me on Monday

a wave I prepared earlier – when this posts I’ll be on a train enjoying some countryside on a train daytrip

over the weekend I enjoyed the sun when it appeared – in case it doesn’t come back for a while! I spent some time in my garden trimming and tidying and eyeing up the emerging fruit.  Later we had a nice walk in a local park and admired a new mural under a bridge

I like the mix of nature and traditional graffiti styles

while trimming the privet hedge I pondered things I love and hate, in response to the challenge posed by Eileen on her blog.  Here are the items I came up with – I resisted going back to make changes as that could be an endless process.  So here are 10 thinks that came to mind when I thought about what I love and hate on Sunday afternoon:

I love

1. Spring bulbs blooming
2. Summer fruit
3. Sound of waves on the shore
4. Rich colours
5. Laughter
6. Small kindnesses
7. A big book or series driven by a strong narrative – where things happen
8. A walk with camera
9. Ideas
10. Creativity and creating things

 

I hate

1. Dusk before dinner
2. Discrimination of all kinds
3. Surgery shown on TV
4. Furry food – such as peaches
5. Rudeness
6. Strong artificial smells
7. Lateness
8. Finding slugs have eaten the things I planted
9. Repetitive tasks
10. Not being able to think of enough items for a list

The challenge then asks me to nominate 10 people to repeat the exercise – but with several blogfriends already nominated we are likely to repeat so I’ll just say – if you want to do this then consider yourself nominated.

Scavenger hunt finds

I’m pleased with my first month’s haul of Rinda’s scavenger hunt finds – mostly due to keeping my eyes open and remembering most of the items on the list

my first find was architectural columns – here on the side of the art gallery in the middle of Edinburgh, just where I get off the bus

a University also pretty easy – the nice old building in the background is one of the student union social places

I saw a poster for a fairground visiting locally so wandered past to find a merry-go-round – this was an item that I had wondered where I would find it

a cellular tower was local (rather blurry I know – I’m taking them on my phone and I haven’t mastered zooming).  I’ve become aware of how many of these there are since I got the list and started looking – I like how the scavenger hunt always makes me pay attention to my every day surroundings.

this is the tent I was working in for Moonwalk and when I read this item on the list I knew this would be my best opportunity

I had no idea where I would find a turtle without making a trip to the zoo so was delighted to see some in this colouring-in book

and a wander around IKEA provided another that I had been unsure about – a rocking chair, obligingly modelled by my nephew.  This is a sub item but I’m not at all sure where I will find a flagpole with multiple flags or people playing a board game.

A solid start and plenty of interesting items to keep me looking – thanks Rinda for another fun list.

Summer of colour purple and yellow

a lovely rich combination of purple and yellow for summer of colour this week (a nice traditional colour wheel opposites combo).

I decided to play with squares inside the circle segment and like the contrast of bigger squares in the smaller space.

And with half of the segments completed my final piece is looking good

Another amazing array of pieces last week – visiting all the different participants and seeing how one colour palette is interpreted by so many creative people is my favourite part of this annual fest organised by Kristin – you can find them all on her blog TwinkleTwinklelittlestar.

Comparative pair

I'm still making sensory aids for people with dementia - we are now calling them sensory sleeves because twiddle muff can sound rude.

I was making them big, to fit 2 hands easily and using aran yarn and a big hook.  Then our crafting groups was given a mass of cotton yarn - ironically by a lady who is unable to craft anymore as she has dementia.  Even using two strands of the cotton together it is still much finer than the aran and I use a much smaller hook and make a considerably smaller sleeve, to fit over one arm.  We thought some people would prefer the feel of cotton and people vary a lot in size.

These 2 images are actually part of one photo so that really is the size difference.

Our first batch of sleeves is in use at a local dementia unit and they are popular so production continues.  I am enjoying the balance of repetition and uniqueness as I decide how to add buttons and texture to each using what I have in my stash.

Looking forward to all your unique pairs contributions too.