Janie Wisht Crochet Doll

I wanted to crochet a doll, she had to be Ragdoll like and I have to say that although very fiddly to make I quite like her.

I don’t think that I would make another as my poor fingers ached like crazy whilst making her.

She is made with cotton yarn which may have contributed to the sore fingers as it doesn’t glide so much and involves lots of pulling and tugging.

I cant say it is inexpensive to make because cotton yarn in colours is very costly in comparison to other yarn but you do get a more rigid torso.

I decided all clothing would be in a softer DK baby yarn and her hair is made with a boucle mohair yarn.

I’ve named her after my Grandmother whose name was actually Jenny but my Dad always called her Janie Wisht which always made her giggle.

Ryhope Engines Museum

Something Chris has been promising himself to visit for many years and is practically on our doorstep.

This is one impressive work of engineering that is a must to visit, my Mam and Dad took our children many years ago and I remember just how much my Dad enjoyed his visit.

I’ve added a video below of the beam engines in all of their glory, the sheer size of these is immense and has to be seen to be believed. the smell of the oil and machinery all added to the experience and the pride of the men keeping this is working order.

As you can see even the building is mighty impressive.

The Museum is open every bank holiday weekend and we were definitely blessed with the weather for our visit yesterday, quite often they have a vintage car collection on display too so that is always a bonus.

A few of the photo’s took alongside our visit.

The Blacksmith’s workshop.

 

A mans dream, the oil cans.

One of the smaller engines on display.

Just look at all of that grease, Chris was drooling at this stage.

Just the oily rag missing from this photo.

One of the display models.

So pleased that we went to visit, More information can be found here http://www.ryhopeengines.org.uk/index.html 

Thought Provoking

Come walk with me…………

I headed out in my new car, I’ll show you that in a moment, I didn’t get very far, as I passed by the sea front I realised that the tide was going out and before I new it I was turning into the car park, reminiscing about my childhood on the beach.

Most summers we went there and strange as it may seam we used to take both the dog Major (Golden Labrador) and cat Kitch (Siamese). We also often took a dingy and a massive tyre inner tube and long lengths of rope for when we went into the sea on them.

So I was stood on the sand remembering all of this, good old fashioned family days out, the beach used to be crammed packed full of families enjoying the sunshine, wind breakers and picnics, buckets and spades and every one playing games building castles and burying each other so that only heads and feet were sticking out of the sand.

Today however  a beautiful day, warm and barely a breath of wind and I could count on one hand how many people were on the beach sometimes when you need to gather your thoughts it is good to go back to your roots and that is just what I did.

Loads of seaweed, we used to collect the black bobbly one and pop it like bubble wrap.

My Dad would take me by the hand and we would go crabbing, he would point out all of the different shellfish naming them for me, we would scoop up the sea water in a bucket and pop the little crabs in it, I always had to show my Mam my finds.

 

These are the rocks we used to search, always holding my Dads hand as some of the rocks were sharp.

Everything was so exciting, you forget that feeling as you get older. it was lovely to be exploring both my mind and the places that brought me so much pleasure as a child.

I walked a little further and found what I was looking for.

The caves, oh how I loved the caves, playing hide and seek, making a den, it could be a castle a home a shop the possibilities of the mind as a child is endless.

I decided to once again explore, I could smell the sea and there was a gentle breeze and I could hear the waves beating on the shore.

This one has a hole right through the rock face, it made me feel young again just being there, I could all but hear my mam shouting for me to come and have a sandwich (always egg and tomato).

The secrets of the cliffs, I’m sure these caves would have tales to tell.

Not a soul to be seen, it was refreshing looking out across the water.

Hiding, now one knows I am here, you can’t find me……. however they always did.

It looks like the birds have claimed this spot all to themselves, they had been doing a merry old dance before I got here.

I also spent many a day or and evening walk with my Grandparents and my cousin Susan, searching for pretty glass pebbles and shells, once we had enough we would bring them home and decorate plant pots and also the top of a little wall in my Nanna’s garden.

Still pretty pebbles to be found but not so many shells.

Pinks, blues, greens, reds, browns, knobbly and bobbly and striped, rough and smooth. the seas treasures.

I hope you enjoyed our walk together, I know I did. how far did we go?

this far….

Right to where the cliffs jut out into the sea.

You are my Sunshine–Happy Fathers Day

Before my wonderful Dad left us Lauren asked him to send her a baby, of course he did and gave us a beautiful Grandson Jack, named after my Dad, he used to sing you are my sunshine to me as a little girl and then to my two daughters when they were little. Now years later we sing this to our Grandson Jack, his mam sings it to him at bed time and now here he is singing it for you.

Happy Fathers Day

Dads old log book

My Mam has been having a clear out, actually it is an on going clear out, during which she is coming across things that she didn’t know that Dad had or even kept.

Dad was a Blacksmith and worked at Dawdon Colliery he worked 7 days a week and in his spare time he has an allotment (spare time indeed) My Dad is on the right of this photograph.

So Mam happened upon a log book from when Dad started to look after the cages that took the men down the coal mine. She remembers that Dad didn’t sleep for a week when he first took charge of it.

It dates back to 1967, I’d of been 2 years old then, isn’t that a brilliant find. he lists things that don’t mean much to me but I'm sure the miners from Dawdon would understand it.

Something that struck me about it was how neat his hand writing was and also that my handwriting is very similar to it.

It this inspection he states that the bottom door is cracked and that in his opinion it needs replacing.

I know that many of you were following me when we lost my Dad so I thought it would be nice to share this with you all.

 

Gardening Boots ‘His’

If I could send my Dad a card then this would be it. He had an allotment when I was young and grew all of his own vegetables. He’d of loved this card.

Gardening Boots His by Just Inklined 

When Dad wasn’t at work he was at the allotment, mam used to put up a flask of coffee for him and I would run up with it, I often dropped the flasks and recall my Mam warning me one day not to drop it, of course I did and was frightened to go back home but Dad told me to say nothing and he took the blame for it. Ha ha I could wrap him round my finger but I worshipped him all the same.

I remember when he bought some chickens, he was to fatten them up and we would have them to eat when they were fat enough, each week he would be asked if they were ready but of course he made the big mistake of giving them names and looked on them as pets, he spent hours making crowdy for them to eat to fatten them up but I don’t think we ever got to eat one.

I could go on for hours about my Dad but I’m sure you want to know about the card.

I coloured it with Copic markers and prisma pencils.

I also made all of the embellishments

The little potato sack was sewn from a piece of sacking and the plant markers made from scraps of card.

  

now the carrots were a labour of love made by quilling paper then coloured up.

I thoroughly enjoyed making this card up, partly because I reminisced all the way through making it.

Remembering Dad

So here we are 3 years on, I still think about Dad every day, there is always something to remind me and it is often humorous, he had a wicked sense of humour.
As you know I have been enjoying looking through the old photos and I thought what better way to remember him that to make a mini digital scrapbook album. The music on it is something he used to sing at the top of his lungs on a Sunday morning when I was still at home.

I made the Scrapbook album using the My Memories Suite, I have to admit that I am hooked.

If you would like to get $10 off the original price of $39.97 pluse a $10 voucher off extra download embellishments use my code it is STMMMS48868 Enter the Code on the shopping cart page

One year On

It's so hard to believe it is 1 year since my dear dad passed away, I miss him dreadfully.

"Love you Dad".

Happy Fathers Day

A glimmer of hope in the form of a Poppy...

A difficult day for me today and I expect many others too, the first Fathers day without my Dad, Mam is coming for her dinner and then we are going to the Cemetery to visit Dad, I bought some flowers yesterday ready to take along.

Now for the glimmer of hope.... This morning a Poppy has appeared in my garden, the colour of this Poppy is the colour of the flowers I have bought for my Dad.

We also have a gardener coming today to sort out the garden as at the moment it is weed ridden and full of overgrown plants that need to be sorted out, of course he will be instructed to leave this beautiful poppy alone.

Forever in my Heart - Bereavement Pendant

My Mam is such a very special lady, it is my Birthday towards the end of March and I had just been saying to my family that I was dreading this one as it is my first Birthday without Dad.

You see my Dad always bought me a big Easter egg for my Birthday separate to a present from them both even if Mam had put the presents together the Easter Egg was always from Dad.

Going into the shops and seeing the Easter Eggs this year made me very emotional not for the fact I wasn't getting an Easter Egg but for the fact that my Dad wasn't here to give me it.

So my Mam arrived this morning with this beautiful pendant made with mother of pearl and a Swaroski crystal as part of my Birthday gift given to me early so that I can wear it.

It is a bereavement pendant and on the reverse is engraved with the words;

Gone but not forgotten,

Although we are apart,

Your spirit lives within me,

Forever in my heart.

So I am reduced to tears but I felt I'd like to share this with you all

A full view of the pendant

The engraved sentiment on the reverse of the heart

Thank You for the Cards

I thought I would show you some of the wonderful cards I received from fellow crafter friends.

They are all beautiful with thought and care put into making them and wonderful words of sympathy.

I have kept the picture size quite large so if you click on the image you will get a closer look at them all.

Dads Funeral

I'm not sure where to start with this so please forgive me if I forget something.
It was a truly beautiful sight, the horse drawn hearse pulled up at Mam and Dads house and yes I know we are supposed to stay inside untill we are ready to leave but I couldn't.
I felt an overwhelming warm feeling of pride for my Dad when I saw it, I just had to open the door.
Dad would have been elated.

This is a picture of the brass name plate, we had a horse and Jockey etched as he loved a wee flutter.

I don't know how I got through but I stood up in church and read out a tribute to my Dad which I had wrote.

I am adding it here so you can know a little bit more about the Man he was.

My Dad

My Dad, known to his friends and family as Jack made me who I am
today, he gave me love and inspiration in all that I have ever
done.

I often found myself saying that Dad had no TACT he was a
plain talker who was quick to say what he thought and if you were easily
offended then you shouldn’t visit him.
Yet this straight talking would really
make me giggle as I found it so funny, none of it was said with malice and in
fact if Dad thought for one moment that he had offended or hurt anyone he would
be upset.
He had a heart the size of a bin lid and a true Pitman’s humour.

In Dads later years he would get
so frustrated at not being able to manage to do the things that once came easy
to him yet this wouldn’t stop him trying.

I remember visiting only
to find him doing some woodwork in the front living room whilst Mam was resting
upstairs.
I gasped in disbelief at the wood shavings as far as the eye could
see and saying “you will be in trouble when Mam see’s this”
His reply was
simple, saying “but it’s freezing
outside”

Another time Dad brought something inside
that he needed to cut. Carefully using a Stanley knife he cut not only the job
that he was working on but he also cut through the living room
carpet.
“Once again in trouble with Mam”
But for all of
this we loved him and he always got away with it, luckily my Mam always saw the
funny side.

I am going to miss my Dad dreadfully, the laughs the
tears and the larger than life character who was not only a Father but also a
dear friend.

So through all of my tears I will still smile when I
think of him and feel proud that I was a big part in his life.