A walk in the Park.

It's Bank Holiday Monday here in the UK. I hate Bank Holidays. My dh is never here and I am left with both kiddies with nothing open. So it was quite nice weather. Little bit of sunshine and a coolish breeze - just my sort of weather so I took them for a walk round the park. Here are some pics.

Walking through our estate. Very pleasant.




I took sandwiches!


We fed the ducks.. and geese.




My Favourite spot in the whole park.

We sniffed the flowers.



It would have been wonderful if I had not got slightly upset by seeing "couples" with their children. I so hate feeling like a single parent. DS was great though most of the time as he walked next to the pushchair and didn't run off - well not as much as he usually does. This is progress.

Here's my granny stripe blankie as it is now. Not yet finished but not far to go.



Just waiting for some cellophane bags from ebay then I will be able to parcel up my little giveaways - yes - giveawayS. There will be two prizes so stay tuned.

Right, husband has returned home from his travels and we're off out for a drive. Back soon. xxxxx

Oh and nearly forgot that Maggie from Black Country Wench sent me a gorgeous runner up prize from her giveaway. It was an Alison Weir book as you can see on the right and also an All Dolled Up chart from my wishlist. Thank you soooo much Maggie. Loved it and I'm loving the book. x

My Perfect Afternoon...

Last night, I couldn't sleep. I was so excited because I had decided that today was going to be a perfect day. My legs were dancing under the sheets and it was a good job dh was working away otherwise he would have got kicked a few times. I had managed to get dd into craft club at the same time as ds going to nursery which meant I had two and a half blissful hours all to myself. I love my kids to bits but one needs a break now and again and this was it.



Before I dropped them off, I made sure the house was relatively tidy and hoovered up so I wouldn't waste my precious time. Then I baked scones. I baked them just before dropping them both off so they would be perfectly cool and ready to eat when I got home. I went out and bought some double cream and Bonne Mamam Strawberry Conserve. I served it up with Whittards Irish cream flavoured coffee in my new favourite cup. Ohhhh yummmmm. Delicious homebaked scone with a slightly crunchy outside and soft and crumbly on the inside. Not like shop bought ones with the baking soda aftertaste. I sat there at my kitchen table and browsed my mags. Perfect.



Then I did a bit of hooky. Loving this so much. Have I said that before? I think I may have to buy another pack of the yarn as I am going to make this super big for our bed. The rest of it I will make flowers with. There are plenty of uses for this gorgeous yarn. It is soft and easy to work with and the colours are fab.



And a bit of stitching. I so wanted the unicorn's ear finished but never mind - these things take time. Listened to Micheal Silverman's Jazz for a Rainy Day on Spotify. Lovely relaxing piano music. It wasn't raining, in fact, it was quite a reasonable day with a bit of sunshine but this music was also.... perfect.



Whilst looking at my mags I noticed this:



Can you spot the crochet blanket? £175 from Toast!!! Hmmm excepting the colours, not so disimiar to my Baby Steps.

I got some home decor inspiration and am set on this:



Previously I was adamant it would be this:



I am on a very nice journey of self discovery at the moment and am never quite sure of what I like but I am definitely moved toward the red. I kind of lost myself the last few years with one thing and the other and now I am trying to make out the pieces of the jigsaw that make me up if you get me. It's an interesting journey and I will share more things about "me" as I find them out! Our living room is desperate to be decorated. It is very plain and a sort of yellowy cream and very boring. I like bright bold colours and the red room is just so cosy and I think will be ideal for the coming autumn season.

Well, so long for now good readers. I have much to share but that is enough for one post. I am thinking I should blog more regularly and not leave great big gaps. Passing by your way soon. Big Thank You to all my new followers as well. Some don't appear to have blogs but if you do then leave me a comment so I can find you too. xx

A RAK and Granny Square blanket no. 2 finished!!!

Hello folks in lovely blogland. I hope you are all enjoying your summer. It has been going okay here. I have my two lovelies to keep me company. DD has been to a few different activities including crafting at the local craft centre where she has done all sorts of wonderful crafts. But more about that later.

Firstly, after my last post, I received this gorgeous RAK in the post from Robin



Isn't it great?? I love the chart and fabric and that pink lace - oh I love it. Thanks Robin so much. This was a neat thing to get in the post.

Speaking of giveaways, my followers list has grown to over 200!! I have been doing a few things for the giveaway but I haven't got it all together yet. I can tell you though that it will have a mixture of "Hazel Handmade" and some bought goodies too. So stay tuned.

Next up, I am very proud to present my latest finish. This is my second crochet blanket and I call it my Baby Steps blanket. If you remember my first blanket and how I completely ad-hocked it, this latest blanket was me learning about square sizes and colour organisation. It is also for my ds who, although no longer a baby, is still my baby.





I even learned how to do this lovely shell edging around it thanks to attic24.



As I have got more and more into the crochet and yarns etc I started to really dislike the colours I chose for this blanket. Originally I was so excited about them esp after the Ugly episode. However, now that it is made up, I am really pleased with how it turned out. Not bad for cheap Hayfield Bonus wool! My son loves it too and he is snuggled up asleep in it even as I type ;).



My dd says she wants a ripple blanket now!

Speaking of DD, she has been to a few things this summer. Here is some of what she has been up to:



Jewellery making, wheelwork, tile making, mask making, Hama beading!!!!! She has also done some artwork and the usual colouring in etc...

Right, I'm off to catch up on some blogs whilst also thinking of more crochet blankets! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ta daaa! Second finish of The Pledge

Well I am a happy little bunny now. Here is my second finish since starting my Pledge to have no new starts from June to November. This is Snowfire Christmas by Just Nan. Barb RAKed me this chart to do as part of the Just Nan SAL on Stitch and Stash and I can tell you I have loved every stitch of it. And there were many stitches!









Some stitches used include:

Smyrna Cross
Triple Leviathan
Pulled Satin
Square Eyelet
Diamond Eyelet
Right Angled Leaf
Rice Variation
4 sided
Backstitched Pulled Eyelet

Photographs really don't do our stitching justice do they? It is, of course, much sparklier and prettier in real life. It has "fire crystals" dotted around which really catch the light. It is my first Just Nan and I am pleased to say I have a few more charts in my stash waiting to be done.

So that is two finishes I have now. Ho hum... can I carry on without having a new start???? I have many projects kitted up ready to go but I have already broke my Pledge once and no I will not do it again. Sooooo.. what do I work on getting finished next?? Ahhh you will have to wait and see.

Here's a little Granny Stripe progress:



Again, colours much brighter than pic. Such a happy blankie. I love it.

I was so pleased this week. The lovely Sally sent me an email to check if my wishlist was up to date as she had a chart she wished to RAK me with! Oh my. It came this week. I love it Sally. Thank you so much. I sometimes can't believe the kindness of stitchers.



So in way of giving back, I noticed my followers have reached 199!!!!!!! What??? Where have all those people come from? So as soon as it gets to 200 I will be doing a little giveaway. So stay tuned for that. I have a few ideas of what I will be giving away and I think it will be a lovely package if I may say so myself. A little bit of this... a little bit of that.

Now I do have lots and lots of pics to share of what has been going on in the holidays but it's a big kid's post so I will save it for another time. In the meantime, I will leave you of the iside of the wasps' nest. It had been pretty much demolished by the Nice Man but there was enough left to see how it had been constructed. The white bits in the "honeycomb" are wasp maggots. Nice!



And on that happy note, I will leave you to your stitching. Thank you for your lovely comments on my last post. I will be round to visit you soon. xxxx