Easter Monday

It’s not felt like Easter this year as we don’t seem to have had the same work/play divide. I worked Saturday and Sunday so had to make do with yesterday and tried to push as much as I could in to my only day off.

We decided to go for a lovely long walk to Lartington via the local woods and then walked back dropping in to Deerbolt wood on the way home. I even saw a lamb born in one of the fields which was the highlight of my day.

Once home I did a little bit of crafting. I crocheted these sweet little blossoms from a pattern on
Attic 24 and stuck them to a branch I took from the woods. I was so pleased with the result. It’s just so pretty and reminds me of Spring.
I hope you were able to make your Easter special xx

Garden Tidy

Over the last couple of days the weather has been glorious. We decided to take advantage and ventured in to the garden.  Since we moved nearly eighteen months ago our neighbour has very kindly looked after both sides of the garden.  He’s done so since the previous owner was ill so he just continued.  Anyway when hubby decided to move here permanently this Christmas we said we would be able to do our own garden and this was our first opportunity of keeping to our promise.

As you can see it had become a little neglected but after a couple of hours work it started to look a  bit better.

 The little row of plants are actually primroses.  There were some shaggy looking clumps so I broke them up and made lots of small plants.  If they survive they will look beautiful next year and eventually I will be able to split them again.  Plants for nothing, brilliant.

A local spring walk

Firstly I must apologise for being away for so long. So much has happened and I don’t really know where to begin. It’s probably best to carry on as normal and not worry too much about the passing of the last two years. Yes it has been that long and I’ve missed it so much in that time.

 Unfortunately due to the lockdown we are only allowed out of the house to exercise once a day and only around our local area. That being said we live in a beautiful area and are lucky to have some wonderful countryside on our door step

Eggleston Abbey

We have been making the most of the lovely weather in between work. We both work in our local supermarket so as key workers we are working long hours which is great on pay day but not when the weather is so lovely.  the other downside of course is trying to stay safe when we are in such close proximity to customers but we can’t help that unfortunately.

What's been happening?

Well hello there and welcome.  I'm back and with so much to tell you I hardly know where to begin.  I noted that my last post was on the 15th May 2018 and who could have even tried to predict what has happened since then?  Well the first thing is that on the 22nd May we viewed what has now become our new home.

We have holidayed many times in the last few years in a place called Winston in County Durham.  We absolutely loved the area and as my family originate from that area and my Mum apparently paddled in the River Tees when she was in her teens, I have a certain affinity with the place.  Anyway on our holiday in April we found quite by chance on a beautiful little cottage in Barnard Castle and decided to go to the estate agent to arrange a viewing.  This was purely for research you understand and no way were we serious about buying.  Anyway the house owners had already accepted an offer and it was at that moment that we decided that we definitely wanted to move to the area.  It was a lightening bolt and at the time totally out of the question but something we couldn't get out of our minds.
We went back to our home in Doncaster feeling totally disorientated and couldn't quite understand our emotions.
In the weeks that following we investigated more and more and on the 22nd May we arranged to go back and view 4 different properties, the cottage being one of them as we had learnt that it was back on the market.  After viewing the houses we decided on one which wasn't what we had expected but that we both fell in love with for different reasons.
To cut a very long story short we are now the proud owners of a dilapidated 1960's house in Barnard Castle.

Before - the rather unusual bathroom tiles

I live here and my hubby comes up for long weekends.  He lives in the old house which is sold but is pending the exchange of contracts.
The other massive change is the fact that I have now closed Needlecraft Corner, my shop, although the Website remains for the time being pending my next major decision which is to keep or wrap up that side of the business.  That decision is for another day.
So there you have it and there is the reason why I have been absent for so long even though on the 15th of May I promised that I was back in the land of blogging.  Maybe now you will understand and hopefully forgive me for my long absence.

After - A quick makeover to make bath time more bearable (the plug is disappearing into bubbles)

I can assure you that I have missed talking to you all and sending my messages to you.
It feels so good to be back and although this time I make no promises I hope to get back in to the swing and let you in to my world once again.

Peace and Tranquillity

I have been the worst blogger ever just lately and can't believe I have neglected this space so badly.  Unfortunately I have had quite a lot of stress due to my Mums illnesses and now to her recently being diagnosed with dementia.  She is coping well but it has been very difficult for the family.
Anyway I am here now and am determined to get back on track.  The blog may change a little as it is now connected directly to my revamped website.  I strongly suggest you hurry over there to Needlecraft Corner 

We have lots of lovely fabrics, wool and buttons on the site and there will be lots more added shortly as soon as I find the time to get them all on.
Obviously as the blog evolves it will also include items that have arrived in the shop but it will still include what I have been up to both out and about and at home in my little crafty world.  I hope you continue to drop by and I look forward to sharing my comings and goings with you all.

Last weekend we had a lovely time pottering about the house doing lots of jobs that we've been putting off.  Mainly gardening.  We love being outside and are determined this year to progress with our vegetable patch.  This consists of two 10 x 3 foot beds which currently have potatoes, leeks and cabbages in them.  Watch this space as more things will be going in as the weeks go by.

On Sunday afternoon after sorting the garden etc Steve suggested that we go out for a walk so we jumped in the car and set off for a new haunt of ours which we discovered a couple of weeks ago.

This is an absolutely beautiful stretch of canal at Sykehouse near Doncaster.

Hawthorne in full bloom

It is definitely a hidden treasure that is not often used by boats or walkers.  It is packed with fish of various sizes and types and there are plenty of fishermen sat enjoying the scenery.  We have walked several stretches of this waterway recently and love the tranquillity of the place.  We even came across a little bunny rabbit on the toll path this week together with herons too.

A heron landing on the opposite bank

 On a completely different topic, I wanted to create a little work of art using some of the plants found in our garden.  I had been browsing Pinterest as you do, and decided to mount a few of the items picked in the garden on a canvas.  I then sprayed them with craft paint bought at B & Q and this was the result.  I was so happy and it now sits proudly in our recently decorated kitchen.

My latest work of art

Well that's all I've got for you today but promise to be back soon with the reveal of my brand new patchwork quilt.
Thanks for dropping by x

Carlton in Lindrick flower show and garden inspiration

Its been all go at Needlecraft Corner but today I was determined to have a little bit of me time and check in with you all.

It's strange but lately I seem to be getting a lot more visitors from the United States.  I'm not sure why this should be other than there is another business called the same name other than that maybe you lovely americans just want to get a bit of information about how we brits are doing.  Who knows?  It's great and amazing to think that my humble little blog reaches people all over the world.
Anyhow back to what I've been up to.  The website has been relaunched and is much better than the old one. Click here to take a look Although getting to grips with it has been a bit of a nightmare and there are still things that I am not happy with.  I give the impression that I know what I'm doing but in reality I'm a novice but I am getting better every day.

My lovely Mum is in hospital again.  She is 93 and gets more frail every day.  She is a battler though and is so positive she is an inspiration to us all.
I have been busy promoting the shop and am running a new workshop on the 25th July 2017.  This is a needle felting class and costs £15.00 to attend.

All are welcome but I have had to insist on a £5.00 deposit to ensure attendance.  I have been caught out before!
In addition we have been working on the garden and have had some lovely potatoes and cabbages.

The peas, beans, sweetcorn, beetroot, radishes and rocket are yet to grow big enough to harvest.  Our ultimate goal in life is to own our own small holding but at the moment we only have a small, small, small holding at the back of our house.

We visited the mill in Carlton in Lindrick recently.  They were holding their annual flower festival.  The garden in front of the mill was gorgeous and is now my inspiration for our own little plot.

Caudwell, Durham

Well last week we went on our holidays to Hillcrest Park in Caudwell.  This is a lovely farm with cottages, touring caravan facilities and camping pods.  We actually went last year and enjoyed it so much we decided that as we hadn't seen everything we would go back again.
The weather last week was amazing for the time of year and so that made our holiday even more special.  This time we were celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary too which was lovely.

The scenery in this area is breathtaking and we were able to get to Stanhope which is about a half hour drive from where we were staying.

The scenery as we drove back to Barnard Castle was surprising as we hadn't realised when we set off exactly what to expect.
These photos were taken from the car and I couldn't help but imagine how a felted picture would look with all the lovely shading and muted colours.  Mmm definitely something to consider in the future.