wonderwoman [not!]

Catch-up!

2012-02-17T08:47:00.003Z

Where is the time going - i can't believe we are mid way through February already! I have been busy though - got the sewing mojo going - I made this cushion for my dearest friend Trash's birthday - i just loved doing it and am thinking of doing it on a bigger scale as a wall hanging.

Em's puppy Indie seems to be settling in well as you can see! We still have the odd puddle or two but not too bad for 14 weeks! She's been to a few puppy classes and does not seem too phased!

My son has been asking me to make him a quilt for ages so finally got round to buying some fabrics and found this design from Jane Brocket's The Gentle Art of Quilt-Making although i have slightly modified it. I wasn't too sure about the fabric clash when i started but am quite liking it now and my son likes it so that's all that matters. I think i am going to do a border in a plainish purple to finish it off.

Finally a bit of news - although you may guess when you look at the pic below! I am going to be a granma!!! I can't tell you how excited i am. My eldest son Tom and his girlfriend Lin are having a boy and he's due the beginning of May! They got engaged on Christmas Day which was just lovely and a total surprise! This crib has been used by all mine when they were babies and we got it down from the loft the other day - i have to recover it so if any of you know of any good patterns or have any ideas how to start i would be most grateful!Hope you all have a lovely weekend!

xxx

Making winter cosy!

2012-01-29T11:11:00.004Z

Sorry my post is little late - I don't have a 'puter' at the moment and have to borrow Ems when its available!

One of the best things about winter is coming in from the cold and wet to a lovely roaring fire and something lovely to eat. One of the favourite quick meals in our house is pasta soup - its soo easy to make and very filling!

Ingredients -

Pasta, 1 small onion, 1 chopped finely carrot, 1 chopped stick of celery, 1 tin of chopped tomatoes, 2 tbsp tomato puree, 1 tsp paprika, 1 vegetable stock cube in about 400ml of hot water (or can use 1 stockpot).

Firstly fry the onion in a little oil until soft then add the carrot and celery, stir for a few minutes and then add the paprika, tom puree, tin of toms and veg stock - bring to boil and simmer for about 20 mins. As my son is a vegetarian i quite often add some lentils or chickpeas as well. You can put whatever veg you like too.

Whilst this is all simmering, put some water on to boil and then cook the pasta. I have used all the different shapes of pasta but we like the shell pasta the best.

When pasta cooked, drain and just add into the other pan of ingredients. Serve with some crusty bread.

This receipe is easy to adjust - the above is for 4 people. Instead of paprika you can add cumin or even a little curry powder to spice it up a bit.

Another favourite is old fashioned bread pudding - this is brilliant as you can use up any stale bread you have - doesn't matter if its brown or white - you can chuck it all in together!

Ingredients - 8 oz bread, half pint milk, 2oz butter, 3oz soft brown sugar (or caster), 2 tsp mixed spice (or cinnamon) 1 egg (beaten) 6 oz sultanas. Firstly tear up bread into small pieces and place in a bowl - pour milk over and leave to soak for about 20 mins. Then add melted butter, sugar, spice and egg - mix in well then add fruit. Put in a baking dish and bake in oven for about 1hr (180C or 350F). After taking out sprinkle with a little sugar and serve with some lovely custard. It is also nice to eat when its cold but you may find there is not a lot left!

Sorry there are no pics this post but am having technical problems. Hope you are all having a lovely weekend.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

a quick wish!

2011-12-31T14:09:00.003Z

Just want to wish you all a very Happy New Year and hopefully the blogging will get going properly!!!! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

p.s the above is the newest member of our family - you have no idea how someone soo little and cute can cause chaos amongst the entire household!!!!

making winter wonderful

2011-12-12T20:17:00.004Z

As i am writing this the rain is hammering against the window and its blowing a gale outside. I am also thinking that in about 2 hours i will have to go out in it to hay up the horses for the night! The upside is that i will be coming back into a warm cosy sitting room where the woodburner is chucking out the heat and glowing nicely!
Winter is full of contrasts - I find that a dull cold day makes me feel dull and down too, but a sharp frost and blue skies just lifts the spirits.

With Christmas nearly here the thing that makes me smile are the lovely twinkling lights - we have just put some up - even now in this horrible weather i just love looking at them. When we were up in London the other weekend i just loved all the lights, they just make me feel happy. When our nearest town had its lights put on there was a huge crowd and just behind me was a little boy with his mum and dad - as soon as the lights came on he just went 'oh wow' and on his face was just one big smile - that made my evening. So here are some pictures which i hope will make you feel good too!

xxxx

Getting going again!

2011-10-31T17:44:00.004Z

I have been inspired to get blogging again (albeit on my daughter's laptop as mine has definitely given up the ghost) by the latest post on Emma's blog (at silverpebble-jewellery.blogspot.com - for some reason this computer will not let me do a proper link , grrrrr!). Its about trying to make Autumn/Winter more bearable with a series of posts at the beginning of the month from now until February on the joys of winter - such as lovely fires, long winter walks, mouthwatering receipes, etc. There is a flickr site to join but i have forgotten the link so you'll just have to visit Emma's blog.

Here are a few photos to get going with -

Also one of my favourite receipes is one by Jamie Oliver for a mouthwatering stew - i have tweaked it to fit into my family's tastebuds! Its all in one pot which is just wonderful.

Stewing or braising beef - enough for 4 say 600gms

Onions - chopped 2

3 carrots - cut into chunks

2 parsnips, as above

2 leeks

half a bottle of red wine

about 350ml of stock - I use vegetable

pototoes - small ones, halved (i use charlotte pototoes and leave skin on)

2 tbsps of tomato puree

Firstly you fry the onions for a few minutes, then add the beef (which you toss in flour first) and all the veg, the wine , stock and puree - bring to boil and put in oven at 150 for about 3 hours. The smell when it starts cooking is unbelievable! You can add whatever veg you like. You can check it after two hours just to make sure its not going dry. I then serve it in big bowls with fresh hunks of bread - lovely!

Right off now to light the woodburner and cook a roast!

xxx

frustrating!

2011-10-11T09:43:00.003+01:00

Its been sooo long since i blogged -i just lost my mojo bigtime! So I thought right lets get going again. But my laptop had other ideas and has given up the ghost! So i may have to wait a while longer! I am doing this post on my phone but it seems soo slow and i have no idea how to do photos etc as am such a technophobe!However am determined to get to grips with it so watch this space!

Spot of sewing!

2011-07-30T12:13:00.002+01:00

I haven't done much sewing for while - seemed to have lost my mojo - however it turned up last week and i spent the entire saturday sewing - cushions! I have had this lovely spotty fabric for ages and looking round the sitting room the other day i thought it looked like it needed cheering up and what better than spots and stripes.

I have some little bits of the fabrics left so i think some patchwork stripes and spots will be on the agenda.

Have a lovely weekend!

xxxx

Sunshine and strawberries

2011-07-04T21:05:00.005+01:00

A friend brought me these sunflowers the other day, aren't they lovely, they make me smile everytime i see them.

Spent most of the weekend kneedeep in these (slight exaggeration!)

Made 15 jars of jam in total - my favourite!

With trial and error i have found the perfect receipe - i have always found strawberry jam difficult to set, but, when you put some gooseberries with it - perfect! I actually don't like gooseberries but you can't actually taste them!

Here's the receipe - 3lb strawbs, 1lb gooseberries (i used the dessert gooseberries), 4lb of granulated sugar. Top and tail the gooseberries and place in big pot (I don't have a preserving pan so i use an old pressure cooker). Add just enough water to cover them (about 100-150 ml). Slowly bring to boil and then simmer until gooseberries soft. Whilst this is going on place sugar in a bowl and place in a moderate oven. Then take stalks off of strawbs and add to gooseberries, simmer till soft. Take sugar out of oven and add to pan, stir gentley so as not to break up the fruit too much, keep simmering until sugar dissolved. Now put heat up to full and boil for 8-10 minutes. Take off the heat - take a small spoonful and place on a cold plate. Leave for a minute and then push with little finger -if jam wrinkles its ready - if not place on heat , boil for a further 5 minutes and repeat above until the jam wrinkes. I find it takes a couple of repeats and then its ready. Once done, if any scum on top, add a knob of butter and stir. Let settle for a while and then put into hot jars. This makes about 4/5 jars, depending on size of jar!

After all that, sit down with a huge cup of tea!

xxx

Update

2011-06-26T10:08:00.003+01:00

I have not felt much like blogging lately - and i didn't know whether to write about this or not, i try normally not to be all doom and gloom, but sometimes life gets in the way. My lovely Mum died a few weeks ago -it was very sudden and a huge shock for me and my dad. Life suddenly went upside down. It certainly puts things into perspective. So much paperwork and stuff to do when sometimes all you want to do is sit and curl up in a chair.. It has not been all sadness though, i have been amazed and touched by the kindness and thoughtfulness of people, some whom i don't know that well. Dad had loads of cards and phone calls, and although they can't take the pain away, they certainly help. So we are trying to pick ourselves up and get on, some days good, others not so. I know its a cliche but life is for living so we have to make the most of it.

xxxx

Happy Easter!

2011-04-20T11:23:00.003+01:00

Just wanted to wish you all a lovely Easter - lets hope the weather stays as great as it is today!
Life is a bit hectic at the moment so i'm going to have a break for a few weeks but i will be reading all your lovely blogs!!

xxx

Feeling sorry for myself!

2011-04-09T11:41:00.003+01:00

I should have been going to a wedding today, my nephew's in fact - got the dress, a lovely White Stuff one, shoes and bag all ready to go - instead i'm sat here feeling sorry for myself - why? Well all week i have had toothache and on Wednesday i had to have my tooth out - it was a big tooth at the back and i knew with all the pulling and tugging , which i did not feel at the time, i would pay for big time when the local wore off! Sure enough, i have been, not only that now another tooth is being a bit tender - probably because of the above! Now i know in the general scheme of things i don't have much to moan about but it just seems to be going on and on!! So darling hubby and his mother have gone to the wedding without me.

Well enough of the whinging, i just need to keep topped up with painkillers and get on with things. I can't believe a whole month has gone by - where did it go? Things have been pretty busy, especially on the animal front! Two little kittens are not so little now - absolutely full of themselves and always into mischief! They don't seem to be in a hurry to go outside, which i think is because when we open the back door it leads out to the paddocks and a huge new world which they find a bit daunting at the moment! However they seem to be quite happy, for the moment, causing havoc indoors - one thing they just love is the photocopier - they sit and watch it for ages and are fascinated! With all this lovely weather all the animals are moulting like mad - especially the horses, but with the warmth comes the midges and Tops has now become a hoodie!! It helps stop the midges from biting him and then causing him to itch and make himself sore. So far he has kept it on but i don't think he's too impressed - in fact i think he's a bit embarrassed!

I had to look after a friend's farm for a few hours and they were in the middle of lambing, and, you guessed it, i had two ewes lamb whilst i was there - one of whom i had to help as her lamb was huge and got stuck - happily mum and lamb, a boy, are well. These cuties had been born about two hours before i got there.

These two popped out whilst i was 'on duty' but mum managed very well on her own!

I have been doing a little sewing - i love these little houses, such fun to make.

Here is a sneaky peak of something i have been making for a very special friend and i hope to finish it this week!

Well i hope you all have a lovely weekend and enjoy the sunshine.

xxx

In praise of a chicken!

2011-03-03T15:10:00.006Z

This is not just any chicken - this is Dora the Chicken! If you had asked me at Christmas if she would still be with us i would have said no. She looked awful, so awful i certainly did not take a photo - she was moulting, had hardly any feathers - in fact she looked like she had been plucked ready for the oven! Not that i would do that i hasten to add! Even her little red comb was flat to her head, a very bad sign and a slightly paler than usual colour. I really didn't think she would be with us for long, especially with all the really cold weather and snow we had. I would also add that she is our one and only chicken now, as the others have, over the years, fallen off the perch so to speak. We did think of getting her some company but chickens can be funny and i did not want her bullied!

Well, what a difference a few months makes! She looks like a different chicken - i even had thoughts that someone had swapped her in the night! She has a full set of beautiful feathers, a very upright comb which is back to its normal colour. To top it all she has even started laying some eggs!!! This was a surprise as we thought she had 'retired'!

She reigns supreme in the paddock - chasing off any rooks or crows that might think they are getting her corn. She spends ages on the muck heap and also in the sand school rootling around. She has an entire stable block to herself if its raining - she literally peeps out of her house and makes a dash for the stables if its raining! Her most favourite time of the day is 3ish - she stands by the fence waiting for her blueberries - they are her absolute favourite!

Now you may say she is spoilt - but i think she deserves it - to us she is one special little hen!

xxx

Sunshine and Flowers

2011-02-12T17:05:00.002Z

Isn't it amazing how some blue skies and sunshine and some gorgeous flowers just make you smile and feel good!

Have a lovely weekend.

xxxx

Pye - a terrible day

2011-01-29T10:27:00.003Z

We had a huge shock on Thursday - Emily's lovely horse Pye died in his paddock, just dropped dead - he had not been ill, he was his usual self in the morning, ate his hay, but by lunchtime he had gone. A post mortem was carried out but everything pointed to him being a healthy horse - he was only 12 - and the vets said he probably had a heart attack. I cannot begin to say how awful it has been and Emily is heartbroken.

When you have a horse it is a partnership -one that has its ups and downs -which can be very special. There are times when things don't always go to plan, but on the occasions when you are both in tune or in sync with each other it can be amazing, whether its jumping a clear round or having a canter along a grassy track. That feeling is so special and indescribable.

He has left a big gap in our hearts.

xxx

Birthdays

2011-01-25T15:53:00.004Z

Birthdays - you either love them or hate them!!! I decided i would love them but just wouldn't think about the you-know - 'number'!!! Anyho, had one last week and was thoroughly spoilt - spent a few days at a lovely hotel in Bournemouth being waited on - bliss!!! Then all the family were over at the weekend which was lovely. My children had all clubbed together to get me a present - which Em had thought of - it was to have some acrylic nails done. Now in the winter my nails are c--p - they spilt and just don't seem to grow - i think its to do with always being out in the wet and the cold and washing my hands so much! I had always wanted to give acrylics a go so hence the pressie - well here they are!

Now i have to confess that i did fiddle with them - they were originally the square shaped ones but i just didn't like them so when i got home i filed them into a rounder shape. I kept looking at them because they just didn't look like my hands!!! I almost felt i should dress up! The only down side is that to keep them up is very expensive and too much high maintenance for me - so when they come off in a couple of weeks (they are soaked off apparently) i will not have them done again, just have a mini manicure instead! It was an experience though and i would have them done again, say for a wedding or something.

After opening presents we decided we would all play on Dan's latest toy - its called connect, i think and its to do with the Xbox360 - you can tell can't you that i know such a lot about these things!!! it has various games and you don't need hand controls as some sort of machine just scans you in - very clever. Anyway the upshot was that i beat the pants off them all at bowling - such a hoot! Its actually quite good exercise because you have to move about as if you were doing the games for real, if you get what i mean!

Anyway it was a great end to a lovely few days!

One other very exciting thing to happen was that my quilt from the Around the World Quilt Block Swap (Christmas) arrived! I was soo happy as for a while it looked like it had got lost which would have been a huge shame after all the lovely blocks that had been made for me - anyway here they are - just put out at a random at the moment

I think i will make another 6 blocks and then think about how it is all going to go together! I just want to say a mahoosive thank you to all the lovely girls who have made these blocks, they are all gorgeous!

Well thats all for the moment better go and light the woodburner and think about making dinner!

xxx

Brightening a dull day!

2011-01-11T11:03:00.006Z

Yesterday was a very dull and dismal day - i'm not complaining, i would rather have that than all the blooming snow we had a few weeks ago! As I was mucking out the horses the postman arrived and had some parcels! Yay - how lovely - I quickly finished my jobs and went inside for a cuppa!
The first parcel was from my very special friend Joy - we were both late in our Christmas parcels and decided that they would be New Year ones instead! Ahem, i have a confession that mine is not in the post yet but will be very soon (I have 'fessed up' to Joy!!)
Such gorgeous gifts - i feel very lucky indeed - a beautifully made cushion cover, which is going straight on my bed - some sweets, a lovely little purse, a gorgeous christmas decoration which will be on the tree this year,some scissors and a lovely little chain with a sheep and chicken on it - just perfect!
Thank you Joy for spoiling me rotten!!

I had just gone outside to do some more jobs when it started raining, absolutely bucketing down and blowing a gale!!! Trying to put portions of hay out in piles for the horses in the wind is a nightmare as you can imagine - it goes everywhere! I ended up absolutely soaked. So when i came in I decided a hot bath was in order - bliss!!! I took a cup of relaxing tea with me - The tea worked so well i nearly feel asleep!

With brilliant timing, as i had just finished my last book, the second parcel was more books! So I was looking forward to a cosy evening by the woodburner new book on the go!

Someone else was thinking about cosying up by the fire as well!

But then decided he would cosy up to Lilly instead!

Simple pleasures are always the best!

xxx

Catching up.

2011-01-05T10:08:00.007Z

It seems like ages since i did a proper post! It was nice to have a break though and just read everybody elses' blogs and find some new ones.

I decided this year not to bother with resolutions - i very rarely keep them anyway! There are some things i would like to do this year though - making bread is one of them - although i use my breadmaker a lot i would love to make bread 'properly'! Also i want to do some quilting courses - being self taught i could do with some advice!!!

I have kicked off the new year with some knitting - a lovely soft, snuggly scarf - i made one for Tom's girlfriend and liked it so much i thought i'd knit one for myself! This pattern is really easy - well you know me - why make life difficult !!! You end up with a different pattern on each side -

The pattern comes from this book and is for a man's scarf, but i just love it!

I have also tidied up my sewing space - about time as it was a tip!!! So am ready to get sewing.

Talking of sewing i had the most beautiful gifts made for me by a lovely lady called Nicolette - this was the Chookyblue SSCS swap. I certainly was very lucky with my swap partner who was incredibly generous and i can't thank her enough!As you can see Nicolette sent me two lovely candle holders, scissors, tape measure, bag charm, quilt pattern and some gorgeous yarn. The best i have kept till last - a beautifully made wallhanging
Thank you Nicolette for such scrumptious gifts - this hanging will be pride of place every christmas!

My swap partner was Jo in Tas and this is part of my gift for her -

I really enjoyed this swap and must say a mahoosive thank you to Chookyblue for all her hard work!

Well that's all for now, back to the housework!!!

xxxxx

Happy New Year!!

2011-01-01T10:41:00.003Z

A very Happy New Year to you all!!! I've had a little break from blogging but will be back shortly, raring to go!!!!

xxxx

Happy Christmas!!!!

2010-12-19T08:21:00.003Z

This is us yesterday morning - woke to much more snow than we were expecting - let the dogs out and they practically disappeared in a snow drift!!! Molly thought it was great fun but Lilly was not so impressed!

I think its the most amount of snow we've ever had since we moved here - it was way past my ankles as you can see!

Luckily we kept the horses in overnight so they were cosy in their stables!

It certainly is very christmassy weather, but its rather a pain in the proverbial!!!

I want to wish you all a very Happy Christmas and thank you for all your lovely comments on my posts.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Not quite going to plan!

2010-12-13T16:26:00.004Z

Every Christmas i tell myself this will be the one where i am really organised and ahead of the game! Well its not going to be this one! I have not even bought the main presents yet, although i have sent out some christmas cards! However there is still a pile to be delivered, which sometimes lulls me into a false sense of security and i end up rushing round on christmas eve! We thought we would put up the decs yesterday - we climbed up into the loft and it was chaos! Earlier in the year we had a new boiler fitted and it was placed in the loft - everything just got chucked out of the way in a hurry. So naturally it took us ages to find our fake tree - the reason we are not having a real one is because of our two new arrivals!!! We now have the tree up and lights on, but no decorations - we looked for ages but could not find them!! I am hoping that maybe on a second search they will turn up! So here is my sorry looking tree at the moment.

I did have a lovely surprise last week - i joined a secret santa swap organised by Chooky Blue and my parcel arrived - my goodness i have been soo spoiled - lots of lovely looking packages, which i have not opened and two gorgeous decorations, below, which i was allowed to open!

My swap partner is called Nicolette and i cannot thank her enough for this amazing gift and i can't wait to open the rest!

Our two new arrivals seem to have made themselves completely at home now!

I'm not sure how long the christmas tree is going to be standing!

Have a good week.

xxx

Help - snowman costume needed

2010-12-06T21:15:00.002Z

Have been asked to make a snowman costume for a little bod - making clothes is not really something i'm good at so i was wondering if anyone has any ideas or knows of any good patterns. Any help gratefully received!

xxx

Here we go again!!

2010-11-27T11:46:00.002Z

Woke up this morning to this!! Mind you, so did a lot of people! So it was up early to make sure the horses were all hayed up and the ice broken on their water buckets! Then i quickly got some bird feeders out full of nuts and other tasty goodies. Our one and only chicken was definitely not impressed - she popped her head out of her hen house and then quickly popped it back in - not that i blame her! The blithering outside tap is frozen already but i'm hoping it might defrost so i can use it later!

The best bit about this weather is when, having done all outside jobs and made sure all animals cosy and well fed, i go back inside to a lovely warm sitting room, woodburner roaring away, mahoosive mug of tea and some cake.... ahh, bliss!

hope you all have a lovely weekend!

xxxx

busy,busy,busy!

2010-11-22T15:35:00.003Z

After, what seemed like forever, a long two weeks of not doing much, this weekend kicked off with a trip to the cinema to see Harry Potter - i'm sorry if you are not a fan but i love the books and the films and was certainly not disappointed with this one. It was brilliant and i just wished it could have gone on and on! Why is it that even when you know the story you still jump at some of the scary bits!! Em and i both jumped at one point (one of the snake (Nagini) moments!) but what was even funnier was that the lady next to me jumped a lot higher!!! We then proceeded to get a fit of the giggles at what was a serious moment - we did keep it quiet but it took us a few minutes to get under control!

Saturday turned into a very crafty day with some much needed sewing and knitting and i finally finished my SSCS swap presents - i cannot show you them as the main present does not get opened until Christmas Day but here they are ready for the off.

I love doing surprises and hope my swap partner is happy with what i've made!

On Sunday these two little bundles arrived - don't be fooled by the cute look - Dukes - the one looking at the camera is a whirling dervish and just full of mischief - he growls and hisses at the dogs - they have only been introduced with a partition between them so far but i think i know who is going to be top dog - or rather top cat! Little Miley is much calmer and loves being cuddled. Needless to say they are a pair of time wasters!

Well that's all for now - back to housework - bah!

xxxx

Contrarywise!

2010-11-04T12:55:00.003Z

How many times, i wonder, have you thought to yourself what bliss it would be to have a few days when you don't have to do anything!! I know i have - in fact i said to my family that rather than spend money on a christmas present i would love it if they did all my jobs for a day so that i could have a pyjama day - obviously it would have to be a wet , windy day, so that i could relish staying indoors,, all snuggled up!

Be careful what you wish for!!! I won't go into details but have had a minor op and for the next few days i have to do .......nothing! Just rest, absolutely no exercise whatsoever. I thought it would lovely, but its not quite turning out that way! I can't sew or knit because it means i am looking down and am not allowed to do that! I can read, but am getting arm ache as i have to hold my book up all the time. To put it bluntly its bloody frustrating!

However i am doing what i'm told in the hope that everything gets better quicker!! I think my lot are hoping for that too as they are all doing my jobs!!!!

xxxx

A mixed bag!

2010-10-27T09:59:00.005+01:00

I love autumn - even the gales and rain (especially when tucked up indoors!) But these are my favourite mornings - a beautiful frosty morning, when the sun is shining and there's a chill in the air!

Its that time of year when i start putting out hay for the horses - definitely not a chore on a sunny morning - they have started getting their winter coats especially Iona - she ends up looking like a woolly bear!

I love this photo as you can see my shadow whilst taking it!!! Not sure Io's too impressed!

As soon as it gets colder i feel the urge to knit - so at the moment i have three projects on the go, one is a christmas present, one a sock i've been knitting for ages, and lastly, making up my own pattern, a snood - they seem to be the thing at the moment although i've been making my own version for a while now - they are brilliant when riding as you don't have to worry about ends getting caught up in bushes/trees!

I love snuggling under my blanket, knitting - woodburner blazing and a cuppa, of course!

And lastly, but by no means least, i had a parcel to open on Saturday! The lovely Jenny and i decided to do a swap and i received the most gorgeous gooodies!There was a beautiful doll dressed in the most amazing costume - a ball of yarn- some gorgeous fabric- and chocolate!! Thank you sooo much Jenny for a brilliant swap!

Well better get on, jobs to do in the paddocks - although at the moment there is a huge swan wandering around in one of them - it doesn't look injured, just a bit confused! So i will keep an eye on it and hope it can fly off soon!!!

Little rascals!

2010-10-15T14:28:00.002+01:00

What a difference a week makes - these little bundles of fluff are now getting about - mind you its more like staggering - not quite sorted out what goes where yet!! This one, a girl we think, is going to be Dan's - still no names yet! They had just been trying out a little kitty food when we arrived and judging by the little fat tummies they thoroughly enjoyed it - this little one was soo fat i thought we should call her 'pudding'!!

This little chap is going to be Emily's - i think the name at the moment is Dukes, or little D, but it could all change!

After a short play, its bedtime - life is just sooo exhausting!

Have a lovely weekend!

xxx

Ta-daa and sneaky peaks!

2010-10-08T13:34:00.003+01:00

At last!!!! Em's quilt is finished - i started this last year when she went off to uni and managed to finish it in time for her 21st!

I was going to hang it on the line to take a picture but it was too windy so have drapped it over the sofa - am quite pleased with how it turned out and Em loves it. Next big project is to put together my Around the World Quilt - i have sewn all the blocks together so the top is done, next is to sandwich it and quilt it, which i think may take a while but that's fine as i want to do justice to all the lovely blocks that were made for me.

I've been doing a lot of cutting and sewing this week - i have two swaps on the go, one is a little one between two of us, and the other is a big swap organised by Chookyblue which i am thrilled to be doing!

So here is a sneaky peak of two of my projects -

am not going to say anymore!!

As you may know, we are getting two new additions to our family - and here is one of them at three weeks old!

Ahhh!

Have a lovely weekend.

xxx

Bloggy Meet Up

2010-10-05T11:55:00.004+01:00

I had the most amazing day on Sunday - i met up with my lovely bloggy friend Joy (I can't seem to get the link right at the mo so check out her site on my sidebar). Joy and her family had come over from Australia to visit with her daughter who lives in London and were holidaying for about 4 weeks - so we were hoping we could fit in some time together, and we did!!!

It was a brilliant day! It started with me picking up my fabulous friend Trash and going to my favourite city, Bath! Joy was coming down from Surrey and gave us a ring when they had arrived in Bath. Meeting up was just great as it felt like we had known each other forever - Joy's hubby and daughter were just lovely. Trash acted as tour guide and we took them round some touristy sites, and also, ahem, did a spot of shopping!!

Here is a pic of them outside Bath Abbey.

and, my favourite, of Joy in Cath Kidston - a shop she loves!!

The time, of course, went way too fast and before long we had to say our goodbyes. I have to say it was the loveliest day and they are a very special family!

On a completely different note, I was a very lucky girl last week as this was in the post for me, which was a fantastic surprise

It was a PIF gift from Gina

Some of the chocolate is missing - i wonder why, as it was being nibbled whilst looking at my gorgeous gifts - a lovely pincushion, which was put to use straightaway - and some of Gina's amazing cards. Thank you soo much Gina for a smashing surprise gift!

Well thats all for the moment, better get back to the dreaded housework - although i think i could be sidetracked into a bit of quilting! (a gift in the process of being made for a swap - (cannot , at this time, name any names!!!)). Have a good week.

xxx

Fun, fun, fun!!!!

2010-09-27T08:37:00.002+01:00

Fancy something exciting to look forward to next year - say, around October time? Well my lovely friend Trash is planning a mahoosive get together for all us crafty gals!!! If you want to find out what its all about go to http://trashaloucan.blogspot.com/. I think it will be amazing!

xxx

New arrival!

2010-09-23T18:38:00.003+01:00

This little ball of fluff arrived 1 week ago - with four siblings! So in about 9 weeks time, he/she , plus 1 other,will be coming to live chez nous!

xxx

OMG!!!!

2010-09-19T09:04:00.004+01:00

Well, what a week! What with all three of mine having their birthdays - not the best planning on my part!! We kicked off with Em's 21st - she'd had a party a few weeks previously but decided she would like to go bowling on her birthday - so off we went - it was a great fun evening, not least as i out-bowled my son!!! Minor miracle as i'm usually crubbish!!!

After we finished there was some eating and then they spied the arcade and off they went, Em and Rosie headed straight for the dance machine - i wish i'd had a video, it was hilarious!
Back home there was birthday cake!! The theme of the cake was things dearest to Em's heart - shoes and bags!

Dan's birthday was the next day - he ended up with two birthday cakes, one from M&S - the chocolate caterpillar one!- and his lovely girlfriend made him one too!

The OMG heading above refers to this - quadbiking!!!!

When Tom mentioned it i thought it would be him and his mates, but oh no!! He wanted us all to go - well, i've never done it before and thought i would probably end up at the back going slow!!

It was a-maz-ing!!! I loved it - i have to say the pics here are the ones on the website (the beginners circuits)- as we were all doing it there was no-one to take pictures, which was a great shame. It was a huge extreme sports centre - we all got told how to use the bikes, got kitted out with hats and overalls, and off we went - starting on a small course and then moving on to other courses - we went on 5 altogether, each getting more difficult. As i got onto the more difficult courses i did find i was going slower round the sharp, narrow and very rutted bends, but apart from that i was surprised how fast i went - inbetween courses there were fields to go round and everyone loved it as we all raced along - i think i had the biggest smile on my face almost the whole way round!!

So it was a brilliant end to a hectic week, but boy am i paying for it now, everything aches!!!

hope you are having a lovely weekend!

xxx

Bliss!!

2010-09-12T18:29:00.004+01:00

That is the best word to describe the lovely holiday i've just had - beautiful house to stay in, fantastic place and amazing views - even the weather was kind to us most of the time! No cooking, cleaning, animals to take care of or worry about for a whole week! Mind you the organizing beforehand was a nightmare!!! I'm very lucky to have such wonderful friends - some did mornings, some evenings and some weekend!!

But here are some pics that made all the organizing worthwhile - i won't bore you with too many as i took loads!! The place is Brixham in Devon.

This is where we stayed - see the house with a blue door in the wall - it was gorgeous, right on the harbour with all these lovely views - we had to get a place big enough to fit 8 of us in!

There was a lot of walking, crabbing, fishing and eating going on!

This is a pic of me and the girls, on the left is Em and on the right is Grace, Dan's girlfriend - we were rather out of puff as we had just walked up a long hill to get this lovely view!

Anyway, enough of the pics - have to now get ready for a rather busy week!! Tomorrow is Em's 21st, Tuesday is Dan's birthday and Friday is Tom's - so am rushing around now trying to wrap presents and write cards plus take all the pins out of the quilt i've made for Em (pics later in the week)!

hope you all have a lovely week.

xxx

Grrrrrr......

2010-08-29T16:59:00.002+01:00

Sat down with a cuppa, sorted out which pics i wanted to use, and bl..dy blogger will not let me download any of my pics - after 5 attempts i've decided to give up for today, have another cuppa and a mahoosive piece of cake and try again tomorrow!!!

Hope you are all having a lovely bank holiday weekend.

xxx

Lovely day out!!!

2010-08-23T10:37:00.003+01:00

Had a great day out on Saturday - went to the NEC Festival of Quilts with the lovely Trash and met up with the gorgeous Brioni (http://flossybossy.blogspot.com/) and her lovely friend Tash. It was a good trip up (2 1/2hours!), Trash is great company and made the journey fly by! As you can imagine it was very busy when we got there. We started off with a look round the amazing displays - some of them are just awesome and others are very inspiring. I took loads of pics but here are a few-

I just love the one above - very calm and tranquil.

This one was beautiful and sooo delicate.

There were some fantastic fashion displays -

We had a break for lunch, and a chance to sit down!!! Brioni and Tash joined us which was lovely - they had been working very hard - getting contacts, freebies and interviews, for their brilliant on-line mag called FQ (www.fatquarterly.com/). They were also handing out cards for the mag and trash decided she would give a hand - as you can imagine she did brilliantly!! Here she is chatting up some future purchasers!!!

As happens when you are having fun the day went by too fast, and we had to make our way home. Thank you girls for a great fun day out!

xxx

p.s - need HELP - keep getting weird comments - can anyone advise me how to stop them?

Its raining!

2010-08-14T09:06:00.003+01:00

Thank goodness!!! Now i never expected to say that but its been sooo dry here that a shortage of grass is becoming a bit of a problem. The paddocks are so very dry, just like dust bowls - normally we rotate the paddocks so that some are rested and the grass grows on - not this year! Once eaten down its just not growing again. Hay is going to be expensive this winter - the farmers are putting their prices up already - some even saying £7 a bale - eeek! Luckily our neighbour makes hay and although he has had to put the price up, it's £4 a bale which is not as bad!

Anyhoo, this is the view from the back door this morning - light rain - lovely!

Am hoping sometime today to get into my sewing room and get on with Em's quilt! (This is tidy by the way!)

I've bought some lovely backing fabric, the wadding has arrived, so i can lay it all out and baste it - will post a pic later!

I have been looking at some lovely crochet going on in blogland, so its given me the inspiration to get my granny blanket finished - i've joined all the squares together and am going to do a wide edging with the bits of yarn left over, so then it will be a decent size to snuggle under!

Although it doesn't look too bad here, its a bit 'lumpy'!!! I think the trouble is my tension is not even - but i have learnt a lot whilst making it so hopefully won't make the same mistakes in future - i think i'll just say its deliberately 'textured'!!!

Well better get on now, i hope you all have a lovely weekend!

xxx

Phew!!

2010-08-08T16:00:00.004+01:00

I don't know what its like where you are but here its muggy - just makes me want to fall asleep but have not succombed, yet!!

This week i've been trying to finish some of the things i started last year and this is one of them - its a quilt for Em which i started last October - as its her birthday in September i have decided i have to finish it by then!!

I'm fairly happy with it, have just got to add a further border this afternoon - shocking pink, and then put it together and quilt it!!

Had a lovely time at Trash's in the week - i've always wanted to try some form of painting, i was rubbish at school - so Trash took me under her wing and i did this-

I was so pleased with it, i know its nowhere near perfect but it was brilliant to do! Thanks for being such a great (and very patient!) tutor Trashy!!!!

I know the last time i made one of these i said i would not do another one - but a friend asked me for one, so here it is

I hope she's happy with it!!

Now then, to nap or not?!!! Maybe just a short one and then some crochet (trying to finish my granny square blanket)!

xxx

Freezer malfunction!!!

2010-07-29T14:09:00.003+01:00

Just typical really - we've had such hot weather lately that my freezer seems to have decided its got heat stroke and packed up!! I had been slowly filling it up with goodies from the garden, broad beans, runner beans, etc and some fruits, plus i still had some raspberries from last summer.

I have managed to stuff my fridge freezer with most of the veg but had absolutely no room for the raspberries - i couldn't bear to think of them going to waste, so for the last two days have been on a jam-making session!!! I don't think i want to look at a raspberry for a while!!!

My cupboard is 'jam-packed' - sorry about the pun!!!! So if any of you run out of jam you know where to come!!!

Winnie decided all this hustle and bustle in the kitchen was too much so took herself off for a nap in my shopping basket!!!

xxx

Sunday mornings

2010-07-25T08:04:00.002+01:00

Sunday mornings - ahhh - a long lie in maybe - a cup of tea in bed - maybe even breakfast in bed if you're really lucky!!!

So why is it, when having looked forward to the above, i'm wide awake at 7 this morning - any other morning i could quite happily turn over and go back to sleep!! Sod's law!!!!

xxx

Bits and pieces

2010-07-18T19:07:00.004+01:00

Had a lovely Saturday morning in Bath - first i went to the above - it was the first one Bath has done and it was lovely.
There were some really nice stands with lots of goodies and ladies on the stands were all great to chat to! I did make one purchase - it was these vintage pillow shams - i just could not help myself - they are going to be cut up to make some cushions.I have been quite busy this weekend, trying to finally finish some of my quilts - i'm nearly finished binding this flannel quilt - which i have been snuggling under unfinished!!!

I bought the binding fabric in my favourite quilt shop and i also just happened to pop these in my bag too - paid for of course!!! The pink fabric is for sashing my around the world quilt and the other two fabrics will be used in the around the world christmas block swap!!!
Have finally got round to doing some posters for my bunting!

And now am off to do dinner - pudding is already sorted - strawberries and chocolate dreamy dessert - which i did not make - purchased at our local farm shop!!! As you can see someone has already tried it so i better get a move on!!

xxxx

Short Break!

2010-07-11T11:58:00.005+01:00

Had a lovely short break - and it was 'short' - just left home on Friday midday and came back Saturday afternoon!! Was a spur of the moment thing - just me and hubby - leaving Em and Dan to look after the animals and house!!! We went to Bournemouth which is about an hour away - just ideal! I have not stayed here for years and we decided to stay at the Marriott - a beautiful hotel, with the most amazing, friendly staff, perfect service and a lovely room. So nice to be looked after and waited on - bliss. Sitting outside, looking at the sea, glass of Pimms - perfect! Here are a few pics :-

Bournemouth at night -

Hotel conservatory - had afternoon tea here - heaven!

this was one of the views - the pier and beautiful beach - goes on for miles.

This is our hotel - on the right - and right at the bottom of the pic some gorgeous beach huts - i would love one of those but they are a fortune!!

Could have happily stayed longer!!! Got home feeling very relaxed - all seemed okay - found out that both Em and Dan had forgotten to shut the chicken in during the night (we only have 1 chicken now) but am happy to say she did not get eaten!!! Em had also topped up the horses water that morning but had forgotten to turn the hose pipe off - luckily Dan spotted it and turned it off - it had been going for an hour or so - thank goodness we are not on a water meter!!!

hope you are having a lovely weekend!

Around the World Quilt block swap

2010-07-06T09:32:00.003+01:00

After a year and two months its arrived!!!! This was my first block swap and was organised by Summer Sadie - its been brilliant fun but not without its hiccups!! I think my quilt got lost once but as you can see it all turned out fantastic! I have just laid the blocks out as i received them so i could have a good look at the various designs and colours and then maybe rearrange them slightly! I can't thank all the lovely ladies enough - all the blocks are just gorgeous and beautifully made. Also a huge thank you to Sadie for organizing this swap, i think its been a lot of hard work and there are still some ladies who have not got their quilts back yet.

So now its off to the sewing room - i should be doing housework but what the heck!!!

xxx

Little Cuties!

2010-07-03T10:23:00.002+01:00

I've been hoping to take a pic of these little cuties for a few weeks now - everytime they are near the roadside end of the pond i never have my camera!! However a couple of days ago i was about to go through the village and remembered!! As luck would have it, they were right by the edge of the pond. So i pulled up alongside, they didn't seem to mind, and took a couple of pics. I could have sat there for ages just watching them but didn't want to upset mum!

This lovely pond is in a nearby village - it is just gorgeous and so well looked after - the village has loads of lovely cottages and a large manor house - i always expect to see Miss Marple out for a stroll! It would make a perfect St Mary Mead!!!

Have a lovely weekend.

xxx

Fed up pup!!

2010-06-25T14:59:00.003+01:00

Firstly let me say a big thank you for all your kind comments on my previous post - foot is much better now!

Molly has started a new fashion in dog coats- wearing them upside down!!!! Well actually all is not as it seems - she has been spade and the 'upside down' coat is to stop her getting at her stitches! Its working well too but as its been soo hot she is getting very fed up with it! We are supposed to be keeping her calm so she doesn't pull the stitches - its like trying to keep Tigger under control!! Molly has two speeds, stop and go like hell!!!

O well only another week to go!

Have a lovely weekend - its supposed to get even hotter!

xxx

Fashion statement?

2010-06-21T08:22:00.003+01:00

No!! Flipflops are the only thing i can wear after my horse stood on my foot!!! All my own fault for not paying attention!!!

Have a lovely week!

Living on the edge!

2010-06-05T17:10:00.003+01:00

This morning my lovely daughter asked if i could do her a favour - so of course i said yes. She then said could i bid for something on ebay for her!! She had been watching this item for a couple of days and the bidding was going to end whilst she was at work. Now i have never, ever done anything on ebay - but i thought it can't be that hard. So she gave me her details and showed me what she had been watching - a pair of these -they are dubarry boots and apparently cost a fortune - i looked at their website and couldn't believe how much they cost!! No wonder she'd looked on ebay.

So the closing time was half 3 this afternoon - i didn't bother looking until lunchtime and saw the price had not changed - so far so good! I was okay until it got to half hour before bidding closed - suddenly i started feeling a bit anxious and ever so slightly perspiring (that could have been because it was hot today!). She had told me not to bid until the last five minutes - i sat there watching the bidding - then at the appropriate time put in her bid - someone came after me, so i upped it! We are now 1 minute away from closing - it got to 30 seconds and i had already entered another amount ready to bid if someone popped in! I was the top bidder!! Then at 20 seconds to go someone else bid!! By the time i had entered in my amount it was too late!!!

I text Em and she was fine about it - she's done it all before so she knows the deal! I decided i'm definitely not cut out for this bidding lark!!

I think i need a cuppa and a lie down!!!

xxx

Slight Mishap!!

2010-05-28T16:12:00.002+01:00

I thought things were going too well - i was having a very productive afternoon -

finishing off some bunting orders

leaving me some time to do a little jam making - rhubarb jam - never made it before but as we have rather a glut of the stuff thought i'd give it a go!

Then a bit of baking for the weekend - I say that, but with my family it will probably be eaten today!!!As i said, it was all going well until this happened -

the dishwasher decided to flood the kitchen floor and the cupboard next to it!!! Oh well, good reason to clean out the cupboard i suppose!!

Wishing you all a lovely bank holiday weekend.

xxxx

That time of year again!!

2010-05-19T10:51:00.006+01:00

The lilac trees are now in bloom and the smell is heavenly. We have made up some pots and put them on the patio - i love the blue pot - its colour reminds me of the mediterranean.

Things are sprouting in the garden - rhubbarb at the back of the pic is going mad as usual! Sprouts, broccoli, runner and broad beans, and beetroot are looking good at the moment. I thought i would take a pic of the garden before the weeds get going!!!

We also have some new neighbours!!!

These two lambs were doing a spot of sun bathing!

This little group kept trying to lick my camera!!!

and these three were giving their mum a hard time by leaping and pinging all over the place!!

I do love this time of year.

xxx

socks and quilts!

2010-05-10T17:49:00.004+01:00

I know this pic has nothing to do with socks, but just had to take it - been out for a long walk with the dogs, half an hour later this is the result - tuckered out!!!

I came across this pattern book at the weekend and just had to buy it - especially when i saw....

these lovely socks!!! and i wanted a pair!!!
and the best part - they are knitted on two needles!!! Yay!! Now i know all you sock afficionados will think i'm cheating, but this is my limit on the sock front - i don't think i'm cut out for four needles!! But, never say never!

So i chose this yummy yarn - its extra fine merino and its sooo soft! Think i may have to cast on tonight , even tho i have a mahoosive amount of UFOs!!! But, what the heck!!!

One thing i did finish and that was my block for the Christmas around the world quilt swap - this is for Andrea.

am quite pleased with how it turned out and having seen the pics on flickr of what everyone is making i think it will definitely be a challenge!

Have a good week!

xxx

Busy sewing!

2010-04-29T12:32:00.003+01:00

Its raining out so these two , Molly and Winnie, have decided to snuggle up indoors - not sure Molly is too keen on lying soo close to the cat!

i should be doing the housework, but have been sneaking in a bit of sewing - this piece, sorry its sideways, blogger won't let me turn it round, is something i started ages ago and i think because we have been having such lovely weather and that always makes me wish i was beside the sea, i thought i had better finish it off! I just need to quilt it now, make some tabs and do the binding

This is what i really needed to do today - its my starter block for phase two - christmas - for our around the world quilt swap! I'm really looking forward to this swap - i have picked red and white as my favourite christmas colours and decided to do a log cabin design!

Right, now i have done that there's no excuse not to do the hoovering!

xxx

Yay!

2010-04-20T12:12:00.003+01:00

At last! I have a design wall!!! I have wanted one for ages and decided to get on and do it. Its actually only a piece of wadding pinned to the wall, but it works!

This is going to be Em's quilt which i actually started cutting out last october! It was lovely to see it as a whole - i'm not sure the blocks are going to stay in this sequence but have left it so that both Em and i can be sure we like it. There is going to be sashing inbetween the blocks- in bright pink!

So now i just need to get on and cut out the sashing, sort out what backing Em wants and order some wadding!

xxx

Craftyness!!!

2010-04-15T18:36:00.002+01:00

At last!! I finally found some time this week to do some craftyness!!! The above is my ever - slowly- growing pile of crochet blocks - i think i may do another 10 or so and then join them altogether.

I want to do a border but also, as in quilting, some sashing between rows but i have no idea how to do this - any advice would be gratefully received!

A friend has just had a baby boy so i knitted a little beanie and did some bunting!

Couldn't get all the bunting in but at least you can see the name!

I have been in a neighborhood swap organised by Sadie - i can't do the link but she's in my sidebar! At last i have finished my 9 blocks of cottages and hope to post these tomorrow! Its been great fun and i'm looking forward to seeing what the others have done!

These were the last three!

Such a relief to be able to actually cross something off my long list!

I know i have two quilts to finish, one i'm handquilting and another i have cut out - but i have seen some gorgeous quilts by other bloggers so i feel a new project coming on!!

Better go and get dinner on now!

Whooppee- T'shirt weather at last!

2010-04-08T18:34:00.003+01:00

Yay - what a glorious day!! Woke up to birds tweeting and the sun streaming in through the window - so just had to get up! Quick breakfast and then outside to get the horses in. Decided today was the day to get the rugs off and keep them off (this usually guarantees rain!!). Got Iona tacked up and rode her in the school - much to her surprise - she's not used to getting going so early in the morning but it was just soo lovely riding in the sunshine!
After that i decided all the horses needed a good grooming - they are all shedding their winter coats at the moment so there is hair flying everywhere! Mind you the birds love it and quite often you see them fly past with a nice soft bit of horsehair in their beaks! Then i turned them back out into their paddocks and the first thing they all did was have a roll! So here are some pics of some not quite so clean horses.

There is not much grass around at the moment - in fact most of the paddocks are just mud - so this weekend it will be rolling and seeding!
Pye manages to find some bits to nibble!

Mitch is not looking too bad - a bit of a shine on his coat!

Iona decided it was more fun to try and follow me whilst i was trying to take a decent pic of her!

as you can see she is moulting rather a lot and the more i brush the more coat comes out!

I gave up trying to take a decent pic in the end!

So not much crafting done today - but there's still time this evening!!

xxx

Busy Day

2010-03-28T16:46:00.004+01:00

Years ago Sundays, apparently, used to be a day of rest!! Not any more! Am sat on settee feeling cream crackered! Started off at 8ish this morning making sure hubby got up in time to go to golf! Now, is it just my hubby, or is it a man thing , that he has to get me to get him up 'cos he just doesn't hear the alarm!

Anyho, breakfast followed, then getting horses in, feeding, haying, poo-picking - quick change and then rode my mare, rthen went out on my bike with Em and her horse Pye, lovely ride round the village - few hills, couple of stops to get my breathe back and off again! Finally went on a shortish walk whilst Em rode the naughtly little chestnut pony - he's soo spooky he manages to frighten himself! Lunch was a very quick snack, then i decided to have a quick tidy up- only got as far as the sewing room and got sidetracked!

Have various little piles of fabric for projects on the go- at the moment am working on Summer Sadie's neighborhood swap - my blocks are all cottages

have done 5 so far - some embellishing left to do and then on to the next four!

Next i decided to make some scones for tea later - well they have not made it that far - about an hour ago they were spotted!

and then they were, nearly, all gone!

Finally, before i sat down, i popped out into the garden and picked some daffs - i love it when i can just pick flowers from my own garden - roll on summer and sweet peas! However the fressias are giving out a heavenly scent which is lovely!

Hope you are having a lovely weekend!

xxx

Hoop-la!

2010-03-22T18:23:00.002Z

Its chucking it down with rain at the moment and so these two have decided to snuggle up on an old quilt!

But its Winnie who seems to having the most fun - playing hoop-la with my quilting hoop! I literally just finished doing a bit of handquilting and put the hoop to the side, popped out to make a cuppa, and when i came back in she had decided to make herself comfortable inside the hoop!

I didn't have the heart to move her!

xxx

Beautiful morning!

2010-03-18T08:42:00.003Z

Just had to share this -such a beautiful morning here - one of those hazy sunshine, birds singing, lovely warm mornings that hopefully there will be more of - although not for a while apparently! It's one of those mornings that actually makes you want to get out of bed - i was going to say leap but its a while since i've done that!!!! So far i've done breakfast,put some washing on, fed the chickens, hayed up the horses and poo picked and taken the dogs for a walk - Lilly was not too impressed at marching round the field this early but a few barking sessions at the pheasants soon cheered her up!

Next its a quick change and am off to meet up with the lovely Trash for tea and cake, and a bit of crochet/knitting!!

Hope you have a lovely day!

xxx

Busy bee!!

2010-03-16T09:41:00.003Z

Goodness its been a busy week! Hope you all had a lovely Mothers' Day! I was lucky enough to receive some scrummy chocs and a dvd - i wanted to see this film when it came out but as usual just didn't get round to it! My eldest son bought me a book token, which he thinks is totally boring, but knows that i love - however he drove all the way over on Sunday afternoon and only when he got out of the car did he realise that he'd left my card and present at home!!! The others are never going to let him forget that one!!

I've spent most of my time, when not doing horse stuff - which in the winter months takes up a lot more time!- flitting between several projects -as usual!
A bit of knitting with my favourite yarn - Kidsilk Haze - i just love how soft and light this scarf is turning out and the pattern is soo easy - which suits me!

Bit of crochet - few more squares to add to the blanket - i'm not sure whether to carry on doing more squares or whether to stop soon and just add some borders - what do you think?

As the weather was lovely i did pop in the garden centre to get some seeds - so love this time of year thinking of all the lovely goodies in the garden - assuming they don't get eaten before we can get them!

Have also been doing some hand quilting on this flannel quilt - am doing a giant daisy in the middle of each square!

And, most importantly, all tasks are carried out with lots of the above!

Well i better at least make an effort at some housework - have a lovely week.

xxx

Swap parcel

2010-03-11T18:08:00.003Z

I had a really nice surprise today - a lovely parcel from my swap partner Kathryn who resides at
ourshabbycottage
This Spring/Autumn swap was organised by trashy.
Kathryn had made me a lovely doorstop bag - such gorgeous fabric - Cath Kidson chintz.

There was also a little bear who was very attached to my doorstop!

There was some of her favourite chocolate - which i am just about to sample!

Next there was some gorgeous fabric and beautiful buttons, and some lace.

and it was all wrapped up in this lovely drawstring bag!
Thank you sooo very much Kathryn and also Trashy for organising this lovely swap!

xxx

A Finish!!

2010-03-06T17:33:00.003Z

I have been trying hard to do my 20 minutes a day - sewing, knitting, quilting or crochet! Its not that i don't want to do it, its just trying to find the time - i seem to have quite a few projects on the go, as usual!! However i have actually finished something - hurray! Trashy had organised a Spring Swap and i was luck enough to be drawn as her swap partner. I had an idea in mind - which i was actually going to make for her birthday, but as usual time shot past and i didn't get round to it! However once the swap was announced i knew exactly what i was going to make! So here it is, all wrapped up and ready to go!

and this is it - ta-da!!!

Its my version of the Australian flag - i met Trashy for lunch yesterday and gave it to her and she loved it! I soo enjoyed making it for her.

The rest of this week i've been trying to sort out what projects i need to finish and this quilt is one of them - i started it last winter, its flannel fabric and very snuggly. So i have now put my layers all together, basted them and am about to start quilting, just have to sort out which design and this time i'm going to hand quilt it!

This pic does not do the fabric justice, the colours are much better in real life!!

Whilst i was sorting out projects i found one that had been given to me ages ago, its a bag design by Jane Crowfoot and it has intarsia and fairisle - eeek, neither of which i have tried. So i thought as it was there i might give it a go - so if you hear a lot of swearing it will probably be me!!!

Wishing you all a lovely weekend.

xxx

Anniversary treat!

2010-03-01T16:52:00.008Z

It was our wedding anniversary on Sunday and we decided to treat ourselves! We didn't want to go too far so decided on my favourite city - Bath! We booked ourselves into the Bath Spa Hotel - oh my word its just gorgeous - I stupidly did not take any pics but you can look at it on the net.

As we got there just after lunch we decided to have afternoon tea and some sandwiches!

I was slightly confused when this little timer gizmo was placed on the table - the waitress kindly explained that the timers were for the different teas and would tell when they were brewed! Amazing! Never had that before!

We then decided to go for a walk round Bath. I love the buildings in this city and the quirky little places you can find - such as this restaurant!

As you can see it was called 'The Hole in the Wall'!

Just a random shot!

This is one of my favorite views, the weir, and all along the bridge there are some little shops.

We walked for hours and it was lovely and then it was back to the hotel and a lovely dinner. Next morning we went for another walk, round by the Abbey and the Pump House.
Of course you then just have to have morning coffee at the Pump House!

Such a lovely place! Gorgeous cakes! Fully fortified i then spent some time in the lovely Country Threads quilting shop - of course i had to buy some fabric!!!

Well all good things come to an end - so it was time to go home and back to reality and wellies!!!

hope you all had a lovely weekend!

xxx

Positive thinking!!

2010-02-25T10:27:00.006Z

Yesterday was sooo miserable - it was chucking it down with rain and i'm so fed up with ploughing through mud - so i decided to list down all the positive and lovely things in my day instead of being an old misery!!!

Firstly was tea and cake with a very lovely friend- although i say tea, she's more of a hot chocolate/J2O kind-of-a-gal!! Such a lovely way to start the day!. Then it was back to reality for a while - pushing wheelbarrow round muddy, sodden paddocks! (even the horses are fed up with this weather!)

However the upside was then coming in to yet another cuppa and a bit of sewing

Bliss.

Then a bit of housework - just to show willing!!! This was interrupted somewhat when tidying up books - i'm easily distracted!!!

Finally in the evening i actually finished something!!!Yay!! My quilt - its definitely not perfect especially as i machine quilted the strips - did not like it very much - and then decided to hand quilt the sashing!

But it will do to snuggle up with!

xxx

This and That

2010-02-18T15:47:00.005Z

Have been trying to do some crafting every day - no matter how tired i am!!! I must admit that once i've got started the old enthusiam kicks in, but then i go the other way and start trying new stuff! There are sooo many things i want to do - and when i look through some of my books i just wonder when i'm ever going to have enough time!!!

I saw a pattern for the above scarf so just had to start it - in my favourite yarn - KSH!

Then i decided to sort out my unfinished projects - the above quilt being one of them - i put it together early last year but had not got around to adding backing and wadding - so have now done that and then, unfortunately i decided to machine quilt - god knows why as i always hand quilt - well i should have left well alone - i do not like what my sewing machine has done!! However as it is just for me i have decided to hand quilt the sashing and make the best of a bad job!! If nothing else i have learned something from this experience, neither I nor my machine are ready for machine quilting - i need lots more practice!!

Yesterday some yarn arrived - yay!!! Its for my crochet blanket - have so far done 36 squares and am probably going to do another 20 or so!

The next thing i started - this afternoon!!! - is something for a swap organised by Trashy - but i can't tell you what it is as she is my swap partner!!!! But here's a peak!

Well i hope you are all having a good week in spite of the weather - although yesterday was lovely, blue skies and sunshine, if a bit cold! At the moment it is absolutely chucking it down and i don't think Molly will appreciate a walk - especially as she looks so very cosy!!!

xxx

Party and parcels!

2010-02-07T10:38:00.005Z

Last night was Trashy's --th birthday! It was soo nice to get dressed up for a change, and put the high heels on! Mind you after spending my life in wellies it took me a few minutes to stop teetering about like an idiot! What was also brilliant was that i got to see Mrs Moog, who i had not seen for what seemed like ages, and to meet her lovely hubby! I was also looking forward to seeing the surprise that some of us bloggers had made for Trashy! Below are some of the lovely gifts and cards and flowers that she received

but here is one of her surprises - which she is modelling herself, in the style of 'Wilson'!!

A gorgeous little quilt! And next - the beautiful knitted blanket!

Don't you just love them! i did three squares - but the non fancy ones - several lovely blogging ladies - Julie, Val,Lucy and Michaela made gorgeous squares (if i've missed anyone out i humbly apologise but my memory is crap and when Mrs Moog was telling Trash all the details i missed bits!) and the fantastic Mrs Moog put the quilt together, knitted squares and put the blanket altogether - i don't think she slept for the last three days!!! What a woman!!!

As you can imagine Trash was over the moon - i did get a quick cuddle with the blanket and was tempted to sneak it home!! But it has inspired me to be a bit more adventurous in my knitting and have a go and try and do things like this

So all in all it was a lovely party!

I was also very lucky this week to get a parcel from Jenny. I had commented on the lovely fabric she had used to make some jammies and she very kindly offered to send me some - but not only that she sent me some gorgeous goodies as well !I feel very spoilt - thank you soo very much Jenny!

Well thats it for the moment - except for a little p.s. to this post - which Lesley will love!! When i got home late last night, i stepped out of the heels and into wellies as i had to hay up the horses for the night - Em and I went out to the paddocks with torch and hay only to find that two of the horses had managed to pull out all the electric fencing! So there i was in my gladrags, ankle deep in mud trying to put it altogether by torchlight!! ah my life is such fun!!! Never a dull moment!

xxx

spontaneous day out!

2010-02-04T20:21:00.004Z

A lovely day out!

(sorry, that's my finger in the way!)

Em and i decided to pop down to Bournemouth last week - i can't remember the last time i went there - probably a few years ago! the reason why? well Em wanted to drive down with me in the car with her as she was going to a concert - the Prodigy- and was worried about finding her way! So we did a dummy run - good excuse really! I don't know why we don't go there more often - out of season its just lovely - easy to park, whole beach to ourselves - as you can see!

To say that it was windy was an understatement - bracing, certainly! But it was fantastic, just to listen to the waves and smell the salt air - however it was freezing!! Definitely blew the cobwebs away!!

We then had a bit of retail therapy and a lovely lunch! It was only a short break but definitely just what was needed!

xxxx

Getting Going

2010-01-24T21:11:00.016Z

Firstly let me say a very big thank you for all the lovely birthday wishes - I did have a lovely day, was thoroughly spoilt and had a scrummy italian - meal that is!!! I received some beautiful flowers - the ones above were from Trashy who also gave me a lovely silver bangle - thank you sooo much.

These freesias were from my dearest friend and the smell was just heavenly!

I was very flattered to get an award from Jenny

its the sunshine blog award for those blogs that inspire - i know i'm only meant to nominate 12 blogs but i would like to give it to all of those blogs in my sidebar - every one of which i find immensely enjoyable and inspiring - so consider yourself awarded!!! and thank you Jenny very much for thinking of me!

I have been trying to do at least 20 minutes a day of crafting - some days more, some days a bit less!!! I seem to have been in crochet mode for the last week or so, but was pleasantly surprised when i added up the number of squares - nearly 30 now!!!
I've wanted to make a baktus scarf so cast on last night - did about 40 rows and then ripped it back!! I just can't seem to make my edges smooth - they just look lumpy - so started again just now - and guess what- same thing - what am i doing wrong? any help would be gratefully appreciated This yarn is just beautiful - it was my birthday gift from Trashy last year - its from Sarah Hughes at http://www.babylonglegs.co.uk/ who kettle-dyed these beautiful colours in her slow cooker!! So it deserves to be made into something that looks lovely!!

I haven't done any sewing for a while and i think the reason is this
what a mess - before christmas everything got shoved into a corner so we could use this room as an extra bedroom!! I think i need to spend a few hours in here having a sort out. So, purely for inspiration you understand, i thought i would need some more fabric - any excuse !!-

These lovely fabrics come from http://www.gonetoearth.co.uk/ - such a fantastic choice and brilliant delivery- came the next day. I also have been looking through this book which i bought a while ago when i was in Millie Moon

there are some gorgeous skirt and bag patterns that i'm really keen to have a go at!

So that little lot should give me plenty to think about!

I'll leave you with this and hope you all have a great week! In case the writing is too small it says"Bob suddenly realised his wife had fallen off her horse, which was quite a relief to him as an hour before he'd thought he'd gone deaf"!!

I know, but it made me smile!!!

Oh my!

2010-01-16T11:34:00.004Z

Another year older! Goodness that well worn cliche, time flies, is, unfortunately, true! I can't believe another year has gone by!

I had a good look in the mirror this morning - not too bad considering - but that was before i put my reading glasses on!!! Note to self, just look in mirror when in soft focus only! Where did those crows feet come from - sly things just crept up on me! Still, there's not much i can do about it - on the inside some days i feel 25 - on the other hand, other days i feel like 101!!!

Looking forward to this evening as family are taking me out for an italian meal - lovely to have someone else cook for me - bliss!!!

Might get some sewing done later!

hope you all have a lovely weekend!

xxxx (p.s. i know the bunting says Noel but i don't have any birthday bunting!!!)

Treats!!!

2010-01-13T13:33:00.009Z

I decided, the other day, after being outside, yet again, in the blithering snow, freezing my b---t off, to treat myself to something i have not done for ages! It's nothing exciting but it made me feel good - and this is it -

well part of it - i have not had a walnut whip for years and saw them in M&S the other day! So my treat was a lovely hot, bubbly bath, a cup of tea, chocolate and a book! It was heaven and i stayed in the bath for an hour - came out looking like a lobster, but we won't dwell on that!

Another lovely few hours was spent the other afternoon - when the roads were finally cleared - in Waterstones - there is something about being in a bookshop that makes me very happy - the end result was rather more than the one book i had gone in for!
I also saw the lastest gadget which is called, i think, an E reader/book - i'm sorry but that leaves me cold - the joy for me is in holding a new book, smelling that new book smell and looking forward to diving in! But maybe that's just me!

On a different subject! I have found that with all the frantic preparations for christmas, the last minute sewing, knitting, etc, the old crafting mojo was a bit lost! But i have been inspired to get going by looking at some lovely blogs - one of them being Marmalade Rose. So i have been doing at least 20 minutes for the last 5/6 days - mainly crochet
sorry the pic is soo c--p but you get the idea!

I've also finished a wrap that i began last winter - its a variation of a Rowan one, and its made with my favourite yarn - Kidsilk Haze
One project i mean to get started is a baktus scarf - i've seen soo many lovely ones that i feel the need to have a go!

Well thats enough waffling for the minute - back to the grindstone!!!

xxx

Here we go again!! (a nd giveaway result!!!)

2010-01-06T12:39:00.013Z

Woke up this morning to this

It was around this time last year, well maybe a week or so later, that we had all this - it was absolutely gorgeous to look at! Luckily last night we got all the horses in, so they spent the night cosily tucked up in their stables, munching their hay. So they could not wait to get outside - all had a few rolls and then a gallop round the paddocks, bucking away!!

Now they've had their excitment, they are all bored!!!

Em and Dan decided to have a snowball fight - it appears you are never too old for that!!!
Lilly was not too impressed, but Molly loved it - especially when Dan was throwing snowballs for her - when they hit the ground she could not understand where they had gone!!!

Now i know it seems a while since christmas - well it does to me, but i just wanted to show you a couple of the lovely gifts i received - the first one is from Joy, my lovely friend in australia - she made me a beautiful needle case to hold all my knitting and crochet needles and its just beautiful, plus some other lovely goodies as well - thank you Joy, it was all just gawjus!!!

I also received a beautiful photograph from Trashy
I just love it sooo much and will hang it , when i get a lovely frame, in my sewing room - thank you soo much Trashy for such a beautiful gift!

Finally - The Winner - i have not forgotten the giveaway - sorry its been so long coming!! To cut a long story short - did a draw and

the winner............................ is

NOELLE from Sewonandsewon

If you could send me your address and let me know which you prefer - wool or fabric - i will get your prize in the post as soon as poss!!!

Well thats all for now - hope you all have fun in the snow - or, as in my case later, just snuggle up by the fire!!

xxxx

Just a quick post!

2010-01-01T08:22:00.002Z

Happy New Year!!!

Sorry i have not announced the winner of my blogoversary give away - have had a bit of a mixed christmas to say the least.

Had a brilliant christmas day, lots of laughs, racing robins!!!, lovely family all around. However on Boxing day it all went downhill as hubby , who had been diagnosed with gall stones and was due to have a routine op, ended up in terrible pain and, to cut a long story short, ended up in hosp! He's had his op and is back home recouperating but, as you can imagine, everything was a bit chaotic.

Will announce winner in a day or so when, hopefully, things calm down a bit!!

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

100th post!! a giveaway, and other bits and bobs!

2009-12-18T11:20:00.008Z

Wow... i can't quite believe i've reached 100, posts that is!!! I thought i'd be doing well to do a dozen or so!! I haven't done many lately for reasons you will all understand - rushing around like a headless chicken, trying to do all shopping, cleaning, etc. to make it perfect for christmas - but i have realised that i don't do perfect, so i have calmed down,written endless lists and decided to chill out!

Here are a few pics, in random order as blogger is playing up, which i took this morning, and which make me feel very christmassy indeed! The one with me in it shows how bl...y freezing it was!!! The little horse tree dec is one Em picked to add to our stash and she decorated the tree whilst we watched, and sang to, Love Actually!

As its my 100th post there will be a giveaway and all those who've commented on my last couple of posts and this one will be included and the winner will be announced after christmas. The prize will be either some lovely yarn or some fabric and a few other bits and pieces!

I'd better go now as have just a couple more things to get and as the word 'snow' keeps being bandied about i think i better get a move on.

I just want to wish you all a very Happy Christmas and to say thanks for all your lovely comments over the last year. Hope you all have a fantastic time!

Love and hugs

xxxxx

Christmas market

2009-12-02T17:23:00.012Z

Well i did remember to take the camera but it was such an awful afternoon - it was chucking it down with rain - not that that deterred many people, or us - it was packed! So here are a few of the better pics.

Some of the pics were taken earlier in the afternoon when the weather was not too bad - i love these old fashioned merry go rounds.
These three were playing lovely carols.

gorgeous scents coming from this stand - lots of citrus and cinnamon.

After a few hours we started to get hungry - there just happened to be a crepe stand nearby and we could not resist having one each - scrumptious, especially when eaten under an umberella!!This is hubby and darling daughter tucking in!

A little bit more market shopping.

Just before we decided it was time to go home we thought we would go and have a look around the new shops that have just finished being built. Most of the shops have not moved in yet but i was sooo happy to see one of my favorite clothes shops - its called All Saints and has some very diffferent designs. But what i thought you might like to see was their window display - it was brilliant

I so wish the picture had come out clearer - but you can see that its all old sewing machines - god knows where they got them all from - there were two windows like this so there were hundreds of them - some of them were broken if you looked closely but lots of them looked intact! I wanted to take one home!

Well thats all, the other pictures are just too dark. We had a lovely time and felt very christmassy!

xxx

Starting to feel a bit like Christmas!

2009-11-28T09:06:00.009Z

This is early for me - i don't usually start this early - although i know by now some people have already finished their christmas shopping and have even wrapped presents!! I don't even know what i'm getting everyone yet! I had a huge list of things to make but have decided to be realistic and realise that i'm just not going to have enough time to do it all!!

I have been doing some tho - these need to be sewn up and maybe some buttons sewn on. I love

making these wristwarmers - they are so quick !

When food shopping yesterday and i could not resist these:-

Now i know my children are 19plus but i knew that after lunch they would love this - each cracker contains a wind up robin and then you race them!!! That will keep them occupied after lunch!!! They are all soo competitive!!!

Thinking that the 1st is not far off i thought i should get something ready that my 'children' love

the advent calender!!! I made this years ago and yet they all still insist that i put it up - i'm sure the only reason is that each little stocking has 3 chocolates in it!!!

I think the reason for this christmassy feeling is that tomorrow, hopefully, we are going to Bath, to the christmas market - if you live nearby and have never been i thoroughly recommend it - its lovely, lots of little stands, each in a wooden hut, twinkly lights, carols and the fantastic smell of mulled wine! If the weather is okay i will take some pics - assuming i actually remember to take my camera!!!

Well thats all for now, i hope you have a lovely weekend.

xxx

nb. the crackers came from Waitrose!

Bit of a week!

2009-11-23T17:07:00.002Z

Last week was not the best of weeks! It started last Sunday night/early monday morning - Hubby never goes to bed very early and when putting the dogs out for a final wee he noticed a car parked along the bridlepath next to our paddock. He put the dogs inside and just waited and watched - most people just park at the entrance to the path but this car was way back up near our field gate. He then popped upstairs, woke me up and said he thought someone was after the horses - i shot out of bed and stayed by the window with a phone whilst he walked down the paddock. A few minutes later the car lights went on and whoever it was drove down the bridlepath and onto the road, going past our house. Hubby managed to get part of the number plate. We checked the horses and they were all okay. In the morning we wondered whether we were being a bit paranoid!

Later that day one of the girls at hubby's office said her mum had just heard on the local radio that a couple of days ago a stables had been broken into and they had tried to take one of the horses - the horses kicked up so much fuss, breaking down stable doors, etc., that the intruders ran off. They issued a warning that horse thieves seemed to be in our area. This particular stables is about 10 minutes away from us. Hubby then went on a couple of local horse watch websites and learned that two days previously two horses had been 'targeted' for theft - this was in the next village - apparently there are 'scouts' who look for the horses they want, then mark them by putting a small plait inthe mane or tail so that the thieves can find them later in the dark!

We immediately decided to bring our two coloured cobs, who are in a field just down the road, up home. We also last friday had the vet out to microchip all five horses - this won't necessarily stop them being stolen (we will be putting signs up saying the horses are all microchipped) but if they are taking them for meat, all horses are scanned first - so if microchipped they cannot be slaughtered. Well thats the theory. At the end of the day if someone wants to steal them badly enough, they will. We can only try and make life difficult for them and hope for the best.

The fact that Em was coming home at the end of the week lifted my mood considerably - but poor baby had only been home for a day when she succombed to the flu! On saturday night her temperature kept going up and we decided to ring the swine flu hotline , having first looked on the internet to see symptoms,etc. Having chatted to someone for about 10 minutes they then decided to issue her with Tamiflu - giving me a reference number to take to the chemist the next day. Needless to say i did not get much sleep that night, kept checking on em and was relieved when her temperature started to go down a bit. To cut a long story short, she was slightly better the next day so when i went to get the prescription i spoke to the pharmacist to see if it was necessary to give her the antibiotics - we both decided to hold on for a day as sometimes it can make you feel worse and if she only had a mild form of the flu it was better to let her fight it herself..

Today she is looking more like her self and managed to have a bath and eat a little bit, although she is still very wobbly and weak. So hopefully she's on the mend - i think a bit of treat may be in store when she's feeling better.

Needless to say not much getting done on the crafting front but will try and do some tomorrow - have just received the next block for the around the world swap so will do my best to do my block tomorrow and send it on its way by Wednesday!

xxxx

Up to Town

2009-11-17T15:43:00.012Z

I can't believe its been a year since i went up to London - to Country Living Fair to be exact - where i had a lovely bloggy meet up. I was hoping to do the same this year but what with one thing and another it didn't quite happen! Em and I had decided, a bit belatedly, that we could combine our day in London - morning at the fair and afternoon shopping elsewhere. But, typical me, i left getting tickets too late and they had sold out! So we decided we'd go to Covent Garden in the morning and then hit Oxford, Regent Street, etc., in the afternoon. So we caught an early train, managed to to upgrade our tickets to first class and sat happily chatting (or in my case knitting and chatting), drinking tea and hot chocolate!

We went to Covent Garden first - i do so love it there, all the lovely shops and craft markets
When the taxi dropped us off, the first thing we saw was this mahoosive rheindeer, it was covered with twinkly lights, which you obviously can't see in the daytime!

Then there were these people pretending to be statues -this poor lady nearly got blown over by a sudden gust of wind - and the one below was the invisible man!

The markets and stalls were looking very festive!

After buying a few bits and pieces we decided to go to Liberty's - i had never been and was dying to have a look around

It is the most beautiful store and the above pic was sneakily taken of the christmas room - the whole ceiling was covered in these gorgeous lights!

Next - Carnaby Street - Em had never been and wanted to hear all about it Em has a shoe passion and was over the moon when she saw this shop - her favourite shoes - usually found only in the Shuh shops - and here was a shop full of them - thats me by the way having a browse!

We decided to go on up to Oxford Street - oh my god, it was jammed packed as you can imagine - we were starving and decided to look for somewhere to eat - finally found a lovely little italian restaurant down one of the side streets and had the most gorgeous lunch - and gave my poor feet a rest!

Finally we decided to have a look round Selfridges and test out our favourite perfumes and then head off to the train station!

It was such a lovely day out but sooo exhausting, and although i love going to visit London i know i'm a country girl at heart!

xxxxx

Rainbow Swap

2009-11-10T12:16:00.009Z

Eeeeek!!! I was sooo excited on Friday as i received my rainbow swap parcel - it was from Julie at Little Cotton Rabbits!!!!!

I had met trashy for coffe in the morning and she had said that my parcel was on its way!

Look what gorgeous goodies i received

this has to be my mostest (i know thats not grammatically correct!) favourite

isn't she beautiful - i have not got a name for her yet - i know the obvious would be Rainbow - any suggestions gratefully received!

There's more! Julie has been doing her research and sent me some yummy KSH from Rowan, a lovely scarf pattern and some needles!

And even more

This is a beautiful handknitted brooch - unfortunately my camera does not do it justice!

and also -

my fav chocolate! and finally

a gorgeous card with a rainbow of vintage buttons!!

How lucky am I! Thank you sooo much Julie for such beautiful gifts - and thanks to trashy for arranging such a brilliant swap!

Hope you all have a great week.

xxx

AAAARGH!!

2009-11-02T18:34:00.002Z

I have to say that i don't know how you all do it!!! Do what you say? I have just been catching up on all your lovely blogs and seeing all the lovely things you are making. But how do you manage to fit it all in? Do you not sleep? No matter how i try my to do list seems to be getting bigger and things finished getting smaller. Everyday i have good intentions to get some sewing/knitting done and everyday i seem to be doing everything but!!! Its not that i sit idle you understand, but other more mundane things seem to override my day!

I'm not moaning just am in awe !

Anyhoo, am just off to do dinner and hopefully after that some sewing! Sorry there are no pics as have not had time to download them! Hopefully will do a proper post soon - i think i just need to get more organised - now where did i put that pen and paper?

xxx

Snuggle up!

2009-10-24T10:24:00.006+01:00

I have to admit to a little bit of envy! I have been reading a few posts regarding things to do when the weather is foul - my favorite being the idea of spending the whole day snuggling under quilts!

O what bliss - to be able to sit here in the warm and the dry, with a lovely fire and do some of this

or just to sit and read, drink cups of tea and possibly occasionally get up and make something to eat!

On a day like this it would be heaven! Woke up this morning to heavy rain and very dull and dismal outside

But hey, never gonna happen! There are a few reasons why not - five horses, three sheep, two dogs, one cat and four chickens!!! I can never just lie in bed in the morning and listen to the rain hammering down - no matter whether its a howling gale, or snowing -don't get me wrong, i'm not moaning! Even when it is doing all of the above i know that they are all waiting for me. I love going outside because i know i'm going to get a lovely greeting - lots of whinnying and baa-ing, with a bit of clucking thrown in! I know its only what my mum would call 'cupboard love' but its lovely all the same! Also there is something immensely satisfying when you've got them all in the warm and dry - even the chickens (mine hate rain!). To stand in the stable with a wet, steaming horse, who has stopped shivvering and who is contentedly munching on some lovely hay, and listen to the wind outside is very satisfying.

When all are happily in the dry , fed and watered then i can go inside for that steaming cuppa and toast and a possible few hours under the quilt, by the fire!

Hope you all have a lovely weekend whatever the weather!

xxx

A day out and surprises!!!

2009-10-10T09:47:00.010+01:00

Had a lovely day out on Thursday with Trashy, although it was a bit of an adventure!! We decided a visit to Ally Pally - the Knitting and Stitching show -was in order so off we went! We had thought of going by train but the cost would have been mahoosive so Trashy offered to drive us up! I won't go into details but it took us 3 and half hours to get there! Traffic onthe M25 was horrendous and when we got to Ally Pally needless to say we couldn't park and had to drive down to Wood Green to try and find a car park! Luckily, after two goes, we found one and then had to walk a couple of minutes to get the courtesy bus!

If you have never been to Ally Pally, the view when you get there is amazing, you can see over the whole of London and it was a perfect clear blue sky kind of a day so you could see for miles - i'm sorry there are no pics but my little camera would not have done the view justice, you'll just have to take my word for it! But i have to say, its a sod of a place to get to!

Although there were some lovely stands

top one was Loop, and then the Rowan stand - there were not as many small, independant stands as we had hoped!

We did manage to make some purchases though and here are mine

this is a lovely find - self striping alpaca - it is gorgeous and sooo soft and i loved this hat pattern so of course it had to find its way into my bag!!!
and then were were these two lovely yarns (sorry pic bit blurred) I seem to have a theme of pinks and blues going on!!!

There were also some lovely quilting stands, so i just had to buy these

the colours are much better in real life!!!

Its a shame that the catering facilities were rather poor - as i'm always needing tea to keep me going - if you read this post here you will see i was not the only one who thought so.

Some of the exhibits that were on display were lovely, especially the machine embroidery section - here are some that caught my eye
i just the middle pic - brilliant!

Surprises!!!! Yay - i was soo very lucky as last weekend i received two absolutely lovely surprise packages - the first was from Clara

who sent these lovely fabric packs - thank you sooo much! i love them!

The second was from this lovely lady

Marian weaves these beautiful scarves with the most lovely yarns and fibres and i was absolutely overwhelmed with such a generous and beautiful gift. Its all my favorite colours and is sooo soft - i will treaure it always! Thank you again Marian for such an amazing gift.

Well thats all for the moment, hope you have a lovely weekend - the sun is shining at the moment so am going to make the most of it.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

i have a mouse!!

2009-10-03T09:55:00.009+01:00

Not a real one you understand - one that, hopefully, will make my life easier - however this is the second attempt at this post this morning as blogger keeps freezing on me!!!

i've been trying to get the old mojo back on track! Following on from the first skirt, which was fairly successful (and i have been wearing it!) i bought this lovely fabric to have a go at another one

its lovely Amy Butler fabric and quite a bold print for me, but have decided to make a short version of this skirt, so hope it works out okay!!!

i have been trying to catch up on the knitting too - my lovely Goddaughter has just had twins, a boy and a girl so thought i'd knit a couple of little hats

this is the one for the little fella, and i'm about to start a pink one!

My crochet bag, which i started ages ago, now has handles!!!

My kidsilkhaze scarf, which, i'm ashamed to say, i started last winter, is coming along and i'm determined to finish it in time to actually wear it this winter!!!

But my main project is one that i was going to start before a certain person went to Uni! unfortunately being me, so disorganised and so short of time, that didn't happen! I decided not to rush it and so it has now become a present for christmas! She loves pink (hated it until she was about 16!) so have picked these fabrics and am trying to decided what quilt pattern to go for!

so that little lot should keep me busy for a while!

Hope you all have a lovely weekend!

xxx

Catching up

2009-09-28T13:52:00.007+01:00

Its been a funny few weeks really - bit of an emotional rollercoaster to put it mildly! For example how did this little bod suddenly turn into a lovely girl, about to start a new adventure at Uni. My emotions have been in a bit of a turmoil really! I'm so happy for her , starting a new phase in her life with lots to look forward to - on the other hand i'm wondering where the hec all those years went - i know its a cliche!!!

We took her up to her Uni last Saturday and leaving her there was the hardest thing i've had to do - we were both crying and hugging! I know its not for ever but it certainly seemed like it and i know i'm probably over reacting but i miss her soo much. Its been just over a week now - one of the longest of my life - and she is really homesick - but she seems to have a lovely girl in the room next door and some in the flat above her, so given time, i'm sure she'll settle down.

I think when a change like this happens it makes you take stock of where you are and what you want to do next! (sorry getting a bit 'heavy' now!)

However things do move on and i have lots to do, five horses to look after for a start!!! I'm soo behind with all my quilting, knitting and crochet stuff - lost my mojo for a bit but am sure it will come back.

As for the new laptop, well its okay but in trying to do this post it will not let me put pics where i want them - i think i need a mouse instead of just trying to do it all with the little pad gismo!! God i'm such a technophobe!!!

So tomorrow will go and purchase one of those and see if i can do better!!

xx

back in the land of blogging!!!

2009-09-24T20:59:00.002+01:00

just to say that at long last i have a computer/laptop!!! Yay - my old one gave up the ghost the day after my last post!! soooo frustrating!

Still have a few things to sort out, pics ,etc. but hopefully will be up and running very shortly! in the meantime i have a lot of catching up to do!

xxxx

Ta-Dah!!!!

2009-09-01T19:21:00.004+01:00

Well, i made it - first ever skirt. I think i'd give it a 5/10 - i know the mistakes that are hidden and putting the zip in was an experience (not too much swearing tho!).

i know you can't see it, but i hate the lining - the pattern recommended using muslin, but the lady in the fabric shop said anti-static lining would be better, so i bowed to her better knowledge. However, next time, and i think there may be a next time, i will use muslin.

Needless to say the fabric is very summery and as it is now lashing down with rain i may not get to wear it very much, but i will wear it!!!

xxxxxxxxxxx

Into the Unknown!

2009-08-29T09:19:00.010+01:00

Right, here we go then - when i was at the quilt festival i saw this lovely pattern and in a mad moment thought, i can do that!

I've never made a skirt before! Anyway i popped down to the local fabric shop - why is it that when i get in there i'm so mesmerized by all the lovely fabric it takes me ages to choose, when before i get in the door i know exactly what i'm looking for! I eventually chose this

the pic does not do the colours justice. So i cut the fabric out yesterday - i forgot to say that its also a lined skirt, with zip, which i have also never done before! Today, somewhen, i'm hoping to make a start on the sewing. So if you should suddenly hear loud screams of frustration, that will be me!

I have an alternative plan though. I bought this at the show also

and this

sorry about c..p pic! So if the skirt is not going well, i can plan another quilt!

Or, plan c, i can practice sewing freehand - when seeing Janet Clare at the festival do this

in a matter of seconds, i thought i'd give it a go - needless to say its nowhere near as easy as it looks, for me anyway!

However, for the moment it looks like this outside

- blue skies, not a cloud to be seen!so am off to do the horses before it rains!

Hope you all have a lovely long weekend.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hyperventilating!!!!

2009-08-23T16:16:00.016+01:00

Was soooo excited yesterday - went to the festival of quilts at the nec - wahooo!!! Went with trashy - 2 1/2 hour journey but sooo worth it - the closer we got the more hyper we became!

BUT, not only were we going to be looking and,( possibly (haha) buying fabric, seeing amazing quilts, but we were going to meet these two lovely ladies - Katy and Brioni! (also known as imagingermonkey and flossybossy!)

It was so nice to meet them and they were sooo very lovely and great fun to be with - what was also great is that they are both doing the around the world quilt block swap, so it was fun to compare notes.

When we arrived we didn't dive straight for the fabrics - very restrained for me - we looked at some mini quilts

I did take quite a few pics but i won't bore you with them all!!! Some of the quilts are absolutely mind blowing, and some not so! But even the ones i personally did not like, i had to admire the skill and the huge amount of work put into each one. These are some of the larger quilts. i just loved the simplicity of this red quilt, but the amount of quilting was amazing!

This next one i loved because of its quirkiness - made from recycled paper bags and labels, it was just beautiful

what made it more interesting was this label on the quilt (pointed out to me by Katy!)
my namesake!

I also met the lovely Janet Clare - if you have not heard of her check out her blog and website - she is very talented and a very very nice lady to talk to (and so's her mum!)this is her stand, i just love her quilts and appliqued blankets she made mine and trashy's day when she machined freehand on some woollen blanket, some chickens for trashy and some sheep and chickens for me. I will post pics of these later.

The day went by so fast and i couldn't believe when it was nearly five! So we said goodbye to Katy and Brioni, and how lovely it had been to meet them. Thanks girls for a brilliant day!

2 1/2 hr drive home, exhausted but very, very happy!

Variety is the spice of life!

2009-08-13T10:27:00.011+01:00

or so they say! I know we Brits always talk (and moan) about the weather - but at the moment you just never know what to expect. We have had soo much rain that one of my paddocks is like a churned up mudbath and when i went to get the two coloured horses in, they were just plastered in mud!!! The other day it started raining at lunch time and didn't stop for four solid hours, it was just hammering down

there was thunder and lightening too!

But there's always an upside - i took advantage of the enforced stay indoors and finished off some commissions

sorry about the rubbish pic, camera playing up!

and then i did some more crochet squares

these will eventually (i hope) make a blanket - but the speed i go at, and the way i seem to get distracted (never!) with other projects, it may take me a while!

Anyway, the next morning i woke up to brilliant sunshine, so i took my cuppa outside and saw this

they were quite low so i could hear them laughing and then they started waving. Lilly, who has seen balloons before just barked at them, Molly just rushed around wondering what she was barking at until the gas burners went on, on my god she nearly had a heart attack, she had no idea where it was coming from and was looking everywhere to see where the 'monster' was!

Today seems to be turning into a lovely day with this changeable weather the thing that seems to be flourishing , is the garden - everything is growing like made - which is a good thing, as long as i can keep up with it!

so, no more blogging, am off now to pick some veg. Hope you all have a lovely day.

xxxx

Short break

2009-08-02T10:02:00.011+01:00

Seems ages since i last did a post - but the days have just sped by! Went away for a few days to a beautiful place - I know this pic is only small, but can you guess where it is - its Lyme Regis. I don't know if any of you have seen the movie'The French Lieutenant's Woman' - it starred Meryl Streep and was set in Lyme Regis with lots of atmospheric scenes shot on the Cobb - which is the bit jutting out into the sea top left of this pic. Needless to say hubby took my photo on this very spot, just a shame i did not have the swirling black cape!

We were sooo lucky with the weather - when we left home it was raining, then just as we got to Lyme the sun came out and it was beautiful.

the top pic is of the town's main high street - there are some lovely little shops to explore, but i was very restrained.

the lower pic is part of the view we had from our hotel garden. it was stunning - our hotel bedroom had the most amazing view of the whole harbour and the cobb and you could just lie in bed and look out at the sea. I was in heaven - i don't know why but i feel the need to be by the sea sometimes - i think it must be good for my soul!

I have to apologise for these pics, they are just ones from a site relating to Lyme ,as i stupidly can't download ones i took- i have some on my phone, but as my daughter is not up yet, i cannot for the life of me see how to download them!!! God, i'm such a technophob!

On the way back from Lyme we called in Weymouth, a very popular family seaside town - i love sitting by the harbour and watching the fishermen and the boats sailing in and out.

As well as going to Lyme, on Wednesday we went to the New Forest Show - again the weather was forecast as horrendous, but we donned wellies and off we went.

we had a lovely day, although it was overcast the rain kept off until we were leaving! We came back with four more ladies than we went with - my lovely friend Ness had been looking for some chickens for ages, a home was waiting for them, with a little picket fence , and within ten minutes of being at the show, she saw just what she had been looking for - so she promptly bought them, and we picked them up on the way out of the show!

So all in all i feel very lucky to have had such a lovely week!

Hope you are all enjoying your weekend.

Yarnbombing, stitch and bitch, retail therapy!

2009-07-16T15:28:00.007+01:00

I suspect that most of you know about yarnbombing - well as you can see from above our knitting group had a go! It was Tamsyn's idea and i think nearly everyone knitted something! There are already some 'bombed' pots outside Tamsyn's shop

but she decided we needed a bigger target!!! it was great fun and i think it looks great!

One of my favorite parts of the week is when i go to our knitting group - this is Tuesday mornings - the group can be quite small but its soo relaxing and fun! I know if i was at home i would not sit and knit/crochet for a couple of hours during the morning,because i would feel too guilty, looking at all the cleaning, washing, ironing,etc.!

Also its a good excuse for some retail therapy especially when there's a sale on!

A cuppa, some biscuits and just a few small purchases!!! doesn't get much better!

The around the world quilt blocks are coming thick and fast this week i think as various members come back from hols - here's one i did yesterday - i did cheat a bit as the original has proper patchwork circles - but not having as much time as i'd like i did an applique version - just got to stitch round it now

I just love the fabrics - i got them when Trashy and i went on a day out from here - its only a small shop but gorgeous fabrics and lovely buttons.

Well better get on now, Em and I have to go and pick up her horse Pye as its not working out with the lady who has him on loan - such is life!

I leave you with a pic of Molly who decided to be very nosy whilst i was messing about with the camera!

She's such a wally!!!

Getting going!

2009-07-12T12:01:00.006+01:00

Feels like its been ages since i did a proper post. I think sometimes when you stop for a while its nice to have a little break and just read and comment on all your lovely blogs! Also not having a working camera has been a bit of a nuisance. Have borrowed hubby's for the moment and am quite liking it!

On my around the world quilt swap i have been forgetting to take pics as have been more concerned with getting them done and sending them on so there's not too much of a delay! However here are two that i have made, can't remember who for tho!
actually, its just the one pic as blogger is playing silly b.....s and won't let me upload the other one!

I finally finished my pincushions for the swap and sent them on with a few goodies included

so fingers crossed they have arrived safely!

Talking of parcels, i had the most lovely one arrive yesterday containing this amazingly beautiful bracelet

its made by the lovely Emma Silverpebble. I am so thrilled with it - the two extra charms i asked for are amazing - if you go to her blog you will get a better pic as mine does not do it justice. Thanks Emma, and i think your idea of Do Your Own is just perfect! Will make lovely gifts.

Well thats all for now, am off fruit picking as i seem to have developed an obsession for jam making - so far have made blackcurrant - which was such a pfaff! - and strawberry and gooseberry - which was okay, but i did half and half which although made the jam set beautifully, does not have a strong enough strawberry taste for me, so next time i think i will do it as two-thirds strawbs and a third gooseberry.

hope you all have a lovely weekend.

xxxxx

The Winner is......!

2009-07-03T21:52:00.003+01:00

This is a very short post, but will be having a catchup soon, once i can work out how to get pics off hubby's camera and onto my computer!!!

So...........

No prevaricating.................

Straight to the point..................

no beating around the bush..................

in so many words.....................

what i mean to say is.............................

The winner of my blogoversary give away - after putting names in basket, giving good shake and diving in blindfolded..................

the winner is................................. MOOGSMUM!!!!!!

Hurray!!!!!!

Hi Lesley, will be emailing you soon for your address, which i seem to have lost, and then a parcel will be winging its way to you with some goodies!!! Will post pic of said goodies when they are on their way to you !

Thank you girls for all your lovely comments!

have a lovely weekend!!

xxx

At Last!

2009-06-23T20:16:00.008+01:00

I finally have a minute to sit down and blog - this last week seems to have shot past!! So much going on - well firstly we seem to have found a lovely home for Em's horse Pye

crap pic - i think he sneezed mid photo! (this is an old pic, camera still up the creek!) Well i'm touching wood as i say this - the lady who is having him for a trial period is the mum of one of Em's friends - so that is a bonus for a start! We took him over to her place last Thursday - lots of tears from Em and me before we even loaded him into the trailer! But he travelled well and on arrival at his new home gave a big whinnie to see who was around and then it was head down and lets eat!! more tears, and then we went on our way. We have had reports that all seems to be well at the moment, but you can never tell!!!

Em was feeling pretty low, but luckily on the Friday we were headed up to Birmingham for an open day at Em's Uni

so that gave her something to look forward to. I must admit i was rather apprehensive about her going - bi g bad city and all that - but i was pleasantly surprised!!! The Uni looks great - very modern and up together, and the halls of residence are lovely - all security guarded and cameras, etc,. (you can tell i'm a neurotic mother!!!). We then were taken on a tour of the city and it certainly was not the dismal place i had been lead to believe - there were lots of theatres, art galleries, opera and ballet houses - the nightlife is thriving - much to my daughter's delight!! There were of course areas not so pleasant as in any city, but the development of these areas is amazing! So a good day was had by all!

The weekend was spent getting Em's stuff ready for Glastonbury - i can't believe its come round again, it seems only a short while she went to the last one! I finally finished the blanket she wanted made for her friend Zoe, plus a flag to fly on a huge flagpole by her tent so she can find it amongst the sea of thousands - and a tutu - apparently a group of them have decided this is what they will wear, over leggings or jeans and wellies!

Phew - so glad to get that all done in time!

So tomorrow the girls are hoping to set out at half seven in the morning - that will be a miracle! and guess what, i will be doing Em's gap year job while she is away as they are short staffed!! I think i have definitely got something wrong somewhere!!!

Don't forget will be having a giveaway at the end of this month and any comments on this post will be put into the hat!!!

have a good week - its going to be a hot one!!

Catching up!

2009-06-22T10:09:00.002+01:00

Still having trouble with blurry camera!!!! Have had a few really hectic days and no time at all to blog!!!
Hope to put that right soon before i forget everything!

xxxx

camera trouble and a giveaway!

2009-06-14T12:22:00.008+01:00

Aaargh!!! i have taken a whole load of pics this week - my outing with trashy, the lovely shops we went into - also yesterday morning took part in a knit in public day - had great pics but my blithering camera will not download my pics - unfortunately it seems to be the camera and not the leads or the computer!!! am soooooo cross!!!! Will have to take it to a camera shop and see what they can do and just hope for the best.

Something completely different - its my BLOGOVERSARY this month - i can't believe its been a year since i started!!! I used to joke with Trashy about blogging and just didn't get it at all - how wrong could i be!!! I have loved it - loved meeting you all, making new friends and seeing all the lovely things you create. I have been inspired by you, laughed with you and sometimes cried too.

So, I will be having a giveaway near the end of the month - i have not decided what yet, but it will depend, i think, on who is the winner - if their passion is knitting, crochet, then probably some wool, or if they are a fabricaholic, then that's what they will receive - you get the idea! I will pick a winner from comments left on any of my posts from now until the end of June.

Couldn't leave you without some pics - so here's Molly trying to get into my laundry bag!

and Lilly's favorite pastime!!!

Hope you are all having a lovely weekend!

the scent of summer

2009-06-07T09:03:00.002+01:00

My first sweet peas of this summer! How i love their scent. Bliss! roll on the hot weather (well maybe not too hot or i won't get any work done!)

Bath

2009-06-02T20:17:00.017+01:00

Bath - that is the city, not as in the!! I decided i needed - needed and not wanted - subtle difference which of course you all understand - some fabric - there are so many lovely new designs around and some of my stash is looking a bit dull and boring. So early on Saturday morning i tootled off - i decided to go early as it was going to be a very hot day! I actually remembered to take my camera with me !!! Its amazing how you can take a place for granted and looking at it through a visitors eyes certainly makes you appreciate it more!

I always park by the cricket field and walk over the bridge to the city centre and that morning it was beautifulMy little camera doesn't really do it justice!

There is always something going on in the main street - this man is always here - being a statue - how he was going to cope when it got hotter goodness only knows

There were some people busking in a variety of costumes

there are lots of stalls too, selling tempting goodies - but i was strong!! After a few hours i decided i needed some refreshment so headed to a lovely little cafe i know and just sat and people watched for a while - on the board it was tempting you to have a refreshing jug of Pimms - but i was good - although i would have loved one! (not a whole jug!) Then it was off to my favorite quilting store - they are such lovely people the ladies who run it and always happy to help. On the way there i went past Sally Lunns which is the oldest tea shop in bath - always loads of tourists taking pics and sampling the goodies!

I was fairly restrained in my purchases, just some fat quarters - which i forgot to take a picture of!!! but i did take some pics of the shop!

So there you are! A lovely way to spend a morning!!!

xxxx

Getting in bit of a muddle!

2009-05-28T21:58:00.004+01:00

At the moment my head seems to be swimming with the stuff i have to do!! I seem to spend more time worrying about how i'm going to get it all finished than actually getting off my b--t and doing something about it!!!

As mentioned in the previous post, i have loads of sewing to do for darling daughter, i seem to have been making bunting for britain - not that i'm complaining if it all sells that is!!! I have some blocks to do for the around the world quilt swap, which i'm loving being part of, but worry that it might not be quite good enough. I have also joined a pincushion swap so am looking at patterns and blogs to get some ideas! I still have not quite finished the flag! I know i will love it when i've completed it but at the moment it seems to be dragging on!!! Also there are some other projects i need to finish - aaaargh!!! I think i need to be called mrs moansalot!!!

So sorry about that - well at least i got it off my chest!!! Change of subject i think!

Did you all have a lovely bank holiday? the weather was beautiful and it was so lovely to sit in the garden. I decided i would have half an hour, just sitting, with a cuppa, and chilling! it was great - i closed my eyes, the birds were singing and chattering (we have a lot of house martins this year), the bees were buzzing and the scent of our lilac trees just drifted across the garden ,goodness am getting poetic now!!! this lovely idylic moment was rather spoiled, quite funnily, by a very gassy pony!!!! The noise was amazing and i just cried with laughter!! the trouble is that the grass is growing soo fast, that it has a very gassy effect on Em's pony Mitch!When she first got him she was soo embarrassed by his noisy derriere (not sure that's spelt right!) - we used to say he was jet propelled!!!

aah, bless him!

hope you are all having a lovely half term week - so nice to have lovely weather for a change - am hoping to go the the Bath and West show saturday - so will try and remember to take my camera!

xxxx

Quick Post!

2009-05-21T17:53:00.007+01:00

I should be getting dinner ready and not pfaffing about in blogland!!! I can't believe how fast time goes it only seems a short while ago that festival season was here - and now darling daughter is wanting to get ready for Glastonbury - she's ordered the wellies - well its sods law that it will rain - and got the tent - here are some pics of her and my son trying to put it up - the label said it could be put up in ten minutes - ha! what planet were they on - not when its really windy it can't!!
as you can see Molly decided she would help too!

They did manage to put it up in 20 minutes which considering it was extremely windy was quite an achievement.

Now Em has decided she wants to decorate it with, wait for it, pirate bunting, and also she needed a new flag so she would be able to find her tent in amongst the thousands of tents!!

So we made a quick trip to our local fabric store and ended up with quite a pile
The flag is going to be made up of pink and yellow luminous stripes - she has a huge extendable flag pole so hopefully she should see her flag - she did last year!
Next we have some netting fabric in yellow and purple for me to make her friend a 'tutu' as this is what they will be wearing - with jeans or leggings i hasten to add.
Finally the purple at the bottom of the pile is fleece so i can make her friend a snuggly 'blankie' - its part of her birthday present and we are going to embellish it with felt flowers and hearts and her name! So not much to do then!!

I'm also doing the around the world quilt swap - this is the block i received from indigo blue and i have done the one on the left to compliment it, i hope!
am looking forward to seeing what blocks come next!!!

sorry i have not done any links but time is running out and dinner beckons!!!

xxx

Ladies who Lunch!

2009-05-16T09:28:00.009+01:00

This week has been a very lovely one - i think i may rapidly be turning into a 'lady who lunches' - well maybe lets forget the 'lady'!!! No only did i have two lunches but i also had a lovely time meeting Trashy for coffee - although she had hot chocolate and i had tea!!! It turned into a bit of a show and tell as Trashy showed me all the lovely projects she was working on! The first lunch was with my Mum - i picked her up and took her shopping, as Dad can't get about like he used to, so she treated me to lunch. Then my lovely friend Ness suggested we had a pub lunch as we hadn't had one for ages - it was great and we both had a Pimms - even though it was not very summerlike outside!

Also this week i had, what is rapidly becoming my weekly 'fix', a morning of knit and natter at Tamsyns. Although its called knit and natter we were all doing different things - i started with a bit of crochet - trying to finish my bag - which i almost have - just got to do the handles and can't make up my mind whether to crochet some or maybe add some leather or fabric - anyway here it is - tada!!

The colours are not quite what i wanted as i just used all the bits of wool i had to hand and i did not really plan anything but am still happy that i made it!

One of the other ladies was making beautiful corsages - some out of kidsilk haze

Tamsyn was sewing buttons on this scarf - the picture does not do it justice!

Then i just had to have a browse round the shop - its full of such lovely things, fabrics and yarn and lots of bags! soooo tempting.

Tamsyn then said she had had a delivery of yarn, so she got the boxes out and we pounced - i just had to buy these two balls of yarn - such gorgeous colours and almost like handspun. (Sorry no pic - have problem uploading this one - will put on next post!!)

This week i have also joined in the 'around the world quilting bee' - there are 25 of us and we each make a block and send it on to the next person - when you get someone's block you make one to compliment it and send it on - so we should all get back 25 blocks to make a quilt with! how great is that. Just hope i can turn out the goods well enough - anyway here is my block.

Well enough of the chatter - better get on - its not very nice here today - cloudy, raining and very very windy - which is just what i don't need as i'm about to move the electric fencing and it takes long enough when its not blowing a gale!!

hope you all have a lovely weekend.

xxx

Great day out!

2009-05-10T15:32:00.017+01:00

Yesterday i went on one of my favorite days out - Badminton Horse Trials - i will add its not just horses!!!

Badminton house (above) is a beautiful country house set in amazing grounds in the middle of lovely countryside - the drive down takes you through some stunning little villages - so even though you have to queue there is something nice to look at! And queue you certainly do - especially if, like me, you go onthe Saturday which is cross country day. Apparently there are more people who come to this event than anything else throughout the UK in the year! This time hubby came with me and was amazed at how big it was and how many people there were. There are also dogs, of all shapes and sizes everywhere!!! We didn't take ours as Lilly is a bit too old and Molly is so neurotic!!! The funniest thing i saw was a man with two Pyrannean Mountain Dogs - why he bought them i do not know as he could hardly hang on to them and at one point was whisked off his feet when one of them wanted to go see another dog - i wish i could have taken a pic but i was soo close i didn't think he'd be very impressed!!!

As i said its not only watching the riders go cross country there's lots and lots of shopping!!! Some people come only to shop - i like to do both!!! First we decided to walk the course and watch the competitors tackle the huge jumps -

this is a mahoosive table and chairs. Its brilliant to watch horse and rider tackle it like its nothing at all!!!
I won't bore you with all my pics, but you get the idea! I did see Zara Phillips in the warm up arena on her beautiful horse Toytown - Princess Anne was there watching her.

After walking around for a few hours my stomach told me it was time for lunch so we went over to the trade stands - there are soo many foodie things you are spoilt for choice but i soon went for one of these

I love Pimms and it was sooo nice as i wasn't driving home!!! So this was then followed by these

a bacon bap and a cuppa!!! Its amazing how hungry you get out in the fresh air!!!

So after suitable rest we went and had a look at the shopping

i was very restrained and just bought myself and Em a couple of tops - but i did have to buy this and hubby agreed (we have a couple of these beautiful paintings by the same artitist)

its just stunning.

We also fantasized about having one of these in the garden

So after another cuppa and a crepe,we wandered back to the wagon and headed home. I was shattered so it was a lovely surprise when our son and his girlfriend had decided to make us all dinner - so we had this

a gorgeous pasta dish with peppers and toms and onions - and these with it

toasted mini pizza muffins with feta - this pic from the cook book as we didn't have the courgettes on top as son doesn't like them!!

A perfect end to a lovely day!

Hope you are all having a lovely weekend.

xxxx

Progress!!

2009-05-04T12:04:00.007+01:00

Hope you are all having a lovely bank holiday weekend - just thought i'd do a quick post as have five minutes to myself as everyone else has gone out!!! have been doing hoovering and washing floors so am feeling quite smug!!! house actually looks not bad for a change.

My crocheting is coming along - trouble is i have seen soo many other lovely things on other blogs that i want to make it all like yesterday!

This is going to be a bag (hopefully) inspired by Lucy at Attic 24 - she does crochet with such amazing colours
the colours are not quite what i want but as its my first go i'm just using what i've got around.

Am also doing these squares for a blanket -

am using little big wool, as i got some in a sale at new year - my aim is to do one a day from now on - but, hey, that might be a bit ambitious!!! If you want to see more granny squares check this blog out - Meet me at Mikes - there are some great ones on here.

Progess is also being made on the quilted 'flag' i'm doing for a friend - she wanted it half as big again as the one in the book i have, so had to re-calculate all the bits, etc.!

there are 9 hearts to be appliqued altogether - then i have to do the wadding and backing and quilt it - easy!! (haha!). but before i go any further i want her to see it to check that its the right size.

Socks!!! i love what everyone else is doing - i seem to have a complete mental block where knitting with more than two needles is concerned - so not much progress is being made as i have frogged this countless times!

but am not giving up yet!! (I promise its not the same pic as in previous posts!!)

Am now going to have a cuppa and quick look through the blogs and then am going to do some baking - i fancy scones - with lots of jam and cream! Mmmmmm.

have a lovely may day.

xx

Giveaway!

2009-05-02T18:26:00.003+01:00

Just a quick post - Tamsyn has got some lovely fabrics just in and is having a giveaway tomorrow - so pop on over and have a look.

Its been a beautiful day here - i had a lovely morning wandering round Shaftesbury as they were having a food fair - the smells were delicious - lots of lovely things being cooked - gorgeous cakes and breads! I wish i could show you pics but i was in such a rush to get out the door this morning i left the blooming camera at home!!! I did buy a lovely fruit cake but decided i'd get my breadmaker going when i got home, so now, whilst i am blogging, there are lovely fresh bread aromas wafting round me - making my stomach rumble!!!

I was then a very naughty girl and nipped in our local fabric and yarn store and bought some Rowan Little Big Wool and some Handknit Cotton - the little big wool is for my crochet (told you i like fast results) and i'm doing mahoosive granny squares (well compared to everyone elses!) to make a blanket!

hope you are all having a lovely weekend.

xxxx

isn't it lovely!

2009-04-28T10:06:00.010+01:00

Isn't it lovely when the weathermen get it wrong - i woke up this morning expecting it to be like yesterday, miserable and wet and instead got this

Beautiful sunshine and not a cloud in the sky!!! It days like these that make me want to rush around doing all sorts!!

So first - out with the washing

in with the horses - who by the looks of it were having a lovely lie-in!!

we are going to exercise them in our little school this morning as its dustbin day and our roads are soo narrow it makes a ride out a little hairy - especially as there are lots of lorries!!

Next take the dogs for a long walk round the field behind us - have to make the most of this as soon the grass will be too long for them!!!

Then into the greenhouse to water these - i must get on and put the toms in growbags and the sweetpeas in pots

quick check at the garden to make sure no slug damage as put in some broadbean plants at weekend (or rather hubby did!)and finally, breakfast!!! not a bad round up and its only twenty past ten!

Last night i finished a slouch sock - only have to sew it up and also finished a crochet square - was soo excited!! I know, i know, but am easily pleased by little accomplishments!!

Tomorrow i'm going to Tamsyn's lovely shop to learn more crochet - yay!

with all these goodies, plus she has some lovely fabric coming in, i know i'm going to be tempted!!!

Well that was a long post!!!

Hope you all have a lovely day - have to make the most of it here as its supposed to rain later - knew it was too good to be true!!!

xxx