A knitted surprise... DONE!

Did you guess what I was knitting?
I gave you some pretty big clues after all!
Well here he his, all finished and possibly the cutest thing I have ever made!

I just need to attach the tag.

He his to be a birthday present for girl who loves owls. Lets hope she loves him just as much as he will love her!

*** The pattern of this owl is not of my own design. I have followed this particular pattern from the book 'Knitted Woodland Creatures' by Susie Johns. The only part of the pattern which is my own is the wool type and colour. ***

Autumn and the perks that go with it

So today felt very autumnal. Fog to start the day off which gradually burnt off during the day ending in wall to wall sunshine. Admittedly that sounds like most days we have here in Britain but the big give away was the colour of nature. The trees are starting to turn into all the glorious reds, oranges and yellows. Only the odd leaf here and there but autumn is definitely among us.

One of the things I love about autumn is feeding the garden birds. At the moment, there are plenty of berries and fruits out there for them to peck on but it is always a wise idea to set up your feeders now so they become a familiar sight during the harsher months when the birds will need them most.

So why am I writing this? Well I fed the birds, simple.

A few years ago when Chris Packham first joined the Autumnwatch team, he created a video about feeding birds. All the useful hints and tips which I think you should definitely read about.

POINT 1

Wash your bird feeders regularly. The RSPB recommends soaking them in hot water once a week. This will prevent and diseases from forming and also spreading. I used boiling water and washing up liquid and rinsed well afterwards.

POINT 2

Don't feed them cereal based seed. I've noticed this in my own garden, they seem to fling the wheat out of the feeder and as a result, it starts to grow in odd places... And as Packham said 'you wouldn't feed you kids junk food, so don't feed it to the birds'.

POINT 3

Keep your feeders and water topped up. During the Winter months, your feeders will become a familiar sight and the birds will depend on these familiar feeding stations.

POINT 4

Refresh the food each time you clean the feeder. Not all feeders are waterproof. When the seed is wet or damp and there is no air circulation, they will begin to rot and no one wants sick birds in their garden!

POINT 5

Position your feeders away from walls, fences and trees. Yes they are handy places but it makes it all too easy for cats...

5 simple points you need to remember. It is so simple to maintain a well stocked feeding station and by following those 5 points, bird carried diseases can be reduced significantly ensuring the survival of our most loved species.

So Moment-eers, love your garden birds and they will certainly love you back!

A knitted surprise...

Can you guess what I'm knitting?

Probably not, the picture isn't a hoot and it is still in individu-owl pieces.
I'll hopefully get it stitched up and finished tonight, fingers crossed!

World's Weirdest Events

The other week, a new series called 'World's Weirdest Events' started on the BBC with, of course, the one and only Chris Packham as the well dressed presenter.
It is very similar to 'Natures Weirdest Events' but it covers, well, The World!
From exploding rocks to farting herrings and from the human body to exploding birds, it covers (and I quote the fantastic man) "the downright weird"!

The science behind each weird and wonderful event is explained, experimented on and proved with multiple theories and beliefs as to why such things happen.
A dog spinning round in circles before it defecates on the street, is not his or hers way of showing happiness for such an act, they're not dancing! They are simply finding North and making a mental map of the area by... pooing...

So next time you're out and about and you see something weird, accept it with open arms!
After all, it's not just the little things which are weird and out of the ordinary, everything is weird which is why our whole planet is so wonderful.

Love the weird my Moment-eers, because we are all part of it!

Leeds Festival Window

As it was Leeds Fest over over the August Bank holiday weekend, we dressed up the shop and the window to look a little bit like the festival!

What's a festival without bunting?

And without wellies...

LOTS of wellies!

And of course rain, it traditionally rains when it's on, it didn't this year surprisingly!

And lastly, picnics... sort of, not really a picnic-y seen is Leeds Fest.

Still, it all looked good and it was fantastic fun putting it all up! Can not wait for the next window display!

Nice-ish picture of a sunset

I went to Blackpool the other week, visiting my sister and all that!
Not the best weather in the world but on the way back to sunny (but not so sunny) Yorkshire, I saw this in the wing mirror of my dad's car.

The picture could be way better but how often do you get the chance to take such a picture?
The beauty of what Nature has given us and far too many of us have turned our backs on it unknowingly.

I hope you enjoy it my lovely Moment-eers!

Gem Fair and Gem Surprise

Last month, I went to the Rock Gem 'n' Bead fair at the pavilions in Harrogate. (you can find it here... http://www.rockngem.co.uk/)

There was so much there that interested me and as a typical girl, I was attracted to everything shiny...

Darn they're pretty!

That aside, I told my friend I'd buy her a gem and I did, but I didn't tell her I'd turn it into something...

So Steph, if you're reading this, STOP STALKING ME!

More to come!

Trumpet to Trowel done!

The lovely copper trumpet I found in a charity shop now has a new purpose in life; to be gardened with.
Using the paper templates as a guide for shape and size, I: cut, formed, shaped, moulded, (you name it!) the copper pieces to shape using only a ring mandrel, pliers, nylon hammer and tin snips.

I must admit, it wasn't easy! but I was determined to have these finished for my mothers birthday on Tuesday.

Next up, were the handles. I would have quite happily turned the handles on a wood lathe, darn I love those machines, but I had no wood and no easy access to one of those wonderful, yet dangerous, lathes. Never mind! Amazon to the rescue!

When the handles finally arrived, I then had the problem of fastening them to the copper. No way was I going to solder them! The copper was the perfect shape and hardness (not intended to be rube!). Soldering would soften the metal making it incredibly flexible once again. I did not want to risk hardening it with the possibility of distorting them both.

Rivets it was! Fortunately, my father had a rivet gun and after a few extra components were made, the rivets were riveted and the trumpet then became a trowel.

Yes they are messing and could be much neater but as a gardener, my mum loves them, and as her daughter, all the more so!

Sometimes, the best things in life are made with absolutely no planning, no modelling or prototyping. Leaping into the unknown can create unique pieces and unforgettable memories.

Always leap into the unknown my wondrous Moment-eers!

CD rack plan and action finished!

As you well know, maybe, I had a mega idea with a rather tall CD rack. Well I finished it, it actually didn't take all that long to do but darn am I happy with it!

Two halves which are safe enough to stand or lie on the gondola without them falling on someone's head. Now we will be able to display and hopefully sell more CD's.

Lovely!