Hello weekend!

This week has been busy with finishing off this little hippo and starting something new.

This hippo is so lovely to crochet and Kerry Lord the designer of these gorgeous animals is really amazing! 

This little face!

My eldest daughter chose the little hippo and I added  the tutu and ballet shoes as my daughter is a ballerina!

 The little tutu and ballet shoes are a standard size and fit all the Edward's Menagerie animals. So cute!

It really feels like Spring is here in Cape Town. I am making something special for a friend and decided to try making roses. I used Attic24 pattern and I am really love these little roses! 

I went shopping for some new yarn and couldn't resist these gorgeous colours from Eco Cotton! 

Vanilla, Ruby and Bordeaux ...stunning reds!I added some of my MoYa yarn too.

Now I just need to sew them all into position and add some pretty beads. 

Happy weekend!! xx 

Loving ...

Loving...this little giraffe. It is the sweetest little animal to crochet. It has taken me a week to work out how to follow the pattern, stuff and sew her together. I have loved every minute and my daughter is so happy with her new little giraffe. I am now almost finished with the cutest little Hippo for my eldest daughter. 

Loving.. painting this little watercolour tag of a Bokmakierie  for a friend overseas. I am also sending her some flower and heart tags. 

 

Loving ... the winter days here in Cape Town and although we have had some really cold, rainy days we have also been blessed with many beautiful sunny days. I took the opportunity to take a walk on my favourite Kommetjie beach. It really is like paradise on this beach!

Loving ... the gorgeous bright orange pincushions that are blooming in my garden. Loving that  Spring is on its way! 

 Loving...this quote and the joy of this beautiful life! 

Happy weekend and breathe, enjoy and LOVE!

Shirley xx 

Edwards Menagerie...

I am so excited to be starting these little crochet animals! The book is beautiful with excellent instructions and clear photographs of each animal. 

My oldest daughter has chosen the sweet little Hippo named Georgina. I am so enjoying crocheting this little hippo as it is Level 1 and Kerry Lord the designer has excellent instructions to follow. I love the cool grey yarn she chose for her hippo.

My youngest daughter adores the giraffe! Caitlin the Giraffe is the hardest and Level 3 design! I have persevered with those little horns as they are so tiny! The body is also unique as it has a mix of colour changes to create the patch effect all over the tummy and up the long neck. 

The little horns and ears are now sewn into position and she has her little eyes stitched using  my cross stitch thread. Her body is complete and stuffed and all I need to do is her 4 legs. Little hippo and giraffe should both be complete by the weekend! 

I couldn't resist this picture of a baby hippoptamus. How cute! We are so lucky to have seen hippo's in game reserves and they are such amazing animals. 

This is my first time crocheting animals and I am sure I am going to be working my way through  ALL these animals in Edwards Menagerie! My favourite is the bunny! 

Happy Wednesday and what are you busy creating, stitching, crocheting, knitting this week? 

Shirley xx

Day by day...

This week has flown by so fast but I did go for a beautiful walk with my husband on Monday as it was a public holiday here in South Africa. We celebrated Woman's Day! We decided to take a long walk up Chapmans Peak drive to a viewing point. The views are so stunning as you look down towards Kommetjie and the Lighthouse at the point. This is Long Beach and yes it is very long and very beautiful! 

I have started a new little project with my shades of green MoYa yarn. I will post more pictures next week as it takes shape. 

I am so excited as my book arrived from the U.K. Kerry Lord has created the cutest animals and my girls found it so difficult to choose which ones they want me to crochet for them! Can you guess which one I am starting with?

A sweet friend from America is wanting some crochet and watercolour gift tags so I am busy painting some new birds for her. This is" Mr. Wagtail "and these are very common in our garden all year round. 

My husband has flown to China today on business for two weeks. I know I will be spending lots of time this weekend with my tea and crochet hook as I start my new "Edwards Menagerie" animal and finish my other little project.

Crunchies with chocolate topping are always a good idea too!

 I love this Simply Crochet magazine and its full  inspiration.

I love this quote by C.s. Lewis who also happens to be one of my favourite authors! I am busy reading one of his books at the moment and maybe I will find some time to read too this weekend! It is chilly, cold and raining here in Cape Town so a perfect opportunity to read! 

Happy creative weekend! xx

Flowers for Memories #Yarndale2015

I have loved crocheting  these little flowers for this years  wonderful Yarndale 2015 project! 

I used my MoYa yarn to crochet these little flower designs from  Lucy at "Attic24" blog and added cute little buttons. 

I decided I would group the flowers into little "posies" of 4 flowers  and sew them all together. I added little leaves again using MoYa beautiful Whisper range of yarn. The colours are Mint and Azure. 

 This year Yarndale 2015 is in Skipton, North Yorkshire  on the 26,27 September. Yarndale is described as a festival celebrating all things woolly and wonderful! It hosts a wonderful selection of talented and passionate exhibitors. It also has skill demonstrations and textile workshops.

 

This year the creative community project is called "Flowers for Memories". They are working with a local artist Sheila Metcalfe ( known as the Crochet Queen) who  fundraises for the Alzeimer's Society. 

 

This is a large scale creative project as Yarndale are inviting everyone to join in making a whole garden of flowers. You can make as many little flowers as you like and send them to Skipton where they will then create a rainbow themed wall of floral colour. This is going to look amazing!

 I am so pleased to be a small part of this worthwhile charity event for Alzheimers Society! 

There are some specific details for the flowers, so go to their site to get all the details: 

                http://yarndale.co.uk/

  Have a wonderful creative Wednesday and week! xx

Walking ...

Saint Augustine said, "Solvitur Ambulando" - "It is solved by walking." I have always loved getting out and going for a walk. I really don't have any problems I need solving but the pure joy of walking refreshes my soul. It is a time to take  a breath and "just be". I live in the most beautiful city in South Africa! Cape Town is truly magical. 

The winter weather this year has been amazing. We had warm sunshine days this week where I took the opportunity to take my girls and their friends who are visiting from Canada to beautiful Simonstown. We first stopped off at our favourite ice cream parlour! 

We then set off for a short walk to the pier to soak up the sun and look for whales. Whale season has started but although we didn't see any whales we spotted a seal. They are always fun to watch.

The little sailing boats look so magical and dreamy. 

We then took a walk to the little town and went into one of my favourite coffee and decor shops - The Meeting Place. 

I just love these bright pink chairs and tables. 

 One of my favourite signs.

We also went to my favourite beach - Kommetjie. Amazing weather for winter!

Paradise found. I dream of living in a house here on this beach. 

As part of my gym routine my personal trainer has me walking a few kilometres every week. This walk along the ocean from Glencairn to Simonstown is absolutely stunning. The colour of the water is so gorgeous. 

This week I feasted on - walking!

 If you get an opportunity - go take a walk and just breathe. 

Happy weekend xx 

Hooked on Crochet!

I am just loving all the crochet patterns and inspiration I am finding on Instagram and all the  inspiring blogs. I am following the Toft Alpaca Shop on Instagram and look what they have just put on their website as a free pattern!  

This cute little Ice Cream and Cone pattern is a free download. 

My favourite is always chocolate ice cream so I decided to crochet 3 to start with. 

Vanilla, strawberry and chocolate! Which is your favourite?

The little cones and ice cream does not take long to crochet and is easy to stuff and then sew together. It was a great start for me to follow a crochet pattern that is very different from my granny square blanket, flowers and Happy Flower Coasters that  I have been crocheting. 

I was so inspired by the animal designs by Kerry Lord who works for the Toft Alpaca Shop that I just have to try and crochet these adorable little animals. I have  ordered the book and cannot wait for it to arrive so I can start. My daughters are already choosing which ones they want me to crochet for them. 

This is Georgina the Hippo and she is one of my favourites! The little ballet shoes and tutu are also a free download pattern.

As my family all know I absolutely love birds so this will be my next purchase! How cute and amazing are these bird designs!!

I think I might start with  Emma the bunny! 

Here is the amazing Meghan the Toucan. I cannot wait to get started.   

The Toft Alpaca Shop is a Luxury British DIY knitwear and wool compnay. They offer alpaca and wool knitting yarns and knitting and crochet patterns. They are based on an alpaca farm in Toft, Warwickshire. 

They also have a lovely coffee shop and they offer craft workshops and classes. These classes range from beginner and easy for total craft newbies. 

On their website they  have fantastic video tutorials to help you if you get stuck with a pattern or the basic stitches for knitting and crochet. Find them at :

http://www.thetoftalpacashop.co.uk/

 Go take a look at their website and I hope you are inspired as I am.

This month I am all about CROCHET  and I am totally hooked on all the amazing possibilities to create with a hook and some beautiful yarn!

Happy Wednesday xx