Dogs Like Knitting Too

I know I've been so very tardy about posting lately, but I have been busy knitting for the dogs.

I know **grins** but I don't have small people to knit for anymore and as most of you know my dogs are my babies.

I mentioned a few weeks ago I was knitting Badger Boo a jumper, he's been feeling the cold indoors due to hair loss from his medication. I love this pattern so much, as it uses my two favourite stitches Cables and Moss Stitch. 

Badger Boo was having a shy day when I took these photos and refused point blank to look at the camera, luckily it's the jumper I was photographing not him LOL.

Hello it's Been a While

Hi everyone, sorry I've not been blogging properly for several months apart from the odd Silent Sunday post.

Personally I've been having a bit of a tough time of things lately, I've not blogged about it as I'm scared to open the flood gates.

The past few weeks I've been in so much pain with my Arthritis, but the worst of it is, my right hand is starting to seize up, I can hardly use it some days. It's hard to remain upbeat and carry on as normal, sometimes it easier to just sit and ignore the fact that life is passing me by

I've done very little crafting and my craft room now resembles a dumping ground, every time I go in there it makes me feel depressed as there's a lot to do to get it back to how it was, so I get what I want and leave it for another day

 

Celebrations Galore

It's been a busy week here with three celebrations and cards to make for each.

First it was my parents Golden Wedding Anniversary, this was probably the hardest card for me to come up with an idea for.

 I knew I wanted to use some gold netting and add a ribbon to it.

 

Although I liked my first attempt, I started to worry that maybe it looked more like a general Birthday card than an Anniversary card, I was also very pleased with how the picture came out using the Light Box.

 

 

I'd recently had a private photography lesson with Tish Hornsbury and she taught me all about  using the White balance and a few other functions on my camera I'd had no idea about.

Just can't believe the difference in the quality of the pictures.

 

I then dug out my box of Die Cutters found the alphabet and the Anniversary cutters to add more details to the card.

The card now looked much more finished, but time was short, I had to get the card delivered so took a really quick snap of it on my mobile phone and off I went to their house to deliver it, as you can see the finished card is a lot more glary and not so sharp, will definitely ensure I'm using the Light Box next time.

 

 Then it was my sons Birthday, I really enjoyed making him this cute card, as we were having a rare beautiful day I took the picture of it out on the garden table.




Today is Himself's Birthday, he's a hard one to make cards or to buy gifts for. He's brilliant when it comes to chosing me gifts, he has such an imagination, the photography lesson was my Birthday present which got put off until recently due to my knee surgery.
I used the Light Box to photograph Himself's Card and very pleased with the results.



In Puppy News Boris is doing very well with his training and growing up fast, he's almost as big as Badger Boo now, maybe even a little bigger, it's hard to tell as he never stops moving long enough to measure him.
Here they are charging round on the common on one of those lovely sunny days last week, that seem to have disappeared this week.

A  rare shot of Boris sitting still long enough to take his picture, we have just started to learn the stay command and getting the hang of it now.

Here he is acting like a pro in front of the camera as if he was born to it.
 I love this shot of Boris.



I'm linking this post to Creative Monday and Handmade Monday.
Hope you all have a great week crafting.
xxx
 

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Found My Mojo

It seems like an age since I last felt up to doing any serious knitting. 
The damp weather we've been having in the UK at the moment plays havoc with the Arthritis in my hands, so knitting is very painful.

I really enjoy knitting Tea Cosies, no longer are they just a functional item, they can be ornamental too. My particular favourites to knit are the style I always remember my beloved granny making and using back in the 60's and 70's, it looks a lot more complicated to make than it is, once you get the hang of it.

I love making fun Tea Cosies too and Owls are another favourite of mine, mainly because I enjoy knitting cables and in the round.

When a friend recently asked me to knit them an Owl Tea Cosy I was happy to oblige but not sure if my hands were up to it. 

I did a little each day and within a week it was done, I was very happy with the result although not entirely convinced I liked the colour, it didn't look quite right on my white tea pot when I photographed it.

I knew Lesley had a Navy Blue tea pot and asked her to send me a picture so I could see what it looked like.

Photo Credit: Lesley Beeton

I loved it.

It's amazing how much better it looks on her pot than on mine

 I'm now on the look out in charity shops for different coloured tea pots, I'd assumed white would be best for photographs, how wrong I was.

In puppy news Little Boris has finally got the hang of house training, it took him a while but we got there in the end. I'd seriously forgotten how demanding young puppies are, Badger Boo was 13 years old last Friday so it's been a very long time since I'd last had a puppy in the house.

Little Boris has completed his Puppy Pre-School classes at The Company of Animals in Chertsey, I opted to go to classes with him as I'm so out of touch with people on the Dog Show circuit, I couldn't find any local Ring craft classes to take him to for socialisation. He's a very bold and outgoing pup and a joy to live with, can't wait to start his next phase of training.

On the last day of the course I found out the other Cocker in the class was actually his litter sister Jessie, so a quick photo opportunity was had.
Little Boris is the big one on the right.

What a small world it is.

There's no allotment news, I've not been down for a few weeks due to the wet weather and it being almost the end of my growing season, I'm not a fan of winter vegetables so don't grow them. In a week or two the never ending digging will begin again.

Hope everyone is keeping well and I'll see you next week.
xxx

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Cuteness Overload

So much has been happening recently but none of it has involved crafting, my life has been taken over by the beautiful Boris.

Yesterday we took him for his first off lead walk in the woods, I put a safety line on him just in case he took fright at anything and bolted.

I needn't have worried, the groundwork I put in with his training in the garden has paid off, his recall is so much better than I could have hoped for and he's so confident and outgoing.

His house training is still a work in progress, but he's clean more often than not now. It was all going very well until last week, Boris was struck with a severe tummy upset, we were very concerned he became seriously ill within a matter off hours. Rushed him to the vets fearing a blockage or poisoning, but thankfully it was neither.

The vet could find no reason for it and after some medication he was back to himself again, he's now being monitored closely and we could find nothing he could have chewed in the garden to make him so ill. Fingers crossed it was just one of those things and won't be reoccurring again.

Now I'm back to walking the dogs normally I should be able to find the time to start crafting again, I've really missed it.

Hope your all keeping well.
xxx

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A Painfully Slow Week

As todays title suggests it's been a painful week here in the Stone Pit Cave, my right hand has been very numb, swollen and stiff due to the Arthritis plus my left shoulder, which I dislocated a few years ago has also been very stiff and painful, therefore it's been a slow week for crafting.

 

I've had to put the Mitred Baby Blanket to one side for the time being, until the flexibility comes back, so for now I'm knitting with a thicker yarn and larger needles because they're easier for me to hold and it's been very slow going.

 

I found this pattern for an Owl Tea Cosy in one of my knitting magazines, although I can't remember which one, as it was a while ago.

 I think it's great fun, I just adore Owls and knitting with my favourite Aran yarn, normally I could have knitted this in a couple of days but with all the stopping and starting it's been a slow make.

 

 

It was my mums birthday on Saturday so I made her a Butterfly Card, painted with water colours then  clear embossed the darker colours to make them really stand out. So many people commented on it as it really stood out in the hall where mum had a massive Party.

 

 

In allotment news Himself has erected a large gazebo, which we are going to net  and use as a fruit cage once the ground has been dug **groan**

It didn't look nearly so large in the garden centre when we first saw it. It'll certainly be interesting trying to get the scaffold netting over the top of it.

 



 

All I can do at the moment is a little light weeding until I've had my six week check up with the surgeon, it's so frustrating as I want to get going again and get the Raspberries planted, but it's best not to rush these things I suppose.

The Physio said I can drive again, I can now bend my knee 125 degrees, the first thing I did was I head down to the allotment  to do some harvesting. My Cauliflower's and Broccoli have been brilliant this year, I'm so pleased as I grew them from seed and they tasted delicious. 
 

 



I'm also really pleased with my first harvest of Peas, I grew these from seed too, they nearly filled this 4ltr flower pot, plus there's lots more to come as they mature.

The Sweet Corn is starting to grow rapidly now after a difficult start, sadly only approx a  third of them survived the slugs, I then cheated and brought the rest as seedlings from Homebase. The taller ones are the ones I grew from seed but I'm sure the others will catch up soon.

The Sweet Peas are doing brilliantly well, every time we go down to do the watering I bring a large bunch of them home, the scent of them in the house is delicious.

 







I had a lovely email from Jill at Christmas Pie Crafts asking to use some of my photos for her Friday Review  of my Knitted Collectibles which was a lovely surprise.
Thank you so much for your kind words Jill.

As is usual on a Monday I'll be linking this post to Creative Mondays and Handmade Monday.

I hope you all have a great week crafting.
xxx

 

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Using Up Those Odd and Ends

We all have them, those little odds and ends we make then put too one side, as they didn't quite work in the project you'd originally made them for. Mine all live in a big Kilner Jar on my window sill, every day they sit there looking at me willing to be used.

 

This week I tipped out the jar and started sifting through the bits to see what cards I could come up with. I tasked myself not to make any NEW cards until I'd used as least some of these items up.

 

This Thank You card was a simple one, I'd made the sentiment a couple of weeks ago, but decided it was too large for the card it was intended for. The flowers were a something I was trying out I saw on Pinterest, where you colour the stamps with watercolour crayons then dampen with a water spray and stamp. I dismissed it as too scruffy so into the jar it went so I could use the other side of the card for something else. The sentiment and stamp landed side by side and looked great together, so I dug out some pretty backing paper and bakers twine the card was done.

 

The Happy Anniversary card was slightly different, I've been trying to learn to draw without much success, but found I really enjoyed painting my stamped images with watercolours, this little mouse was my second attempt but I just couldn't decide what to do with him. I then found the Happy Anniversary stamp with the orange backing paper. So using my punches I punched out the mouse, some matching backing paper, added some bakers twine and gems onto a card front that was already made up with a backing paper and was very pleased with the result.

 

 

The next two cards were some Spaniels I'd made up some time ago, you may recognise them as being similar to the ones at the top of my blog. I always make them up several at a time, it's so much easier if I need one to make up a card quickly, not having to wait for the glue to dry, plus every one of them is ever so slightly different even if you think they look the same, look closely and you'll see what I mean.

 



 I added some sentiments that were in the jar, cut a circle in half to make their forepaws look like they were holding it and stuck them onto two card fronts that were already made up.

 



I love making the spaniels and was really getting into using up the odds and ends, so decided to give a box card a go. They look very complicated, but are actually fairly simple to make, I watched several videos on YouTube before I got down to actually making it.

 

Again it's made up with bits out of the jar, a watercolour Bee and Hedgehog, stamped grass and flowers and an embossed sentiment. I just added the gems and stuck it all together.

I'm linking this card to the Papercraft Challenge ~ Summer Fun, because I think its very cute and summery.



I was quiet pleased with my first attempt at a box card considering its been made with odds and ends. The next time I make one I'll stick with a theme or a colour.

 

 

This weeks post is a little later than usual but there's still time for me to link it to this weeks Creative Monday also Smile it's the Weekend and Welcome to the Weekend.

 

Hope you all have a great week crafting.

xxx

 

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Crutch Cosies and Wonderful Friends

If you've ever had to use crutches for any period of time, you'll know just how uncomfortable they can be. 

Because I have Carpel Tunnel in both hands I find the ergonomic hand grips more comfortable, but the worst thing about crutches, is the constant rubbing on your forearms.

In the past I've had some really ugly rashes, knowing that I'd be on crutches for some time after my Knee Replacement Surgery, I decided to try and knit myself some Cotton Crutch Cosies as I couldn't find anything in the shops or online to help with this rubbing issue.
 

The first pair I made worked but were unsuccessful, they stretched and kept moving and I was constantly having to adjust them. 

Using them as a template for the next pair, I used two strands of yarn to make it more chunky and this time I knitted in the round.

The result was these beauties:-

They work a treat and even though we're having a mini heatwave in the UK there's no sign of any rash and the rubbing has stopped altogether.

I took them into hospital with me, I received many compliments from the nurse's, physio's and other patient's about what a great idea they are.

They still need a little tweaking ref sewing the ends up for me to be totally happy with them, and I'm currently working on my third pair in electric blue as its such a beautiful colour.

I'll let you know how I get on very soon.

 

Last week I promised you a look at the Thank You card I made for my good friend Lesley.

 I really enjoyed making this card. 

 

I got to know Lesley when I stumbled across her blog Mad Dog Woman of Shackleford and we've become very good friends.
Lesley has been an amazing support through Himself' s illness and my own surgery.

We were invited for Supper at Lesley's house recently along with Jill and her husband from Christmas Pie Crafts who is also another good friend I met through blogging, and we had a fantastic evening and the food was amazing.

When I started my blogging adventure, it never occurred to me that I would be meeting and making such amazing friends.
I've also made many other friends through blogging, some I've yet to meet and others I will sadly never meet in person due to distance, but each and every one of you deserves a massive Thank You for the love and support you've shown us, it means a lot.

At the moment I still can't drive, only another four weeks to go, and have at lot of time on my hands to fill.
Most of the ladies at the Wednesday Knitting Group have knitted a beautiful Mitred Baby Blanket, although I've had the pattern for ages, I've not been brave enough to take it on, as my pick up and knit isn't the best.
Last week I dug out the pattern and some King Cole yarn from my stash and I've made a start on it. 

I love the way the variegated colours are coming out and hope it continues like this until the end, also my pick up and knit has improved greatly. 

When it's finished I'll be donating it to the SCBU at the Royal Surrey County Hospital.

A slightly longer post than usual and I'll be linking it to My Sunday Photo, Handmade Monday and Creative Mondays.

Hope you all have a great week crafting and I'll see you next week.

xxx

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Where Have I Been?

My regular followers will have noticed I've not posted since May apart from the odd Silent Sunday post. If you saw yesterdays you will probably have figured out that I've been in hospital and had my right knee replaced. I've been waiting a long time for this, I used to blog about it a lot on my other blog Me, Myself and I.

 

As a result of the surgery 12 days ago I'm practically housebound at the moment, I'm unable to drive for a minimum of six weeks and although the knee replacement has taken the pain of the Arthritis away in that knee, I'm still in a lot of pain from the surgery and the physio and unable to walk far or stand for any period of time.

 

I've had plenty of time to knit or make cards since I last posted, but to be honest my Crafty Mojo got up and did a runner out of the door, I was stressing so much about going into hospital.

 

The morning I went into hospital I started an event on facebook, as a result I had the most wonderful support every step of the way, from the most amazing people all around the world, who  took time out of their busy lives to wish me well and find out how it was going, if you want to check it out you'll find it here.

Writing the description for the event was hard, it just didn't look right so it became a poem, I'm no poet as some of you may know from my #BlogFlash2013 efforts, but here goes:- 

 

Goodbye Arthritic Knee

 

You've lost me my job,

You've ruined my life,

You've made me suffer,

Unspeakable pain!

 

You're selfish and nasty,

Enjoyed causing me pain,

Little do you know,

The fate that awaits you.

Give up I've wanted too,
 No, you won't beat me,
A solution I've found,
Soon it'll be,
A shiny new knee

A couple of days ago I decided to get back into the craft room and make myself a Get Well Soon card, I used the watercolour Poppies I painted a few weeks ago whilst trying out some new watercolour papers and a simple Bakers Twine Bow.

 
 

 

I liked this card so much I made a another card to send to a friend with a different sentiment and colours, I can't show it to you yet, as I only posted it this morning and would hate to spoil the surprise.

 

Whilst recuperating I finally finished the Paramedic for my knitted Collectibles. It's not the best photograph as I was unable to get low enough to get the picture I wanted because of my knee. His hair looks a bit odd to me, maybe it's because the others have hats on or maybe it is odd, please let me know what you think.

Himself took me for a hobble around Godalming the other day and I was pleased to see somebody had been out and done a Yarn Bombing on the tree in the High Street. It certainly bought a smile to my face, nobody from the Knitting Groups have claimed responsibility so it would appear we have a secret knitter in our midst.

 

In allotment news, there is no news.

It all appears to be growing well without me, including the grass which is in desperate need of cutting, a job for Himself next weekend, although he doesn't know it yet LOL.

 

 

 

 

I'm linking this weeks post with Handmade Monday and Creative Mondays.

Have a great week Crafting and I'll see you next week.

xxx

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Not a Lot and The Odd Card

It's been fairly quiet here as my Arthritis has been playing up a fair bit this week, which means I've not been able to knit as much as I'd like, and I've not been out much either, but I've been using my time wisely making some cards.

 

With Fathers Day due next month, I decided make up one of the decoupage kits I got as part of a recent Goody Bag purchase.

It was a bit fiddly to do, as my hand was suffering with loss of grip, but once I got going it was a fun little project that took no time at all.

 

 

I then decided to move on to an any occasion card for men,  because lets face it, they're aren't really that many handmade cards for men around. I really love this Dad stamp with all the little pictures of tools on it.

 

 

This week I purchased some New Baby die cutters and really enjoyed having a play with them. I'm not so keen on the way the word baby is written on the girls card, the next time I'll chop it off and swap it with another one I have, but I think the stork is adorable. 



Like I said not a lot has happened so only a short post today, I've not even been doing any digging down the allotment this week, although I went for a brief look yesterday and everything seems to be starting to poke through the soil at last.

I'm linking this weeks post to Handmade Monday and Creative Mondays.

 

Hope you all have a great week crafting.

xxx

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Little Monsters for Little Monsters

I've been busy crafting this week, it's great to be doing what I love the most. I missed posting last Monday as we were away camping, you can read all about it over on Badger Boo's blog.

I decided to have a play around with the ever versatile Owl Punch from Stampin' Up and these little monsters were born.

 My Charity Shop Bargain of the week was, a brick embossing folder from Spellbinders, it's  double sided and also has a really nice wood grain on the other side, I can see me using it a lot because I just love it.

The Little Monster cards were great fun to make, and as usual I got covered in glue sticking their googly eyes and arms on.

I've also found time to do some knitting and I've been making some Cabled Plant Pot Cosy's, but when I took the picture I noticed it would actually look better with a plant in the pot.

 I only have one pot plant as I tend to kill them, but my good friend Michelle gave me one last year for my Birthday which is unbelievably still alive, although it doesn't actually fit in the pot I've made, hopefully you get the idea.

I'm in the process of knitting a larger cover but it wasn't ready for this mornings post. 

Note to self:- Must buy a fake plant that fits in the small pot for photographic purposes.

In Allotment news, the heavy digging is now finished at last for this year, the back half of the plot will remain grass for the time being.

Things are at last starting to grow, so all we have to do now is keep up with the weeding and watering then reap our rewards at harvest time.

I'm linking this post to Handmade Monday and Creative Mondays.

Hope you all have a fantastic week.

xxx

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