Contented

Eye candy part two - Country Living Christmas Fair

I had a lovely day out on Friday with my best friend Hazel, at the Country Living Christmas Fair up in Islington (despite the absolutely God-awful weather!)  We managed to find each other on the train and had a lovely natter on the way up - I don't get to see her very often and, when I do, it's normally with the kids, so this was extra-specially nice!  Neither of us had ever been to the fair before, so weren't quite sure what to expect, but we weren't disappointed!  The place is huge - over 3 levels - and it was absolutely HEAVING!!  I'm so glad we got there early.  Needless to say, we had a wonderful time, really enjoyed looking at all the lovely things, and found plenty to spend our pennies on!  Having said that, I was actually very good and did keep within my budget, although there were several stalls that I thought I might go back to and never did - for which I'm quietly kicking myself now - and there were probably lots that we didn't even see as it was so jam packed, especially on the top level.  (Good reason for me to go back again next year, I say!!)

So, do you want to see what I got?

a wooden "noel" sign and some pretty paper chains...

a little ceramic heart...

a terracotta robin and some beautiful ceramic snowflakes...

another ceramic birdie and two more hearts (do you sense a theme developing here?)...

two little Christmassy stamps and ink pads...

oh, and what's this?  Not more birds?!  What can I say, I just love that kind of birdie shape.  This beautiful garland was actually bought for me by Hazel as a belated birthday present (thank you honey!)  I also bought a little ceramic tile decoration with an oyster catcher on, as a gift for my mum, but, of course, completely forgot to take a pic of it before I gave it to her!

Although this is all very Christmassy stuff, I strongly suspect that one or two of the items will end up staying on permanent display!  
 

By about two o'clock we were starting to feel pretty tired so we called it a day.  My feet were killing me by the time I got home, but it was so worth it, we had a fab day out.  I'm now really hoping to go to the Spring fair next March - best start saving!

R x
 
 
 

Fabric show and tell

Hello!  How are you all today?  Good, I hope!  Well, I promised to be back with some scrummy fabric to show off, so here we go!  I had two orders arrive over the last few days, the first to arrive was this little bunch from Fabric Rehab:

 

Some cute owls, sweet Alexander Henry birdies and, in the middle, some Saffron Craig pink dandelions, which I am super excited about, it's so lovely!  And also from Fabric Rehab came these two:

Fabulous Parisienne ladies! 

And then on Monday, another parcel arrived, this time from Pink Chalk Fabrics, who had a sale on.

 

Some really lovely blue Olive Rose and then a bit of Heather Bailey Freshcut - I've had this before (I think it was actually one of the first fabrics I bought when I started sewing!) and I also think this is the first time I've gone back to buy more of a design.  I'd used up all I had and didn't even have a scrap big enough for my coin collection, so when I saw this on sale I just had to get some!

 

I also snapped up these two - pink woodgrain effect, which is rather funky, and another very cute Alexander Henry print called Petite Granville.  All this lovely new fabric has, as usual, got me itching to start making something!  It feels like I haven't sewn anything for ages, in fact, I actually cleared away all the fabric lying all over the place and put away my sewing machine at the start of the hols, but I think it might have to come out of it's hiding place sooner, rather than later!

Today I also finished the scarf I started, I really enjoyed this stitch, it needed a much lower level of concentration which suited me perfectly!!

 

 

What else was I going to talk about?  Oh, yes,  a film review.  On Sunday William and I went to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.  It was ... well, okay.  I should point out that William really enjoyed it but I felt a bit lukewarm about it.  I will admit that, out of the seven books, this was probably my least favourite, and it probably didn't help that I re-read it just before we went to see it, so I was all too aware of all the stuff that was missed out - stuff that I personally thought was quite important to the plot - like the fact that the locket was supposed to be Slytherin's, what Dumbledore suspected the other horcruxes were, and the big battle at Hogwarts near the end - all missed out!  I thought it had quite a different feel to the other films too, the music was very different and it didn't seem to be quite as action-packed as some of them either.  (And ending on such a sad note kind of puts a downer on things too!)  

Also on the subject of films, I was quite excited to see a trailer for The Time Traveller's Wife, a book that I really, really loved - although, perhaps excited is the wrong word - just watching the trailer made me cry!  Imagine what I'd be like watching the whole film!!  I think I might have to wait until it's out on DVD and I can watch it on my own and boo my eyes out without getting embarrassed! 

Finally, I promised some news about my secret project!  Well, it's going to be a new blog, set up by myself and my lovely blog friend Emma, and it will be launching next Wednesday, the 5th August!  We are both really excited about it and hope that lots of you will want to join in too.  I can't spill any more beans just yet, but stay tuned, and don't forget to come back next week for the big launch!

R x

Weekend catch up

Well, there's lots to talk about today, so go and get yourself a cup of tea or coffee and a biscuit and make yourselves comfortable - this may be quite a long one!

 

Some beautiful sweet peas, given to me by my mother-in-law when she babysat Joe on Tuesday evening.  They smelt amazing!

Tuesday evening we went to Willam's leavers service.  It was absolutely lovely but, man it was emotional!  One by one it seemed, all the girls started crying (and a few of the boys) and I think most of us mums joined in too!  I can't believe that seven years could go by so quickly.  William, of course, was completely laid back about the whole thing - I think he just can't wait to get to secondary school - and didn't quite understand what all the fuss was about!  All the children were given a special leavers book which has their pictures from reception and year 6 in, poems that the children had written, messages from all the kids and staff and lots of pages to fill in with their favourite memories, clubs they participated in etc.  A lovely reminder of the fabulous time he's had there. 

 

On Wednesday I went with Joe on his first ever school trip, to Hastings.  As it was their first trip the kids were extremely excited, and very, very loud on the bus but, luckily, I'd brought an MP3 player with me so Joe and I listened to music all the way there - I think it helped cancel out some of the noise from the other children so Joe was very quiet and calm.  Once there we went to the Underwater World aquarium.  Joe really likes this kind of thing, so we had a nice time looking at all the different fish, crabs, and even some poisonous tree frogs!  There was a little talk given, and Joe even answered a couple of questions - I think he felt very proud that he knew stuff the others didn't!  We then went out onto the beach for lunch.  As you can probably tell from the above photo, it was rather grey and blustery, but at least it didn't rain and we didn't get attacked by seagulls!  One of Joe's front teeth, which has been hanging on for dear life all week, decided to fall out on the pebbles but, luckily, we managed to find it.  (He now has a VERY gappy smile, with both top front incisors missing - it looks so cute!)  I think it was quite a successful trip - nobody threw up on the bus, nobody misbehaved and I didn't come home with a migraine (like I did the last time I went on a trip with Will in year 5!)

 

A scarf I've been working on this week.  Some of you may recognise this yarn from here (scroll down, it's at the bottom of the post) - I originally started the My So Called Scarf pattern but, whilst I really liked the pattern, and it was fairly straightforward, I did find that I had to really concentrate on what I was doing and just found it really slow going.  I admit that I got bored and frogged it.  Then I saw this lovely scarf on Ali's blog and decided to check it out.  It's a very easy pattern and is knitting up much faster too.  The perfect project for working on in front of the telly!

And then this gorgeous package arrived in the post this morning!

 

Beautiful hand dyed sock yarn from this Etsy shop.  Asti had a giveaway on her blog recently and I knew that if I didn't win (I didn't - boo!) I would definitely be making a purchase!  The colour is called Prize Fuchsia, and my photos really don't do it justice, the colours are much richer and jewel-like in real life!

 

I can't wait to start knitting with this!

A quick reminder that the Seaside Swap deadline is the 31st of July.  It's been lovely to start seeing photos popping up in blogland as parcels are received.  I sent my two off this week, I know one of them has been received but I'm going to wait until I know the other one has arrived safely before I show you any pics.

I've also started working on a little colaborative project with a bloggy friend - but I'm not going to tell you any more just yet - ooh, the suspense!  Hopefully, we'll be able to let you in on it all very soon.

In the meantime, have a great weekend all!

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

Just dropping in...

...to say "hello!" and to remind you to come back tomorrow when it is my little blog's 1st birthday!  There will, of course, be a giveaway to celebrate, and maybe some cake too!  In the meantime, this week has been good so far - a trip to Ikea (where I only spent £35 - now how did that happen?!), a trip to T.Wells today, some online shopping here (to make up for the fact that the shop I ordered my lovely cheap white cotton from has gone bust!  They don't seem to have debitted my credit card though which is a bonus, at least), and a meeting this afternoon with Joe's teacher and the SENCO lady, just to see how he's been doing this term and where we're at generally, the upshot of which is that we are making some progress, but it's often a case of two steps forward and one back, but at least we are moving foward, and I have some new strategies to try out over the easter hols.

Anyway, hope to see you all tomorrow!

R x

The weekend

Ours got off to a very good start with the schools quiz night on Friday.  It was a great success, and our team came third!!  There were only 4 of us on our team too, AND we beat William's teacher!  Result!  Saturday saw us getting up bright and early so that we could go off to Bromley to spend Peter's 15 year employment bonus - £150 worth of Debenhams vouchers.  We left the kids at my mums which is just as well as the shopping centre was HEAVING!  Tip: don't ever go shopping the day before Mother's Day!  We managed to spend all the vouchers (as if that was ever going to be difficult?!!) - Peter got me some White Linen perfume, then some shirts for himself and a couple of things for the house.  When we got home in the afternoon, there was a little package on the doormat containing this:

 

It came from Shelley, as a thank you for the bag of scraps I sent her.  Thank you Shelley, it's so sweet!  It's pinned up on the wall above the laptop, so I can look at it while I'm trying to think of what to type!!

Sunday, of course, was Mother's Day.  I was woken up with a cup of tea in bed and a lovely box of mini toblerone chocolates, plus the boys had both drawn me pictures, as well as cards. 

 

This is Joe's - extra special as he so rarely draws anything.  It's him with two bunches of flowers.

Hope you all had a lovely weekend too.

R x

Busy

I feel like I've been really busy this week (although I suspect in reality I've been nothing of the sort - I'm just so lazy that it seems busy to me!).  So far, I have:

* Made and bought stuff for the heart swap

* Been to Tunbridge Wells where I bought, amongst other things, these sweet little Easter egg ornaments

 

and the cutest teatowels in Paperchase!

 

I have already made something with one of them, but it's going to be for my blog's birthday giveaway in a couple of weeks so you'll just have to be patient!

* I also went into the sewing shop to look into getting a walking foot for my machine - HOW MUCH???!!!  My jaw almost hit the floor, I had no idea they would be so expensive (for the record, £37!!!)  Suffice to say I shall be investigating ebay for this particular item!

* I have hemmed 5 tablecloths for the school fundraising committee for a quiz night this Friday. (I also have to make a tray of brownies and bake 20 potatoes!)

* Placed several online orders, some of which have arrived already - 11 squares of lovely felt from Sarah:

 

I also ordered some bag making supplies from U-handbag, so hopefully there will be some bags to show you in the not too distant future!

* Filled in and posted another impossible questionairre about Joe (for the Social Comms clinic - I'm hoping this means he's in the system and that we won't have to wait too long for our appointment).

* Had a conversation with someone from the speech and language dept who saw Joe yesterday (school didn't let me know so was a bit of a surprise!).  She basically agreed with everything that has been said so far and is referring him on to a specialist speech & language therapist, but also gave us a couple of good tips for using at home.  His actual speech and vocab are very good, but his listening skills are poor so that's something we can be working on in the meantime.

What else, oh yes, inspired by that lovely easter twig tree in Country Living and my little mini egg ornaments that I bought, this morning I had a little play around and came up with this:

 

It actually turned out almost exactly as I imagined it, so I expect I shall be making a few more over the next couple of weeks.

There's still plenty going on in my "to-do" book for the rest of the week, and then on Saturday Peter is taking me out to help spend his 15 year employment reward!!

Enjoy the rest of the week.

R x

Reasons to be cheerful

 

A lovely, new, embellished Moleskine notebook, destined to become my next to-do-list book, bought from this lovely lady. (Thanks Jane!)

 

A beautiful, handprinted fabric panel, all the way from Australia, purchased from this etsy shop.

 

 

The latest copy of Country Living magazine.  I love this Easter tree!

Also, yesterday morning I went to a clothes swap party, held to raise funds for our school.  (There were also Phoenix Cards for sale with profits going to Comic Relief so I bought quite a few cards too).  I didn't have any clothes to swap so I had to pay for any items I chose, but I got two cashmere jumpers, a Monsoon skirt and two tops, for just 50p each!!!  What a bargain!  A very cheerful end to the week indeed!

Have a great weekend!

R x

Planning

There's not been a great deal of creating this week, but there are a few ideas brewing, which I thought I might share with you :-

* Bags.  I've not done any "serious" bag making for a while (too busy with quilts and socks!), although I did make this one for my niece's birthday last week.

 

You can't see from the, frankly quite appalling, photo, but it is actually quilted.  I was quite pleased with how it turned out and my niece loved it, which is the main thing!  Anyway, back to the subject, last month I purchased a Portobello Pixie bag pattern and this afternoon got round to transferring the pattern from the tissue to a more sturdy paper.

 

 

Although it worked out quite expensive to buy due to the awful exchange rate, the thing I was most interested in is the fact that the designer, Sandi Henderson, has given permission for the bag to be made and sold by "the home sewer" without any fear of a lawsuit!  Hoorah!  So, once I've made one for myself (of course!), I'm going to make some to try and sell.

Which neatly brings me to my next point:-

* Folksy.  I opened a Folksy shop I-don't-know-how-many months ago, listed 4 items and then forgot about it.  No surprise that there's been no interest then!   I would really like to try and make at least a little bit of pocket money from this hobby of mine, so I think I need to give Folksy another chance and actually make a bit more of an effort this time!  If anyone has any tips on this, they would be greatly appreciated!

*  Also in my mind is my next quilt, using that lovely Georgina fabric.  I'm quite glad that I didn't go straight ahead and start making it, as I think I've changed my mind about how I'm going to do it (well, a girl's allowed to change her mind, right?)  I'm now quite keen on the idea of cutting it up into smaller pieces, and surrounding it with lots of white (I think that was Lesley's idea?) - and then using more of the georgina print for the binding - something like this:

 

What do you think?  This will be a summer quilt for our bedroom and I'm really exciting about making it.  I just need February to be over so that I can buy the white cotton I need, then I can get started!

*  And that's the other thing.  I've been very good and haven't bought any extra fabric or yarn all this month (apart from a couple of FQ's for Joe's quilt, but I did say I would allow myself that!)  It hasn't actually been as hard as I thought it might, but I have seen a quite a few new prints around the blogosphere that are on my wish list!  Top of the list has to be some of this gorgeousness from down under:

 

Scrummy new Prints Charming fabric!  And I also can't wait for this new collection to come out:

 

French Hatbox by Tanya Whelan - just beautiful.

So there we have it.  Any guesses as to which "plan" I'll do first?

R x

About a whole bunch of stuff

 

(Sorry for the incredibly unimaginitive title - it's the end of the week and my brain is too tired!)

Our new toy arrived today and I wasted no time in trying it out.  This was a joint Christmas present from my parents - it had been impossible to find one before now!  I think we're going to have a lot of fun with it and maybe, it just might help me to shape up and lose a little weight too!  Let's hope so anyway.  I have set myself a weight loss goal (but I'm not going to share it here as I have notoriously little willpower and am much too keen on the sweeties!!), but I might let you know if it goes well.

I have made a start on Joe's quilt.  I decided to ask Joe for some input in the design and he completely shot down my idea of stripes and, instead, was absolutely adamant that it should look like this:

 

So that is what I did:

 

It needs another border to make it the right size - I'm thinking pale blue (like the rockets) and then maybe some red (or stripes) for the binding.  I have enough of these three fabrics to include in the backing, so it will end up kind of reversible too.

My bloggy friend Moogsmum is going on a stash-buying diet during February.  Now, my stash isn't very big, but I'm going to attempt to join in, more for the money-saving aspect.   Whilst I am fairly careful with my spending, I am rather aware of the fact that I wait for the credit card statement date to come around and then think "oh great, I can buy something else now and it'll be on next months bill!"  I will allow myself one exception - the additional fabric needed to finish off the above quilt (I already have the batting), but that's it - no more fabric (or wool) during Feb.  Wish me luck!

And talking of February, after seeing similar ideas on other people's blogs in the past, I've decided to set myself the challenge of a post a day for 28 days.  Hopefully, it might help me to think of things other than "what I've made" or "what I've bought".  It may very well be that, on some days I shall only post a photo, but we'll just see where it takes me.  Anyone fancy joining me?

R x