bee handmade

distraction and diversion

I get very easily distracted.  I was supposed to be making some oven mitts today but that didn't quite happen. First of all I got distracted by this.

Cat's are very entertaining and this one is particularly demanding. She wore herself out eventually so I then got distracted by this.

My mum gave me a bag of threads she found (left overs from her and my grandmother) so I spent a while squishing my extra stash into my existing box. As you can see it's a pretty tight fit. I love all the colours although I'm not sure how I've ended up with so many purples and pinks.  I'm way more of a blue and green girl.

I then got diverted by a bit of online window shopping here, here and here.

bella

Well I don't have any crafting to report on because I've been in beautiful Tuscany. I can give you some lomo action though.

This is the villa we were staying at, complete with vineyards, olive groves, limes, lemons, pomegranates and figs.

The tiny kitten I found very hard to leave behind (yes, like some mad old cat lady).

The lovely and very refreshing (or freezing depending on your point of view) pool.

 

And finally poolside detritus - signs of a relaxing afternoon in the sun.

 

a bigger glimpse

This is the result of my recent crafting. 

I appliqued the wave shapes onto the background with machine zig zag stitch and bound the edges of the cushion with homemade bias binding using my clover tool.  It's really easy to use and I can never resist bits of kit!  There is a brilliant binding tutorial here. 

I apologise for the poor pictures but the light is so bad at the moment. Grrr.

It's all been made from scraps and leftover so is a very thrifty cushion cover. I'm quite pleased with the result although I think that frothier waves would have been nice.

I've also indulged in some new Japanese crafting books. More of them to come.  Why oh why don't we do books with such nice styling over here? They cram my mind with things I'd like to make. I can feel more list making coming on.

1.   crochet blanket

2.   pan holders

3.   more corsages

4.   crochet mohair stole

to name a few.

I'm still sad about a scarf I made last year that I STUPIDLY left on the train. How dozy?  I'd only worn it about twice.

RIP the mermaid scarf. You will be resurrected when I can bring myself to make you all over again.

Anyway, enough of the rambling. I'm off to Italy for the week tomorrow morning.  Keeping my fingers crossed for some sunshine.

glimpses

Autumn anyone? There are precious few glimpses of sun at the moment and I'm lamenting the the loss of the long, light nights. It feels like it's been raining for years (well all week but rain makes a person exaggerate).

One of the nicest things about autumn is blackberry picking. I love it. It reminds me of being a child and gathering berries with my grandmother, then coming home and making pies on her formica kitchen table. I always wanted one of my own and now sew on one ! I made this little blackberry about 20 years ago (I think). I can't even remember why. It's looking a bit tired around the edges but I can't quite bring myself to throw it away.

This has been a thankfully quiet weekend after lots of plans and busyness. I've spent some time doing chores (boring) and tidying (very satisfying) and have also being working on this. Only a glimpse at the moment. More to come later in the week.