June 30th craft page a month

Today being the last day of the month will be my craft page where i show you all the things i have made, whether in crochet, origami, or just craftwork. I am trying out arigurami at the moment a japanese concept working in the round to produce tiny dolls , and figurines, the mushroom house turned out really well. So my next one is on order for martin and laura. At the end of July i will be doing another craft page.

Bendy dolls,

gotha and edwardian lady

A crochet computer chair cover

A flower fairy

Gno place like Gnome

Crocheted mushroom house for Gnomes and fairies

Corpse Bride and groom

Jack Skellington and his bride

Sports Day at St johns

A breakfast picnic for the two of us

Owen in football race, Come on Owen shouts his Granma and mum

not competetive then!!!!!!

Grandma at sports day event

Mummy at sports day event

Nice view

Owen leads the way with his chair

Owen 2nd from end in blue hat at starting line of the race

what a cracker

This morning my daughter and i went to see Owen at his sports day at  his school. It was very warm and a great day for the children to do their activities. Quite a lot of parents and grandparents turned up to watch their children. There were various competitions, the egg and spoon race was good, followed by an obstacle race, and Owen did the football dribbling competition, coming in last but what a control of the ball, slow and steady he will get there in the end says this doting or dotty granma. It was great to go and see Owen taking part and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

National garden Scheme

Every year we try to find a new garden to visit, this year it was a local garden at colwich. We had a really nice time, the garden was immaculate, colourful, interesting and well laid out, and i want it packed up in a van and unrolled in my back garden.

I wanted this banner from Goa, the colours are beautiful

I want hens and chickens too

Gary wants fish and a pond

I could lie in this comfy hammock

I want my own borders to look like this

I have what i want in this pic

These flowers remind me of rhubarb and custard

There were large koi carp and pond, free range hens digging into the dust for a good dust bath. Then a spectacular retreat area modelled on Goa, with embroidered hangings and objects. Also a lovely inviting hammock slung between two trees. The planting was a joy of colour to the eye, we had cups of tea in the conservatory,then made our way home to cool, off after the heat. Heatwave they keep telling us it is. Anyway nice day out, well worth a visit.

Cake and create June 22nd

I made a pincushion

Zoes cupcake spectacular

Katies lovely mug sleeve

Lauras patched denim shorts

Laura sewing away joins the group tonight

welcome Laura

Zoes vintage blanket square

We had a new member to join in the merry band that are cake and create this week, LauraLouise, my new daughter in law, came to join us and fitted in really well, and spent the evening sewing patches to her denim shorts, and another patch onto her parka, i think the patches were from camden market.
Zoe goes from strength to strength, her vintage blanket square is coming along nicely and this week with a bit of help from yours truly she managed a lovely crochet cupcake, with added sprinkles of embroidery to bring it to life. Well done that girl.She was not too sure it was what she wanted it to look like but once stab stitches of embroidery were on it, she had a twinkle in her eye.
Katie is up and running on her own now and has nearly finished crocheting her crochet with raymond blog teacosy, it is in deep red , with white crochet flowers, a thing of beauty methinks.. She also made a mug cosy cover, and added a crochet flower which looked very nice..I managed to squeeze in a pincushion with a frilly edge and lazy daisy stitch on it which has come in very useful in my sewing box. We all had a lovely chatty time along with tea and chocolate eclairs.Laura is pictured above sewing, the other pictures are of group members individual projects.

Midsummers Eve 23june Midsummers day 24th june

This evening is midsummers eve, it used to occur on july 5th till the advent of the julian calendar, now it is celebrated after the summer solstice has passed. It is a time of witches and fairies and dancing, especially in the west country.
Fires used to be lit to strengthen the sun in times past as people thought that with the shortening of the days the sun was actually getting cooler and they lit fires to strengthen it.
 There is a superstition that if a girl strews the path with rose leaves then next year her love will come after her on next midsummers day.

Rose leaves, rose leaves,
Rose leaves i strew
He that will love me
come after me now.
Happy midsummers eve and midsummers day to everyone. picture is byedward robert hughes, and is entitled Midsummers eve 1908........Photo next to it midsummers eve 930 evening sky  taken by me.

Tinseltown tonight by Naked Sunday

This is the page for all fans of.
 the new christmas single by Naked Sunday,, this guy is from overseas and two band members got him on video when they visited london. Naked Sunday were on Moorlands radio during the week, it was a good promotion and they played Stanyaland, my favourite, and a lovely song I think of you by Dan Smith that he wrote for his mom lynn. Just wonderful.

Summer Solstice 21st June 2011

It was the summer solstice this 21st of june 2011, and as usual was marked by many people at Stonehenge as it has done for millenia. It is good to mark the changing of the seasons, and be in touch with  nature and the earths changing seasons and rythms.

HAPPY FATHERS DAY TO MY HUSBAND

No one does it better at being a really good Dad than you   ♥♥♥

IN THE POTTING SHED WITH GARY

In the greenhouse the tomatoes are coming on

Just the weather for growing things in the garden and greenhouse

Have you seen the size of my cucumber!!!!

Its nothing compared to the height of the runner beans

Look at my herbs

This lettuce will be nice with ham for tea

Follow the life and times of Gary in the potting shed here on stanyaland

Gary has a small area of the garden as befits my garden labourer. In it he grows all manner of things for the kitchen table. A selected few items  in  his veg plot are shown below. There will be further items of a culinary nature to follow during the year. So starting small in this post we hope for bigger and better growing tips and culinary expertise with our man in the potting shed!!!!!!11

RAMBLING ALONG THE CANALSIDE

Wednesday evening the15th June,wea went rambling with  friends , terry and jan, Geoff and mel, and the Inland waterways group. We started at wolseley arms pub car park at 6 30. Meals were ordered for after the walk, set off at 7 o clock. Walked through the field up to etching hill near rugeley. Lovely views , field of ripening green corn, and countryside. From the fields through a housing estate, and then down some steps to the canal and Countryside again.
These steps are knownb as the BLOODY STEPS, because in the 18th century there was a murder of a woman called Chrisitina Collins and her body was found in the canal where she had been murdered by the boatmen on whos boat she was riding on to meet up with her husband. The steps were said to have bled red blood, however it was the streak of iron ore in the steps that made the bloody colouration. The men were hanged outside stafford jail for the murder of this poor young woman.

From there we walked along a beautiful stretch of canal, yellow irises and cow parsley growing alongside, and many boats moored up. Eventually reaching the wolsely arms car park again at 8 45. A fine and warm evening, everyone enjoyed it. The route was about 4 miles long.

Gary ..............Happy Birthday for 18th june

A HUG FROM DAUGHTER JENNY

BIRTHDAY EVENING AT THE VINE HOTEL

WITH ME AND JENNY

JENNY AND JON

A HUG FROM SHARON

A HUG FOR JON

BIRTHDAY CARDS

BIRTHDAY CAKE