Goodbye to 2015

So, 2015 was a strange year dogged by illness and family issues. The bikes didn't leave the garage, the garden and house were pretty much abandoned and I was off work for 8 or so weeks with what they are now diagnosing as asthma. I'm off again and back on the steroids and keeping my fingers crossed that it will all get better at some point.

This meant that the blog was pretty much abandoned at times and again I've wondered whether to carry on but its a way of documenting what I'm up to creatively at the moment,

Looking back at the posts, I realised that I didn't write about some of the outings so the next few posts will be a catch up of photos from 2015 starting with a return trip to Beamish in September to use up our annual tickets.

    Yes, I did get to spin on the wheel :-)

The weather wasn't brilliant but it was good to get away for a few days :-)

more to come over the next few days XX

Sitting quiet

Today I've decided that the best use of the little energy that I have is to spin up some of the bags of oddments of dyed tops that I found during the great fleece hunt. Before Christmas I spun enough for a green hat so this time I'm going for a multicoloured one to add to the collection of handspun/hand knitted finished objects.

starting the annual clearout...again

just dug out 5 bags of fleece, 1st possibly border leicester but weak locks so in the bin with it, 2nd rubbish remains of a jacob...life is simply too short to bother with this.
3rd bag....bond :-)  , 4th bond :-) 5th polworth :-) about 1/2 pillowcase of each, all washed but the polworth in need of some prep, the others will probably spin with a quick flick of the comb.

I need to be really ruthless this time and somply get rid of the stuff that I won't use.

we don't really do Christmas, don't give gifts to each other as we have all we need and would rather get things as we come across them.
However, having health problems for the last few months means my creativity spark frequently goes out so I treated myself to this book a couple of weeks ago ( I had intended to buy a diary but got distracted)
Opened at random for the first time this morning.....lets see what happens :-)

My new toy

I'm still off work so I've been making myself a new toy

can you guess what it is yet?

Hopefully it will be easier to pack than a full size lace pillow!

have a great weekend x

Feeling a bit sorry for myself

Hi, I'm still here although I still seem to have the virus which is confounding the doctors at the moment. My plans are to slowly try and bring some order to this room, started yesterday before I got too exhausted as I wanted to get covers washed and dried (weather warnings in place for today)

The poor guitar has been abandoned by both of us and now only has 5 strings, I'm going to have a look round and see see if we gave any spare strings. The problem with whatever this problem is that I move, I cough, I get tired so things have been building up over the weeks and really everything needs a good dust....which makes me cough/sneeze ,!

Never mind I'm working on my 5th lace bookmark, photos next time and really enjoying the process.

Speak soon,  will share photos if I ever finish this room :-)

taking my mind off things

and making lace

   
                                                                                 thats all really xx

here we go again

yep, I'm off work again, have been since Tuesday this week with the same virus. This time I am really getting fed up with it and I've found that I'm tending to sit and not do anything much although moving leads to coughing which leads to sitting down again!!

I've now got about 3/4 of the bobbins on the wide edging, just taking time to work out how to start the rest of them as the pattern guidance starts on the corner and is quite faded, I will get there though.

I've popped the bookmark into a plastic folder and hubby is quite impressed with it and says I should design my own to sell....I would usually say that I don't have the time but at the moment...

 I'm sticking with torchon for a bit before going back to Bucks that was my real love, I'm enjoying the logic of the prickings at the moment. ( I have made Beds and Honiton in the dim and distant past )

 I found an old lace pillow stand during the spare room clear out, Its designed to be used with round pillows and I tend to prefer block ones but this old pillow fits making a good compromise.

I now have a roller block the first step to making a travel pillow, just need to sort out the card and material and check to see if I have any wadding left over from quilting.

Have a good week, speak soon x

Lace failure

So, I got all geared up, found a pattern for a wide torchon edging so I will have something to get my teeth into and started to wind my bobbins with some of the old lace thread that was in my drawer. I tried snapping the thread and it seemed ok so went ahead a wound a dozen bobbins, no probs with the first fan. I did find it a real brain teaser to start to set up the pattern without a guide, but was managing it. I got halfway through the half stitch diamond when one of the threads just drifted apart,

I had another rummage and this time found a spool of Finca 50, emptied all the bobbins and tried again.

Beginning to look a lot better this time, the old thread is now heading for the bin!! Speak soon xx

well, that was a panic!!

I started to type and my keyboard stopped working........spent last 10 mins trying to find a spare battery!!!!

Not a lot going on in the last week, no crafting etc, my cough is back :-( the day job is busy.

Yesterday I went on the Nottinghamshire Pride March with my coworkers from the youth centre where I work in the evening one night a week. We were with several of the young people for the march and retired to the pub mid afternoon for a team social catch up.

I took some photos so here a just a few to give you a flavour of the event.

 Have a great weekend x

Back to normality

So, it's the end of my first week back at work, as I expected I am tired. Domestic chores are proving a challenge this weekend as I have succeeded in burning out my vacuum cleaner but since it is over 25 years old I can't complain too much. Today , Sunday,  means a trip out to replace it, maybe a cycle ride if it stops raining and a look at my plans to make a travel bobbin lace pillow.

Since its Nottingham Pride March on Saturday,  I have been working out how to make rainbow hair slides and wristbands so that the Wednesday night crowd can make them for themselves between  making banners to march with.

enjoy your weekend X

A quiet distraction (written the day after the bike ride)

Well, I'm aching a bit after yesterday so after doing the boring stuff I settled down to try and organise my lace threads and make a list so I have a rough idea of what I have. I think that I possibly have enough of some of them to last the next few years !!

I'm going to order some acid free tissue paper to help protect them and they are stored in the dark

not a lot of motorbikes

Hi

Not so many motorbikes on this blog for quite some time, unfortunately I have not been able to get on or off one for last last two years due to muscle problems in my leg and now use a stick when I'm out. At the same time hubby has been too busy to use the bikes or even visit bike events.
We have thought about adding a third wheel to the Guzzi and making it into a trike but suspect that we will get frustrated with having to sit in traffic etc so we may look to getting a campervan of some kind.

Once things calm down, I'm sure that bikes will feature more but for the time being I have been looking at the pedal variety, since actually lifting my foot off the pedal to reach the ground is an issue I found somewhere to have a play on an adult tricycle.

More difficult to fall off and it sort of gets round the fact that I have never ridden a pushbike before in my life!! We went on a 5 mile ride and the only problem was when we reached a gentle hill I had to get off and walk as I haven't the strength to pedal hard but that will come. This is a hire bike but we will be going back for another go very soon!!

And it has a basket on the back!!!!

Have a great weekend x

how many posts?

According to the stat counter thingy I've made 932 posts to this blog since I started back in June 2007 !! At times I've felt like abandoning it completely  but then I think, why not just see if I can keep it going a bit longer.

This morning I'm having a little sort out in the spare room, the general dumping space that at the moment is crammed full off cast off items, I won't say rubbish until I've checked what is there.

So far I've uncovered another lace pillow so who knows what else is in there!!

This one was given to me a few years ago, I've never used it, its definitely hand made and feels like its stuffed with straw.

I wonder what else is hiding in there??

bookmark finished

hi

I finished the bookmark this morning before doing the housework!! I could really get used to this not working lark unfortunately retirement seems to get further away :-(

anyway, finished photos here and I'm off to look what to make next.

speak soon xx