A little holiday crafting

I took my Hook and Book kit with me and managed to complete my first ever Mandala crochet.  It's by no means a perfect example but I learnt a great deal along the way and had a lot of fun learning a new language.

I also read the book which came with the kit called The Circle by Dave Eggers.  It's not a book I would ordinarily have picked out to read but I did enjoy it.  The storyline is very thought provoking in this age of internet technology and how we as individuals interact with many social websites.  

In the book the main character is led to believe that transparency and participation in everything is key to making the world become a better place but thrown into the storyline is the question of whether this is leading to a totalitarian society.

Heston to Loe Bar

A very enjoyable walk from Helston to Loe Bar via Penrose.

We were unable to walk from Loe Bar to Porthleaven due to a cliff fall.  There is a diversion through the Penrose estate but our aim on Monday was to get to Loe Bar.  They currently have flood defence work going on there which spoilt the view a little but is obviously a necessity to help prevent flooding to Helston.

We enjoyed lunch at the Stables cafe, Penrose is a lovely place to go and there are lots of different walking routes which we will probably investigate when we visit this part of the country again.

Never tired

I don't think I will ever get tired of the beautiful Cornish coastline.  Lizard to Kynance and some today.  We think we walked about eight miles altogether.

We enjoyed lunch on the way back at the Kynance Cafe.

I enjoyed a lovely Cornish Brie, cranberry and lettuce sandwich while DH enjoyed one of Ann's cheese pasties.

Evening walk

A beautiful walk in the evening sunshine.

Round up of the week

Apologies for being absent for a week but I have actually spent some much needed time in the garden.  The garden has been neglected for quite a long time now and since the weekend I have been trying to spend an hour or so each day outside.  Still lots to do but I can now at last see signs of improvement.  

Our lilac bush is looking very pretty.  The watering can which hasn't been used since last summer and left out to suffer the elements provide amusement for us when DH went to water some of our tubs.  Sadly it had rusted at the bottom so water came out the bottom and over his toes before he realised the damage.

We cleared out a patch in the front garden and planted some Lupins which I hope won't get eaten by slugs.  It's a flower I remember us having in our garden from my childhood,  I think of it as a cottage garden flower.  We also used to have Sweet Williams, Roses, Dahlias, Wallflowers and many more so maybe I could make this patch become a flower tribute to my childhood.

I have also managed to work on It's Only Forever.

The Extinction SAL has also received some attention.

I've read the next book in The Sue Grafton alphabet series, S is for Silence.

I walked up to the sorting office today to collect a parcel.

Inside this box is a crochet project, a book and some little extras.  I thought it would be fun to try this kit out as I love reading and I have dabbled in crochet before.  It will be perfect for taking on holiday with me.

I have also decided to have another go at knitting socks and have found a pattern and a series of You Tube videos which might just help me succeed this time.  I certainly hope so as I invested in May's wool club from Game Crafting, a little birthday treat to myself this month.

Wish me luck!

A page finish

Page 7 of 30 has finally been completed.

A total of 20,498 stitches with page 7 complete have been put into It's Only Forever but I have made a start on another page so this total has gone up slightly.

The owls face is now complete.

I have also been working on the Extinction SAL this week and the rhino is complete.  Although part one has not been finished I am making a start on page 2 as I want to put the tree trunk in rather than risk miscounting and putting the tree branches in the wrong place.  I thought it would be more sensible to start from the tree trunk.

More cards to share

I have another selection of cards to share with the papers and bundle Share What You Love set.  I can see me getting another pack of the paper when it is available on it's own in June as it so just so pretty.

The smaller stamps in one of the sets are great for creating your own backgrounds.  I have used a few sentiments from other sets I own.

New books to read.

My book order arrived yesterday.

I have recently finished The food of love by Amanda Prowse which Marlene had kindly passed on to me to read ( if anyone else would like to read this in the UK then let me know and I will post it on ).  I also read the first book of Jack Reacher stories Killing Floor by Lee Childs and Sue Graftons R is for Ricochet.  Thoroughly enjoyed reading them all.

Of the books that arrived I have started with Shadow of the hangman by Edward Marston. I had picked up one of the books in the series at a garden centre without realising it was the second in the Bow Street Rivals series.  Now I have the first one I could start the series which I did yesterday afternoon as a reward for finally doing some gardening yesterday.

Hourly stitching

I've managed to get in at least an hour of stitching over the past three days and this is my progress.

I decided to work on the O instead of finishing off the R so that I could finish a word.  I've not quite finished the O but I am hopeful of finishing that tomorrow.  There are quite a few colours even in the lettering so it's taking me longer than I thought it would.

I've also managed to spend a little time on the Extinction SAL.   I'm hoping to spend a little more time on this one this weekend as the weather is predicted to be nice and sunny which means the light will be good early evening and will be my reward if I can crack on and sort out some of the garden.

Day 2 - Share What You Love

Two more cards made today using products from the Share What You Love bundle.

I have cut one sheet of each of the four colours of the cardstock pack into 5 3/4 x 3 3/4 pieces and then four pieces from six of the patterned papers (which are double sided) into 5 1/2 x 3 1/2. Apart from some white cardstock I am trying to use just one piece of coloured cardstock and one piece of patterned paper for each card.  I am cutting out the smaller mats from the matt base cardstock as once you layer the patterned paper over the top anything you've cut out is hidden.  The narrow strips across the cards are from what is leftover from the intial cut.

I've used the deep embossing folder to create the focal point on the Grapefruit Grove colour card and added colour to the raised areas using a blender pen and ink pads.  For the Mint Macaron I have also used the lovely plush velour ribbon as a decorative accent.

From just four pieces of A4 cardstock I will be able to make 16 cards using this format.  I intend to use the leftovers from the initial six pieces of patterned paper to make more cards but 6 x 6 in size and also at least one scrapbook layout.

If you would like to purchase any Stampin' Up! products then go to the tab at the top of the blog for more details on how to get to my Stampin Up! Demonstrator page or you can e-mail me.  I do receive a small comission on any products that are purchased.

 If you are interested in becoming a demonstrator again you can do this from my SU page or again e-mail for further details.

Share What You Love

I've been playing around with some of the new Stampin Up! products that have been released as special bundles this month.  More details about the offers can be seen by clicking on the Stampin' Up! page tab at the top.

I've made two cards but have stamped the flowers in different colourways.  The papers are just gorgeous with some of the designs having a lovely pearlised effect.  The little pearls just give an added interest without making the card too busy.  With this suite I am sure I to make lots of clean and simple designs to top up my card box.

 If I made up a selection of cards would anyone be interested in buying them?  I plan on posting more designs as the week goes on - I hope you enjoy seeing them.

Stitching updates

It's Only Forever is getting closer to another page finish.  

The letters R, L, E and V are now complete and N is almost done.  I am hoping to get N completed today and then work on the second R of forever.  I am going to work hard at trying to get this page completed by the end of May.

Santa got worked on the weekend before last when I was down in Helston with DH at the model railway exhibition.  The cross stitching is almost complete on this one which just leaves the beading to stitch.  Not sure when this one will get worked on again, I may take it on holiday with us this month.

I worked a little on the Extinction SAL last week and made a start on the rhino.  I had hoped to complete Part 1 before Part 2 came out but missed that deadline so I must work harder on it this month.