Listing somewhat

Morning!

Another driech and damp day - to look through the window is to see a pale grey nothing with dank and dripping trees. 

Our weekend of high winds and heavy rain has stripped nearly every leaf from the trees taking all autumnal colour, leaving skeletal branches and twigs scratching at the nothing-sky. I have had to postpone today's work as it was outside and reschedule for a hopefully drier Wednesday.

So it means I will have to make my own colour and cheer today. I've written myself a list whilst drinking cinnamon coffee.... it goes a bit like this.....

• look after the incontinent fire (yes you read correctly, an oxymoron that - incontinent fire.... )
• mend palazzo pants, co-op bag, finish XXXX's dress, finish journal cover
• find brooch clasps
• fold up halloween bunting (only if dry) ✅
• varnish tall pot
• finish autumnal door wreath
• finish sorting out yarn spaghetti
• front window troughs
• find mini frames
• Sort out November's words etc ✅
• Wash dog bed (in the washing machine right now)✅

Some of my list is easily do-able with very little effort giving me the satisfaction of a ✅ where as others require a little more application...... so, I shall finish my coffee first then work my way through.  Am I the only one to add things to a list just so I can ✅ them off ??!

So, what's on your Monday to-do list? 

How are you going to make your day full of colour?

Do you write lists and more to the point do you actually complete them? (I never do - coz I always add more as I go along!)

And talking of lists, here is the Words for November 2020

Houseplant/s
Ring/s
Harbour
Window
Sky
My own choice
We will show and share our stories - Friday November 27th.

Thank you everyone who joined - those who posted their photos and shared their stories - thank you for letting us into your lives and your corner of the world. Thank you to those who popped in and said hi and commented - your comments are always a delight and most welcome.

We all need contact and conversation at the best of times and let's face it - this is not particularly the best of years, however, we can make the best of what we have and not let ourselves be squashed by all the rubbish that is out there. We can all make a difference even if it is only for ourselves, our families or our immediate surrounds, if we all do that - then the world will be a better place.

Have yourselves a good (and positive) Monday (with just a little bit of sunshine on the side please!)

Ah delightful - the rain is thundering down again and lashing against the windows - the new troughs won't need watering then will they (see a positive for everything :D )

Spinning a web of threads and yarns

I could hear the rain and the wind before I even opened my eyes. The room was filled with a dim grey early morning light, making me bury myself even deeper beneath the duvet. 

It took a determined small cat and a large mug of tea to make me surface. Pepper who - when let upstairs first thing in the morning, takes it upon herself to ensure every last person, still in bed, is awake. She is so persistent that even the most lazy-lie-in will give in and sit up.

Sipping my tea, watching the world through the window, as the wind thrashed the trees back and forth,  did nothing for my 'get up and go', preferring to stay wrapped up listening to the radio, however, tea drunk and Himself and Pepper ready for breakfast made me drag myself out of the snug warmth of the bed.

Breakfast eaten, washed up and put away - we went grocery shopping - oh I was so glad to be wearing a mask, the wind and rain whipped around and my face felt safe and warm behind the blue batik fabric. Once home the weather really upped it's bad behaviour, so we gave up all outside thoughts and chose to be warm and dry by the fire. We planned quiet things, reading and listening to music, sewing and chatting, resting and unwinding. Not things we often do.

However. It did not take long for me to get 'itchy fingers' so I started my slow-sewing.

 A small hand stitched Ted. Teeny tiny stitches to hold together teeny tiny pieces of fabric. He was stuffed with snippets of cloth and trimmed off waste thread from all my recent mask making.

Although not finished yet - needs eyes and a nose - I am rather pleased with the end result. I even managed to 'joint' his arms and legs so they move, making it easier to sit or pose (will do a 'photoshoot when he is complete).

With trimming off the final thread - I realised that I had generated more little snippets of fabric and ends of threads - so decided to make a little fabric 'tub' to hold all the little pieces that seem to come with sewing. A quick rummage in a pile of left over fabrics revealed a long narrow piece of upholstery material - perfect.

A break to do some baking - we needed something to help brighten the still rather dreary weather....... a batch of fruit scones slathered in butter and grape jelly with a piping hot mug of tea....

Bliss. Strangely (or not) they did not last long and I managed to hide a few in a tin to have later.

The fabric tub - a mix of sewing machining and hand finishing kept me quiet for the afternoon. 

I am looking forward to filling it with all the snipperty bits whilst I am sewing. (there is a proper name for one of these little containers - if you know what it is - please let me know). ****

By this time Himself was ready to eat again (he has hollow legs!) so again a break off from crafting while we went into the kitchen to start supper.

A friend messaged me asking if my Halloween window display was finished .... finished? finished? I have not even started it yet! So I raided my stash and laid it out on the table to see what I could make with what I had.

This year's trick and treating - like everything in 2020 - is different, windows are decorated and children, accompanied by their parents, wander around the village following a map hunting for the pumpkins. Instead of the little mini monsters and princesses knocking on the door for sweets, they are given by the parents when the decorated windows are found.  What I had not realised was the displays are to be up all week to give parents and children space to walk around the village in safety. 

Which means my window had to be up and ready by midday on Sunday - So ...... I crocheted the quickest (and let's be honest) scruffiest spider web. 

Bit of denim and hessian, four pipecleaners and suddenly there was a spider. Two bats out of black paper soon followed, some leaves and fairy lights finished the inside display.

Outside I quickly hung some black bunting and added a small pumpkin - grown by Eldest in the greenhouse before he and his lovely gf moved. Just a simple face and for contrast - black paper inside to make the eyes and mouth show up. Final addition was a salt lamp to give that lovely orangey glow. I was, I have to admit, a bit disappointed in the final result and was in a bit of a grump for a while.

If anything - I felt like he looked - :(

Then after a really good (and tiring) afternoon walk, when we returned, I lit candles, switched on lights and the window display suddenly looked a whole lot better.

So - that was our weekend - it flew by faster than a bat on a mission..... The display has to remain up all week, hopefully little grumpy pumpkin face will last that long.

Hope your weekend was good :) Here is to an equally good Monday xxxxx

***thread catcher - seems there is a whole world of patterns and ideas for them out there - whodathunkit?!