I have three sewing projects in hand.
The first is to make a skirt possibly a tunic dress with a lovely pieces of purple paisley needlecord. I love the red, blue and yellow accents which really lift the purple. Got lots of material 2.5m.

The second is for a knee length skirt, which I will have to make fast as it may be too warm soon.
The material is 100% wool in a really lovely Spring like colourway.

The last is a fab brown/burgundy silk with a quail pattern. I am going to use this to re-line a vintage jacket I bought. The original lining has started to perish and the sleeves are torn. I think I am going to have just enough to re-line the inside of the jacket with the pattern and use a plain silk for the sleeves.

Here is a picture of the jacket

O.K.  I’m a little late – all of one month and two days to be exact.  It is about time I added something to this blog.  I have done so much since I last updated.  The skirt has been worn a lot, the scarf has been frogged.  The garden has started to really take shape and I have seen so many more beautiful birds in the garden.  I have also started to sew a little more and have a few projects in hand I am going to post about in the coming weeks. 

 So to get a little seasonal I started by sewing some lovely lavender hearts.  I used an offcut of a heart tatoo print which I love.  I bought a few pieces of ribbon of different shades in red and purple to trim.  The lavender has been sitting on my shelf since last August.  I was given a large bunch when we stayed in a beautiful house in the South West of France.  The lavender smell is incredibly strong and a little goes a long way.

Here is a picture of the hearts with a few single ones.  The first one has been gifted to my sister as part of her birthday present.

I have also knitted a few hearts. I used a free Rav pattern called folk hearts as well as a pattern for small hearts. Again I have put in a little lavender to help keep the drawers moth free!

Book club today – once a month and a chance to view what is on offer with new literature.  The book club I am in has a  very interesting wide range of readers.   Two books are chosen each month.  Sometimes I read both, sometimes none.  This month the choices are Pride and Prejudie and Zombies :  The classic regency romance now with ultraviolent zombie mayhem!  by Jane Austen and seth Grahame-Smith and Guernica by Dave Boling.  I think I am going to start with the zombies as the first line made me laugh.     I am also reading the fifth Rick Riordan book – Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian.  I love this series, they are such fun to read.

Finished this quickly this week.  This wool is now one of my favourites, it is so soft and thick.  The pattern for this scarf is easy but very effective and a great t.v. knit.  I am going to use some more of my stash to knit a few more.  I think I will add a fourth row of cabling to make one which would be better for a man.

The call of the wool department in JL was strong today….  Went to buy jeans ended up with two bargain balls of Rowan pure wool aran.  They are going to be used to replace the beautiful scarf that I knitted my husband at Christmas.  He managed to hold onto it for at least 6 weeks, before leaving it on the tube.  The colours are teal/duck egg blue and a lovely charcoal grey.  Huge bargain price of £2.50 a ball.

I learnt to knit at a young age, taught by my big sister.  I still have the old wooden needles she taught me on.  She is still trying to teach me to knit – as she does – 30 years on!    I took a long break from knitting in my twenties and rediscovered it about 18 months ago.  I love to knit and my head is filled with thoughts of things I would like to knit.  My skills have really improved but I still have so much to learn.   I have been helped tremendously by two fabulous websites firstly the lovely Phoenix knitters and the Emerald city for all knitters – Ravelry.  The worldwide community of knitters is quite amazing.  Knitters are inherently generous people because so many will come to your aid if you are in difficulty. 

I love to knit garments, but my tension is still a bit off and I have frogged quite a few things I have made.  I get instant gratification knitting small things.  I particulary like making flowers as this satisfies my love of sewing as well as knitting.  I also like making scarves and am a sucker for a bargain skein or two of yarn as there are so many wonderful scarf patterns out there.  The thought of buying a scarf now is really strange! 

Currently on my needles is a Chevron skirt pattern from Knit Simple magazine.

and a Palindrome scarf – a really easy knit.  I am using RY Cashsoft Aran  Shade 021 a lovely Eau de nil green.

Last week, I pruned back a lovely Buddelia which has dark purple/black blossoms very hard as it was getting too leggy.  Underneath I dug out two huge clumps of a horrible grassy weed which has sharp serratedleaves.  I was joined by a male robin who pecked about in the bushes for the worms that I unearthed.  I was completely entranced by him and quickly forgot my tasks and instead found my camera to take pictures of him.  As you can see apart from the red breast he was quite well camouflaged.  If you screw your eyes up, you can see him in the bushes… yep.. a little to the right and down a bit!!

I wanted to do a blog and now I’m not sure what to say!  My DH has just told me that I have used the whole of the last hour of his life and he wants some return and he demands that I write till my fingers bleed!!

That would make a mess, so I’m going to keep my first post short and sweet. 

By my post name you will have guessed that my favourite film of all time is The Wizard of Oz.  The film doesn’t rule my life and my home is not filled with Oz stuff – no room.  I love it because just as the blog name says – there’s no place like home.   If ever I feel down, I remember that I have been blessed with a safe haven which I share with people who I love and cherish.  

My blog will hopefully tell you a little about the things that interest me,  particularly knitting, gardening, cooking, books and other creative activities.