Two Angels - angels & petals AND crafty angel

Is there anyone out there who would be interested in a monthly spinning club???
I know there are a number of people locally who do spin, or would like to learn and I thought if we met once month in Hatherleigh, we might be able to learn from each other?
Anyone think this is a good idea???

Christmas Lights

Anyone who ventured out in the -5C of last night to see the Christmas lights be switched on and the shops open until late - frankly deserves a medal! It was soooo cold. The Hatherleigh Silver band could only play their first carol before their instruments froze & no doubt so did they.

However, the town tree looked lovely, the craft fair was full of excellent goodies and the shops did their best to entice folk in.

 Christina had her cosy rugs, home spun yarns and tempting treats.

 Nikki's stained glass is always popular.

 Lorraine, with a stall packed full of Christmas decorations.

 Sue brought along her very tasty chutneys & jams.

 Vivienne brought balms, lotions and potions to help skin fight this chilly weather.

 Tracy's vintage button jewellery make great one-off gifts

 Sue & Trish had knits to keep you warm and gorgeous felted bags to be seen with.

 Then we had wreaths to adorn your front door.

 And Debbie's ever popular baskets and hand woven decorations.

 The tree in all it's bright lights glory (and freezing fog!).

 And lastly, Angels & Petals which provided a welcome, warm haven for many. If you missed it all, pop back soon and I'll show you what treasures are in the shop!

Baaaaaa humbug

 
Brrrrrrr said Rosie this morning, as she picked her way through the frozen puddles and into the mist.

What would we find lurking over the hill??????

 
Remains of a sheep???

No! we didn't find a thing. This is the early stages of yesterdays sheep creating workshop.

 
We held another 'free range' felting workshop on Saturday. Most chose to make a sheep brooch or hanging, inspired by a beautiful brooch Sue had bought. Here are some of our sheep ....

 
The Beast of Bodmin???

 
A lovely woolly scottish blackface, perhaps?

 
And a very pretty lady, with very fancy feet.

 Another smart little chap.

 They seem to be following one another a bit like er, sheep!

 
And my own effort - the Greyfaced Dartmoor. Not a ghost Chrissie!!!

 
And just so you know we haven't gone completely Baaa humbug, we made some reindeer too.

 

It started with a kiss.............

 
I'm delighted to say that this year I have managed to source some lovely fresh mistletoe from the Wholesaler. I've wrapped little raffia bows around it, so it's all ready to hang and you can sit back and wait for a tall dark handsome stranger to come to your door.

 
I doubt I'll order more, so grab your bit now! It will remain fresh for weeks if you mist it with a little sugar/water solution or leave in a cool dry place.

Just to let you know our next book chosen at the Book Club is The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver.
The date we'll review the book is Tuesday 11th January 2010.

We will review Digging To America, next Tuesday.

Baby it's cold outside!

 
It was most definitely a bit chilly this morning.

 
 
These pictures were taken quite late for me too, nearly 8.30am. The world was slow to waken today.

A perfect day for turning your thoughts to Christmas. Hunkering down and making little gifts & treats.

We've lots of bits & pieces to help you make the perfect gift, at Crafty Angel. Including tartan ribbon for making chair name places perhaps, jam jars with red & white spotty lids, a perfect container for cinnamon sugar. Or maybe you fancy stringing a few apples & chillies together to make a garland?

Pop in for a coffee if you're passing and we can share our ideas.

NEW DATE FOR CHRISTMAS BATHROOM BLISS

 

 
Here are some of the ladies who enjoyed our summertime Bathroom Bliss workshop. The new date (which allows us to use the Old Schools again) is SUNDAY 12th DECEMBER 2pm.

The emphasis will be on last minute gifts and table presents for Christmas. We will make soaps, bath melts, bath bombs, body polish and massage oil. A real bargain at £18. Book your place by email or call in to the shop.

 
Examples of Christmas Bath Melts.

Carnival

 For those who missed it - here are some snaps from yesterday

 

Town Criers, the hunt and people mingle in the sqaure waiting for the hunt to move off and the Criers competition to begin. 

 The band lead the afternoon procession.

 
Floats are made of finely fringed crepe paper. A lot of cutting & sticking involved!
 I've always been equally fascinated by the tractors (strange but true!)

 

 

 

 As night time fell the blazing torches mark the beginning of the evening parade.

 

The very beautifully done carnival Queen float leads the way. 

 Followed by an incredible variety of floats from Hatherleigh and surrounding villages. My phone camera is pretty rubbish so here are just a couple of night shots.

 

 

 

 

 Ending the evening with the final tar barrel run.

Acorn scarf

 
I was really pleased with the way my Acorn Scarf came out. So called because the little twists of crochet reminded everyone of acorns. Easy to do in treble crochet and using Poems yarn,  this will be available in kit form from the shop, next week.

There's no getting away from it!

Christmas is definitely coming!

Thoughts of such a thing don't really register in the minds of true Hatherleigh folk until after the spectacle of Carnival. Which happens in all it's glory this weekend. The procession and flaming tar barrels pulled through the narrow streets of the town begins at 7.30pm on Saturday evening.

So. with Carnival behind us next week means we all move into Christmas mode.

 
Tasty treats. Isn't that what it's all about? These are for your bath though - not for eating!

  

Hand crafted treasures to adorn presents & homes.

 
And scented candles to get everyone in the mood.