More Busy Times...

Time has once again been running away with me and each day seems to run out before I have time to write a blog post, or even to read a few blogs and write comments, as I like to do.  

There has been a large measure of unexpected shed-creation going on, some knitting, purling and moss-stitching, a good bit of Sunday lunch cooking, a bit of French teaching, some major tidying and a little bit of fiddling with teeny scraps of felt.

The unexpected shed creating began when I decided to delicately prune the rose (New Dawn), clematis, vine and honeysuckle which had been smothering our 'garden shelter' (a structure cobbled together some years ago from the roof of an old shed, ostensibly to provide tidy storage for garden tools, bikes and the like, but which had ended up as a SERIOUSLY untidy dumping ground for so much more).  

Once I'd begun, Mr U-t-B came over all creative and decided the time was right for him to get back to some DIY and replace the shelter-thingy with something that would actually serve its purpose.  The pruning revealed an unexpected bounty of grapes from the vine that we thought was purely decorative...

They were far too sour to eat, but we did consider a spot of wine-making for a short while, before agreeing that this might be a distraction from the shed-rebuild!

With all the greenery removed, the shelter was revealed, and what a sorry state it was in!

I can assure you, you do NOT want to see inside!

 

It was soon emptied and razed to the ground.

We then got on with building the replacement.

At one side it has a proper shed bit with a door and on the opposite side it is open, to keep the bikes and garden furniture dry and protected when not in use.  It is about half done now, but with Mr U-t-B away for the week, we'll see no more progress till Sunday at least. I may have developed some woodworking skills whilst he was laid up (see this post), but I'm not up to finishing this! 

You may have spotted a couple of openings suitable for pretty windows...

In the evenings, once it was too dark to make further progress outside, I was working on this...

The 'Sunday Brunch Jacket' from the 'Sublime' book I got a couple of months back.

As I couldn't get the Sublime yarn required, I used some Debbbie Bliss Cashmerino Dk instead.  It was lovely to knit with, and the resulting jacket is sooo soft and cuddly.

I ended up making it a size smaller than I'd originally intended, so had enough left over to make the 'Retro Bonnet' too.

I added a tiny bit of colour to the centre of the flower with a few French knots...

I was able to get it all finished ready for the Sophia who came for lunch (not that she ate anything I'd prepared!) on Sunday, with her Mummy, Daddy and her Babcia (Polish grandma).  

Yesterday I was finally back in school, trying to teach all the Year 3 and 4 children their first French lesson for the year, but constantly hampered by entire classes disappearing for their school photo!  We had fun all the same and I now have another 100 or so children who are happy to believe that this bear...

...writes them postcards from France, comes to their lessons to help them learn French and hibernates at the drop of a hat (ie. whenever I forget to bring him with me!)

Today I was meant to be on a French course, but as it was cancelled I found myself with an unexpectedly free day. Something crafty that wouldn't involve splinters or circular saws was high on my priority list, so after tidying the dreaded 'airing cupboard corner', the felt was closest to hand, so that's what I decided to use.  Here are the results...

Brooches, or noticeboard magnets?  I haven't yet decided.  

What do you think they'd be best as?