Sunday 26 January 2014

2014 Resolution 3, Scrappy Zappy done!

Its the perfect weather for quilting today....



This is another one that's been lolling around in the cupboard for far too long.  Since February 2012 in fact.  I'm delighted to say its been finished within two years of starting!!

I'd hauled it out in the big get ready for new year clear out and found the funky squiggley yarn that I'd planned to embellish it with...


And seeing as its partner wall hanging was finished earlier this month it really did need to be sorted out once and for all...


I spent a fair amount of time wondering what to do with the funky squiggly wool....


Then decided that some early lines of quilting to outline the shape was the way to start the ball rolling so to speak...

 

But after a good start I had to interrupt this to bind the quilt as the amount of fluff coming off the wadding and sticking to the black background fabric was driving me potty.  There was nothing else for it, the quilt had to be bound before I could go any further...


Right that's the edges neatly tacked away...


A quick swish of the sticky roller to deal with the unwanted fluff...


and it was on with the quilting!  no more time to lolly gag around...

 
 

 

Straight on with a little trim of squiggly wool...

 

 




Time to step back and admire for a second....


Mmmmm looking food .....but not quite there yet..... it needs a little bit more something....what a good job there's more squiggly yarn to hand...

 

A bit of a squiggly twizzle and a fluffy tassle appears....

 

and a few stitches and the tassle is attached.... it just needs a few friends on the other points.... and then...

Ta dah!!!


Now all I need to do is work out how its going to hang up next to its friend  in my sewing room.  

Three projects complete in about four weeks I'm going to need to keep glancing up at it in the hope that the finishing bug continues to inspire me to action through the whole year!!

Saturday 25 January 2014

Amaryllis

You've just got to admire the gusto an Amaryllis brings to January....



This one was a Christmas present from a friend.  Being away from home for the main holiday days it didn't get opened, never mind planted till 29th December.  The bulb had a little 1" green tip peaking out of the top of it.
It didn't look like much so I didn't take its photo (lesson learnt there!)

I watered it well and stood back...

 

and 20 days later I had a super tall plant and flower head taking shape...

Some days looking at it I had to try hard not to think about "the Alien" emerging to take a bite of me....


Thankfully that got a bit easier every day...

 
 

And 28 days after planting the first flower was fully open...

 

To be joined a couple of days later by a second....

 




Just LOVE that scarlet velvety red....

 

 




Happiness is your own scarlet Amaryllis and the light of a beeswax candle to keep the storm at bay outside....


Wednesday 22 January 2014

Flexi bee keeping

I suppose I'm rather lucky to work for an organisation that runs a flexi time scheme.  As long as I work a minimum number of qualifying hours (which isn't that hard to do) I get a day off and with a bit of careful planning I can time them to let me be off work on school INSET days, or for dentists appointments or for stretching annual leave out a little further.  But every now and then I have a day that I have to use before the end of the week or lose it.

Its such a tough choice to take a day off.... but someone's got to do it....

The forecast was pretty grim, cold and supposed to be bands of showers all through the day,and the forecasts have been unfortunately pretty accurate recently.  :(   So imagine my surprise when there was a break in the clouds and the sun appeared

For about 45 minutes the garden was transformed....quick! I'd better nip out and check on the bees....



The entrances to two of the three hives were surprisingly busy.  The bees were even bringing in a very pale buttery yellow pollen.  I wonder where they are finding it from?

Could it be the Winter Jasmine?

 




Or the Winter flowering clematis (love this one-  its called "Jingle Bells")


Its not the early flowering crocus....they're no where near ready to open yet....


Nope, I think they may have found the Winter honeysuckle ...

 


Or have they?

On the way back to the house the sun glinted through the early flowering Cherry that grows in the garden next door...


And then I heard the tree......... it was alive with buzzing!!



I was Transfixed!!!

Actually I've just checked the meaning of transfixed...turns out I wasn't "unable to move with surprise"
Nope I ran inside to find a ladder so I could get closer to the tree to take some better photos. 

THEN I was transfixed.

Like the bonkers bee keeper I am, I stood on the ladder, in the chilly sunshine and tried to photograph honey bees in action in January....

Look carefully....


Aaah that's better.....


I'm wondering if the bees know something we don't know about spring being on the way......

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