Covering a vase with esparto grass

Yesterday, I made a plait from Esparto grass and today decided to cover an old vase with it so we could actually use it!

Here is the old vase...

And this is the string to sew the braids together

This is the the bundle of esparto grass I bought in the hardware shop...I bet there are not many 'foreigners'  asking for it 

this is a view of the esparto grass braid which has been trimmed already

The very very sharp needles used to sew the braids together...

Beginning to sew the coil for the base of the vase

sewing the braid aroung the base

and sewing a bit more...

I think this may take a while to do as I need to try and shape it as I go, although I have seen glass 'flagons' covered with esparto too !!

more watercolour painting

It has been very hot here in Andalusia making everyone very lazy and unable to sleep well.
I finished the watercolour painting of my friends' front door and called round to give it to her this morning in exchange for some plant cuttings, which are sitting in some water at the minute on the windowsill in the kitchen.
I shall have a look on the internet for ways to make them root successfully, and also plant some seeds when it gets a bit cooler this evening...

We were out for a meal last night, at The Museo dle Vino where we had mixed grill for two and wine which was the special offer delicious... so today I have made some cooling Gazpacho soup as we are still full from last night's meal :D

Bedroom decorating

I got it into my head to paint one of the walls in the bedroom...
So off to the ferreteria (hardware store) where I had to borrow the one and only paint chart...
Anyway returned on Wednesday and bought a 2 1/2 litre tin of raspberry colour paint and began to paint the wall behind the bed

It has made the whole room look really more inviting I think (and so does the other half...)
Need some more decorative stuff to adorn the wall now
Anyway, today (Thursday) we took the bull by the horns and mixed our own shade of blue to paint the wall in the guest bedroom. The other half had an idea he could fashion a stirrer from a stick and use the drill to mix the paint... erm... well the stick bit worked ha ha but did not use the drill idea...
Anyway went off to collect the router which arrived near mid day and came back and painted the wall.
It too has also really livened up the decor. Although white always looks good we both agree that the splash of colour looks good in both of the bedrooms.

Busy weekend

It has been a busy weekend here in Competa. We have ordered a stronger router to boost our broadband signal, which we are waiting to be delivered.

then I began a painting of a front door (not finished yet) it still need a few more layers...
Saturday evening I was invited to a friends' house for drinks and nibbles...which I enjoyed far too much so therefore spent a very very quiet Sunday sitting on the terrace knitting a cowl type scarf..

It is a very light and lacy fan pattern which is lovely to play with.. It really does look lovely in a very girlie shade of pink and is knitted in the round on circular needles.

Another view of Competa tower and fixing shoulder strap

Watercolour painting in the hot weather is altogether different as the paint dries so quickly.
I have painted another view of the church tower here in Competa, which was taken from a photo I took just below the arch in the place of the traditions.

 I particularly enjoyed painting the brickwork, which was fun.

Then someone gave me a dress to fix, which had a strap missing, so I got the idea to mend a sundress that had been on the 'to do' list for a while. I re-did the straps and used some old bra adjusters to get the perfect fit at last... no more annoying strap fall down incidents Yippee!!

Making earring cards

Today I have been making some new earring cards.
I began by cutting out 5 x 10 cm rectangles out of black card using my rotary cutter and mat which I originally got for patchwork.
Then I punched a hole in the top to enable them to hang from the display evenly.
I followed this by writing my logo on the top of each card and then put a couple of holes below this using a pin.

Hey presto... cards ready to go. Oh and self adhesive labels to price them too!!

Competa Church tower

Yesterday and today I have managed to complete a watercolour painting of the Church tower here in Competa. I took lots of photos on Monday from various different angles, and decided to use a different perspective than other pictures I have seen

Hopefully, I am improving as I paint more, and am now feeling comfortable with watercolours, I think they may even be beginning to have a 3D effect???

Crochet fingerless gloves

I spent Saturday and Sunday morning making a birthday present for one of my friends.
Hopefully they will be much used in the colder weather during the winter, as the houses here in Competa are built to keep the heat out and are very cold.
I made up the pattern as I went along, and tried them on to see how they looked.

I made the cuffs fairly long so that a sweater will cover any gaps, and edged them with a frill.
I hope she likes them :D

Charity Market

Today was the charity Market held in the square beside the church here in Competa.
Dave and I arrived early to set up, which we are getting much better at doing
Practise makes perfect eh (we need a lot more ha ha)

Just finishing the setting up on a beautiful sunny morning

a smile for the camera 

and a fortifying coffee before the crowds arrived...


There was a steady stream of visitors to the market, which kept us busy.
As the sun rose higher we had to put the parasol up and hide in the shade , wearing hats as we were situated on the sunny side of the terrace.

We drank lots of water, and sold several watercolour paintings and took orders for a couple of the tower too! A good day was had by all.

Special thanks to Marion for the organising :D