Bags and Balls and Bowls

Hello my lovelies, having a good day? Oh good, yes me too, I do love Thursdays. I've been to the cafe to crochet with Lovely C this morning which is indisputedly the highlight of my working week. Although shhhhhhhhhhhhhh don't tell J but it is not the first morning this week I have spent drinking coffee and nattering with friends.  I've  remembered what I have long known about going out about town and meeting friends for coffee ::  it sure beats staying home and wingeing about housework.

So :: yesterday was my calenders and the weather, and today it's bags, balls and bowls. Gosh, you can always look forward to such IMporTanT things when you visit with me, can't you?! Don't I just dazzle you with a variety of subject matter?!

On Saturday, a big box arrived in the post, covered in brown paper and smelling of fresh lavender. It came to me from the lovely Kim of Ragged Roses, and was the PIF gift that I had been picked out to win back in the summer.

She had warned me not to get too excited about the gift, had said that I might be disappointed.
I said that she could not possibly disappoint, that I would be excited to receive a screwed up newspaper because I just love the whole experience of receiving and opening parcels regardless of what's inside. I am quite, quite sad and childish in this respect.

Kim's handmade items are truly beautiful, and this parcel was an absolute delight to behold. Crisp white tissue paper, a little bundle of fresh lavender tied up with white ricrac. Yes, I would have been happy with just that (I know, I know, only I could adore lavender wrapped in tissue paper this much)

But of course there was more :: nestling inside the tissue I found a CK postcard, a bar of chocolate, a lovely hand made lavender sachet, this gorgeous, gorgeous linen bag with it's own little matching flower corsage (awwwwwwww), and inside the bag, four of Kim's wonderful rag balls.

The ragballs had scented themsleves with the fresh lavender, but I have also added some droplets of rose oil to them, so they have the scent of a summer garden. I was not sure how to photograph them, so ended up putting them onto my pink glass cake stand, but I think they will be destined eventually for my bedroom. I think the combined scent of lavender and roses is very restful and bedroomy, don't you?

The lavender sachet is already in my bedroom, I like to sniff it when I get into bed, much to J's horror actually, I'm sure he thinks I've completely lost the plot sometimes. I tell him the scent of lavender before sleep is bound to give me the most beautiful dreams, but he remains unconvinced. You can imagine him silently shaking his head at me can't you?
So thank you Kim so very much for your generosity, I love your gifts and shall treasure it all (including the white tissue paper). xxxx

Hey now, onto the crockery :: I bought myself some new bowls yesterday, and oh, I do love them! I already had the two spotty ones with the blue insides, so was delighted when I came across the flowery ones to go with them.

They come from Woolworths would you believe, and for the bargain price of £2 each, I think they are great. Woolworths is such an odd-ball shop :: more often than not it is full of such tat and rubbish that I almost cannot bare to look. But every so often there will be some really unexpectedly nice things sitting on the shelves amongst the distasteful stuff, and it's always a lovely surprise when this happens. Its like the high-street version of a car-boot sale.

I ended up buying all three of the flowery bowls which were on the shelf at Woolworths, and am using one to hold my little miniature rose plant on my bedside table. I don't know how long the rose plant and I are going to be together, because the rose does not seem to like me. I'm not especially good at caring for house plants, especially any that have flowers on. I'm not sure if I over water them or under water them but I am remarkably good at killing them off, although for the time being, this little rose is just about holding it's own (I had to relieve it of its yellowing foliage for the photo)
Sorry about photo quality by the way, the light is not good in my bedroom until very late afternoon. I know this for a fact, yet I still try and take pictures in the mornings.
In the foreground there on my bedside table, you can see my latest crochet experiments :: this week I have mostly been going to bed around 9pm and cosying up with my hot water bottle and working through some flower patterns from this book. It's been fun to try new things and learn some new stitches (I mastered a popcorn stitch flower last night, surprisingly easy to do despite the pattern sounding terribly complicated and wordy).


And this last picture is just a small snapshot of my lunch time today :: I usually sit at the dining table to each lunch but today I chose the sofa because the light was so beautiful in this part of the room. My rainbow maker had sent a flurry of little rainbows into the room and one just happened to be on the coffee table next to my plate.
It made my heart skip with happiness.
I hope you find a heart-skipping moment to savour today too xxxxx

Comments

[Doolallysally]

Hi Lovely lady! I just stumbled upon your site via Lavenderhouse and have started to make the double crotchet jar cover! Today I spent a delicous morning at a friend's house for our sewing session and on her floor was a rainbow too! Happy days ! love Sal x

[Emily]

Oh gosh, you are a girl after my own heart! That surprise package sounds just lovely!

[Yvonne]

What a lovely gift to receive made out of beautiful fabric too. I buy miniature rose plants and when they finish flowering I put them in pots outside and they continue flowering every year.
Yvonne

[Pink feather paradise]

I love gifts in the post too... I can't remember the last time I received a hand written letter in the post either.
Woolworths can definitely spring a few surprises every now and again, and those crochet flowers are beautiful, you are sooo clever I can't follow a pattern when I crochet I get all muddled!

Cheers Alex

[Mary Poppins]

What a lucky girl, Kims delights are beautiful I too love my lavender and have some on my bed, it is so calming I love the bowls and well done on the crochet X

[Tara Thayer]

Hello from New York...I just wanted to say that my three year old Anna has that exact same mouse in the flowery corduroy dress. We bought it in Nantucket in a bookstore and named her Theo. I think I love it more than Anna, actually.
And, I love your blog; I check it every morning! Thanks for the inspiration.

[Lynn]

Oh, Lucy, I had to laugh when you said you'd even get excited to receive a wadded-up newspaper, just because getting parcels -- any parcel -- is such fun. I agree completely! (And hey, I could send you a crumple of small-town American newspaper if that'd float your boat...) But yes, getting something lovely is the BEST! In fact, I just blogged about such a thing myself (Hi, Lisa, if you're over here!).

[kim]

Hi Lucy, I am so glad you liked your parcel!!! Next time I'm going to see if I can get away with the crumpled up newspaper!! Seriously though, it was great fun putting the stuff together, only wish I'd been a bit more organised about sending it out earlier!
Take care,
Kimx

[Lesley]

what a lovely parcel to receive :-) i cant think of many things I prefer than a parcel arriving for me :-) lovely lovely bowls I shall have to pay Woolworths a visit i think.....
Lesley x

[Natalie]

What lovely things to receive in the post and such cheery bowls too! - I would love to send you a birthday card Lucy, as I know your B.D is coming up! - please could you e mail me your address? - My e mail is nlhowlett@btinternet.com - Natalie x (P.S - its a new e mail)

[Nicola]

Hello again! I recieved a lovely thank you letter yesterday from a friend and i was so excited opening it and taking in all the words which were written down! I spend a big part of my day on a pc, most of which is work related so to receive an actual hand written letter was wonderful so I can only imagine how nice it would have been for you to receive a package. Lavendar is such a lovely peaceful fragrance.

Nicola xx

[Cele]

Love that mouse. Those crocheted flowers look great.

[Sue]

Hi Lucy

In the past I've found a few surprising things in Woolworths, and their spindly plants in plastic bags grow into the most amazing shrubs.

Talking of plants, roses should really live outside, so don't be alarmed if it makes out it doesn't like you. Plant it in the ground - you'll probably find there are actually 4 or 5 separate plants in the pot - and you'll be rewarded for years. Both my Mum and I have one from the same pot which I split and planted 15 years ago. It keeled over in the house within days of a friend giving it to me so outside it went. Split, planted, put back in a pot to move house 3 times and still they survive.

I think yours will surprise you!

Good luck!

Sue

[joanna]

Heartskipping moment... it will have to wait, I'm straight off to Woolworths for some bowls!

[kitschen pink]

OH you lucky girl! Love that flower coursage! Oh and Lavender in white ric rac! how lovely.
The high-street would be a duller place without the bargain joys of Woolworths

[july lloyd]

hi your blogs are fantastic have you ever thought of writing a book your colourful life as inspired me thankyou so much for such a wonderful insite into your life. July x

[gardenymph]

Ah yes, if I had just read on a bit further, I would have discovered this lovely post describing the rag balls (I've made a few myself for the kids to play with) and the charming pink cake stand (not a bowl). How lovely!