Officially Crunchy !

Ok that's it!

I am officially a 'hippy type' . There I said it. I carry my child about in long lengths of expensive bits of cloth, she mostly sleeps with me out of choice (mine as well as hers). I own and wear a pair of Birkenstocks.
The final test ?

I'm cultivating a brew on the kitchen worktop which I fully intend to drink *grin*

Water Kefir Grains 

I suffer with that itchy scratchy bird related condition a lot. This is supposed to help with that and a multitude of other health benefits including a sluggish digestion.

So on the left we have am F1 fermentation (can you see the little globby 'grains' in the bottom there ? This one is being made with unrefined dark sugar hence the pond colour.
On the right is an F2 fermentation - F1 strained of globs - (using white sugar )which will hopefully fizz up and create something elderflower/lemony yummy ?

I'll update in a few days to let you know if it's any good.

This week I've also cast on this shawl but I wont talk too much about it yet 

as I'm not supposed to start 'til tomorrow!

So long Imaginary Readers ! x

p.s. do you like the Jubilee background ?

Aren't people strange ?

Sometimes you just get a 'feeling' about people, don't you? Sometimes they meet your expectations - be they high or low - sometimes they surpass them!

wow that was a bit deep -  Quick ! where's the random pet picture ? 

Ah that's more like it!

This week I've been stabbing woolly things  - A LOT -  I've decided to take a slight break whilst I ponder how to create the next challenge I've been asked to make and cast on something for me too. The June knitalong with Sarah @ craftsfromthecwtch.
I don't have time to do this at all, so have cheated a little and cast on three days early to get me a head start.
I think it will be nice to have something relaxing to make in between the stabby stuff that is work these days (although still loving it!).

brief post today - busy busy !

until next time Imaginary Readers x

Oh! I do like to be...

..beside the seaside !

My parents have a holiday home at Clevedon on the North Somerset coast. We went for a day there yesterday to make the most of the sunshine (cos this 'summer' will only last the week - we all know that!).
Clevedon for anyone who's not been, is a lovely old fashioned 'proper' seaside town, the beach is not much , just some pebbly bits really, there are a few lovely cafe's and shops too.
There are no fast food places on the seafront and no amusement arcades - we LOVE it !

Clevedon's glory is its wonderful pier. 

see all those little brass plaques on the benches and floor ? There are thousands of them, to celebrate a birthday, anniversary, birth or death or just for fun. People donate to the pier fund to get the plaques made and put in place - It's fun reading them as you walk along.

small girl and her bampy

so long Imaginary Readers ! x

One day like this. .

Cheering on the Olympic Flame!

I was thinking what  to call today's blog post. Inspired by my friend Anne on facebook a earlier today I sought out this song on youtube.

It's a modern classic that probably a lot of people got bored with hearing but this version is wonderful - thanks mum!

Yesterday I took Verity to see the Olympic Flame relay in Bradford-on-Avon.

What a wonderful event the townsfolk 

(I've been watching too much Larkrise to Candleford) put on!  

Bunting galore -  all the local shops had taken on a 'country for the week' 

and were all decked out in flags and finery. 

On The Green were musicians and a choir from the Wiltshire School of Music.

It really really was a fantastic day out, 

everyone was in great spirits and a party mood.

I must mention the Currys delivery driver who somehow got his 

van mid way between the 15-20 police motorbikes.. 

I don't think he could quite believe the cheers and applause 

and joined in with a suitably 'Hollywood' wave to the crowds.

I bet he was late wherever he was going anyway.

Verity had a lovely time eating ice-cream and chatting to lots of people.

She was actually terrified of the loud hailers and crowd 

noise as the Flame got nearer - poor thing!

So it finally arrived !

You can see a tiny glimpse of the torch bearer just left of centre in my picture.

There were a total of 8 torch bearers for this one tiny town, the organisers did a wonderful job as the 5,000+ people in the crowd proved.

I was proud to be there, proud of my County and my Country.

I can't wait to enjoy the Jubilee celebrations next month !!

bye for today, Imaginary Readers x

We all need to just BOUNCE more !

We do! We need to get on a trampoline and have fun!

No doubt the daily crap will still be there once we get off and for those times I highly recommend stabbing barbed needles in things.

This post has been brought to you today by the inspiring Crafts from the Cwtch 

(Who wants to kill people but knits instead)

and the shameless plugging of my new facebook shop Marigold Green !

so long Imaginary Readers ! x

The rubbish stuff will still be there once we stop bouncing

Have you made a ginger merkin ?

A tale of dyeing

So my niece told me there were some fleeces up for grabs..

We collected them from Bath Cats and Dogs Home - SO sad seeing all the rescue pets! They had been donated them and didn't know what to do with them, so I gave them a donation whilst imagining the wonderful yarn I would hand dye, hand spin and knit into wonderful things..

So, the FILTHY sheep went for a bath..

and was washed and rinsed x about 15 times until..

it took over Verity's room for about a week to dry in all its fluffy glory!

Not quite sure what to do next and waiting to visit my friend Paula who knows about such things, I decided to 'research' natural dyes at home (by research I mean browse via Google then decide I have none of the kit and go ahead and make up my own rules)

There was a pretty golden yellow - turmeric and paprika - yummy !

(that washed out totally with rinsing)

So it got thrown into some darjeeling I found lurking at the back of a cupboard and boiled up a bit.

the boiling hot 'dye' was a mistake as it felted the fleece.. 

(I knew that would happen, I KNEW that *slaps own forehead)

tada! The ginger merkin! 

Although if you are reading this Mrs. Moth I am still wondering about the length of merkin you have/choose..

More dyeing adventures soon - with less filth.

auf Wiedersehen Imaginary Readers ! x

New Adventures!

So after much playing about and casual makes for friends and fair-ees, I took the advice/nagging/encouragement of many people and decided to actually try and sell what I do. 

(Making a little cash from doing something I love to fund yet more doing stuff I love - how cool would that be ? !!)

So I can now proudly present .... *drum roll* 

Marigold Green   

Just a facebook page for now so apologies to anyone not using the book of faces - grand plans for a proper website/world domination in the future.

Come and have a look at my scrummy things ! 

so long, Imaginary Readers ! xx

p.s. for anyone who's wondering..

"Marigold Green calls herself 'hideous, quaint and barmy'. Other people call her Bilgewater"

Pride and Cake

That I think was the planned sequel to Jane Austens better known book..?

Pride - 
My wonderful son Ethan, took part in the gruelling Ten Tors event this weekend, trekking across Dartmoor for miles and miles, hours and hours (and hours) boggy terrain, rough underfoot and steep hills.
Sadly Ethan (and LOTS of others) had to leave the Tors event after the first day, to quote his team manager "his feet fell apart". After a debrief we think he was actually suffering from a combination of heat stroke and exhaustion too. Slurred words, unable to put one foot in front of the other and the evidence of a lot of sun exposure on the back of his neck seem to now point to that as well as the terribly blistered feet.

I am SO SO unbelievably proud how of how far he did get, the wonderful team he was chosen to be a part of  - there were no casual entries but months of hard training and you had to be selected. I know he's feeling a bit glum about 'dropping' out but I think it shows great courage and maturity to know when enough is enough and admit you ought to stop.
He says he knew he was slowing his team down, they were all struggling to various degrees and if he'd have continued the pace of the team as a whole would have meant they may not have finished in time and therefore be disqualified.

Isn't my boy just AWESOME ? !!
(that's him 3rd from the front)

and Cake - 

and dressing up to look daft cos your 2 year old wants you to be in a band ;-)

My partner Paul turned 46 on Sunday! - I said to him in the small hours 'ooh I've never slept with an old man before'

I'd attempted to make a swanky cake with my new bundt tin that turned out to be a deformed, charred disaster.. so enlisted good old Nanny Jean to make her famous chocolate creation.

This is  utterly and definitely THE best chocolate cake ever in the creation of cake creations.  (Sorry, seem to have been possessed by the voice of Lola there for a minute)

nom nom!

Adieu Imaginary Readers ! x

Blogging what your mum made..

...is probably cheating, no ? (I love the way my German friends and family say that using 'no' rather than the 'yeah' ) 

I'm off any sort of crafting this week apart from the little edge I added to this pretty cardigan my mum has been making for The Pumpkin. Gorgeous huh ?

Stupid pulled neck has rendered me immobile to anything much at all so any pain free time I have is used doing houseworky type stuff *sad smilie*

I am however crafting in my head already for something for a friend... *mysterious smilie*

Vaarwel Imaginary Readers ! x

Sumo Winding and Hairpin lace

2600 yards of lace weight yarn to wind from a skein... Eeek! 

With the help of Becky and her swift and some very sumo-esque straddling of the swift we got most of it done in a few hours.

Assisted of course by yoghurt munching and light sabre (cheese string) wielding toddlers. Aren't they gorgeous?

So then the hairpin malarky could start.. 

I've never tried before, but after a few false starts of turning the loom thingy the wrong way and dropping it a lot, I'm now getting there! It's so lovely to have crafty friends to help out and motivate me. 

This whole project is going to take a loooooong time but I hope I'll get faster and I think it will be worth it.

So long Imaginary Readers. X

Getting over it

After last weeks photo disaster I couldn't face this blog for a few days. I would click on the link, shudder, get cross and close it again.
I'm over that now and just here with a little finished object - A longer blog post planned for tomorrow when I have more time!

details of what it is and the yarn etc. are HERE

(but no pictures !!!!!!!!!!! ARGHHHHHH!!!!!! - Ok not over it at all - hmpff!)

so long Imaginary Viewers of my Imaginary Pictures x

@£!!&*^%$£!!!!

So, it seems that if you synch your new phone to Google+ and then find a folder in your picture albums on said phone called 'Blog Pics', then delete that album cos you think 

'I don't need all these blog pictures on my phone..'

It deletes them all from your blog irretrievably 

*sob*

Golygfeydd

You didn't know I could speak Welsh did you ? ( I can't, I had to ask)

A follow on from yesterdays post..


The amazing Wonderwool Roadtrip (WAHOOO , YEAH !)
was made possible for me by my lovely friend Victoria, knowing I am monetarily challenged she took me and funded me and fed me - which meant I had a few pennies for fluff!
The car journey was really good fun (woooo! yeah!) we had such a laugh and spent a lot of the time saying 'ooooh look at that gorgeous hill/mountain/sheep/field/cottage/cloud/hedge.. ' There was a spectacular stone bridge moment when we just wanted to stop the car and enjoy the loveliness of our surroundings for a while.

Being the gloomy colour type that I am, I just love love love the Welsh landscape in the rain.

So, when it came to choosing something to buy at Wonderwool, I set out to find something to capture those greens, greys and heather hues.

I chose this! Isn't it just stunning ? Those deeeeeep moody greens, purple and grey smudges and the little flashes of vibrant grass green. I love it!

It's a wool/cotton mix in lace weight and THIS is the plan for it.

I'm thinking clear beads would add 'rain drops' ..? 

But I'll decide about that once I've mastered hairpin lace crochet.. eeek!

and a final pic of my lovely friend on our road trip (wahooo! yeah!)

mwah ! xxx

p.s. Golygfeydd is Welsh for scenery 

so long Imaginary Readers ! x