Ruby's Button Tin

It's getting nearer the weekend

I keep meaning to blog more often, but this week's been so busy at work I just flake out in the evening and don't get much done at all.  I've been slowly doing the odd bits of needlepoint, like this mainly blue tablemat, and piecing together hexagons for patchwork.  I'm amazed that some people blog every day.  How do they find the time!!?!!  Though I suppose they're just organized and don't fritter away valuable minutes doing Sudoku puzzles and looking at goofy cats on icanhazcheezburger. 

Last weekend was so lovely and sunny I spent Sunday morning up on the allotment.  I'm preparing a patch of ground to grow sweetcorn in.  How well it will do I've no idea.  So far I'm planning sweetcorn, courgettes, beans, some spuds and on the flower front - larkspur, lupins, marigolds and nasturtians.  (I don't think I've spelt that last one properly, but the dictionary's gone awol ...)  This is the view from my allotment patch:

 

On a good day it's a wonderful spot.  You hear lots of birdsong, and it's such a relaxing place to while away an hour or two. 

The only other things I've been doing (apart from scoffing way too many chocolate HobNobs) are reading 'The End of Mr Y' by Scarlet Thomas (weird, good, not sure where the story's going ...), posting more photos on Flickr (I heart Flickr!) and watching Sunset Boulevard again on my ancient video recorder.  Gloria Swanson - fabulous!!  What a gal. 

Just one more image to post, then I'm done for now ...

Another piece of fishy needlepoint in every colour of the rainbow.

March daffodils

I've a lovely vase of jaunty yellow daffodils in my sitting room at the moment.  They were flowering on my allotment when I made it up there over the weekend.  Not that I can take the credit for growing them. The bulbs were planted when I took the patch over, but the flowers came as a nice surprise.  I've got various seedlings in trays nestling in window sills in my flat, and once they're hardly enough to survive the Evil Slugs I'll pop them in. 

I can't claim to be getting much in the way of crafty stuff done right now.  Work is really busy, so once I get home I just want to veg out in front of the telly and scoff Cadburys mini eggs.  I'm slowly reading 'The End of Mr Y' by Scarlett Thomas which is odd but in a good way.  I'm also looking into family history, going to the online census records and getting thoroughly frustrated by the slow progress I'm making.  Part of the problem is my family name is Thompson, so it's not exactly distinctive.  I've yet to find any disreputable black sheep or gloriously romantic heroines or heroes among my great-greats, just lots of solid working class stock.  Oh well ... can't all be descended from the blue blooded gentry, can we?

Is it Easter yet?

  No, it isn't Easter yet, which is just as well 'cause this cushion isn't yet finished.  But can you believe Easter eggs in the shops already?  Actually I saw them on Boxing Day.  No, really!  Nuts, isn't it?  This cushion cover was purposely made with a limited palette of colours, and I think it'll look okay when I get around to embroidering on the bunny faces and assembling the whole thing.  I haven't been getting an awful lot of sewing done lately.  I've acquired a hacking cough, plus I've been seeing lots of films ('Slumdog Millionaire', 'The Wrestler', 'Che' among them) and reading, incluing 'The 19th Wife' - apologies for not having the author's name to hand, but it's a real eye opener about plural marriages even in modern day America.  So it's been a busy start to the year. 

(By the way, the annoying cough has only just been acquired, so most of the time I've not been the most irritating person in the cinema!) 

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Has spring sprung yet?

I know it's still winter, and just a couple of days ago it was snowing and freezy cold, but today felt like spring had sprung. I actually ventured outdoors without gloves on! I'm looking forward to lighter evenings and milder weather so I can get out on the allotment and start planting - giving me some much needed exercise. Too much sitting on the couch and eating jaffa cakes isn't good for the Pooh Bear stomach ... I'm working on a couple of quilts, but haven't been doing much sewing for the last day or so. Instead I've been sidetracked by my sporadic attempts to trace my family tree. The 1911 census is online now, so I've been looking for my ancestors with varying luck. The more you find out, the more you want to find out so it's enthralling and frustrating at the same time. But then so is crafting sometimes ...

Flickr mosaic maker

My first mosaic ... I'm pretty pleased with it.

On a snowy morning

It's true, the snow is back. I woke early this morning to find the bedroom luminous with an almost eerie light. The snowy scene looked so beautiful. In the neighbour's back garden the pristine white carpet was only marked by the pitter patter of paw marks. A cat probably - or even an urban fox? You've really got to have a heart of stone not to rejoice at the sight of snow. Surely it brings out the child in us all.

Hearts and softies

Two images for today. The first is the cover of a magazine that's free in the Bristol and Bath area. It's not so much the magazine's contents I like as this month's cover. The hearts are by a Bath artist called Sue Whale, and I just love the colours and the simplicity of the design. My photo doesn't do the artwork justice, but the colours are muted pinks, cyclamen reds and plums on an ivory/very pale soft brown background. Really pretty. The other image is one of my own softies grouped together. This gingerbread man seems to be very happy about it being time for tea!

Snow's nearly gone ...

I meant to take my camera with me today and take some pictures of the snow, but typically I forgot. Of course now the snow's almost gone. So instead here's my message for the nation: Keep Calm and Carry On. Listening to the news could almost induce a panic attack. Everyone's either angry or upset about - well you name it, they're complaining about it. As a country we need to stop carping, stop being so downbeat, stop talking ourselves into an even deeper recession than we're in right now. Let's keep calm and carry on. Chins up, best foot forward. Let's break out the cliches and look for that proverbial silver lining. We could all do a lot worse than make a belated New Year's resolution to count our blessings one by one ...

Patchwork and thrifty buys and a ceramic chicken

Outside it's snowing. Yes, snowing! For most people that's not big news, but here in Bristol we don't see much of the white stuff. Inside I'm toasty warm. Mainly because I'm propped up against the radiator which is pumping out lovely heat. I'm sewing together patchwork pieces to make a quilt. Later I might read a bit more of Dauphne du Maurier's 'Frenchman's Creek'. It's one of hers I haven't read, and I'm really enjoying it. She writes with such love of the Cornish landscape. That and her distinct writing style elevate what could in less skilful hands just be a corny romance (beautiful aristocratic lady, dashing and sensitive French pirate). I've got a whole stack of books waiting to be read - there's never enough time. This edition of 'Frenchman's Creek' is a lovely one too, a Virago one with an introduction by Julie Myerson. The photo shows the book resting on a thrifted mini tea towel, a fab floral number. Those browns and oranges do scream Seventies. I love coming across odds and ends, especially kitchen-type stuff, in charity/thrift shops. I've three of these ceramic chickens already. No, I don't know why either. I just like the daftness of them!