restorative little stiches

in the summer something Bad happened in my life, i won't go in to detail because i don't want this to be a sad place, but neither do i want to completely ignore what happened, so this is my acknowledgement, here in this place, that is a record of all that i love, that sometimes life is sad, but you can get through it.....

thank you to my friends, who variously hugged, listened, got me drunk and treated me like nothing happened (so that i could forget for one night)...

thank you also to the restorative little stitches.....i managed to fill my days, slowly adding more hexies to my quilt, slowly hooking granny squares, slowly knitting my laminaria shawl and..... slowly slowly the ache in my heart began to ease, the thoughts in my head began to unjumble and with each little stitch i found a little more peace....

thank you all, you saved me,

whimsycate, x x x

happy hooking....

i've had pretty little piles of granny squares cluttering up the surfaces of my living room for the last few months now, with no real plan of how to turn them in to a blanket.....

but during a post christmas, pre new year, cocktail drinking, crocheting and bagel-making extravaganza day with my super crafty friend Laura i brought up the subject, we did some research, i tried some ideas out and consequently found myself spending new years day doing some happy hooking and joining my squares together.

i'm using Lucy's joining as you go method, although at the minute i am still joining ready made squares, i'm finding that it's so easy, so neat and so so pretty, the colours really pop now that they're framed by the cream, i love love love it!

i've also done a little sampler of the blanket edging, once again, raiding the attic 24 archives for inspiration....

i've really caught the hooky bug, all of the yarn acquired since new year and allocated for knitting projects is still languishing sadly in their various bags and boxes with not a needle in sight!

whimsycate, x x x

heart of glass...

ok, this is a teeny tiny post but i feel like i must finally finally post something about the NGC in Sunderland...

NGC, the National Glass Centre: exhibitions, courses, glass goodies galore and delicious food, you really should make a trip here if you're in the area.

i went with Marie back in February last year for a taster course,  we made beautiful glass heart paper weights, so much fun dipping and rolling and moulding the glass, a little scary, but terribly exciting too.

Christine and Sue, the lovely ladies (mini girly crush) who showed us what to do were friendly and helpful, explained everything clearly, made us laugh and didn't complain when we did things wrong, everyone left feeling brilliant and looking forward to picking up their paper weight....

i adore mine, and what a perfect way it was to spend the valentines day weekend!

whimsycate, x x x

this weekend i've spent time with friends, eaten a lot of noodles, watched the big bang theory marathon and done some wedmin...

 i've double side sticky taped 80 invites together, slidey paper trimmered 80 black and white photos and sat knitting while watching my lovely friend Liz doing the trial for my wedding flowers.....

imagine the chrysanthemums as hydrangeas and you have my bouquet

corsages for the mummys

a chilli adorned button hole for the groom, though imagine it smaller, it's just proportional to the chillies at the moment

wrist corsages for my gorgeous bridesmaids

now i think i'll settle down for a little more knitting, admiring my fireplace and big bang theory before bed...

happy chinese new year,

whimsycate, x x x

almost vegan quiche...

the recipe i found called for nutritional yeast, but the cosmopolitan borough of north tyneside couldn't provide me with such a delicacy so i had to substitute in some yummy Parmesan...such a shame!

taken from between chapters sixteen and seventeen of The Love Verb by Jane Green (the heartbreaking and beautiful story of vegan chef Steffi and her sister Callie), here is my slightly reworked version...

preheat the oven to gas mark 5

dry fry a handful of pine nuts over a medium heat

make up a pack of flavoured cous cous (i used sundried tomato and garlic), add in two tablespoons of rice (or other) flour and press well in to a greased flan tin with removable bottom

blend together a pack of firm tofu, a bag of spinach, a lovely big piece of Parmesan, grated, a tablespoon of wholegrain mustard, 1/2 teaspoon each of sea salt, turmeric, and nutmeg, a sliced garlic clove and the juice of a lemon

fill the case with the tofu mixture, top with the pine nuts and bake for 30-40 minutes

delicious hot or cold!

whimsycate, x x x

things i didn't do...

on sunday night after doing a bit of a blog reader catch up i was suddenly in a crafty mood, and inspired enough to scamper up to the craft room and pull out the bootsy quilt, whilst looking for everything i needed (lost machine foot anyone?) i found this lovely bag of treats hiding in the cupboard....

packed with quilting and knitting projects, books and magazines, i took it when we went to the lakes a few weeks ago, but i never got round to more than a few rows of knitting (which is a bit of game knitting btw - very fun) so the bag came home again and sat waiting to be rediscovered (possibly more on that later)...

so with all those things for me to do, why did i not ... you know, do them?  two reasons....

or really, the influence of two people....

Anne at the Knit Studio in Newcastle, who is responsible for me finally learning to crochet, she kitted me out with cotton, a hook, the indispensable book crochet unraveled and lots of hints and tips, and literally less than 24 hours after leaving her wonderful shop in the loft of blackfriars i was making my first granny square...

...and...

Adrienne at Williams Wools in Kendal (the most snug and cosy shop stuffed full of gorgeous yarns), who is so friendly and knowledgeable, we chatted and played with the wool until i had a pleasing colour combination....

 

007 cyprus 026 hyacinth 013 enamel 009 ultra-marine 002 shale 010 indigo 003 anthracite 006 pier

the yarn is rowan pure wool dk, most of which i did buy in the lakes, but i also got a few balls when i got home, (after a few calculations and mind changes), from English Yarns, which has a fantastic selection of rowan and are super quick and friendly.

so.....i spent most of my free time on holiday making up little squares.... not knitting, not reading, not working on either of my quilting projects (even though i'd taken my sewing machine too).... nope, making little squares, little granny squares...

of course in my usual fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants way i have no idea how to attach the squares to each other, but that's just a problem i'll work out when i get to it... for now i'm just happy happy happy that i've finally learnt how to crochet :o)

whimsycate, x x x

peas...

....i love peas, almost as much as i love buttons, but in an eating way, not a stroking way. they're so sweet and fresh and tasty, my absolute favourite vegetable, i think that you can put them in literally any meal... and indeed for a while i did, until Timmy complained - who knew that you could have too much of a good thing?!

imagine then how enthralled i was while flicking through the myriad sky channels one night, when i stumbled upon the first episode of the Edible Garden (beans and peas)... i was hooked, what a wonderful series... what a wonderful host... the red headed fairy like Alys Fowler,  yes this is another girly crush post!

i love her life - a garden full of veggies, herbs, fruit, and flowers, weird and wonderful willow sculptures, a home made greenhouse (using old stained glass windows), and hens and a darling little dog for company, creating delicious food and stores from homegrown produce - heaven!

unfortunately i don't have the colouring for auburn hair, and i'm not allowed a dog (yet), but i do have the space for a green house, not hand made, but second hand, moved from yorkshire and reassembled by my dad - (thank you!x)

so.....i've been gardening,surprisingly successfully so far...... which is a bit of miracle really as in the past plants usually die when i come in to contact with them, but so far i've managed to grow tomatoes, cucumber lettuce and some herbs from seed, all of them flourishing, if not flowering yet, i've just this afternoon noticed that the courgette seeds in the propagator are beginning to germinate, and of course we have peas, beautiful beautiful peas.... Tim had better get used to them again this summer!

i'm so thrilled by it all, it's the same feeling i get when i cast off a pair of socks or sew the last few stitches on a quilt... i made that? really? i'm amazed and a little bit proud too! all the more so as i really have no idea what i'm doing, it's just my whimsical but unshakable sense of... if i will it so, it will happen! and so far it is :o)

whimsycate, x x x

p.s. it's nice to be back, but as always no promises i'll keep it up - i'm a lazy blogger!