#ninety four

my friend jane
suggested we all

make a christmassy item

so 

number ninety four

is for her little boy 

I stitched a pyjama case

from rudolph material

and knitted

a little stocking

with chocs in it!

for those christmas eve pj's

am listening to various programmes

on radio 3

on the theme of 

northern lights

and its time to start

reading my winter books

#ninety three

the christmas knits 

(and crochets)

are being finished and wrapped

and sent in the post

number ninety three

is a cowl

made from

Drops Big Delight

in a lovely pink mix colour

#ninety two

number ninety two

is the items I have made

for a swap box

for the perfect strangers project

by oh comely magazine

www.perfectstrangers.co

as well as this 

stained glass star 

I made another glass hanging decoration

and

a hot water bottle cover

sadly I had wrapped them

before I remembered to photograph them

so you will have to just

use your imaginations

its a cold rainy day here today

but I am toasty warm

with my new log burner

blazing away - heaven!!!!!

#ninety one

am still rolling out

the christmas makes

number ninety one

is one I can show you 

before christmas

its not very interesting

but its a black slouch hat

knitted in a beautifully soft

merino wool

from this pattern

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/barley-2

at the moment

I am re-reading

diving belles

by lucy wood

#ninety

number ninety

is a little piece of glasswork

I soldered 

a coloured and a clear

piece of glass together

with this beautiful

little leaf 

inbetween

#eightynine

this afternoon

I have sat outside

in my little house

and done some

hand sewing

number eighty nine

is a little needlecase

a gift for a friend

the front cover 

is decorated with

a printed fabric piece

from

hens teeth

www.etsy.com/uk/shop/hensteeth

autumn

its been a weird november so far

mild, foggy 

then very wet

this last weekend

when it rains heavily

I can hear the river

that runs through 

the parkland

at the bottom of my street

roaring.

I love to hear it!

I noticed something strange

the other day,

the warmth from the streetlight

shining on the tree

outside of my house

has stopped some 

of the leaves

from dropping

I love the colours

on this photograph

autumn is a time 

for comfort food

and this week

I made a big pan

of turkey broth

for my mam

and some friends

who came for lunch

one large leek

two large carrots

half turnip (or swede if that's what you call it)

all chopped into medium sized pieces

diced turkey leg meat

scotch broth mixture (soaked overnight)

chicken stock cube

place all ingredients

in a large pan with boiling water

and plenty salt to taste

simmer for 2 - 3 hours

serve with crusty bread

yum!

#eightyeight

number eighty eight

one of my neighbours

has an allotment

at the bottom of our street.

she knows about my challenge

and asked if I would like

some little chillies

to make into something

so this afternoon

I made her a wreath

with wire and christmas ribbon

I've no idea how long 

the chillies will last.

I am hoping they will dry

and it will still look good 

by the time christmas comes

#eighty seven

I am in full swing with

my christmas makes

and am actually about five more ahead

but can't list them here

until pressies have been opened

on christmas morning

as I don't want to

spoil the surprise

number eighty seven

is a little capelet

made with 100% wool

to keep a friend warm 

over the winter months

it was made from a Drops pattern

and Drops Karisma wool

http://www.garnstudio.com/lang/en/pattern.php?id=5943

#eighty six

number eighty six

is a little crochet project

to help the charity

Home-Start

they asked for

crocheted snowflakes

which will be displayed at

the Christmas Handmade Fair

at Manchester Central

then distributed

to vulnerable families

http://www.lovecrochet.com/snowflake

today I've been reading

a new book called

there is no returnin'

by

SJ Carter

(my cousin)

#eighty five

a spooky halloween moon

and a foggy

1st november morning

mean its time

for a bit of cosiness

number eighty five

is a new hot water bottle cover

using the same pattern

as make number seven

from cream alpaca 

and mauve merino wools

and as an added treat

some beautiful soaps 

from 

the yorkshire soap company

to remind me of

my favourite county

#eighty four

number eighty four

is another piece 

of stained glass

I'm really enjoying 

getting back into

making glass pieces,

though I still need

a lot of practice 

especially with the soldering

I love the rich colours

of the glass,

this textured purple

looks beautiful with

the light shining through it

tonight is halloween

and I am going to be scaring

myself

by listening to this

in bed in the dark

http://www.radiotimes.com/episode/dtpxqv/fright-night-the-stone-tape

#eighty three

many years ago

I used to do stained glass

as a hobby

but my box of tools

has lain in the 

back of the cupboard,

forgotten and neglected.

I have a half-made panel

that I would love to finish,

so I decided to bring the box out

and get some lead, solder etc.

I'm a bit rusty, 

but most of it came back to me

and I made this little practice piece

using the copper foil method

number eighty three

a stained glass autumn leaf

today I'm listening to

the beatles

1967-1970 album

#eighty two

halloween

                         (from Pinterest)

number eighty two

is

two pumpkin lanterns,
traditionally
they were carved
to represent a man's face
with a candle inside
to ward of evil spirits

don't get spooked!!!

#eighty one

I've seen

a lot of these

lovely crocheted leaves 

on 

Facebook and Pinterest lately

so, I thought
I would give it a go

after a couple of

failed attempts

I worked out

the best leaves to use

and 

also where the problems

were occurring

the aren't actually 

as difficult as they look,

you just need

a gentle hand

and a bit of patience

I love the way

the leaves look like leather,

I'm not sure how long

they will last

but I like that idea

am really happy 

with the result



make
number eighty one
completed

#eighty

I am currently

studying

a short, free online course

about Hans Christian Andersen

I love the stories of

the little match girl

and

the snow queen

Hans Christian Andersen

although most famous 

for his fairy tales

was accomplished 

in many other arts.

he wrote poems, plays, novels

and travelogues

as well as producing

drawings, collages

and papercuts

my next make

number eighty,

is copies of 

two of his papercuts

this one is called heartsnatcher

these are ballerinas in a bottle

the photos of the originals

are from the website

of the

Hans Christian Andersen Museum

in Odense

http://hca.museum.odense.dk/klip/billedliste.asp?language=en

#seventy nine

it is 150 years

since Lewis Carroll

wrote

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

number seventy nine

is a 

paper alice doll
with the white rabbit

made from a cut-out kit

by 

www.etsy.com/shop/FiveAndNineteen

I love her face

#seventy eight

number seventy eight
is another make
using things in the house



this ikea stool
has stood in my kitchen
for many years
and was look sad and neglected

I used some leftover

grey woodstain

and now it is 

a lovely little feature 

in the yard

over the last couple of days
I have been

listening to an eight hour

programme from BBC Radio3

Sleep by Max Richter

its beautiful
and as you would expect,
very relaxing

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06db5tv





I'm reading
Gone to Earth
by
Mary Webb

#seventy seven

number seventy seven

is another christmas make

based on a pattern from

the big book

and using drops big delight wool

I love the colours in this yarn

today I'm singing

leaving on a jet plane

by 

I don't know who

(liam and charlotte are off to amsterdam today hence the song)

I'm reading

elle decoration  and 

period living magazines,

looking for

inspiration for 

bedroom wallpaper

#seventy six

I first heard about the Stanza Stones

on a radio 4 programme

a couple of years ago.

I was instantly intrigued

as I love Simon Armitage,

and I love Yorkshire and the Pennines.

they are a set of six
(plus one more in a secret location)
poems on the theme of water,
carved into rock and
set in locations along a forty seven mile trail
in the Pennines.

I used one of these as an inspiration
for make number seventy six.

a small handwoven
wall hanging
with wools in the colours
of the Pennine landscape
and a photograph of a misty morning
with words from Mist

"......mist
is water
in its ghost state...."

Today's album is

Sun/Son

by

Eb and Sparrow

I am reading

Stanza Stones

by Simon Armitage

September

today is the last day of September

its been a busy month

with a birthday in the middle of it

I won third prize

at Wolsingham show

for my knitted mermaid shawl

bulbs were planted

to be enjoyed in the spring

there's been bubble baths

time to put the heating back on

amazing sunrises, sunsets and supermoons

a birthday portrait by Ethan

one for sorrow

the auricula that thought it was springtime again

autumn books, leaves and handknitted gloves

bright days and cold nights