingers itch. I am on the look out for a project that I can knock up in an evening. The cosy for the mad hatter's watering can is still floating in my head, but I need to put a lot of thought into its making. Something that takes deep thought is not high on my list at the moment. At the end of a long day I want simple, quick and satisfying. I caught a glimpse of a sight this week that set the cogs rolling.......





Mint/Aqua with naturals and beiges. Hummmmm I like that combo. It is stored now for future project making.





Whilst running around like the white rabbit, muttering 'I'm late...........I'm late', I have had brief moments to stop and look at the wonder of nature. I made it my mission to see if I could have flowers in my house all year round this year. That meant, trying to get what I could out of my poor pathetic garden, and buying cheap and cheerful blooms.





















My poppies have opened up now, and the giant ones and frilly ones are so pretty. It's just a shame they don't last longer. 


I was on a mission to keep my hydrageas blue this year. My soil turns them pink. The main one hasn't flowered yet, but the tub has got the deepest blue mop heads on it which I count as an achievement with my poor gardening skills.




































I have loved that I have managed to have flowers in my house all year so far without breaking the bank. Hyacinths, daffodils, tulips, garden posies......now roses and peonies. I have a peony bush in the garden, which sadly is only offering a few buds (rubbish soil me thinks), but, what buds have opened, have given me blousy delight. In your face brightest pink and yellow, shouting LOOK AT ME.




I got some shop bought ones, which I always look forward to seeing open, as I'm never sure how they will be. I bought some buds that were deepest burgundy. They opened burgundy.....then went pale red......then went peach.......then went the palest yellow when they were in full bloom. GOSH, I've never been so fascinated. Each bloom opened out to about 30cm each. They looked so beautiful but SO fake! I was actually excited to come into the room each morning and see how they had changed. 









 Don't they look lovely here....well they got even bigger and opened out even more. Just completely awesome.






I was talking to a florist once, and asked her what was her secret to having lovely big vases of blooms in her house without it costing a complete fortune. Her answer was this......invest in good fake blooms! I was a bit aghast that a florist would have fake flowers dotted all around her house, but actually it all made sense once she had explained. Sometimes, there is a disappointment when you buy a cheap and cheerful bunch of flowers at the supermarket. They look all lovely wrapped in their paper, but when you get them home and put them in a vase, they look a little thin on the ground. This florist said that if you invest in a few good fake blooms, especially foliage too, then you just use those to bulk out your vase. That way, you get fresh flowers that you can get pleasure from, but you also get a lovely big array to dress a table every time. You do, of course, have to offset the cost of buying the fake blooms, and the real looking fake ones are not the cheapest, but I thought it was actually a nifty idea. So i'm on the look out for good quality fake blooms to mix and match in with cheap real supermarket blooms. 


Well, that's my tip of the week passed on!










I have discovered a chocolate coffee for my lattes when time is short. Oh, such a sucker for packaging, but really rather pleasant.






Right, must dash.....the list today is endless.....

....have a super weekend all.






xxx






50 comments:

  1. Beautiful post!! Have a lovely weekend!

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  2. Beautiful photos as always, I love having flowers around the house too, always cheer me up :-)

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    1. It's amazing how flowers in the house can make you feel. Even the smallest posy in a vase can give an enormous amount of pleasure.

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  3. I have that Women's Weekly magazine - good to see how nicely the cushion has turned out, I had considered making it myself. Might have to move it up the list now! xx

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    1. It's a really fun pattern.....and quick too! I usually don't like written patterns, but this was easy to read and fun to make. A winner all round!!!!!

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  4. I really miss Vanessa's blog too and often think of her and her family.
    I've been reading through her blog archives, spending a bittersweet time there.
    Your blanket is going to be yet another fabulous one, your grey sunburst my favourite.
    Flowers are so uplifting aren't they?

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    1. Oh Niki, I still can't believe she's not here to be honest. I too have been reading back through her blog archives. Such an amazing lady.......sob. I think this blanket is going to take forever, but that's okay, as I'm mentally prepared for it to be a slow process......and that's half the battle with my impatient mind!

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  5. So much prettiness... Stunning flowers... Energizing bursts of colours... Thanks for sharing!
    I wish you a happy weekend. xh

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  6. Such beauty, a real pleasure to soak up the colour combinations and charm. I have seasonal fake flowers that I intersperse with real, my tip is to buy some with not a lot of foliage on so that they don't go mouldy in the water.

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    1. Ah that's a good tip. It's actually amazing how lifelike some fake flowers are. You'd be hard pressed to tell the difference from a step away. I always feel big fake bunches clumped together look dithery and all fresh fade so fast, that to mix the both and get a big vase sort of gives you the best of both worlds.

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  7. So much prettiness... current and past makes, flowers, delightful bits from around your home. I do love a flower posy gathered from the garden

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    1. I think a simple little posy can be as beautiful, if not more so, than a huge bunch in a vase.

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  8. Wonderful pictures - I love every one of them! And the crochet looks fabulous, too!
    Greetings from Austria
    Knitgudi

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  9. Lovely post, full of really gorgeous things, those little hexagons are gorgeous I adore the pastel colours. Your flowers are all very pretty too, I have two peonies in my garden and not a bloom on either of them so you're doing better than me LOL! Have a good weekend, oh and my list is endless too!

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    1. I got disheartened when I went to my parents house and saw a huge bush covered in peony heads! I was looking up what I could be doing wrong. The roots might have been planted too deep. Apparantly, they only are supposed to be planted very shallow in the ground and this can affect flower heads. And I read to only use low nitrogen as this gives a lot of foliage and no flowers. I'll see how I get on next year!!!!!

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  10. I completely agree about the fake flowers. Someone told me the same thing once and I was skeptical too but good ones are really nice! I have a set for each season and it's nice to be able to pull them out if I can't find good fresh flowers to use. They can be just as pretty and they require no care. I even knew someone once who had fake bouquets made for her wedding. It sounds weird but they were done so beautifully you couldn't tell at all and then she had them put in a shadow box to hang on the wall in her house and enjoyed them forever that way.

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    1. I was always put off fake flowers as I was given some once and they weren't realistic and got all dusty. Actually good fake flowers are amazing these days. I think i like the idea of mixing them both together. That way your brain sees the fresh ones so you are not disappointed and the fake ones just give bulk until the real ones die. That's actually pretty nifty to do fake wedding flowers!

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  11. Such beautiful and wonderful flowers!!! I love your florist friends tip, you can get some really amazing artificial flowers these days! Your hexies are gorgeous aren't they!!! I love that they are really small as well. Looking forward to seeing more. I hope that you have a great weekend. xx

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    1. I was really surprised Amy when I started researching fake flowers, how great some of them are. To get just a few stems, and mainly foliage, it's perfect to make a lovely display, stay within a good flower budget and still appreciate fresh flowers in a vase at the same time!

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  12. Lots of good things to see here today. I admire the harmony of your crocheted hexagons, and join you in your praise of dear Vanessa.

    Please do continue your fine ways of enjoying June. xo

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    1. Thank you Frances. I very much miss her here in blogland, and can only imagine the void that she left in her close family. I think my blanket might take years to finish at the rate that I am going!

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  13. Oh my, I have such peony envy! It's winter here so it will be a while before mine bloom... that's IF they bloom as they like to tease then not deliver! Your little hexie blanket is looking so pretty, with those lovely soft shades... I think it looks lovely and complete like that! xx

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    1. I have loads of foliage and only a few peonies! I need to remedy that. failing that, I have been enjoying shop bought!

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  14. Wow, fantastic photos and a stunning cushion, love the colour. Also the journal in the first picture, where is that from please, its gorgeous. Have a great weekend 😊.Elisa x

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    1. The journal was a gift but I think it's from Chronicle books if that's any help? It's full of little things to do, just one a day, and you can write in that you have completed it and how it made you feel. Quite a nice little way to reflect on a good deed.

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  15. ooooh! those hexies! LOVE!!!!
    your colour choices are exquisite!

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    1. Awe thanks Helen. I seem to always go back to these set of colours.

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  16. Great pics as usual Vanessa, those frilly poppies are lovely - like tissue paper - and I would never have thought to mix real blooms with 'man-made'. Love the little hexies and the colour scheme, the blanket is going to be a stunner for sure whatever you decide to do with the colours. I love the colour you chose for your cushion - I made one of these recently, it was something a bit different for me. I quite like the look of the bedspread/throw on page 21 too. Have a lovely weekend. Jane xx

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    1. I really loved making these cushions. They were quite therapeutic and I loved seeing them grow.

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  17. Love the soft colours of your crochet hexies, and all your beautiful flowers. It's such a good idea to use good quality fabric flowers to bulk out real displays.....I used to have some foxgloves that looked so real people used to touch them when I said they weren't to make sure :)
    Happy week ahead, Vanessa.
    Helen xox

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    1. It's amazing isn't it Helen how 'real' some fake flowers look. I know they can never take the pace of real flowers but to invest in a few lovely stems to bulk out a small fresh bunch is, for me, the way to go!!!!

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  18. Your blog is so delightful to take in; I've been reading it for some time now, but have never commented. I find that it's so easy to become immersed in the beauty of it . . . the soft lovely colors, the refreshing and eye-catching flowers, the details of how you decorate and use colors. In some way, I always feel blessed by visiting with you through your blog. Thank you for so much inspiration and sharing of your life . . . "It's a Wonderful Life" seems fitting :) Hoping you have a lovely week, filled with prettiness and delight. ~Michelle

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    1. Thank you so much for your kind words Michelle and for reading me!

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  19. Lovely photo's of the flowers in your garden Vanessa and the pillow you made for a friend. Such a pretty colour! Like you I wish I had more time for crafting, but it's the way it is :-) Your comment about the fake flowers made me smile. I use them in winter too :-)

    Have a great week!

    Madelief x

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    1. You are the queen of flowers Madelief! I need some of your gardening magic to rub off on me!!!!!!!! x

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  20. Lovely flowers and your hexagons are really gorgeous.

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  21. I just adore the little hexies Vanessa - and soooo many beautiful photo's as always. Kate xx

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  22. I really love this post, again! I'm in love with your cushion. Unfortunately I can't find it on the site you mentioned. Do you have a link to the pattern? I would really love that!

    xx Ellebel

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    1. Hi Ellebel,

      I'm afraid there is no link to a pattern as the Woman's Weekly shop site where you can purchase the pattern from is under maintenance at the moment. The pattern was featured in their 'Best Of Our Vintage Patterns' booklet which came out quite a while ago. You might find it on ebay cheaply. It has a picture of a baby in a knitted pale blue dress on the front and a knitted sailor boy if that's any help! x

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    2. I haven't found it (yet), but thanks for your reply!!

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  23. Lovely photos and love the little hexagons - really pretty colours. Joan at www.aviewtothefells.com

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  24. I think you are my most "pinned" blogger. Such stunning and inspiring photos.

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  25. Je trouve votre blog magnifique, superbes photos et couleurs, Bravo !

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  26. Hi, Can you please send me to the link to your French Press Cozy pattern? Thanks ;)

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    1. Hi Heather,

      The coffee cosy pattern comes from Nicki Trench's 'Cute and Easy Crochet' Book. I hope this is of help. : )

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