wonderwoman [not!]

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

AAAARGH!!

2009-11-02T18:34:00.000Z

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