I love this time of year.....

I really love this time of year.  I seem to be surrounded by the beauty of nature and the promise of what's to come.  I just couldn't resist snapping a few pics to share with you all....

My tulips and aquilegia flowers [granny's bonnets] are in full bloom.  The granny's bonnets seem to have spread even more this year and are shooting up everywhere....I guess this could be called a weed if it was anywhere else?....I just love the colours of their blooms so we leave them to grow where they choose.

We have a garden full of beautiful blue bells.  These also spread every year and we have now moved some to grow freely down the bottom of our garden in the 'back to nature' bit under the trees where we have a bird hide, feeders and bird houses.  Although we live in the middle of a village the bottom of our garden is really quiet and the birds love it.

Our wooden arch in the back garden is coming to life as the wisteria comes into bloom.

The first little seedlings are just peeping through where I have planted a row of radishes.

The strawberry flowers are all opening out in the beautiful sunshine we have today.

What a fabulous time of year eh?

WOYWW....

Happy WOYWW to one and all.  I really hope you had a great Easter weekend.  We had a super family time with a couple of gatherings of the clan  :-)

Sunday was a gathering of my hubby's family and it was really lovely to catch up with family members that we don't see too often.  We had a BBQ in a beautiful garden in the sunshine by the side of the River Vyrnwy.  Bliss.

 

Monday was our turn to host a party.  It was our youngest daughter's 26th birthday yesterday so we gathered all the family in our garden to celebrate a day early before everyone returned to work.  My darling hubby had spent hours over the weekend building a new swing frame for the granddaughters so there were two happy little girls occupied on the new play equipment in the sunshine.

This is the latest picture of the twin baby bump  :-)  It seems to have grown every time I see M  :-)  For those following the progress you will all be as thrilled as I am to hear M was well enough to go back to work teaching yesterday and is back eating for the three of them again  :-)

 How different can two bumps can be eh?  This was a quick snap of my youngest daughter A's baby bump taken last night....and there is only one baby in there!  We baby sat for her hubby to treat her out for a birthday meal and had just the best evening with our two gorgeous little granddaughters.  They really do melt my heart so if number three is just as gorgeous I can't wait  :-)

Here you can see the new box I've bought to hold all the baby knitties and as you can see it is filling fast  :-)....and yes I am still knitting for England.  I have lots of expected babies up and coming and like to knit a little something for each of them.

  Here is our personal computer expert fixing our lap top  :-)

I'm proud to say this extremely handsome, talented computer expert is my baby.....hehehe.  As you can tell he is well beyond the nappy stage but as all Mums reading this will know they are still your babies even when they are all grown up.  Thanks M for clearing off the computer virus for us....I will do my best to keep your Dad off those sites again!  :-)....seriously folks he was only searching for pottery marks to verify a plant pot's identity and a computer virus attached itself to very many programmes on our laptop!

My last photo is of that gorgeous crab apple tree that I showed you last week.  Already the gorgeous vibrant pink blossoms have faded to a delicate pink colour and are falling like confetti all over the ground below.  What a shame the beauty of nature just doesn't last a little longer eh?

Right folks, that's all from me for this week.  I am still catching up from having a few days off over the weekend and of course we have another long weekend up and coming too.  Please pop over to our leader's blog now and join in the WOYWW fun.  Thanks Julia for linking us all together.

Happy Easter....

I just want to say a Happy Easter to all my wonderful blogging friends and am gonna let nature say the rest....I am making no apologises for this post being picture heavy as we have had an amazing day in the garden and I really appreciate all the inspiration I get for my crafting from the wonders of nature that surround me living here.

Sewing all done...

Just so you know all that list of sewing in the post below is now done plus I've had in and completed all this as well!!.....

• Dress...shortened
• Trousers...shortened
• Dress..... taken in
• 2 tops...... taken in
• Skirt ....taken in
• Jumper....repaired
• 2 x trousers....rehemmed
• Trousers.....buttonhole reinforced
• Vintage evening dress.....lots of repairs

Never a dull moment here  :-)  I'm please to say I've now finished all the sewing I'm gonna do for today  :-)

Plus while I've been doing all that my daughter has been teaching her twins how to colour and draw things ready for teaching her class about the Royal Wedding  :-).....just look at the size of that bump now!!

WOYWW.....

Here we are at yet another Wednesday of mass exposure.  If you still don't know what I'm on about [then where have you been?] pop over to Julia's blog to find out more and join in the fun.

My week, as ever, has been a busy one full of wonderful memories.

Saturday was Tina and Gavin's Wedding day and Twiglet, my hubby and I were thrilled to be asked to share this wonderful day with them.  It was a beautiful sunny day and they were surrounded by all their family and friends to make their vows.  What a special time for us all.  Thanks to both Tina and Gavin for allowing us to share your special day. [I'm sure she will be posting her photos on her blog so keep an eye out].

Sunday was another day of celebration as it was our 29th Wedding Anniversary.  I am truly blessed to have spent 29 wonderful years with my soul mate.  He really is one in a million.  Here's to the next 29 :-)  These are the flowers he gave me [even if he had to have a little helper to get them for him!....thanks M].

Monday was to be another Funday but alas we were greeted with two pair of curtains at the start of it which sort of takes the edge off the fun! [you all know what I think of curtains!].  Twiglet set to and did the cutting for me straight away so I have to do the sewing at some point this week.

My rail filled to overflowing during the day but we chose to spend our day with my fast growing daughter helping her to do her lesson planning for when she goes back to school after the holidays.

 ...she is now feeling much better and as you can see here her lap is now filling with her baby bump [she says they are each as big as oranges this week and I don't think she means satsumas!....it looks more like a whole fruit bowl to me  :-) ].  

I'm really thrilled to have you looking so much better M...enjoy every day.

Here is the now finished gorgeous little cardi you saw last week.  It's so pretty and def a girly one so I'm keeping my fingers crossed  :-)

The last two pics are just to share with you.  My miniature apple tree is now in full bloom.  It looks and smells wonderful and stands no more than a metre tall  :-)

These are our three dogs enjoying the garden [of course I did have a hand full of treats to get them to pose for you!].  From the left they are Wispa, her big brother Rocky and the old lady, Skye.  They are all Cairn terriers and, as it says in the book we have, once you've had one you will never be without one.  They all have different characters but all love to please and I wouldn't be without any one of them.

Right now friends I'm off to tackle my sewing......

• Long dress.... needs shortening.
• Jacket....needs a new open ended zip.
• Dress....needs taking up on the shoulders.
• Trousers....need shortening.
• Jeans....need patching.
• Skirt....needs shortening
• Skirt....needs taking in.
• Jeans....needs new zip.
• 2 x tops...need shortening.
• 3 x jeans....need shortening
• Shorts....need shortening.
• Shorts ...needing repairs.
• Oh yes and 2 pair curtains need hemming!!!

....and that's just until the next lot arrives!!!  I will do my best to call in on you all but I may be under a sewing mountain for a while first.  Have a great week.

A bit of colour to end the week....

I have popped out in our garden to add a bit of colour to my blog and brighten a rather gloomy day.

We seem to have everything from this beautiful white of this shrub through to...

...the delicate blues of the Forget me nots.

The brightest yellows of the Mahonia and......

....the delicate yellow of miniature daffodils.

The orangy yellow of the Kerria japonica now in full bloom.

This is the tree that gave me so much inspiration last year.  I'm thrilled to say it is already starting to come into bloom....

Here is just one of the beautiful early blooms on the crab apple tree above.

Here is the picture that I made this time last year using this inspiration.

Isn't it lovely to be able to use the inspiration that is all around us to produce works of art.  :-)

WOYWW...

Happy Wednesday everyone.  

Firstly today I have to say Happy Anniversary to Twiglet and her hubby.  They have been married 37 years today. Hoping you both have a really special day.

As ever, following our Funday Monday comes a need to catch up on Tuesday at sewing by Annie's and this week has been no different.  My rail was full before Twiglet arrived this week and not a lot of work was done during the rest of the day.  We had a visit from M and spent the day chatting, giggling and enjoying our day together. [ just what the Dr ordered  :-)  ]

This was my 'to do' rail yesterday morning [2 of my customers brought 10 items between them!] but thankfully I cleared most of that yesterday.  I am now up to 1070 customers so, as you can imagine, business is booming.

 This is the latest little knittie I have now finished.  I think the little smiley face buttons just make this little cardi [click on pic to enlarge if you want a closer look]....

 .....and I am now knitting with the gorgeous wool Jo from Jozarty brought me back from Germany.  I love how the colours are appearing as I knit.  This one started off with casting on 193 stitches and will take a while to complete  but I am really enjoying using this wool so thank you Jo.  :-)

Well, thats about it from me today.  I will do my best to get round as many of you as possible but if I fail to get to you then thank you for visiting me and for your lovely comments.  Hoping you have a really great week.

I hope you will all pop over to Julia's now and join in the WOYWW fun.

A special day in the sun....

Yesterday was our little granddaughter L's 1st birthday and about 20 of us enjoyed her special day with her.  There was a bouncy castle, trampoline, swing, slide, lots of sit and rides all laid out in a beautiful sunny garden.  There were 4 little children there and 4 pregnant mums so lots more in the making  :-).....there must be something in the air.

Here is the birthday girl enjoying the bouncy castle.

Here is big sister P playing peep with Nanny.

Of course it doubled up as a mattress for a snuggle up with mummy  :-)

Little P loved the new swing and here you can see that baby number 3 is growing nicely  :-)  In fact I hadn't see our daughter A for a week because they had been away on holiday in Cornwall and she has blossomed nicely while they have been away.

This is another of the baby bumps who is due to put in an appearance in about 8 weeks  :-)  We don't know what this one is yet so we are all still playing the guessing game.  :-)

This was the stunning birthday cake my son's girlfriend G made for the birthday girl. ....Isn't it amazing?  I think she should take orders.

Even more exposure.....

Well folks it's a day of exposure here at sewing by Annie's. I've already shown you my pants and now M has said I can show you all how her bump is developing  :-) 

She is only 13 1/2 weeks pregnant but already she has quite a noticeable bump.  [ And I've just altered 3 pair trousers to accomodate her and the two babies :-) ].  Most single pregnancies aren't even showing at this stage but obviously having twins makes quite a difference....and don't forget she has lost over a stone in weight with all the sickness she has had for the past 9 weeks.  She has asked me to tell you all that she is finally feeling rather better and to say thank you to you all for your kind get well wishes.....and I have to add it is SOOOOOOO nice to have my daughter back to her old self with her wicked sense of humour.

The only good thing that has come out of her poorly time has been that we have had lots of quality time together....just a shame she wasn't well enough to enjoy it too.

Let me show you my pants....

I had lots asking to see what I make with the beautiful embroidery anglaise material so thought you might like to see my pants....Well, not technically mine, but the ones I've made  :-)

"And who did I make these pretty pants for?"  I hear you ask  :-)  Well, it has to be for a very special doll doesn't it?

Here she is  :-)
I have made her for a very special little girl for her 1st birthday on Sunday.  It's my gorgeous little granddaughter L's special day and we have bought her her first pram so of course she has to have one of Nanny Annie's special dollies to push round in it.

Hang about....

Just a quick post to show you the latest addition to the shop.

It's a case of....Here's one I finished earlier  :-)

The handy "Hang about" has a lined, fabric container to hang over the side of a chair or over the edge of a table. It is a handy store for crafty bits and bobs eg ball of wool, needles, hooks, pens, pencils etc. whilst you are working.

It has a non-slip sand-filled cushion to balance it.

Hope you like it   :-)

WOYWW.....

Another week has passed and here we are on another WOYWW when a fab group of bloggers expose their spaces to their friends.  There are tidy desks, messy desks, creative desks and other spaces all showing a little of their life, work and fun.  It has to be one of the best days of the week and it was all started by our Queen of snoop......Julia.  I feel we all have a lot to thank her for because she has certainly made the world a smaller and more enjoyable place to be.

Today in my room is another crafty creation that has just been finished...

This is another 'hangover' that can be used on a chair arm or zimmer frame bar or anywhere else that a handy storage space is needed.  Like the one you saw on Twiglets blog, it has 4 pockets on the front and 2 more over on the back and is held on with a velcro strip.

The other projects on my table today are trousers needing adjustments to fit in baby bumps [they are my daughter's so no money made there  :-) ] and there is also a beautiful piece of embroidery anglaise material that came off an old moses basket.....I'm not sure what that will be used for yet but you will be the first to know when I do  :-)

Our daughter M is thankfully starting to feel a little better.  Yesterday was the first day she managed without medication to stop her feeling constantly sick so we are all keeping everything crossed that this is the start of better days for her.  Lets hope she can start to eat more normal foods now and start to gain a bit more strength.  She is really looking very pregnant now and has quite a fair sized baby bump already  :-)