Blogging like it's 2008

I'm continuing to blog as if nobody's reading (because they aren't) as I'm convinced that blogging is going to make a comeback. Every day I see another person or two say that they're ditching Instagram and I don't blame them. Even if blogging doesn't make a comeback, I care not. I'm enjoying getting back into the swing of writing future blog posts in my head, taking photos of potentially bloggable things and not feeling any pressure to be seen or read, or feeling like I have to perform some weird meme-like behaviour in order to engage.

Anyway, if you recall, yesterday I was off down to the shed with no fixed idea of what I'd be making. I opened up my own bead gallery on Flickr and had a look through there and some 'Crocus' beads I made years ago took my eye so I made some of those.

These are CiM Hollandaise encased with Effetre dark lavender and the spots and dots are CiM Lapis and Hollandaise, then they've been tumble-etched.

I also made these inky blue ones.

These are CiM Lapis encased with Effetre light blue 052 with spots and dots in Effetre periwinkle 220 and CiM Lapis.

Sometimes I make beads that would look nice etched and sometimes, like in this case, I make beads that actually look better after tumble-etching. I make them knowing that the colours will work better together in their frosted state than their shiny one.

Both of these bead sets can be found in my in my webshop.

The weather is cheering up a bit and things in the garden are starting to be colourful. We planted an orange climbing rose in the back garden yesterday so I hope that settles in and does its thing. This morning I took delivery of an hibiscus bush so I need to work out exactly where that's going to go.

My lavender has gone crazy. I got this from the local greengrocer a few years ago when it was a tiny plant and now it's huge.

Please excuse my washing line

I took cuttings from the lavender last year and I've planted those in another part of the garden so fingers crossed they end up crazy too.

I'm absolutely awful at growing edible stuff but the one thing I can normally grow is tomatoes. One of my foodbank colleagues, John, kindly gave me two tomato plants this year and they're just doing nothing. They're not dead but they're not really thriving either. I've done everything I normally do with a tomato plant but nope, I'm not holding out much hope for these fellas.

I never grow strawberries because I don't think I could grow enough to keep me strawberried up. I eat my own weight in strawberries every year. British strawberry season is here (I'm proper Nigel Farage about strawberries) and I'm in full strawberry mode.

I normally have Greek yoghurt, blueberries, walnuts and a light drizzle of honey for breakfast but I've replaced the blueberries with strawberries and now my breakfast is like a pudding.

In crochet news...

My shawl pattern is currently being test crocheted by some ladies who kindly agreed to make sure I've not written a load of nonsense. It's oddly nerve-racking.

Meanwhile, I've started making some sunflowers which will become squares which will eventually become a throw. Blanket? Are throws and blankets the same thing? (I've just Googled and yes but no. Blankets are designed for warmth and throws can be used as casual cover-up-your-legs-and-feet-when-curled-up-on-the-sofa blankets but are typically more it-looks-fancy-draped-on-my-armchair decorative sort of things.) 

Anyway, the pattern is the Sunflower Throw by Libbycraftmakes on Etsy and I'm using good old Stylecraft Special DK.

Beads and stuff and more stuff

This week has mainly been about the Return of the Bumblebeads. I hadn't made any for a while because the CiM Hollandaise glass I used to use for them is now pretty much extinct. This new wave of Bumblebeads are made in CiM Goldenrod.

I've made the Bumblebeads available to order for a short time. They're £5.00 each and can be purchased here.

Speaking of extinct glass, remember I mentioned I was recently given the gift of some assorted glass? Well, some of that was Z-99 Purple Rose Special - a rare, beautiful, no-longer-produced glass by Zimmerman. I did a bit of a Google and discovered that it's highly sought-after (I know, I'm a very lucky beadmaker) and I also realised that I've had a jar of it as frit sat in my drawer for about a decade.

See? This is what I get for being a bead hermit and not interacting with other lampworkers. If I did, I'd have known about this sooner. I'm working on that, by the way. I've joined a few Facebook lampwork groups and am being more 'social' which is something that I struggle with. But anyway, yes, I had a play with my Z-99 frit and some Effetre Opal Yellow and made these 'Painted Sunset' beads.

A friend told me these remind her of Edvard Munch's The Scream. These have sold already but I will be making more, both for my Edvard-loving friend and for sale, so keep an eye out for some next week.

In non-beady news, my garden is starting to do stuff. Seeds are sprouting and there are tiny green leaves appearing in pots and tubs. I think I might have planted the world's slowest-growing tulip bulbs but they've finally flowered this week.

Tulip from the Sarah Raven 'Brandy Snap' collection

Food-wise this week, I have rediscovered the joy that is sardines on toast. Simple pleasures. Whenever Mum used to make herself sardines on toast she'd always do an extra slice because she knew I'd be there, hovering around unable to resist the toasted fish deliciousness.

I've been pescatarian/pescetarian (choose whichever spelling you prefer) since October last year. This is mainly for health reasons - I have one large gallstone that measures about an inch in diameter. I call him Trevor (as in Trevor Bolder, as in Spiders From Mars, as in 'boulder', as in large rock) and it would appear that I've had him for many many years. Because I have just the one stone my gallbladder only really plays up if I overdo the saturated fat, so Trevor keeps me in check diet-wise. I could have my gallbladder removed but I've not had an attack since September and I don't really want surgery (and I know it's a doddle of an operation, but still, I'd like to avoid surgery if I can) so for the time being I'm happy to control it with diet. Cutting out all meat except fish has really helped and I'm totally surprised to find that I'm not missing meat in the slightest and no, not even bacon. I can't eat eggs, though. Eggs are Trevor's nemesis. They're okay if they're in something, but pure egg, or an egg-centric dish like quiche, is out. Oh, the pain! I'm fully aware that I've become the annoying person who people dread feeding but seeing as how I hardly ever eat at anyone else's house, it's not really a problem. I don't do meat substitutes, though. Quorn and fake meats can do one. I don't understand the logic behind that stuff in the slightest.

Television-wise, oh my word, did you see the Line of Duty finale? Blimey me. I flipping love that show and I will miss its drama and twists and turns on Thursday nights.

(Photo via world-productions.com)

Ted Hastings needs his own show, Steve Arnott is so good at being not-Scottish, Kate Fleming is my new ladyhero and I think I might fancy Matthew 'Dot' Cottan. If you've never seen Line of Duty, go back and watch all three series and enjoy.

After Thursday night's police telly drama, Chris and I went to a midnight screening of Captain America: Civil War. It was SO good! We saw it in 3D, which I'm normally underwhelmed by, but the 3D-ness of this film was spectacular.

#TeamIronMan. Obvs.

Right, after all that waffle I'm off to pack up some beads for posting. Have a great weekend, and fellow British people, if you have Monday off work, enjoy this extended weekend. Right now the sun is shining but seeing as we've had all the weather flavours this week, including snow, who knows what this weekend has in store for us?

Have a good'un!