WOYWW 90 ...from tiny acorns.....

I really dont know where the weeks go... I find it hard to believe that it was not last week that I joined in with you all. The creative part of my brain has been empty but then I fancied trying to knit ....managed a snood thingy in soft chunky wool ...sale bargain wool obviously lol ...but now I have to learn matress stitching to finish it off. I had never heard of it but a visit to the wonderful web gave me a video ...so I must try to finish my thingy ...before the summer sets in ... lol.

Well that is not what is on my desk .... I have actually had a glimmer of arty creativeness ...just a glimmer ...not sure where its going ...but it is a start and as my heading says ...'from tiny acorns etc'.



I am also going to the crop this Saturday and have some ideas for a LO ... well 2 actually .... so hopefully I will have something to show next week.

I wonder where I shall be on JD's list as I am so late ... but better late etc etc ...so I'm off to post and will pop round to as many as I can, later ...managed well over 50 last time, in instalments, before my back said 'thats it for this week'

Take Care xx

The sun was there today....a visit to East Wemyss beckoned

Today I awoke to sunshine and a feeling of imminent spring was in the air …not that it will last long as rain and even more rain is predicted for the next few days and probably weeks. I needed to go out …not to shop…but out in air that was not wet or freezing. Where to go when no plans had been made … and the weather could change …. and one has to rely on buses?.

Well every time I go into Kirkcaldy by bus, at this time of year, I see wonderful skeleton trees with the coast line as a backdrop and the ruins of what looks like a tower behind the most beautifully kept cemetery ….so today I got off the bus with my camera.

I peered through the thicket that surrounded a ploughed area of land that bordered the trees and then found an opening, which allowed some closer access. I really must return during the following seasons, to capture them as they burst into leaf and then shed their copper treasures in autumn.

I did not take photos of the cemetery as there were no ties to my family and I feel those that lie at peace there, are owed their privacy but I really should learn not read the inscriptions …especially those that are children and I actually shed a tear as I read one that said that their angel had been born a sleep but would never be forgotten.

I crossed the grass, not yet filled with others loved ones, and reached the ruins which lay behind a huge hedge.

The tower …I found on my return home, with the aid of the net …is where it is thought that a castle may have been built by the MacDuff Thanes (or Earls) of Fife in the 11th century, at the time of Macbeth. The Wemyss family built the present castle in the 14th century. Edward I of England paid a visit here in 1304, staying with MacDuff's descendant, Michael Wemyss. However, Wemyss later joined forces with Robert the Bruce and Edward ordered the castle to be destroyed. After the Wemyss family moved to nearby Wemyss Castle, it passed to the Livingstone family and then in 1530 it was taken over by the Colvilles’ who built a second tower in the south-west corner and an enclosed courtyard. It is that second tower which still survives.

But now it houses an ever expanding family …of pigeons

Its present ruinous state is not just due to the fact that it has been unoccupied for several hundreds of years. The sandstone used in its construction has not weathered well and resulted in a pitted exterior ... but the stone work made me feel quite arty as its texture excited me.

For those who like ghost stories a “Grey Lady”, said to be a Mary Sibbald who was found guilty of theft and died in the castle, supposedly haunts the castle tower, which is now owned by Historic Scotland.

A final look towards the coast, before I returned home for lunch, showed that the midday winter sun had turned the water below silver and I so wished I had taken sun glasses ...even though it was February.

Take Care xx

WOYWW 87 ..Peel Offs …To use or not to use ...now that is a question

I cant remember the last time I used one but that is what is covering the table …one of the areas I use when attempting to craft…. everything that is sitting on the table is untouched…. those that have had pieces removed are now in the drawers

I realised that I needed to sort out ALL my stash and decide what I want to keep/use and to cast aside my squirrel gene that makes me hoard ‘in case’....something very hard to do.

I have to say that I have not got very far but I thought ‘ from small acorns’ and all that jazz. Sitting there are more than could be needed in any ….no several … life times of card making … and the cost of acquiring such a collection is beyond belief and I try NOT to think about it….I was seriously addicted back then.

Why so many…. I can hear you mutter...no scream …well ten or so years ago …when I started with paper crafts …everyone used them on cards. I thought that having a collection that grew so that I would never run out. …EVER … was a wise decision lol …especially if they were a Special Offer on a certain shopping channel …after all who would not want to make a card that did not have a peel off on it .. some where. How wrong was I …who knew that there were trends and fashions in card making? ... as a beginner I had no idea … and who knew I would prefer Scrapping.

However …looking through them today, I do wonder why they went out of fashion and do not seem to still have a place in card making …or do they? I certainly think that one could produce some pretty Christmas cards by adding a little modern creativeness to them and some cute children’s birthday cards too .

If anyone fancies a few …for maybe making charity cards …. let me know …I think I will actually use a few myself, on next years Xmas creations.

The moral of this story is …

Don’t buy too much of one thing …they either deteriorate like paints and some rubber stamps … or go out of fashion …take it from someone who knows and has learnt a hard lesson.

Take Care xx

Proud Nana Post

You guessed it ...photo over load ...well just be thankful ... these are only a few of hundreds.

Jay and Vicki went over to do a belated exchange of Xmas pressies, so it was like a second Christmas for them and it was the first time Jay and Vicki had met Olly ...life on both sides just conspired to keep them apart.
I so need to visit soon and give them all BIG hugs but Steve is starting a new job and so I will give them a week or so to get in to their new routine. Poor Steve hated where he was working and is so relieved to get another job.


I feel really bad as I had been moaning to Emma that I was not being sent any new photos from them ....and now I know the reason ...they had created a Nana photobook...for me ... as part of my Christmas gift ....I LOVE it so much.

Hope you have not been too bored

Take care xx

...and TOTO makes 18

As promised …..............................

Here is TOTO

I think he will be staying. …however, now he has found his feet, he is chasing Bilbo and Sid around the house while objects fly in their wake. Smudge is just annoyed that another cat has joined us and up set the equilibrium, Marvella is suspicious that he is actually just an intruder but Sayba is hiding from everyone as she really hates change and noise ….and new cats. The rest are just putting up with him but I think Willow and he may make friends , as the weeks pass.

Toto is large and so very different, in appearance, from all our other cats. He is very good natured with humans ...though a little techy when it comes to the smaller variety lol . As you can see he is a long hair but his coat has an unusual feel to it…it is thick and sort of woolly ….he will need a lot of brushing I think.

Take Care xx

WOYWW ....Week ?????

Cannot believe it is the 19th January and this is my first post this year ...sorry for being a poor blogger and a very part time WOYWWer. I did manage to get the flu ....but it didn't strike until the 27th and the boys were pretty well over it on Xmas Day so managed to enjoy every thing. It was a wonderful few days and it was great doing none of the cooking again.

Like the rest of you out there, I become so easily addicted to stash, and for the most part that means paper and embellishments that go with it all but I can so easily be seduced by other crafts and then find I either have no talent or little time to make all the creations that could take form from the ideas that swim around in my muddled head. The lack of talent applies to knitting and crochet …not sure how I lost the ability as I remember creating patterned chunky jumpers with the aid of graph paper and throws from crochet squares about 35-40 years ago ….the latter applies to most other elements such as beads and metals and … well I could go on for ever …. so why, I ask myself, have I yet again been seduced in to another craft …this time by the lure of material. I knew it was coming as I found myself in a patchwork shop about 4 months ago …aimlessly sighing and stroking rolls and piles of ‘Fat Quarters’. I should have heeded the warning but then for Christmas Jay, Vicki and I decided to share three large pressies …one of which was a sewing machine.

So what is on my table today????? ……… Yep ... some fat and long quarters

…. All waiting patiently for me to conquer the machine and the rotary cutter ….and to discover if I really have no talent for Patchwork or any other kind of sewing ….but then the quarters are wonderful to stroke lol.... and if you are reading this Sharon(MM) .... this is a little bit your fault ...well I had to blame someone.

I have also bought …in the sale I might add … a remnant of material suitable for cushions. Like all addicts I want to buy more and more but I am determined to wait until I have used some of the above …by the way the patterns are William Morris …and were again, a bargain.

The other problem I have is that I cant say no …well when it comes to animals anyway … strike that ... I cant say no to food either …especially sweet gooey stuff and yummy savoury stuff …especially Italian and Indian ...and old fashioned home cooking …. maybe I am addicted to cats and food too. Well lets get back to my inability to say no to animals.… yes I know I was not going to take in any more felines and yes I was going to let our numbers reduce naturally … and yes I know I’m a sucker for a sob story but I really could not stop Jay and Vicki catnapping a beautiful animal last Wednesday, that, it was said, was destined for a microwave!!!!. He is so different from any of our others and just might have some Maine Coon in him. We hope he will become integrated with the others …if not we will have to find a new home for him. I am trying not to get too fond of him but when there is just the two of us he leaps on to my lap ….looks me in the eyes …and purrs.

I really shall try to do more blogging, crafting and WOYWWing this year ....note to self ...be more organized too.

I look forward to dropping by as many blogs as I can, during today and the next few days ... to see what everyone is up to.

Take Care xx

PS …I think there are some lovely talented ladies out there who might find me calling on them for sewing help/advice … in the near future …..Grovel Grovel .xx

WOYWW 81

Sorry ... no work surface ….or area for that matter…too ashamed that the table is actually totally buried....and that is no exaggeration ...DD says she is going to blitz it before Xmas so we can start afresh in the New Year

I found a tiny space to make 4 cards on Monday…then dropped them in the post box before taking a photo, as I realized it was the last day for 1^st class and got in a flap …then cursed as they disappeared from reach because I could have shown you all that I do actually make the odd card.

Here are two LO’s I finished at the end of last week …. while I still could find a corner to work on. …. I have been meaning to scrap them for a year.

Spending time with Ben and Jake last year made it all magical again for me as when one sees Xmas through a little ones eyes it’s so special. This year it will be Robbie and Kristofer who share their wonder with me. Poor things are really unwell at the moment so I hope they are better by the 25^th. I think it is some virus but it has pushed their temperatures to 40 or 104 in old money lol. … regular Calpol and ‘sponge downs’ have been needed. Poor Robbie just does not understand and sits there sobbing as the cloth touches him …mind you Kristofer was only a little better but his temp seems to be staying below 100 now.

I wish everyone out there a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

I send you warm hugs and raise a glass to the wonderful world of blogs where I have met so many good and interesting friends.

Take Care xx

PS Found out earlier that the boys have the flu so am prayingit has not passed on to us adults.