3,2,1... Paris!

I have been crocheting the last squares on my granny blanket and all 192 squares are now complete! I am now busy with the border which I hope to finish before I leave for ....Paris! Yes! I fly to Paris on Thursday!! 

I am so excited and busy packing for my dream  adventure! My husband and I are flying to Paris in 3 days!! It has been a dream of mine to travel to Paris! We celebrate 21 years of marriage this month and what an adventure just the two of us are going to have! We are spending a few days in Paris and then we take the train to Provence in the French countryside. We then hire a car and drive through the little towns and make our way down to the coast! I will be away for 2 weeks but when I am back I will post all the pictures of our Paris adventures!

 The beautiful whales are here and we spotted them near Glencairn and watched as they played in the ocean.

It was another beautiful spring day so we took the opportunity to walk on the boardwalk to the Kommetjie lighthouse. All the spring daisies are flowering and it is so pretty.

We decided to spend Sunday together at Kirstenbosch Gardens. We took an picnic lunch and found a shady spot under the trees as it was such a hot spring day! 

 

 The spring flowers are absolutely beautiful and we had such a fun relaxing time together with the girls before my husband and I fly off to France this week! 

 

I surprised my girls with a gift before I leave! I bought each of them a fish eye lens which they can  attach to their phones. They had great fun taking pictures at sunset on Kommetjie beach last night.

 

What adventures are you planning? Where do you dream of travelling to? 

Shirley xx

The sweetest things ...

This is a pattern that is really easy and really fun and relaxing to crochet! I chose lovely "Vanilla",  "Ocean" blue and "Adventurine " blue yarn from Eco - Cotton. 

The circles of blues and cream are just so pretty and remind me so much of waves and my beloved ocean! So calm and peaceful.

It has been a busy week but I managed to sneak in some quick walks on Kommetjie beach. We can just feel summer is on its way! Its such a great feeling! 

 My happy place where I can breathe and relax and soak up the loveliness of this beautiful beach!

Spring is here and the cutest little flowers are popping up everywhere. I took a walk on the Noordhoek common which is bursting with these tiny little flowers!  

Living near this beautiful ocean is our treasure! I leave you with this beautiful quote that a friend shared this week 

 - 

"The best things in life are nearest. Breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just before you. Then do not grasp at the starts, but do lifes plain, common work as it comes , certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things in life."

- Robert Louis Stevenson

Have a wonderful weekend of creating and loving the sweetest things in life!

Shirley xx 

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