Learning how to felt ....

Hi everyone

Winter has hit us with biting cold winds & lots of frost & fog

but also amazingly beautiful sunsets ....

As my regular visitors to the blog know, I am a great advocate of life long learning skills, like hand sewing, learning to paint furniture the Annie Sloan way etc.   I love learning new skills that interest me & who better to learn it from, than tutors who are fantastic in their crafts. I love my tutoring job, but I also love having a Friday off so I can relax, unwind, do the things that interest me, then my job does not become a chore ... 

I did a course through this fabulous local craft shop before - learning how to decoupage & learning how to crochet, including a special crochet course to do a rose.... 

When Helen advertised a felting course, I signed up straight away, especially as Helen ran it on a Friday, my day off. 

I knew nothing of felting so was relieved that the 6 of us on our course were all in the same boat. 

The worktable was set up ready with our all we would need - foreign objects but once Maxine, the fabulous tutor for the course, had demystified them, we were ready to proceed ... 

Starting to layer up our woollen threads on our block. The picture in the frame shown is one of Maxine's

 Building up the colours I want to use - delicate strands layered across the base felt square then needled in with the large round felting tool (which has 5 felting needles in it) or with the single felting needles ...

Tea, coffee & cakes arrive - thanks Helen, we are all totally engrossed in the calming work ...

Gorgeous soft pure wools in beautiful colours just give so much choice ... 

Getting there - the background is looking good, I decided on delicate shades reminiscent of heather & the countryside. Time to make some sheep ....

Working my sheep shape in to the background felted image with a single needle. The room went very quiet as we all just concentrated on keeping our fingers away from the single needle ...

Adding some more details from the beautiful wooden yarns available ...

Woollen threads to add details with ....

I decided that I wanted some heather like plants in the foreground so I felted in some tiny flowers. I am really pleased with how well the image looks. However, my one sheep has a wonky leg - but that is how he is going to stay - lopsided! 

We all had exactly the same materials to choose from & yet everyone did something different. This one was the one next to me ...

Our finished works in their little frames ....

And another one with lovely yellow flowers balancing the image perfectly. 

Our six completed pictures - all perfectly beautiful, all reminiscent of water colour images, delicate, yet detailed, tiny yet powerful!

Pop over to the talented tutor, Maxine's website - Tilly Tea Dance  to see some more of her stunning work. 

I hope you are also inspired to step out of your comfort zones & learn knew skills & hobbies, whatever your interests are. 

Thanks for stopping by & taking the time to read & comment, 

Dee ~♥~

Hints of green & metallics ...

I know many of you embrace change as much as I do.

At home, our hard furnishings are classic & the backbone of our decor. However, soft furnishings are changed regularly because I embrace change.  I want to have beautiful things around me - things that bring me joy & that I love seeing. They are not expensive things, just things I have acquired, bought or even been given that I mix up with what we already have ...

I love things with a history & age - these copper & brass mugs are a perfect contrast to the solidness of my lovely marble cheeseboard . Do you love the glow of metallics as much as I do?

and my matching cake stand I was gifted last year, I love its copper base that 'grounds' it so well.

I love this rose wreath - a feminine touch

How can you not love these vintage plates - such beautiful colours & details - I am in awe of some of the amazing vintage china that is about. I only have two of these amazing plates but sometimes, 2 is enough of something so lovely ....

 You will not be surprised to see my favourite Ralph Lauren pocket watch plates on the sideboard . I am a huge fan of the battery LED lights because they provide a warm glow to things while being safe.

A few changes & it looks much fresher. Touches of green just brighten it all up ...

Thank you for stopping by & taking time to read & comment.
Dee ~♥~

Spread a bit of kindness ....

Hi everyone

January is a strange month - after a busy December, January just seems to bob along, a sort of anti-climax after the festive season.

My students are always a priority; I am always grateful to be self employed & spoilt by lovely Mums who have steaming cups of tea or coffee available for me; I am privileged to work in many lovely homes & I value the respect shown.

A special scone bought as a treat for me on a long, cold day - such a thoughtful Mum ...

I am a huge supporter of random acts of kindness - it is those small moments of kindness that make a difference in the day - asking someone how they are, being genuinely interested in their family & their life,  listening to understand rather than answer ...

We are all capable of change & making the world a better place.

I love this quote 

and this one

I hope this will be your mantra also this year

Enjoy your week everyone, wrap up if you are sharing our cold & foggy winter. Thank you for stopping by & taking the time to read &  comment
Dee ~♥~

Twelfth night - time for the decorations to all be down ...

Hi everyone

Are you still in the state of limbo between getting all the Christmas things down, going back to work & returning your homes to its pre-festive state?

My late grandmother was a stickler for traditions & always insisted that all the decorations were down by the night of the 5th of January. There is always a debate in the media about whether twelfth night falls on the 5th or the 6th of January, we have always observed the 5th as our night to have it all down.

Our door wreath is always the last thing to come down - it was again a welcome gift from the lovely Linda, a students Mum & it has been much admired since it went up. This year I had battery lights wrapped around it & it looked so welcoming.

The two topiary also had lights & those have come off, along with their present decorations ...

The door wreath always gets repurposed to the shed doors where it still looks lovely for a few more weeks, & the birds love pulling the moss out of the wreath for their nests.

A very cold & crisp day in the Shire as I repurpose our greenery - the second gifted wreath has been on our chimnea & it will stay there for a bit too  ...

I will miss the battery lights by the front door flicking on for 6 hours each night with their twinkling lights, but traditions must, so they are packed away for another year.  (The dark shapes on the facias are just shadows from the large bushes .... )

However, these  battery lightbulb lights have been in our living room - their batteries are still going strong so they will stay in the dining room for now as their lights flick on for a couple of hours each night ... aren't they pretty?

I took off our lovely fireplace garland in the week & replaced it with calm bunting & some lovely birds & hearts ... the Christmas card string was still up, that is now down ...

A lovely lavender bag which I bought on the markets in Dorset - handmade by a lovely lady - it is in the centre of the bunting

It looks much plainer & I always find the transition from the glorious Christmas decorations to January really difficult ...

As evening sets in, I light a gifted candle & think back over the Christmas period & the 12 nights since Christmas - it was a blessed time with friends & family!

I hope your Twelfth night is blessed, thank you for stopping by & taking the time to read & comment,
Dee ~♥~

A deer scene ...

Hi everyone

It is no surprise that deer are not just for Christmas in my home. They pop up all over & many stay all year round.

This lovely hyacinth was gifted by my visiting cousin & it looks just fine with the deer 'nibbling' at it.

The 2 little white deer were a recent find & they look just right with the taller one that we have had for some years.  I think this little group looks just fine in the dining room so they will stay for a while before they move about the house.

Do you have collections that you display all the time? Tell all or better still, blog about it & share ...  Thank you for stopping by,
Dee ~♥~

Have you embraced the Hygge way of life?

Hi everyone,
I am sure the concept of Hygge has not escaped your attention; it is all over the press, in magazines & on tv discussions - it is one of the buzz words everywhere.

A Wondering Star gifted me the popular book & it was interesting to read about it in a little more depth ....

Country living tells us it is ....
 hygge (pronounced hoo-ga) alludes to a feeling of cosy intimacy and contentment. It's all about creating feelings of happiness, friendliness and wellbeing within everyday life.

Before we all get in to a tizz, I realised that many of us already get many of these concepts right - we just haven't put the Hygge name to it - it is about the quality of your life, the warmth, comfort & cosiness we embrace which leads to contentment ....

It is about spending quality time with friends & family, sitting by a fire or enjoying firelight -

Keeping things simple by enjoy relaxing candle light with friends & family over lingering suppers.

Keeping grounded by mixing old with new,  wood grounds us with its tactile surface, a reminder of its permanence  ...

Baking & settling down with comforting hot cocoa is another Hygge activity - we do not need much encouragement to do this ...

 Enjoying a slice of home-baked cake, Hygge is not depriving ourselves of things ...

Hygge recommends getting outdoors too - I am curious by nature & love exploring new places

In Africa

Walking & exploring our vast canal network ...

Exploring Riga & taking in new experiences & cultures

Pick up a book or two or three - do you have books all over your house? Too many to read but unable to resist bring in a new one?

How do you hygge? The suggestion is to create a hyygekrog or cosy nook at home with candles, fleeces with a cup of warming coffee or hot chocolate  while choosing rustic over new decor,

In South Africa, we use the word geselligheid which fits in perfectly with the similar ones ...

So make your space warm & cosy - bring in light & cosiness, home made comforts rule ...

Create a home that you love living in,  a welcoming, safe space that reflects you with personal things that tell your history & your story.  Welcome others in to your space too ...

I love tactile things & mix vintage & modern in my own style ...

Books & ceramics - what is there not to love? I have both in abundance at home; I love leather books & the smell / scent you get from vintage books & the beautiful tactileness of tooled leather & embossed covers ...

Do not get me started on ceramics - I just love ceramics as you well know from my sideboard posts ...

We are not short of a few clocks at home ... 

I love this vintage floral oil painting - it is easy on the eye for me & is not everyone's favourite at home but it is a calming image that I see daily ... live with what you like & what speaks to your soul.

Most of us already embrace the Hygge concepts in our comfortable homes. Enjoy your space, be grateful & embrace pleasure, harmony, comfort & togetherness from the atmosphere you  create in your shelter / home. Those are the foundation concepts ....

I will be mindful of the concepts & this year, I will continue to make my home the Hygge space it should be.  I hope you will also look at your space & just think about what really works for you & yours ... thank you for stopping by & taking the time to visit ...

Dee ~♥~