Flowery goodness

'Fiesta'
'Strawberry Sundae'

'Citrus Twist'


Hello dear souls. I have managed to find a few spare minutes to drop in and share my latest crocheted goodies with you all - I couldn't resist letting you all have a sneaky peep at what Im making up for the fair in July and there they are, three of them all finished and ready to be put on little display cards.

I managed to get hold of some delicious ceramic buttons for the centres (which you can see on the corsages above in the pics), so Im making some with those, and some with little clusters of vintage ones which hail from my Mum's old tin - me and the Little One spent ages looking at all the shapes and colours, making little piles of our favourites and every now and then you'd hear me 'oohing' and 'ahhing' over long forgotten ones, that once found suddenley conjoured up faded memories of a pretty sundress or a hand knitted cardigan by Nan all those years ago when I was small myself.


As usual Ive been busy beetling away in the evenings but on Sunday, fatigue or something caught up with me and I surrendered to the most shocking tiredness Ive experienced in ages and was in bed fast asleep by 8pm! I think it was my body's way of saying slow down...well there's a big dose of Slow Stuff as of friday when we are officially on our hols - hurrah!!


We actually spent most of Sunday in York, I lived there for a while a few years back and now and then we all like to go and have a wander round. Despite the forcast being depressingly overcast, the sun shone all day and it was gorgeous. We had a picnic in the park watching the boats race and then wandered round the shops a while...I accidently stumbled into Cath Kidston and found myself sometime later with a little blue carrier bag in my hand...(chuckles wickedly :) How did that happen I wonder!! I treated us to a white enamel soap dish for our kitchen (which Ive had my eye on for an age now) and a pretty floral bowl which will suit a heap of strawberries or at present, a pot of home grown basil.

Anyway folks, thats all from me for now. I look forward to seeing you all after my week away, when I will visit all of your blogs to catch up with what you've all been up to.


Lots of love, thanks to all of you who visit my blog and leave such smashing comments - they really do mean the world to me. I know that most of you lead busy lives and that you take the time to come and read my ramblings let alone leave me a message...well, it just makes my day! :)

Sending love to blog friends old and new,
Love Julia xxx

Delicious Art Day

A cold May morning dawns, yes, the heating is on and there is a steady drizzle from the opaque white sky above but I am not bothered, as today (after a rather long absence) I have a date with my paints and all things arty, and it feels rather marvellous, like Ive been given an extra birthday.

As soon as the little one was on her way to Nannie Mum's house, I eagerly got everything ready and soon it was a hive of activity as I basked in the luxury of an entire day reaching before me, filled with all things colourful and creative. My main goal today was to complete 'Can We Come Too?' ~ a mixed media piece which has been sat on my sideboard top for several weeks now desperately awaiting my attention, and to begin a new one which already has been entitled 'A Lovely Dream' - or at least it has for now :)

the original sketch for 'Can We Come Too?'

Some of you may recall a little snap shot of 'Can We Come Too?' several weeks back when it was only just half way done. Since then I haven't been near it, except to glance at it in passing and several different ways of continuing with it have run through my mind after coming to a stand still and not knowing where to go with it. This happens to me sometimes, and Ive discovered that time is very good at sending you just the right idea when its ready. So today, I got stuck in, acrylic paints and buttery oil pastels, blending, scraping, drawing into...oh it was bliss!

So, after a couple of very absorbing hours, it was finished - ta-daaaaaaa!! Here it is!

'Can We Come Too?'

Oh Im so very pleased with it - I love the rush of euphoria that comes with completing a painting - and right after finishing this one I was to be found hugging a big mug of tea and my sketch journal working on the next piece, 'A Lovely Dream' which I have big plans for - Im going to be entering it into an Illustration competition and it needs to be ready by the end of the month.

I will share more details as I progress with it - suffice to say its going well so far and its nice to have a goal to work to as far as painting goes as just lately I feel that Ive given the majority of my time over to my crochet and baking goodies :) Sometimes my art work is sadly neglected in favour of wool and cake.

(a little close up of Bo the dog and Little Red walking by the lavender fields)

However...I don't think I can neglect my crochet work completely in favour of my painting - its my one big chance to fully chill out and I love squeezing a bit into my day, its like a meditation and there are no expectations with it other than to eventually make something nice for the house. So, imagine my delight when the postie stopped off at my little house this morning and delivered this:

Happy squeals of delight as I flick through the pages - oh theres going to be no stopping me now, everything will be adorned with poppies and pansies just wait and see :)

This book is even more significant in a tiny way, as when I was browsing flowery crochet books and was reading up about them, I was very taken with the fact that this particular author, although American spent 7 years living in Sheffield (which is my city folks) and was heartily inspired by all the different coloured flowers she saw during her time here, which formed the basis of her inspiration for this book! Hurrah!!

Thats about all from me today, Im off to do some much needed website work now - my little one isnt due back til after tea so Im making the most of the quiet to get on with things. Its been good to reconnect with my painting today, kind of wondering why I left it so long actually...but as you know, life gets in the way and time flies!

Til next time, pink sunsets and mango frappes to you :)

Love J xxx