Crafty in the Med

I am here to enjoy meeting other bloggers and to share my love of craft ,mostly crochet, my thoughts and my daily happenings here in Alicante,Spain, my adopted country. I belong to a local choir because singing and music makes me happy. Flea markets and book shops are two of my favourite places to be. I read lots......sci´fi/fantasy,buried treasure, and off world adventures. I have a passion for history! I walk and walk and walk for about 10 months per year during the hot months I swim.

Friday 29 March 2013

In the corners

Bless his heart!

I really should not gripe about him ....... I'm just having a little "let off steam".
Sr P who took early retirement when the family business closed down sees to the house and does the cooking when I'm working.  We've always shared the household chores as I have always worked too  but now Sr P is at home full-time and I work full-time so he deals with the household.
 OK I digress...returning to my grumbling......
.......where does it say in a house husband manual that corners should not be cleaned and while I'm at it under the settee, behind and under the furniture, and the beds .........yes under the beds..... for goodness sake!!!!   I could plant a veg patch with the mass of fluff I found under the beds!!

Yes......I am spring cleaning!

There are parts of my spring cleaning I enjoy ..... I put on some good music and get to it. What was it this morning ..... ah yes I cleaned my house accompanied by Celine Dion,Michael Bolton,Adele and the Beatles...... it so helps having some music to sing to as I get on with the chores.
However I do not enjoy piles of ingrain dirt in blinking obvious places which have to be cleaned more often than once a year.  Tch!
In all fairness ( beginning to feel a little guilty now about grumbling) having been a workaholic and now forced to be a house husband is not his idea of fun.....he hates it . However he does his best and I must say he is a super frugal shopper he knows where all the bargains are.  Bless him!


I have just finished a couple of makes, a couple of little gifts other than this here ,that I showed you in a previous post, for my new niece GR .....I'll be sending them off to the UK tomorrow.

Baby's first Easter Bunny
My first attempt at fabric applique and machine sewing it. I followed the very easy to follow video tutorial here. I sewed the ear ones on by hand but the others I did on the sewing machine but they didn't come out too tidy at all and in fact puckered in some places. I'm thinking its best to hand stitch applique to crochet .

and I also made GR an Easter Beanie which I call the Fairy Garden Beanie.....no pattern,my own creation.
Do you see my new model?  Pooh Bear wasn't too keen on modelling a girlies hat so my grand-daughter has lent me one of her old dolls




 Lots of these processions are going on here over the next few days. Unfortunately in Andalusia where they have some very impressive processions the rain is causing havoc and many have been cancelled.




HAPPY EASTER HOLIDAYS TO YOU ALL

Amanda :-)



Sunday 24 March 2013

Magic has come to stay



 Its a subtle feeling this magic that has invaded my home.....

no never invaded ...far too harsh a word for this secretive sweet presence that is making itself felt.
I have waited for my Heart of the Woods for many months now with a longing that borders on the questionable and although I knew that the waiting was inevitable for such a creature to be prepared and ready to travel to me from afar, still patience was difficult to master. Nevertheless there was pleasure too in the waiting, in the planning,in the suggestions and in the anticipation.

My Heart of the Woods,Spirit of the Forests and Guardian of the Sacred Yew tree,


she who abodes in that secret place in the spiritual heart of the living forests,revered and protect by the woodland folk. She who is the guardian of the Yew tree,the tree of life,the tree of eternity and of resurrection.
Her essence has come to me now brightening my days in one of her many forms, that of a hare.


Therefore I present to you GWENCALON, my Heart of the Woods as you can see she wears the sacred cape that which is woven from the thread of the leaves of the Yew tree,delicately studied with the Yew tree fruit,






and Gwencalon bears the marks of her station, the Yew tree blossom.


......lifting her hood makes her invisible to undesirables.....and see her delicate pantaloons, gossamer fairy made by the Fรฉes of Rochecorbon and adorned with delicate lace.



 Some say Hares are rustic heavy and cumbersome creatures but none of this is apparent in Gwencalon,the chosen one;the Shining heart. Hers is a gentle wise nature and of a petite and dainty appearance and attire which belies her strong enchantments.


 My Heart of the Woods.



************************

Have a wonderful Sunday and yes Gwencalon came to me from Sweet Stephanie at Millefeuilles
Thank you so much Stephanie.



Amanda :-)

Tuesday 19 March 2013

San Jose or Father's day



FIESTA! FIESTA! FIESTA!

It's San Jose and father's day today here in Spain.
Today is a day when we talk about the past,reminiscing a little,memories of our parents prominent on today of all days, as both mine and Sr P's parents have gone from us now. They aren't sad moments but happy ones which we'll enjoy.
Our tribute to our loved ones. 

My daughter will be calling in later on this morning as she always does on Father's day and she'll be bringing  her Papa a bar of chocolate for father's day.

The bar of chocolate was originally a small bar of chocolate, what she could afford from her pocket money when she was a child, it has increased in size considerably since then and sometimes there are a couple of jumbo sized bars of chocolate. My husband has a terribly sweet tooth and its the perfect gift for him :-)
Cookie, my grand-daughter will be bringing her YiYo ( grandpa in Spanish) whatever she made at school for father's day. Sr P is the father figure in Cookie's life as she does not remember her father. He passed away when she was very young and my daughter became a widow in her early thirties.

It's what I call a quiet day ...a satisfying day ... all is well and my family too.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

As mentioned in my previous post and as my swap partner Debi at Busy Little Chicken has posted about the contents of the swap parcel I sent to her, I can now talk to you about my little Mutant Muggaducky that I made for Debi:

Muggaducky sitting on the tub I used to send the swap bits to Debi in.
 He was inspired by Annaboo's wubberducky at Annaboo's House he didn't turn out so pretty as Annaboo's wubberducky though. In fact the poor quackers is quite an ugly quackers nevertheless I am all for positive thinking and hope he'll grow into a beautiful lad when he gets older.
 I also sent Debi the following:
A spring brooch 





My first attempt at making a purse


You never give a purse without some cash in so I included a vintage 1940s coin






and some local pottery from Agost


Go gently please with your criticism my blog-friends, Muggaducky is very sensitive about his looks!

 Happy Happy father's day to all of you who celebrate it today, 19th March

  Amanda :-)

Saturday 16 March 2013

They know how to dress up



I sent my swap parcel to my swap partner Debi at Busy Little Chicken last week and I was pleasantly surprised to hear she had received it yesterday ... a super quick delivery. We are partners in the Springtime Easter swap hosted by Joy at Daisy Row
Although Debi has received my swap parcel I'll not display the bits I made and sent to her for the present until she posts about it.
I do want to show you my Mutant Muggaducky that I made for her. He was inspired by Annaboo's wubberducky at Annaboo's House but you know cloning is a very delicate science and mutants do occur. My muggaducky didn't quite turn out so pretty.
All will be revealed!


Why have I added this photograph??? The only reason being is that I liked it. 
Isalia is a student of mine, she and her fiance participate in many of the local festivities in her home town,San Vicente. Here she and her fiance are dressed up in an Andalusian folkloric dress called the Contrabandistas (the Smugglers). Its a more elaborate version of how Andalusian smugglers used to dress back in the 18th century.




In my last post I mentioned I had received a swap parcel from my swap partner Kimberley who lives in New Zealand. She has also finally received my swap parcel, the contents of which you can see on her blog here .
However I did want to show you what I had made for her combining crochet with sewing (remember I'm a newbie with the sewing machine). Kimberley loves stationary of all kinds so I made this stationary case for her.

The theme I focussed on was Oranges, as this area of Spain ,Valencia,is well known for its scrumptious oranges.
I crocheted the cover in bright orange and added a basket of oranges applique in crochet too . I made a little crochet pocket for a pencil and pen and slipped in an orange notepad.

 The wooden button was from my very valuable stash of buttons (I'm getting as tight as Scrooge about using the buttons from my stash,I just don't like to see them dwindle!!!). I lined the case with matching yellow fabric ..... a piece of fabric I found in a drawer and I really don't know where it came from but I have put it to good use.

Very personalized and screams of handmade!  I can see several errors where the sewing is concerned but I keep telling myself practise makes perfect!

Have a great Sunday......relax and enjoy some good music!

Amanda :-)

Saturday 9 March 2013

Late but not forgotten!

And from a far

New Zealand...such an incredibly beautiful country
over there across the seas

 my swap partner Kimberley at Creative chaos has sent me a swap parcel which I received last week.

A smashing swap parcel all the way from New Zealand does not deserve a middling few lines in a post added in a hurry ,therefore I have had to wait as usual to the weekend to be able to write up a decent post to present the contents of Kimberly's swap parcel.
We are participating in  the Four happy things swap hosted by Mrs Bobobun at Bobo Bun
Ahhhh but its exciting to receive a parcel full of happy things.

What caught my eye straight away of course is that the parcel's contents arrived in a light chevron striped beach bag,which will be ideal for our beach trips.I like to travel light when we go to the beach  and this bag will be perfect.

The chocolate was demolished in a question of seconds and hubby,Sr P,liked the pineapple one best.

I have now got two more bits to add to my Winnie pooh bear hoard and its great because these are the first erasers I've received.
 Kimberley has sent me a cross-stitch kit. Lovely dark linen which will make a perfect backdrop for the cross-stitch initials on the enclosed chart.

And just look at this gorgeous yarn.....Its pure wool too and a beautiful shade of green. It will be used for something special.

I am so lucky Kimberley has also sent me some crochet hooks. I never have enough of these.

Thats not all either a handknitted dishcloth and some vintage napkins completes the very generous contents of  a very happily received parcel.
Thank You so much Kimberley!

Kimberley has finally received my swap parcel ...... I can now breathe easy as it has not gone astray. I did the silliest thing , I forgot to take photos of the contents of my parcel ...tch!
This means I shall have to wait until Kimberley posts about the parcel on her blog and with her permission pinch a couple of her photos to show off what I made for her on my blog too.

The Med
I've had a surprise visitor from someone who lives in the Med.
This little chappie popped in for a visit. He says his name is ITTLE,quite a nosey lad!


He,s been bopping about here and there throughout my place and he doesn't like having his photo taken very much! Anyhow he says he won't be here for long as he misses his Mum.

Crocheted using Nยบ 5 Perle cotton & Nยบ 2.50 hook. Pattern from here


Have a great weekend!

Amanda :-)



Sunday 3 March 2013

Ole! Ole! Ole! colour and flamenco


Andalucia has been celebrating The Day of Andalucia and for those Andalusians who cannot get back home then its fiesta wherever they are:
In Alicante down on the Esplanada de Espaรฑa it has been choc-o-bloc with people watching the various performances of the different Andalusian folkloric groups. The Andalusians who live in Alicante also profess their devotion to their land by dressing up in the typical Sevillana dresses and dancing flamenco to the sound ot the music on the Esplanada.
 Passionate music which gets your toes tapping and your body swaying! Alicante, Esplanada de Espaรฑa.
Hold on I've lost Sr P among all these people!   
Green scarves representing Andalusia.
Vibrant music that rings throughout Alicante City!
Ole! Ole! click and tap to the music!

and then swirl around!
Gorgeous flouncing dresses and beautiful women!

Bright bright colours draw attention!



Another regional group break into song and dance.

A glimpse of bright finery!

Ahhhh! music is joy!   Wonderful morning!

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Coming soon ...details of Kimberely's WONDERFUL  Four Happy Things swap parcel which I received last week!!!


Enjoy your Sunday!

Amanda :-)