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      A look back 2015 in pictures

      December 31st

      A year on my blog in pictures, it's been fun and thank you for sharing the journey with me.  Your comments and readership mean a lot.  Hope you enjoy the reflection as much as I have. 


      **** PHOTO HEAVY POST ALERT ****
      Sample of stiches to
      be taught and learnt

      January  

      January saw the beginning of me teaching crochet to a group of lovely ladies for the first time ever.  I had to think what to teach, made up samples and photo tutorials so if they were stuck after leaving they had a 'how to do' booklet.  It was much fun but hard work.  Enjoyment over rode and I am hoping to host another session in 2016.


      Photo tutorials galore this year

      The completion 12 months ago of the cosy CAL hosted
      by Lucy at Attic 24, this was my Scandinavian version,
      colours and order can be found here

      A matching lampshade was quickly worked up,
      this was size testing before completion


      Loved making the Scottie's dog, see for pattern here
      (you will need to scroll down to the dog photo to find pattern details)

      Met up with Amy from Love Made My Home
      for the first time, we exchanged crocheted brooches,
      this was the one she made me

      After Christmas the kitchen seemed so plain
      and dull so I crocheted a café style curtain

      A different cake was made each week for the crochet course


      My blog cards arrived!!
      I would be delighted if you would follow me ;)


      February

      Crafting wise this month was taken up with thinking about Valentines day and continuing to host my crochet course.  Each week I would bake a different cake to share with the ladies too, it went down well.  Any cake recipes you can forward me for the next crochet and cake course, I would be grateful for... You can email to the above address from my blogging card in the January section!!


      Mantel piece hearts

      Hearts made from paper and sewn to make them 3D

      A quick sewn heart card

      Paper cutting became a new hobby and I
       tried my hand at all sorts


      The days were still short so from greaseproof
      paper I made some light covers

      The cat always wanted to join in

      My New Year's resolution was to knit more,
      so knitted baubles for Valentines were in order

      Lamingtons from New Zealand were
      made for the first time

      We had snow and I rushed outside with
      the blanket made on the crochet course

      I tried my hand again at tapestry
      crochet and loved it

      A few quick makes for the mini snowman

      I guest blogged for  The Twisted Yarn and
      make this heart bowl from home made t-shirt yarn, see here

      I even edged it!

      Best chocolate cake ever, for recipe, see here

      Blueberry and lemon cake went down well with the ladies too

      And finally we ate a
      Scandinavian yeast cake 


      March


      Easter was soon to be upon us and as a crafters delight, I didn't know what to make first.  The longer days and fresher air rejuvenated me and I was making and crafting almost daily.  My knitting resolution was continuing well and I was slowly becoming more confident in my knitting.  March was a great month.


      Bakewell tart began our cake and crochet sessions for March

      I became obsessed with knitting
      baubles for Easter



      These quick and simple rabbits were made into everything for Easter, napkin holders, garlands, brooches
      and cake decorations 

      The garden began to be full of colour

      Chocolate orange chick holder

      We had a lunar eclipse

      I taught the ladies how to edge their towels


      And on pillow cases and anything else that had an edge!

      Eric the hero was started
      as a commission

      The days begun to be longer and the skies bluer


      Flowers began appearing everywhere 

      The sunrises were beginning to be wonderful and earlier

      I began crocheting all sorts of rings

      My tapestry crochet addiction continued

      I jumped on the rabbit band wagon for Easter

      ...and made a quick Easter door wreath


      April

      April saw me tackling a pair of knitted socks for the first time and enjoying the outdoors.  Crafting still took place but perhaps not daily.


      Blossom began in the garden

      From early April I was eating outside,
      sometimes albeit with my coat on!

      My husband for Christmas had made me a
      sign which I found hilarious and I shared
      it for the first time with my crochet ladies

      He does have a sense of humour

      Eric the hero was finally finished and handed over

      This was the spec I was given to make Eric the hero

      I began knitting whenever I could

      Baking continued in earnest

      Coffee and walnut cupcakes were good

      I began scrap busting with yarn

      ...and recycling old containers

      ...to make spring vases

      There were several visits to the capital

      Lunch at the Shard was memorable

      And I began knitting toilet roll covers!!!

      They became addictive

      Long walks were had in the countryside around the house


      The days were crisp with clear skies

      ...and the tulips were coming out in
      the garden in abundance


      May

      Spring cleaning began in earnest and I took several trips to the charity shop and dump.  Only problem was I came home with a couple of stools from the dump!  That was not the plan, but I had an itch to up cycle them...


      Stools acquired from the local dump

      The end of the month saw elderflower
      cordial being made in abundance

      It was the beginning of Pimms season too

      A great visit to the amazing
      Alexander McQueen exhibition

      Glass fusing was started and was to
      become a new favourite craft

      I revisited old cook books and made a roulade that
      used to be my go to bake after almost 20 years

      For recipe see here

      I joined in with Christine 'Winwick mum' in her sock a long

      Socks became a great knitting learning curve,
      3 pairs were made in 2015

      Tulips still flowered in the garden



      June

      This was the first month that I did  not knit anything, so felt that my resolution was actually working well.  Glass fusing was definitely becoming a bit of an obsession though...


      Learning new techniques on the glass course

      Trying out different colours and layering

      It was a month of making smoothies

      Summer is definitely a season for bunting
      and I made loads this year!


      I made myself a dress

       
      Up cycling of the old dressing table began

      ...and finished up cycling my 'dump' stools

      More cakes were baked

      And more glass was fused

      And much bunting was indeed made


      July

      Glass continued to be my muse with summer holidays approaching and sailing happening it was a busy month.






       








      Sailing in Arctic Norway, bringsing our boat 'home'


      Garden plans began to take shape

      ...but it was a lot of hard work


      August

      August saw us still sailing and the boat was brought back to UK shores.  Glass still featured heavily and we eagerly awaited GCSE results.  All was good on the home front this month.


      Made cocktail stirrers for my daughter's 16th birthday party

      The boat made it to Inverness where she awaits us next year




      I took part in the great Granny Square day,
      hundreds and hundreds of people took part. 
      Did you?  Mine from the huge array is
      the bottom right in the above picture.

      Birthday cake for my daughter, such fun to make


      September

      We host a 'regatta' every year, this being the 14th year.  Everyone descends upon us on the Friday and stays till the Sunday.  People sleep everywhere in the garden in tents, in the shed and on the floor in the house.  We all muck in together and everyone is issued with a job from the start.  Great fun and for all ages.  This year we ranged from 6 to 79. This did not mean crafting was ignored though...




      Autumnal gift wrapping


      Drying the abundance of fruit from the trees in the garden




      Autumn colours started appearing

      Lots of village walks this month too

      End of September and all these flowers in the village


      Beginning to think about Christmas makes
      and the December daily blog posts



      It was still warm enough to eat breakfast outside,
      homemade tapenade, yum


      Autumnal hat

      Need to keep my legs warm too!

      A gift for a friend




      Using autumn leaves on an old gravy box to make a vase

      Long strolls abound


      October

      A sneaky weekend away walking with my husband and lots of crafting this month both crochet and knitting being at the fore front.

      This is a long term project and will one day become a shawl, I hope!

      Christmas gifts being made

      I took part in a daily crochet hook up on Instagram,
      it was such fun, these are my stitch markers

      The daily items to post for the crochet hook up.



      The beginnings of a knitted bag


      Even on a walking holiday there is time to craft!

      Beachy Head



      A Christmas cushion in the making

      An Elf on the Shelf in the making

      An unexpected trip to A & E with my daughter,
      it turned out well, thankfully

      Glass still featured but Christmas was now firmly the theme

      The beginnings of a brooch

      ...and a small wall hanging


      More Christmas gifts



      Getting ready for Remembrance Day


      November

      This month flashed past so quickly.  I had the pleasure of joining two other blogging friends and we trained into London for a day all about Blogging, it was informative and very good fun.




      The children were in a few rowing heads this month


      Christmas knitting continued

      We had an unexpected flood!  Oops!


      And the last Sunday in the month heralded the beginning
      of Advent and my favourite time of the year


      December

      Today is the last day of December and it has been everything I had hoped for.  My daily December posts went out and many of you have commented and I thank you for that.


      Our family must make Christmas cookie bake

       
      So many different Advent calendars are now in our house!


      It may be December but I was still frantically making, were you?


      Seven different cookies were baked as is Scandinavian
      tradition, all recipes can be found on the blog

      Quick gift tags were made


      The tree was dressed


      The table was laid


      The dinner was cooked


      The presents were unwrapped


      And a good time was had by all


      ♥   Wishing you and yours a happy, healthy New Year  ♥


      10 comments:

      1. A very productive and exciting year. Wishing you a very Happy New Year full of more excellent craftiness. :-)

        ReplyDelete
        Replies
        1. You too Karen. Thank you for being a part of my journey x

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      2. Thank you for sharing this. Only found your lovely blog in the last week or so, but have already made "Pepperkake" (thanks again for the advice via Facebook) ) Looking forward to making more of recipes. Hope you and your family have a Happy and Peaceful New Year. Xx

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        Replies
        1. Maura, so glad you found me too and that you are already being inspired. I love this community for its inspiration, friendship and communication. Happy New Year to you and yours. X

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      3. A wonderful review of a wonderful year! For me, made all the better by meeting you! I hope that 2016 brings you great things my friend! xx

        ReplyDelete
      4. Snap snap snap. You too Amy. See you very soon in 2016 x

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      5. Wow Selma, I am so impressed with this blog post and all the lovely photos you shared. It's been a joy reading your post this past year. And, although we've never met, I feel I know you as a good friend. I wish you and your family all the best for 2016. Happy New Year! Pat xx

        ReplyDelete
        Replies
        1. Pat, just realised u hadn't responded, thought I had to your lovely comment. I too feel as if we have started to build a relationship and get to know each other a little bit. Long may it last my friend. Have a healthy, happy and lucky 2016 x

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      6. A great review. You certainly had a very full creative year. Best wishes for the New year.

        ReplyDelete
        Replies
        1. Thank you. I think you had s pretty good year too. All the very best for 2016. Thank you for being a part of my journey x

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      I will always read all comments and will try to reply but it may take me a couple of days, do please pop back and lets get a conversation going...