New in

Summer is gone, so my jug in the kitchen reflects the new season, I'm very happy with this arrangement. The oak branch was purchased at John Lewis, not cheap, but I hope to use it for many years. I have a couple pumpkins I need to place here as well. 

 This book was reduced to £5, I don't have any grand daughters, but I like the idea to make and cloth Luna Lapin. 

 Back in July I paid for an advent calender with hand died yarn in, I can't wait for December to start opening these. 

 It's Christmas in John Lewis, I do like to buy a couple of new matching ornaments for our tree, the ring catches the light and looks beautiful. 

On Thursday I popped to Southampton with youngest daughter, she picked up Halloween clothes for Will and Christmas clothes for both Will and George (new baby). We had a lovely wander around John Lewis, I don't buy much as it is expensive in there, but I do love their glass tree decorations, All the above bits have been added to my spending list.
I got a couple pairs of jeans from Primark, not normally a shop I would think to visit, but my daughter pointed out they had high waisted jeans, which fitted well. One pair had a belt on, with an interesting buckle, which can be used on my homemade bag, so a double win.
Today it's wet and windy again, we have another storm arriving this evening and will stay for most of the weekend, so we are not planning to do much, we are going to view the new baby's room, which is all finished and play with Will. With just about 6 weeks before the due date, we are getting excited about meeting another grand son.
The next couple of days are at home days, so loads of crafting time.

Smashing

I used the precut circles, with thin and tiny bits of coloured glass sandwiched in the middle.

 I fired the glass, whilst it is not the finished look I was wanting, the glass inside does look just as I wanted it. I wanted a summer days sky, with a field of poppies below.

This piece went into the kiln in my microwave twice, after the 1st go, the glass was fused, but the coloured glass had not melted, I checked the piece after it had started to cool down, so I left the glass and kiln to go completely cold, and then repeated the firing.
My Christmas tree, I did on one long setting, 10 minutes, I read else where to set it on 2 minute burst, which I tried on this piece, but the kiln was not heating up, so I did 6 minutes, which was not enough time to fuse the work. The 2nd time I did 6 minutes again, which was not enough, so I did another 4 minutes, which was too much.
There are not many places I can find for instructions for a microwave kiln, most says to adjust timings to your microwave, I have a powerful microwave, so I know that is not the problem. I just have to play around until I find the correct times.

 I had another try, just a simple design, I fired it for 10 minutes, checked and fired for extra 2 minutes, 3 levels, white on bottom, mixed frit with yellow bars, clear glass on top, I can see one small air bubble, but for me it's perfect, I'm just so pleased.

I'm on a roll so I thought I would try another one, this was designed simply, the pink glass already had the design in, I added the pearl and the purple, which is more see through, I cut each piece to fit into the square, which I also cut. I wanted to break up the solid colour so I added the yellow chips, they left gaps, so I added the finner navy blue.  

 In each case the glass cuts run to the edge of the design, this allows air to flow out of the fired item and have less or no air bubbles, this piece has no air bubbles. There was clear glass top and bottom, to seal this piece. It was fired for 12 minutes. 

The firing process worked well, so hopefully I have now got a better idea of the timings. I will try another design, keeping things simple, so once finished they look good. None of the failed ones are wasted, I can break the glass and reuse it, there is never any waste. But I will purchase some more clear round glass, I find these useful. 

Blooming colourful

Just a few of my small pots, we can see this space whilst sitting inside.

 At the bottom of the garden infront of my greenhouse.

 Under the Magnolia tree

 Side bed

 Back of lawn

 Raised bed by back door

I love this plant, I have repotted it, it's put on loads of growth. 

October is a colourful month in the garden, having tender plants in pots helps, the bigger pots stay out all year, the pots with spring bulbs are tucked away through the summer, coming out at this time of year, promising colour early next year. 

The 3 main beds are all still looking good, I am not expecting them to fade until the frost come, which should be later in the month. We are still getting a mixture of heavy rain and sunny days, it's colder, but not as wet as other parts of the country.

We have finally turned our heating on, the evenings are much cooler, and I really do not see the point of being cold.

Sunday was another lazy day at home, I did loads of knitting whilst watching, The Crown on catch up, we did not have Netflix, so I could not watch them before, I am hooked. Hubby got home mid afternoon, we watched Strickly from Saturday night, before the results show. 

Monday we had Will, stayed at home all day, he is potty training, daughter tried earlier in the year and he was not ready, now he is doing well. It was dull after a very wet start to the day, so we were happy to stay inside. 

Today is sign class, I have done my pratice each day, I know my part, but I still get muddled fingers. I am looking forward to catching up with everyone again. 

Yarn enhancement

I've been online shopping, my daughter asked if I would make blankets for the new baby George (due in December), as I had made some for Will, one seen here. He has this blanket on his bed every night. 

 These are for a ripple blanket for the new baby, again I had made one for Will, seen here, which is used in the car. I ordered from 2 sites as I could not get the cotton brand from my normal site. I love Patons Baby Smiles 4ply. There are a few more balls than I require, I don't need full balls to make the size I require and I love have a stash of colours. 

I am going to knit myself another shawl, with matching gloves, I am using baby merino wool, this has the least allergies, I am hoping it will be alright for me as I can't wear wool because of the lanolin. I have to find a pattern, any suggestions. 

We popped to Hobbycraft for a buckle and poppers for my home made bag, I could not find anything, so I am going to have to rethink, but these 4ply balls of 150grm yarn was £7 a ball, on offer buy 2 get 1 free, a really good price, so I picked up 3, not sure if I will knit with them or use them on my loom, the colours are very me. 

I have plenty to do over the next few weeks, I will make the ripple blanket first, as it will be needed for car journeys.  I also have the following to finish.

1. 2 pair of socks for Christmas presents - I have started both
2. Crochet toy dog, it's tiny, but I do want to finish it
3. Making my bag - I still have to find the buckle or change my plans
4. Finish a cross stitch Christmas design - not stitched since 2016
5. Finish my scarf on my loom
6. Work on my 2018 blog book - it is all uploaded, I am now checking and rechecking before sending it for print. 

I do have other things to make, two Christmas cakes need to be baked later this month, but my garden is now taking very little of my time, we very rarely put on day time TV, we don't go out often, so I should have plenty of time to get things done.
I am also begining to form the design for my Christmas cards, I have everything I need already to make the cards, it's just a case of doing a trail run to see if it all looks right once cut out. 

The above list is just the things I want to focus on for now, I do have other things in a half finished state. 

I am home alone, hubby is on his way home today, having been away since Friday, I have got loads of knitting done, had another go at glass fusion, it's very hard to get the timing right on the microwave, but I'm not giving up.

Friday a friend who I worked with many years ago, came over, we walked to the village for lunch and caught up with all the gossip, later I had a lazy evening in front of the TV.

Saturday was a day at home, I did not even walk to the village, another lazy evening, I am feeling very relaxed at the moment. I have not read for a couple of days, preferring to be busy crafting. 

I also ensured I now know my sign language play and the song which we will preform infront of a local elderly club next month, I have been practising most of the week.