Lazy Autumn Days♡

Why, hello......and welcome♡ Gosh, it's been a while. The last time you visited my little place, Pete and I were about to enjoy a holiday with my daughter and son-in-law to celebrate Lenox's first birthday. AND, celebrate we did!  It seems ages ago now, but we had the best time. Oh, and by the way, my little crochet blanket with sweet animal faces atop the granny squares, was a hit. 

How are you travelling?? How are you navigating the diabolical and evil one's idiocy?? I'm assuming you have an inkling of whom I'm referring to. =) The reverberations of his amoral edicts is being felt the world over, in many ways; even down here on this little isle.

A wee 'funny' aside......I went to the Post Office yesterday to post a gift to my daughter in San Francisco and oh my goodness, the debacle in trying to post anything to the USofA! All the hoops  Aussies now have to jump through. The chap behind the counter informed me that Trump has made the process of the postage of mail, which was once a simple procedure; difficult. It appears Trump is not a fan of Australia, to which I replied Australia is most definitely not a fan of his!!   We both laughed, taking the mickey out of the said leader. We Aussies do have a deliciously dark and wicked sense of humour. I wonder if his ears were burning?? Gosh, he's tedious, wearisome, tiresome, arduous........enervative......! Let us count the words which negatively describe this loathsome oaf??!! Alas, I cannot, as they are innumerable.

But, while the world writhes and groans under the tyranny of Trump,  here at my little place, life drifts by on the continuum of slow and relaxed,  lazy autumn days. Warm, sunny days. Rainy days. Windy days. Autumn  days slowly heading into what I suppose will be winter. Ho-hum.

There are still dahlias, cosmos, hydrangeas and a sprinkling of roses in the garden but only a few, as they are beginning to disappear. I must say, the hydrangeas are morphing into their autumnal beauty quite spectacularly this year. The landscape is beginning to glow in autumnal burnished hues. So lovely♡

I suppose Ive been hiding in my little world where simplicity has been the order of my days. It's been a while since I've felt like blogging. I've been stitching my 'Trippin' Around The World' quilt.  Slow, simple stitching adding oodles of little squares. Though, I confess, of late I haven't been completing each fabric round. I've been impatient to see what the next fabric might look like added to the mix.....hence my pretty is a most irregular shape at the moment. But.....it will become a queen-size square.....one of these days.

As I've stitched I've sometimes second guessed myself with the choice of fabric in one or two rounds, thinking that perhaps  some fabric rounds don't quite play nicely, but, as I've added a few more fabric 'trips' somehow my quilt of a gazillion squares is all of a sudden, honky dory. There was one hiccup. After stitching two sides of one round, maddeningly, I was six squares short, AND, as is always the way the shop where I purchased the fabric only a couple of weeks ago had sold out. I checked online, too. Sadly, no luck! Such is the life of a quilter, sometimes. So, my persnickety self, and  my seam ripper spent an exasperating afternoon and evening together, unpicking each little square.

I Yi, Yi, Yi, Yi, like you very much......just channelling Carmen Miranda. =) 

Isn't she lovely, Isn't she wonderful?? Think Stevie Wonder. =) She, was gifted to me as a candle with the most divine fragrance inside. The candle, having fragrantly wafted through my days until there was not a spot of wax remaining; she now continually models flowers. Love, love, love her. Me thinks, Carmen would like her, too.

Is it really the last Sunday in April!!?? I really cannot keep up with the calendar. Today was a pearler of a day. Deliciously warm with blue, blue skies. I of course enjoyed more (very) slow stitching of my happy squares to the quilt. I'm loving the simplicity of this quilt. Love all the fabrics in multitudinous colours and prints. Me thinks it just might become one of my favourites. I have a penchant for quilts dancing in simplicity of late. As darkness begins to cloak my autumnal landscape, when Sunday morning breezes in at your place, I hope you enjoy a lovely day partaking in something which causes you to smile♡ Take care, lovely lovelies, lovely friends♡ Let your little light shine♡

Until the next time......

Welcome To The Zoo🐨🦁🐴🐰🦃🦊

Lenox's zoo, that is🐨🦁🐴🐰🦃🦊

Hello lovely lovelies, lovely friends♡  A lovely welcome to you this Sunday evening♡ Well, it is here. =)

My woolly experiment is DONE!! An experiment?? Yes, this woolly blanket was definitely an experiment. Having never read, nor indeed understood a crochet pattern before it wasn't a certainty that this woolly crochet undertaking would be a triumph. Nor was it a given that there would be an acceptable outcome. This crochet woolly was definitely a trial and error pretty and I must say, a giant learning curve. 

Well, I'm here to say after many mistakes and missteps I'm doing a victory lap (around the garden......around the autumnal hydrangeas). =) All the critters in Lenox's zoo are resting happily atop the woolly blanket and ALL are happily playing together with all their friends. Each critter whispered to me which pal they wanted to be their play buddy and rest next to forevermore. One would be forgiven if one supposed that all the critters might be a little askance of Lenny Lion or perhaps to a lesser extent Faelynn Fox being a hop, skip and a jump away, but nope, in the land of make believe, all these critters are the very best of friends, boisterously rollicking and frolicking and getting up to all manner of hijinks all day long. They are a happy little zoo.

Meet Harvey Horse and Wilbur Worm. I must say Harvey is a handsome fellow and just between you and me, he's my favourite.

Lennox's blanket was crocheted in Patons Bluebell 5ply pure wool. It measures 85cm x 115cm; a perfect size for a crib. Perfect too, for a wee child to wrap themselves in, for a woolly hug. Each granny square is 15cms.  I followed the book, 3D Animal Granny Squares,  for some of the animals but after several attempts, some of my animals didn't resemble anything like the picture so I fell down the YouTube rabbit hole to see what other animals I could find. And I must say, I found a lot. Thank the Good Lord for YouTube tutorials! Another thing which I changed from the book is each animal is crocheted separately and then stitched onto the granny squares. Each animal has a lot of separate bits...eyes, snouts, beaks, ears etc which caused the back of each animal to be a messy eyesore. Sewing the finished animal to the grannies makes for a neat back with no fugly bits to be seen. My persnickety self is very happy about this.

Pete and I are off to Hobart next weekend to holiday with Lennox, my daughter and son-in-law. I cannot wait. I hope wee Lenox loves his woolly zoo. A woolly blanket where oodles of conservations and wild and playful imaginations will be enjoyed as he snuggles down under his woolly zoo. So, so many delightful conversations and stories of animal escapades and adventures within Lenox's zoo♡ Bye lovely lovelies, lovely friends♡ Thank you for visiting my little place♡

Until the next time......

Father Time Marches On♡

 

Hello lovely lovelies; lovely friends♡ Father Time has marched on to the month of March......and with  it, the season of Autumn. Is it my imagination but Father Time seems to move with a quickened step these days?? My weeks seem to pass by in a blink of an eye. 

Daylight hours are shorter and there's a change in the light; a softer glow. And of course, the garden is telling me that there's a whiff of a new season to happen upon the scene. Summer has gone. Actually it never really showed up. A handful of hot days, but really, not much to write home to mother about. 

This summer the flower season has not been a long one. Oh, there's been a profusion of flowers; just shorter than their usual cycle. I've noticed the hydrangeas particularly haven't shown off their coloured blooms for as long. They are already beginning to morph into their autumnal hues. The sweet pea vines are spent and have begun to shrivel into a brown and dry mess, and are now forming seeds where they will fall wherever they will, in readiness for the flowers that will sprout yet again next spring.  I must say the sweet peas were a vision splendid this year.

The dahlias are flowering. The cosmos, too.  But again, both took a long while to do so. I'm sure there will be early frosts so that will be the end of these blooms. The roses are past their best with just a few to pick each morning. It's just not been hot enough for them to flower vigorously.   Such are the seasons of life........and climate.

Now about those sweet critters I've been crocheting. This week they seem to have walked, sauntered, padded, hopped, crawled, ran, flew, crept.......swam onto the squares. Sixteen animals are smiling happily atop the squares. Three more animals have joined the zoo; a baaing sheep, a meowing cat and swimming fish. There are two more animals to crochet and then I can start crocheting the blanket together; that is after the remaining green grannies are finished. Ten green ones to go. Will the crocheting of granny squares ever end??!! =) Hopefully, by the end of this coming week. YES! That light at the end of the tunnel, where the din of animals can be heard, is glowing a little brighter.

I will continue to crochet the grannies this evening while watching TV....a 'Vera' rerun, perhaps. That is of course, the TV powers that be, don't usurp and commandeer every channel and feel the need to inform me of a minute by minute report of the diabolical madman's latest extraordinary and maleficent diversion!!

And on that note I'm going to disappear. =) But only for a week or so. I will return......but then..........who really knows. =) Bye lovely lovelies; lovely friends. Try to have a lovely day. Some meditative slow stitching...knitting...crocheting... perhaps?? Some tea?? Some cake?? Or maybe a little book readin'. Whatever it is that distracts you from the madding crowd, enjoy; and please, take care♡♡

Until the next time......