thoughts on allsorts!

Thursday 28 May 2009

Getting in bit of a muddle!

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



Thursday 21 May 2009

Quick Post!

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

Saturday 16 May 2009

Ladies who Lunch!

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
























Sunday 10 May 2009

Great day out!


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
































Monday 4 May 2009

Progress!!

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

Saturday 2 May 2009

Giveaway!


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