Stuck what to buy for mothers day

Confused as to what to buy Mum this mother's day (10th March , yes so soon)? , want to buy her something a little different , yet special? Today I bring you some examples from my woolly shop. In the next few days I want to bring a special collection together of other feminine woolly gifts that mum will adore. So if you are selling or know of someone selling that special something (ideally in the pastel shades below) then let me know. And please remember to join in the Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop --------------->

'Mothers day Gift suggestions' by TheFeminineTouch

Delicate mustard and cream f... TheFeminineTou... $60	Turquoise Messenger shoulder... TheFeminineTou... $52	Womens winter lace scarf han... TheFeminineTou... $50
Hot water bottle cover Cozy ... TheFeminineTou... $30	Petite shawl / neck scarf ha... TheFeminineTou... $50	Mustard Tea Pot Cosy hand kn... TheFeminineTou... $35
Purse Case yellow mustard cr... TheFeminineTou... $15	Chunky Light Green Womens ha... TheFeminineTou... $34	Yellow wristlet bag , stripe... TheFeminineTou... $34
Feminine dusky pink hand kni... TheFeminineTou... $26	Blue & Lilac 2 hand knitted ... TheFeminineTou... $76	Baby blue handwarmers / Fing... TheFeminineTou... $19
Spectacle case in Duck egg b... TheFeminineTou... $14	Gold Lace scarf - hand knitt... TheFeminineTou... $63	Mohair drawstring bag, hand ... TheFeminineTou... $12
Gift Voucher 20 dollars gift... TheFeminineTou... $20

Treasury tool supported by the dog house

Recovery

Hi folks

Just to let you know that I'm recovering well from my key hole surgery just over a week ago. Its the first time ever I've been operated on , which I think is quite good for a girl of my age :). Very very nerve wracking though , I don't think I realised how nervous I would be about it.

My daughter drove me to the hospital and was with me in my own private room until they asked me to go up to theatre. At that point she left me and I slowly followed the nurse to just outside theatre at which point I was met by the "team" , who jostled me in to position on the bed , altered all the bedding , put needles into my hands and tried to crack funny jokes (supposedly to calm me down , ha ha). I never got to count down from 10 (I've heard that's the best bit) , probably they just knocked me out straight away because I looked so downright scared.

Waking up was weird I can tell you. I was dreaming , not sure what about , but it was definitely a dream to start with , and then people (the nurses) talking to me. I think I kept drifting in and out. I do remember being wheeled back to my room , passing people in the corridor.

After surgery it took a while to eventually feel fit enough to get up and dressed ready for home. The nurses wanted to make sure I ate and drank before they would let me go. I ordered a sandwich which I reckon took me over an hour to eat , I just kept falling asleep after each bite.

At home now , resting as much as I can. The 1st week I didn't do much , never left the house, had family members do my shopping for me and cook for me.  I am now at a stage where I am venturing out and about , slowing trying to get my independence again. I know when I have done too much though. My body aches , not where the stitches are but in my back and sides.

I'm sure all this will have been worth it though,  no more gall stone attacks in the middle of the night , that excruciating pain. I will not miss my gall bladder one bit.

Prototyping

After I went on my fairisle course last year I have been wanting to incorporate fairisle into my work for sale on Etsy. Today was the day that I decided to have a play.

I took a strategy I had learnt in my full time work , that of building a prototype , something that could easily be delivered with the tools I had already and that could be shown to people to get feedback and views.

I was going to build a prototype! I always knit a swatch anyway when working with new yarn , knitting new stitches or combining colours together but this time I was going to be concentrating on colour combinations and the pattern and incorporating the whole thing in to a finished article.

I had already knit quite a few fingerless gloves so had the basic shape already in my head.

 I had purchased some yarn the other day to knit into cushion backs but it was not suitable so I decided that I could use this is in my prototype.

And most importantly two of the colours matched my new casual coat so I could knit the prototype for me to wear with my coat. I love showing off my work.

I picked up the 1st pattern book with some fairisle patterns in and quickly decided on one that had inspired me.

I liked the look of the 2 blocks of pattern at the bottom , nice and simple. So after knitting the rib I knit these rows. 

 But I had a problem straight away , the 2 colours I picked , the 2 colours that matched my coat were too similar to each other , they blended in. Not the look I was after at all.

But I continued.

Once I had knitted the thumb , I restarted the fairisle pattern. This time trying to do the top block of pattern.

I decided to incorporate another colour into the pattern, hoping that this would bring the colours to life.

so a little green has been used before finishing off in the mustard and the ribbed top.









And here's the finished prototype and I like it ! it brings my coat to life !

but there is room for improvement don't you think?


Want to see the end result , perfected a few days later?  https://www.etsy.com/listing/123611835/rustic-fairisle-handwarmers-womens

Above the clouds

Rising majestically through the mist, we entered the empty space above the clouds, it was a different world. Miles and miles of fluffiness, making you want to get out of the aeroplane and roll around in its comfort. 

Here I was snuggled in seat 40A, the very back corner of the aeroplane and nothing else to do whilst squished in this awkward position but to watch out of the window.  I hadn’t flown for 5 years and forgot about the one thing that makes this tremendously different to any other modes of travel. It’s the only opportunity most of us get to see the world from a different viewpoint and perspective.  I was going to take it all in. 

I started to examine the clouds and noticed the different shapes and type, but what soon became obvious to me, was that the clouds were on different levels. I could see that if I peeked through the gap of one particular cloud I could see another cloud sailing by underneath. Then I started thinking about how far way were these clouds and to what distance did they disappear down. That’s when my mind seemed to take over and start imagining little flying cherubs (Valentines Day very soon) bouncing through the clouds, dipping and diving and weaving in and out.  

I rubbed my eyes, to get rid of the ridiculous mental picture I had in my head and settled down for a sleep. 

But I need to research, I need to Google “clouds” I knew nothing about them apart from some of their names, cumulus, cirrus.

I slept, I dreamed of clouds, of inventors altering cloud formations, making them rain where they have never rained before, blowing them away from flooded areas and messing up the world. My little country would be a far better place without the rain, but how far do you go, what happens when the reservoirs dry up and we all have to go without drinking water.  The mind boggles.

I woke up with a start; the cabin crew were on their rounds with drinks. I ordered a bottle of ice chilled water for my dry throat. 

Still clouds out there , this time not just layers of clouds , we now had some quite interesting formations jutting upwards, they looked like old building relics , you know crumbling old castles or ancient space stations (yes my mind is wandering again).

We had shifted direction and I now could see the sun glinting in the left of my window. The sun that was on its way down was starting to turn the world above the clouds into a colourful array of shiny pinks and reds. The colours nestled into the folds of the clouds, like nothing I had seen before (had I seen this before?). There seemed to be a world within the clouds, within which they were glowing a musty dusky pink. I wanted to go and see what was happening down there.  

And as the sun went down, we were moving faster and faster towards out destination. I watched this phenomenon with delight, the reds and pinks blended with the darkening sky and merged with the clouds to bring me a spectacular display. 

And as if by magic we reached England and yes the clouds dispersed and the show was over. Until next time I fly.

New Year , New Approach

Hi all

I'm going to take a new approach to my blog postings this year. Yeh !

Last year , the emphasis was on Etsy , the comings and goings , BNS's , BNR's , how to get on Front Pages , the Craft Britannia team and other European shops.  I have learnt loads about selling on Etsy in my 1st full year of selling and I hope you have too from my blog postings.

This year I want to concentrate on improving my skills , showing you what I have learnt crafting wise.

I also want to try out a new skill on you. I have a dreamt about being a writer for quite a number of years , and really I don't know whether I would be any good at it. I am not a very imaginative person , I won't be able to conjure up a romantic comedy or a spy thriller. I am not good with words , a lousy speller and my grammar is rubbish. But what I do have is lots of thoughts about life and the world brimming around in my head, things that I see or touch that I what get some understanding about. Feelings that I want to share with the world.  Would you mind very much if I share this with you?

If so , I'll start in a few days !