ethel and edna

Exciting Times Ahead...

2012-01-10T13:09:00.000Z

Well it looks like 'ethel & edna' may have to be in moth-balls for the long term. It's not that things didn't work out it's just that another, bigger. more exciting project has come my way. I'm buying a haberdashery shop!!!!! Can you believe it?!?!?! I am so excited.

It has it's own blog and I'm giving everyone a step-by-step report on how it all grows and (hopefully) flourishes in the coming weeks , months and years... Please pop over and follow me there as I think 'ethel & edna' posts are going to be even more intermittent than they have been. Yes - that is possible. I am really going to do my damneddest (sp?) and post every day for The Sewing Shop. So many lovely people are already following us there and they are all so excited for us.

'e&e' will still be ticking over. Any bits that I make I will sell through the shop. We'll have a website and sell mail order as well as through the shop premises. Any other ideas people may have will be gladly considered. We've had some fab suggestions already.

So thanks for being there all this time. I'm not disappearing completely. It feels sad enough saying au revoir so I can't wave 'ethel & edna' goodbye. Pop over to The Sewing Shop and we'll pretend we're back in the spare room. :)

ttfn
xxx

Tigerlily Makes...

2011-09-06T15:20:00.000+01:00

Well, the small person started Big Big School today. How can she be old enough to go to high school already? It's all gone to quickly.

Anyway, normal routine can resume - whatever normal routine was... I've been having some technical glitches (computer crashing when I try to use any photographs) so this won't be a long post, but i just had to share.

Tigerlily Makes is moniker of local feltmaker Lisa. She has just moved to a new craft unit where she will be running not just felt-making workshops, but inviting other textile bods to come and teach their technique to people. And if you follow this little linkette you'll see that yours truly is to be counted amongst these talented people.

You may have seen some of my campervan canvases before on my blog, Flickr, Facebook, etc. Well I shall be teaching how to make one of these appliqued panels but with a twist. Using photo transfer techniques, we'll be personalising the pictures so that the faces of your choice will be smiling out through the windscreen. If you've always fancied owning a van but could never afford it well here's the next best thing.

The workshop is on Sunday 13th November, so plenty of time to finish this and possibly make more for Christmas presents. It will held in Lisa's studio at Curborough Craft Centre near Lichfield and includes tea/coffee and scrummy cake plus all the materials you will need.

If you are interested then click on the link and contact Lisa directly to make your reservation.

Right. I'm going to quit while I'm ahead ie before the computer crashes again. Will post again very soon with news of my latest craft show, plans for a future one and the results of my dying session (Mmmmmm....).

ttfn
xx

Step back in time.

2011-08-25T17:45:00.000+01:00

So, after a busy few weeks of travelling to Dorset, Devon, Cornwall, Devon again I am finally home again, and trying to catch up with stuff. Suddenly there is an awful lot to do and it's not that easy with a small person on hols from school. To be fair she's been here, there and everywhere this week so I have had quite a bit of time on my own. It's then that other factors have managed to stop me from working.

I desperately need to complete a sample canvas for Lisa so she can promote our workshop but just when I thought I'd got it licked my black thread started shredding in the machine.

It was cheap rubbishy stuff but buying a reel of decent thread meant a trip to Hobbycraft, which meant filling the van up with diesel - a costly affair which I've been trying to put off as long as possible. Anyhoo, I needed some white DK to finish my latest hookie blankie as well, so double the excuse for a trip to Tamworth. Yay!

The only problem was I had to wait for kidlet to finish at her skateboarding workshop. So to while away the time I decided to dig out my procion dyes and have a play. I soaked a load of lace trims and fabric scraps in some soda crystals and hot water for a while. Then I mixed up a few pots of random colours and splodged. All highly technical don't you know.

At the moment the trays are just sitting on the side. I'm not timing them or anything. I'm probably just going to put them out of the way 'til tomorrow, and I'll rinse and dry them as a treat when I've finally completed my VW bus panel.

I do love the colours in this one. The purple is actually Reactive Blue but with the yellow and turquoise as well...ZING!!

I've had a request for a couple of brooches/badges/pins/call 'em what you will. So while I was making 2 I thought I may as well make a whole batch ready for Whittington. The order was for a '6' for a special someone's birthday next month. It's cotton appliqued onto felt, made up with my magic machine and then delica beads stitched on by hand afterwards - a fiddly job but they do look lovely..

Here is a selection of the other ones I made. I can do any letter, number or simple shape you like. Colour choice can also be specified. These ones without beading are £3.95 each. They are 38mm wide.

I also made some more simple badges from a book that's one of my childhood favourites - Milly Molly Mandy. There's MMM, Billy Blunt, Little Friend Susan, The Little Girl Jessamine, muvver and farver to name but a few of the characters featured. These are £1.25 each - also 38mm across. I'll be listing them on Folksy/etsy soon but if you're interested then you can contact me through my blog, Facebook, email or any other means you possibly have access to.

Right. I'm going to tackle the sewing machine again. Maybe this time I'll get it finished.

ttfn
xx

Hip, hip - hooray!

2011-08-01T08:48:00.000+01:00

I've sold a Silly Girl!

Yay! Bye-bye b&w. She's winging her merry way to a new home in Scotland. Hope she'll have a lovely time up there and she tries not chase too many haggis.

ttfn

2011-07-26T12:20:00.000+01:00

Okies. I'm having a bit of a re-organisation of blogs, shops and all things web-based. This blog will now be devoted to 'stuff what I've made'. All my wafflings and ramblings about the rest of my life will be on my other blog - Witterings of a Land-Locked Beach Bum'. Hopefully this will mean I will get my proverbial in gear and post more regularly about all things creative. Then the travels and adventures during the school hols can be added to the other one as and when.

The other thing I've done is to jazz up the Folksy and etsy shops a bit. I've added my new banner

to both shop fronts. Hope you like...

I've added some bits and bobs to the Folksy shop and will be stocking up the etsy one ASAP. I was shocked to see that I've been registered with etsy for 3 years+ and have never actually old anything. That's probably something to do with only ever having listed 2 items for sale. :) Well all that is now going to change. No more excuses. No more pussy-footing around. Organisation is the word of the day.

Here's a wee peek at what I've been working on recently. As well as making and selling through the online outlets and at craft fairs, I really want to get some workshops up and running. These appliqued canvases are hopefully going to feature in a workshop I do for a local craft outlet. More info soon. I'm soooooo excited to be working with this lovely lady. I'll let you know as soon as all the details are finalised.

A funky bay window camper van in psychedelic green floral print. How much would I love this as a full-sized, real-life bus??

Or there's the more traditional red split screen camper. Super cute and instantly recognisable. This one is applied to an old linen dress of kiddie's which had the floral print around the bottom. It just looked like a flowery meadow - perfect to park the van in.

Right. Off to do more sorting. I'll be back as soon as I've got etsy updated.

ttfn

2011-07-23T13:31:00.000+01:00

I've been a busy little bee in the last few weeks. I've had meetings and done a craft fair and I've been designing workshops and listing stuff on Folksy and trying to fit some 'making' time in amongst all this. And then my darling OH asks when I'm going to actually make some money. :-S Got to love him.

So here are some of the little gems (you may have seen before) that I've got listed in my shop. I have just a handful of Silly Girls left but more can be made to order if you have a specific colour requirement. I also do them as a bridge and groom for wedding keepsakes. I will try and post a picture but if you're desperate to see what they look like NOW then head over to my Flickr photo album for a peek.

I still have a few flower brooches left too. There are roses, daffodils and these tulips. All done in silk ribbon embroidery with perle cotton stems. Again, I can do any of these in a myriad of colours, to match a wedding outfit perhaps....?

The background felt could be a different colour too. Your choice.

So, I mentioned I'd done a craft fair... My first one in 3 years. THREE YEARS!!! I can't believe it. Anyway, someone I know has arranged this one to raise funds for Cancer Research UK so I thought 'why not?' It was only £15 for a stall and most of that was going to the charity.

Thus ensued a frantic week of gathering together stock, making a bit more stock, deciding which workshops to launch first, writing leaflets for said workshop, planing a table layout to make sure I had enough goodies... And that's before I even got there.

On the day I had a 'glamorous assistant' to help me. I don't know if it's quite what she'd envisaged as it was not very busy, but in the quieter moments I taught her to crochet so all was not lost. I gave the kiddie one of my softie teabags as her wages as she'd been asking (nagging) for one all day. She crocheted a cup and saucer bed for it, a sugar cube stool and a spoon. Bless. She was so pleased with herself and didn't need too much help at all. She picked up the concept of a slip stitch quite easily and, while her tension leaves a lot to be desired, it is improving with each thing she creates.

Of course, 'the best laid plans...'never work out. When we arrived I'd added quite a few items to my stock since "the kitchen table layout trial" so nothing would fit properly. Kiddie was trying to help but I ended up getting a bit tetchy with her too. :-( It all got sorted in the end though and we did have quite a nice day.

I didn't make a fortune but I didn't make a loss either so that's something. And I did make a great contact with a venue in the middle of Lichfield where they want me to run workshops no charge. I can use their room and charge whatever I like for the classes. They'll help promote and just make sales from their coffee and homemade cake. What a joy! Just need to tweak some of my ideas for hand sewing rather than machining but other than that...no brainer.

Right. We're now off to play dodge the rain at Alrewas Canal Festival. This beautiful village, about 7 miles from Lichfield, is where I spent my first 17 years of life. I still pop back, usually to The George and Dragon pub after Morris dancing practice, and love it despite all the changes. Maybe it's growing up here, where the River Trent and the Trent and Mersey Canal briefly merge, that has given me my love for water. My childhood was filled with walks by the canal, paddles in the canal, catching tiddlers, photographing flooded water meadows, dreaming of travelling in a narrow boat. I do miss it now. Oh well. Enough musing. I'm going to go and see the real thing.

ttfn

Phoenix from the ashes...

2011-07-14T13:32:00.000+01:00

"Here we go again..." You may well be thinking just that and rightly so. This time I'm going for it! Properly! Stock is accumulating. Craft fair stalls are being booked. And workshops are being prepared. Take a look at this:

Starting in September I will be running a series of workshops in the comfort of my own workroom. There is room for up to 6 people around the table. All fabrics, threads, embellishments, tea, coffee and cake will be provided. Just bring along your enthusiasm (and possibly a sewing machine) and prepare to have some fun.

I will be covering a wide range of techniques including crochet, patchwork (both machine and hand stitched),

appliqué, doll-making and the dreaded ‘C’ word rears it’s ugly head but it’s never to early to start stitching for Christmas! Stockings are already on the list of planned classes and advent calendars will be added very soon.

In addition to these I am holding a less structured session on a Wednesday afternoon. Over the years I have learned a wide range of textile-related techniques including hand and machine embroidery, felt-making, printing and dyeing. The one thing I miss about college is having like-minded people to bounce ideas off. So, Wednesday afternoons will be ‘play sessions’ where we can work on our own projects, gain inspiration from others and learn new techniques as we wish.

Finally, if there is something you’ve always had a hankering to learn then ask me and I will do my best to help. If you have a few friends that are just as keen I can arrange a one-off class especially for your group.

So there you go. These classes have been announced on Facebook today so now I've just got to sit and wait for the rush of bookings :-).

I'm also taking some leaflets and booking forms to my FIRST CRAFT FAIR IN TWO YEARS on Saturday. "Craft fair? But where is that being held?" I hear you cry. Well, it's this Saturday 16th July from 10.00am 'til 4.00pm at Wade Street Church Hall in Lichfield, and it's to raise money for Cancer Research UK so it's for a VERY good cause to boot. Seriously though, click on the link for full details. There's a map of where to find it and a contact phone number for the organiser in case you get lost. Of course you may want to stand yourself so you could give her a call to see if there's any space left.

Selling Stuff

2011-04-04T11:10:00.000+01:00

Well at long, long last "ethel and edna" are selling some goodies. The Facebook page has proved to be a success - so far anyway.

To begin with it has been friends, who I see regularly but have never seen my wares, that have bought items but I am also getting interest via the other pages I have 'liked'. I was a little unsure how to cope with the business side of things. An online shop package is just too much of an outlay at the moment - in terms of cash and time to set it up. So I've gone back to etsy. The fees are cheaper than an eBay shop and now you can run your whole etsy set-up in your own currency. etsy convert back to Dollars for their payments and so on, but UK sellers can choose to list all their stock, P&P, etc in Sterling. MUCH easier to get my head round.

At the moment I've only got 2 items listed (THAT bit still takes a while to do no matter what currency you're working in) but I can do a custom listing for any item. I have several photo albums on my Facebook and I'm adding more all the time.

I've now got commissions for 4 custom Silly dolls, 2 art dolls and a cushion.

So we'll see how it goes.

ttfn
xx

The dreaded Facebook

2011-03-30T09:25:00.000+01:00

At last - as you can see from the box on the right - "ethel and edna" have a Facebook page. :o)

A customer at work was telling me about her craft business and about how many more orders she gets via her Facebook page than through her own website or etsy, Folksy, etc.

Well, as I seem to spend half my waking hours on the dreaded FB I thought there's no harm in giving it a go. I've gradually been adding photos of all the things I've made in the past (quite a scary task - I hadn't realised just what a busy girl I'd been!). I just need to set up some way of enabling people to actually see prices and order stuff. I really don't want a 'proper' shop website as that would be yet another thing to manage. I don't have enough time to monitor and update my blog properly let alone a website.

I will have to borrow The Brain Cell from work (we have a shared one and take it in turns to use it!!) and give it some thought.

ttfn
x

Nightmare Before Valentine's Day Swap

2011-03-02T10:57:00.000Z

OK so Valentine's Day was quite a while ago now, but I didn't want to post these pics until I knew Sara had received her goodies in the post. Sara at Kitty Eden was my partner in this swap and her hints/guidelines/preferences were...

Fave Tim Burton film:

can't decide between Alice in Wonderland or Nightmare Before Christmas

Fave colours

red and blue

Well there could only be one choice really...

Alice!!!

I've wanted to make an Alice doll for such a long time and here she is complete with stripey legs, frilly pinny and key in her pocket.

I also put in some red and blue crafty goodies in red and blue lidded jars (get me!), and of course some Valentine chocolatey goodness.

And a Queen of Hearts pincushion made with red roses fabric (no painting required) and studded with pins with heart-shaped heads. Cute as...

Hope she liked it all. It was a fab swap to get me back into the swing of things and I wasn't even too late for me.

This is my first proper day off in what seems like ages but hopeully now I'll be able to get a bit more organised. I am bursting to share our latest bit of news but you'll have to wait for now.

ttfn
xx

Goodies.

2011-02-22T08:46:00.000Z

Goodies Number 1

Kiddie decided she wanted to make pudding of some kind after Sunday lunch. She didn't want any help - she was adamant so we left her to it. After a while (and a couple of hiccups) she came back in the room with these little babies.

The photos don't really do them justice. She'd made choclate cupcakes with bright red (?) butter cream and edible glitter (glitter with everything - it's a must). But... because I'm trying to lose weight she'd made me 2 teeny weeny ones in petit fours cases so I didn't miss out but didn't fall off the wagon. Hopefully it won't make any difference tonight - Tuesday night weigh-in!

Goodies Number 2

Stash. Stash!! STASH!! STASH!!! My fabric stash has grown somewhat this weekend which can never be a bad thing. :o)

A bundle of 24 fat quarters has found it's way into my bag and is heading up the stairs to The Spare Room as we speak.

On Sunday we visited 'Stitches' at the NEC. That's main annual trade show for needlecrafts, knitting wools, fabrics and 'habby'. One of our suppliers is branching out into patchwork fabrics and we bought some to see how it goes. Some of the designs are fab. Very 'Cath-like'. And there are some really cute mini prints too.

Bundles of 4 FQs are in our shop for £8.95 but they won't be there for long. Tomorrow afternoon is the next P & Q workshop and I would imagine our band of new enthusiasts will be stash-building too :o)

Goodies Number 3

Shhhh. Don't tell OH but I've bought " ANOTHER new book!!.." Our bargain book shop in Lichfield is brilliant. SOmehow they manage to get stocks of some of the most recent craft books at stupidly cheap prices. This one was a fiver and while I've never noticed it before, I thought it would be brill for more fund raising projects for The Tribute Fund. I shall sit and peruse...

Other books I've bought VERY recently have included the Tilda books by Tone Finnanger. And all are £5 or £6!! My arms are several inches longer due to the weight of my bags when I leave the shop!

Right. Must go and get ready for work.

Next time - once I got the nod that the parcel has arrived - I'll be 'doing a reveal' of my return to blog swaps. The Nightmare Before Valentine's Day swap organised by Apryl was fab fun. I'll show you what I made and sent and, when it arrives, show you what I received. Excited! :o)

ttfn
xx

The first of many...

2011-02-02T22:57:00.000Z

...in a long line of projects I've dabbled with since last we spoke. Apologies for the fact that you need to be lying on your side to look at the photos. If you've got a laptop on the sofa or in bed then no probs. If you're like me and have a PC on a desk I'm imaging you now - cheek on the tabletop, nose on the space bar. :o)

These two babies were made for my neice and nephew as christening gifts. Well I was going to be God-Mummy and I hadn't got a clue what to get in the gift department. I wanted to get them something that would last and hopefully they would keep for a long time. All the china cups and money boxes and stuff are not really 'my thing'.

Kiddie received several (for which I am very grateful - before anyone gets upset (o: ) but they do gather dust somewhat and once she was out of the Winnie the Pooh stage they weren't really in keeping with her room. I didn't want to use said mugs and bowls for fear of breakages, but sadly they will be relegated to boxes in the loft.

Maybe these quilts will. Who knows...

Anyhoo.

I wanted to do very pretty and girly for my neice but she wasn't an ickle baby so it had to suit 'a big girl'.

A few ditsy prints and some polka dots seemed to fit the bill quite nicely. I did squeeze some pink in there but also lilac and that scrummy appley, leafy Spring green to stop it from being too babyish.

Apparently on the night of The Big Event a very tired girl would not go to sleep until she had her new blankie to cover her up. Result!

My baby bruv and SiL wanted to hang the quilts on the kids' bedroom walls to keep them nice.

NOOOOOO!

They had strict instructions that they must be loved and snuggled and squished and used.

My nephew was not a baby either. He was most definitely an active little chap (who really didn't want to hang around while some woman in a long white frock poured water over his head!!). Pale baby blue would not be right. This one called for bright colors.

My brother and his wife are as nuts about the South West coast as me. In fact they are actually young and fit enough to don the neoprene and catch a few waves. So a seaside/coastal/beach theme seemed quite apt. They have a camper van and tent which they use quite a bit so I decided to make a quilt to suit.

Sand, dunes, fish and of course BUSES! Perfect.

So there we have it. A bit of what I've been up to. There's much more to share but I won't hit you with it all in one go. Slowly slowly...

I've practised uploading photos again (and I've changed to the new Blogger posting method). Just need to remember to rotate the flipping photos before uploading them and I'll be sorted!

ttfn

Here we go again...

2011-02-02T09:55:00.002Z

err... a very tentative 'hello'.

I'm scared to say it but I think I'm back. Only one year and one month later 'normal' service has hopefully been resumed.

To wrap it all up very quickly - hub was out of work for 11 of the past 18 months but in December he started a new job which (fingers, toes and everything else crossed) is much better and will (hopefully) last. He is much happier there and has settled in really well. Phew!

So the PC is mine again. The house is mine again (on the days I'm not at work). And inbetween housework I can squeeze some crafting and blogging. Did I get that the right way around?

I have actually been keeping my hands busy while I've been away. I had to do something to keep me sane. :o) Photos will follow but - as Miranda's mum would say - "Bear with. Bear with".

Apart from hooking and quilting and shimmying and stick-bashing I've created a new blog.
I really must be stupid to go from no bloggin to running two and contributing to a third but - hey ho - I think it's called hitting the ground running.

My new one is about my sponsored weight-loss programme (aarrgghh!! that phrase). I need to lose many pounds so I thought I'd donate some of them to charity. Have a quick lookie over there and all will be revealed.

The blog I contribute to is the blog for the shop where I work - Staffordshire Needlecraft Centre. It's a place to keep our customers up to date with new stock, workshops and so on. We are developing a mail order side to the business so we can send stuff through the post. Patchwork fabric, haberdashery, wool, lace, trims, buttons.... you name it.

Anyway, enough of that.

I'm off to grab some breakfast then it's back to sorting out the chaos that is The Spare Room. HQ is in a bit of a state since I acquired some new drawers for my patchwork stash. I'll take some piccies of that too so I can brush up my rusty blogging skills. How do you upload photos again....?

ttfn

Happy New Year!!!

2010-01-02T14:24:00.004Z

So as promised... ooh a year ago... here are some photos of what I've been up to during my absence from the Land of Blog.

First off is my attempt at knitting from a pattern. The sleeveless cardi is what I chose for the kiddie. Sirdar class this as an Easy Knit so I thought I'd stand some sort of chance of finishing it.

This is current progress. The back and one side are complete. I'm currently working the last bit of the other side then the fun begins. Sewing up and working the neck- and button bands. Eeek! I've never had to pick up stitches or anything like it before so I think it may be taking a trip to work with me once I'm ready to start. I'm determined to complete it before she's too big for it!!
Unfortunately I've rapidly come to the comclusion that I'm not a knitter. I've made so many mistakes and had to unpick so much. When you're crocheting it's easy to undo and redo and mishaps. Last night I sat down to do a bit on the cardi. I'd worked 3 rows before I realised that I'd messed up my purls and knits and had worked 3 rows back to front. If I slide it off the needles and unravel I don't know which stitches to pick back up and the thought of un-knitting those three rows just does not appeal!!

Crochet is a different story. I am addicted. Totally. While I've been away from my own blog and every one elses there is ONE that I've continued to visit every day - Attic24. I'm also a frequent visitor to Ravelry and Lion Brand for advice and free patterns. What joy.

This next couple of pix combines crochet with mine and the kiddie's other obsession...

It's a WIP amigurumi David Tennant. Oh how we sobbed last night when he finally began to glow... At least kiddie now has a yarn version to cuddle up to.

Other crocheted gems I've found are Granny Stars,

lovely snowflakes - both courtesy of links on Attic 24,

and a pair of "knitted characters" for my nephews - viewers of Harry Hill's TV Burp will know all about these woolly chap. I found the pattern on EssHaych's blog and it's brill (well I managed to complete 2 of them anyway). Sadly I didn't manage to get pics with their faces on so you'll have to Google or use your imagination.

And now I have a new toy to play with. Look what Santa brought for me :O)

An embellisher. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!! I'm so excited but have only had the tiniest little play on it so far.

A bit of felt and some wool tops/roving to make a heart,

and a tulip-y kind of flower

and some yarn and tops with organza fabric.

I am now desperate for a book to get me started. I've seen so many amazing pieces of work made using embellishers but I want to give myself a tutorial. So a book with lots of basic techniques would be brill. Off to hit Amazon to see what's out there.

I shan't promise to post again soon as I'm so flippin' erratic with this thing. Hubbie is redundant again so the computer is his domain all day, joining job agencies, tweaking CVs, etc. Fingers crossed for his first interview on 15th January...

ttfn

So...

2009-11-23T21:44:00.006Z

...it's been a while. How've you been?

Me? Oh I'm fine.

I'm 40 now y'know. I had a little shindig with a "Beautiful Briny" theme. I went as Ursula the Sea Witch from the Little Mermaid and scared my neice so much she wouldn't speak to me for the whole night. Can't understand why myself...

I had loads of lovely prezzies. These were off my sis and her family. Yep. There are 40. Count 'em.

And my lovely mummy bought me this -

No! NOT the small child in the distance. She's mine anyway. And NOT the whole balloon full of people but I did get to ride in it. A-ma-zing!! I want to go again. We flew from the grounds of Shugborough Hall - a stately home not far from Lichfield. The country seat of the Earls of Lichfield. This is where the late, great Patrick Lichfield lived.

My darling OH bought me a fabulous shiny new bike so we all have one now and have no excuse not to go out riding them. I have ridden it... err... once so far. Yes. I'm useless I know. But I really, really will when the Spring comes. Honest!

We did finally manage to get away in the Bongo. Yay! It was brill (if a little chilly). We went to Swanage for the weekend for a dive trip. It was brill to be parked on Swanage Pier making our own bacon butties and cups of tea in the sunshine while everyone else traipsed off to a "greasy spoon". Next season we definitely need an awning to stow all the excess (diving) kit but apart from that it is ace.

I've had a few other social engagements in recent times. Rocky Horror Picture Show - the stage version - came to the Birmingham Hippodrome and 8 of us had a girlie night out. I want to wear that corset every day! It just puts everything in the right place. OK so you can't breathe very easily and sitting down is a bit of a challenge but apart from that...

On 10th November OH and I went to see Muse live at the NIA, Birmingham. Words cannot describe just how fantastic they were. I now seem to lose inordinate amounts of time watching videos of the gig on YouTube. If I'm not doing that then I'm playing Scrabble on Facebook.

But that's not to say that all craft activity has gone out of the window. Fitting it all in around work has been difficult but I do seem to be getting back on track now.

But I'll save that for daylight hours so I can take some photos and let you see my achievements in "Glorious Technicolour".

It's great to be back.

ttfn

Is anybody there?

2009-11-23T13:41:00.004Z

WARNING!! WARNING!

I will be back soon.

Watch this space ----------------------->

Hooked!!

2009-08-08T11:34:00.003+01:00

My crochet addiction continues apace. The Granny Squares are gradually joining themselves together (completely unaided) to form blocks. They plan to become cushion covers aparently.

Not content with your basic 2 dimensional hooking, I've now ventured into the third dimension.

Amigurumi.

Kiddie is suitably chuffed with this concept as she is now the proud owner of a small woolly chick, who sleeps in a small woolly nest and eats very small woolly worms.

(In this picture the worm has crawled away before being scoffed.)

When I visited The Knitting Corner I spotted some fabbo crocheted/knitted bunting hanging from the beams and had to have a little go myself. I found a video tutorial for making triangles but made a bit of a mess of the last few rows (hence the bulge and the 'bent' point) and the edging wasn't great, but I keep trying.

Here's another little play with amigurumi. The yellow is a second birdie and the green is an experiment. Watch this space (in case it works...).

One piece that is working is my cotton rope scarf. I keep ploughing away at the rows of (UK) double crochet - very therapeutic - and hopefully one day soon will have a finished scarf.

So that's me for now. What with school holidays and working..... Ah knickers! You've heard it all before! lol

Will post when I can. Hopefully soon there will be Bongo adventures to share. 'Til then,

ttfn

2009-07-27T09:40:00.002+01:00

No I haven't shuffled off this mortal coil. I'm still here. It's just a bit of 'a squash and a squeeze' fitting blogging in around work, housework, kiddie and my two new passions...

Exhibit A

and Exhibit B...

Exhibit A is our lovely jubbly new camper van!! It's actually a Mazda Bongo. VW's are just way too over-priced for what they are and, much as I love them, they are a bit beyond us. But a Bongo, while not quite as cute and quirky, is much more reliable and has lots of gadgets and gizmos. Ours is fully converted from the original 8-seater people carrier to a mini-motorhome with sink, cooker, fridge and lovely rock-and-roll bed plus an automatic elevating roof where the kiddie sleeps.

We only picked him up on Friday evening and haven't had chance to camp out yet but we had pizzas and cups of tea in him on Friday evening... outside my mum's house!! How adventurous!!

While the interior is all very modern and tastefully upholstered, it needs a few creative touches. All the side windows have built-in electric blinds but the two ends have little curtains. At the moment these are very serviceable checked ones in tan and cream *yawn*, but I feel a big splash of LIME GREEN is needed to match the pop-top bit. I'm heading off to the shops today to try and find some other limey accessories to spice things up a bit.

Exhibit B is as a direct result of my new job. I am surrounded by buttons, zips, patchwork fabric, haberdashery of all kinds and yarn. I have always loved wool shops - the gorgeous colours, the sumptuous textures - but have never been able to indulge in many purchases as I have never known what to do with the stuff. My knitting is school-girl standard at best and the thought of trying to make a garment fills me with terror. As for crochet, well it's become so popular in recent years but I've never mastered it. I tried last year on holiday but didn't know what I was doing and after one wonky sample I gave up.

Then...

I mentioned at work that I would love to know how to make granny squares and that was it! My boss (the lovely Bev) produced a hook and a ball of yarn and gave me a demo there and then. I got it pretty much straight away and since then I've been hooked (oh I'm soooooo funny).
I bought 3 balls of Rowan DK out of the 'end of line' basket and a size 4 hook and that was it. Now I'm obsessed. I take it everywhere with me. Joy of joys - I can do it in the car (not while driving obviously). Reading while travelling gives me a bad head but not crochet.

So far I've made 27 granny squares (soon to become 3 nine-square cushions), a couple of other experimental ones (learning to read patterns), several little flowers courtesy of Attic 24 and I'm also working on a cotton scarf. More pics will follow when I make time to take some. :O)

So that's me.

For now dolls and all things fabric have taken a backseat. It's "crochet love" all the way. And now it's the school holidays. For some inexplicable reason kiddie is off for 7 weeks this year!! So in between entertaining her and working and a visit to Devon at some point, my blogging could still be pretty sparse. But I'm still lurking on the edges of Blogdom so do come and say 'Hi'.

ttfn

2009-06-19T22:57:00.006+01:00

Oh my goodness. Much is happening in the world of 'ethel and edna', hence the lack of blogs posts. Where do I begin..?

I know.

I've got a job!

Yes - a real live, bona fide, 'proper' job. And do you know just how perfect it is? I'm working in the needlework shop in Lichfield!! Are you jealous? :O) It has been through various incarnations over the years but is now called The Staffordshire Needlecraft Centre. Imagine - I get to spend all day surrounded by fabric and threads and haberdashery. Fab! SO if you're in the area on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays or alternate Saturdays, stick your head round the door and say hello. It's a proper shop where they believe in customer service and being friendly and passing the time of day with customers, rather than trying to rush you out of the door. :O)

***

So it's almost here. The Solstice Walk is tomorrow night. Here are my lovely wings from last year. Talk about planning... I still haven't sorted out the rest of my costume yet. I've bought several metres of net so tomorrow I'll whizz up the speediest fairy tutu ever.

I have been overwhelmed by people's generosity, especially considering the current economic climate. (In terms of sponsor money)I have beaten last year's total (£135) by at least £30. And there's still time to pledge some if you would like to. Just click on the Just Giving link on the right.

A mahoosive 'thank you' to everyone that has sponsored me, now matter how much or how little, it all adds up to providing more care and support when it is most needed.

***

In an effort to raise some funds for up-coming birthdays and other events, I have been having a bit of a de-stash on ebay. There are bags of these:

several pieces of fabric in a variety of sizes that have been sitting around for way too long waiting to be made up into something:

this scrumptious book by C June Barnes which I bought last year at Knitting and Stitching on a whim (for £18!!) and know I will never use (it's even signed!!):

and if you're one of the last remianing people on the plante who don't yet own a copy of Cath Kidston's 'make!' then here's your chance (starting at 99p!!).

I'm going to keep adding stuff over the next few daysm as and when it appears/I have time to photograph and list it. Oh and the all-important details - my seller name is sew_sioux_me_77. I don't know where it came from really - sew is quite obvious I suppose, sioux is as in Siouxsie and the Banshees who I love and the play on words was just 'cause I thought it was funny at the time. Sad but true.

***

On Wednesday kiddie and I travelled in Brum on the train to go and see 'ethel' (or is she 'edna'? we don't know ourselves!). Hallelujah!!! She - Ann - has finally finished her degree and is almost a free woman! We went to the private view of her final exhibition and her installation which included a tiny contribution from me. I shan't go into details ('cause apart from anything it's all a bit deep and over my head now I'm out of the Fine Art envirnoment), but did a teensy bit of machine lettering to go down the spine of a businessman's suit.

I'm so glad she's finished and so is Ann. She plans to buy a stack of wool and sit and knit just for pleasure. Not for any reason or deadline. It doesn't have to have a context or meaning. It's just making stuff for the sheer pleasure of it.

Amen to that. :O)

***

On Thursday I went on a medieval pilgrimage to Lichfield Cathedral! Yes I know I live there. It was with kiddie's school and i went along as an adult helper. It was a brilliant day.

We had a whistle-stop tour of 12 stations of the cathedral in the morning, incorporating the story of St Chad (to whom the cathedral is dedicated). Then after lunch we processed around the cathedral, stopping off in the choir for a mini lesson about and demonstraion of the organ. WOW! I love church organ music, when you can feel in through the soles of your feet. Then we were shown the skull of St Chad from the balcony of the Chapel of ST Chads Head. This is what the pilgrims of the Middle Ages journeyed to see. All my life I have lived no more than 7 miles from Lichfield yet I've never seen it before. We finished off with some of the children offering special coins and lighting candles at the altar of St Chad, while the incense burned and smelled amazing.

It was a really well orgnanised, if rather long and tiring day. I never grow tired of visiting the cathedral. There is always something new to see and learn. It is such an incrediby beautiful and historically fascinating place, regardless of your beliefs.

Right. I must go now and try to make a fairy outfit for myself. Doing 'The Walk in my tracksuit would be a bit of a disappointment. Tinsel and glitter and fluff and frills are required.

ttfn

Ooh! Aah! Just a little bit. Ooh! Aah! A little bit more...

2009-06-10T09:35:00.003+01:00

Yesterday I spent a few happy hours making mini Adipose* plushies/softies/whatever-you-want-to-call-'ems. Kiddie took her larger one to dance practice on Sunday and one of the blokes asked if I could make him a smaller one to attach to his hat.

So after trawling the 'net for the pattern (I lost the original one in the Computer Memory Incident) I set about reducing and tweaking and here he is.

How cute is that. Of course the kiddie stole the first one and claimed it for her own. The next one I made ended up being given to her best friend then I made a third for BF's small brother as they were all playing together and I felt sorry for him being left out.

And THAT'S why I never make any money!! I'm a soft touch and give everything away. But it was worth it to see his reaction when I gave it to him. And apparently he slept with it cuddled up to him all night - duvet flung aside and 41/2" of stuffed fleece fabric to keep him warm. Aah!

After all that I still haven't made one for Bob the Rabble. And now the B-Movie Swap has been sorted so I need to get to work on that. And I'm hoping to take part in the FibreArts Junk Bird Challenge. Better hit the machine.

ttfn

* For those of you who haven't got a clue what an Adipose is, they are little creatures from Dr Who made entirely of human fat. Eeeuuww!! Humans bought Adipose weight-loss pills as they magically dissolved fat BUT, when a special gizmo was activated by The Nanny, the fat cells took shape and bulged under people's skin and then out popped these little creatures. Nice!

I made some stuff

2009-06-09T17:26:00.003+01:00

Fab title for a post eh? Sorry I was lacking in inspiration. But anyhoo this is what I made.

Two cushion covers using reverse applique. I've had this fab book for ages and used it to make some samples when I was studying for my City and Guilds P&Q course. One of them got made into a cushion for Evie

and I spotted it the other day which reminded me about the technique. The twist with Jan Mullen's version is that she creates the 'secret' layer underneath before laying on the top one.

She suggests all types of standard and crazy piecing techniques to form this secret layer. It's a great way of using up your scraps. I had loads of bits in bluey-turquoisey colours leftover from my mermaid costume so I used these as a base. Then I chose the words 'briny' and 'blue' as my motifs to cut out. The photo doesn't really do them justice. I'm quite pleased with them. The only problem I found is that I followed what we were taught i college about cushion covers - measure you cushion and make the cover about an inch smaller so they are nice a fat. However, my little cushion were well-stuffed any way. When it came to putting them into the cases it was a real struggle. So now I'm going to have to hack them open and remove some stuffing so they don't burst at the seams!!

This strange lady is an ongoing WIP. Her head, body and arms have been joined together for a while. A few weeks ago I got busy with the stamps and embossing powders to make her body more exciting then she got shelved.

A few weeks ago I dragged her out again and played with threads and fabric strips to make hair. She is going slightly errr.... colourful now, but she is fun.

So now it's onto clothing. I'm experimenting with all kinds of random ideas. At the mo she has some harem pants but they look a bit too clownish so may have to go. I do like the Suffolk puffs on her should though. And the dangly torn strips have got real potential.

Right. Off to be a domstic goddess as OH is back and I need to look like I've made tea!! lol

ttfn

Away with the Fairies...

2009-06-05T22:29:00.004+01:00

Just a quickie tonight - (ooh er Missus!!) -but I just wanted to explain the new button on the right.

Remember this from last year? Well it's happening again this year. On the 20th June to be exact. Me and 1999 other women will be dressing up as fairies and parading around Lichfield city centre in the middle of the night. No we aren't some weird dressing-up cult. We will once again be walking to raise money for St Giles Hospice.

For those of you who don't know, this is our local hospice who looked after my dad during the final stages of his battle with "the Big C". There amazing 'Hospice at Home' team, together with MacMillan Nurses, ensured that he could spend his final days at home listening to his favourite music and the laughter and chatter of his family, rather than in a hospital bed.

Please, please, please can you find your way to pledge just a small amount of money to sponsor me and kiddie on our walk. I know times are hard financially, but people still get terminally ill whether there's a recession or not. If one other family could be given the fantastic support and comfort we received as a result of our efforts it will be worth it. If you can spare a little (or a even lot) just click on the 'Donate' button and follow the instructions.

Thanks so much you lovely people. Last year we raised £135 between us - you and me that is :O). Let's see what we can do this year.

Right. I'm offski now to do some sewing -SHOCK! HORROR! I have actually been very busy although very much in Scanner mode. Puzzled? Click on the link to Meridian Ariel's blog and see if you're a Scanner too, then it will all make sense.

Before I leave I'd just like to mention the 'G' word. Yes, there may be a giveaway in the offing very soon, but "...shhhhhhh... You didn't see me. Right?"

ttfn

Doin' a Runner!

2009-06-02T10:58:00.005+01:00

Last Tuesday we 'did a runner'. This is how OH's diving club refer to an impromptu jaunt to the coast for a dip in the briny. As it was half term I thought a day at the seaside might be nice, even if it did mean getting up at the crack of dawn.

The divers were meeting at the boathouse at 5.30am!!!

Yes. There really is such a time! I always thought the hands of my clock jumped from midnight to 7am whilst I was asleep.

Luckily, because we were travelling in our own car and not towing the boat and trailer, we were able to drive a bit faster so could get up a bit later. Phew!

It took us 3 hours or so to get there.

Oh sorry. I've never said where 'there' is.

West Bay. Bridport. Dorset.

Anyhoo we arrived mid-morning and it was sunny but quite windy. The guys (and gal - sorry N) got the RIB off the trailer and into the water. Here they all are waiting for the final member of the gang to get kitted up and on board.

For those of you who've not 'met' him before my hubster is the grinning loony at the front.

Eventually, after the obligatory hour of faffing about which scuba divers HAVE to do, they pottled off. These two photos don't show the true state of the sea as they are still in the shelter of the harbour wall. Once they got out into open sea the White Horses were charging about and they all got soaked pretty much straight away. Oh well. That's UK divers for you. Me and the kiddie had our sights firmly set on the yellowy-gold bit behind the boat and in front of the buildings (see below).

We spent a fab morning on the beach with ice-cream and a bag of hot doughnuts! Kiddie had a whale of a time, digging and building then rolling and sliding down the steep shingle bank. She loves the beach so much and can keep herself amused for hours.

When we espied the RIB coming back we scuttled round to the slipway to meet them for some lunch. Sadly the sea had just been too rough and they were calling it a day. If the sea is rough on the surface it isn't necessarily still all calm underneath. Plus, highish waves made it very hard to spot the surfacing divers, despite having metre high day-glo orange markers buoys to identify them. Hubbie ended up with a smashed chin as well when the RIB lurched in the waves.

So, once they were all changed and dry the other divers headed off for home, but we hadn't come all that way for half a day on the beach. We jumped in the car and drove round to Lyme Regis.

Which was heaving with people. Well it was half term.

We parked at the end of town by The Cobb and had the best chips for lunch sitting on the beach there. More excavation followed for the kiddie while daddy 'off-gassed' (went to sleep and snored loudly on the beach) and mummy people-watched. Beaches are just so great for people watching. Everyone is so much less inhibited when the sun is out, there's sand between their toes and the sea somewhere close by. Hilarious!

To round the day off we had locally made ice-cream. Well it's The Law at the seaside isn't it? I had rhubarb and custard flavour *dribble* Hubster had... err... can't remember what he had.

And kiddie..?

Well kiddie...?

Words fail me.

Just look at the photo.

Meant to be bubblegum flavour.

Yes. It really was that colour. Yuck!!

******

And now onto my fab post this morning (I mean through the letterbox tyoe post not blog type post).

Ooh how excited am I?

I had read about Snapdragon Flowers giveaway over on Clare's blog - Summerfete. Never thinking I'd be one of the lucky ones, I still emailed Jane and asked nicely for a badge.

Look what I got this morning!!

Jane wanted people to photograph the badges she sent out 'in situ' for inclusion in her catalogue. I told her about my Morris dancing rags and hat, and said that I would put my badge on either of these.

So now I'm off to decide where to put my space hopper and get snapping. I'll post some piccies here when it's done.

I've also got to crack on and finish my little bags. It's just been too hot to sit and sew. I have been making the most of the dry weather though and ploughing through the washing. Oh joy!

ttfn

50 Foot Woman Attacks Crafting World!!

2009-05-31T10:01:00.006+01:00

Just when my mojo was flagging Apryl at Meridian Ariel has announced a new swap.

Flying saucers and aliens, swamp monsters, vampires and robots - anything goes. Think of all those fabulous 1950s B-Movies and away you go.

Pop over to Apryl's blog and follow the instructions.

Number 8

2009-05-31T00:12:00.004+01:00

The lovely Emma tagged me to do this meme in an effort to get me blogging again. It's taken me over a week to get my answers all done, and each time I've attempted it I've had to start from scratch because it was a new day.

Here's the rules, just in case you want to follow them:

1. Mention the name of the person who tagged you.
2. Do the lists of 8.
3. Tag 8 bloggers of your choice. (OK I'm breaking this rule cuz I'm rubbish and lazy and good-for-nuffink. If you have a spare few minutes or you're stuck for what to blog about, give it a go, then let me know cuz I'm really nosey as well as lazy and want to know all about you).
4. Let them know that they have been tagged!

8 Things I Am Looking Forward To....

1. My 40th birthday in September – yes really.
2. The next issue of Coast magazine
3. The promised hot summer (yeah right!)
4. My next visit to the seaside
5. Morris dancing tomorrow
6. Working on a new swap and a doll competition (will blog about both soon)
7. Winning the Premium Bonds (maybe one day)
8. Getting stuff listed and sold(?) in etsy/Folksy

8 Things I Did Yesterday... (well OK Thursday).

1. 4 loads of washing
2. Mowed the lawns
3. Finished my book – Notes from an Exhibition – fabulous!
4. Christened our new swinging barbecue
5. Tried to sew the gusset into one of my little bags (way too hot!)
6. Watched Springwatch
7. Sat in the sun - briefly
8. Drank lovely pink wine *hic*
.
8 Things I Wish I Could Do...
.
1. Lose weight
2. Have a BIG win on the Premium Bonds
3. Blog more frequently!!
4. Bring about the end of Big Brother! Talk about flogging a dead horse…
5. Be as supple and bendy and fit as I used to be several years ago
6. Own a camper van – I’m working on it (well on him)
7. Live in Cornwall – one day…
8. Whistle really loudly with my fingers in my mouth

8 Shows I Watch...
.
1. Dr Who (recent convert)
2. Q.I.
3. Mock the Week
4. The Mighty Boosh (nobody said it had to be current telly – I’ve got DVDs, you know)
5. Green Wing
6. Ashes to Ashes
7. Springwatch/Autumnwatch
8. Have I Got News for You

I really, really will do a proper post on Monday when the kids are back at school/work. There's lots of catching up to do. 'Til then,

ttfn
xx

What?! She's been sewing?! Never!

2009-05-22T23:26:00.005+01:00

Yes really. I have.

Many, many moons ago I was a member of the Embroiderers Guild in Lichfield. I loved the monthly workshops we used to hold with visiting luminaries of the world of embroidery. One such was with Hilary Bower who, at the time, was making highly encrusted, multi-media type bags and panels and 3-D towers. The workshop was to make a small bag and below is the result.

At the time we were very much into green and terracotta so this fitted in our lounge perfectly. I was (and still am) pretty proud of it, not least because it was something I actually finished!!! How many UFOs do I have?

Following on from the workshop I decided to make a second bag at home and work commenced on the Ray of Sunshine bag. (It had a name long before a needle ever touched it.) The probably dates back to the mid/late 1990s and is still not finished!!

Earlier this week I suddenly remembered my little yellow bag and had the urge to finish it and make some others in a similar style. So - SHOCK HORROR - I got out my sketchbook. I doodled and sketched and cut and stuck and doodled some more...

Then out came the fabrics and threads. Little bits of felt and silk and cotton; even the titchiest scraps can be used up.

This is the early stages of the blue one. The background felt has been stiffened with dilute PVA and stitched to give a base texture (running stitch in this case). The scraps have all been tacked in place.

The background of 'colourful' one is felt stiffened in the same way but covered with some hand dyed muslin. Some of the motifs have had a a bit more hand stitching applied. I have now set to work with the machine, blitzing them with free-machine embroidery, and the beads have also started to fly (literally on one occasion!). I'll put some more piccies on in a day or two to show how things are progressing.

*****

And now here's a small meme if you've got nowt better to do over the coming Bank Holiday (let's face it, it will probably rain at some point - or maybe you'll be sitting in the scorchio sun under an umbrolly thinking of your answers). Whatever...

...Let’s Play

Let’s Play rules:

Copy the list, erase my answers, add your own then post the to your blog, Facebook, etc. Use the first letter of your last name to begin the answers to each of the following questions. They have to be real places, names, etc. Nothing made up! Try to think up different answers if your initial is the same as the previous person.
Enjoy!!

1. What is your last name? Smith

2. A 4 Letter Word? Sewn

3. A Boy’s Name? Sam

4. A Girl’s name? Sybil

5. An Occupation? Silversmith

6. A Colour? Scarlet

7. Something you wear? Smalls

8. A Beverage? Shandy

9. A Food? Scallops

10. Something found in the bathroom? Scales

11. A place? Sharkham Point

12. A Reason for being late? Sloth

13. Things you shout? SH*T THE BED! (sorry *sheepish grin)

Thanks to Apryl who I pinched that one from.

Tag. You’re it.

ttfn

Take That Tickets and a mini catch-up.

2009-05-20T12:54:00.005+01:00

Oh pants! It's already a week since my last post. I'm not going to disappear again it's just that I've been a bit busy and haven't got photos of anything I've been up to.

This morning I've been trying to attain the halo of a Domestic Goddess. I've reached that point where the house is A Pit. Enough is enough. Let the cleaning frenzy begin. My kitchen is now spick and span (great phrase!). My bathroom is sparkling. I am now having a small break-ette before hitting the rest of the house. If you really want me too I'll post some photos in a bit. We're not talking Country Living here you realise...

Last Sunday I danced at Etwall Well Dressing as I mentioned. Again I am photo-less as the weather was less than desirable. I am dancing at Moira Canal Festival this coming Sunday. Let's hope the barbecue summer 'they' keep promising begins this weekend. I don't fancy another 'dance out' in the cold and wet. It makes my marabou trim go all floppy!

Oh I mentioned Take That tickets. No. Sorry that is NOT my belated 200th post giveaway (more about that soon). A friend of mine bought two tickets too many and she's starting to panic as they are listed on eBay but haven't sold yet.

IF you would like to go and see Take That on 10th June at the Ricoh Stadium in Coventry then email me/leave a comment.

Some of the more observant readers amongst you may have noticed that I've recently passed 200 posts on this little blog of mine. In view of everything that's gone on here I think I'll postpone the customary giveaway until 250 posts. Hopefully by then I'll be better organised (and receiving an income of some kind so I can afford to give stuff away - lol).

I'll try and get some photos taken and uploaded so I can show you my hard work - both domestic and creative. 'Til then,

ttfn
xx

It's not just me...

2009-05-13T14:18:00.004+01:00

...it seems that loads of Bloggers have been taking a break. But now - in response to worried emails from Bloggy friends and nagging from my family - I am back!!

OH started work on Monday. Yay!!! It's been a HUGE culture shock for him after 2+ months at home but at least he gets continuity of employment for his CV, and he's no longer a government statistic (I can hear strains of UB40s 'One in Ten').

So what have I been up to?

Well I haven't been very productive at all on the craft front, but I have managed to sell two of my rose brooches through incy wincy's website. Cheers Sam! You're a star.

A red one went a few weeks ago now.
Then on Monday an order came through for this coral coloured one.

I'm going to have to whip up a few more of these before too long as stocks are dwindling.

Apart from that I seem to have spent most of the time dressing up!! My friend Maria's birthday party had a Wild West theme. I struggled for weeks to know what to wear. The original plan had been to all go as showgirls - flouncy skirts, corsets and feathers in our hair - but then redundancy struck and pennies were tight so I had to make do with what I had at home.

The result was a hillybilly affair complete with freckles and blacked out teeth. Nice!

OK. I confess. The cowboy boots were from eBay but I'm putting them right back on there as I'll never wear them again. If you're interested in some red and black Wrangler cowboy boots in a size 4 let me know...

The next event was May Day Bank Holiday weekend when we went to Upton on Severn Folk Festival with t'Rabble.

Sunday is parade day and they always go in fancy dress. This year the theme was 'Myth and Magic'. After some pondering I decided I fancied being a mermaid (anything to do with the sea is fine by me). But how the Hell does a mermaid do Morris dancing?!? Well this is the result...

I covered the bra with some fabric (see I've done some sewing)and stitched loads of beads and sequins to it, then the tail was loads of strips of fabrics stitched to the knee of the trousers. It's not as good as I'd hoped but it did the job.

On the Saturday we wore normal (?) rags and hats.

We are dancing again this Sunday at Etwall Well Dressing. Our spots are at 3.30 ad 4.30 if anybody is in the area...

Last weekend our school PTA had organised an 80s disco with optional fancy dress element. So of course I had to dress up didn't I? More deliberation but in the end I decided to go as me back then.

I didn't wear make-up like this all the time - just when going to gigs and stuff - but it was such a laugh doing it again.

And the clothing..? I lived in floor length black skirts back then, or shorter ones with black and white stripey tights. I had fake Dr Martens shoes not the genuine 8-hole boots I now own, but the fishnet tights on the arms are exactly the same!

With me is Julia (BDB) dressed as one of Strawberry Switchblade. Now who remembers them?

And that's it. Well of course there's been belly dancing class but you've seen the rainbow skirt in past posts. I have been wearing it a lot recently as we've been learning a new gypsy dance - first in Tuesday class then on Thursday. It's fab. May have to get it videoed so you can have a small peek.

I can't remember how much else I may have missed but that's going to be it for catch-up. As from now it's onward and upward. I have actually been doing some 'designery' stuff today. I'm going to publish this then take photos ready for my next visit to the World of Blog.

It's so nice to be back.

ttfn

errrr... yeah I know...

2009-03-13T15:56:00.005Z

Once upon a time there was a blog. It wasn't much to look at but it was a happy little blog quietly eeking out an existence in the Blogosphere. It had pretty photos. It had wordy bits (and sometimes they were quite funny). It even had the occasional visitor which made it very happy.
Then one day it ground to a halt.
It's author forgot about it and left it all alone.
Sometimes visitors came to see it and left it little comments which helped it survive. Just.
The author had become somewhat distracted by the other things in her life - husband's redundancy, husband being at home on the computer all day looking for jobs, looking for jobs herself, worrying about money, - those kinds of things. the blog did not understand these things so it just sat in the corner and pined.
Then one day the author's husband went away for a day so the author could finally get back onto the computer. Once she had caught up with reading all the other blogs she liked in the Blogosphere she remembered her own blog...

TA-DAH!!!!!!

Hello.

Remember me?

It's been a while but I'm back, for today at least.

So here we go with a frantic catch up.

Went to Brixham and sailed across to Torquay in the lovely sunshine,

with my lovely sis, of course, (that's Brixham behind her on our return journey).

Everybody climbing back onto The Rum Runner after lunch. Thanks Tim and Fi for the loan of the boat. She's gorgeous!

And this is the bloke that is now in need of a job. If anybody needs someone to run an engineering/manufacturing plant then he's your man, particularly if it's related to windows/aluminium/metal casting/pressing. Flipping China!!!

I did my first public(ish) Stick Bashing last Sunday. We were meant to be dancing at a pub in Barton and collecting cash for Comic Relief but weren't made overly welcome (even though we had phoned and asked beforehand). So we regrouped at our usual post-practice pub in Alrewas - The George and Dragon - where we did a couple of wee dances in the backroom after we had been suitably refreshed. Evie and I were presented with our bells (think fairies getting their wings but different).

Here is Mini-Me in her kit just before we left home. She looks a real Dickensian urchin in her rags and topper.

And here is another bit of brightly coloured creativity. I finally finished the rainbow skirt!

I love it sooooo much.

When OH gets back from his day of "networking" at Cheltenham I'll get him to take some pics of me wearing it and twirling around so you get the full effect.

can't believe that it's done. There were surprisingly few hiccups along the way. I have even turned the hem up by hands and everything now. I would just like some braid to stitch along the hemline but maybe not...

This is my Morris hat, complete with red noses as it's Red Nose Day. Don't quite know why it's in the middle and not with the Morris dancing stuff but I'm not going to risk shuffling photos around and messing up the spacing an more.

I've been the very happy recipient of a couple of brilliant swaps. First is Jennyflower's Mug Swap. My partner was the amazing Michele of Calicodaisy in America. She had got all my stuff parcelled up ready to go 'til she got to the Post Office. When it was weighed it cost loads more in postage than the actual mug had cost. So she took the parcel to pieces and took the heavy mug out and sent the rest of the stuff which was much lighter. There is so much anyway - it is brilliant.

Three pieces of gorgeous fabric. Look at those toadstools. The polka dots have already been attacked.

Instead of a ceramic mug I got a quilted and embroidered one - much nicer I think.

And a fabbo wallet to carry teabags (or anything else) around in.

Thanks so much Michele. I'm overwhelmed with how much you sent and how beautiful it all was xx

Then there was meridan Ariel's Owl Swap.

For this my partner was fabbo - and also 40 this year (but it doesn't matter cuz it's just a number) - Janine (angelgurl) from New Zealand. Again I am overcome but how generous people are. Look at that cute knitted bloke! He is now on the Top Shelf with Ponsonby Pigeon and Ginger's dolly looking down on us all.

The HUMUNGOUS bar of chocolate is gradually disappearing. It is hidden in my workroom and I'm being very controlled in my eating of it (mainly cuz it's SOOOOO thick you'd break your jaw if you ate any more than a couple of pieces at a time - it-'s scrummy!!).

The box with the circular motif on it is a stationery set handmade by Janine. There are the cutest, stalkiest looking owls stamped on tags and notepads. Hilarious! There are loads of pictures over on Flickr showing it opened out. It is so clever. She is so clever. Definitely pop over and have a look.

There is also an angel charm made from crystal beads and a glittery angel tag.

And then there was this.

We both have a passion for buttons and the day before this parcel arrived I had been making rings out of buttons. None of mine were quite so gorgeous as these ones though. The colours are fantastic. And there are loads of funky shapes and different sizes.

Once again, thank you so much Janine. It was great to 'meet' you and be your partner.

Right. Kiddie wants to go on the computer so I'd better leave it for now.

Next post will be number 200!!!! Aaaarrgghh!!

Giveaway time.

No pressure.

I will think of something.

ttfn

*wanders off scratching head and pondering*

(Not the) BBC Book Meme

2009-02-24T17:07:00.005Z

This was sent to my by Leah (sewtobed) on Facebook but I thought it was worthy of posting in Blogdom too. There are so many of these types of memes doing the rounds but there are for American books or films. The fact that one has appeared using English literature made me actually want to do it.

So apparently, the BBC believes most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books here. How do your reading habits stack up?

Instructions (if you want to play): Look at the list and put an 'X' after those you have read once. Enter a number for the number of times you read something. Make sure you delete my X's! When you've finished, tag 10 people to do it too, and put your total at the bottom.

OK, fellow bookworms, let's fight dirty!

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen - X
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien - X
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling - X (lost count)
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee - X
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte X
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell X
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens X
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy - X
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier - X
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien - X
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger - X
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger - X
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams - X2
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh - X4 at least
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll - X
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame - X6
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis - X
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis - X4
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hossein - X (The best book I've read in years - Go on. Do it!)
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne - X
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell - X
42 The Da Vinci Code - X
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy - X
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan - X
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons - X
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zifon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon - X
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck - X
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold - X 1/2 (started it twice but couldn't finish - too glum)
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac - X
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding - X2
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens - X
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett - X
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Inferno - Dante
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens - X2
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker - X
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert - X
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White - X3
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom - X
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton - X3
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams - X2
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factoy - Roald Dahl - X6 at least
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

My total: 40 Not too shabby. A damn sight better than 6 anyhoo! and I'm working on improving that total.

I am trying to read my way through many of the "modern classics" and current novels. Good old Richard and Judy. By my bed at the moment is 'Coastliners' by Joanna Harris and after that, when I've done a bit more training I have "The Gormenghast Trilogy" by Mervin Peake. Eek! Having watched The Golden Compass on DVD yesterday I now want to read all the Philip Pullman books too.

So there you have it. Give it a go and tell me how many you've read. :O)

ttfn
xx

Edited 25 Feb.

Apparently (thanks Bryanb) this is not actually from the BBC but from The Guardian. It's a list of 'Books You Can't Live Without'. The BBC did a list of the Nation's Favourite Books in 2003. For links to both check out Bryanb's comment and click on the links.
Pah! Facebook! They get everything wrong!

Didn't we have a luvverly time...

2009-02-23T21:00:00.008Z

**WARNING!! This post is seriously photo-heavy.**

Please adjust your varifocals ready for so much glorious technicolour!

...the day we went to LONDON!!
A beautiful day...

da-dah da-dah da-dah.

So it was half term. Usually at half term we don't do much. We don't go anywhere very interesting or exciting. But this time around because OH was at home I thought maybe we should do 'something'. The kiddie said she would like to go to a museum and see some mummies. A plan was hatched. A trip was discussed. It was delayed from Tuesday to Thursday and then the day dawned...

*FANFARE*

I woke at about 8.30 but the other two both slept late 'til about 9.15. Kiddie woke up and was immediately upset that she had overslept and now it was 'too late to go to London and it was all her fault'. A pow-wow on the bed ensued and we decided, "To Hell with it (whatever 'it' is)! We'll go anyway!"

So at about 10.25am we left Lichfield, the Midlands, England, The World, The Universe and headed for the M1 and the BIIIIIG CITY.

'The Plan' was to head down the motorway 'til we reached the outer regions of the Tube. Then park the car and catch a trainy thing into the City. Pah! We drove into Stanmore. We drove around Stanmore. We saw an underground station. We did NOT see a car park. No multi-storeys. No Pay and Displays. No parking meters. We drove on.

We drove to Edgware. We saw an underground station. We saw a car park. We saw a sign which said 'Car Park - Full'. We saw two CPOs. We did the proper thing that our mummies and daddies had taught us - ask a policeman. Neither of them lived in the area so couldn't tell us where the next nearest station with a car park was. Instead they just yacked onto us for ages while several other cars drove past us into the 'full' car park and found spaces!! We drove round the 'full' car park. It was full! We drove on.

We drove to Harrow and Wealdstone. We saw an underground station. We saw signs for a car park. We drove round in circles for bit and eventually we worked out the one-way system and drove into the car park. We parked the car and got out. Yay!!

It was 1.30.

We bought All Zones tickets and got on a train. To while away the journey kiddie took some photos. This one is entitled "Daddy and Wembley Stadium". Hmm...

Eventually, an hour later we arrived in the centre of London and headed straight for The British Museum. By this time we were a mite peckish so we popped into 'Munchkins' - an establishment specialising in food and beverages. There's lucky!

This is the beautiful kiddie awaiting her turkey baguette.

And this is the delightful OH enduring a whole day with the family. (Would you give this man a job? If so please email me :O)

So, suitably refreshed, at 3.15pm, we finally headed for The British Museum. This is Bloomsbury Crescent(?) opposite said museum, oh and a few tourists.

Here is the famous pediment and sculptures above the grand entrance.

Ta dah!

The family gathered in front of the Millennium bit of the museum (oh I'm so good with the tour guide bit - I can remeber all the names and details). Actually OH is programming his phone's satnav to try and find our next port of call (good old Blogger - still managed to get the photos all jumbled up!).

This is a close-up of one of the modern pillars/columns at the North end of the museum (we are doing the visit in reverse now).

Ah-ha! Proper exhibits at last! This is a fabulous beaded cloth/shroud which was laid across the torso of the bound mummy.

I don't know why but the actual layout of Egyptian tombs and burial chambers gives me the creeps. It's the idea of the hidden chambers - makes me feel very weird.

More beautiful beads. And that turquoise... So much of Ancient Egyptian design almost feels cliched now. The turquoise and terracotta colours, the hieroglyphs, the pyramids, the tombs, the masks and caskets... They have all been used so much they seem almost naff now. Do you know what I mean? City and Guilds have a lot to answer for :O)

In the flesh, however, you realise just how beautiful these artefacts are.

This is almost like a little sampler of knots and bindings used to tie the mummies up tight!

And this is the only mummified body I photographed - a child's foot. The toes and toenails are actually pieces of cloth made to look like the real thing.

These were some of my favourites exhibits in the Egyptian section. Little female figures carved from bone (I think). They are about 3" high. I just love them. So old yet could have been made yesterday.

And I spotted this little group of clay and cloth dolls when I had to take kiddie to find the loo.

So, after seeing a few mummies kiddie had had enough and wanted to see dinosaurs! Bless her! So OH tried to progamme his satnav and find it while I asked a nice man outside the museum and he gave us directions to the nearest Tube.

Here is a sneaky pic of the kiddie trying to look cool and worldly-wise, and pretending she's not with us :O)

Next stop - South Kensington. The Natural History Museum. Time of arrival - 5.05pm. Last entrance into museum - 5.50pm.

After a quick lookie at the big guy in the foyer, and a peek at the wasps nests on the left, we joined the queue for the dinos.

We shuffled into the gloom.

When we rounded the corner kiddie decided to 'ham it up'. This is 'Oh my goodness! It's a HUGE dinosaur!' Where does she get that exhibitionist streak from?...

I love this museum. The building itself would be fascinating even if it was empty. There are so many little details everywhere. This octopus is one of many different creatures carved into the stonework.

As I've finally posted off my swap parcel I felt it only right to include an owl (for Apryl - lol).

And then we reached the dinos. I love the way they have lit the skeletons so that spooky shadows are thrown onto the ceiling and walls.

This one got kiddie really excited. It's a Camarasaurus. Huh? It's the big daddy of Pleo. Is the little green chap going to grow that big?! Eek!

And then, just when we reached the far end by the full-sized, automated T Rex the announcement came over the PA system, " The museum is now closed. Please can you make your way to the exits."

So, at 6pm we shuffled back out of the gloom again, made our way down into 'that' tunnel and were shepherded along en mass 'til we eventually reached South Ken tube. There was more faffing about due to faulty signals and such, but we managed to get back to Harrow and Wealdstone Station in one piece. As we had plenty of time before the car park was locked we visited the Shrine of the Golden Arches to celebrate. I had (what turned out to be)the yuckiest thing on the menu (the bacon and cheese melt thing that's a Winter Warmer special at the moment - barf!). That'll teach me for succumbing to the lure of fast food.

We went and found the car and were pleasantly surprised - it only cost £3.50 to have parked for nearly 7 hours! It would probably have cost that for 2 hours in Birmingham. In fact, we did the whole trip pretty cheaply. £15 for the tube tickets, £3.50 car park, about £50 on all the food and drinks, and if we'd made packed lunches like we'd planned we have done it for much less.

We finally got back home at about 10.00pm. Kiddie was fast asleep (not surprisingly).

So there you have it. There and back again in 12 hours. Next time we want to do the London Eye as well! Maybe we'll have to leave at 9.00am to squeeze that in. :O)

ttfn

The end of the rainbow...

2009-02-15T09:21:00.005Z

So this is what I've been obsessed with for the past week (when I haven't been feeling yucky due to man flu).

Many of you may have seen this amazing creation by Crafty Intentions. It was shown all over the interweb - Craftster, Flickr and many, many blogs. It is beautiful. I have covetted it for belly dancing for a long time now. Finally, I decided that I just had to have one of my own so, after a quick email to Megan asking if she minded, I got to work.

First there was the cutting of the squares. I got a stiff neck, arm and shoulder from overuse of the rotary cutter. I thought I'd damaged myself dancing or I'd slept funny but no, it was the demon cutting wheel that had done the damage.

Once all those squares were stacked up I had to sew them all together.

First into long strips like this.

Then, with a huge stitch length on the machine, I tacked along the edge so I could start gathering.

Ta-da!!!! All the frilly, ruffled layers were now ready to be pinned and stitched together.

Tune in later today (when I've had chance to take more photos) to see the finished skirt. :O)

*****

Other News

It's half term (in case anyone hadn't noticed). Tomorrow we are hopefully going to the Big Smoke for a day of museums. Kiddie wants to see 'mummies' so it looks like we'll be hitting the British Museum, and maybe the Natural History Museum and possible the V&A, if I'm lucky. We're trying to do it 'on the cheap' so lunches will be packed, flasks will be filled and bargain train tickets frantically searched for :O).

I did the stick-bashing thing yesterday for all of... umm... 5 minutes. Then I felt this rather alarming 'TWAAANG' in my calf muscle and even walking was not an option for a while. I had warmed up properly, but the boots I was wearing had stopped my ankle from moving freely and caused me to do something strange when I stepped. I had to sit and watch for the rest of the practice. Boo hiss! I spent the rest of the day hobbling around even with generous application of ibuprofen gel and tubigrip bandages. Luckily it feels much better after a night's sleep. And now I have to go and buy some new trainers/shoes. Aw shucks!

Right. Better go and take some photos of my twirly skirt while the sun is shining. I can't believe how mild it is today. I have actually got washing outside on the line. What a domestic goddess I am! lol

ttfn

...with bells on.

2009-02-08T17:15:00.003Z

Yes that's right. It is sunny in these photos. And yes they were taken yesterday. It was cold. Very cold but the sun was actual warm when the wind wasn't blowing. Anyhoo it was a great day for dancing. I just wish I had my kit ready so I could have joined in.

These are all members of The Rynild Rabble, as mentioned yesterday. And once or twice before that :O)

Look at the lovely raggy coats.

Look at the lovely embellished (oooh that word) top hats.

I can't wait to get mine sorted so I can join in too.

You may have spotted a new addition to my right hand panel. A widget to do with a film about Morris dancing... It looks fantastic. Like a Morris version of The Full Monty and with an amazing cast. If you click on the widget and visit the website you'll discover that sadly it is not scheduled to go on general release. It will be shown in selected small venues in Dorset and that's it.
A member of the Rabble has contacted them to see if we could hold a screening locally but they will not come to Staffordshire. So our only hope is that it goes on National Release, for which we are petitioning.
Go on. You know you want to. Click and sign the petition. Keep us simple fools, who like to dress up and leap about, happy.
Thank you for listening.

Have you noticed I haven't posted any snowy photos. Aren't I kind? I thought I'd inflicted enough family frolics on you by now. There are more Morris pictures on Flickr and I may add some snowy ones. But to be honest our snowmen were lame. Our snowballs fights were great but not photographed. The most interesting thing was the variety of methods of transporting groceries as my car was snowed in.

My trolley came out to play for the second time and we also used the sledge - not much room when there's kiddie on it too!!

And now it's all melted. :O(

But wait...

What's that?

Sleet?

Nope. It's more snow!!!

Here we go again...

Still. At least kiddie has got some new wellies now and won't have to borrow mine. Dry feet for me! Yay!!

Next time...

Crafting. Yes really. I WILL take some photos of what I've been working on. Honest!

ttfn
xx

Holiday Snaps yawn

2009-02-06T10:52:00.008Z

It was a tough job but someone had to do it. Here are just a few random pictures from The Holiday to bore you all to tears. Once I get these off my chest normal service will be resumed. :O)

Above are a few fishes spotted on the last day of the holiday. In about 3 feet of water just off the hotel's beach.

OH and kiddie went snorkelling. Look! Here she is.

This is hubbie ready to descend on another wreck. Does that look like fun to you? All that kit? All those hoses and things? That stupid (though wise) dayglo hood? I ask you...

This is part of Ras Mohammed - a national underwater park near Sharm. It is all highly protected to preserve that coral and other inhabitants of the reef. Every year parts of it are closed to give it a chance to recover. Think crop rotation.

Beneath the surface here is Jackfish Alley.

This is a view of the Straits of Tiran - a much disputed stretch of water. On the left is Egypt. On the right is Tiran Island (owned by Saudi and leased to Egypt with a US base on it!!). The thing in the middle is ship wreck on Jackosn reef. The lighter blue water in front of it is the top of the reef. The snorkellers in front mark the edge of the drop-off where it plunges down forever!!

Here is the intrepid kiddie. Ready to go snorkelling off the back of the dive boat near to Jackson reef. Would you look at that water - flat as a flat thing!

This is taken the same day just after we had cruised alongside 5 dolphins including 2 mums each with a baby. Aaaahhh...

And here are the kidlet and OH doing that same back of boat snorkel. (Sorry the order is random by good old Blogger mixed the pix up.)

And that wreck that I showed earlier... this is it close up. For a kiss on the cheek from kiddie the skipper of the boat took us up close enough for her to touch it.

We only spent a couple of days on the boat with the divers. The rest the time we spent by the pool. Kiddie has developed gills and was in the pool for hours at a time. We discovered that multi shot setting on the camera so here she is in action.

Had enough yet? lol

I know other people's holiday photos can be really tedious so I won't inflict any more on you. If you do want to look at others there are some on my Flickr (click on the right) and my hubbie's Flickr (find Blu_DL in my Flickr friends).

So now it's back to reality. Or not. All the snow we've had isn't 'normal' February for us is it? But it has been fantastic!

Today I'm off to support the Rabble at The Big Green Fair in Whittington. Luckily it will be Green and not White, so dancing will be able to take place. Will post pictures tomorrow.

Off for brekkie now. Thick, gooey, rib-sticking porridge methinks...

ttfn

Phew!!

2009-02-02T09:24:00.002Z

Last Monday morning. About 9am GMT. Location: Marriott Mountain Hotel, Sharm el Sheikh, Sinai Peninsula, Egypt

This Monday morning. About 9am GMT. Location: Lichfield, Staffordshire.

YAY!!!! We're back! Thank you, thank you, thank you to all the flight crew and especially the pilot of our flight back to East Midlands airport last night, and to everyone at EMA who kept the runways open. There was a slight skid to left and right as we landed (which was fun!) but we arrived safely. I'm so grateful that there were no detours to other airports miles away. And we were tucked up in bed with tea and toast (and three duvets!!) at 1am.

The excitement of coming back to snow and the propspect of seeing all her mates meant kiddie actually woke up at a reasonable time this morning as well :o).

So now it's time to adjust back to real life again. We've had a fantastic week with scorchio sunshine, fab food, calm seas, amazing diving/snorkelling and no upset tums. Kiddie was really torn - sad to be leaving 6 hours a day in a pool, everybody you meet loving kids and spoiling her rotten, her own double bed and going out for meals every night - but she was glad to be coming home to see her nannies, her grandpa, her cats and her friends, and also to be able to put loo paper down the toilet again - lol!! The snow was just an added bonus.

And me? Well I'm glad for Yorkshire versus Liptons and the loo roll thing too, but the laundry mountain does not appeal in the slightest. Still, better go and tackle it.

ttfn

Going... going... gone!

2009-01-24T15:50:00.002Z

In case anyone's looking for me, I'll be in Egypt. See you in a week.

ttfn

Jobbie!

2009-01-23T14:21:00.002Z

No we're not talking Billy Connolly here!

I have found The Perfect Job in the Local Paper (for Local People). Not telling what it is because I don't want any more competition tee hee, but as a consequence I am ploughing through that most tedious of exercises - filling in a job application form. *yawn*

I've spent one day finidng all the necessary bits of info about past jobs, qualifications, education, etc. Now I'm on to the bit where you have to write some additional information in support of your application. You know the kind of thing - relevant experiences, skills, etc - the bit where you have to sell yourself to them whilst ticking all the boxes on their list of requirements.

If it was just ticking a list it would be fine, but going through and matching up your most relevant experience to one area that they are asking for is a nightmare.

My brain is soup! (Hence this waffly, quickie post.)

Thanks for all the fabbo comments both on the Critters and the quilt yesterday. I had been thinking about sashing the quilt but in pink or green. Hadn't considered black. Or any other colour. But maybe, just maybe it would work. I'll have to have a play when I get back.

Oh well... break over. Better get back to it. Thanks for listening :o)

ttfn
xx

Hints and Quilts

2009-01-22T14:06:00.004Z

God I can never think of funny titles for my blog posts these days. But here comes another one, post that is.

Not content with my speedy turnaround of Katy's FQ swap, I have cracked on with Meridian Ariel's Owl jobbie. I shan't post a full picture of what I've made. That would spoil it for whoever is on the receiving end. That 'whoever' is Janine (aka AngelGurl) in New Zealand. I've made not one but two things for her. Just a few extra little goodies have to go in the parcel then I can get it posted off to her... ...before my hols if I can manage it. :o)

How did I leave you last time... Aaah the prospect of the Musical Extravaganza loomed large. Kiddie performed brilliantly. She did two shows of Saturday then went swimming on Saturda night and was wrecked! We went and watched the show on Sunday and she was a bit upset when she came out because they'd made on wee mistake. It wasn't hugely noticeable and they are all kids so you can't expect perfection, but she was mortified. Until nanny gave her a present anyway :o). Mercenary? My daughter? Never!

I may have mentioned on Facebook this week that I have been played with an old (very old) quilting UFO. Well here it comes. I started this at a workshop at least oooh... 5 years ago. The piecing is abysmal as it was before I'd even heard of a 1/4" foot. It was a colour transformation workshop. We had to pick 8 shades of one colour (pink) and 6 shades of another (green). The make blocks in every permutation of these shades.

The clever part was then to piece them all together to get a sweeping blend of the two colours from light to dark.

HA!! My shade gradation weren't very smooth. A lot of my greens were the same tone just more yellowy or bluey. (Are you bored yet?)

So now I have pieced some of the blocks together to give me 6 strips. My problem is do I just mix them up randomly (as in the first photo),

or do I put them in a more orderd layout like picture 2? The pinks are lightest to darkest from left to right, and the greens are light to dark from bottom to top.

Or my third option is to just chop the whole lot up and forget it. lol You know when something is sitting in the cupboard lurking and laughing at you...?

'Look at all this fabric... If you give up you'll have wasted so much...'

I will NOT be beaten, even if I make cushions out of it. But some advice would be sooooo gratefully received.

I am rapidly approaching my 200th post so I feel a giveaway may be in order. Keep reading, watching, (whatever) once I get back from my hols.

Did I mention I'm going to Egypt? heehee "I'm so excited! And I just can't hide it!.."

Oh and I was feeling a wee bit bored the other day so I went and got my hair cut. Waddaya think? Twitterers/Facebook friends will already know this - when I picked kiddie up from school after getting it done she told me I looked like a pop star. "I know mummy. Sarah!!! From Girls Aloud." How I love that kid o' mine. Must take her to the opticians when we get back...

ttfn

The Reveal - What I've Been Doing Since Christmas

2009-01-16T22:37:00.003Z

Well as reported earlier this week I have finally finished the commission I have been working since before Christmas really but in earnest since kiddie went back to school.

May I introduce Critters. These three designs - 'kitti kat', 'funni bunni' and 'chunki munki' were designed to appear on a range of stationery products by the company elconu.

My brief was to create a set of ten stuffed toys in a range of sizes as promotional/display items for a trade exhibition stand at Frankfurt Paperworld 2009.

First we have 'kitti kat'.

I decded to make them in 7", 14" and 20" sizes.

Look at that little face. How sweet is he?

'Funni bunni' is next up. Again made in the same three sizes excluding ears!

This is a close-up of the 7" little bunni.

And here's a full length shot of him.

Finally we have 'chunki munki'. I made an extra mini munki to make up the required ten.

This is a close-up of the teeny one's face. Aaaahh...

And here are the two littlies monkeying around!

I have loved design and making these babies. It's been a great experience and the response from the company has been brilliant. The office staff have been fighting over them!!

Feedback from Facebook has also been very positive since I posted a few photos on there.

What next? Who knows? I can't wait to see how everything goes at the show. Of course, the main point of that is to promote elconu's stationery ranges. The toys are just window-dressing, but if they generate a lot of interest they could go into production... (Needless to say I wouldn't be making those. lol)

Exciting stuff!

Other stuff? err... Well since I finished them I've been a bit disorganised. Suddenly the structure my days had has gone.

I did spend a whole morning sorting out my car insurance renewal. A lot of time yes, but I did save myself £170!!! Have you all heard of Martin Lewis (Money Saving Expert)? You must have. Well anyway I went to his website and followed his steps for tracking down the best price. And it worked!!

I signed up for his weekly email a while ago and, particularly now that The Crunch is really taking hold, it is worth signig up for. He has all kinds of money saving advice from when is the best time to change gas/electric suppliers to vouchers off meals and air tickets. Have a little lookie and see if there's anything that appeals.

I've now signed up for two swaps (see the pretty buttons in the right hand column). Meridian's Owl Swap has now been sorted - partners matched up and notified. I am swapping with a lady in New Zealand where it's hot and sunny at the moment. Lucky Janine!! Jennyflower's sign up deadline was tonight so I'm waiting to hear who I'm playing with for that one.

The third swap I wanted to take part in had such an overwhelming response that Katy had to close the sign-up list before the deadline. It's taken her days to pair everybody up. To help her clear out some of her own stash she offered to do a swap with me. Which I have done - packed up and posted off already. Scarily organised for me. Hope sh'es happy with what I've sent her. :o)

Right I'm off to bed now. No lie-in tomorrow. I've got to perfect a pristine bun hair-do by 10.30. Kiddie is appearing in a dance show at the Garrick Theatre this weekend. Two performances on Saturday and one on Sunday. Surely so much dancing and adrenaline have got to make her sleep better, haven't they?... Here's hoping.

ttfn

Tree of Happinness

2009-01-15T15:56:00.004Z

My lovely bloggy friend Daisie has awarded me the Tree of Happiness. She is a happy bunny 'cause her knitted booby just won a prize in a Folksy competition. (Yes I did say knitted booby. Intrigued? - you'll have to go and look at it now won't you lol).

So what happen with this wondrous tree? Well, first I make a link to the person who gave you the award. Done.

Then I have to post the rules on my blog. Done.

Next I have to list six things that make you happy. Finally I have to tag six people at the end of my post, link to them, let each person know they've been tagged and leave a comment on their blog. Oh and to be polite I need to let the person who awarded me know when my entry is up.

So - six things that make me happy:

1. dressing up in loud impractical clothing and dancing and making a show of myself - that just about covers belly dancing, morris dancing and fancy dress parties (of which there are never enough),

2. getting a blinding flash of creative inspiration - that sudden adrenaline rush when you have a brilliant idea that you can't wait to start work on and having the time, materials and opportunity to get cracking with it straightaway,

3. kiddie getting herself up and dressed on a school morning without needing to be nagged and hassled or attacked with a cold, wet flannel or arguments with me and OH,

4. OHs steak with stilton sauce and garlic sauteed potatoes and a nice bottle of red - mmmmm...,

5. Cornwall - anytime, any weather, any part (although a hot sunny day on Holywell beach takes some beating),

6. extreme weather (while I'm tucked up cosy and warm inside watching it through a window)- thunderstorms with BIIIG lightning and torrential rain, overnight snowfall that leave huge drifts in the morning, thick 'pea-souper' fog that makes the world go quiet, lashing gales and massive waves at the coast (this has to be viewed from a cafe's steamy window rather than on board a yacht sailing from Brixham to Dartmouth!!)

Will that do?

Six more people.....

Hmm... These are my Happy Blogs. I chose these because if I need a lift these are the blogs I go to first. I scour my Bloglines updates for them before anyone else.

1. Kate (Beautiful Things) because she needs some happy at the moment and because her Wise Guys always make me smile,

2.Katie (What Katie Did) because her shed is the happiest looking place in the world,

3. Katy (I'm a Ginger Monkey) never fails to make me laugh out loud,

4.Phillipa (Felt at Home)because I love her felt monsters and girlie sculptures - (Isabelle, Gilbert and Mabel is genius),

5.Viv (Hens Teeth)because her work is so beautiful and thought provoking,

6.Lucy (Attic 24) because her house is full of bright happiness and wonderful colour (and one day I will learn to crochet properly).

So there you have it.

Next time I will post pictures of my latest creations. 'Til then,

ttfn

Back off holiday in time for Valentine's Day

2009-01-13T15:02:00.005Z

FINISHED!!!!!

I have finally completed my plushie commission so can now concentrate on making and selling things again for a while.

As a pre-cursor to this I decided to pop into my etsy and Folksy shops to have a little lookie, and discovered that I have been 'on holiday' from my Folksy shop for...? months!!! Bah!! What a wally!! How many hundreds of sales have I missed? lol

The shop is now back up and trading. Hooray!!

And to give it a little nudge here's a small featurette on one of the items listed.

This little baby is on sale for a small fee ( amere £3.95 plus P&P). A red rosie brooch. Ideal as a little Valentine's gift for someone but could be worn throughout the year.

The flower is hand-embroidered in pure silk ribbon on green felt, which has been free machine-embroidered to give added texture. After the brooch is constructed I stitch tiny red delica beads to the front.

It measures about 38mm across and has a plastic back and metal pin.

If you are interested in this or any of my other goodies - which I am now going to add to my shops on a regular basis - click on the links in the text or the shop buttons in the right hand margin.

I will post again later, all being well...

ttfn

Countdown to the Big 4 0 starts with a crack and a thwack!!

2009-01-11T19:52:00.005Z

Today was a totally fab day when I finally realised an ambition. A New Year's Resolution already ticked off the list.

I am a bit of a patriotic and sentimental old thing at heart. I love British eccentricity and all those things that make is soooo different from any other country. When I heard that one of those things may be under threat - however minor - I felt Ihad to take action. And BOY was there action!!!

In the New Year many people decide to get fit after the festive excesses. They pay a small fortune to join a gym which they will visit for a couple of months. They buy a bike then leave it in the shed til the better weather comes, by which time it's rusty. I am the same as all of these people but not for me Fitness First nor Raleigh. No - I chose The Rabble!!

I love dancing, especially my belly dancing, but that doesn't exactly cause you to break out into a sweat. It firms things up nicely but there is no raise in the heart rate. You don't get out of puff after even the most vigorous of shimmying. So where else can you dress up in loud and lairy clothing, make a noise and shake your booty?? Morris dancing of course.

I have always loved it. The yearly Lichfield Bower procession is always lead by Lichfield Morris Men twirling their branches. The atmosphere of folk festivals when we take kiddie is brillant but being a spectator is not enough for me. So this year life will not begin at 40 but, by the time the big 4-0 arrives life will be well and truly off the blocks. If I survive...

It was the most fantastic fun I've had in ages, but also the hardest physical work I've done in years. I went accompanied by the lovely Maria - my belly dancing teacher and we had a whale of a time. We danced with big birch sticks, crasjhing them togther as part of most dances. Maria certainly made her mark by breaking her stick, no mean feat when you think they were a good 3" in diameter!!! The Rabble were all so friendly and made us feel really welcome, which is defintely an added bonus. And afterwards, in a very civilised fashion, we retired to the pub for refreshments :o).

I can't wait for next week. I'm just dreading tomorrow morning. How stiff am I going to be??

Having shown you a few of the kiddie's prezzies I realised that I have not dazzled you with any of mine.

My lovely sis produced a fabulous bag of goodies - sales, charity shops, car boot sales - as much as you can get for £15. This little cutie is now firmly attached to my keys. She had a whole piece written about her and she symbolises colour and creativity (or something similar). Very apt for me anyhoo...
And sis went back to Totnes and bought this baby to add to my mini Moomin collection.

Now I can have pop with my own special curly straw. :o) Thank you little sis xxxx

This next little beaut was from the highly talented and very lovely Sam (incywincy). I wore it all day on Christmas Day. She also enclosed a little bag of buttons she had covered plus some blanks so I can have a go myself. Thanks again hun xx

I took part in my first online Secret Santa this, sorry last year via Crafter...oo. We had to write a personal profile about likes and dislikes, fave colours, etc that could be forwarded to our swap partner to give them help and inspiration. My partner Debs, gave me loads of info which really helped me to make this for her. I think she liked it. :o)

In return I received an amazing parcel of handmade glass goodies. She is soooooo talented. There were not 1 but 2 gift boxes. First up was this fab snowman necklace (which I aslo wore of the 25th) and the polka dots earrings (they completed the Xmas Day ensemble). Aren't they gorgeous?? (OK you can only see one earring in this photo but they were a matching pair - sack the photographer)

In the second box Debs had made this gorgeous phone charm and you can just see the corner of the gorgeous keyring, in my favourite shades of blues and turquoises. How lucky am I? They are fantastic. Thanks so much xx.

The last present in my Gift Gallery is from my BDB, Julia. She doesn't blog (although she should) but she does make amazing beaded jewellery (which she should sell) and she loves to stitch. This was one of the prezzies she gave me.

'Tis me in my red belly dancing stuff with my pre-pink hair. Isn't it ace?! Just the place to stash my other precious little goodies. Cheers mate xx.

In fact, thank you everyone who sent me cards, prezzies, who has been a swap partner in 2008 or whose giveaway I may have won. It was a fab crafting year. Let's hope 2009 is just as good.

Sadly it's not off to a great start in other respects. Today we lost another member of our close family to "the big C". Yet another husband and dad taken before his time, leaving a wife and 2 daughters. Thinking of you J, E and A. All love xxxx

ttfn

A REAL dinosaur and a talking cactus.

2009-01-07T22:23:00.005Z

Ah haa! So Blogger wants to be friends this morning...? Here is the revised, edited blog post then, with pictures.

So glad that you liked the look of the Fancy Silk Store. I can't wait to crack on with some crafting of my own. I really want to pop back and browse for a few days. Maybe I could sign up for Katy's swap...

Work continues apace(sp?) on the commission. I have cut out all the pattern pieces (thank Heavens for freezer paper!), all the fabric pieces and I'm now starting to put them together. Once they are all stitched and stuffed, and if I'm given the OK, I'll post some piccies.

In the meantime here are some catch-up pics of kiddie's birthday and Christmas.

I think I added a link about her birthday prezzie when I mentioned it previously. May I now introduce you to Cleo the Pleo. She is sooooo cute. Kiddie was over the moon when she opened the present on her birthday. "Oh you haven't?!", she squealed. Bless... I wish you could have seen her face. (I suppose uploaded video clips will be out of the question Blogger...?)

When you first switch Cleo on she is curled up asleep but gradually she begins to lift her head and open her eyes and come to life. Think Bambi when he's just been born only not quite as spindly.

As she 'grows up' she learns more; making noises and refining her movements, walking and that kind of thing. Eventually she will have mood swings (OMG - a teenaged dinosaur!!) and you can upload different themes onto an SD card. We have had festive Cleo singing Christmassy songs and there's Halloween Cleo who makes spooky ghost noises and screams like a witch's cat! Kiddie's fave is T Rex Cleo where she pretends to be Godzilla roaring and growling. She has chased numerous princess mini figures into caves. :o)

She did cost a small fortune but she was definitely worth it.

This is another favourite prezzie that we gave kiddie for Christmas. Right at the other end of the financial spectrum cuz I made it. It's Oucho. Who? - you ask. If you have children of a certain age and you watch CBBC at teatime you'll know exactly who Oucho is. He's the cactus sidekick of Ed Petrie, TV presenter, and kidlet loves him. I just happened to have a few teeny flower pots kicking around my workroom (as you do) and it came to me in a flash.

I have to say he went down even better than I expected. He went down to Devon with us on Boxing Day and now sits by her bed every night.

While we're on a creative catch-up, here is my hat. I made my hat! I managed to get another ball of the Rowan wool I was searching for so I knitted something functional!! Whoop! Whoop! Next stop it's socks! lol

And that's it for now. I'm pondering a giveaway in the not too distant future. I'm gradually approaching 200 posts (can you believe that?!) and have now had over 10000 hits. Once I have completed 'The Commission' I'll start to give it some thought.

ttfn
xx

Fluffy Stuff and Seventh Heaven

2009-01-05T19:25:00.003Z

So, as I Tweeted, today I went to Brum, (sorry Birmingham).

And this is the latest addition to my workroom menagerie. Meet Wedgehead. He is an Uglydoll. Apparently they were 'all the rage' last summer and highly collectible. Completely passed me by I must admit but they are quite cute.

Anyhoo, I am currently working on my first profeshniull commission and these 'dolls' were kind of what the company I'm working for had in mind. Can't tell you any more than that as I don't know if I'm sworn to secrecy.

My trip wasn't just to buy Wedgie but also to visit this textile Mecca.

OH!! MY!! GOODNESS!!! It's sooooooo long since I've visited this shop as I tend to use recycled fabrics where I can, but I was like a kid in a sweet shop. There are three (or is it four?) floors of fabric. The bolts are stacked from floor to ceiling on all four walls of each room. Against each huge cutting table on each floor are stacked yet more bolts and rolls of fabric. Everywhere you turn there is fabric. Truly it is an Aladdin's Cave. It's just a good thing that my time was limited and I had to get back to do the school run.

I came away with the hugest bagful of material which I am now going to sit and stroke, before chopping it all up tomorrow.

If you are ever in Birmingham with a few hours to spare, head for Selfridges but then nip out of the Bull Ring towards the markets, turn left at St Martins church and cross over. There it is!!! Simple.

Right. I'm going to wrestle my child and husband from the arms of a big-busted, raven-haired, gun-toting lovely who has dragged them into her underground lair. Lara has taken over our Wii and their lives, and she only arrived today!! Aaaaaarrrgh!

ttfn

Wittering and Twittering

2009-01-03T19:49:00.000Z

I've done it! I've signed up with Twitter. There's a little linkie on the right so if you're already on there please come and follow me. If I've got followers it might make me actually do something worth Twittering about.

ttfn
xx

Does my bum look big in this?

2009-01-03T10:31:00.003Z

Without doubt my favourite fashion craze that didn't take off in 2008 was this one from Japan...

Cheeky!! ;o)

(Photos courtesy of Yorkshire Divers Forum)

ttfn

Happy New Blog

2009-01-02T12:52:00.002Z

Happy Christmas!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Blog!

Yeah! Yeah! I've been really lax with my posting over the last few weeks. Well, OK months. But with the New Year come new plans and resolutions.

As you can see I've been playing with the layout of my blog. I'm toying with the idea of making other changes too. But for now I'm going to be playing with templates, colours, fonts and photos. Sorry if it gives you a bit of a headache but I feel the need for a Spring clean - all be it a bit premature.

The Christmas decs are coming down today and while I'm in that kind of mood I'm sprucing up my cyber home too.

I'm also thinking about Twitter, crafting 365 on Flickr, photographing and selling work on a regular basis on etsy and Folksy.

This is all sounding a bit random and disjointed but I wanted to get it 'out there' so I'm on record about doing these things, and can be reminded of them in a few months when none of them have happened!! lol

Right. I'd better go as the rest of the family are huffing and puffing about me having been on the PC all morning. Role on Monday - back to school and work. ;o) Having said that I too have my commission to finish and it needs to be delivered by Friday at the latest. One week to go. Eeeek!!

ttfn
xx

Frenzied...

2008-12-23T23:40:00.002Z

That's the only word for it here Chez e&e. Tomorrow is kiddie's birthday amd she is having such trouble getting to sleep. It's now 11.42pm and she hasn't appeared for 10 minutes so we're holding our breath that she's finally succumbed to exhaustion. Bless...
If that is the case I really shouldn't be on here when I have sooooo much else to do. Her prezzies need bringing down and arranging on the sofa (her request). Her cake needs the decorations making but I don't think I'm capable of making models out of fondant icing tonight. That can be a game to play tomorrow, maybe kiddie can join in.
Her BIIIIG prezzie needs hiding somewhere to give maximum impact when she realises what she's got. It's all she had asked for this year for her birthday or Christmas. Santa has received so many letter from her, all asking for the same thing, in fact even Tara the Tooth Fairy has had a request for one. The child is desperate!! While it's way more than we'd usually spend, we have 'recycled' lots of her older toys on eBay and have used the proceeds towards the present, so in effect she had paid towards it, which we are going to explain to her.

She is going to be soooooooo pleased. I think me and Mr e&e are both just as excited to see her reaction. As my hubbie said, 'she's having it for her birthday so we get all the glory. There's no way Santa is going to get the credit for this one!!!'. lol

The Christmas Market in Lichfield with incywincy went really well. It was soooo cold but I sold Holly Dolly and a Silly Girl, plus other bits and bobs too. So it was worth freezing our bits off in the end. We had visits from blogging/forum friends - thanks Apryl and Leah for popping by, and Julia and Sam's bro for coffee to thaw us out. The mulled wine from the Scouts stall was very potent but scrummy too.

And now I shall leave you all in peace 'til next year. There are a busy couple of days ahead then we're off to Devon for a few so don't think I'll fit in another post (not with my current rate of psting anyhoo) before NYE.

Have a fantabulous Christmas and a New Year that exceeds expectations. Eat, drink, stitch and be merry and see you all in 2009.

ttfn

Christmassy Creations.

2008-12-10T17:15:00.005Z

Well there were going to be loads more pictures but today seems to be my turn to fall out of favour with Blogger. Here's a quick couple of piccies of our first Crimble tree. This is the fake one that I got for a fiver from a local DIY shop. It was an ex-display model of a pre-lit tree. How fab not to have to wrestle with yards of strings of fairy lights, thought I. HA! The flippin' transformer was missing. 'Oh pop back later in the week. We may find it when we're tidying the warehouse', said the nice lady. HA! again. No such luck.

So now we have a fab pre-lit tree but the lights don't work. Oh we investigated buying a new transformer for it. The cheapest we could find was £52!!! Ah well. It's pretty isn't it? I was going to show you close-ups of more of the baubles but Blogger wouldn't play so you'll have to make do with glimpses. The purpley ones are encrusted with beads and are scrumptious. And they must be contenders for The Bargain of the Year. A box of 24 for £1.00!! Mum found a chap selling all sorts of decorations off - all made by Sia. There are hot pink and lavender satin ones and some hot pink sequinned ones too. Plus beaded tassels and some spiral drop things with beads all over them.

And now onto previews of my wares for the Christmas Market in Lichfield on Sunday.

These are the fully-stuffed decorations, hand embroidered and scented with a lovely Christmassy whiff. The gingham ribbon was my prezzie from Katy Ginger-Monkey and just seemed French countrified to me, hence the French ords on some of them.

I actually felt physical pain when I raided my stash of little MOP buttons to decorate them. But I hoard way too much stuff and MUST use some of it.

And here's my wish for anytime from the 18th of December onwards....

Pleeeeeeeeeeeease..... :o)

ttfn

Frantically Festive.

2008-12-09T11:40:00.005Z

Well the small kiddie is back at school. At last!! And now I am soooooo behind it's untrue. Where do I begin? I think you've seen these chaps

and the trees

Well here is a shot of my last little endeavour as a WIP. They are now stuffed and stitched up and smelling gorgeously Christmassy. I have just uploaded the pics from the camera but Blogger is on a 'go-slow' and it will take too long to put them on the blog today. I will do it soon to show you.

The weekend just gone was Hellish to say the least. The low point was OH's diving regs falling into the sink in the cloakroom with the following result -

At the time we laughed and laughed. It was when he tried to plumb in a new sink that the problems started. He is NOT a fan of DIY or confined spaces, so combining the two was not good. Yesterday we had a man-who-can round and now all is sorted (apart from the hot tap is blue and the cold tap is red!!!) but no leaks. Phew.

Just to bring everything up to date, here's a very late THANK YOU to Katy (imagingermonkey) for my prezzies.

Remember way back in the mists of time I met up with several other bloggy mates?? (Sew To Bed, LucyKate, Meridian Ariel, IncyWincy, Ginger and PennyDog) Well we had a fab time. It was lovely to meet everyone in 'real life'. We drank lots of coffee and ate cake and watched the small people playing and falling in love and taking over the entrance to Starbucks. Yay! Then we went to Ikea and I spent - no, not the usual £30ish but £2!! How impressive was that?!

I shall be meeting up with Sam (incy) on Sunday when we shall be appearing as a double act at the Lichfield Christmas Craft Market. Come and look for us on the market square in front of St Marys Church and if you want to ply us with hot chocolate to help thaw us out then we wouldn't say no :o). It should be a really lovely day - I'm just panicking at how little stuff I've got made and I keep seeing Sam posting more and more stuff that's she has produced on her blog/Twitter/Flickr pages. I'd better go and get to work.

Hope you like the little tweaks to the blog. A festive Meez with a bit of mistletoe. Now don't go kissing the screen (if I have any male readers)!!! And a Chrstmassy/office party style playlist. As I don't have a works Christmas 'do' to go to I thought I'd have my own virtual one. Feel free to have a little boogie while you're online.

ttfn

PS Such a shame about Oliver Postgate. I love the nostalgia of Bagpuss, The Clangers and Ivor the Engine. "The Marvellous Mechanical Mouse-Organ!!"

2008-12-04T12:17:00.002Z

Sorry for my absence but I have a small kiddie who is poorly. Will be back when she's a bit better. Nothing too serious, just a nasty virus with raging temperature, bad headache, sore throat, aches and pains, but mummy has to be at her constant beck and call. Have escaped from CBBC for a few minutes (before I start climbing the walls!!) to check emails, etc.

Hopefully back soon to show you what I've been making. Yes! crafting has taken place!!

ttfn
xx

Do they know something I don't??

2008-11-26T10:47:00.004Z

THIS came for me in the post today.

A lovely blue envelope from Mr Tesco.

Just the usual load of bumpf for Clubcard holders I thought. Although maybe they were a little off the mark with their targetting of the image on the envelope.

PAH!!!

THAT was nothing!!!

Inside was this little lot...

Pregnancy??

My baby's needs??

Kiddie will be 9 YEARS old next month!!! A free handy pack of baby wipes is not really an appropriate present Mr T, but I suppose they'll come in handy somewhere, so thanks very much. :ox

ttfn

Shiny, shiny, shiny...

2008-11-25T12:51:00.002Z

...shiny, shiny hair!!!

OK. So we're not talking drastic restyle here, after all. I decided to keep my ears covered in this cold weather. I'll chop it all off in the Spring.

I've had so many nice comments about it whilst shopping that I've been floating. :o) Thank you nice ladies of Lichfield. Thank you too Oliver at Silks for a fabbo cut. Actually it's worth going just for the shampoo bit. They have these amazing chairs which recline and then give you a back massage whilst your hair is shampooed, conditioned and massaged. Bliss....

And now a cheeky request.

Does anybody have a ball of this stuff they would like to swap? It's Rowan Biggy Print in Splash shade. I really want to attempt to make a hat from the Biggy Print pattern book I have. The problem I have is the hat needs two balls and I only have one of blue and one of caramel and I don't want to mix.

Would anyone like to swap a ball of sandy/toffee coloured wool, or indeed something else, for a ball of blue? Pretty please?

Here's hoping...

ttfn

Well we had snow - did you??

2008-11-24T20:29:00.003Z

On Sunday morning we did have a sprinkling on the car roofs at about 7.am, but by the time all sensible people were up and awake it was raining. However, the kiddie and I did get our winter clothes and thick boots on and we went tobogganing. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.....

We went to The Snowdome at Tamworth. It is the best place in the world to have a kids party. A 170 metre slope of real snow which is cold and wet when it soaks into the seat of your trousers (nice!).

It starts at the top left of this picture bends round to the left and down to the bottom with a couple of little bumps on the way. (This piccie is a bit distorted to fit it all in - credit to accomplishtravel.co.uk for it.) It is soooooooo much fun. When you take small people (under age 10) they have to go in a toboggan with a grown-up, but I have been a few times when it's been just adults and you can really get up to some speeds on those things. Kiddie and I did get airborne on the last run, but no crashes.

After that the kidlets go upstairs and stuff their faces with something and chips, and ice cream. Then the glamour-pusses go and get changed ready for the disco from Hell!!!

Imagine 11 birthday parties all going on in one room!!! Lots and lots and lots of shouting and cheering and screaming and singing and dancing and Bedlam. It's a riot!! They had a whale of a time and, to top it all, our bunch of girlies, or should I say Alicia's bunch of girlies won the prize for the best dancers (due in no small part to Alicia's mum/my BDB Julia who was shimmying and shaking for all she was worth). They had to get as many members of their party on stage, adults included, to jump and prance about. Sadly I had gone to sort out my car park ticket and get a refuel from Starbucks so I came in to see their final 10 seconds. Shucks!

Must add that Julia also won a bottle of bubbly for being the best mummy at dancing ther Macarena. (She says she was in front of me and wearing heels, so I couldn't be seen very well - that's why I didn't win. Personally I think the DJ had got his eye on her after her performance on stage ;O) hehehehehe).

Thanks for a fab time. I know it was for the kids but I had a whale of a time too.

And now.

The moment you've all been waiting for (I know I have been waiting quite a while for it),

TA DAAAAAAAAA!!

My Fairy Tale Swap parcel unveiled.

I know poor Missy has been having a real nightmare trying to get this finished, but with so many girls of various sizes to look after, I'm amazed she got it done this side of Christmas.

So first of all there is a really sweet little tote bag, which is already in use holding a craft project I'm working on in secret for kiddie. All will be revealed on December 1st (nudge, nudge, wink, wink, know what I mean).
It has a little pocket on the front which, in the photo, contains postcards from Arizona (where Missy lives). You know you see all the programmes on TV about storm chasers and freak lightning and extreme weather, well that's where she lives. Scary or what?! Look at that lightning!! Oh and there were some candy buttons (which we won't talk about cuz if I ignore them they might go away and stop taunting me with their sugary calorific-ness. (My diet crashed and burned last week).

She also made me this really sweet little quiltette featuring Hansel and Gretel. I love the border fabric of chocolates. I have NOT been licking this fabric (contrary to what my OH may tell you).

Here's a close-up of the centre panel showing the glittery sparkly details on the gingerbread cottage. How cute. I've lost this to kiddie, well kiddie's monkey called Blossom is actually sleeping under it as we speak. Typical!!

Thanks soooooo much Missy. It was worth the wait. xx

So the decorating is progressing. Slowly...

From this angle it looks great. Just the radiator to do and we're sorted but then you pan back a bit...

and if you move a bit higher up the stairs,

you can see where I've decided that maybe I need a bit of help...

Despite the size and position of this 'note', he still hasn't joined in yet. Maybe I should email it to him or post it on Facebook.

Aside from the painting it's a busy week this week, not least because on Thursday I'm meeting up with some of the other lovely crafty bloggers.

In real life!!!

In person!!!

Not on a screen. Can you believe it? I've met one of them before (Sam - incywincy) but not the others. It's going to be fun.

That night is the switch on of the local Christmas lights in Lichfield, presided over by the great Tony 'Amarillo' Christie (he lives here dontcha know).

Also have double belly dancing, double Irish dancing for kiddie, a swap to start and finish, a craft show to prepare for, painting to finish, a commission to work on, a hair cut to have performed, more ebay shennanigans to sort out. I'm knackered and it's only Monday.

Better go and lie down with a nice cool glass of... erm... water. Gotta watch those calories. :o)

ttfn

IMPORTANT!!

2008-11-20T13:22:00.002Z

A lovely bloggy chum has asked me to pass this urgent message on to anyone and everyone. If you can help please, please, please do. :o)

Love life!
Live Life!
Give Life!

For some Leukaemia patients time is running out and YOU could give a child, a student, a parent a chance they so desperately need. A small blood sample is all it takes to join the Anthony Nolan bone marrow register as a potential bone marrow donor. If you match a patient you can personally help by donating your bone marrow.........a life-giving experience.

Are you aged between 18 and 40 and in good health and weigh more than 8st?

The register desperately needs male donors and donors from ethnic backgrounds.

If you would like to join the register you can do so at this drop in clinic;

Thursday December 4th

Ightenhill Children's Centre
Oak Street
Burnley
Lancashire
BB12 6QZ

From 2pm until 6pm.

Thank you!

Yeah. Yeah. I know.... but I'm here now :o).

2008-11-20T09:06:00.006Z

Ready...

Steady...

GO!!!!

Last weekend we went to sunny (yes it was) Devon for OH's birthday present. I bought hil tickets to see this bloke.

I bought tickets for the other half way back in June as he loves him. Never misses Mock the Week. Unfortunately the only ones I could get were not in a nice local Midlands venue - nope - we had to travel to the Princess Theatre in Torquay!!! Not quite as daft as you might think. It meant we could also visit my sis and her family, and get babysitters built into the trip.

Frankie was really good but I prefer him on Mock the Week to be honest. We were right in the front row so I spent most of the show terrified he was going to pick on us. When he did address me it was to ask what job I did. I told him the last one had been a Fashion/Textiles tutor and he made some crack about it being a really useful, necessary occupation. I got off lightly!!

Whilst in Devon I also managed something I've never previously done. We walked to Berry Head, around the fort and through the woods down to Shoalstone outdoor seapool. This looked really sad as it had been drained for the winter for repairs.

We carried on along the coast path to the 'stoney beach' (Brixham breakwater beach) where we saw this in the sea:

To the unititated this is a 'blob' - a DSMB (delayed surface marker buoy) and attached to it is a length of cord dangling down under the surface, at the end of which you will find a couple of scuba divers. (OK to the real experts this should be a more spherical SMB but OH doesn't have one). Basically our other halves went for a 'bimble' (technical term) while we went for our walk. They missed out on a cream tea in favour of getting cold and wet. The mind boggles...

Other news...

Monday was our 18th wedding anniversary. We didn't go out, instead I hit the M&S food hall for steak and stilton sauce. Kiddie decided that we should make it into a posh party so she chose outfits for me and OH. This is what I had to wear:

my strapless ballgown. OH got off lightly with a co-ordinating beige ensemble. She even picked matching socks for him!! Bless.

This was my prezzie from him. Sorry - flower arranging is not my forte.

Making stuff? Well here are the finished snowmen. Like the trees they are layers of sheer fabrics, sparkly threads, sequins and lace all sandwiched together and free machined. A backing of felt is added then the details are stitched by hand.

Following a post by Summerfete I had a go at recycling last year's Christmas cards (yes - I've kept them). You need to cut out 20 circles the same size then mark an equilateral triangle in the centre of each one. (I think it's easier if you draw your triangle first then mark the circle around it). Score and fold along the three sides of the triangle, then glue these flaps together in the following way - 5 with points together to make the top, 5 with points together to make the bottom then the remaining 10 in a line. Join the end of the line to make a circle and attach the 2 'hats' at top and bottom. This should make a ball. I used paperclips to hold the flaps together while the glue dried. When dry attach some ribbon or thread to hang them from.

I spent the whole of yesterday using these:

We decided a long time ago that our hall, stairs and landing are very tatty and drab, and 2 days ago I decided enough was enough. OH was away overnight so I thought I would surprise him. I managed to strip wallpaper and wallop on 2 coats of brilliant white emulsion on the walls of hall and stairs, including cutting in. I can't reach the ceilings upstairs so hubby has got to do them. Today I have to start on the woodwork. Hooray!!

And finally...

Question - Is it possible to get a hangover from liqueur chocolates?

Answer - YES!!!

M&S had these on offer when I visited to buy the anniversary feast so I bought some. During the course of Tuesday I ate... a few... errr.. well 8 actually. But that was during a whole day. Anyhoo, I woke up in the middle of the night with a splitting headache. YEOWWWW!!! And that's all I could put it down to. The combo of several thimblefuls of alcohol and a smidge of dark chocolate was just too potent. That'll teach me to be a pig!!

Oooh before I go must just show my new shoes. Sorry Katy I know it's not Monday but hey... When I was getting glammed up on Monday evening I realised - SHOCK!! HORROR!! - I don't possess a pair of heels. I have 3 pairs of wedges but no heels. Am I a real girl??

So yesterday I bought not 1 but 2 pairs. Frivolous? Me? Nah!! I am the barain queen.

Here's the first pair.

And here they are with the price tag:

And the second pair - which I love and will wear all Christmas (as long as I'm sitting down)...

They were more expensive...

HA!!! £7.00 for two pairs of shoes. Beat that!!

Stay tuned. I WILL be back. And next time I will open this parcel.

ttfn

It's Emma's fault!! (But don't tell her...)

2008-11-12T11:51:00.003Z

I don't really need to say anymore than this do I?...

Lola Again is having a mega-huge giveaway for her 300th post. Click on the MEGA-HUGE button above to link to her blog.

This is one of those catch-22 situations - I blog about it and I get 3 more entries into the draw BUT I increase the amount of competition... Hey-ho.

Off to Birmingham now to retrieve my ickle sister from the station. We may have a little lookie round the shops while we're there. Well it'd be rude not to, wouldn't it?

ttfn
xx

90 Years of Remembrance

2008-11-11T13:05:00.001Z

90 Years of Remembrance
Originally uploaded by ethel and edna

A poppy mosaic.

Lest we forget.....

The BIIIIIG CITY!!!

2008-11-11T09:39:00.004Z

Phew! What a frantic but fantastic weekend. We went down to London to stay with some friends and 'do' Bonfire Night in style. There was loads of food and drink. And fireworks. We all took 'just a few' and ended up with over 40 rockets plus assorted others. But first, after a 'small smackerel' we walked to the Ally Pally and watched the amazing display there.

Apologies for the not-too-great photos. We both forgot our cameras so these were all taken on OH's phone.

Eeeek!! A rare photo of him and me!

Some of the Littlies playing with sparklers. S, M and E (mine).

They had a great time. A pack of 6 under-10s charging round together. When we got back we started the mammoth launching back at the house. The fence nearly got burnt down and an attempt to make a mega-rocket out of 4 smaller ones didn't work too well. I think next-door's tree surveved. Just. Boys and their toys.

On Sunday we did a bit of a whistle-stop tourist trip. We caught the tube to London Bridge and got off so the children could see the Great Fire Monument as some of them did about it at school last year. The we walked along the banks of the Thames, taking in all sorts of sights.

The Great Fire Monument

Southwark Cathedral had some great gargoyles but OH managed to not take a picture of any of them!! hee hee. It was the camera's fault honest. No zoom.

Brixham meets London. This is one of the replicas of The Golden Hind. There is another one in the harbour at Brixham. Spooky!

Here are Evie and her new best mate, Morwenna in front of St Pauls and the 'bouncy bridge'.

Those cultural bods amongst you will know that at one end of this bridge is St Pauls and at the other is Tate Modern. Well we even managed to squeeze a bit of culture into the trip with a quick pop inside the Turbine Hall. E, M and S loved it. They imagined they were in a nightmare with all these huge creatures stalking around overhead.

Must admit the current installation is a bit scary. Above is a giant spider apparently.

And this is "a massive cat skelington" they decided. They charged around between the rows of bunk beds untilwe realised that we'd lost everyone else and had to go and look for them.

Eventually, having found everyone, we ended up at Covent Garden. This is L (son of our host and hostess) helping with a performance. Unfortunately he got stage fright half way through and ran back to his big sisters. S (my nephew) took his place and ended up being paid for taking part! How many people can say they went to Covent Garden and made money?!

The drive back home at the end of the weekend had a lot less to be said in it's favour. It was blowing a gale and, as we got nearer to home, it tipped it down. The M1 was like a swimming pool and we could barely see a thing. Luckily kidlet slept for most of the journey so at least we didn't get 'Are we nearly there yet?' ringing in our ears.

And now we're home and have caught up on the lost sleep. I would just like to say a HUGE

THANK YOU

to Jan and Simon for having us to stay and for a brilliant weekend. Hope the garden recovers soon. xxx

Don't forget 11.00am.

ttfn

Me??? Cooking again????

2008-11-07T18:50:00.003Z

So is it the 'credit crunch' that's making me go 'back to basics'? Or is it the festive feeling that's making me get the cook book out? Who knows but just recently I've been having a baking frenzy - well be my standards anyhoo.

Today I have made this gorgeous gloopy mess. Toffee!!! It's the first time I've ever attempted toffee or caramel or anything of that nature but it seems to have gone OK.

Kiddie really wanted a toffee apple on Halloween but didn't get one. Aaahh shame. (Not really when you see the bagful of other stuff she got! Sugar and E number overload!!)

I had a yen for some bonfire toffee like my nan used to make for Bonfire Night (more of that later) so I Googled a really simple recipe and that was that.

I also made some of my old favourites. The first batch of gingerbread of the winter. That must be special...

It was weird though because I made it on my own. No little extra pair of hands. No small hands to rub the fat in. Kiddie has been off school for the last couple of days with a bit of a lurgy so she was kept away from the baking.

AS they are also for Bonfire Night they had to be stars didn't they?

And as there seems to be a new penchant for kitchen macro shots here's a tasteful, arty close-up. ;o)

The reason for all this Bonfire type activity is because tomorrow we are venturing down to the Big City.

How exciting!!!!

We are going to stay with friends and have a 'pongfire' party and a possible visit to the Ally Pally for some firework fun. My sister's family will be there too so there's going to be quite a houseful. It should be FAB!!!

Sunday is going to be a whistle-stop touristy tour as littlest nephew is currently obsessed with the Houses of Parliament. Bleeeesss...

So, for a change, I should have some interesting photos and events to tell you about. Just recently it feels like everything has been very flat. People keep being ill. The half term interrupts everything. And now kiddie has been off school. She's OK now though. Well enough that I dont have to sit next to her and watch endless CBBC. If I have to watch one more episode of 'Chucklevision' I may commit murder!!! Aaaaarrgghh!!!

In fact I shouldn't moan as I have managed to do some actual sewing today. Oops! Were you sitting down? Sorry I should've warned you.

Lookie at my little snowmen. :o) Same method as the Christmas Trees I made before. Hand stitched faces, felt noses. Now they need scarves and hats which I'm working on at the moment. Just need to get some more white felt as I've run out. There's always something...

Right. Must go. The over timer is pinging - Chicken Chasseur a la Colmans!! See. It's not all cookbooks!!

Big Knit

2008-11-05T12:36:00.002Z

So today's the day.

Today the little bottles of Innocent smoothie with little woolly hats go on sale in Sainsburys all over the UK. Every bottle sold will raise 50p for Age Concern. Click to read all about it. If you buy any bottles of this scrummy stuff, you could pop over to their Flickr page and see if you can spot your hat.

So today's the day.

America gets it's first black President. Listening to MLK's "I have a dream" speech and then hearing Obama's acceptance speech I had a HUGE lump in my throat and a tear in my eye. I don't follow American politics closely; couldn't tell you any of the promises on either side, and of course the election wasn't fought on race lines

BUT

this is a great day. Let's hope he does a good job.

ttfn
xx

2008-11-04T17:57:00.001Z

So I've got over the shock of the grey hair incident. Nice and Easy to the rescue!!!!

I've also survived half term. We didn't do an awful lot but we did go and see

How spooky for Halloween week though - we went into the cinema and it was fine. We came out and there was a good inch of snow on the ground and it was still falling!! I just wish it had stayed for a bit longer than a few hours. Normally it snows when the kids are in school so they don't have chance to play in it. What a perfect half term that would have been - a few days of snowmen and snowball fights with next door's kids. Cheap too!!! hee hee

We did make a fab and groovy Jack O'Lantern but OH wiped the photo from his camera by mistake and now Mr Pumpkin Head is a bit saggy and past his best. (Sorry I am talking about the sculpted vegetable there, not my OH!!!) We bumped into kiddie's godmother on Thursdasy, having not seen her for months (sorry about the grammar). She and my godson popped round on Friday and she ended up taking kiddie back to their house for the afternoon/evening. Kiddie went 'treacle trotting*' with her two kids and had a great time.

* treacle trotting - knocking on neighbours' doors and saying 'treacle trot' according to my MiL. When this concept first took hold in the UK she misheard what the children were saying. It made me laugh so much when OH told me that it has stuck.

Yesterday was my mum's birthday. Have spent the past week and a half making her prezzie. Photos will follow but I forgot to take any before I wrapped it up. Doh!!! It's a mermaid doll. Mum saw the one I made for the Fairy Tale Swap and she really liked it, so I made her own for her.

On Sunday I was a domestic goddess and made not one but two birthday cakes!! Mum is a coeliac so I swiped a couple of cake mixes from her cupboard that she had never got round to making. One was a Victoria sponge with strawberry jam and fresh cream and the second was a chocolate extravaganza!! Choccie sponge, choccie butter cream, crumbled Flake, Aero Bubbles and Buttons on top. Sadly the Victoria sponge was a bit of a nightmare. I foolishly opened the ove door before it had finished cooking. It sank in the middle and went all gooey and weird! It tasted OK with loads of jam and cream though! Again I'm waiting for photos from mum's camera.

So did you see this on the news??

Remember my chum Ian?? I helped him hang his exhibition earlier this year?? Well this is his latest project. Things have progressed somewhat in the world of Ian Cook. (Remember the name). Reebok commissioned him to create this portrait of Lewis Hamilton to wish him luck in his final race of the season. The painting is created using toys cars - radio controlled cars, battery operated cars, tyres, etc - click on this link to watch a video of work in progress and to see Lewis Hamilton's reaction when he saw the 12 metre high painting unveiled on the banks of the River Thames.

Right. Must go and rescue my steak and potato pie (courtesy of Mr Ginster). I've managed to grill it rather than bake it for the first 10 minutes, so the lid is rather... err.. crunchy!!! So much for the domestic goddess attack.

ttfn

Shock!!! Horror!!!!!

2008-10-29T18:43:00.002Z

AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

So this morning I had a shower and washed my hair.

Big deal!!

My fringe has been getting a bit long and scruffy but I can't afford a trip to the hairdressers at the moment so I grabbed my scissors, approached the bathroom mirror and began to snip.

THAT is not the problem.

While I was merrily trimming away I spotted a particularly bright highlight.

Not a problem in itself...

...'til you realise that I have about 2" of darker root regrowth, yet this 'highlight' went right down to the root.

Then I spotted more. All interspersed through my other hair.

OH

MY

GOD!!!

I've officially got grey hair!!!

Maybe it's turned grey after the events of the past couple of days???

Such a shame he's gone... but he'll be back.

ttfn
xx

Shimmy Shimmy

2008-10-27T16:26:00.005Z

Saturday night was the night of our amazing belly dance show -

The Secret Belly Dancers' Ball.

(I think I may have mentioned it...)

Here is a batch of photos to give you a taste of the night. It was a HUGE learning curve but went off pretty much without a hitch. ALl the ladies/girls looked stunning. I just can't wait to get a copy of the DVD to see everyone else.

(Because we were backstage we couldn't catually watch any of the performances.)

The ensemble. (I'm front right in red looking like a reject from The Mikado and BDB is next to me in purple.)

See what I mean about The Mikado? Just need some chopsticks stuck into my hair. This is me with my chums - Rose and BDB (Julia).

This is The Dance of Fours because - guess why... - we do it in groups of four. Clever eh?! I think it's proper name is Naila.

This is one of my fave's - The Duet. When we dance this it's a 'call and response' type of thing. One half of each pair performs a move then the other one repeats it. The idea is that it's a contest to see who's the best and who can show off the most. Due to lack of space on stage we couldn't all perform so, after the initial sequence, we had two pairs of feature dancers and the rest of us were the crowd cheering our favourite dancer on. It worked really well because there were so many of us there.

Here is a wannabe belly dancer practising after the show. Kiddie loves it! I rustled up this gypsy skirt for her on Friday so she could swish around too.

This stick dance we will be learning after half term. It is more a cabaret style of dance which would have been performed in clubs and restaurants where space was more restricted. Tighter, straight skirts would have been worn to prevent tangling with the cane and knocking glasses off tables!!

This is Maria - our lovely teacher! She is the brainchild behind the whole show. She stumped up the cash beforehand to hire the theatre, pay for printing, etc. She choreographed many of the dances, worked out all the stage direction, narrated between pieces AND created two solo dances for herself to perform. She also leant me her spangly red top and harem pants. Cheers love xxx.

This dance was the climax of the show, Maria using her 'wings of Isis'. Although they sound like an ancient Egyptian prop, they are actually a relatively modern tool to use in a dance. They look AMAZING!!

Ta dah!!! 'Tis me in mid-dance! Not sure which one but I look like I'm having fun!!

A bit blurry but this is the first part of The Duet. Me and BDB are in the background in red and purple respectively.

And here is a shot of us performing our gypsy dance. BIG swirly skirts are a MUST. This style of dance would have been performed in the streets by travelling gypsies so there would have been plenty of space to whirl and twirl around to great effect. Those skirts were such fun to wear. The bigger the movement you made, the more impressive it looked. The hemline was at least 8 yards. I made the pink one that Maria (on the right) is wearing and it is 10 yards. Doesn't sound much until you try to handle that amount of material. Hemming took forever!!!

So there you have it. That was my Saturday. Playing at dressing-up in loads of sequins and glitter, plastering on the make-up and then prancing about on stage. It's just like being a kid all over again! We had a whale of a time and can't wait for the next one.

ttfn

Catching Up...Yet Again!!

2008-10-22T14:40:00.005+01:00

So while I was lurgified, and just before I was struck down, this is what I was doing.

I made a tribal beely dance headdress for the show. Still needs more bits adding to it. And I may well NOT wear it but I had to have a go.

Kiddie has a party this afternoon. Her friend T loves animals, especially deer so she decided to make this card for him. She drew all the background and then collaged Bambi with a bit of towelling and twigs for antlers. Bless...

While she did that I made T a sock monkey as a prezzie cause I just didn't know what to get him. The use of proper, decent quality toy stuffing makes such a HUGE difference. All previosu mokeys have been so lumpy and bumpy but this little guy is quite smooth beneath his fluff.

This is what I've been tinkering with today...

This is the starting point for a couple of Christmas stockings. Lots of old lace - some crocheted, some old cotton lace, some broderie anglais - all appliqued to a background of a linen/cotton mix fabric. Will add some embroidery and vintage MOP buttons I think, then I'll show you the finished article.

This is an early attempt at a primitive doll, before I'd been to any classes, read any doll-making books, etc. I found her in my bag of lace scraps. She still has scope... The face is rubbish but I love her vintage button-covered body.

If you are in touch with me through Facebook you'll know we made a cake the other day. Yes!! Me!! Mrs Undomestic Goddess!! I made a cake from scratch using the Be-Ro Book. It was a bit thin but I think that was messing up quantities rather than not rising properly. It meant we had LOADS of luvverly buttercream. Yummy!

This is Ivy.

This is Holly.

These are Christmas tree hanging decorations.

This is the trees WIP.

See... I've been a busy girlie despite feeling like poo!! Actually I did spend 2 days in bed not feeling up to doing a damn thing but I'm on the mend. Yahoo!! Thanks for all the nice comments and messages. I love you all xxx

And, not content with one tag in a day, Daisie has sent me another.

Six random facts about me this time. Well she did actually ask me for 6 random facts about being ill so here goes...

1. When I have a cold I want to chop all my hair off!! I HATE the odd little wisps of hair that get in front of your face and tickle your nose. When it's itchy anyway that's the last thing you want. Consequently the postman has seen me twice this week with greasy hair scraped back using one of kiddie's hairbands. NOT a pretty sight.

2. I have been knocking back to 1000mg fizzy Vitamin C every morning and I'm convinced that's made me get better quicker.

3. I have one of those lovely dry flakey skin moustaches from too much nose blowing, so I will go to bed with my top lip plastered in Vaseline tonight. Gorgeous!!

4. My OH swears by that First Defence stuff but the idea of spraying something up my nose is a no-no. I would rather have a cold than a squirt Sinex up my hooter.

5. Possibly my most attractive full-of-cold look is the "shove-a-tissue-up-each-nostril-and-leave-it-there" look. This is something my sis and I both do. When your nose is just getting so raw from all the wiping and blowing that it's too sore to touch any more it's the only answer. Highly unattractive but very satisfying.

6. When I was a kiddie being ill prevented me from being on telly. I had entered a competition on Tiswas and won but I got bloody mumps so couldn't go on. It was going to be the full pull-you-up-by-the-ears-from-behind-the-desk job but instead I had to go a couple of weeks later and just be in the audience. How pants is that?!!

There!
That's 6!!
I'll make a list of taggees later. Have got to go and cuddle a sickly kiddie. She's been to a party, troughed loads of party food plus her party bag and now feels sick and sorry for herself. She's also very tired.

ttfn
xx

Tag

2008-10-21T13:21:00.003+01:00

I've been zapped by a couple of bloggy chums with this baby -

7 Random Facts About Me.

Please excuse the bunged up head which might make my answers a bit iffy but here we go...

1. I've had my 15 minutes of fame. In about 2004 our house was featured on House Invaders. Anna Ryder Richardson and the team came and revamped our kitchen, living room and bedroom. It was a real eye-opener to see behind the scenes of making this programme and all your suspicions are correct. The celeb presenter doesn't design anything!!! A chap came round a few weeks before to look at the paint, wood, fabric and stuff we had that they could use. He chatted about which rooms we wanted doing and came up with ideas and suggestions about what could be done. Before they arrived on filming day we had to clear most of the 'stuff' out of the rooms to be done. All my books, nick-nacks, kiddie's toys, etc were shoved in loads of plastic crates and dumped in kiddie's room, the dining room, anywhere the film crew weren't. At the end of the day we did The Reveal. It was genuinely a surprise as OH and I worked on a different room each and weren't allowed to peek at each other's handiwork until then. However, once we'd "ooohed" and "aahed" over the fab new clutter-free rooms and they'd finished filming, they wanted their crates back. Everything was basically tipped out of the crates all over the rest of the house and we spent the next 2 weeks finding new homes for it all.
We've moved house since then but we do have one momento left. The built kiddue a toybox out of - you guessed it - MDF and it's actually survived to this day. I've recovered the top as the zebra print they picked quickly got a bit tedious. It's now pink gingham and padded so kiddie can sit on it.

Crikey!! Is that only number 1?!

2. I am a bit of a hoarder. (Shut up mum and sis!!!) I love 'stuff'. When we moved to this house it was quite modern and minimalist. All cream and beige and tasteful. I'm gradually remedying the situation. It doesn't feel like home unless there is stuff on shelves and windowsills and in fact any flat surface. Dusting? What's that?

3. I had another brushette with fame last year. On a whim I rang the Steve Wright Show on Radio 2 and entered a quiz. It was a Bank Holiday so the show was actually hosted by Dara O'Briain. The quiz was about princes and was to win tickets to see Prince at the O2 Arena.

I WON!!!

OH and I had a fab trip down to London, a night in a hotel (which we paid for), and watched the purple dwarf from seats in a swanky celeb-style box at the O2 with a free bar and buffet.
A bit different to the last time we saw him. The whole gig was overshadowed by the fact that we hit a chunk of wood just after joining the M42 which ripped the fuel line out of OH's car. We then spent nearly 5 hours waiting for the AA to arrive!!!

4. (I know most of you know this by now but for those who don't) I do belly dancing. I love it. It's like being a little girl again and playing at dressing up. Sequins and glitter. Swishy skirts. Noisy jangly coin belts. Tinkly ankle bells. And it keeps you fit as well. We are performing in our first professional show on Saturday and I'm so excited. Just glad that my cold is going now. If you want to come it's at Tamworth Assembley Rooms. It will be a blast.

5. I am a true Brit. I love this country. I love the weather. Yes really. I love change of the seasons. OK when you get one grey day after another it does get you down a bit, but when you get a day like today... A crisp Autumn day. The sun is shining brightly but there's a little nip in the air. The nights draw in and you want to snuggle up with stodgy comfort food and warm drinks. Or when we do get snow that lovely muffling of sounds. And in Springtime when it just starts to get a little bit warm. I could never move to a hot country. Day after day after day of sunshine would drive me mad.

6. I am a terrible procrastinator. (I must remember to come back and create a link to an online dictionary. Later...)

7. I HATE the noise of eating. I can't stand it when there is no conversation at a dining table and all you can here is the noise of munching and chewing. Lips smacking... grrrrrr!!! It drives me mad!!!

OK. The deal is to tag 7 more people and to link back to the people who tagged me. Errr.. I can't remember who it was at the moment. Sorry. It's the bunged-up head that's doing it. I'll come back and edit this post when I find out (see point 6!!)

ttfn
xx

Pants!!!

2008-10-20T09:28:00.002+01:00

Sorry for the interruption in our transmission.

Am I the first female to contract man-flu??

I feel like pants (hence the title). It serves me right for feeling quite smug the other day. I have been surrounded by people with colds and viruses and other lurgies and I was secretly really chuffed that I had escaped all the germs.

HA!

I'll be back as soon as I feel a bit better. Right now I'm going back to bed.

ttfn
xx

Ha! Can't even be ill in peace. At 9.45 I got a call from school to come and collect kidlet. She's feeling poorly too!!!

Normal service will be resumed...

2008-10-14T23:25:00.002+01:00

Aaaaaaaaarrrrggghhh!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hate computers!!!!

I hate the fact that I have become so reliant on ours.

My routine was completely loused up today.

Normally it's - take kiddie to school, come home, have coffee, read emails, read blog updates, check ebay then go and hit the sewing.

But today.....

today!?!?!?!?

I tried to boot up the 'pute and

nothing happened.

:o(

Throughout the day I have tried repeatedly to boot it up - nothing.

I have been sooooooooooooooooo frustrated not being able to check anything.

So I waited 'til OH came home and, on bended knee, begged him to have a look at it. And what did he do?...

He pressed the power button and the bloody thing booted up no problem!!!!

I hate computers!!!!!
but I love 'em too.

ttfn
xx

PS Yay!! Fonejacker's back!!!!

Right here, right now.

2008-10-13T21:26:00.003+01:00

So here is what I am up to tonight. Quilt wall? What quilt wall? I am using masking tape and the laminate floor in the back room.

This is a patchwork quilt that I made when I was about 15 or 16. I cut every single hexagon and pieced every single one by hand. It took ages and at night I went to bed dreaming of hexagons.

At the time I didn't know anything about quilting. I'd seen a little wicker basket of hexagons at a house where I did babysitting and thought I'd like to have a go. To finish it off mum made a duvet cover out of a double flat sheet and appliqued the patchwork by hand. I have kept it all that time. It was on my bed at home, then went on the little sofa in our bedroom when we were first married and has more recently been on kiddie's bed.
And finally the time has come to quilt it properly. I really want a snuggly patchwork quilted throw to curl up under during the yucky winter months. So the duvet cover has been dismantled, chopped in half and washed. The patchwork has been repaired and the 1" (!!!) seams on the back of each patch have been trimmed to 1/4". I have just taped each layer to the floor and am starting to pin and then tack the 'sandwich' together.
The question now is - hand or machine quilting? And what pattern? Or do I go in the ditch for speed and ease? Hmm... Think I'm going to have to get the quilting books out for inspiration.

I've also been tinkering with dolls again today (surprise! surprise!). I've painted and sculpted a batch of heads to make Christmas fairies. Tomorrow I'll have a bash at making bodies for them and take some photos to show you.

In the final throws of my mega-clear out I've been flicking through my old sample sketchbooks from machine embroidery C&G. I have a book full of 'surfaces for stitch', where we played with different materials and stitch techniques. Some of these will make fantastic dolls costume pieces. I may take a few pics of pages from this and post them too. It was really exciting to unearth them. I now have that feeling of having too many ideas and not enough hours to do them which usually means I don't achieve very much at all. I flit from one thing to the next. Shout at me to stay focussed pleeeeease. :o)

Right back to the pins.

ttfn
xx

PS Did you see the Peter Kay thing last night? How fantastic was that?!?! lol

This is... My Current Reading Material.

2008-10-12T12:11:00.002+01:00

errr.... see the previous couple of posts... ;o)

My current reading material is my 5 new books!!!

Oh I love books!!!!

ttfn
xx

I love the Postman (well actually it was a lady today)

2008-10-11T09:11:00.005+01:00

Not 1.

Not 2.

3 yes 3, three, THREE parcels were delivered to The Spare Room this morning.

WAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!

The first one was from Amazon. Lookie, lookie, lookie - I now have the full set of Patti Medaris Culea doll making books (well until her new one comes out in the next few weeks - nudge, nudge Santa). And how timely is this one, as I'm struggling to dress my Airy Fairies?... I sat and looked through it while waiting for my photos to upload and there is a whole chapter on fairies! I will finish writing this before I disappear to have a play.

The second book in the parcel was one of those false economy 'order-it-to-make-the-total-value-up-to-£15-so-I-get-free-postage' books, although it was on my Wish List so it'd not like I didn't want it. It's not a very thick book - at 32 pages it's more like a pamphlet - but it has some really good ideas for decorating and embellishing fabrics. Sometimes a skinny book is better for getting inspiration as a quick flick through a larger book can end up with you being distracted, and an hour later you've still not created anything cuz you've been too busy reading.

The next wee parcel was another one to renew my lost faith in eBay. I ordered these two days ago and -

TA-DAH!!!

- here they are. What are they? Two pairs of artery forceps - one straight and one curved. Still no wiser? They are fantastic for turning dolls once you've stitched them. Think of those long skinny legs... You've stitched all around the seam but how do you get your hand inside to turn it through? Forceps (or haemostats as they call them in America) are the answer. What makes them so great is that they lock shut so, once they have gripped the bit of fabric, you can yank as hard as you like, they won't 'let go' (your stitches may give way or your fabric may tear, but the forceps will still be holding on). You can also use them for stuffing said doll's legs, arms or any other skinny, fiddly thing you need to fill with stuffing. These ones were just a measley £2.50 for the two pairs (plus a bit of P&P) but they are worth their weight in gold. If you have trouble finding them, they are also sold to fishermen to remove hooks from mouths (disgorging I believe is the term), so if you have a fishing tackle shop round the corner Bob's your uncle.

And last but definitely not least - a box from France.

And in it is my Camper Van Goodness from the lovely Penny. This is her first swap and I just love what she has made. This cute bag has a really French country feel and with a scrummy blue camper on the front.

Just look at it!

A fabby, shabby camper in my favourite colour. I want it!

And it's lined in cornflower-patterned fabric.

I love cornflowers.

I love fabric.

I love my bag.

And there's more...

Penny has also knitted this little gem...

If you look carefully you can see the VW logo in the centre. How clever is she?!

It all came wrapped up in the prettiest flowery tissue paper, so even the packaging material was lovely.

Thanks so much Penny. It was great to be paired up with you.

Right. I'm off to make more coffee and to read my bookie-wooks.

ttfn

Camper Van Swap

2008-10-10T20:03:00.001+01:00

Camper Van Swap
Originally uploaded by ethel and edna

hahaha Here we go again. It's ths 'bus syndrome' - nothing for ages then a load all one after the other.
Forgot that Penny has now received her swap stuff so I can show off my Camper Van Swap project.
I'm (not so) secretly chuffed with this. Not bad for a first attempt.
Penny (my swap partner) lives in rural France and has loads of photos of her gorgeous garden and the countryside near where she lives. I really wanted to incorporate these flower meadows with a red and white, like she and her husband used to own.
The camper is appliqued using bondaweb and free maching to make it look 'sketchy'. The backing fabric is an old linen dress of kiddie's which was already printed with the flowers, some of which are embroidered. The whole thing is stretched over a shop-bought canvas. There are more photos on Flickr is you want a closer look.
peep peep!
ttfn
xx

Bad eBay, Good eBay, Airy Fairy and Goodness

2008-10-10T18:40:00.005+01:00

I know. I know. It's been ages (apart from yesterday). I've been a bit pre-occupied with a mega workroom sort out (which I won't bore you with - same old, same old...) and trying (but failing) to get 3 dolls made. But more of them in a bit.

First off I'd just like to say a HUGE thank you for all your lovely comments yesterday. It's nice to know you care :o). Sorry to Nick Nack for making you cry. I'll warn you next time.

So, eBay. Last week I had a reminder of what a gamble it can be to buy stuff off the dreaded site. I paid for a pair of boots. A bargain selling price but the postage (as ever) bumped the cost up a bit. They were described as being in very good, used condition. This is what they looked like when they arrived...

Both back seams were split. Now I agree they were used but the very good condition bit was a blatant lie. I emailed the seller pronto and told her I wasn't happy and wanted a refund, please. I said if she'd refund the total amount I'd pay to return them to her. Her response was that she'd refund the selling price only if I posted the boots back to her. Now am I missing something here? Is it me that's stupid? I would be paying to have the boots posted to me and to post them back again. I would end up with nothing and have paid £5.50 for the priviledge. OK. £5.50 is a massive amount but it's the principle of the thing. Why should I be out of pocket when she has sold me these manky boots?
Well I replied that I'd rather keep them, take it on the chin and give her negative feedback. I've her nothing else from her. It does make me mad though. I'd never do that to someone. If I ever accidentally sent out something that wasn't up to scratch I'd refund the price and tell them to keep it or refund the whole shebang if they wanted to return it. No quibble. Grrrr.

BUT

By contrast today, one of those lovely brown UPS vans pulled up outside. The chappie leapt out of the cab with a big brown box which contained not one, not two but three luvverly new books. This is the first. The one I should have bought at the K&S Show but didn't. This cost me £3.22. No I haven't missed off a 1 - that's three pounds!!!

This was the second book. A fantastic source of inspiration and she's a fab lady too. This one was expensive - £8.22.

Number three bookie is one of those that you need to complete your craft book collection. I've wanted it for a long time but never had the urge to splurge 'til now. Well I say splurge - £4.48.
So for £16 something I got three fabulous books in pristine condition (not second hand). OK the postage was a bit steep at nearly £9 but it came by carrier 'cause books are heavy. But it came the next day. Perfection. It's like Christmas and I've got 2 more on their way from Amazon. Talk about splurge...

So the dolls that have been giving me grief... These are them. The Airy Fairies. My plan was to have them finished for yesterday well actually my plan was to make 9 of them!! Three were going on etsy, three on Folksy and three of eBay. The idea was to sell them and donate a precentage of the profits from each to the three charities that helped look after my dad - The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, Cancer Research UK and St Giles Hospice.

However,

I didn't manage to get one of them completed, let alone 9!! Faces went wrong, hair caused problems, headdresses couldn't be resolved, clothing was a nightmare.
So instead I'm going to take a bit more time over them and then sell them in the run-up to Christmas. They will be very twinkly and sparkly Christmas Fairies.
Just keep watching.

I won a competition/draw on Daisie's blog last week. Yay!! And the sneaky woman sent my parcel of prizes much sooner than she'd told me she would. Look at all this fab stuff...

I can't photograph it all as this post is picture-heavy as it is but isn't she clever and kind and lovely?
Small bits of Chrstmasness are creeping in as well. I love this little jar of Christmas Cheer. :o)
Thanks so much. It really cheered me up xx

On Wednesday I went with mum and her chum to Hooty's - No, not the chain of topless bars - a warehouse type place of in Willenhall. Here's a photo of just a bit of my haul of goodies. The little boxes of glittery stuff and beads and sequins. A colour themed pack of six boxes (3 sequins and 3 beads) was 99p!!! 15 metres of strung sequins for 99p!! Packs of ribbon roses 59p!! I filled a trolley. It was great.

OK. So we're up to date again now. I'll try to be a bit more regular with my posts. Perhaps I should rename my blog? Not "Stuff and Nonsense from the Spare Room" but "Erratic Utterances from the Spare Room" or "Regular as the Buses"??

Right must fetch the kiddie back from dancing.

ttfn

How I Wish You Were Here...

2008-10-09T07:32:00.006+01:00

Today I make no apologies for the fact that my post is going to be self-indulgent and not very cheerful. (I just apologise to mum, my brother and sister if they read it and it upsets them xxx).

Two years ago today my dad lost his battle with lung cancer and I miss him more now than ever.
Whilst I don't want to 'celebrate' this date in anyway, I did want to remember him and show everyone else a small glimpse of who he was.

First and foremost a snappy dresser, he always said that he set trends he didn't follow them. This is something that most people who have seen my wardrobe would agree is something that I've inherited. Fashion sense?? Huh?

This is one of my first Christmases (early 70s). I look about 3 or 4. Smashing roll neck jumper!

This is a much more recent photo, as you can see from the date stamp. His hair is a bit fuzzy as it grew back after chemo looking like the fluff on a baby bird's head. (He's playing with his new digi camera - hence the bizarre expression).

This was one of his favourite places and luckily we managed to get him here for one final holiday. Holywell Bay. I took this driving down the hill into the village and didn't notice the little wisp of cloud until we got home and put the picture on the computer. Do you think it looks like a face in profile?

His other major passion was music and this is definitely something that has passed on to me (and my brother and sister). At home there always used to be music playing - be it radio or an LP from his massive vinyl collection. The playlist that's running at the moment is some classic "Geoffie-Music", as my friend Alyson used to describe it. Unfortunately there were some tracks I couldn't find - 'Embrace Me You Child' by Carly Simon (better NOT play that one today) and 'Sweet Painted Lady' by Elton John are just a couple and 'Ventura Highway' by America. See if you can track them down as they are worth a listen. His tastes were very eclectic. Some are going to make people jump, wince, laugh, cry but still no apologies.

I miss you and pray you are now where you believed you'd be.

xxx

Body Parts

2008-10-01T12:09:00.002+01:00

I walked into kiddie's room this morning to open the curtains and tidy up a bit, and was greeted by this

and this

OK. So just what are Barbie and Ken up to?

Are they playing at highwaymen?

Has there been a chemical terrorist attack on Barbieville?

Nope.

Maybe the last picture will help you, especially if you have been watching the current major storyline in Holby City...

Yes Barbie and Ken are surgeons and are currently in the middle of separating a pair of conjoined (Siamese) twins!

Do you think I should have made her go to bed a bit earlier??

I mentioned that I've been struggling with doll's boobies - well here they are.

Hmm... still not entirely sure but maybe when she has all her other bits and bobs attached and she's dressed she'll look a bit better.

And this is my next project but I've had to interrupt this to finish the camper van swap. Yay!! Inspiration struck last night...

... or rather this morning at about 4.20 when I got woken up by rain lashing the bedroom window and a small girl nuzzling into me. (OH is away at the moment and I've managed to have the bed to myself since Saturday night. Until last night that is.) Yup! Nearly finished my camper van jobbie and I quite like it myself actually. I always do this with swaps - make things that I'd like to keep for myself. Anyhoo, I'll post pictures (or at least glimpses) once my camera battery is charged.

Oh! The 'eggs'? They're heads for some very special dolls that I'm going to make. Watch this space...

ttfn

Camper Van Goodness

2008-09-30T18:04:00.002+01:00

Well I'm still struggling with exactly what to make for the Camper Van swap. Talk about cutting it fine...
However, whilst Googling this afternoon I came across this fabbo website which I just had to link to.
Add these to your Christmas list Camper Van Divas!!!

ttfn
x

PS Yes it looks like it's Bitesize Blogging today. Maybe later I'll do a full length one with proper photos and everything. :o)

Magic Fairies Mosaic

2008-09-30T16:03:00.001+01:00

Magic Fairies
Originally uploaded by ethel and edna

OK. It's not Monday (which is when people normally blog mosaics). And they're not all fairies. And they're not all dolls (spot the odd one out), but these are a selection of magic pics from my Flickr faves.

I will post pics of some of my own work later but I just thought I'd give my blog a little burst of other peoples' creativity.

Don't you just love them.

ttfn
xx

Nintendo DS Catz 2

2008-09-29T18:51:00.001+01:00

Catz 2
Originally uploaded by purpleamy014111

HEEEEEELP!

Does anyone have a DS whizz at home who can answer a question about this game?
My small kiddie bought it last week and has a problem, but I am clueless when it comes to her DS. :o(
Apparently when you start the game there should be 10 kittens to choose from - she only has 3. It is a pre-owned game. Is this a fault or can it be unlocked or something?
See - I don't know what the heck I'm talking about!!!

CELEBRATION!!!

2008-09-29T16:14:00.001+01:00

brixham-feuerwerk
Originally uploaded by bzmch

YAY!!!!

The Torbay Lifeboat Crew have won the Pride of Britain Award!!

Woohooo!

Thanks so much to everyone that voted. Don't forget to watch on Wednesday night (with a box of tissues at the ready).

Look what's flown in...

2008-09-27T20:58:00.004+01:00

This little brown parcel was delivered on Friday by my friendly-neighbourhood postie.

Inside the brown paper wrapping was a white cardboard box. Inside the cardboard box was lots of lovely scrunchy lilac tissue paper.
Pull back a corner of the tissue and a peep of a black beady eye can be seen.
Pull back a bit more and - ta dah!!!!
Please meet Mr Ponsonby Sprocket - Mr P number 040 from the lovely Charlie at The Piegon Loft. Yay! I finally managed to get my 'click' in before everyone else and buy one of these fabulous crocheted chaps. Here he is with his very own passport (mini ID photo soon to be added). Those eyes are just amazing - so Feathers McGraw.

The other inhabitants of the workroom were eagerly awaiting his arrival and threw a little shindig in honour. Here they all are doing the 'Y.M.C.A.'

And here is Mr P all excited at his cake complete with candle. Look at those little wings flapping. I know that the original Mr P is partial to a bit of cake every now and then, well in the diet-ridden household the cake is calorie-free, indeed textiles-based. It lasts an awful lot longer though!!

He seems to be settling in very well. He has a lofty position on the shelf above my work table, where he sits and surveys his surroundings with his new little mate Felty Duck. I'll keep you up to date with his progress.

Other flying things...

The weather has been so 'fablious' today and our garden has been all a-flutter. The trees that run along the back fench are smothered in ivy which is in flower, and it seems that several species of flutter-bye are very partial to ivy nectar.

The one above is a Red Admiral. There were three or four of them around all afternoon making the most of the sunshine.

This little orangey coloured beauty is apparently a comma. This species is gradually moving further north as the temperature rises. There were three of these all having a bit of a feast. We usually have a lot of a very pretty little butterfly - the holly blue - flying around but I presume it is getting too late in the season for them to be around. Our garden is nothing much to look at. Nothing pretty really flourishes in our rubbishy soil but even we have managed to attract a bit of wildlife.

Will post some craftiness soon. Haven't been very productive during the last couple of days as I've been struggling with doll boobies!!

ttfn

Mistress Lowern Penvrane - Cloth Witch Art Doll OOAK

2008-09-24T11:12:00.003+01:00

'Tis done. Look ye across to the sidebar for my etsy button and ye will see Mistress Penvrane be listed for sale.

Why do I get so carried away in the detail? I've spent ages writing the description but before that I was on the 'net for ages just coming up with a name for her. I'll leave you to Google and find out what it means...

ttfn
xx

ethel and edna

Exciting Times Ahead...

Tigerlily Makes...

Step back in time.

Hip, hip - hooray!

Phoenix from the ashes...

Selling Stuff

The dreaded Facebook

Nightmare Before Valentine's Day Swap

Goodies.

The first of many...

Here we go again...

Happy New Year!!!

So...

Is anybody there?

Hooked!!

Ooh! Aah! Just a little bit. Ooh! Aah! A little bit more...

I made some stuff

Away with the Fairies...

Doin' a Runner!

50 Foot Woman Attacks Crafting World!!

Number 8

What?! She's been sewing?! Never!

Take That Tickets and a mini catch-up.

It's not just me...

errrr... yeah I know...

(Not the) BBC Book Meme

Didn't we have a luvverly time...

The end of the rainbow...

...with bells on.

Holiday Snaps *yawn*

Phew!!

Going... going... gone!

Jobbie!

Hints and Quilts

The Reveal - What I've Been Doing Since Christmas

Tree of Happinness

Back off holiday in time for Valentine's Day

Countdown to the Big 4 0 starts with a crack and a thwack!!

A REAL dinosaur and a talking cactus.

Fluffy Stuff and Seventh Heaven

Wittering and Twittering

Does my bum look big in this?

Happy New Blog

Frenzied...

Christmassy Creations.

Frantically Festive.

Do they know something I don't??

Shiny, shiny, shiny...

Well we had snow - did you??

IMPORTANT!!

Yeah. Yeah. I know.... but I'm here now :o).

It's Emma's fault!! (But don't tell her...)

90 Years of Remembrance

The BIIIIIG CITY!!!

Me??? Cooking again????

Big Knit

Shock!!! Horror!!!!!

Shimmy Shimmy

Catching Up...Yet Again!!

Tag

Pants!!!

Normal service will be resumed...

Right here, right now.

This is... My Current Reading Material.

I love the Postman (well actually it was a lady today)

Camper Van Swap

Bad eBay, Good eBay, Airy Fairy and Goodness

How I Wish You Were Here...

Body Parts

Camper Van Goodness

Magic Fairies Mosaic

Nintendo DS Catz 2

CELEBRATION!!!

Look what's flown in...

Mistress Lowern Penvrane - Cloth Witch Art Doll OOAK

Holiday Snaps yawn