Dogs and a bear

Same dog but different size hook.

One tiny crochet bear, still without clothes as yet.

Another dog in the making, only got head and half an ear at the moment but should look something like this when finished.

Jack Russell.

LITTLE PUG.

Finished, one pug keyring.

This is the book I'm working from if anyone fancies having a go.

DAN THE DALMATION AND ANOTHER DOGGY ON THE WAY

 He actually looks a lot better in the "flesh" wool.

I know his head looks big but it is supposed to be like that.

Here's a poser for you,  what do you think this might be?

NOT BEING PROUD

My hip is really playing up and as after talking to several people about hip replacement surgery I have decided that it's not for me.

But, its is very painful sometimes.

I can take pain killers but really they only take the edge off of the pain and I am not in favour of taking pills long term unless necessary.

 I took a look on youtube and found some advice from a couple of physiotherapists who advocate using a walking stick as a good option for taking the strain off of the hip.

So, not one for doing things by halves and thinking that if I have to use a stick I'll have something a bit swish.

Here is my chosen helper. 

A cheetah patterned fold up one.

Useful for all kinds of things, like pointing things out, to giving an unruly husband a few taps to get him in order, lol

I didn't think it would come to this and really it's only been pride that has stopped me from getting one before, but if it helps me to walk upright and takes the strain it's worth it.

LAUNDERETTE CHAT

Most Monday's you can find me in the launderette just a few doors up from my house.

Unlike most people we do not own a washing machine and have never owned one.

When the kids were young I did all of my washing in the sink and just used a spin drier.

Arms like Popeye meant that it was no problem at all, but as we  are now just the two of us we do the one big wash each week.

Working out the cost of this we discovered that actually it isn't a lot more expensive than owning your own machine as generally home machines cannot take the big loads and my weekly lot would take
several washes.

Picture of my launderette

Today Tom dropped me off and went off to do other bits and pieces and a young chap came in needing change.  We do not have a lady in residence and I obliged him by having the exact amount he needed. I remarked that it must have been fate that I had the correct amount in my purse and  this was enough to spark a conversation with him.

In the short time we spoke we got onto some quite interesting subjects and it was a joy to talk to someone who didn't want to talk about pills and illness as most people of my age do.

He told me of a man who had some interesting stuff on youtube and had written books on the subject of 'how your mind affects your being' and as this is one of my pet discussions we got on like a house on fire.

After a while he went, intending to come back when his washing was done, and by that time I was finished and so never saw him again.

Dr Joe Dispenza

That is the man he mentioned he thought I might be interested in and I have had a quick look.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDbqsgMwxR8

This man wouldn't know it but he made my day.

Funny old world isn't it?

LITTLE CUTIES

Going through my craft books the other day I came across one I bought years ago but have never got round to trying.

It's to make tiny crochet dogs.

I'll have a bit of that I thought to do between embroidery.

So I raked out some black and white cotton and the hooks and decided to make one of these little fellas.

Aren't they cute?

One head, one snout, one tail and one ear so far.

The spots are felted on and I'm looking forward to doing that bit.

Got to find a small plastic nose from somewhere, probably on ebay and maybe some eyes.

Here's some of the others.

so cute.

It's 18 minutes past midnight as I'm typing this.   Tom is in bed but lately I find that I can't get to sleep if I go too early so tend to stay up a bit later and sew or crochet.

Actually it's quite nice, quiet and peaceful with most people in bed, lol

LOOKING SO WELL

In a recent post a lovely lady commented that Tom looked so well, and he does.

This doesn't mean that he is. As I explained, he always looks well and in the past when he has been in Hospital really ill he still hasn't looked unwell.

This led me to think about the Blue Badge that is issued to people who have difficulty of some kind to get about.

When we were both 'all good' we would often see someone walk away from their car and comment that they looked perfectly all right and question why they had a blue badge.

I now understand that just because someone looks fine it doesn't mean that they are.

When Tom gets out of the car and walks to the supermarket he looks fine but when we get inside the door he finds the nearest seat to get his breath back.

So there is a lesson to be learnt here.
Don't judge a book by it's cover.

MORE SHI SHA

What started out as a practice piece of shi sha has now turned into a proper piece that I will include in my Fabric Journal

This started with a couple of shi sha and has ended up with a circle.

This is how it goes with me, things kind of evolve with not a lot of planning.

Notice the tiny speck of blood next to the yellow one. An accidental hazard when sewing with sharp needles.

For any other sewers out there who do not know, saliva is the best blood remover and as you can see in the following photo's I managed to get most of it out.

Paisley pattern is one of my favourite patterns and after musing on what to put in the centre I decided on 3 paisley's.

I cut them out of paper and laid them on and decided that they looked good.

After marking them and stitching a line of cotton I am doing tiny chain stitches to outline each in a different colour.

What comes next?

Who knows...until my crowded brain comes up with the next step.

OUT TO LUNCH WITH BO.

Yesterday our daughter took us out to lunch at a lovely garden centre up in the country and Bo came too.

We had to sit outside as dogs were not allowed inside but with the outdoor heaters and blankets supplied it was nice and cosy.

Here we are with Bo who has decided that he is not going to look at the camera.

And here is me and my 80 year old man who in my eyes looks the same as when I met him all those years ago.

He made me say that. lol

STILL CRAFTING

Despite not having blogged for a while over Christmas, we have both still been keeping busy.

Tom has finally finished the Ehrman Tapestry that has been ongoing for 4 years.

I'm sure you all know what it's like, you start something and them put it away, get it out and do a bit more etc, but he put the final stitches in and is very pleased with the end result.

I'm sure you will agree that it is beautiful and now we have to decide whether to make it into a cushion or a wall hanging.

Take note of how square it is. I don't know how he does this because all of the tapestries that I have made in the past have needed to be blocked.  Clever Mr T.

The problem with a cushion is that the full picture is never seen and it gets a bit worn after a while but a wall hanging will remain good for years.

We'll see.

He's now working on one that Tom Grandson bought for him last Christmas and has been waiting for the above to be finished.

I suppose you could say that this one is a bit more masculine than roses, lol

Progress so far.

And me.

I have treated myself to a box of  plastic snap poppers (it doesn't take much to get me all excited nowadays, a box of poppers or a few balls of wool and I'm thrilled for days, lol)

And made a new glasses case with the first popper for closure.

These cases are easy and quick to make and I can see there will be a few more in the pipeline.