Hello and welcome to Patchwork House . . . . .
my little corner of the world in England, where you will find me addicted to colour and playing with yarn!


26 April 2017

Spring Inspiration


Hello its good to be back in blogland!
I've been absent a while and feel I owe you all an apology and an explanation! I am so lucky to have many loyal followers all around the world, who check in daily on Facebook and Instagram looking for a mugshot or a burst of colour. I really value your comments and support, your interest in my makes and your concern for my health. It's been a pleasure to get to know many of you who comment frequently and who also live life with health issues.


We are now settled into our new home and are enjoying walking daily in the local countryside. Since Christmas my time has been taken up with concentrating on improving my health. As you know I live with Lupus and have been inactive for 18 months whilst dealing with pain and fatigue. I am very pleased to say that at last I have found medication which seems to be working and I am now able to go out most days. Part of my condition is also coping with the mental exhaustion experienced when dealing with extra things. 

4 months ago I joined Slimming World with the aim of gaining some control over my life. Living with Lupus means that I often feel out of control as my immune system is busy fighting my own body, causing me pain and exhaustion. Making changes to my diet and now eating healthily, has helped me to lose nearly 2 stone (23 pounds). I am feeling so well and happy and am enjoying my new way of life.


As my head was so full of planning meals, shopping and cooking and walking,
 there was little time and energy left for blogging. Sadly I had to take a break!
 But the good thing is I'm now back,
 full of energy and a new zest for my crochet work!
 I have still been hooking in the background,
 as you know crochet is my therapy and helps me to relax.


The lovely colours of Spring have been a real inspiration to me lately. Watching the Rectory garden wake up after the long cold winter has been such fun! We have had many types of daffodils and shrubs in bloom and its been such a pleasure to fill jugs with flowers from the garden.


For a while now I've had this colour recipe in my head
 and I've really enjoyed making this baby blanket.
 Inspired by daffodils I used
Stylecraft Special DK in
saffron
lemon
cream
white
pistachio
and
spring green

You can buy this colour pack


Beautiful Shells is a free pattern on Ravelry
and you can find it


I have worked 2 rows in each colour,
 the foundation row and then the shells.


It is really easy when you get the hang of it and grows very quickly!
I must admit that mine did not lie flat when first made,
 but after a wash I pulled it into shape and dried flat it came out fine.




This blanket is addictive! No sooner had I finished it and my head switched to pink! Walking daily and watching the beautiful spring blossoms emerging against the blue skies, I soon had an idea for a second baby blanket!


This time I used Stylecraft Special DK
 fondant, candyfloss, pistachio and cypress
 with cloud blue as a background.
You can buy this colour pack


It is oh so pretty!
Imagine my delight when I found this matching mug!


So I now have 2 baby blankets in my stash,
 always handy to keep in for presents!


Its great to be back with you, my dears!
I've been working on some secret projects behind the scenes here at Patchwork House. Soon very soon, I will be able to share these with you, its all very exciting!

So now I'm in control of my new lifestyle, I am hoping to create a working routine for myself. We start each day with an early walk after breakfast, then into my craft room it will be. Mornings writing and dealing with my social media sites, then afternoons filled with yarn and hooky!
Lets see how this works! I have plans to improve and update my blog, bringing you more colour recipes, which you have all grown to love!

I'm off now to work on my granny squares,
 with the new vintage shades of Stylecraft Special DK.


Do keep watching this progress,
 I will be writing a blog post called The Beginners Blanket,
 teaching how to make squares, join them and finish with a border.

Wishing you all a happy hooky week
Heather
x x x












20 comments:

Debra said...

I'm so happy that you are feeling better and have resumed blogging! Your crochet is so inspiring to me; I love your use of color, and I look forward to your Facebook posts every day.

Alyssa said...

So very happy for you! I too have autoimmune and now my 21yr old daughter has symptoms of lupus. We have both addressed healing our guts and our markers are down, praise God. Diet has been the most impactful thing we have done (very low carb, whole food, no grains or sugar). The hardest thing for me to do is exercise. But you inspire me. I find that if I don't move, I can't move so I move to be able to move. But sometimes the fatigue gets the best of me. My dream is to travel to England some day and to spend lots of time taking walks in the Lake District. Your blog and FB posts bring some beauty to my day and I thank you for it. God is so kind. May you have continued healing and joy in your journey! ❤️ Betty (using daughter's account)

Diana Thompson said...

I am so happy to hear that you are feeling better and finding a rhythm of life that allows you to ejoy your life and passions. Thank you for sharing your wonderful gifts with the rest of us.

Gill said...

Hello Heather it's really good to have you back in blog land and feeling so chirpy too. I am so enjoying getting to know you in cyber hooky land, this strange place which brings together so many of us with similar interests. To say you are an inspiration would be to understate and your generosity in sharing your work is really appreciated. I am learning all the time and you are a great help to me for sure. Spring and being in nature bring wonderful therapy to us all, mending our minds and bodies. Thank you for sharing your days.

Nada said...

Heather, I am so pleased you have found something to alleviate the problems of Lupus. I watched a very dear friend struggle with it for many years before she died, so I know how hard it makes your life. I love your ideas, your work, the colours you use and your ability to inspire us all. I hope now that you will have the opportunity to keep all of that going because you have done so much for us with your blog. God bless.

Unknown said...

Awe so glad you've made great improvement finally!! Looking forward to see what you get into!

Yvonne Hands said...

I follow you every day on facebook but have never read your blog before. I will certainly be following you in the future. Thanks you for all your inspiration. So glad you're health is improving.

Trish Stevens said...

I'm so pleased you are feeling so much better, Heather, and you are looking fabulous! I look forward to your posts every day, and your blog when you can manage it. I have just started working on a Sunday shawl for my daughter-in-law who is very ill with cancer. I will post a picture when it is finished.

LullabyMelodia said...

It's always a blessing to read your posts. Thank you Heather...

anja said...

Good to have you back in blogland! You're baby blankets look great, and I'm looking forward to see the finished result of the squares you are crocheting now.
Hope you'll keep feeling better and better.
Love, anja

Christals Creations said...

Pleased to hear you are feeling better and enjoying life. Love the spring colours. I do enjoy seeing one of your pictures pop up on my news feed. Take care.

Cindy said...

I am so pleased that you are feeling better! It takes discipline and conviction to do what is necessary for recovery and I can see that you are very strong and determined! You look wonderful and happy. Such a nice post with lovely cheerful pictures. Take care and I look forward to reading new blog posts from you!

Judy Hartman said...

Hello Heather! I follow you on Instagram and just popped over to see your blog. It is lovely! You are a wonderful example, taking care of yourself and creating such beautiful work. I hope that you continue to feel well and I'll look forward to seeing more of your work!

Unknown said...

I have only recently discovered your blog but have already been inspired to try out new ideas. I didn't know that you had Lupus but I do know how awful it can be and I'm glad you are so much better. I have Crohns Disease so know something of how painful and frustrating it can be when your own body starts trying to destroy itself. I also have been going to Slimming World in an attempt to improve both my mood and my health although too much speed food can be a problem! I pray that you will continue to improve and slim. As we say at SW onwards and downwards. God bless you.

Marianne said...

nice to see you back and i'm happy you are doing well. I have frybromialgia and chronic fatigue syndrome, and i now how important a healthy lifstyle is to keep the pain and fatigue somewhat under control. thanks for sharing your pretty work with us.

Ksunshine52 said...

So nice to see you back looking fit and feeling healthy! Your new baby blanket is beautiful! Welcome back!

Claudia/Ompompali said...

So good to hear you are feeling well again, full of strength and good feelings. I wish you all the best and am looking forward to your many colourful ideas! Thanks so much for sharing!

Maddeleen said...

Dear Heather,
so good to see you back. I hope your health will be steady now. I've missed your splash of color in blogland!

Unknown said...

Glad your Back!

Sandra said...

Hi, I love your shell baby blanket. Is it possible for me to purchase a copy please ? Could you email me at sanaltho@yahoo.co.uk thank you

Regards, Sandra

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