Vintage Life

Today I stumbled across a great magazine called “Vintage Life”. I am really a magaholic but find that since I’ve been Blogging and reading bolgs I don’t buy as many magazines. I suppose that there is only so much reading time in a day so I’m more inclined to savour a magazine as a treat. Which is what was doing today. I say ” was” because after I had taken the following photo I knocked the cup of tea all over it! Ah well! I did manage to salvage it even if it now has curly pages!

Maybe I will go and make another cup of tea and try to separate the pages.

Apologies to Darling Daughter but the knitting pattern did bring a smile to my face!

Nanna Amy’s Vintage Tea Party

I have mentioned Our latest venture a few times but now we are about to go more public.

We have a marketing strategy, launch date and our first real booking.

We have collected China, starched linen and made vintage bunting.

We need to solve transport of precious vintage China, delivery prices and advertising stationery.

Most of all IT IS GOOD FUN!

Our new venture is named “Nanna Amy’s Vintage Tea Party” and is the hire of beautiful vintage China and freshly laundered vintage linen and lace. We also have items for staging the party or event. We will deliver set up and collect after the event and all things are very Vintage.

Watch this space for further information!

These items were acquired today and almost complete the initial purchasing of China for our start up.

Crafty Salvage

I’ve been fortunate to be given a couple of fabric sample books which were being thrown out. I have great plans for using the fabric and wallpaper samples once I have worked out how to dismantle them!

The fabrics are fabulous and the wallpaper luxurious. If anyone has any ideas how to use them I would love to hear from you.

Here are some of the thoughts flitting around my head:

fabric: patchwork, tote bags, covered note books and/or files, rag doll, bunting, make up purse, stuffed hearts, appliqué, cushion, pin cushion ??

wallpaper: pages for books, covering for writing books, pockets for inside files, envelopes, bunting, appliquedécoupage??

It’s all good fun and I will let you know what wonderful creations are turned out.

Vintage Horses and Tea Pots

In the park near Beaumaris castle we discovered this definitely vintage rocking horse. I remember them well from my childhood ( OK I have a long memory!) We used to have one of these horses on all parks. It was not unusual to have all five seats taken and other children stood on the side. They were surrounded by gravel or concrete on the floor, not this cushioned rubber Health and Safety now dictates. We did have strong knees and I’ve still got a gravel scar to prove it.

I thought that these horses had all gone to the stable in the sky but we stumbled across another one in Llandudno a few days later.

Whilst in Beaumaris we enjoyed a cup of tea and cake in a vintage style cafe. We went in to do some research for our new Vintage Venture soon to be launched,and purchased two lovely tea pots. These were a fair price as tea pots are proving quite expensive to find. Watch this space as I will be telling you all about our future Vintage Tea Party in the next few weeks.

Wordsmith Wednesday-Worsted

Worsted

This word has always confused me! Thank you to Wikipedia for this info.

According to the Craft Yarn Council, the term “Worsted Weight”, also known as “Afghan”, “Aran”, or simply “Medium”, refers to a particular weight of yarn that produces a gauge of 16-20 stitches per 4 inches of stockinette, and is best knitted with 4.5mm to 5.5mm needles (US size 7-9).

Worsted wool fabric is typically used in the making of tailored garments such as suits, as opposed to woollen wool which is used for knitted items such as sweaters

The essential feature of worsted yarn is straight, parallel fibres. Originally, long, fine staple wool was spun to create worsted yarn; today, other long fibres are also used.

Many spinners differentiate between worsted preparation and worsted spinning. Worsted preparation refers to the way the fibre is prepared before spinning, using ginning machines which force the fibre staples to lie parallel to each other. Once these fibres have been made into a top, they are then combed to remove the short fibres. The long fibres are combined in subsequent gilling machines to again make the fibres parallel. This produces overlapping untwisted strands called slivers. Worsted spinning refers to using a worsted technique, which produces a smooth yarn in which the fibres lie parallel.Examples of Worsted Wool

Pili Palas Nature World

I have had no blog ability due to being WIFI less during most of my recent stay on Anglesey North Wales. Not far from home but a World away from reality. I went with Darling Daughter and her family. The weather was amazingly good, the beaches fabulous and the holiday a joy.

We spent a day at Pili Palas Nature World. I have to admit that I was very sceptical but pleasantly surprised. The first area that we arrived at was the Butterfly area which was lovely. It was tropical and had lots of beautiful butterflies ( the clue is in the name!)

Such gorgeous fragile creatures.

See you all soon!

8 astonishing benefits of walking

Find those walking boots!👠👞

Step, Step, Step

8 astonishing benefits of walking

Walking just 40 minutes a day could seriously benefit your health; check out these amazing perks to taking a simple stroll around the neighborhood.

Walking is known to melt your thighs and perk up your bum. But its healthy resum� boasts some even more impressive accomplishments, from cash savings to increasing the odds of survival for breast cancer patients. A lot of attention has been paid to getting in 10,000 steps of walking, jogging, or running a day. A 40-minute, two-mile walk will chip away half of those steps, and everyday activities can usually accumulate the other half.

Here are eight reasons to take those extra steps and make walking a part of your healthy lifestyle:

1.
It deflects diabetes. New research links brisk walking to a significant risk reduction for developing type 2 diabetes. Insulin resistance is a predictor of this disease, even in…

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Wordsmith Wednesday -Alpaca Yarn

Alpaca Yarn

Yarn spun from alpaca wool

Alpaca fleece is the natural fiber harvested from an alpaca. It is light or heavy in weight, depending on how it is spun. It is a soft, durable, luxurious and silky natural fiber. While similar to sheep’s wool, it is warmer, not prickly, and has no lanolin, which makes it hypoallergenic. Alpaca is naturally water-repellent and difficult to ignite. Huacaya, an alpaca that grows soft spongy fiber, has natural crimp, thus making a naturally elastic yarn well-suited for knitting. Suri has no crimp and thus is a better fit for woven goods. The designer Armani has used Suri alpaca to fashion men’s and women’s suits. Alpaca fleece is made into various products, from very simple and inexpensive garments made by the aboriginal communities to sophisticated, industrially made and expensive products such as suits. In the United States, groups of smaller alpaca breeders have banded together to create “fiber co-ops,” to make the manufacture of alpaca fiber products less expensive.

 Alpaca Farm. Cute aren’t they?

Thanks to Wilipedia for the above although I prefer to spell FIBRE the English way!

Scarborough Sea Life Centre

Gorgeous Grand daughter and I stayed near Scarborough this week. We had an adventure that included a trip to Scarborough Sea Life Centre. The adventure started with the descision to go on thurchins,Jelly fish,e bus. We eventually found the bus stop and enjoyed the ride into Scarborough. When we arrived we were told that we needed another bus, which was OK when we eventually found the correct bus stop. Later in the day and another bus back into Scarborough when, pot the expense, we got a taxi back to the campsite!

The Sea Life Centre was a good afternoon out despite the fact that I can’t stand ( to the point of it nearly being a phobia) fish and sea creatures. There were fascinating sea creatures, urchins, turtles and sharks. There had been an obvious attempt to recreate the undersea world in huge tanks, tubes and glass tunnels.

Despite fish having no “memory” and Jelly fish no hearts or brain, I couldn’t help feeling it was all a bit sad for the creatures and that they should be left in their natural habitat. OK if research or conservation or education are the buzz words surrounding the breeding programmes for these creatures but some of the inmates would be better left in the oceans. I felt this quite strongly when we watched the Penguins being fed.

I understand that I am VERY fortunate to have seen many of these creatures in the wild. I totally appreciate the fact that I have seen penguins in The Falklands and swam with Turtles on the Barrier reef, and not everyone is that lucky

Whilst this picture cannot be considered flattering, it makes me think of how a fish with a brain might feel in the Aquarium! Bring on Fish Freedom!!

Travels around the Coast

During Gorgeous Grand daughter and my recent trip in the Damnvan we visited Whitby. Whitby is situated on the East Coast in North Yorkshire and is a Middle Ages fishing port.

It’s  claim to fame include Captain Cook who learned his seamanship skills here. Whitby is also famous as the location (allegedly) for Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula. Neither of these facts were of great interest to us on this visit as I was determined to keep the trip “child orientated” . This included tasting Whitby’s famous fish and chips and chasing waves!

We had a great day and the English weather was very kind to us. We achieved some serious Nanny bonding.

Top tip don’t visit this lovely time in high season and school holidays if you can avoid it! It is sooooo busy!

But hey isn’t that what taking children away is all about?