So many projects... not enough time...

Why is it that I wake up in the middle of the night with such good ideas?
It leads me into loads of things... I just never seem to have enough time to do every thing.
Sadly, I always seem to have several projects on the go at once, I really must try and finish one before I begin another..
Anyway, having been to patchwork class yesterday, we were shown a new technique with paper piecing with pre printed triangles, the possibilities are endless too...

Here are a couple of examples..

and here is a crochet table centre that I am making as well.
Dave and I have been sitting on the terrace all afternoon enjoying the good weather at the minute, where I have been painting with oils.. I am soooo out of practise though....

Patchwork...

On Thursday, a friend and I (who is also mad on patchwork) went to a specialised shop in Rincon de la Victoria down on the coast, where we bought lots of material and other patchwork related things MMM..
Following that, we called in to our nearest shop in Torre del Mar, as the first shop did not have the colour of quilting thread that she was using, which we fortunately managed to get, along with a couple of bits for our patchwork teacher.
In the afternoon, another friend and I played scrabble (in spanish) and managed to finish a couple of games with fairly high scores as well.
Yesterday, I was quilting my sewing machine cover, which I continued today as well.
Here is a photo of progress so far..

Finished tunic and more watercolour progress

As promised, here are some photos of the finished tunic...
It is so cosy too! Showed the ladies at the knitting club today, where I helped Concha to begin to knit some mittens for her grand daughter who is only six months old..
Fortunately, Rosalina was on hand to explain crochet stitches in spanish (phew) whilst I was busy..

Here is the front view, showing the cables

and the side view showing the very cosy collar..

I also painted a few more layers of the watercolour, not many more to finish it I think.

Rain...and watercolour painting...

The weather has not been too good here today... very windy with lots of rain, which is needed of course for the crop of olives. So shopping this morning meant a dash through the rain...In my wellington boots!!!
The good thing is because I was not outside the house for long, I began to paint another watercolour of the church tower, concentrating more on the initial drawing than before, which despite the time it takes, improves the end result..(at least that is the theory)..

Here it is so far with the sky and the first wash of the tower, with the beginnings of the featured brickwork..
I have also finished the aran tunic I have been knitting, and will get the other half to tkae a photo of yours truly wearing it after it has been pressed....
MMMMM what to make next??????

Sewing machine cover and knitting

The collar of my Aran jumper is almost finished... it is being knitted on a circular needle and despite making the pattern up myself it seems to be turning out allright so far. I took it to the first knitting club meeting of the new year, on Monday, and managed to knit a bit of it there.
All of the ladies were either knitting or crocheting things that they wanted to make, and they all are working hard.

The main cable pattern was from a Debbie Bliss book, but the rest of the jumper was a Sirdar design., which I decided to use as I wanted raglan sleeves this time.

here is a close up of the collar so far..

 I was also busy doing a bit of sewing ... here is the sewing machine cover so far.. complete with applique that needs sewing. I still have to do the sides and line it with wadding and quilt it too!
 I also was at the patchwork class yesterday, Tuesday, where the ladies were making needle cases using applique and patchwork, hopefully to sell for charity.
See Competapatchworkgroup.es
With selling handmade goods in mind, our teacher, Dolores has asked me to draw a flamenco dancer that can be appliqued onto placemats, and gave me lots of material, which is in the photo below (donated leftovers from flamenco dresses)....

Patchwork Sewing Machine Cover..so far..

The sun has been shining here in Competa, but due to the wind it was too cold for Dave and I to sit on the terrace....
However, this allowed me to go into my little room at the top of one side of the house, which I use as my workroom, and use up some scrap material which was given to me which I am going to make into covers for my sewing Machine and over locker.
So far I have cut out a lot of triangles, sewn them to make squares and am arranging them into light and darks.

Here is the arrangement so far...
looking at the picture, I have to change the top right one around, I can see that it is upside down...I will most likely move it altogether..
It is still light here as I am writing this, but the sun will set in another 1/4 of an hour (about half past six). So I will leave the sewing until tomorrow.
The jumper I am knitting is almost finished, I just have to complete the top of the final sleeve and then Knit the collar. I will post photos soon.

Thank you everyone

I just wanted to thank everyone who has stopped by and read my blog.
Thanks to you all, I have had over 14,000 pageviews, which is hard for me to to believe...
I am grateful that all my arts, crafts, hobbies, and the new friends I have made in this wonderful part of Spain we are so lucky to be living in is of interest to anyone else.
Thank you all....x

End of Christmas beginning of Spring???

Yesterday was the Day of the kings here in Andalucia, when all the children got their presents. They have to wait until Epiphany. The village was fairly quiet, and the children were also treated to rides which were set up in the main square. We could also hear the sound of children playing with their new toys in the street.
Sssh... the weather has been really good here, so Dave and I have been enjoying the warm sunshine, and sitting on the terrace, whilst we are able. I have been knitting and Dave has been reading his kindle.
Normally when we do manage to sit on the terrace, we are in the shade, but the low angle of the sun means that we are having to wear a hat so we do not burn.
The weather has also fooled the Almond trees into blossoming early. They look stunning to say the least.

here is a view from our terrace of the almond trees we can see across the valley

Today was also a bank holiday in Spain, as 'The Kings' fell on a Sunday, although most of the shops were open this morning

Things will be back to normal tomorrow, and it will be the first patchwork class of the New Year.

Oil painting

While I was waiting for the watercolour to dry, I got out some oil paints.
I was going to just paint some outlines of leaves, but I had completely forgotten just how much I enjoyed painting in oils. It has been a while.
Needless to say it turned out completely differently, but I am really pleased with the result.
I love mixing the colours...getting covered in paint..and smelling of turpentine...

About halfway through

And finished...

(Note to self.. use OLD CLOTHES to paint oils in the future.. NO MATTER HOW CAREFUL YOU THINK YOU WILL BE ...DO NOT DO IT...) ha ha
Dave and I had several attempts to take some photos, but we eventually managed ..
Just waiting for the paint to dry now...will take a few weeks...

Watercolour Pheasants

Happy new year everyone,
We had a very quiet one here in Andalucia, managing to go to the plaza in time for midnight, but I guess everyone had decided to stay at home as it was still deserted at ten to twelve...
So we went back to our casa and celebrated by ourselves. We spent a quiet day yesterday, going for a walk and eating our treat of lamb shanks mmm :D
Today, following a bit of shopping, I began to paint some pheasants, but I am not sure how good (or not) it looks so far.. so I am leaving it before I over paint it and will wait and see how it dries

I also need to give the poor thing in front some legs... ha ha..