WOYWW 884 owlish embroidery

Hi all, Happy WOYWW anniversary to you all! I started my Lynnecrafts blog in April 2017 so I’m relatively new, though I’d been reading LLJ’s blog for a while before.  Thank you for all your friendship and support. 🥰

It’s been a strange week, but I’ll be glad to log in to watch Neet’s funeral tomorrow. It’s so helpful for people who live a long way away. 

I’ve finished 10 cannula sleeves with the twiddles which were the full extent of my crafting when I was ill with Bells Palsy. I am handing them over to the dementia team at Kent and Canterbury hospital tomorrow after my art class. 

I’ve also been ‘snitching’, embroidering and beading. It took me a long time to embroider a snitch that looks right. 

Here were my first 4 attempts:

Below you can see Snitch no 5 is embroidered and number 6 is the stuffed one on the back. 

The stuffed item on the back is a star in the Wishing Shed pattern but the snitch is more aligned to my HP theme. 

There are more beads to be sewn on, more pockets and charm holders, and, after Jan’s advice, I’m putting interlocking between the layers for my popper fasteners, which were pulling out before. I’m waiting for some stuff that has been ordered, especially to do with storing charms. My deadline is the end of June so it’s ok. 

My desk is reduced to a box so I can pick it up quickly when Bella jumps up. 

She sends you all purrs. 

This weekend was the festival in our village in Beaujolais. There’s was no way I could drive a 1000mile road trip with a fractured coccyx. I was sad not to be there but our goddaughter and family were there and kept us in the loop. 

I’ve done a separate blog post for the festival here: Létra Conscrits festival 2026

On the Friday night I would have been dressed like this, for the fancy dress parade to the theme of the French comic book series, Lucky Luke. It has the Daltons so the Eagles song Doolin Dalton has been my earworm all week. 

The big parade is on the Saturday morning before the banquet. 

There’s the full banquet menu on my separate page. 

Our goddaughter, Alexia, is on the right below. She videoed the family toasting me, the dances etc At least we’re going to her birthday party in July. 

And finally…

I’ve scheduled this as I’m going to try and go to art class in the morning (for the first time in 2 months) and then to deliver the cannula sleeves. 

Happy WOYWW 

Hugs

Lynnecrafts 🥰🥰

Conscrits festival in Létra en Beaujolais 2026

This weekend was the festival in our village, Létra en Beaujolais. I was supposed to take part and was going with Brian. (I was running upstairs to book the tunnel tickets when I slipped and fractured my coccyx).

This year was the class of 6 ie everyone who was born in xxx6. Our friend Robert is 70 and carried his latest grandson, born this year, You can  see him with Hector front right in the class photo. 

It’s a real inter-generational festival, and I have fond memories of dancing with uncle Claude (great-uncle of our goddaughter, Alexia) at the last one, in 2006, and he was 90. Sadly he died earlier this year. 

For the Saturday, we all have hats and rosettes with the colour of our year. I adore the baby one Hector’s wearing. 

 I was sad not to be there but our goddaughter and family were there and kept us in the loop. 

This is how those who’re the same age as me this year were dressed for the Friday night fancy dress parade. 

There were different western themes for each age. 

That was followed by a disco in the village square. 

On Saturday, there was a mass, a visit to the war memorial to remember all those classmates no longer with us, and then the great formal parade to a brass band, where we swing down the hill year by year. 

My year, those born in 1956

 

A “vin d’honneur’ and the class photo at the cooperative winery and then all go back up to the decorated sports hall for the banquet. 

I was so pleased to take part in the preparation of the festival. I came up with the initial design and then Séverine took it over. Many were happy to follow my idea for them to be our photos as kids. 

Someone made a brilliant take on it, I’ve a picture of my grandmother and her sister doing something similar!

Alexia was happy to show me all the posters, I was so pleased, she’s looking so beautiful.

Here’s the menu. A rough translation follows

Panna cotta with choux pastry, a gel of crayfish and coriander

Millefeuille of foie gras with pear, 

Dry-cured ham with gingerbread 

Beetroot chutney with balsamic vinegar and zaatar brioche

Soft roasted scallops with grilled chorizo, a Parmesan tuile and a carrot risotto with watercress juice

A house sorbet with a mandarin and lemon balm liqueur 

Beef fillet with teriyaki, sesame and wasabi sauce

Sweet potato with turmeric , and a fan of carrots and wild pleurotte mushrooms 

Cheese course 

A trilogy of desserts 

All together with local wine

In the evening there was a charcuterie board 

And very late (2am) they have onion soup. 

Ah well, Alexia’s father, Roger (centre) and his 

twin Roland have their festival next year so it doesn’t have to be 10 years till we get another chance. 

Hugs

Lynne xxx

WOYWW 883 In memory of Neet

Hi all,

This week we’re celebrating the life of our friend Neet, Anita Hickson, at the time of our anniversary of WOYWW.

I was struck by a phrase from Susan Renshaw's work when thinking about Neet:   

The globe came from somewhere online a while back  

Although our group, What’s on your Workdesk Wednesday,  is weekly, we were often in touch by message and email. Neet would send me patterns she thought I might like to knit or crochet, and I’d send  her card techniques I liked, though they were probably too simple for her. 🙂

We’d chat about Bella, she encouraged my writing and got me to send her episodes from my novel. 

We only met once, at the WOYWW crop in 2024, It was a lovely day, meeting those of our group who could make it; the laughs Neet and I had stand out as she wanted me to remind her how to crochet.. 

We’ll miss you Neet. And since you loved my cat cartoons, here’s a little one for you. 

Hugs for Neet’s family and all our friends 

Lynnecrafts xx

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WOYWW 882 more birds and other flying things

Hi all, I’m back for our weekly bloghop care of Sarah’s Craftshed. 

Sending healing hugs to our Neet, to all who are feeling under the weather and thanks for your good wishes for me. 

I’m making another bird beading project, though this is for keepsakes rather than sewing. 

Again the project is by Rachel from The Wishing Shed.

My desk comprises a couple of boxes and three raffia lidded baskets.  

They are for notions and threads, beads and squares of felt. 

I’m trying a bit of embroidery but I’m not sure I’ve succeeded. Can anyone tell what it is, please? I’ve plenty of felt left to try again. 

I was trying to copy this

This might be a better model to copy. 

Bella supervises and sends you all purrs. 

My back is slightly improved, but after discussion with my excellent physiotherapist , I’ll not be going to our village festival in Beaujolais next week. We’ll see our goddaughter and family there in July for her birthday. 

And finally….

I’m trying a lighter pain killer today and hope it’s enough so I don’t doze all day - I’ll try to do better this week in visiting. 

Happy WOYWW 

Hugs

Lynnecrafts xx

WOYWW 881 Bird beading

Hi all, I’m back for our weekly bloghop care of Sarah’s Craftshed. Sending healing hugs to our Neet and everyone who’s feeling under the weather. 

This week has been a bit of a blur, care of Dihydrocodeine painkillers. If a doctor ever suggests you taking Tramadol, ask if Dihydrocodeine is suitable. It’s much kinder, though I wouldn’t drive while on them. Thanks for your good wishes this week, my back is still giving me a lot of grief, especially when I move. 

I’ve done a bit of bird beading his week, it features a bit of sashiko, a bit of embroidery and some beading to make, in this case, a little sewing kit. It comes from a pattern by the Wishing Shed, available on Etsy or Ravelry.

It closes to keep its tools safe:

It has a removable heart-shaped pincushion on the back:

On the inside, it has a scissors pocket on the left, a pocket with a button in the centre and a needle keeper on the right with a magnetic needle minder. 

It’s flying off to Jan to sell on her RNLI stall. 

Bella has been supervising me and sends you all purrs. 

And finally:

I can think of some in particular..,,,

I’ll not be going to art class tomorrow so I’ll be round to visit. 

Happy WOYWW

Hugs

Lynnecrafts 🥰🥰

WOYWW 880

Hi all,

Just a quick post as I slipped on Monday and came down hard on my tailbone. It seems fractured but, when the paramedics phoned, they said it would be pointless going to hospital as all they could do was to give me pain relief. 

I can just about walk but changing between sitting and standing is v painful. I wasn’t going to post today, but having woken at 5sm…

This week’s art class would’ve been a portrait of a naturalist with collage, so I was wondering about a portrait of the lovely Hamza Yassin, from BBC nature programmes and Strictly, who, I’d heard, sadly has stage 4 cancer. As well as collecting photos of birds, to use in the collage, I was wondering if I could make him some dreadlocks. 

I tried an I-cord maker, but it  took all Sunday evening to do this little bit. It’s supposed to slip over the 3 hooks but I have to pull each stitch over the hook individually. Any tips welcome!

I’ve completed my 10 cannula sleeves and just need to tie the ends in after washing them. 

Brian and Bella have been a great comfort, and Bella sends you all purrs. 

And finally, 

I saw this in the cafe at Perry Court farm on Saturday and couldn’t resist it. 

 

I particularly like the Swiss Army knife attachments 😂

 

I’ll try to visit, 

Happy WOYWW 

Hugs

Lynnecrafts xx