GinnyKnit

This is where I should be doing a craft fair next weekend. I was so looking forward to it. Its a local monastery that the community saved from destruction and is now used for events,  So I am having to be more pro-active in selling, donating and passing on my makes. Problem is I cannot stop making things but my frozen shoulder has slowed that down to a crawl. Sleep is a rare commodity in this house so there a lot of hours to fill.   My Christmas pressie off my son this year is a subscription to Country living magazine which I adore, having real paper magazine is such a luxury. The subscription is amazingly cheap and I got a lovely gift of a Vintage interiors magazine - its big and thick with wonderful photography in it.  The process of emptying the house is still happening and the refusal to have anything coming in is going well too. Hopefully the charity shops will re-open soon and I can clear the hall. All in all not too bad here despite whats going on outside my door. We rarely leav

 Its time to pack away my lovely geraniums into the poly tunnel so they can keep warm. They do ok in the garden but may as well use the space in there. I have been tidying away the dead stuff and checking on my succulents, my oh my I have a lot of them to donate to Emmaus garden centre. I just need to find some more plant pots on the local free site. 

Here is the update of Mums lockdown doll. She has pockets to put your sewing tools in. Im having issues with her stuffing at the moment and need to make her less wobbly/ I have had plenty of practice with toy making but never with one thats weighted with re-cycled poly pellets. This sleepy Princess Bethany is all worn out from crafting with Grandma. She has the most amazing ability to see ideas for stamping and card making and we havent a clue how she knows. She will go far.  Other than crafting a few few trips out mostly for necessities its mostly groundhogs days here ( as my darling sister by another Mother says) Get up, get through the day, go to bed and repeat. It could be worse so count my blessings. Our extended family has lost 2 members to cancer this week. One very sudden and one expected but none the less difficult for all to comprehend. The selfish people not following the guidelines and spreading this damned virus have made our losses all the harder. No big gathering of supp

Made sure I had provisions in the caravan to keep busy. Wee bit of cross stitch - fancied a blue Christmas this time. We do go out but evenings are very long as we don't do nightlife. Blackpool was very quiet during the day and we wonder how on earth people are surviving when they are usually run off their feet. Called in an antique/retro centre I found on line but sadly they hadnt spent lockdown cleaning the place and we both got nibbled by a bug or two. We beat a hasty retreat! Bethany thoroughly enjoyed herself along with her brother, bit of beach time/swimming pool/ long walks. We were there mainly for support but know now we wont have to stay next year as the wee family is fine on its own now. We will probably nip up for a day then stay in a motel for a night and do our own thing the next day. One good thing we hardly spent a penny.  Now down to the work of clearing the house, finally found a charity shop that would accept the pile of stuff  I had picked up off my brother as h

My first butternut squash! Im so glad something useful has come up. The other squash is just for decoration and the seeds were only 19p from Lidl so I thought they would look nice. Hubby picked me up this fab book from the library ex stock for 10p - total bargain! So life consists of nurturing veg and processing apples at the moment.  

Johns birthday lunch complete with candle. Took Mum out as she was getting very tense, car windows all open then went in the restaurant. I think we may well go there again, totally fuss free but felt safe. Big bonus that the food was half price. I had a Caesar salad and of course Mum had prawn salad. Excellent food and very relaxed. Mum was much better when we took her home. Very happy to find this being given away. It need a bit of repair work but otherwise perfect. She replaces the much missed Doris rescued from Debenhams storage bay many moons ago. Doris mysteriously disappeared from the loft, maybe when we had to clear it out to have work done.

Finished my Cath Kidston inspired blanket and its 4 foot square. Also Escape to the Chateau's Angel designed some bedding and her colourway inspired the second blanket. Now both on sale on FB  Tackling Mums lockdown knitting and turning it all into little people.

Had the gender reveal last Sunday and the pink yarn is a hint! Yes its a wee girl. Thomas cooked Sunday dinner for 11, first time he cooked a roast dinner so he made it an occasion. No fuss from him, the more time we all spend together the more we like him. Doing some stitching for my Christmas charity choice this year. Woollies of the world will get the benefit of my time as Pam deserves all the help we can give her and her hubby. She sent me a few nice embroidery threads she had been given and a pile of lovely felt. Im making decorations and seasonal wall hangings, all things that can be posted cheaply - aiming for large letter as postal costs put people off from bidding in auctions. Will post a photo of the finished donations.

Self seeded nasturtiums which has taken over beautifully. Some of the baby succulents heading for Emmaus garden centre tomorrow.  I just love my poly tunnel, its full of flowers which herald the arrival of courgettes, squashes and cucumbers. Having a busy time here but getting lots done. Finally found a supplier of good sewing thread thats not overly expensive so the machine will be out next week. Going to spend a few days finishing a crochet blanket then Im set to sew. 

More wool arrived for a Cath Kidston inspired blanket and some to finish off other projects. Plants getting huge in the poly tunnel, I  am so glad Ive got it because the weather is chilly. Made some yoghurt cakes with leftover yoghurt and shared them with friends. Took Mum out for the first time since March 9th, we had a little picnic in the park and she was revitalised if a little wobbly. Popped down on Sunday just to drop off some essentials that she cant ask  my brother for IYKWIM.  John has had a few very low days but with his psychiatric support keeping in touch by phone it has been a great help.  We actually went to the garden centre today and it was almost empty. We picked up a few carnation type plants and a lavender. We need a bit of grass seed for a bald spot but it was £10 a box!!! Nipped to Wilkies on the way home - £3.40 for a weigh your own bag - much better. Good job I scrounged some plastic tubs at the chippy yesterday for the excess. We occasionally tr

Blanket going well. Willow pattern is easier than it looks. I now have the pattern committed to memory. Also knitted, yes knitted a heavy shawl designed to dress your bed in a boho style. Ive used yarn that was heading for the bin or wasn't quite good enough on its own ie too thin, poor texture etc. I have been using up a ton of this yarn and actually wore out a circular needle someone gifted me. This was almost the last row as it filled the replacement needles. Im loving the look. As for the rest of life, well the best I can say is we are still standing.

Card making using scraps and a yummy bag of yarn to make a vintage blanket. Struggling with lockdown or rather struggling with hubbys lockdown. Lucky we have psychiatric support and he gets a welfare check every week . Going to see Mum on Friday and stand outside her house as she is struggling too. Its true she has been through many things in her life but never alone. On a brighter note the poly tunnel has been a godsend and everything is thriving. Bumper crops we hope!  

Peas shoots Nasturtiums Bunting Stiutch Obviously no pics of any chocolate. I decided recently that this stash of mine sat in boxes is a bit sad. It needs to be used, out in the world. So Im making allsorts of gifts for friends and using the bunting in the poly tunnel. I also has some lights in little mason jars that I bought cheap so they adorn the poly tunnel too now. Its no use having things put away for the future when you don't know how that future will look. Next its pillowcase dresses for Beth, she already has a nice new string of bunting for their decking area at home.

So Im using bits up thus the scones, knitting for only the second time on circulars, very slowly laying the base for the poly tunnel and watching the cat using the neighbours collapsed wall to sunbathe on. I now finally have my poly tunnel. It was a real bargain and very sturdy. It took us a while to set it up as both of us struggle physically but we did it! I used the storage shelves from my office and an old coverless mini greenhouse as staging. Altogether so far its cost us £27 to buy and set up. We also picked up a pallet and have made a strong fence at the back of it to neaten everything up and to tether it to if the wind is very bad. Now I have to pot on all the box plants I have grown to make a little hedge along the side. One very happy Ginny.

Im stocked up with crafty bits and bobs, have projects sorted and now Im just getting my head round things. We will have to shop, maybe, Thursday for basics but we aren't really short of anything. This little fella needs some arms and a jacket so that's next on the list.  

January was an excellent month for me, picked up a big bolt of fabric from a charity shop and have now covered the dining chairs in it. I recovered them a couple of years ago and Beth was drawing a face on a felt gingerbread man for me and practiced on the chair first - I couldn't be mad as she made a good job of it. They have got very grubby from little peoples shoes and hands, paint and felt tip. It only took 3/4 of an hour to cover 3 chairs. The other bargain was a copy of a vintage phone for £5 from Emmaus. I have been buying a cheap landline phone with monotonous regularity as they break. The last on had too short a cable and the coiled part tangled up all the time. It really was the handset from hell! The new one is perfect and very well behaved, it stays where you put it and doesn't tangle. I am on a spending freeze now and very determined to sell all the stuff laying around, I made a start and sold a book today.

Took a pic of this as Mum has the only copy. My 15 minutes of fame when a customer in my shop won a competition and they dragged us into the street to take this. Im the redhead or was then now Im pretty much white but I love it.

Im making small rugs for little toes next to the bed. Priority is to use up random leftover balls of yarn so 4 strands of DK and 10 mm circular needles work really well and knit up quickly. I had the flu for 10 days and couldn't do much but this knitting was ok. I have never been a fan of circular needles but these are lovely, just plain wood and a plastic  tube - rescued from someone who didn't know what to do with them - there seems to be a recurring theme here.

Yet another caravan cross stitch, hoping  they are as popular with others as they are with me. Had to stop stitching and take the grandlets to the park for about 10 minutes as it was too cold to do anything. John took Michael a walk round the play area while I encouraged Beth to move about and keep warm, then we swopped, Both of us were in agony made worse by the cold but the little ones need air and unplugging at least once a day. Michael is going in hospital tomorrow to be knocked out and have a few teeth out - the only way with auties is extreme. He is being very calm at the moment but we are walking on egg shells as he gets very stressed about it all. Will be very glad when its done.