Five on Friday

Friday came around again really quickly, where does the time go?  A very warm welcome to new followers, I hope you find something that you like and enjoy my little adventures.

I decided that this week I would take you on a little tour of Mamas Mercantile aka the craft room.  The purpose of this little tour is to show you five places where I hide the yarn.  I am working hard to reduce the stash but to no avail, I have even stopped buying yarn.  There has been no yarn purchases since before Christmas.  Let me show you around...

 

The trunk, a rather large piece of furniture which holds vintage magazines, the record player and LPs hides away yards and yards of yarn in every colour and thickness...

 

 

I love lifting the lid and searching through for the perfect yarn for a project.

 

I also have a smaller trunk with just as much yarny goodness.

 

 

Some of the yarn in this basket was given as gifts for my Birthday, I have plans for it.  I am going to make Autumn/Winter accessories to brighten up my wardrobe.

 

 

The merchant chest is filled will lots of craft materials, I love that I can go into the room and everything is at hand to pursue most projects. 

 

 

Two of the drawers are filled with yarn, one drawer filled with cotton that I use for doilies and some of the thicker cotton for washcloths.

 

 

There is always a bag, isn't there?????  My bag is filled with yarn that I have sorted out for the next couple of projects.

 

 

Hidden away in a corner...

 

 

Yarn to crochet some Christmas goodies for friends and family.  The red is perfect for the children.

 

Finally the basket that holds the bobbins of wool, my favourite....

 

 

Five wonderful places that I hide my yarn stash.  Once again I am joining in with Amy over at love made my home for the five on Friday.  Why not pop over and join the fun.  Have a wonderful weekend.

 

See you soon.

 

Yarn Along

 

I am a woman on a mission this week, using the Sara Huntington's pattern in Issue 28 of Simply Crochet I have completed the frilled neckerchief.  It is worked in rows and then a ruffle added at the end.  I am quite pleased with the overall effect. 

 

 

I didn't use the yarn recommended by the pattern but I think it was a good result anyway and looks quite stylish.  The yarn is so soft and a mixture of vibrant colours so it will bring to life a plain jumper or jacket come the Autumn. 

 

I have also crocheted up a scarf using a Rachelle Blondel pattern.  It was so simple and quick to make up and has such a lovely chunky texture.  All that it needs is some lace to finish it off. 

 

 

I love the vintage feeling that this portrays.

 

 

Decisions, decisions I can't decide which trim to use...

 

I would definitely use both patterns again they are both quite stylish and simple to crochet up, the one with the vintage trim is such a quick make taking one evening to do.   

 

I have been a little remiss on the reading front and have only managed a few pages here and there this week.  I am still reading The Snow Geese.

 

I am joining Ginny over at Small Things for the weekly yarn along, why not pop over and see what everyone else has on there hooks/needles.  gsheller.com

 

See you soon.

 

 









Bank Holiday Weekend

It has been a very quiet bank holiday here with none of the family visiting as they were all here last weekend.  My sister did visit Mum and Dad so we popped down for an hour to catch up.  We have managed to catch up with a few jobs in the garden, we have planted up the hanging baskets for a blast of summer colour to the house and got a lot of the weeds out of the gravel.  That was back breaking, I will never allow it to get that bad again.  The buttons have finally been sewn onto the shirts and the chair is finally finished.

The big reveal....

 

I was quite pleased with the end result, it looks really good next to the matching chest of drawers in our bedroom.  Amazing what you can do with a little bit of time and effort.

 

Still plodding along with the Mickey Mouse quilt, it is now ready for binding.  I have edged a couple of pillowcases to match it but I will share them when I show the finished quilt.

 

We had a stroll along the beach, its actually a beautiful spot that I sometimes think we just take for granted because we live so close to it.  I will take the camera the next time we go and share the beauty with you.  We also treated ourselves to fish and chips, sat on the promenade with them and watched the world go by.  A very pleasant couple of hours.

 

Of course we had a walk around a car boot sale and got lucky with some bargain buys...

 

 

A lot of plants, you can never have enough so we bought a few more to add to the garden.

 

 

A scrapbook for 50p, a wonderful addition to the craft room.

 

 

4 paper packs and 6 packets of embellishments for £5, another great addition to the craft room.  It makes hobbies affordable when you can pick things up at  those prices.  I will have a little fun later just looking through the packs.

 

 

Vegetables half a sack of potatoes £1.50, carrots 75p celery 30p, asparagus £1, onions 50p and cut green beans an enormous bag for £1.50, I have actually popped some in the freezer, spring greens 50p and cauliflower  50p plenty of veg for the week and a lot cheaper than the supermarket.

 

 

Another 6 books to add to the nursery bookcase at 20p each.  At those prices you can afford to keep topping them up and allowing the children to take some home as well.

 

 

Finally a Thomas game that is immaculate, it looks to have never been used for £1, I know 4 little people who will love this.

 

All in all a good haul, definitely worth going to and a nice stroll as well.  Did you get any bargain buys this weekend?  Hope you are all having a great long weekend.

 

See you soon.

 

 

 

 

Five on Friday

I have had a busy week with lots of moments I would rather forget but a whole lot more that I want to treasure.  Consequently, my choice for my Five on Friday post are precious moments that I want to make a record of.  Five things that have made me smile.

First up is the wonderful birthday celebrations over the weekend, a weekend that I want to re-live time and time again there were so many special moments.  The cake was a real delight, a photograph of the birthday boy on a cake. 

 

How special is that.

 

Crafting with all four of the Grandchildren, a precious moment that I cherish.  There was lots of chatter and laughter going on it was wonderful to watch them interacting with each other.

 

 

I loved every second, everything is such a great adventure at their ages.

 

I have discovered the delights of the pom-pom maker.  They are so much fun, I have great plans for the humble pom-pom.

 

 

The treasure chest and cushion were completed just in time for Wilbur visiting.

 



 

Wilbur loved it and sat on it straight away.  The perfect addition to his pirate house.

 

 

Finally, this is something that made me smile...actually I laughed.  Looked again, got the camera and laughed again.

 

 

A sheep...

 

Not just any old sheep, a sheep going on a walk with the dogs...

 

 

And again, just because...

 

 

Did that make you smile, or is it just me that finds that a little strange?

 

I am once again joining in with Amy at Love Made My Home, pop over and join in the fun.

 

See you soon.

Yarn Along

Despite having a busy week, I still managed to finish the lacy shawl that I started last week.  Well, almost finished it still needs the ends sewing in.  It was an easy crochet, using only chains and trebles, a simple pattern that you can watch the TV with.

Ta Dah....

 

The edging was worked into the rows at the end, I thought was a really pretty effect.

 

 

Definitely something that I would do again.  I intend to get going with another Autumn/Winter accessory and then pick out the easy/quick patterns out that I can do a lot of for gifts.  Yes I am thinking Christmas already I need to as I have so many people I like to make a gift for.

 

 

This week I have started to read The Snow Geese by William Fiennes.  I haven't really formed an opinion yet its too soon but I am finding it a little difficult to get into, time will tell.

 

 

I am once again joining in with Ginny over at Small Things.  What have you got on your needles/hook?  Pop over and join in the fun.

 

See you soon.