Winter chills

Not coughs and colds, just freezing night time temperatures and a house that's less than toasty at times. Still, I've made this...

Winter chills

Not coughs and colds, just freezing night time temperatures and a house that's a lot less than toasty at times. Still, I've made this...
Yeah, I know, it is a bit Little House on the Prairie, isn't it?! But it looks warm and it's made from fabrics from four sources - a curtain (the big bold checks), some linen left over from backing cushions, some more from a jumble sale and a swatch book of stripe and check curtaining fabrics. Backed with an old white cotton sheet, and with a polyester/cotton mix wadding (which I did have to pay for) It's not quilted as such, just tied through at each corner of each square with little felt squares top and bottom, and mother-of-pearl buttons on the centre sections.

I have also made a quick and simple pair of crocheted wristwarmer gloves based on Attic 24s idea. She's a talented one, and her colours make me want to sing (alarming thought for loved ones, sorry).

As a lively contrast I thought I'd show you this which I scanned from a little piece of paper that Ali used to giftwrap a present for me. The colours are much brighter than the original but it's about the right size. I particularly like the character slugging something from a bottle and the one with the trumpet (?) over her head!

Dragging my heels...

Well, by now I should be full of enthusiasm for a new year but whether the snow and cold has robbed me of ooomph or the size of the to do list has done for me, I am not sure. I am building up steam but it's a struggle...

So, to take my mind of it all, I bring you something glorious to behold! This lovely piece is by Amanda Mitchell, stained glass whizz and daft as a brush. You can see more of her work here and you can commission delicious stuff like this which is, by the way, ALL MINE! It's an abstract celebration of the Borders, all rolling hills and fields and rivers, and it hangs in the hall window where we can admire it every day.

I'll stop with the snow pix after this but here are a couple of images from our chilly Christmas Day walk at Kielder - the wonderful curved suspension bridge is at Lewisburn. The silly black dog and her silly owner, stylishly dressed in her brand new Christmas present wellies, were mucking about on the snow-covered picnic benches back at the carpark