The Blueberry Patch

Keeping the home fires burning

2012-02-06T01:38:00.000-08:00

I did think that we would never get any snow, not that we had much mind you. This, however gave us the perfect excuse to stay in, light the wood burner, the boys' to lollop round, me to bake and to play with my recent thrifty finds and to finish off a pair of patchwork curtains.

I have even got the youngest hand sewing some pieces of fabric together to make a new cushion cover for his room - bless! He's made a good start and for someone who has never picked up a needle and thread before, I think he's done a good job!

Our kitchen window looked rather bland and having such a big window I thought I would soften it with a good old faithful bit of patchwork! (note the lack of snow). Better call it a day now on the amount of patchwork now in the house!

A few weeks ago I picked up a couple of pretty cups and saucers, both for a mere 50p.

We were in desperate need for some new place mats and this brand new set of 6 at £2.00 was a bargain. I love the cottages and would quite happily settle in any one of them.

What would be your dream home?

Happy Days

2012-01-26T06:47:00.000-08:00

After having a rather turbulent 2 weeks, I buried my head and did a few crafty pick me ups! Some good has come out of it as I've got lots of stuff finished (although I wouldn't want a re-run of the last 2 weeks).

Remember in my last post I was doing a patchwork hexagon hoop - I wasn't altogether pleased with the white fabric I had chosen but I was at the point of no return. To rectify the choice, I added some embroidery stitches which has made me a little happier!

My bark cloth curtains were an unexpected find on Ebay - a snitch at only £3.00, it was a
wonderful turn-up.

Having spent quite a lot of time cooing over CK's Patch book, and loving the flower picture in there, I set to with making my own. I used a pretty frame I got way before Christmas. It was one of those moments where I thought 'I'll eventually find a use for it' (that was my justification). I think it was meant to have a 'crafty' project in it rather than a photo!

I was quite pleased with the result and it was fun cutting out floral flowers and arranging them.

Hopefully, service will resume fully next week! Have a great weekend.

For the love of

2012-01-13T01:44:00.000-08:00

embroidery hoops and patchwork hexagons, both of which I can't get enough of at the moment.

I remember seeing in Liberty's a couple of years ago, fabric displayed in embroidery hoops which I thought was a novel idea. I soon came home and replicated it. You may remember me posting about it.

As my love of hexagons grew, I fancied combining the two. One, I made towards the end of year using various oddments of fabric.

The one I'm currently working on is a little more structured. I'm kind of wishing I hadn't used the white fabric but we'll see what the finished article looks like. The hoop is a big one - 12" in diameter.

It is a cheap way of creating a new hanging item for your wall. If you don't fancy sewing hexagons together you could just display some pretty fabric with some ribbon, alternatively there's lots of lovely wrapping paper around so that could be another use with the hoop.

Have a lovely weekend!

Something old to something new

2012-01-09T06:15:00.000-08:00

At the start of every year, I always have a good clear out - most goes to charity some gets free cycled, other bits and bobs either get sold on Amazon or Ebay.

This year, I thought I would do that, but also utilise my crafty stash and other items round the house to give everything a bit of a lift.

Re-work scraps of wool and an old hanger into a nice woolly one

an old treacle tin into a container for some bulbs

some old jumpers into a cosy winter cushion

vintage fabrics and scraps of lace into lavender sachets

and an old tin of paint to add some colour to the bannister rail

Who know what else I'll come up with! What's on your agenda this month?

Up I come!

2012-01-06T01:34:00.000-08:00

Hello folks - remember me! You may think I've been hibernating all this time (since September), but you know how life just gets in the way sometimes? No excuses, just plain day to day stuff here at The Blueberry Patch household.

I hope everyone had a good Christmas and New Year? Isn't the weather different to a year ago. Unlike the last few days, it could almost be Spring here (albeit cold). The birds are singing, the bulbs are growing, I still have pinks and roses flowering. All very odd.

Anyway, plans are afoot for lots of projects and makes - most of which I'll share with you, but here's one I made earlier!

I'll be back again shortly (I hope!).

Have a good weekend.

Too many projects

2011-09-26T02:57:00.000-07:00

and not enough of this

Why oh why do I start endless projects which I probably won't end up finishing any time soon!

Christmas stockings for the website

Wool to start a scarf

A random knitted tortoise (I think it was the patchwork which attracted me to it!)

Knitted 'paper' chains for Christmas

However, I did finish one project off last week - my patchwork ironing board cover - at last. It's only taken over a year to complete!

How many projects have you on the go at the moment?

A spot of vintage

2011-09-21T01:20:00.000-07:00

Morning all - remember me! I can't believe it's almost 3 weeks since I was last in blog land. I must do better.

The month hasn't been turning out as well as I would have liked - lots of faff and grief, and more importantly getting used to a new routine of one child in secondary school and one still in primary. We have a very tired 11 yr old at the moment who's going to bed earlier and earlier! Mind you he's out of the house for a total of 9 hours, then homework to get on with - all good stamina building I guess....

It can only get easier (I hope).

Back to 'a spot of vintage' - whilst in Greenwich in July we had a jaunt round the vintage fair and shops. I'm always a lover of the vintage clothing but I'm not a dress person so never end up buying anything but I love the style. Anyway, I came across this -

a vintage crochet sleeveless cardigan-esqe number. I tried it on and actually quite liked it. As it was a reasonable price, I snatched it up. Having had it hanging on the hanger since we returned it may well stay there. I'm not sure of it's age but it's in good condition and is made from wool.

You know the phrase - 'if you keep something long enough, it'll eventually come back into fashion' - that's never held quite true for me but I'm obviously getting to the age now that things are coming back into fashion which I remember. I now have a pair of shoes which went out and are now back in again!

I bought these

brogues from Laura Ashley about 15 years ago, obviously wore them and they have been languishing in the back of the wardrobe for some time. I'm always reluctant to get rid of shoes and I'm glad I didn't with these, as lace-up brogues are all back in fashion. I'm not sure whether a 15 yr old pair of shoes counts as vintage but I can pretend!

These vintage costume dolls were a bit of a 'random' purchase and a very bizarre one according to the rest of the family, but as they put a smile on my face, why not!

Have a good day and I'll pop along to say hello shortly, along with sharing some holiday snaps which are still on the camera...

A spot of customisation

2011-09-02T07:26:00.000-07:00

Today was day 1 of a child free house and it feels so quiet - no friends door knocking, the dull sound of electronics and TV's in the background, the clank of lego being tipped out, the bickering.....,requests for endless food and drink - I actually miss those sounds! even though they drove me mad.

Jack went back yesterday and Toby had his first secondary school day today and boy was he excited - despite the early start to walk to the bus, not relying on me to remember things, learning how to do a tie! and not returning till 4.30 each day. We took a photograph of him in exactly the same spot as we did when he first went to school 7 years ago - how time flies.

I'm really looking forward to his return and the success of accomplishing so many 'firsts'

Anyway, with the onset of chilly mornings, I thought I would customise an old denim jacket. I've had it the best part of a decade and really wanted to jazz it up a little.

I sewed a CK patch I've had for a while on the arm

and with some Liberty print bias binding I then sewed this around the cuffs.

and then round the bottom edge

I'm pretty pleased with the overall look and has given my old jacket a new lease of life.

(double click to zoom in)

Have a great weekend!

On the turn

2011-08-24T03:41:00.000-07:00

I'm back after a little break down in the beautiful Kent countryside. I'll share more of that with you once I've sorted through the enormous amount of snaps taken!

The end of August is well and truly upon us and there is a distinct 'change' in the air. The morning and evenings are getting darker, the leaves are on the turn and the berries are bursting with colour.

All in all we can't complain too much with the weather this summer (maybe in my part of the country at least). I do however, always feel robbed when the summer comes to an end. Perhaps because the winter is not my most favourite time of year.

For now, I shall take pleasure in a few balmy days, the dew on the grass, the last few flowering plants and the glory which September brings.

I'll be back shortly with piccie overload, but for now, I better catch up with your lovely blogs!

TTFN.

From one to another

2011-08-04T07:19:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone is keeping well?

We took a jaunt to Greenwich last weekend, and what a pleasant time it was too - even more so when we can indulge in some free museums which entertain the boys and a couple of vintage markets for me!

The weather was beautiful, if not a little hot (if I dare say it).

This view, I could never tire of..............

The beautiful building is the National Maritime Museum. In front of the building was where the Olympic Equestrian Trials were taking place. It'll be in beautiful surroundings next year, and there seemed to be a lot of active work going in to make everywhere look good.

At the top of Greenwich Park is the Royal Observatory, again another beautiful building.

I was pleasantly surprised by the number of lovely old buildings in Greenwich - a lot of which I ashamedly didn't take pictures of. If you're near the area it's well worth taking an amble there.

On Sunday we went into London and took a walk along the Southbank to the Vintage Festival which was taking place from the Friday to the Sunday - lots of free activities for children, music and most importantly a Vintage Market Place. Serious lack of photo's, in fact none - oops.

Good old Cath K was there with a great pop up shop. My purchase was this vintage fabric peg bag.

My old one -

also a Cath K one, but it's seen better days. Interestingly enough, it was my first ever CK purchase over 12 years ago! It's done well! She had a concessionary shop in Harrods at the time and my mum took me to it saying I would love the style, which of course I did. I didn't know who she was and probably most other people didn't either. I can't remember how much I paid for it back then, but of course the cowboy print is no longer.

It's certainly not going in the bin, but I shall keep it for prosperity - you never know it may be worth a bit in a few years time - despite the damage!

TTFN.

Smile

2011-07-29T00:25:00.000-07:00

Well, here it is - 'The Chair' - completed.

I have to say that the anticipation of making it was far worse than actually making it (like a lot of things). I did make sure I constantly checked, pinned and tacked which made a huge difference. The back is by no means perfect, but on a scale of 1-10, I'm at a 9 so feel very satisfied!

My slight gripe was when I was sewing the patchwork rows together, I didn't notice that there were 2 squares in the same place on 2 rows - grrrhhhh, but as it's on the curve of the chair you don't actually notice too much.

With regards to patchwork - there's an awful lot of it in the house now, so better stop in my quest to patchwork the entire house!

I hope everyone is enjoying the summer holidays so far (or not?). We've had lots of scrapes, bumps, cuts, falls off scooters down big hills etc etc etc. Plasters have run out and TCP is running low but apart from that all is good!

Have a good weekend!

The Chair

2011-07-20T07:07:00.000-07:00

Well, day 3 of the summer holidays, and all seems OK at the moment! Plans are afoot and I feel somewhat more relaxed than I did last week.

Do you remember my post about the chair I was planning to revamp and patchwork? Well, it's moving on quite nicely. I managed to get the seat completed at the weekend so will now move onto the back of the chair.

To an upholsterer I've probably made 101 mistakes, but considering I've never upholstered a chair before, let alone in patchwork, I feel mighty pleased.

The front part was a little tricky and required a couple of 'hospital type corners' and then trying to get the lines to line up was somewhat interesting.

Unlike various other projects where I tend to bulldozer my way through, I took my time and even tacked where I needed to, and it paid off tremendously especially when trying to get it straight and even.

I'll keep you posted with the back and will hopefully have one of those tra-la la moments very soon......!

TTFN.

Chapters

2011-07-14T00:40:00.000-07:00

I apologise about my lack of posts and comments at the moment - it's been a whirlwind and frenzy of activities these last few weeks, and more so with the end of primary school for Toby.

We all know that at some point our children leave the comfy confines of primary school to move onto bigger pastures, but I didn't quite realise how traumatic the whole experience was. More so for parents I think. Having been to a talk by the head of Yr7 at the new secondary school, he highlighted the anxieties the children might have. In actual fact, they were more about my anxieties rather than my child.

I don't mean about making new friends, getting lost in a big school, homework and all of those things (although they are present in the back of my mind). It's more about my little boy growing up and becoming independent. He doesn't look like a primary school boy now - he's definitely ready for what secondary school throws at him. I only wish I was at the same level.......

Don't get me wrong, I will rise to the new chapter in his life with him, but I think we as parents' can feel a little sad about the transition.

I'm ready to wind down now - fortunately we finish on Friday (all our teacher training days are in 1 week, which is next week). Reports are out, SAT results are back (no complaints, phew), leavers service is over, leavers party done, music concerts done, sports day done. Just got to get through today and half of tomorrow, teachers' presents to give and then we can slob out!

Enjoy the day!

A bit of a boy thing

2011-07-01T01:34:00.000-07:00

Hooray! the sun is out and the weather is set to be good for the weekend. Hopefully summer is here....

Toby went on his first residential this week (albeit for 2 nights and 10 mins up the road - don't ask). Prior to him going, I ran through all his bits and bobs explaining don't put wet clothes next to dry, all dirty clothes in a carrier bag, and flannel etc to go in the plastic bag to save getting everything else wet.

Well, he returned after having a great time. I unpacked everything and at first glance I thought he had done really well as he had done exactly what I asked. I unloaded the toilet bag, and guess what.........nothing had been used...apart from brushing his teeth which only got done once..........I didn't investigate any further as I didn't really want to know. Let's just say he had a really good shower and a long session with the toothbrush! BOYS.....

A couple of weeks ago, FIL came round with a big plastic box full of cars. We left it in the garage until last night when I thought I'd have a rummage to see if it was worth keeping any of them. Now I know you ladies are probably not into toy cars! but I thought you might appreciate this little beauty.

I'm definitely claiming it for myself - loving the little plastic plant on the table.

Just to finish off with something girly - my next project -

We've got a chair in our bedroom which could do with a makeover. I've always lusted after the patchwork chairs in Cath Kidston but I don't lust the price.

Having never done upholstery before I thought I'd give it a go - starting off with the seat and then going from there. It might require some mathematical logic to get it right so will rope in hubby for that one! I'll let you know how I get on.

Have a great weekend!

Something different

2011-06-23T02:26:00.000-07:00

With this chilly weather I've had the urge to do more baking than normal. Fortunately I have a house full of willing eaters!

Wanting to re-stock the larder shelves with jam, I thought I'd set to and make some slightly different jams from the usual fruit ones.

The first was Lavender jelly. I've always been put off making jellies as I can't be bothered with jelly bags and the like. This one was more of an infusion, whereby you put the lavender flowers in a muslin bag and let it simmer in the liquid. I've also never used powdered pectin before but obviously in this case I had to use it.

I was alarmed by the lumpy mess initially but that soon dispersed.

The result - a lovely fragrant jelly with the scent being stronger than the taste. I might infuse it for longer next time.

As I was on a roll and with my new best friend, the powdered pectin I sourced a recipe for some Rose Petal Jam. This recipe required you to blitz the rose petals and add them to the other ingredients so you actually get the texture and taste of the petals.

I wasn't initially sure about this as I was concerned about having a mouth full of petals, but actually it works really, really well. The fragrance is lovely and the taste is just right. Blitzing them really helped.

All in all, a great success. Next time I'll do bigger quantities.

Onto something completely different - I repainted the downstairs toilet the other day and had a wall which needed filling, I've filled it with these swallows.

I'd seen something similar in the Berry Red catalogue and was drawn to the pastel colours on offer. Always on a mission to see if I can get something cheaper, I found my ones on Ebay, so was mighty pleased.

I guess they're a modern take on the flying ducks!

It does what it says on the tin (or quilt)

2011-06-16T23:37:00.000-07:00

The weather's on a bit of a crash course at the moment - we're due for a day of wet weather and I think Sunday will be the only respite we get. Lots of indoor stuff this weekend I think!

A couple of weeks ago I was on a mission to make a quilt (a simple one). Not wanting to spend a lot on supplies, I turned to what I had in my workroom.

Cerise pink fabric was left over from a cushion and other things I had made.

Candy stripe sheet was from a vintage fair.

Floral sheets were from a charity shop.

The size was very much determined by the floral sheet as I decided that I would use that as the reverse. So actually the size is only really a double.

I did have to but some lovely wadding to go between the 2 layers, but I needed some anyway so the remaining will be used for other projects.

I completed it last week, just prior to our trip to London, and I love it. To coin a phrase 'it does what it says on the tin'. It's fulfilled exactly what I wanted it to. Re-using fabric and sheets.

(An iron's required I think)

Right, onto planning the next project!

Enjoy the weekend!

Either end of the spectrum

2011-06-15T00:50:00.000-07:00

Thanks for all your birthday wishes and comments regarding my finger, normal service is now resumed and it's now fully functional!

As you know we went to London this weekend. We stayed just over Westminster Bridge in a hotel we're familiar with. Hubby had phoned ahead to say it was my birthday and un be known to us we were given an upgrade to a suite with a fantastic view of the London Eye and a slight view of Big Ben!!! We couldn't believe it. There was also a card with a bottle of wine waiting for us when we got in! Copies of Vogue and Homes and Gardens were laid out along with lots of other goodies.

It was lovely to come back after 8 hours of walking and sit with a glass of wine watching the London Eye go round.

The boys were in their element as they got goodie bags with pretend money which they could exchange for treats at the hotel.

We did pack an awful lot in and walked for miles. We did use the tube a few times but due to underground works and the Trooping of the Colour it was packed so tried to avoid it where possible.

Lots of sightseeing, free museums aquarium, a touch and feel walk round Liberty's was lovely and full of opulence. I did spend some of my birthday money in there which I'll show you on another post.

The Queen was having an air display at 1pm on Saturday which we were fortunate enough to see in full glory - in fact, it was Toby's highlight of the weekend!

Once emerging from a tube station later in the afternoon, I thought I saw what was a naked body on a bicycle - turned to hubby to say.....only to find more and more naked bodies riding bikes. This was full on stark naked - men, women, old and young all riding through the streets of London...........Some had protected their modesty but most were obviously very keen to let the wind whistle through! There were even men on roller blades gliding through letting everything dangle.....

I believe they were trying to raise awareness of how vulnerable cyclists feel when riding through London. You wouldn't catch me doing it though!

People were lining the streets in amazement, but you'd be surprised how many people were taking photo's......I won't be gracing you with any as I didn't take 1 single one.

We did quickly dart into the National Gallery for culture of a different kind!

All in all a great weekend.

PS - Sorry my photo's are a bit random - I either forgot to take photo's or it was just too busy to click away.

Things to love and disasters......

2011-06-10T00:37:00.000-07:00

Loving the glorious flowers in the garden at the moment, despite the fact it's been so dry up to now, the flowers, in particular roses seem to be flourishing.

Loving my vintage perpetual calender which I picked up for hardly any money. When you see something you've been wanting for long time and for such little money - you almost think it's too good to be true, but this one was perfect. We tested the date, month and day and they worked!

Loving the colour of these scales. It is a bit of a faff lining everything up first but I'll get used to them.

Onto disasters - I saw a great recipe for Strawberry Fudge - and so so easy. Gave it a go - the smell was heavenly. As I was stirring it whilst boiling I noticed it was rather runny and wasn't getting to the right consistency. Had a look at the ingredient list again - I had put in too many strawberries and not enough evaporated milk (in theory 1 should have cancelled the other out as the liquid in the strawberries should have made up for the milk) but obviously the milk acts as a thickener (I assume).

This is the result - it tastes wonderful, looks like sludge and requires scooping out.......there's always next time!

My second disaster wasn't actually as bad as I had thought. All for exercise and de-stressing etc etc, I've been getting on my bike and doing a 30 minute cycle a few times a week. Yesterday was no different to any other day, but on my return home I noticed that my finger had turned purple and it was very painful. Thinking I might have cut the circulation off I started waving it around. No joy. I did cut the same finger with pair of scissors on Sunday so my immediate thoughts turned to gangrene (yes I worry in extremes!).

I trotted off to Boots to ask the pharmacist what they thought. She immediately said I had burst a blood vessel in my finger. It will be painful but not life threatening (she read my mind). What a plank eh?

I won't show you a picture of it as it's pretty yucky.

Thank heavens we're off to London this weekend. It's my birthday on Monday so we thought it would be a nice break to spend it in London. I'll report back next week!

Have a great weekend.

Just Because.......

2011-06-03T00:03:00.000-07:00

Not one normally for fancy picnic baskets, I spotted a very pretty one in a magazine a while ago. The fabric inside looked very Libertyish but at £50 it wasn't something I really wanted to consider, so completely dismissed it.

A couple of weeks ago, I spied the same one (which actually comes from BHS) for half price and free delivery - well, the opportunity was too good to miss and it was calling out to me!

Being pink and floral was definitely attractive.

I'm anticipating putting it to good use this summer during all the warm weekends we'll have (she hopes). Only for 2 people though, so our usual picnic ware will have to be used for the boys, not that they will care though, as long as they're fed and watered.

Long live the English summer!

I hope everyone is enjoying the half term, I'll catch up next week with lots of other bits and bobs.

Have a good weekend!

PS - Sorry if my comments have been far and few between - I've had real problems with Blogger in not letting me sign in and leave comments - bah humbug.....

From crate to shelf

2011-05-24T02:47:00.000-07:00

Morning all - it seems ages since I posted, a week to be precise! Another half term looms, then it'll be count down next term to the summer holidays. It does seem like an extremely quick academic year don't you think?

Anyway, back to the title of my post. For quite a while hubby had been complaining about how the shelf space throughout the whole house (slight exaggeration) was crammed full of needless stuff and how he didn't have enough space to put his books etc - yes I know, get the violins out!

As there was space in the bedroom for a shelf we decided to hunt down something that would fit the bill. Unfortunately nothing did, but I had spotted in a magazine that someone had displayed their wares in an old crate which was hung on the wall.

As we had one lying in the shed, I thought it would be ideal. It was slightly too deep and a little overbearing due to the dark coloured wood on a pale wall. Some slight modification and a lick of bubble gum pink paint (very girly I know), a new shelf was born!

I have temporarily taken over some of the space (I promise!) as you can see.

All in all a solution which didn't cost a penny!

Have a good day!

Happy Days

2011-05-17T03:05:00.000-07:00

were celebrating hubby's birthday this weekend and taking a little jaunt to a cider farm - hubby's idea of heaven!

getting a heart racing moment spying lots of charity shops on the way to the cider farm

walking in and actually feeling mighty pleased at the 'rich' pickings on offer

and even more heart skiperty skip moments when I spied beautiful coloured cutlery at only 15p a piece

eating a freshly made pear, chocolate and hazelnut cake

finishing off a couple of WIP's

(please double click to enlarge)

Enjoy the day!

Something old, something new

2011-05-10T01:38:00.000-07:00

At the weekend I picked up an old metal mop bucket, which had seen better days, but I liked the colour and thought I could put it to good use by planting a cheery Margarita plant in it. My original plan was to plant some strawberries in it, but mop bucket and food didn't sit too comfortably with me!

I had no plans either to make a blind, but you know when you get a sudden urge.....and my blind was it. I had all the supplies including 2 rings to thread the ribbon through - it's not often a plan comes together when you don't have to trot to the shops to pick up what you need.

Hubby thinks it's completely useless (from a functional point of view) as it's a faff rolling it up and doing the bows before it goes wonky - but it looks good!

There's lots of stuff I have to do this week, but it's also SAT's week for the Year 6's so I feel it may not be that productive. Yesterday went well but I feel as the week goes on, we may well have to walk on egg shells. This is just a warm up I guess, as tests and exams next year will become the norm, which won't be good for my stress levels, never mind Toby's! I'm glad I have one chilled out son though.

Right, onwards and upwards.

TTFN.

Childhood Nostalgia

2011-05-06T03:08:00.000-07:00

As a child I was never one for playing with dolls, I much preferred colouring, reading and drawing. Now in my adult years, I keep being drawn to childhood toys and DOLLS.....

I bought this doll a little while ago - she's from the 50's I think and has her original clothing.

My 2 boys' thought it was hilarious that she didn't have pants on?? - typical boys! I did chuckle to myself as I sat brushing her hair thinking about how I will have to learn how to make dolly clothes.

Over Easter my mum gave me back my old suitcase which I've always thought about and didn't realise my parents still had it. Not a huge suitcase but one I used to take to school when I was 5 - always with a clean hankie in and I always remember putting my cardigan in it too. I was so pleased when I saw it, and just how I remembered it.

Over the past few years I've been recollecting Enid Blyton books, Ladybird books etc. Whilst out and about last week I saw a little wooden shelf which was ideal for housing and displaying some of the Ladybird books - I think it must have been made for them.

I also spotted this

another game from my childhood - of course I had to buy it.

It's funny how many of us are drawn to childhood toys and books - I wonder if future generations will too?

Have a lovely weekend.

Time

2011-05-03T10:06:00.000-07:00

seems to be whizzing past at the moment - maybe something to do with the long, extended weekends - who's to complain at that?!

Our weekend started on Thursday afternoon following a school picnic. All the children came home with wedding cake, Union Jack hat, flag, and mug with the happy couple on the front, the date, and school name on the reverse. A lovely touch I thought.

Friday gave me the perfect opportunity to sit down for the entire day, something I very rarely do, and embrace the Royal Wedding in all it's glory. It was wonderful to see London looking lovely and everyone enjoying the day. The country needed a little boost and that was it.

Whilst sitting, I managed to get some bunting made, aptly named 'Happy Days'

(Please click to enlarge)

Quite appropriate I thought!

Lots more to share later on in the week - hopefully normality may resume at some stage!

Back to it

2011-04-26T00:54:00.000-07:00

but only for 3 days! Hello all - did you have a good Easter, eat plenty of chocolate, enjoy the Easter break, and more importantly relish in the glorious weather?

We did a bit of everything, sightseeing, relaxing, lots and lots of walking, enjoying time with friends and just a small amount of car booting (my first this year)!

The boot sale came up trumps for me - this stack of 9 Beryl Woods Ware plates were £1.00. I spotted these at the end and was surprised no one had picked them up, so I dutifully obliged!

Jigsaw - 10p

Set of coloured handled knives - 50p

2 books - 10p each (my camera won't seem to upload the photo's on those so I can't show you) but 1 was an Enid Blyton book and the other a Ladybird Book - The Enormous Turnip.

Not bad heh?

Anyway, enjoy the peace for those who's children are back at school! See you later on in the week.

Colour

2011-04-15T04:49:00.000-07:00

A splash of colour to end the week -

Pretty pink fabric

Daring yellow nail paint

homemade iced buns, yum yum

and my super duper purchase of the week - a set of 4 Gaydon Melmex cups and saucers

Have a lovely weekend!

I really shouldn't

2011-04-07T23:54:00.000-07:00

get started on something else, especially when there's work to do, planting to be done, chores to get through, but what the heck, I'll do it anyway!

I was doing a spot of tidying up earlier on in the week and saw an article I had cut out depicting vintage yoyo quilts. Traditional yoyo quilts were made from using small scraps of fabric and as I have an over run basket full of them I thought it was another way of using up some of them.

Apparently, they were made in the thousands as each would be about 1" in diameter. I'm making 2" ones and as you can see I've made 1 but cut out lots of circles - I may be some time doing this!

It was also a project undertaken by a number of people - ha ha (only me doing this one).

It doesn't need to be backed or bound as the quilt should be double thickness due to the construction of the yoyos. Mine will be vintage by the time it's finished.....The question is, will I continue with it or will it end up on a pile of other WIP's?????

The other day Vintage Vicki was offering to send 2 ladybird books she had picked up. One of them was The Gingerbread Boy which I haven't got. I was fortunate enough to be the first to say I would like it. Vicki promptly sent it and yesterday it arrived all beautifully wrapped. Thanks Vicki!

Easter holidays start later today so I'll sign off for a few days - enjoy whatever you are going to be doing!

Allsorts

2011-04-05T01:04:00.000-07:00

Count down here till the end of the week when our school breaks up. I worked out that the boys' are at school for a grand total of 9 days this month! Jack's off today with a nuisance cold and cough. My throat's a bit scratchy....really don't fancy catching it.

I hope everyone had a lovely, restful Mother's Day. For once Toby's football was on a Saturday so we had a rare Sunday off and to make the most of it we trotted off to a NT which was beautiful. On the way I spotted a rather large car boot which got me excited. I've never seen so much tat in one place. There wasn't even a hint of a bargain. Never mind, early days.

Hughenden Manor used to be the home of Benjamin Disraeli and where Queen Victoria used to visit. It always amazes me when walking round places like Hughenden that such iconic people walked where we were.

The gardens were glorious, in particular the kitchen garden - oh to have a walled garden!

I was very lucky as for my Mother's Day treat I was bought Mr and Mrs Salt and Pepper from CK. Almost too good to be used, but are now full ready to go.

Right, off to knit some more bunny egg cosies and be nurse for the day (wish me luck!).

Two types of gardening

2011-03-30T01:18:00.000-07:00

I don't want to tempt fate, but here in my little spot of the world, we've been enjoying some great weather, and there's no better time to do a spot of gardening when it's like this.

Not having managed any at the weekend, I thought I'd use half an hour yesterday to do a spot of planting. At the back of the garden is an area where the grass has died due to the overhanging trees, so rather than grass seed it which we've done previously, I added a few colourful plants which all being well will survive in dappled shade.

Forget me knots, primroses and something else which I can't remember. I've also got some wildflower seeds which apparently I can just scatter (my sort of planting!). The mix is great for butterflies which is always good.

The blossom in the front is finally falling - it looks like pink snow. In previous years I've always swept it up but this year I think I'll leave it. The bumble bees must like it as the tree is buzzing with them.

Onto gardening of a different kind - I've had this miniature greenhouse (as in dolls house size)

for a few years, and I got round to painting it about a year ago and purchased a couple of little items. Since then it's been neglected on my shelf so I think it's now time to bring it back to life and add some further little pieces to it.

What do you think?

You can't beat

2011-03-25T01:06:00.000-07:00

it being Friday (especially after having a pesky week)

finally spotting something worthwhile in a charity shop

watching seeds popping their little heads through soil

making homemade roasted red pepper and sundried tomato bread

winning a lovely pair of earrings from Mimi and Tilly

being awarded the Liebster Blog award from the lovely http://prettyatheart.blogspot.com/

picking a fragrant bunch of hyacinths from the garden

and looking forward to a nice glass of cold white wine later this evening

Have a good weekend!

Happy Birthday

2011-03-22T02:39:00.000-07:00

dear Toby, Happy Birthday to you!

11 today and I'm sure he's grown even more in the night.

What a shame to go to school today - having said that, he did have a very embarrassing (but nice) incident this morning.

Whilst waiting for the school gate to open, the children normally stand and chat which is what Toby and all his friends were doing this morning. There was a shriek behind me from a group of girls shouting Happy Birthday to him - one of the girls walked over and gave him a card and present. Of course that provoked lots of hilarity from the group. Poor old Toby (who is quite shy) went completely red, gave me the present and walked off down the path.........what a lovely thing to do though.

I can only imagine how embarrassed he was! I'm sure in a few years time it'll all be different.

I'll leave you with a photo of our cherry tree which is full of beautiful marshmallow blossom.

Have a good day everyone.

Fake v Real

2011-03-19T04:50:00.000-07:00

Hi Folks, I can't believe it's a week since my last post........how has time passed so quickly, and within that time there has been huge devastation in Japan of such magnitude. It's so sad, and does make you re-think your own concerns and gripes.........

Life here has been moving on, we have another birthday to celebrate on Tuesday, Toby will be 11 (teenage years approaching!). He's off Go-Karting with a friend and hubby - any excuse!

Jack and I have had a nice morning feeding the ducks along the river, and then the obligatory nose round the charity shop! More of that next week.

Back to my title - fake v real - of the leafy, flower variety. As much as I love having real flowers in the house, I can't always justify the cost. At the moment it's OK as daffs are so cheap and cheerful. It dawned on me a while ago that I've actually got an awful lot of faux plants and flowers - I think they've come an awfully long way since the days where they were just 'naff'. (or maybe you still think that!).

I love having them dotted around as they brighten up a room day in day out. My latest addition is this pretty floral garland which I've draped over the dresser.

(click to enlarge)

Here's a selection of some of my other's

What's your opinion on fake v real?

Finishing off

2011-03-11T00:32:00.000-08:00

Thank you all for your lovely comments regarding Country Living - they were all very much appreciated.

In between the excitement of that and of the secondary school place, I have actually managed to finish off a couple of 'things'. If you remember, I redecorated our bedroom a little while ago and there was a huge empty space above our bed which needed filling. As I have on previous occasions purchased some prints from the London Transport Museum, I thought I'd take a look online to see if they had anything new in.

I wasn't disappointed - they've got a whole 'Spring' collection range which is such a feast for the eyes. It was difficult to know which to purchase, but here's what I chose as I thought it went well with the colours in the room.

Another finished project was from this

to this - my Puff-Ball Flower Wreath as I've commonly named it!

I've now got to muster up the enthusiasm to complete all the other WIP's before starting anything else!

Have a good weekend!

Not one but two

2011-03-08T03:13:00.000-08:00

Any free press when you have your own business is always brilliant, but when I got 2 pieces of publicity in the same month, I couldn't believe my luck, one of them being Country Living Magazine!

Back in December I had an email asking me to submit my bunny egg cosy to potentially go in their Emporium pages for the April issue. I dutifully fulfilled the request and then dismissed it as sometimes it doesn't always happen.

Around the same time I had another request for the same product to be placed in Making magazine.

I followed them both up in January and yes, I was/am lucky to be in both magazines!

Here's Mr & Mrs bunny which appears on my website

Here are the 2 magazine photo's

I'd better get knitting!!

She breathes a sigh of relief

2011-03-04T00:28:00.000-08:00

Brrrr, here's to freezing conditions again! I thought we had turned a corner with the weather, but not to be, Maybe next week!

As you know on Tuesday we were anxiously waiting for news of the 'chosen' secondary school..........and we got it, phew, but not without some trauma as the day went on. We had applied online and if you applied in this way, you would get an email notification letting you know. I thought this might happen first thing in the morning. As I sit at a laptop all day and get emails throughout, my heart kept jumping every time an email came through.

By 11am I still hadn't hear anything, so thought I'd phone the council who told me that the notification would arrive some time that day. The afternoon arrived and I had to pick the boy's up from school. I put my phone on silent whilst driving as I get emails on my phone too. Picked the boy's up, still nothing. We got to a set of traffic lights which had just turned red and I know we have about 3 mins before going green. Made the mistake of looking at my phone and there it was 'Web Admissions Application'.

Chucked the phone at Toby and asked him to read it out. Oooooooh, I was a happy bunny when he said he had been 'Allocated' at the chosen school.

We then discovered later that evening that his close friend who actually lives 275 yards from our front door - didn't get in............That's how close it was to us not getting in 2 7 5 yards. Can you believe it? I felt quite sick to the stomach.

So that's that. Hopefully we won't have to go through the same stress when it comes to Jack's turn in a couple of years.

Work for obvious reasons has gone out of the window this week, but I have started on something new - here's a sneek peek

Do you also like my new friend. I couldn't resist picking him up a while ago.

Hobbycraft have still come up trumps with their Easter related goodies. Not sure what I'm going to do with them, but they're injecting some wanted colour at the moment.

Have a good weekend and see you next week!

Whoosh...........

2011-02-28T00:44:00.000-08:00

Wow - that half term went quickly didn't it? I must say, this week starts off with some trepidation as we find out tomorrow which secondary school we've got........so much for choice......I just hope it's the right one. Keep your fingers crossed. I'm stressed to the eye balls about it, whereas hubby is taking a calmer approach with the attitude of he'll worry about it if he needs to tomorrow. I don't think men have the same emotional attachment with these sorts of matters!

Anyway, last week saw my new role as taxi driver to the two boys - fetching them here, there and everywhere. I did manage to sneak in some gardening which felt wonderful. It was only 10 minutes picking up leaves and clearing twigs and cutting back a few plants, but it's surprising how much difference it makes just doing that, and it's great to see new life emerging.

I also made this watch pincushion

from the Jean Greenhowe's Bazaar Knits booklet - lots of quick and easy projects, it was quite satisfying completing something! My list of WIP's is ever growing, some of which I now don't fancy doing, em....

Lot's of baking was done, yum yum, including these Coconut and Lime Macaroons.

The recipe came from the BBC Good Food website which I'm a great fan of. The only problem I have when making these is that they always seem to crumble. They tasted anyway.

Anyway, have a good start to the week and I'll let you know how we get on with the secondary school choice later in the week, aagahhhh....

Flying high as a kite

2011-02-23T00:32:00.000-08:00

Toby's school project a few weeks ago was to make a kite out of anything we had/fancied. In our case a bin bag and bamboo sticks did the job. Not only did he have to make it, but he had to see if it would fly - fortunately it did!

I've always loved kites and as a child I always wanted to fly high up in the air on the end of one - freedom!

Coupled with his project and my love for kites I thought why restrict them to outdoor use - why not make one out of fabric, purely for decorative purposes which I did

again

and again

My next task is to make some little ones in bunting form which would be great strung through trees in the summer and great for parties. Watch this space!

Hope everyone's enjoying half term. Isn't it great not to do the school run?

Happy 9th Birthday

2011-02-16T00:31:00.000-08:00

to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Jack, Happy Birthday to you!

Even brothers can show an act of kindness and love, just for 1 day!

Have a wonderful day (even though you're at school!).

Flurry of activity despite it being some ridiculous hour of the morning.......

See you when I'm back in the land of the living.....

Brighten the day

2011-02-10T01:46:00.000-08:00

Earlier on in the week, the weather was glorious - hope you had plenty of sunshine and blue skies too?

I didn't quite realise what a difference a sunny day does to my mood. It's been so yucky for so long you get sucked into feeling exactly how the weather is. Maybe age has something to do with it?!

Anyway, I thought I would brighten up this damp and dreary day (hopefully) by showing you my completed curtains - yippee.

I'm really pleased with them and unlike the hall curtain where squares were made up of multiple triangles, I went for a more simpler square. I never find constructing and sewing it the problem, or indeed the tabs at the top, it's the laying out, measuring and cutting of the lining. Each curtain is big and laid out took up most of the lounge floor so you can imagine trying to do the lining was a little tricky.

I was then worried about making the other curtain not exactly the same length as the other one, but after lots of cussing and sweaty palms, I got there. I've also repainted the room so it's very cheery. The other 3 males in the house don't like the colour - tough really.

Lastly, my bargain vintage lucite rosebud necklace off Ebay. The photo doesn't show clearly the lovely shade of green it is unfortunately.

I'll sign off now till next week - it's Master Jack's 9th birthday on Wednesday and we've got a little party this weekend for him so my head will be full of baking, wrapping and clearing up!

Have a good weekend!

Can a girl get excited

2011-02-05T04:29:00.000-08:00

over a few brightly coloured plastic mixing bowls

or over a green pair of scissors

a pink potato peeler

a green sieve

a yellow plastic jug

or a few plastic kitchen tools

Sure, why not? (especially when the whole lot was less than £6 from Wilkinsons!).

Have a good weekend!

A theme

2011-02-01T05:54:00.000-08:00

Thank goodness for the 1st February. Not quite out of the woods yet, but verging on it. Isn't it great to have slightly lighter early evenings now?

Due to the incessant darkness of winter, I've been drawn to bright colours at the moment and it had only dawned on me whilst curtain making and decorating that there's definitely a theme going on! -

What colours are floating your boat at the moment?

Something for the weekend

2011-01-28T06:47:00.000-08:00

When it's cold outside, what you need is comfort food to gently ease you into the weekend.

Marmalade cake courtesy of Nigel Slater -

made with homemade Seville orange marmalade

and a slice or two of Hot Cross Bun loaf loaded with peel, fruit and cinnamon.

Have a great weekend!

New Skills

2011-01-27T02:03:00.000-08:00

Thank you all for your encouraging words on my last post regarding my minor sewing disaster - mistakes will happen.....

Whilst flicking through some books the other day, I came across one I hadn't browsed through in years.

Many of the projects are now out of date but I liked the look of this one - Braided Rug

You might need to click on it to enlarge it.

"Apparently the first fabric-strip floor coverings were made at a time when new cloth was in short supply. Their distinctive muted appearance came from the use of mixed fabrics, recycled from clothing and domestic textiles, as few of the early makers could afford the luxury of planning a special colour scheme for their work."

I have an ever growing pile of fabric strips which I do get utilised for various projects but I thought this one would put them to good use too.

You basically need to take 3 fabric strips of about 2.5" wide (length doesn't matter). Put a few stitches through them at one end (to keep them together) - then plait away! until you reach the end when you add some more stitches. Don't worry about being too precise!

Keep making plaits until you have your desired number, stitch them into one long length, coil them round adding little stitches to keep the coil together.

Make coasters, mats or indeed rugs which I'm hoping to do - I'm not sure how long it'll take me, but I'll squeeze a few plaits in between other jobs.

I'll let you know once I've made a rug!

Lessons

2011-01-24T01:49:00.000-08:00

Here we are again, back at the start - hope everyone is well?

On Friday I started a new make, but realised I couldn't finish it as I didn't have enough interlining - how frustrating! On Saturday I set too to have it completed - little did I know there were going to be a few problems......

Lesson 1 - don't try and complete something when you're tired.

Lesson 2 - don't even attempt anything new when you're in a bad mood.

Lesson 3 - don't keep going, waste a whole day and end up fudging it.

Em - I didn't want to leave it and waste Sunday trying to finish it, and maybe I should have done as once it was finished I was so frustrated with it, it ended up in the bin (it did promptly get removed).

On reflection, 1 mistake then spiralled out of control so I know for next time (ha ha). When cutting out the top layer of petals against the backing fabric and then the interlining, I didn't number them so when I tried to then line up the 3 layers, they didn't which is why there's some puckering (I did clip the edges!). Grrrr

Meanwhile, I have been enjoying success with my ever growing crochet blanket, which I've oddly named the ice cream blanket. I'm not sure how big I'm going to make it but it does cheer me up!

New Life

2011-01-20T01:47:00.000-08:00

Having had a couple of glorious but cold days this week, I took myself into the garden to have a wander and to will Spring on!

The birds seem chirpy enough at the moment - maybe they're glad of the sun too.

Despite the frost, despite the leaf mountain across the garden, despite broken branches, twigs and dead foliage, I do believe there's a glimmer of hope emerging from the ground -

the snowdrops are beginning to come out, my bulbs are poking themselves out of the ground

my most favourite of all Spring plants - the primrose, resolutely flowering in these chilly conditions

Even the fungus and thought 'what the heck'

Long may the sunshine continue and banish away our winter blue's.

I must say thank you to Andrea and to Hannah for awarding me the Stylish Blogger award.

Now, I'm not very good at awarding these as there are so many fantastic blogs out there and in my view all of them are stylish, so I would like to pass this onto to all those I read. As for listing 7 things about myself - there's probably not a lot you don't know already! but there's perhaps one thing you don't -
I have a walk in cupboard in our bedroom and it's filled to the gunnels with stuff - handbags, perfume, toiletries, nail varnishes, pretty washbags amongst many others. When I'm having a 'glass is half empty' kind of day, I'll take myself off to my feel good cupboard to have a rummage!

Woolly balls

2011-01-17T01:27:00.000-08:00

Rain, rain, go away......well, that was a bit of a wet one wasn't it? Hope everyone enjoyed the weekend despite the rain.

My brain seemed somewhat jumbled this weekend and I found it hard to focus on much so spent most of the time flitting between projects and cooking, not a bad combination I guess.

Saturday morning was spent doing some domestic chores and while we were out, I spotted a proper greengrocers! Oh, I can't tell you how refreshing it was to see fruit and veg piled high tempting us to touch and buy, and did we ever. It made such a change not to have produce cellophaned in unnecessary packing. It might sound a little strange for those who have greengrocers local to them, but we, here, seem to be surrounded by supermarkets.

Having armed ourselves with lots of fresh produce, I set to on our return and made some roasted red pepper and vine tomato soup, chucked in some garlic and celery just for a few more vitamins! Now, I don't normally cost out meals, but having bought the produce in the morning I thought it'll be an interesting exercise - for £3.00 it fed all 4 of us. OK, it was only veg, but it was fresh, local, and we were supporting a shopkeeper which made me feel a little virtuous!

Back to woolly balls - last week I spotted this pretty wreath and thought I fancied having a go, using some vibrant colours.

So with one of these

some of those

to do this

you end up with a collection of these

and finally the finished article

I added a wired flower garland as I felt it just needed that bit extra. It was a very relaxing, easy project which is always good in my book!

Have a good day.

Injections of colour

2011-01-14T01:33:00.000-08:00

Phew, end of another week, pretty much half way through January already!

Fed up with drab and dull - synonymous with this time of year, I thought I would brighten up the end of the week with a few cheery photo's.

In between 1 school pick up and another, I popped to Hobbycraft to pick up some needed supplies. It was lovely to see the shelves full of Easter related products (I know it's a while off, but it's colour after all!). For £1.99 I couldn't resist this little felt basket.

Due to my increased love for crochet (having finally got somewhere with it), I treated myself to a few balls of cheery wool. Nothing beats that, don't you think?

My crochet is slowly developing - riddled with mistakes, but who cares!

Fabric - I bought this stash in the sale - a pair of patchwork curtains beckons, after all, it's almost a year since I made my patchwork door curtain! which you can see here. Still living with the stress of making that one, I thought I'd go for a simple square design rather than multiple triangles. I don't think hubby is impressed that the fabric involves flowers and the colour pink.......

Try and have a 'colourful' weekend!

Thrifty prettiness

2011-01-10T00:06:00.000-08:00

Hello - hope everyone had a lovely weekend. Wasn't the weather glorious yesterday - it really felt like Spring!

We trotted off to the big smoke on Saturday to see George's Marvellous Medicine (Roald Dahl) at The Bloomsbury Theatre which is owned by the University College London, situated near the West End, in fact 10 minutes from St Pancreas.

The beauty of going to this theatre is that the ticket prices are a fraction of what you pay in the West End, and you get lots of leg room! We couldn't justify several hundred pounds for a family of 4, however £62 for all four of us is well within reason.

The performance was staged by the Birmingham Stage Company - only 6 actors but absolutely brilliant and lots of interaction with us the audience. The boys really enjoyed it and so did we.

On our way back to the car, we had a walk round St Pancreas which is an incredible building and we enjoyed taking a look at the sushi bar, the longest champagne bar in Europe and watching where all the trains were coming and going. Having been to St Pancreas a couple of years ago, we always feel it's quite a calm place but I guess for those queuing for a ridiculous amount of time for a train, before Christmas it wasn't!

Back to thrifty - During the Christmas break I got a craft magazine which came with some pretty paper's - I never normally know what to do with them and end up giving them to Jack to do something with. This time I thought it might be nice to brighten up my shelf with some paper edging.

I cut 2 hearts out, sewed round the edges - you could glue them together. Stuck some recycled buttons on and tacked it to the shelf. It's come out quite well I think.

The Seville Orange marmalade season is approaching again (having only seemed like yesterday since I made some).

Now I know it can be tiresome peeling and chopping to make it, so I bought this

from Lakeland. It contains pure Seville Orange pulp and peel and claims to make 6lb, at a cost of £2.29. I thought I'd give it a go. All you need is sugar and water. Wow, what a difference - looked like marmalade, smelled like marmalade, and tasted like marmalade.

I got 6 respectable jars from it (1 in fridge already!), so from a cost point of view, I'm not sure how £2.29 compares to buying the oranges. I guess I'll wait till later on in the month to find out.

I thought I'd keep the tin as a plant pot as it looks quite retro.

Have a good day!

Silence is golden

2011-01-05T00:58:00.000-08:00

Well, here we are at the start of another year. The boys' are back today and the house is sooo quiet. When I look back at blog posts from earlier last year, it does only seem like yesterday I wrote them. Certainly, at the beginning of last year we had an awful lot of snow and the schools were shut on and off throughout January. Let's see how this month goes!

Like many I don't find January an exhilarating month for obvious reasons, but I'm holding onto the prospect of Spring (very soon I hope!).

Now we're into 'balmy' like conditions, or so it seems compared to recent weeks, the birds have made a welcome visit to the garden and have been chirping away to their hearts content. A sound I love. Yesterday we were lucky enough to see 3 Bullfinches gracing our tree.

To keep my spirits up this month, I will, and have been setting too on new makes with some colour, along with picking up my crochet hook. Having unsuccessfully tried for the last 2 years, I gave it another go the other night.

Here's the result so far -

I may well have cracked it, but bearing in mind I'm only going in straight lines, I might struggle with rounds again!

Bright and bold was the name of the game with this cushion and I love the fact it's so bright. The pom-pom trim at the sides was a bit of a pain but worth the hassle!

For the reverse, I put to use some old candy striped sheeting.

My next project was a hot water bottle cover using some left over Liberty fabric along with some polka dot fabric which I also used as lining in between fabric and wadding. Hubby thinks I'll only have it for display and he's probably right! Men, I don't think appreciate that some or indeed most things don't have to have a function or purpose......

Right, off for caffeine to be savoured in the peace and quiet.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T01:43:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a happy, and healthy Christmas and equally wonderful New Year!

Thank you to everyone who has followed me over the year and been kind enough to leave comments. When things haven't gone as well, it's been good to know that a simple blog post or a read of some wonderful blogs can change my perspective on things.

Here's to a healthy, prosperous 2011 and I look forward to doing a proper blog post next week!

xx

All I can say

2010-12-20T01:41:00.000-08:00

is I'm pooped! I've finally finished all my orders for Christmas and just returned from the PO for the last time before the big day.

The snow has come down (with more on the way today)

The Christmas tree is up

Decorations in every corner of the house

Chocolates and boxed clementine's laid out

baking begun

and completed Christmas table runner laid

so all that's left for me to say is

I hope everyone has a fantastic time and an equally Happy New Year! See you all in 2011.

xxxxx

Narnia

2010-12-10T03:09:00.000-08:00

Morning!

Wow, how time is flying, don't you think? With so much to do, the boys' breaking up next week and so little time left, I think it'll be a full on weekend getting stuff done. Normally I try and get Christmas bits and bobs done in between work, but work has fully dominated my days for the last 6 weeks. I'm hoping over the next few days it will slow down.

Anyway, earlier this week we woke to a really hard frost, so much so, it was like driving the boys to school through Narnia. I wish I could have taken some pictures as it was incredible. I did however, take some when I got home. It doesn't quite have the same visual impact when you're taking closer shots compared to casting your eyes over a wider view.

Apparently, the frost we had was called a 'Hoar' frost which forms when the air cools and the water condenses. Because the temperatures were below zero, it's called a hoar frost. If the temperatures were above zero it would be a dew frost (frozen water droplets).

The hoar frost is recognised by the delicate icy structures which completely fascinated me!

So, there you go, a lesson about frosts!

Whilst on the subject of this week, I took delivery of an early Christmas treat. I had seen on the lovely Folly and Glee's site such a pretty lamp, which I did ponder about getting for a little while. With encouragement by hubby I pressed the purchase button, and hey presto it was mine!

Here it is, pride of place next to the yet to be decorated Christmas tree. The lamp base is a lovely Christmas red and the shade has been made using vintage barkcloth depicting a community collecting maple syrup.
Unfortunately the light is so poor, my photo's don't do it justice.

Thank you Polly, I'm a happy bunny!

Right, onwards and upwards. Have a great weeekend.

Robins

2010-12-03T03:39:00.000-08:00

Morning everyone on another freezing cold day - this has to be a record surely??

Unlike many parts of the country, we haven't suffered too badly with snow, a couple of inches at best, enough for the boys to play in but not enough to keep them off school (great for me, not so for them!).

I think as long as you don't have to venture out in it and brave the roads in cars, I find the snow quite magical. This is the view from my 'work' room. As you can see not much.

I was however fortunate enough to spot Mr Robin sitting on one of the branches in the back garden. Every time I opened the window to take a shot, he flew off. In the end I managed one through the window, hence the lack of clarity.

(Please click on picture to enlarge)

Snow does go hand in hand with robins don't you think?

I found a poem about robins which I thought was quite fitting.

(please click on picture to enlarge)

I shall try and not make it a week before I post again! Have a good weekend. I'm determined to get some Christmas preparations done..........Stay warm!

Nostalgia

2010-11-26T00:35:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone is keeping warm, I think winter is officially here. We have yet to have snow much to the disgust of my two boys but to the relief of me!

I'm sorry I haven't been able to visit you all recently, every minute of my day has been filled up with ongoing work, but when I do get a couple of minutes to breath I find myself drawn to the nostalgia of childhood items where there were no stresses or worries and where time always seemed to stand still.

Puffin books (as I commonly call them) is one of my childhood memories. I know you can still buy Puffin books now, but I remember periodically getting the Puffin book list at school. The excitement of taking it home and pouring over all the books I wanted. Like with my two boys now, I don't resent spending money on books and my parents were more than happy for me to order a couple of books at the time.

When they then arrived (which seemed a life time) I used to smell them - there's something lovely about getting a new book and it being so crisp and untouched. Unfortunately most of my Puffin books went - but I still have a few and jump on them if I see them in charity shops.

If the book is interesting, it's a bonus - I'm attracted to the fact that it's a Puffin book and the memories they evoke.

Fuzzy Felt is another childhood memory. I used to spend hours and hours creating all sorts of scenes with it. Who would have thought that a few bits of felt stuck onto a board would bring pleasure 60 odd years since it was first bought out.

In times of stress and pressure, what do reflect on?

Something recycled

2010-11-18T01:34:00.000-08:00

Where is time vanishing? I can't believe where November's going. I keep meaning to blog, but have been weighed down with lots of work to keep me out of mischief.......

I feel Christmas will be upon me without much thought at this rate! Mind you, I have 2 boys who are itching for the big day already, in fact the eldest is the worst. (I'm not sure what he's hoping for!), but he reminds me frequently of the number of days left! By December, it'll be getting on my pip I'm sure of it.

I had such great intentions to make a new Christmas themed runner for the dining table, a bit of this and a bit of that but I really need to get some WIP's completed One I did manage to complete was this -

a modern version of the paper chain. Using simple knit stitch, it's a great way of using remnants of wool. Make them as long as you like and you know they'll never tear!!

Back to my title - recycling. During the summer I trotted along to the Cotswold Vintage fair which was fantastic. I purchased this lovely item -

I apologise to the ladies who made them as I can't remember who they were, but please put your hand up if it was you! The Golden Syrup tins are so iconic and turning it into a pin cushion is such a novel idea.

Having just finished the Black Treacle, I thought I might also turn the tin into a pin cushion - you can never have too many pin cushions and also a great way of recycling! The tin's are too nice to shove in the recycling box.

Lastly - has anyone been watching Turn Back Time - the High Street? Isn't it great?

Bye for now.

Ring Ring

2010-11-10T01:01:00.000-08:00

This is my latest bargain purchase.

I have been wanting one of this old phones for a while, but everywhere I've looked, they've either been too expensive, or have been reproductions. I got this one of Ebay for a good price and I love the colour of it. I do have to say, I get slightly unnerved when it rings as I'm not used to the traditional sound it makes!

This phone was made in the 70's and is in such good condition - all I needed to do was to plug it in! I had also forgotten the 'cup' they used to have at the back for carrying them around. Just think how many were discarded 20-30 years ago, and now they're back in fashion?!

Despite wanting to rebel slightly, I am being sucked into Christmas mode, mainly due to the Christmas orders I'm having to make. So, I've reluctantly given in and have given some thought to presents this year.

I made this at the weekend -

Peanut Butter fudge (a Sophie Dahl) recipe. Interestingly, Nina also made the recipe, but put a great topping on hers. I wasn't a great fan of Sophie's programme, but this recipe is great as it uses icing sugar which worked really well.

I thought I might make this and/or a variation to give as gifts this year. It's cheap, simple and I think it would make a nice present especially if it's prettied up (and that the recipient likes fudge!).

Despite the temperatures dropping considerably over the last few days, I still have a few flowers also determined to rebel!

Bye for now.

Now you see them now you don't

2010-11-05T02:15:00.000-07:00

Well folks, another week ends and this one just seemed to vanish!

I kept meaning to post a picture of our tree and it's glorious colour, but here it is last Saturday

and here it is now

- by Monday all it's leaves had dropped so I'm so glad I took a picture of it prior! The colours seem so beautiful this year, it's apparently due to all the mild weather we've had, the trees have been able to hold onto the leaves - hence we're seeing the colour on the trees, rather than on the ground!

This week has seen me catching up on outstanding and current work, but I did fancy a good route round our loft to pull out this fella -

I'm ashamed to say, I sold/donated a lot of baby related stuff many moons ago, but for some reason wanted to keep 'George'. My parents bought him for Jack one Christmas, just as he was beginning to walk.

He's still got all his fur and hasn't got that 'old' feel yet but I really felt he deserved coming into the warmth of the house so we can still appreciate him! Maybe in another 20 years he'll look old and worn and will be worth 3x the amount he is now....

I think I need to make him something though - maybe a little patchwork coat to put over his back??? what do you reckon?

Have a great weekend.

Back in the land of the living

2010-11-01T01:52:00.000-07:00

Hi folks!

I'm back! - I didn't think I would be away for more than a week but never mind. Thanks for all your lovely comments about my disastrous week I had, they were all really appreciated.

Last week was half term, so I thought it would be a good chance for a bit of R & R.........

We still had ongoing issues with Comet who, after 3 attempts still didn't rearrange the installation of our new Range. However, they did take the money for it and had the audacity when we asked for the refund to not refund all of it. It's now in the hands of the credit card company.

We ended up getting a chap who lives local to us, to fit it, and indeed charged us less than Comet did. He, whilst installing it, recounted lots of horror stories involving Comet, so it's a company I will not be using again.

Here's the newbie anyway, and I'm mighty pleased with it.

Half term was a flurry of activities, most of which I couldn't keep up with. We did take a trip to the big smoke and went to the British Museum, one I had never been to before, and what a fantastic place it was too. I forgot to take my camera so no photo's I'm afraid. It's great that we can visit the capital and take the opportunity of going to so many free museums, housed in such fantastic buildings.

As the boys' are looking at Egyptians at school, it was a good opportunity to go to the Egyptian room where the 'mummies' were housed. It's incredible that after all these years we are able to look at what the Egyptians did.

By the end of the week, I was pooped, so I thought why not take a trip to the Vintage fair in Frome for a bit of retail therapy - always good for the soul! It was extremely busy, but a great atmosphere with vintage music playing in the background.

I did resist a lot of things, but came away with Mrs Eiderdown (I did pick it up, put it down, walk away twice). Excuse the poor photo's - this weather is not conducive to good photo's!

I also added to my Practical Household magazine collection - this one is a Christmas issue so I'm looking forward to having a good read of it.

I love this vase with it's green lid.

This little plastic basket is so pretty. I've got nowhere to put it so will have to do some juggling around of a few bits this week I think!

Lastly, a dog book end which will look lovely propping up some old Enid Blyton books.

I hope everyone gets off to a good start this week. I'm craving for some normality, and more importantly, catching up on everyone's blogs!

See you in the week.

Would you believe me if I told you......

2010-10-22T00:59:00.000-07:00

Boo hoo, I feel quite sorry for myself this week. As each day has passed, I thought it could only get better, but in fact it's got worse.......

This week has been a whirlwind of extraordinary activity - a lot of which I knew about and lots I could control. However, at times things go wrong........

It started on Monday when I had a house full of boys and the boiler deciding to 'almost' self-combust. Not having a clue what to do, I made a desperate, almost ready to cry call to British Gas who told me to release the pressure. Of course, I hadn't a clue what they were going on about, but nevertheless it got done, someone came round and 'fixed' the problem.

Tuesday was parents' evening which fortunately went very well, although there are a couple of budding bullies in Jack's classroom which needed addressing as he has been on the receiving end of it........

Yesterday was when it all came to a head. We are due to have a range cooker fitted today and our old cooker taken away, but Comet ordered the cooker with Rangemaster but failed to book in fitters to install it, despite us paying and booking it in for the same day........so I have an existing cooker pulled out in the middle of the kitchen, a new one being delivered today but completely useless as we now can't get it fitted till next week.

Whilst still in a complete rage, I went off to pick the boys' up - got in my car and the ABS warning light came on...............

Within a mile radius of us, a lot of cars have had their ABS wires broken - I was the next victim. This is the bit where it becomes unbelievable - following an extensive police investigation and forensic analysis, they've discovered the culprits are in fact not human, but animal - squirrel........yes folks, you've heard it hear first.

Hubby had a good look at the cable under my car and it's quite difficult to see what or who has caused the damage - it's not a clean cut, but the squirrel thing doesn't sit with my logic. We've lived on the edge of a protected nature reserve for the last 10 years and in that time have lived alongside all sorts of wildlife, including lots of grey squirrels......

So, it's now Friday and I'm keeping everything crossed that nothing else happens. I've eaten my way through copious amounts of chocolate and the odd glass of wine this week so could do with a day off from it!!

With that now off my chest (sorry about that), I'll sign off for the weekend. Have a good one everyone and those with children have a good rest next week.

Toodle Pip.

Here kitty kitty

2010-10-15T08:21:00.000-07:00

Meet my new friend - sits quietly, no muck or mess and certainly no feeding!

It was whilst I was having a random moment, I thought I'd conjure up this little miss. Pleased with the result, I thought I'd add her to my website, although I'm tempted to keep her....

Whilst being on the random setting this week, I thought I'd make some of this -

Piccalilli! Probably a bit like Marmite - you either love it or hate it. We only tend to have it at Christmas and whilst watching River Cottage last week, and seeing how easy it was, I thought I'd give it a go.

I used cucumber, radishes, cauliflower and french beans. You have to soak them in salted water for 24 hrs, then boil the veg in sugar, distilled vinegar and ginger for 5 mins. Add mustard powder, flour and cumin a little while later, you have your Piccalilli.

Extremely easy, but the downside is that we've got to wait 3 months for it to mature. I think Christmas will be fine!

Still having empty shelves in my new 'larder' I made some very easy orange and ginger marmalade with regular oranges, sugar and crystallised ginger - scrummy.

Have a lovely weekend whatever you do!

Stitch away

2010-10-12T02:14:00.000-07:00

Hi folks,
Hope everyone is enjoying the glorious weather we're having - it's hard to believe the middle of October is approaching.

I guess most of you would know by now! that good old Cath has bought out yet another book, and what a feast for the eyes it is.

Good old fashioned cross-stitch (amongst others) using tapestry wool. I can't wait to get started on some of the projects. The book even comes with it's own kit. I'm ashamed to say that I haven't even made the bag from the last book.......Here's what you make with the kit -

I used to do a lot of tapestry sewing many years ago, then like many things it went out of fashion. With Cath now onto it, it's sure to be a huge come-back, although the price of kits are extortionate.

I was lucky to be bought a kit (many moons ago) so I think I'm now inspired to get on with it - I might get it finished for Christmas!

Back to the book though - I love the idea of a little seat cushion for a chair -

I'll leave you with a few more yummy photo's! -

Larder

2010-10-06T03:58:00.000-07:00

Take 1 husband, some wood, screws, other necessities, 1 cupboard under the stairs - and this is what you get

I have always fancied having a walk-in larder with lots of homemade preserves and such like stacked neatly on shelves. As we don't have one of those in our house, I thought why not utilise the cupboard under the stairs. OK, it's only semi walk-in, but I'm happy. It also forced us to get rid of all the junk which collects under there!

As you can see, there's plenty of shelf space. I prettied it up by adding some French fabric shelf edging, as well as covering the jars of preserves with floral fabrics.

I just need to make more jams now to fill it up!!

I took delivery yesterday of another project which does again require 1 husband!

I'm not sure how old it is, but I love the blue. It needs a really, really good clean and overhaul of the interior, and a repair to the handle, but once done I think it'll look great. What do you think?

Thanks for your well wishes with Toby's leg - it's slowly improving and we went back to the doctor's for a check-up and it's healing nicely although he does keep catching it which is inevitable really.

Bye for now.

End of the week

2010-10-01T02:07:00.000-07:00

Phew, end of the week at last! I've been meaning to post some photo's of the Isle of Wight earlier than this, but with one thing and another this week.........

A trip to A & E dominated the week. Toby played in a school football match and he got 'studded'. Unfortunately the stud got stuck into his shin and dragged down so he has a 1" deep gash!!! Yuck, yuck, yuck. Due to the fact it is a stud injury and the edges are too ragged, the hospital are unable to glue or stitch it so the wound is left open, so a lot of wound re-dressing is required (not my forte at all!).

Anyway, back to last weekend and the Isle of Wight. What I liked about the island was that you could drive from 1 place to the next without spending too long in the car. One of our first visits was to the Isle of Wight Garlic Farm.

The aroma of smoked garlic was glorious.

A little potted history about garlic and it's cultivation.

Cultivated garlic sets to purchase.

Next stop was the model village in Godshill. What a pretty little place to visit. The models were all done extremely well and were made using proper stone to give them their authentic look.

Even proper thatched roofs!

Model village within a model village -

Little people (you'll need to double click on the photo to get a better view of them!) -

Realistic church with bells ringing -

Here's a few more shots of the island -

Have a great weekend!

Welcome to

2010-09-28T03:50:00.000-07:00

Vintage Vacations on the Isle of Wight where much fun can be had spending a night or two in one of these.

A choice of 10 retro Airstream caravans, all refurbished in true vintage style.

Yes, folks, that's where we were at the weekend, and a jolly time was had by all! We set off on Friday afternoon (boys finish at 1pm), managed to catch an early ferry and we arrived safe and sound at our Airstream for 5pm. A quick 'tour' by Fraser, the owner and we were then left to our own devices to enjoy our weekend.

Here's ours -

First, sit down and savour a complementary cream tea, yum yum, while the boys ran round playing badminton (racquet's provided). We'll save the miniature bottle of Babycham for later!

Anyone for tea?

Let's take a tour -

Boys' had a bed each with the bathroom at the end (fully working shower and diddy sink). Toilet facilities were housed in a portabcabin further down the field.

A bit of evening reading -

Cheery bunting -

Lounge area (our bed)

Fully working original cooker -

Some friends' to share our weekend!

We really did enjoy the experience, even the walking across the field in a hoodie and polka dot PJ's! The Isle of Wight was lovely too. I'll share what we did later on in the week.

Memories

2010-09-23T06:04:00.000-07:00

I didn't think I'd ever get a chance to blog this week, it's been a whirlwind of activity, some good and some not so good.

Inbetween all of this, we've had brain numbing trips to various secondary schools, and I don't think we've undertaken such a stressful process. Like many parts of the country, getting into the school of your choice doesn't always follow and you have to think quite strategically, especially with secondary schools as the quality can vary greatly.

We have 2 good secondary school choices, 1 of which was in the top 40 Sunday Times list. Of course, everyone wants to go there, we live out of catchment, but go to an in catchment primary school (which does help). Anyway, whilst wandering around, it bought back many memories of my secondary school days.

This particular school does woodworking and we happened to stand and watch some of the lesson. I remember very vividly standing in my woodworking class one day and I must have had new shoes, probably about 12 yrs old. I looked down at them and they were browny/tan in colour and they had a tassle (all very grown up!). There was a mark on them, and I remember licking my finger and bending down to wipe it off! That's it - nothing about the class, nothing about what I was making, but I just recall the shoes.

Funny what we remember!

Moving on - my mum has recently given me back this book from childhood -

Not sure how old I was, but I loved the pictures, this was my favourite poem. The Jumblies seemed so sweet with their blue hands and green faces!

Interestingly enough, the author says "I have made this book especially for you; but not just for you, also for myself; not the present, grown-up self but the old self, the one left behind in childhood. In memory, I have gone back to those days and I have tried to recall some of the verses I learned and loved then, and have drawn them as I remember them..............I want to make you look again at things, always noticing something new which you missed at first - the shape of a leaf - the wonderful colours of berries and flowers - the birds and animals and insects - all there for you to see if you will stop a moment"

Don't you think that's so true? Certainly very poignant for me this week.

What do you vividly recall from your childhood?

My cool caravan.........

2010-09-17T01:27:00.000-07:00

I have been yearning for this book for a while, and finally got it a couple of days ago.

It certainly didn't disappoint - what glorious photo's

I've spent (as a child) a good many holiday's in a caravan and my mum recollects fantastic holidays she had as a child in a caravan. Caravan's for a while became a little passe, but they seem to be making a revival as more and more people are staycationing.

I'm not sure whether I could immerse myself in the whole caravan 'thing' but would quite cheerfully have one in the back garden to 'play' with. Having said that, we are off for a little jaunt next Friday evening, to take a ferry to the Isle of Wight and staying in one similar to this for 2 nights -

There's only 10 Airstreams on site so quite an exclusive affair, and all decked out in vintage style (right up my street).

We booked it via a company called Vintage Vacations who were featured in Homes and Antiques magazine a couple of months ago. Now I do think this 2 night break in a caravan will be make or break. I think I'll love it, hubby and the boys think not, as trotting across a field to go to the toilet isn't appealing - where's their sense of adventure. I hope the weather's kind to us though!

Here's a few more photo's from the book

Have a great weekend!

Plums = Autumn

2010-09-13T01:19:00.000-07:00

Plums was the word of the weekend in our house.

I've never been one (up to now) to cook or bake what's in season, I tend to do what I fancy. However, plums are in season and very reasonably priced. So, keen to seize the plum (see what I did there!), I set too and dug out my trusty Preserves book.

Plum butter - yep, I fancied some of that. Having made Apple Butter a little while ago and established that there was no sign of butter (I'm intolerant to dairy), I had a stab at making some, and boy was it worth it. Yesterday was the turn of the plum. It's quite simple really - sugar, water and fruit pulp which you boil until thick. I'm not sure why fruit butter is called fruit butter, but you do get a lovely intense fruitiness - I added some spices for extra flavour.

I halved the quantities and got 2 jars from 750g of plums.

Some of the left over plums was turned into a crumble. My Good Food calendar has a scrummy recipe for Maple Plum Crumble. I also dug out an easy recipe for Plum Cake. So, for £2.00 worth of plums, it actually turned into a thrifty weekend!

Always keen to keep my website uptodate with new goodies, I used some pretty fabrics for some 'vases full of hearts' which I then framed. All being well, hubby will get it added to the website today. I know I've got to make some Christmas goodies to add on, but I just can't bring myself to think about Christmas yet, especially when the weather was as glorious as it was yesterday.

I'll leave you with a picture of our resident 'fungus'. It's been growing steadily over the last week or so and we've all been fascinated by it, so I thought I'd share it! Unfortunately during the night it took a tumble so you can only see the top of it.

Toodle Pip

Vintage this and vintage that

2010-09-09T02:17:00.000-07:00

Whilst on holiday (which does seem like an age ago), I managed to pick up some pretty bits and bobs along the way.

I had always yearned for one of those old Enid Blyton style school posters from the 50's and when we went to Totnes (This 'n' That) - I managed to get one! It was quite dangerous as there were so many tempting goodies and Lesley who owns the shop was lovely to chat to!

Here's what I got -

The photo doesn't do these yellow melamine cups and sauces any justice at all!

Here's my poster, now framed.

The Vintage at Goodwood Festival was obviously a bit of a shopping mecca and I was lucky enough to pick these up, I think this stall must have bought the contents of an old shop as most items were in their original packaging, including these hankies and beauty set. I'm reluctant to separate them from the packaging so will leave them as they are for now.

A couple of pretty pink plastic hangers

Mr Fisherman

and finally my bargain of the year - a Cath oil cloth bag at half price.

Bye for now!

Here's some I made earlier

2010-09-06T02:06:00.000-07:00

Morning all - hope you are well? Good weekend?

We had quite a pleasant weekend. Still in my making preserves mode, I set too and made some Autumn chutney on Friday afternoon. I was pleased to read in the list of ingredients, that you could substitute apricots for blackberries. As there is a huge glut still on the hedgerows near us, the boys and I hopped on our bikes and picked what we needed. I love it when you can use free ingredients.

It's such an easy recipe, a case of pretty much chucking it all in 1 pot - sugar, vinegar, pears, cooking apples, onions and blackberries. Hopefully you'll be able to see the recipe if you click to enlarge it. In fact you can pretty much use any fruit you have.

Here we go, bubbling away.....looks great, but I'm not keen on the lingering vinegar smell chutney leaves, as you make it.

60 minutes later, you end up with a couple of jars. They suggest leaving it for 3 months, so it'll be good and ready in the run up to Christmas!

Saturday was off on a jolly to wander round Laycock Abbey, and what glorious weather it was. Yesterday saw us standing in the pouring rain watching Toby play a football match. Amazingly the rain started as we got there, and finished as we left - typical.

I did manage to complete another favourite project of mine - a cushion. Bit more tricky this time as it was round and I wanted to envelope it on the back - straightforward enough, and use fabric segments for the front so I traced the cushion onto paper and drew then cut segments for templates. I did remember to make them a little larger to allow for seam allowance etc......somehow it all went a little askew as the front ended up bigger than the back. I think it eventually turned out OK!

You would think trace, draw, cut and sew would be easy...em.

See you later in the week.

Not even a mouse

2010-09-01T01:51:00.000-07:00

Can disturb the silence in the house today! The boys' have gone back to school after 6 1/2 weeks off. In many ways it seems like a long time ago since they broke up, but driving to school and standing in the playground - it only seemed like yesterday!
I'm not going to miss the arguments which increased in numbers over the last week or two and the constant clearing up, snack and drink preparing, and endless washing! I am going to miss having them around, hearing their conversation, our cycle rides, trips out with friends and general relaxation.

But hey, onwards and upwards as they say. I hope everyone enjoyed summer and the August Bank Holiday, and here's to a balmy September!

Over the summer break, I did manage to complete my barkcloth patchwork cushion cover. For some reason the original cushion cover had become 'bleached' on both corners so as a temporary measure I had covered the seat with a wool blanket.

I've used the same wool blanket as a backing to the seat cover. I've made it big enough to tuck in on all sides so I can whip it out to wash it.

My most enjoyable quick and simple project was this -

The original lampshade was plain and quite dull, so I thought I would jazz it up using some scraps of fabric and gluing it to the shade. I'm quite pleased with how it's turned out. I'll hopefully get the other one completed today.

Right, I'm off now to make some secondary school open morning appointments! I think we've decided on what school we want Toby to go to next year, but what we want and what we get given might not be the same, in fact I'll probably bet money on it.

TTFN.

Highlights

2010-08-25T01:28:00.000-07:00

After spending a day at the Vintage at Goodwood festival, we then spent a week on the border of Devon/Dorset, and what a lovely week it was. Fortunately the weather was kind to us for the most part!

From beaching to NT properties, to fossil hunting to steam trains, to shopping to River Cottage, to boat roads to lots and lots of walking is the summary of our week. Not people to sit and veg for a weeks holiday, we certainly crammed a lot in.

It even took a lot to sit on the beach for a few hours! I wish I had taken a photo, but we got to Lyme Regis beach early and it was lovely and quiet. Got all our bits unpacked - the boys went off and did their thing. Within 1 hour I was beginning to feel hemmed in, a further 1/2 an hour later we had people sitting 6" in front, behind and both sides. I should have built a trench around us! On that basis, we had to leave. Too busy for my liking and not much fun when there's no sand left for the boys to build castles with.

Moaning over! The highlight of the holiday for me had to be Greenway's - Agatha Christie's home on the River Dart near Dartmouth. It only opened to the public last year and is a little troublesome to get to as there's only a car park for a dozen odd cars so you have to pre-book, otherwise you have to find 'greener' ways to get there.

The house and gardens themselves aren't the prettiest, but there was something quite magical about walking round the house Agatha Christie lived in. The views were superb. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take any internal shots but here's some external ones.

Here's a montage of the rest of the week.

Don't you just love holidays..............?

Hi Di Hi

2010-08-22T09:41:00.000-07:00

Hello all,

I'm back from our little trip-et away. Hope you're all enjoying the summer - I don't want it to end!

I won't overload you with too many photo's, so will split it in two - the first being the fantastic Vintage at Goodwood festival in West Sussex. It was an extremely good event, although we only went for 1 day, due to our already booked holiday. Not having been to a festival before, I wasn't too sure what to expect but it was great, although I'm sure it doesn't fall into traditional type festivals!

We were lucky enough to go on the only dry, sunny day (phew). We took our two boys which I was initially a little worried about as I was concerned about their boredom levels! I needn't have worried as there was a vast array of activities for children - most of which you could leave them (temporarily) whilst they busied themselves. In fact we ended up spending more time on their activities than enjoying ours!

The event was well organised and had some excellent activities, vintage caravans, vintage fairground, music, food, buses, a 'beach', vintage cars and bikes, stalls, shops and a whole lot more. One of my favourite displays was a 1940's allotment (I don't think it differs from one today but it was lovely nevertheless). It was wonderful to see so many people dressed in vintage clothing, hair and make-up done as it would have been in the 40's.

Here's a pictorial snapshot of a fantastic day. (You can probably click on the photo's to enlarge them).

Vintage buses laid on, transporting people from the local train station

In we go..........

Love the coloured cars

Oh, to drive round in one of these!

Sit a while and create......

Now, I wouldn't mind owning a caravan like this

Good old fashioned fun

Jack's (on the left) had fun!

Hopefully they'll be another festival next year!

Right, I'm off for a blog catch up.....

Splashes of colour

2010-08-08T23:50:00.000-07:00

Morning all - my, how the weeks are flying by - half way through the summer holidays already. Eek....

During the mad bustle of last week, a lovely little gift popped through the letterbox, and it certainly did a lot to cheer up the day! I took part in Pay it Forward which Jane from Marigold Jam was doing.

What arrived was a set of pretty pouches which Jane had adorned with decorative touches. Inside each pouch was a little treat - seeds, soap, and a lovely bookmark with one of her handmade Dorset buttons added to it. Thanks Jane!

I finally got round to uploading my photo's of the fabric I bought at Tikki in Kew a couple of weeks ago. There was so much choice, it was a job selecting my favourite's. I'm sure I'll find plenty to do with this lot!

At the till, I couldn't help but buy this ball of wall - no ordinary ball of wall as it's only diddy - standing at a mere 2.5" high. More for looking at rather than using!

Having worked 24 out of 48 hours getting orders completed over Friday/Saturday, I felt I was due a break yesterday so set to making a cushion with individual Yo-Yo's sewn on. I've also added vintage buttons to each one. I wish I had done them slightly smaller, but I'm happy with the finished article.

Right, onwards with a variety of activities this week. We're then off on a little jaunt, which includes a trip to The Vintage at Goodwood Festival, a trip which I'm very excited about!

I'll say au revoir for now and will catch up with you all soon.

Toodle Pip.

Bristol Harbour Festival

2010-08-02T23:50:00.000-07:00

The holidays are in full swing and as always, my ambitious plans (including blogging) seem to be going out of the window......and we're in August, how did that happen? The big C word will be upon us before we know it.

Anyway, back to the present. With thanks to our local news, we took a drive to the Bristol Harbour Festival on Saturday and what a fantastic event it was. What made my ears prick was the word 'Free' - always good when you have children! We parked at the SS Great Britain - £1.60 for all day, and wandered along the harbour taking in all the glory on the water.

I apologise for the variety of photo's - I forgot the camera and had to use hubby's super duper one on his phone, but then realised when we uploaded the photo's at home, some little person and put their finger over the lens so the photo's were blurred!

My favourite tent - Make do and Mend!

The activities for the children were great. Our two got involved in a spot of rope making, circus tricks and vegetable face making. Their favourite activity was puppet making. They then had to create a scene for their puppets, think of a storyline and then the organisers filmed their 'show' - to appear on You Tube later this week no less!!! They were highly impressed!

Another favourite was the humble bike - and using the power of peddle to generate electricity. The first 2 bikes were to generate a scalextric which required an awful amount of leg power! The next bike was to make pretty swirly pictures (almost like a potters wheel set-up but on the back of a bike). One person peddles and the other squirts paint on the paper to make a picture.

The last bike was to generate enough power to make a cheese toastie - and yes, in 6 minutes of peddle power you get a toastie - brilliant!

There were lots of concerts, stalls, food sellers, dancing and a whole load more. Great organisation and all free - thank you Bristol, we'll definitely be back again next year!