The Last Secretary

One of the reasons that I don't craft things often, besides working, is that I go to boot sales and antique fairs every Sunday.  I collect many things.  Tea cups, tea pots, tea sets, lacy things, black coloured china,  spider jewellery, china with spiders...anything with spiders, spider webs, scorpions, bugs, insects or butterflies really.  I call them my treasures, my husband calls it my junk.  Whatever, it's pretty.  It's also taking up my whole dining table, filling wicker baskets in the corners of the rooms, little nooks and crannies.  Which is another reason I don't craft much.  Maybe I do have a problem.

One of the ladies I go on adventures with is the Secretary of the Fire Department on RAF Mildenhall.  Strong lady, very knowledgeable, great tour guide when we look at antiques as she has a story for everything we come across.

She has worked her last day at the Fire Department last Friday.  After 30 years or so, she is retiring and will be the last Secretary that they will have manning the front desk.  I was thinking of maybe quilting something for her, but the time and space is very limited.  So I have decided to embroider her this little gem.

The silver and gold thread and the embroider hoop I purchased at a boot sale, which is fitting as it is what we do best.  It's not perfect but it is very similar to the large emblem that sits next to her at work.  Hopefully, it will remind her of time at the station and of the job that she loved so dearly.  Happy Retirement Di!

Fancy Find on A Garden Adventure

I know this is post is not about crafting, but I figured I would throw it in since it is some sort of inspiration.  I found a lovely little garden gate on one of our English garden adventures.

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This beautiful work of art is tucked away in a corner of Chippenham Park in Cambridgeshire, UK.

Shimmery Crochet

I went to the Knitting and Stitching Show in London yesterday.  It was fantastic.  There was so much to see, it was like craft overload.  So many stalls and not enough time.  In the five hours that we spent wandering around, I didn't get to see everything.  

But, I did find some fantastic yarn to start my next crochet project.  I went to this show with the intention of finding some wool, because that is one of the things that I can't buy online just for the fact that I can't touch and feel.It's called Oyster by James C Brett.  You have to see it in person to look at the texture and colors.  It has a shimmer to it and it is very soft.

Here's a little scarf project that I whipped up using the Oyster yarn.  Keeping with the theme of creepy, it uses a pattern called Spider Lace Scarf, that you can see at the top in white and a pattern called Irish Wave, as seen in grey purple, black and white.  I found both patterns on Ravelry.com

You can kind of see the shine to the yarn.  The purple and the black is lovely...it matches my two black eyes that I'm currently sporting due to a little drinking mishap.  Long story short is that I got into a brawl with the pavement and the pavement won.  What can I say?  I like to party.

Back to the subject, I also found some lace weight yarns, at the Knitting and Stitching Show, that I want to make some lightweight shawls or something like it. Who knows?  Maybe I'll try something more challenging like a sweater or a cardigan.