EDITED TO ADD::

Thankyou

You might have thought, like I did, that hat season officially finished, oooh two months back?

Nope. Not according to the Law of DH. Going from LOL-ing at my creations to now refusing to wear anything else, I had to knit another hat for him just so I could throw his other (grubby, over-used, bobbles-bordering-on-drealocks) hat away.

Of couse, this wasn’t a burden and using some lambswool and some blue acrylic (ack) I double knitted this version in double quick time using my own pattern.

It’s warm, covers his ears (a prerequisite for his hats, let me tell you) and looks totally unlike a Rastafarian’s. Unlike the old one, which had complete strangers yelling ONE LOVE, MAN whenever they passed him in the street.

Oh and the midget loves it. Not a necessity but totally a bonus.

We like our comfort here in Chez Qalballah, as is apparent by the copious amount of cushions we have.

Good for lounging, propping, cuddling and beating people over the head with, they are also great for adding flashes of colour to a room with no major overhaul in decor needed.

So that is what I have been busy with for a couple days – adding fresh colour and a few more cushions to our collection – for added ahhhh after a long day playing, support for old tired bones when knitting, and for good old fashioned pillow fighting.

Aaaaaaand I think I’m done with floral now…

Swine Flu; pooing your pants yet? In continuous suppliction? Not to cause a mass panic but you DO realise that once this virus hits China and parties with Bird Flu that we are all fugged, don’t you.

OK now panic.

But the good news is it’ll be good weather for it. Bring that on.

And it’s official – I’m technically thicker than a two year old.

So, no change there then.

Carry on.

EDITED TO ADD – actually I took a Mensa test some years ago and qualified to join, but they actually *charge you MONEY* to do so; I wrote back and told them I’m not that stupid….

So. Much. Fun.

I’m not even going to try to bother offering a justification for this recent fabric purchase. On so many levels I needed it. But I really wasn’t prepared for how *gorgeous* it is in the flesh.

These are part of Arcadia fabric collection by Sanae for Moda, over on Sew Mama Sew.

These photos do not do these elegant prints justice, they really don’t. I know I say that fabric makes me giddy a lot, but I swear these take my breathe away.

Sexy. Elegant. Subtle. Understated. Classically chic and effortlessly jaw-droppingly gorgeous….

But enough about me – the prints are really great too…

I won! I won! I won something!

I’m excited – can you tell?

A while back over on Beauty That Moves I was lucky enough to be a Friday giveaway winner. This stuff is what I won….

So cute. Thankyou, Heather! Everything has found a home and that doily? Totally my favourite.

We’ve spent most of our week so far doing plenty of this: Elderflower cordial (me), blankets and snacks in the sun (them), gardening (old man) and just enjoying the hottest April I have ever known masha’allah.

Really really hoping to have more of the same this weekend.

See you Monday insha’allah.

xx

For a long time now I have wanted a place to pin things which, for want of a better expression, inspired my creativity.

Lots of crafters have them. There is even a Flickr group and blog devoted to them.

And they come in all shapes – from simple wires or tapes with pegs to hold the inspirational piece in place, to actual quilt rails, whole walls, back down to basic cork boards with pins.

The reason why I’ve never had one is really because I never had the space. But it became apparent that I would soon really be needing one on a practical level, and voila! a space magically appears before me – necessity being the mother of invention, and all that. The back of a cupbaord door right next to where I work *slaps forehead* why oh why have I never seen it before?!

Right now my board comprises of fabric swatches and sketches (which I am not showing you ); hardly inspirational, but totally totally revolutionary in terms of how this has improved my work.

There will probably be times when I will feel the need to pin up pictures and shapes and leaves and articles and other things which grip my imagination and make the craft mojo flow etc., but right now this is how I’m working, and it is really such a simple yet SUCH an effective tool. The space to mark out ideas and block work – at a glance my concentration is galvanised as I see just how I want my work to be. Simple, yes. But totally amazing in results.

Inspiration boards. I recommend them to you!