Contented

Quick Catch Up

Once again, it seems to have gotten to Wednesday and I have loads I was going to tell you, but didn't yet get around to it.  The seaside swap has been taking up a lot of space in my head!  So I'm just going to do a quick update instead, and then hopefully get back to normal, regular blogging again asap.

* Williams' school drama club production of Bugsy Malone was fantastic!  The kids had a total ball, William got "pied" and we all got squirted with silly string and water during the big fight scene at the end.  (And Joe was as good as gold for my dad - he can definitely babysit again!)

* I made the "prop" for Will's French themed costume (be warned, it is really corny, you will groan!)

 

It's a conker.  William the "Conkerer"!!  I know, I know, really bad joke but hopefully it might make the teachers smile!

* Sunday (wow, what a gorgeous day that was!) we were up at the in-laws and spent a really nice day with Peter's side of the family.

* Monday was spent just mooching about at home.  And although I have a million other things to be done first, I  actually spent some time working on a prototype of an idea I had for the swap.  You know when you get an idea in your head and it just won't stop bugging you until you act on it?  Yeah, it was like that, I'd had this idea and just couldn't rest until I'd had a go at turning it into reality.

And you know what?  It turned out really well.  So very happy me!

* Today, Joe got walloped by the Wii remote, when William was playing golf and took a swing when Joe was stood right behind him.  Got him right in the eye, which now has a lovely bruise, but thankfully seems otherwise ok.  And the moral of this story?  If you have the little rubber jackets for your Wii remotes then, FOR GOODNESS SAKE, USE THEM!  (Ours had been removed when playing Guitar Hero and never put back on again - they're back on now, we have learnt our lesson!)

I'm sure there was some other stuff but I can't remember (I should really start writing blog ideas in my to-do book!)  If you're on half term, then enjoy the rest of the break!

R x

Seaside Swappers!

Firstly, can I just say a huge thank you to everyone who has signed up.  As this is the first swap I've hosted, I really had no idea how many people I might get so the amount of interest and support has been wonderful. We have a total of 51 people taking part (which means I will have 2 partners as I couldn't bear to turn just one person away!)  I'm so excited and couldn't wait to find out who everyone would be paired up with, so have spent the morning writing out all the names and then pulling them out of the hat again.

Before I list all the participants, I should just mention that I did have a few queries from people, and so have introduced a few extra "rules" which you can find here.  Please do take the time to read it if you haven't already.  Also, if you do have an international partner, please check out the relevant customs regulations - Trashy kindly informed me that Australia, in particular, has very strict rules, especially concerning anything edible - so it's well worth double checking if you're not sure.

So, are you ready?  Here we go...

The Pink Peony         with         Working Mom Who Knits

A Thrifty Mrs            with        Ramblings of an Everyday Mummy

Seeking Simplicity    with        Simply Sanborn

Lisa Ridgeon            with        The Blueberry Patch

Mum-me                   with        Locuasia

Highway Cottage        with        Sew Love to Sew

I'm a Ginger Monkey    with        Fabric Nation

Jennyflower                with        The Rats Pajamas

Modernjax                with        Moogsmum

Dolly Dollop                with        JoJo Designs

Silver Pebble             with        Big Bucket Girl

Trashaloucan            with        Me Plus Molly

Woollywotnots           with        K.dot

One Frustrated Momma with    Sew Revived

Someday I'll Be        with         Smiler

Traceys Crafting Adventure with    Mary Poppins

Buttontree Crafts    with        Dotty Dotty

Periwinkle            with        A day in the life of a krafty gal

Tammy Sprinkle    with        Teacup Mosaics

Contented            with        Tiny White Daisies AND Protect the Cookie

Pink Feather Paradise with    A Bun Can Dance

Bex's Buttons        with        Lissylou & the 2 Little Boys

Hand Knitted Things with    Holly Goes Lightly

Amy Lane            with        Cakes Makes the world ...

Ruths Quilts        with        Frippery 

Phew, that took a while!  Please click on the link and go and say hello to your partner (and go and visit some of the other participants too, if you have time!)  If any of the links don't work please let me know asap so I can fix it.  Also, if anyone has any problems, needs to drop out or will be late sending their parcel, again, PLEASE do let me know so that I can try and ensure no-one is left disappointed. 

Don't forget, there is a Flickr group here, and the last mailing date is 31st July.

All that's left for me to say now is - get creating and HAVE FUN!!

R x

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is my dad's birthday.  We had a little birthday celebration on Saturday when my brother and his family were down from Oxfordshire.  We all clubbed together to buy him a photo printer, but I also knitted him a pair of socks as a little extra from the boys (that's what the secret knitting was!)

 

My dad's name is Harry, so when I saw this yarn I simply had to use it - Opal "Harry Potter" yarn, in "Harry" colourway!  It's a bit brighter than I expected, but it knitted up very nicely and my dad was very pleased with them.  He's having a nice, quiet day at home today, but we shall be seeing him again on Thursday, when he is going to babysit Joe while the rest of us go and watch William in his school production on Bugsy Malone (his choice, by the way, he's a bit deaf and probably wouldn't be able to hear what was going on anyway!)  Enjoy the rest of your day, Daddy!

Yesterday was spent getting quite a lot of sewing done.  I've finished the Georgina quilt top, and then decided to put together some scrappy blocks that I started ages ago, together into a lap quilt:-

 

I'm hoping to get this one finished in time for the summer fair, but as I have neither batting nor backing for it yet, it'll have to go on hold for the moment. 

I also made a start on a costume for William to take on his French trip, the week after half term.  On the last night they have a disco and have to dress up with a French theme.  Whenever they have a "dress up" day at school, I always try and think of something that will involve as little time/money being spent as possible, and I think we've come up with something really clever for this!  I'm not going to tell you yet, as I still have to make him a prop, but this is what I did to a shirt yesterday:

 

Enjoy the rest of your week!

R x

Swap etiquette

A few people have asked about guidelines/price limits for the seaside swap.  I must admit, I hadn't really thought about this before - when I joined my first swap I just saw the kinds of things that people swapped on their blogs, and based my swap gift on that - but I fully appreciate that it would be helpful to have a few more "rules" in place.  I had a quick search and found a couple of very helpful articles on swap etiquette here and here.  Personally, I enjoy swapping for several reasons - I like "meeting" new people and discovering new blogs, I like the challenge of making something to fit with a particular theme, something that I would perhaps not otherwise make, and, of course, I like receiving a lovely surprise in the post (who doesn't?)  As this is the first swap I've hosted, I really want it to go well and for everyone to enjoy taking part.  So, in the interests of fairness, I am going to suggest the following guidelines:-

*  I think it's lovely to receive a few items (always reminds me of opening a Christmas stocking - so exciting!)  so I would suggest you send 5 items - at least one of which must be handmade (you can make all of them if you like!)  What you make and how you make it is up to you - knitted, crocheted, sewn, embroidered, quilted, drawn, painted etc, as long as it fits in with the seaside theme

* PLEASE take the time to read your partners blog and get to know them, their style, colour preferences etc.  Try and put together items that you think they will like, something that they might not make for themselves (don't send a bag to a bag maker, for example).  It should also be something that you would love to receive yourself - even if their style is very different to your own, if you love what you have made then there is a good chance that someone else will too.

* I am deliberately not setting a price limit as I think this is such a tricky area.  I want people to be generous and send a lovely parcel but I also don't want people to feel under obligation to spend a certain amount (that they maybe can't afford).  Also, do you include the value of the time spent making your item?  Something sewn might take a lot less time than something knitted, for example.  However much you decide to spend (or not), it should be what you are comfortable with.  It doesn't have to cost a lot - use stuff from your stash, check out charity shops, go beachcombing!

* I would suggest that you make your parcel no larger than a large shoebox.  Most of you have said you are ok with posting internationally but if you think this might be an issue then please let me know.  If you haven't specified then I am assuming you are ok with it.

I hope this helps and that everyone is OK with this.  If you have any problems or further suggestions please do let me know.  Likewise, if anyone has to drop out or cannot make the deadline, please let me know so that I can try to ensure no-one is left disappointed.

Numbers are up to 40, so there are still 10 places left before sign-up closes next Friday.

Enjoy your weekend!

R x

Freestyle Swap

Today the postman brought me a parcel from Lisa at periwinkle, my Freestyle swap partner.  As usual, I had to resist the desperate urge to rip into everything straight away, and went and got the camera first!

 

 

Ooh, look!  Five lovely parcels!  I opened the smaller ones first,

 

Some fun cotton reel fabric, scrummy Green & Black's chocolate and a little candle that smells absolutely divine!

Next, I opened this one:

A knitted chicken!  I do rather like chickens and I especially love this one!  She is now sitting on the shelf behind me, with all my sewing supplies, and watching over me while I blog!  But I saved the best for last...

 

my very own ripple blanket!!  Oh my goodness, I cannot tell you how much I love this!  Lisa had made it to fit an 18" cushion, but said that, of course, I could use it how I liked.  Well, I think this will make a beautiful cushion cover so that is what I am going to do - I have been gradually replacing all the boring, plain blue cushions in our living room with a mish mash of different covers (I like the eclectic look!) so this is going to look perfect on my chair - oh yes, you don't think I'm going to let anyone else sit on it, do you?!  Lisa, you have absolutely spoiled me, what a wonderful swap partner! 

And now, of course, I can show you what I made for Lisa:

 

A Buttercup bag, in a lovely, soft, dove grey fabric, lined in purple,

 

a coordinating Birdie brooch,

 

and a little, embroidered, felty bookmark.  I really enjoyed this swap, it's just so nice to keep "meeting" all these lovely, crafty ladies!  So now my mind is moving on to the seaside swap.  I have loads of ideas swimming round my head, and cannot wait to find out who my partner will be.  I'm going to match people up using the incredibly high-tech method of ... pulling names out of a hat!  I think it's only fair to do it completely randomly.  There is still a week left to sign up if you fancy joining in!

In the meantime, have a great weekend!

R x

Swap update

Well, the response to the seaside swap has been amazing - to date we have 33 participants, including 6 from the States, 1 from Mexico, 1 from New Zealand and 1 from Australia!  I think I shall probably close sign ups if it gets as high as 50 - but there's still plenty of time to join in if you haven't already.  Alex from pink feather paradise has found a lovely photo that she is using as a swap button on her blog and she is very happy for us all to use it too, so here it is:

 

I still have no idea how to actually get it into my sidebar, or how to make it link back to the swap post I'm afraid (me+computers=clueless!) - I'll have to leave that up to you!

I have also set up a group on Flickr for the swap here - please feel free to join in, post pics of seasidey inspiration, works in progress, sneaky peaks etc, as well as your finished swap items once they have been received. I'm very excited about this - we have a huge range of styles and crafts so far, so I can't wait to see all the different interpretations.   Don't forget to check back here on the 23rd/24th to find out who your partner is.

In the meantime, I'll leave you with a little bit of practice embroidery that I did yesterday and turned into a brooch:

 

do you see those lovely French knots?!!  I can do them, at last!  Hooray for youtube!

R x

Seaside Swap 2009!

Thanks so much for all the comments on the last post - it was a resounding "YES!" in favour of my seaside swap idea, so here we go!   Having never organised a swap before, I'm going to try and keep it simple.  Obviously, the theme is the seaside, but other than that it's entirely up to you!  There are just two rules:

1. You must have a blog (as I really like looking at what everyone else is getting up to!) &

2. at least one item must be handmade (by you!)

So, here's what to do:  leave a comment on this post to let me know that you're in.  I will leave the sign-up open until Friday 22nd May.  I would love if some of my international friends could play too so please do also let me know whether you are happy to post internationally or not.  I will then match people up and post the list of participants sometime over that weekend (23rd/24th).  Come back then to find out who your partner is - one of the best bits of swapping is making new friends so send them a little message saying "hello!", go read their blog and get to know them!

(Note. Apologies to the people I already replied to saying "consider yourself in" - dur brain here deleted the emails so can you please comment again, and also let me know re posting internationally etc - Sorry!)

I'm going to make the deadline for posting 31st July, so you'll have a good two months to come up with something (and hopefully it'll actually feel like summer by then!)

Please do blog about this and send your friends over - the more the merrier!

If anyone wants to volunteer and design a button thingy for this swap that would be fab - I am completely clueless about stuff like that, in fact I can't even work out how to put a button in my own sidebar (despite following various tutorials - it just won't do it for me!)

I think that just about covers everything but if you have any questions or if I've left anything out do give me a shout. 

EDITED TO ADD: Signup is now closed.  List of participants will be posted asap.

R x

A craft fair - and maybe a swap idea?

So, on Sunday morning my parents, brother and I went to the craft fair at Penshurst Place.  This is a lovely, big craft fair that is held twice a year, in May and September, and we usually go to at least one of these.  Having been there so often, a lot of the stalls are very familiar, but there are always some new ones too, and always lots of lovely things to look at. 

 

A not terribly good photo of the actual house.  The weather on Sunday was a bit of a mish mash, not quite knowing if it wanted to be cloudy or sunny!

I always come away with a few bits and pieces and this visit was no exception!  My first purchase was this gorgeous, walnut heart, which has been treated with lemon oil and so smells delicious!

 

It's currently hanging on a cupboard in the dining room but I want to find a better spot for it - perhaps if I ever finish decorating the hallway it could hang there?

I've built up rather a collection of hearts now.  Another thing I have quite a collection of, and have posted about before, is jugs, and I just couldn't resist this little one:

 

I'm trying to make more of an effort to actually use the jugs I have (rather than have them sitting, collecting dust in a cupboard) so I filled it with forget-me-knots from our garden and it's looking very pretty in our living room.

 

As well as some scrummy handmade chocolates (umm, yes, they've all gone now!) I also got three beach-hut themed things - the little tin and set of cards "Beach Huts in a Box" by Emma Ball, and then a lovely handmade card, based on an embroidered picture by Abigail Mill (check out her website - the embroidered pictures are absolutely beautiful!)

I think (no, actually I know) the reason I am drawn to the image of beach huts is that it is such a prominent memory from my childhood.  My grandparents lived in Devon and every summer holiday we would go and stay for the whole six weeks and spend almost every day down at the beach, at the hut that they owned.  And buying these things from the craft fair got me thinking how fun it might be to do a seaside themed swap.  I've not hosted a swap before but what do you think?  Is anyone up for it?  It doesn't have to be beach huts, you could have seashells, icecreams, sandcastles, fish, sailing boats, lighthouses - the list goes on!  Let me know what you think, and if I get enough interest then I'll get organising!  I know there are lots of other swaps/quilting bees etc going on (not to mention summer fairs to prepare for!) so I would give plenty of time for this one - thinking maybe end of July?  Anyway, just let me know what you think.

Have a great week!

R x

A week in pictures

This week I have been...

... sewing,

 

coin purses for my stall,

 

secret sewing for the Freestyle swap,

 

and, AT LAST, starting to piece my Georgina quilt top,

... receiving,

 

scrummy fat quarters purchased from here,

... reading,

 

a new magazine and a new book,

... and planting,

 

three little strawberry plants, bought for Joe, which he is going to take care of (with some help!)

There has also been plenty of other stuff that I don't have pictures for - such as knitting (secret), baking (eaten!) and a fair bit of Joe stuff, but I'll save all that for another post.

Hope you're all enjoying the beautiful weather we're having this weekend.  Tomorrow I'm off to Penshurst craft fair with the parents - so you can bet there will be a bit of show and tell afterwards!

Oh, and I just couldn't post without mentioning, but is it just me or did anyone else watch Kirstie's Homemade Home on Thursday and feel a bit shocked that she'd hung a "Never Mind the Bollocks" poster in the children's playroom?!! 

Happy Bank Holiday Weekend!

R x